Whittaker Woman

The Fresno Fair is a Great Big Fair, Don't Miss it Don't Even Be Late

Oh I was so excited to find out that we will be in Fresno during the fair. It is such a fun thing to do in Fresno, everyone looks forward to it. Jacinda, Brian and my family all went for the day. It was great.

Ok this is not fair food, but we did stop at Dog House before to fill our tummy's with this tri-tip sandwich. Heaven. Really I mean it is so sinful that you just do not care about the consiquences of eating it.

Oh if only I had a video. Just imagine this in real life. I wanted to give the poor mother some vicadine or something for what these little guys were doing to her. Oh my boobs ached for her.


If you go to the Fresno fair, you have to get a cinnamon roll. So good.


Papa came and so did his wallet. So the kids got to do things that they would not get to do with us.







Ok... Whats your thing to do or eat at the fair? H

From Day ONE

Allow me to be vulnerable, intimate and share something that is so personal about me that only my best friends would know about. You may read this post and think it is lame and not a big deal, but to me it is my heart, my memories and a part of ME.

This is Saint Andrews Abbey.     Or as I would call it Valyermo.

It is a Catholic Abbey that, well... you can say I was Umm, well lets just say my parents met there and well, simply put I was made there. So... I have REALLY been brought up there. :) Oh this is not going down hill fast. Anyways I have a life time of memories and this is one of the harder things to leave when I left California. I mourned the fact that my kids will not have the memories that I do. I have had major events that make this place special. My parents met here, I had my first major boyfriend from here, Carlos has a tattoo of the Abbeys symbol on him and most importantly  my dad is buried here. And yet many of the little things here are just as sentimental.

The smell of the desert and the gravel,

The sound of the trees,

The constant sound of a sprinkler running, all these things bring joy to my heart.

The sad part of my visit here is because of a death of one of the Fathers here. Father Werner was one of the Monks who knew my dad (who passed away when I was 16) There are not many people that I know that were friends of my dad so it was sad to say good-bye to someone who  held that friendship.
The great part is that I was here to be a part of it.


I have not been to funeral here since my dads which is coming up on 14 years. I must say it was weird.

And beautiful all at the same time.

The kids had fun decorating Papa Bills Grave. Its silly but makes me smile.

This is Dominic he was one of my dads best friends, and also one of my moms. He is just someone who I have known my whole life and he just is a special relationship.

So there you go. A very personal side of me that only those closest know. Welcome to my world. My soul. H

Cousin Time

H

Fog, Hoodies, and Sand

Sohaila has been studying the continents and oceans in school. She has been asking non-stop about the PACIFIC Ocean. Mom when can we see the pacific ocean? Are we near the pacific ocean? Did you know that the pacific ocean has so many sharks? Did you know... On and on. So I finally decided to make it stop! It was freezing, windy and they could not have been happier!

 








I am just grinning from ear to ear while I post this. What a great day! Oh and tonight my tummy is full of Mexican food! Really does it get any better? H

A Year Ago Today, Losiah Became a Whittaker

So yes a year ago today marks our move,  but it also marks the day Losiah officially became a Whittaker.  Our adoption paper work was a long road and it has officially been 365 days of having that weight off of my shoulders! What a relief!
September 24, 2007
Woke up said good-bye to my brother, went to Starbucks with family, mother in law and grandma. Then went to the courts.




He became ours! Legally. And then we went home grabbed our bags and got on a plane to Atlanta. What a day! H

I have a feeling it is gonna be a hard week...

I have two more days till we hit the anniversary of our move here. I have been fine, really not even thinking about it, until tonight. I was watching a cooking show tonight and he was out cooking in a vineyard. The rows of vines, the long grass growing in between them, the crisp cold air, oh it just made me long for HOME. I know, I know GA is home now, but I missed me some... where your mama's at kinda HOME. And as my heart broke so did the tears... I miss Cali!
 

Georgia On My Mind...Garage Sales

This weekend I was looking forward to selling all of our junk that we have piling up in our garage. You would think that after moving across the country we would only have what we need, but we don't. We have a ton of things that need to go!  I guess with 3 growing kids things just pile up. So I decided to have a garage sale.
Garage sales are big here in the south. Which for those who were wondering were big in Cali too. 
The difference is that in California garage sales usually take place on Saturdays only. Here in Georgia people have garage sales on Friday and Saturday. I was actually excited about this because Carlos has Friday off so it would totally work with our family schedule. 
I woke up early on Friday and began the chaos. It was around 8 o'clock when Seanna began to whine...
"Mommy why doesn't anyone want to come to our garage sale?" Her feelings were hurt that no one had come.  And that is when I realized that not only is there a difference on the days people garage sale here but also the time they garage sale. In Cali if you do not have your stuff outside and ready by 6am you have missed the boat. People start at the crack of dawn in Cali and by 11 am people are done shopping. Yesterday it was after 8am when we had our first car. Most signs I see around here say that they start around 8 and go till about 3pm. That is a long day of selling.
Finally it was around 11 am when I realized how conditioned I am. There is a five hour window of patience that I have for garage sales. Once those hours are past I AM DONE. Pack it up, give it away... I am finished. So I conclude that even though people here in Georgia have two full days of sales this California girl can't do it. I will give 5 hours of my life to selling junk after that it goes off to the Salvation Army. H

Should I start with the good news?

