Reflecting Back on 2010

I began writing this post in early January,  but as life does, the things that are worthy of blogging about sometimes leave little time to actually write!  My priorities changed greatly beginning with the hospitalization of my grandma on New Years Eve weekend, but more on that later....

2010 began with much excitement and promise.  Jeff and I were in escrow on our first home and eager to start tackling the project of our lives.  We originally started escrow in November and were supposed to close in December but as those of you have purchased a home before know, there were glitches.  We fell out of escrow due to a seller error and began the process again in December with a closing date set for early February.  When we were looking for homes we had our Bailey girl in mind at each house.  We wanted a house rather than a condo because we wanted room for our girl to run and play. We also knew that this would probably be the house we started a family in and did not want to raise children without an outdoor space.  Just a week before we were set to get the keys to our house, I came home from work on a Friday to find Bailey very sick.  We had a very difficult weekend with a dog that was in obvious discomfort and prior episodes indicated she may have a brain tumor.  Jeff stayed home on Monday so he could take her to the vet.  After a whole weekend of not sleeping and trying to keep Bailey comfortable, he fell asleep next to her on the floor while waiting for the vet appointment.  He awoke a few hours later to find her peacefully at rest.  I was a cat person my whole life and Bailey changed all that.  We know we want to get another dog someday but we aren't quite ready yet and we are very sad that Bailey never got to see her new house with a back yard.

Bailey while on a visit to my grandma's.  She loved that backyard!

On February 4th, 2010 we finally closed and got the keys to our house!  We tried for 6 months to buy a house and put in offer after offer but cash investors would scoop up houses in our price range the same day they were listed or we'd be competing against 40 other offers.  It was crazy!  We were even putting in offers on houses we didn't really like knowing our offer probably wouldn't get accepted anyway.  Thankfully our agent found this house which was a foreclosure  before it was even listed.  We took a look at it and it needed ALOT of work, but the price was right and although Mira Mesa was not where we intended to purchase (we were looking in Poway), I was familiar with the neighborhood as I worked at the school just up the street from the house for four years prior to entering the insurance world.  Also, our buddies the Colemans lived a short 1.9 miles away and our other buddies Mel B and Jenny Mae lived in an apartment in between us and the Colemans!  Our agent brokered a deal with the seller and he never even listed it.  It worked out perfectly!

The large, but fugly living room

The even fuglier kitchen, which had 3 different colored cabinets and pumpkin orange, peeling paint

The next several months consisted of heading to the house after work until 8 or 9 pm and spending every weekend there.  Jeff's Dad and Goldie came down to SD every weekend to help us and we would have been lost without them.  Not only did they make it fun to work on the house, but they were hard workers and knowledgeable.  Jeff's dad is very handy and Goldie has an eye for design and helped me with everything from curtains to where to put the furniture.  They really helped us transform that dump into a home.

Living room after

Kitchen after

We moved into the house the first week in April.  The house still had a lot of work to be done but it was livable at that point and it was so much easier to come home from work, work a few hours on the house and then go to bed then to drive back to the condo each night.  My Uncle Randy helped us out greatly during the week.  After working at his day job all day he would come over to the house and help us out for 3 or 4 hours each night.  I really enjoyed getting to spend the time with Randy and it was nice having an extra pair of hands.  One of the days in April that he was over helping paint the kitchen he informed me that he heard one of my other uncles, Steve, was pretty sick.  I had seen him in March at my grandma's 90th birthday and noticed he looked frail but didn't think too much of it.  It turns out that he had melanoma and it had spread very quickly throughout his body.  Just a month after being diagnosed with cancer, he passed away on May 5th, just one month away from what would have been his 55th birthday.  This came as a great shock to our family because it was so sudden and he was so young.  My Uncle was very much involved in the music business and also very active with several clubs and charities on the central coast.  His memorial service was held his birthday weekend in June followed by a celebration of life in which hundreds of people attended.  His death reminded me to make time for loved ones because our time here is limited.  It also reminded me that life is too short to be mad or angry at someone.  Steve and I missed nearly two years of time together due to a disagreement, 2 years I desperately wish I could do over.  It was my engagement which finally brought us back together.  I wanted him to attend my wedding and we were able to get past our disagreement and he did come and it meant the world to me.  He will always hold a place of honor in my heart.
 

