Pavlov's Law and Me

I've come up with the perfect description of myself when relating to holidays: I am seasonally sentimental. I get the butterflies when I think of the excitement of a new season. Not necessarily because of the official holiDAY itself... more so because of the few weeks that precede the coming holiday. I'm sure most, if not ALL women, can relate. For example:

Halloween: Visiting the pumpkin patch with a scarf & beanie on while sipping a hot pumpkin spice latte.

Thanksgiving: Eating WAY too much food for one day and topping it off with a slice of pumpkin pie & some coffee (cause there's always room for dessert) t

hen crashing on the floor for a super long nap to the sound of football & nieces and nephews running amuck.

Christmas: Shopping for presents in my winter boots while sipping a peppermint mocha... OR ...watching a movie on the couch drinking peppermint hot chocolate with the Christmas tree all lit up. (ooooh - just got the butterflies thinking about that one!!)

The common denominator in all of these: A specific wardrobe

and a specific food item. Shocking that my sentimentality comes at least 50% from my stomach. I think I need to change the title of my blog to: Food & Rachel instead of Mark & Rachel. To give myself some credit - food isn't the only stimulus that gets me salivating for a coming season; movies or TV shows can also trigger sentimental butterflies in me.

Whenever I see a long awaited first kiss on a show, like when Rachel finally gets all 50 locks open and she and Ross share their first kiss outside the Central Perk coffee house, I get the strong urge to share a moment like that with Mark. He always gets a good laugh when I get into this mode... he knows exactly what I want at that moment and starts laughing at me before I even get a chance to land one on him. Then of course, the moment is more laughable that it is sentimental.

All to say - Pavlov's Law seems to have proven once again through me. I don't salivate at the sound of a bell, but I sure do at the thought of a coming holiday! Happy fall!

A new fall favorite to add to the list: Apple Cider Beer. Not sure how many pumpkin patches will serve that... but we lucked out this year!!

Patio Pool

Mia swimming at 6 weeks...
Mia swimming at 6 months.... =)

It’s safe to say Mark and I are in a transition. Our lives have definitely gone through an incredible amount of “brand news” over the last year… particularly the last 6 months. Let’s see… we added a new mini member to our family, Mark started a new career, we moved to a brand new city, and I am a new stay at home mom. As if these changes weren’t enough, we are also trying to hang on to our first home in Indio by renting it out while also paying the remaining mortgage balance & rent to our new mini-home.

You see, after being spoiled in our much loved 4 bedroom home with it’s own pool (gotta love the cost of living difference in the desert!), we have transitioned into a 1 bedroom 900 square foot condo. So with the combination of a mortgage, bills, AND an apartment rental, we are learning to live a much simpler life by obligation. Simpler in almost every area of our lives. Our date nights have changed from frequent visits to our favorite sushi restaurant, Chomp, to a night in meal of frozen pizzas. My favorite mena-je-tua wine has been replaced by two buck chuck. And Mia’s swims have gone from our backyard Jacuzzi to her bathtub on our 3^rd floor patio deck.

But I gotta say…Mia doesn’t seem to mind the change. In fact, I think she prefers her patio pool to the big 4 foot deep Jacuzzi. She gets to sit up and play all by herself, without her floaties, and without mom having to hang on to her all of the time. Plus… I get to hang out and play on the computer & enjoy a glass of cheap wine while she “swims.”

At the risk of reaching… I’m gonna say Mia’s complete enjoyment of her patio pool versus the backyard spa is a great example to Mark and I. While it was nice to have all of the “stuff” back in Palm Desert, we are spending a lot more time enjoying each other at home, realizing what’s important, and relying more on God for our daily needs. And I gotta say – He has blessed us with more than we could ever imagine. So even though we are going through what some may refer to as a “struggle,” we are very thankful for all that we’ve been given & are learning a lot through all of this.

Ahhh the insight gained from a cheerful baby in her patio pool.

the Roseville diet

I am a social eater. This is a fact I think I've known for a long time, but has recently really sunk in. Every time I visit Bellflower I seem to head back home having gained at least 5 pounds... no exaggeration. And I can't blame the people I'm visiting - it's all me! For whatever reason, when I want to visit with someone, anyone, there has to be something to chew on or drink. Why? I haven't a clue. At first I thought maybe it's because I do my visiting over mealtimes... but not always so. If it's not a meal time, I'll meet with someone over coffee... a glass of wine... yogurt... something edible. Is it because I need a buffer if I'm out of conversation? Doubtful - I don't think I'm ever out of words. (One of the wonderful things about being a woman.)

Whatever the cause, I know I'm not alone. I think most people have social eating habits.... no one ever turns me down for the opportunity to talk and eat! Probably because both things are wonderful; two of God's greatest gifts: great friends & good eats. And to be honest, it's one of my favorite things to do - so it's not a habit I'm too eager to break. However, if this weight gain pattern continues, I'm going to have to start meeting people over exercise. (I can count on one hand the number of people in my social circle who'd be up for that, by the way. )

What's really sad is that my behavior in this matter affects those I do my social eating with! My sister Lisa informed me as we were enjoying some cupcakes late last night and I was complaining to her about my Bellflower weight gain, that she also gains weight when I'm in town. Apparently I'm an inspiration for indulgence. Great. The good news is I have only one good friend in Roseville, and she has absolutely no sweet tooth and more will power in her pinky than I do in my entire being. No social eating there. This moving thing may just be the baby weight cure I've been looking for.

Well I'm off... going to meet my sister in law for some happy hour at Claim Jumper. =)

"Home"

I always LOVE visiting Bellflower. There are so many familiar faces I get to see - both sides of the family and tons of friends. And it wouldn't be aBellflower trip if there wasn't at least one person from the "dutch mafia" who I had a full conversation with about my family and my life in Sacramento and walked away having no idea who they were. That's one of many things I love about the dutch mafia - everyone knows & cares about everybody's business...particularly the older generation of dutch. It probably doesn't sound so wonderful to someone who is outside of it, but it's so neat to know that hundreds of people in this little no-big-deal city, most likely with the last name prefixed with a "van" or "de" and ending in a "sma," know all about your family history, have grandparents who were lifelong friends of your grandparents, and are praying for you and know all about where you are in life, even though you don't know them at all. I also love that any one of these people can look at you and automatically identify what last name youbelong to.

I was able to have one of these conversations today with some lovely women at the VC elementary campus. I walked in the office doors & they new exactly who I was and who my little Mia was. They asked questions all about both sides of the families..."how are your brother & sister in law doing in Portland? How are all the new babies? I bet your mom is loving it!" Indeed!! Of course, any VC campus is a prime candidate for hosting many of these generational dutchies. Why was I there, you ask? Bringing little Colinator a birthday Burger King lunch, of course! My baby boy nephew is already 7 years old today! I also got the privledge of bringing the birthday girl, my niece miss Kaylie boots, to preschool today with a plate full of pink hello-kitty cupcakes.

Getting to do all of these little things is why I love to visit here. It's funny... Mark &I haven't lived in Bellflower for almost 2 1/2 years already, and God only knows if we'll ever be moving back. But we still refer toBellflower as "home." It's like the Cheers theme song..."Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name..." I imagine Bellflower will always be "home" no matter where we end up.