Or jump in with the bad? Hmm

Lets start with the bad and get it over... this is what I had to Google today:

Why would any rational person want to add weeks to their marathon training? Now that sounds like awful news! I just want this torture to be over with!
Are you ready for the good news?  Carlos and I have changed our plans and instead of running the Akron Ohio Marathon at the end of September we are going to run the Long Beach one on October 13! That means we have to add two weeks to our training, but  I am so excited to go to Cali! I get to fill my tummy with In N Out  or some true Mexican after the race. Oh how delightful. Not to mention my family being able to support us! It may be crazy adding weeks but so worth it! H

Look what I found!

I was on the web today just surfing, which believe it or not I do not do very often. I am on the computer all day but rarely do I get side tracked and surf mindlessly. However if you see my post below you can see that it has been a day of random internet rabbit chases! Ok back to my find...
I found this post about This Store which is in LA. I took one look and realized it was the store I got my fabulous blue couch at.
My $350 dollar couch that really cost me $650 because I got my car towed while I parked on the street to go check it out. I then had to walk 2 miles to get to the towing yard and pay all the fees just to get home. Ahh, the life of living in LA! This was also the day that Carlos called me and told me that North Point was flying us out that Friday because the were considering him for this job. There are lots of memories with this store. If you live there it is something to check out!

You ask, I'll answer set 15

*So how does the southern culture and way of life differ from that of the West Coast?
Posted by: Roland | May 13, 2008 at 06:05 AM

HA! I will have to say that once and a while Atlanta will occasionally give me a glimpse of Cali, but for the most part I am in a different land. One that is far far away!
The Comida, is so different! They "BBQ" here and in Cali they " BBQ", but if you ask any southerner about the way California BBQ's they will correct you and call it grilling.  There is a gigantic difference! When you talk about southern BBQ,  you are talking about greasy, messy and wet! In CA when you BBQ you "grill" your food and it is healthy and fresh! Plain and simple here there is more sauce than meat and in CA there is more meat than sauce. Oh and don't get me started on Mexican food here!
Neighborhoods: In CA you live in a neighborhood, but here you belong to a neighborhood. You are identified by your community you live in. Each community has a name and you better remember it because that is where you are from! It's very important. When the end of the school year came each community had a sign out by the neighborhood entrance that had each graduating senior's name on it. You would not see that in CA! I actually love the community spirit!
Environment: GA- Bugs, Trees, weather! CA- Bugs= really only ants and black widows, trees= only if you plant them, and weather= only sun!  I love the weather in GA, the seasons! The storms, oh it brings joy to my soul! The trees are fabulous I just wish there was a place I see a horizon, oh how I miss me a CA horizon! And the bugs, well you know how I feel about those guys.
Southern Manners/Politeness:  Hmm, lets just say in Cali,  I would NEVER get a thank you note from my dentist like I got today! That's a first for me!

 

So to answer the question, things are different. I miss my friends and family, I miss Mexican food and In N Out, I miss real mountains, but when push comes to shove I love it here! GA is home for now! H

Let me ask you now, How does where you live differ from your home town?

GA vs CA and GA won!

I have to say that since the past 10 years while I lived down to So Cal I have not been able sit in my front yard and do fireworks. But times have changed my friend! It was so great! We had a great night and the best part of all... MY PARENTS ARE HERE! Which is gigantic! This is their first real fly to a destination vacation! I am so excited! H
 

 

My man wants action!

Carlos has been out of town for a few days, and to make things worse...
he was in Cali.
However, he did come home with... Some Animal Style Love.  

The fries did not resurrect as well as I had hoped, but the hamburgers were delicious! Even at 9am! WHAT A MAN I HAVE!

Cali sick

I typed home sick but changed the title because Georgia is home now. I actually love it. However I am missing me some Cal-iforn-I-A! I have been on the verge of tears all afternoon. I guess I just have the summer blues.

I want to see a horizon on a mountain like this....

I want to be at this lake with these people...

I want her to make me some of this...

I want all of us to be in one place together...

I want to climb this mountain for the fifth time in 5 years...

I want my girls to run with this dog down this road to see the horses...

I want to be able to go here with these guys. I just want to go back to Cali!
I want $1500 to fly my family home.
Oh, the summer time blues.
Ok tell... where is your pillow and then where is your HOME?
 H

Some things, just have to make you smile!