Steven R. See 6/5/55 to 5/5/2010

The weekend after the memorial I, along with my BFF's family, hosted a baby shower for Rosa.  Saying Rosa comes from a large family is an understatement!  The shower had over 100 guests and we had to rent a hall in order to fit everyone.  The shower was a great success and baby girl Snowden really made out!  Unfortunately my camera was out of commission so I don't have many photos, but I was quite proud of myself for the garden party decor and how it all turned out (thanks to a great amount of help from Rosa's sisters).

Rosa (middle) and her sister Betty (left) and Carol (right) at the shower



Emma Carolina Snowden Ruvalcaba

It's a good thing we had the shower a month before Rosa's due date because miss Emma decided to make her entrance into the world just two weeks after the shower!  Emma is the first baby to be born into my group of friends and I am absolutely in love with her.  It's a lot of fun watching my bestie be a momma.  This little girls is very lucky and will no doubt be a wonderful human being, just like Rosa. 

In July I had to report to Jury duty.  For some reason I get called every year on the dot,  but I never get picked to be on a trial.  I always wondered what it was about me that always got me dismissed.  Typically I considered myself to be the most normal person in the jury pool.  There are always wackos and the excuses some people give to get out of jury duty can be quite interesting.  Well, for some reason I got picked to be on a 3 week civil trial about a boating accident involving a yacht.  I got picked even though I work in the insurance industry and had been in a boat accident before.  It was an interesting process and I actually proved to be a valuable juror.  Because of me, the defendant had to pay a lot less $.....but, most of the people I served with were idiots and if I am ever in the position of being on trial, I'd rather have a judge determine my fate rather than 12 peers aka morons.  I was shocked that they all had their minds made up before we even started deliberating and there were only a few that had an open mind regarding evidence and testimony.  Because of my knowledge of the insurance industry and law in general I was able to convince the jury to reach a more reasonable verdict.

My 'office' for 3 weeks in July

Summer really flew by.  We continued to do projects around the house but one highlight was going to see Elton John in concert.  He was amazing!  The best part is that he had just gotten over a stomach flu bug and had cancelled the previous concerts.  At one point in the concert he stopped, stood up and basically told us he had to take a break to poo!  Professional that he is, after about 10 minutes he came back and resumed like nothing had happened.  Seeing Elton was on my bucket list and I can proudly cross it off!

Sir Elton John

In September my cousin Amanda turned 30 and she did it in style.  Her uncle owns a fabulous house in Atascadero on top of a hill.  I guess the word house would be an understatement, we refer to it as The Villa and it is quite the party pad.  This is actually where Amanda had her wedding!

Chilling at the pool

Peter (middle) with Cynthia (left and his wife Crystal (right)

Enjoying warm summer temps, BBQ and booze

In November we joined the Colemans in Hawaii at their awesome time share on Oahu.  Won't go into too much detail as I wrote two blogs about it but Hawaii was definitely a highlight of the year!

Sunset from our Lanai

Sunset at Waikiki

It wasn't too long after Hawaii that the holidays arrived.  It was a lot of fun decorating the house for our first Christmas.  Christmas Eve Jeff and I went over to my grandmothers and my Uncle Mike had picked up a delicious prime rib dinner .  My mom asked me to buy a beautiful centerpiece to take over to my grandma's to help make things festive.  My grandma had been at the emergency room earlier in the day but still wanted us to come over.  I'm so glad I remembered my camera so I could take the picture below.  I wanted to take a picture with my grandma holding the centerpiece so I could send it to my mom for her to see, little did I know it would be the last time I saw my grandma outside of a hospital or hospice care.

December 24th, 2010.  Me and my grandma celebrating Christmas Eve.

Because it was our first Christmas in our new house we wanted to play host.  We had everyone over for Christmas dinner and had quite the spread.  The boys got their traditional Christmas boxers and the girls got the better end of the deal on the stockings (thanks to one Miss Goldie Boeder).  After dinner, presents  and many cocktails we were buzzed enough to not care whether it was age appropriate or not and put on Bad Santa.  Nick and Alex seemed to enjoy it.  I guess since we let them watch The Hangover Bad Santa was logically the next step in their corruption.

Christmas Goodies

 Boxers, cash and cocktails

Everybody's favorite Christmas Classic...Bad Santa

Because we're old and now wise enough to know that drinking a home is 1.  cheaper  2.  safer  3.  just as fun   We decided to stay in for New Years.  The Colemans and Jenny Mae came over and we played Just Dance and Michael Jackson and lots of board games and imbibed an insane amount of booze (that tends to happen when its free and you don't have to drive anywhere).  We pulled pretty much an all nighter and had a lot of fun.  I'm very grateful to have such fun friends nearby.  A good time is never more than 1.9 miles away!

