Spiritual Fledgling

This photo was taken at the Carmel Mission Basilica, in Carmel, CA which my family and I visited on a lovely trip to Monterey, CA this past week. Wherein, I not only got to enjoy five beautiful days in one of my favorite locales, but I actually got to read a book...from front to back! WooHoo! I haven't had an opportunity to do that since my daughter was born and before that I was only interested in reading baby books during the months leading up to her birth. Had I only known, I would have taken full advantage of my free time!!!!

I was meant to read this book though. Not to sound hoaky, but I feel like it opened my eyes...wide. Up until this point, the thought of me being a religious person was laughable. I wasn't even ready to admit to a belief in God. I suppose my reluctance to accept religion was due to the fact that all I'd ever learned was Christianity, and it just didn't sit right with me. It was so out of place in my thought processes, I just kept thinking that religion and I were not meant to be friends.

I have to say though, it's my fault that I didn't pursue religion, or perhaps my correct term will be "spirituality". I had always meant to take a class on religion to determine if there were another path for me, but it never happened. That's ok, though, it caught up to me. This book was about a woman's journey to enlightenment...she made me laugh and even cry a little, but more importantly she showed me a spiritual path through meditation, and the knowledge that God is in you and you are in God. God has been there this whole time and I knew it, I just needed to find a way to connect. So, I will be taking a bit of a spiritual journey...from the comfort of my own home of course. As much as I'd love to travel to an Indian Ashram, I am a mom and I have responsibilities that tie me here. Plus, as excited as I am about the possibility of making this connection that I've longed for for so long now, I still have to walk the path to make sure it's the right one for me.

I have to say, it's pretty cool to be able discuss God and not want to hide from myself at such religious talk. There is no more stigma in God for me...or at least the stigma is all washing away as I build up my own ideas about spirituality.

Oh boy, now my mom-in-law can really start teasing me for being a hippie!!! :o)

IF - Fortune - Love Don't Cost a Thing

In this crazy world, where material objects are becoming ever more in demand we all need to remember that "Love Don't Cost a Thing." There is fortune to be found in those closest to us.

Rainy Days

Sometimes my rainiest days aren't rainy outside at all.

Laundry Girl Found

I used to hate it when my (now)in-laws used to call me laundry girl.

Before I met them, I used to come over to my then boyfriend-now husband's house to do laundry. It was better than trekking across the parking lot from my apartment back-and-forth, back-and-forth until I had all my loads of laundry done for the next week or two.

Plus, I think I saved the washing machines at my complex some real hard work...I mean, who want's to spend $5 for two loads of laundry when you can spend $2.50 by shoving in at least two loads worth at a time. Sure, the machines specifically say "do not overload," and you start to second guess yourself when they begin to squeak and groan and shimmy across the linoleum (who knew washing machines could walk?).

But I digress. Yes, before I met my inlaws, all they knew about me was that there was "some" girl coming over to their son's/brother's house to do laundry, and as my in-laws are known to do - they "dubbed me". At first I thought it was funny, then I started to get irritated as it continued to build up in hype among the in-laws.

But then, we met. I remember vaguely the first meeting. I could tell they were waiting for me to piss them off, do something to turn them off me but it didn't happen and we started to hang out more and they still liked me. They kept telling me that they saw what a great influence I was over my hubby. He seemed happier and he spent a little money instead of pinching every penny. We all hung-out and we partied but the clincher was when they met my dad Ken and his partner James. Forever, that sealed the deal. They're fun, they're fiesty, they drink, they dance, they make you laugh and for the first time, in both families, two families joined together as one.

It's rare for many in-laws to hang out and to even invite each other everywhere they go...but that's what happened and so, when "laundry girl" comes up nowadays it's with a bit of a laugh at the early days when everything was so new and everyone was waiting for the ball to drop but it seems we are all so lucky to be one big happy family. If this is what being dubbed is all about, I can handle being "laundry girl".