The whirlwind is over

I have come to the conclusion that 10 days is the perfect time for me in Cali. I get my fill and by the evening of the 10th day I am ready to come home. As I sit in my bed typing I am excited to be home for some time and begin to see what having a home and life here in Georgia is really like.
Here are some of the pictures of Carlos' brother Eddies wedding...

Eddie is married! It was a great wedding, in Balboa
Park in San Diego. It was butt cold and windy but
it was very nice. To the point and simple. Just like him.

The girls have been dying to wear their new dresses
they got for the wedding. So at 7am I opened my eyes
to naked and asking for help to put her dress
on.

We did not take a family shot other than the one the
professional took. I am bummed!

She is for hire.

Either to take the pictures or to pose for them.

The Whittaker's

Here comes the bride

I know these pictures are a week late but I finally got my camera back and here are my favorite shots that I got that night. 

The Sanner's

The best looking friends ever!

Then my favorite shots! Defiantly frameable!

Bribery

Our travels have sent us all over the west, however this
past stop was a one of pure thought out bribery on my
sisters behalf. You see we were driving from Fresno
which is in Central California all the way down to
San Diego which is pretty much on the boarder of Mexico.
In the middle is LA which is where my sis resides. I did not
think I was going to have time to visit due to the length of the
the drive we had ahead of us but my sis added an
incentive. She said she would go and pick up our Nannan
and have her at her house if I came by. She is
sneaky but I am so grateful for it. I was able to see my
sis, grandma and also the cousins could play. It was a
good day!

I am getting tired

My grandma and I left Tahoe this morning and headed
to Fresno where I spent the day with the Hales. I wish
I had more energy because I feel like a bump on a log.
Jacinda is awesome, she plans out family nights every
Wednesday night. Tonight we did cowboy night. It
was so much fun. I really miss living in Cali and having
friends at my finger tips.

My Brother and Tahoe, how can it get any better?

What a day

What a day...
Woke up in Riverside, went to breakfast with some of my favorite people.
Left around 10am, drove to Pasadena to pick up my grandma.
Drove to Burbank to drop off the rental car I had.
Drove to Fresno. Ate at dog house. :)
Drove to Prather and had a birthday for my dad.
What a day.

My grandma and mom were yelling at my dad for taking
a bite of this with the candle still lit. I thought it was
funny but they didn't. H

Welcome!

Well I forgot my camera in Arizona so I have nothing to show for my day yesterday. Hopefully later this week you will get some catch up blogs of the wedding.

I am in Riverside. I arrived at 1:45am last night, there is something a little silly about me. When I crossed into the California boarder I just grinned from ear to ear all the way in to the IE. It was completely black, I could not see a thing but it felt good to be back.

Once I got in bed California was good to me and decided to welcome me with this...



Just a little Califonia love. Yep two earthquakes while I sat there wide a wake!
H

Nature Walk

We took advantage of the different terrain and took a cactus hunt hike.
This is what we found.
   

   
Lesson Learned: Don't go hiking in flip flops in the dessert.

Fountain Hills, Ohh La La

Where are the tree's, where's the grass?

I tried to tell him...

That this was for lunch.

This is my view as I type in a 3 million dollar home.

I know it's tough folks, but someone's got to do it.

Flying Solo

Well if you read Carlos' blog you know that he is milking this trip of mine for all its worth. His single fatherhood is going to be rubbed in my face for years to come, but it makes me laugh.
I have to say flying solo with two kids is worth a trophy or two. Here was our day,

When you have kids you HAVE to pay a sky cab! There
is no better investment!

It began right from the start!

I was worried that Sohaila was not going to be here to be
my little helper but look who filled the shoes.

She even became the photographer.

Adorable!

All this and just me. Gold Metal?

Finally a sleeping child!

Are you jealous yet?

But we are here and I am so excited! H

Guess What's For Dinner?

Oh its a joyous day when you get to go through it knowing your tummy will be full of this by night fall.
What's your place of happiness? Tell me place and location. Ahh, it's a good day! H

Bringing LA to the ATL

Well so much for southern hospitality, I know ATL is not really southern, at least that is what everyone tells me. And well I would have to agree. We have not had an overwhelming difference in NICENESS since being here. So we deciced. No, not we. I decided I was going to show these southerners how to be kind. Its called welcoming the new neighbors. So we made cookies and met our neighbors this afternoon. Carlos complained the whole time but I am glad to know Gary, Murphy, Louanne, and Mary.

Chaos!

Wow, I can't believe it's time. I mean we need to be leaving in 9 minutes! So its really time! Our house is a disaster there has been no time to unpack. Our second shipment of stuff came late last night. Losiah is already at our friends house and the girls keep saying. "I'm gonna miss you"... tear at my heart! Eric and Angela are here and about to take off with our girls and us to the airport. I am excited for this journey. Scared of what God is going to reveal to me, nervous of what will happen, and thrilled to be challenged! So now I only have 6 minutes before we need to be pulling out of the driveway and my suitcase is not even zipped. I got to go. H