Dancing to MJ on NYE

So that is the long and short of 2010.  In retrospect there were many sad events last year, but out of those sad events came a hearty appreciation for what we have.  Bailey gave me a new appreciation for dogs and in time we will get another.  We just aren't ready to replace Bailey girl just yet.   My Uncle's passing brought our family closer together and also brought many of Steve's friends together as well.  I always knew Steve was a special person but seeing the love that so many people had for him and actually meeting people whose lives he had changed really helped me realize that there is a lot of room for improvement in my life and what was a priority before is not necessarily a priority now.  Christmas Eve with my Grandma will always be a cherished memory and I am thankful that the last 10 years I was able to spend a lot of time with her.  I am also grateful that I could be with her when she needed me most.  2011 started off on a rough note with my Grandma passing away and just tonight I learned that my good friend Nate's dad passed away today from cancer.  Instead of thinking that the year is starting off on a bad note, I am just going to say that the world revolves around life and death and those we love are never really gone.  Those of you who know me well know I am not religious, but the words of Ecclesiastes 3 convey my thoughts better than anything I can come up with.  Let's just say its an awesome song by The Byrds...shall we (Turn, Turn, Turn)?

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

 There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

 a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

 a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

 a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

 a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

 a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

 a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.



Catherine "Kay" See March 5, 1920-January 29,2011

Born in Toledo, Ohio, Kay was the third of 8 children.  The family lived atop their father's grocery store.  During the depression, women would come into the store crying because they had no money to buy food for their children.  Kay's father would fill a box with food and hand it to them, telling them to pay him when they were able.  All her life, Kay followed her father's example of charity and compassion.

Kay left her job as a legal secretary to join the Navy during WWII.  After the war, she received a commendation from the Commander in Chief, United States Fleet.  Kay's naval career, which extended several years into the post-war period, had her working under or being acquainted with all four of the only 5 star admirals in US Naval history; Ernest King, Chester Nimitz, William Leahy, and Bull Halsey.  Working under Admiral Nimitz after the war, the Admiral learned that Kay's 10 year old kid brother, Joe, was visiting her in DC.  He asked Kay to bring her brother in to visit.  During the visit, Admiral Nimitz let Joe hold the Japanese surrender sword he received for being the signer of the terms of surrender who represented the US.

Kay met her husband to be, Richard, while both were still in the Navy.  They left the Navy, moved to California, got married and raised 6 children.  Kay will be buried with Richard at the National Cemetery in Riverside, CA following a brief ceremony honoring her military service.  The ceremony will be on March 4th at 1pm.  The cemetery is just off the I-15 across from March AFB.

Kay was lovingly cared for in her last month by her son Mike and grandaughter Katy who were by her side until the end.  Her daughter Linda and sons Mike and Jeff were also able to spend time with her the last month and the medical staff at the rehab facility where she was at until her final two weeks at home were always amazed that she was never alone and always had a family member at her side.  A special thanks to Lightbridge Hospice who made it possible for Kay to be at home the final two weeks.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year Part II (Wino Christmas)

Aside from the lights and decorations, another part of the holiday season that I love are the parties!  Our group of friends started getting together 5 or 6 years ago now for an annual holiday party to exchange gifts and drink the customary cocktails but last year the party evolved into something new.  It was decided that instead of picking names and bringing gifts for Secret Santa that instead everyone should bring designated varietals of wine, we would cover up the labels, score the wines and crown a champion.  Last year the Colemans hosted our first ever Wino Christmas party and it was so much fun we decided to make it a tradition.  This year Jeff and I took on the hosting duties and we kicked off the evening by having a glass of last years champion wine submitted by one Nate Chance, Rombauer Chardonnay.  We then went on to sample and score 5 different varietals crowning a champ for each one and then calculating the scorecards to determine the overall champ.  This year it was the Colemans with their Cherry Pie Pinot Noir.  Can't wait to start of next year's Wino Christmas with a glass of that, the best Pinot I ever tasted! 



Varietal Champs, yes the Two Buck Chuck Pinot Grigio won!



