Tonight — this is really difficult.

(My husband Peter and his father Piet on our wedding day.)

Read the rest of this entry →

Weight Watchers is hard.  Well, maybe not for everyone — but it is for me.  Let’s face it — I’m a Cake Girl.  Somebody make sure that gets written on my tombstone one day.  I want those “lookie – loo’s” wandering through the cemetery of the future to get a REAL sense of Who I Was.  “Diane, Cake Girl.”

Read the rest of this entry →

WhatsApp is a fabulous service.  It’s another one of those simple things that helps bridge the gap across the ocean and brings my family closer together.  My brother Doug lives in Spain with his wife Paloma and their two kids, Sylvia (4) and Ian (1).

My WhatsApp chatbox was full of J.O.Y. today.  Little Ian took off on his own this week and is w.a.l.k.i.n.g.   What’s abundantly clear is that Sylvia is enjoying her little brother Ian’s success j.u.s.t. a.b.o.u.t. as much as he is!

#JoyRising #100happydays (96/100)

Ciao  (and Adios!) for now…..Diane

It warmed up today (55 degrees!) and melted the snow!  Then….. it started to rain.  🙁

I know….let’s take a mental field trip to Kailua, HI and admire the mokes.

There.  That’s better.  #100happydays (95100)

Ciao for now….Diane

Because selling a house is STRESSFUL, and negotiating with total strangers through realtors is FRUSTRATING….I’m going straight for a happy thought today.

TURTLES!   Hawaiian Turtles!   and their pals…yellow fish!    Oh turtles and yellow fish are sooooo ZENnnnnnnnn!  I feel better already.  #100happydays (94/100)

Ciao for now….Diane

Happy Valentines’s Day <3

Over the years, Peter and I have really mellowed to the idea of Valentine’s Day.  We just don’t feel the need to add any pressure to our lives….in order to create some B.I.G. symbolic event around something that we know every day.  We Love Each Other.  We Are Each Other’s Valentine, Soul Mate, Lover, Friend, …. all nouns apply.  That’s what working on a good marriage gifts to you.  You do the work..you get a valentine e.v.e.r.y. y.e.a.r  🙂  It’s the simple things that grow our love.  Those are the things I treasure…. in February….and March….and April….all year long.

Read the rest of this entry →

When I was 16 years old, I asked my mom if I could have my own phone in my room.  For you youngsters (including my daughters), back then most homes has 1 phone line – that means just 1 little ole phone number that everyone’s friends, family, work and school would call to reach everyone in the family.    I KNOW, CRAZY, right?  How did we survive??

Read the rest of this entry →

Today, I am unemployed 11 days (but who’s counting 😉 right?)  Look, I don’t wish it on anyone, the stress alone is hard to manage — but I continue working to keep my “Zen” about me,  choosing to believe that something great is coming.   The ‘not knowing’ is HARD.   Selling our home, ‘not knowing’ where we are moving … IS HARD!  But there is another side of the HARD coin.  And that’s the promise of a new job.  The excitement of a new home.  The serenity of a newborn happiness.   Ahhh, GIMME that HARD.  I’ll eat it for lunch!

Anyway….until then.  Until the new “great” comes….I’m looking for the bright side.  Today’s bright side?  Well…..I slept in….until 9:00am!  WHAT THE???

Oh yeah!  I slept so long, I woke up with a sleeping beauty headache!  I haven’t slept that long since….[data is missing]…since who KNOWS!  All I can say is, I’m going to e.n.j.o.y. the mornings I can sleep in and catch up on ALL those mornings I woke up before 5am to go to work.  I’m going to l.o.v.e. these mornings that I don’t have to set the alarm clock…..and still hope they are as few as possible.  #100happydays (91/100)

Ciao for now…..Diane

Up early today for my annual screening mammogram.  Oh yea — it isn’t comfortable, it takes a little bravery and your ability to put your modesty away — FOR THE BENEFIT OF YOUR LIFE!  You are SO WORTH IT!

Do it ladies.  Get your annual mammogram.  Love yourself today!  My technician was lovely, capable, caring and quick!  I bet yours will be too!  Deep Breath!   #100happydays (90/100)

Ciao for now….Diane

Ash Wednesday is upon us, and I am so ready for it.   For the season of Lent, I am giving up coffee.  I did it for the first time last year, and experienced such a clarity of mind once I rid myself of my dependence on coffee.  Why did I start drinking it again???  Unclear…but noted!

So this morning, I had a warm, rich, cup of tea in my bumblebee cup.  Such good things are coming this season!

“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  #100happydays (89/100)

Ciao for now…Diane