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.