The official scorecards

Wino Christmas 2010 hosts Jeff and Katy Boeder

Mel, Tubman, Becs, Lyndsay and Dave enjoying a sample of Pinot Grigio

Last years Champ Nate Chance aka Ladies Man

This years Grand Champions Jamey and Andrea Coleman with their Cherry Pie Pinot Noir.  I believe these are now the official Champion hat wear for Wino Christmas

It's not a Wino Christmas without a viewing of Frosty.  This is our favorite part of the movie

Varietal winners got to partake in a white elephant prize gift exchange

As parties with my crowd typically go, after the sophisticated part was over we drank an additional 12 bottles of wine, played the new Michael Jackson dance game on the Wii, watched Frosty the Snowman and paused it on our favorite part (over and over) and partied until the wee hours of the morning.  I love that we always start off acting like grownups but can end the night being as silly as we want because we know we are with good company and close friends.  I can't wait to see how Wino Christmas 2011 turns out....

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year! Part I

My most favorite part of Christmas is the decorations and lights.  When I was a little girl my mom put me in charge of decorating the tree and the house and by the time I was in high school I was precariously climbing the roof and hanging icicle lights all over the whole roof because I wanted our house to be the most festive in the neighborhood.  I always took great care when setting up the manger scene making sure that everyone was in their correct spot and that the baby Jesus wasn't put out until late Christmas Eve (because he wasn't born yet!).  Decorating the tree was the most fun as each ornament was unwrapped or unboxed it would bring to mind a memory of the person who gave it to us or the Christmas that we received it.  When I moved away for College my mom picked out ornaments that she knew were sentimental  to me and let me take them and they now have a place on my tree.  This year was extra special as it was the first Christmas in our house.  I knew months ago exactly where the tree would go and calculated just how tall a tree we could fit in that space (8' 3" if you want to know).  I was a little worried that we wouldn't have enough ornaments as we used to get a 5 ft tree at the condo, but we had more than plenty and even though Jeff said that we were only getting a ginourmous tree this Christmas because it was our first, I have a feeling that next year he won't be opposed to strapping another 8 foot tree on his car and hauling it home because we both know that we can never go back to a smaller tree.  I am no Martha Stewart but I do enjoy reading several blogs of people who are way more creative than me and incorporating some of their ideas as well as coming up with some of my own.  I took a few pictures of our beautiful Christmas to share with you all and as tradition goes, it will get grander and more creative as years go on! 



Our fireplace by day




Fireplace at night, all lit up



Closeup of our tree, how about that topper?



All lit up with the fire going




Our wine console became a perfect spot for poinsettias, candles and all our Christmas cards (this pic was taken before we got any cards though)




Various sized gold and silver ornaments helped fill out the lighted garland




I made this centerpiece for the dining room table using a gold charger, leftover ornaments and two red candles.  Not bad!




Ready for company!




The wine console lit up at night.  Oops, left my wine glass there for the pic!



Paradise Part II (Off Campus)

We had grand plans of venturing out of the resort two days over the course of the week. Jeff's coworker set up a tee time for us on that Tuesday in the morning so we planned to head to Waikiki afterwards since we wouldn't be too far away after golf. We also had plans to hike Diamond Head and drive over to the North Shore with stops at Lanikai, Waimaia, Sunset Beach etc on another day...but we had all done that before and just decided to nix that one this trip and spend another day lounging at the resort. I am glad we ventured out for golf and Waikiki because golf was a lot of fun and you can't go to Oahu and not stop by Waikiki.

Andrea and I are still very much beginners at golf but we are slowly improving and the game gets more fun the more you play and the more you improve. Plus, we got to golf in Hawaii! That is an opportunity you just can't pass up and it was so awesome of Jeff's coworker to hook us up. The course was beautiful and next to Hickam AFB and Pearl Harbor. The palm trees were planted in clusters of seven to commemorate the December 7th, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and each hole was dedicated to a medal recipient from WWII. After a picnic lunch at the course we headed to my favorite place on the whole island, Dukes. We sat at the bar with the famous view of Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head off in the distance watching surfers, paddle boarders and sunbathers play in the turquoise blue water.

View of Waikiki and Diamond Head from Duke's

Sunset at Waikiki Beach

Jeff and Jamey at Navy Marine Golf Course

The Boeders at Navy Marine Golf Course

Katy and Jeff Kalakaua Ave, Waikiki

Watching the sunset in Waikiki

Close up of The Black Pearl

Katy and Jeff in front of The Black Pearl

Humpback whales as seen from The Ko Olina Cat

The elevators in our building overlooked the Ko Olina Marina and everyday we would see this big beautiful ship and all make jokes that it was the Black Pearl from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Jeff and I had seen the BP anchored in Redondo Beach a few years back after filming of POTC 2 and it did really look familiar. Finally I googled it and found out it was indeed The Black Pearl! POTC 4 had just wrapped up filming on Oahu and they docked it at Ko Olina. They are building a Disney Resort on the property so maybe it will become a permanent fixture or attraction there. We had booked a Catamaran cruise that left from the Marina and once everyone was on board the crew asked us if we wanted to get closer and cruised us up right next to the ship. It was really beautiful and we were within 10-15 feet of it and could see all the detailing and carvings (and also all their coast guard mandatory electrical lighting). After a few minutes of ooohing and aaahing it was time to head out for some snorkeling. The crew whipped up a tasty cocktail for everyone called a Catatonic, we all set up shop on the net and enjoyed cruising out into the ocean. The crew was telling us that in late November and early December you could usually see Humpback whales. Not five minutes later another passenger spotted a group of two female Humpbacks and a baby! The crew was amazed as it was the first whale sighting of the season and much earlier than usual. We followed the whales for probably 45 minutes watching them dive and come up and wave their flukes at us. The baby couldn't dive very deep so it would hang out at the surface while the adults dove down deep for food. It was amazing to watch and the entire boat was silent for the whole 45 minutes while we watched these 50 foot creatures swim right by us. After Mother Natures brilliant performance we headed out to Turtle Rock to do some snorkeling. The crew told us there would be lots of fish to look at and if we were lucky maybe a turtle. I was a little nervous about snorkeling because last time I was in Hawaii and tried snorkeling in Haunama Bay I had a panic attack....I was the second person off the boat and decided I wouldn't look down until Jeff got in the water but the crew kept yelling at me to "look down, look down!" and so I did and I was surrounded by hundreds of colorful fish and I was so amazed that I couldn't believe I was ever scared to do this. The fish were beautiful and not afraid at all, they would come right up to you and investigate you to see if you had any food and as if the day couldn't get better we saw not one, but two sea turtles that let us swim with them while they foraged the sea floor for food. That Cat cruise was by far my favorite experience of the whole trip.

Paradise Part I (The Resort)

Saturday, November 13th started out with the car service picking us up from the Coleman's bright and early at 7 am. After killing some time with trashy mags and bloody marys at the airport we boarded our flight and just 5 hours later landed in Paradise. We rented a large SUV for the week and began the 30 minute drive to the resort, enjoying the warm and humid air and chatting excitedly about everything we wanted to do during the week. We made a pit stop at Safeway to stock up on essentials (like vodka) and then pulled into the resort. This place was amazingly beautiful (see more here. ). We were on the 9th floor with an ocean view. It was a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom villa with 2 lanais looking out over the pools and the water. We had a full kitchen and washer and dryer...it was the nicest diggs I've ever stayed in while on vacation! The best part of a vacation is that first day when you think of all the time you have ahead of you to relax and enjoy and going home seems so far away. You realize that you get to sleep in for the next 7 days and eat good food and enjoy tropical cocktails any time of the day (in fact it is encouraged to drink before noon while on vacation). We unpacked, whirled up a few cocktails and emptied our heads of any thoughts of home or work.

Jeff coming out of the water slide

The Colemans and The Boeders dressed up for dinner at Chuck's

Enjoying a key lime colada by one of the pools

Beautiful sunsets were seen every night from our Lanai

The Colemans enjoying the lagoon which was perfect for swimming

A view of our kitchen, living room and lanai

Daytime view of the pools, lagoon and ocean from the villa

The resort had several restaurants on site, a running path, several swimming pools, 4 lagoons, a golf course and a market. There really was no need to ever leave the place except for occasional trips to Safeway. We ended up making all our breakfast and lunches at the villa which was convenient and saved quite a bit of money and then would go out for dinner at night. At the beginning of the week we were ambitious and would get up and run or walk the 3 mile loop that wrapped around the lagoons along the resorts edge. By the end of the week as the cocktails and full bellies caught up to us we weren't so ambitious. Because of the 2 hour time difference we were pretty much up at 7 am most days and in bed by 10 most nights. The weather was a perfect 83 degrees everyday and the clear, blue water and sandy beach was most inviting. The main pool had a water slide which was our preferred method of getting in the water. More often than not we were the only grown ups in line for the slide but the kids in line took to us once Jamey started giving them tips on how to get down the slide more quickly (cross your legs and arch your back!). Because of the time of year and probably the economy the resort was pretty quiet. We never had a problem finding a lounge chair by the pool or the lagoon and never needed a reservation at any of the restaurants. The Colemans found a gem of a place to purchase a timeshare and we are eternally grateful that they let us join them. More to come next post!