Off to bed.

Too late to blog.

Up at 3:45am tomorrow morning to hike with Connie and Mary Kay.

Good night.

p.s. Katie was "4" yesterday!

This poem is about me!

I asked Susan if I could post her email I just read. I am not of service to get, I give to give, but when I get something like this I am so moved.

You made my day Susan. I love you.

p.s. Now get back to writing:-)

From: susan alvarez [mailto:suzeque321@bresnan.net]
Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 12:11 AM
To: Linda Jeffers
Subject: One a day!

Hi Linda! I am so envious of my sis' who get to be with you. I miss you lots

and in case I haven't said it often enough...I love you! You give and have

given me so much more than I could have ever wished or dreamed of...you help

me keep my self from running naked down the street (with my hair on fire and

out of the "bin"). Everyday I watch and learn something new. You are my

treasure! I was born an only child so every once in a while I don't want to

share you. Today's topis at my meeting was selfish and self-centered. I

picked the topic. But I fell out of myself pretty quickly today. So here's

your poem for the day.

Treasures

I am so glad to feel a part of your part

Don't know where that is, but it's a good place to start

Talking to you is like melting my soul

I can see all the lines and all of the holes

You fill up my heart and God takes me away

He then brings me back and I get to play

I'm happy and free and dressed up to dance

I willing to be and just take the chance

I'm brave and I'm strong and I know the way

I see little bread crumbs left every day

God leads me to water and I take a big drink

My mind wanders onward without me I think

I don't pay attention to thoughts in my head

they tell me I'm worthless and I should be dead

I silence the demons and put them in place

They're snarling and angry with shit on their face

It's all an illusion a disease of the self

You've brought me the courage to climb down from the shelf

I wish to pay forward and give it away

My soul seeks the answers each moment each day

I have thoughts to offer of God and His plan plan

My mind wanders onward when I take a stand

I do love this journey where ever it leads

Love is the answer it fills all my needs

It takes but a moment to walk out of the self

It's here in the moment that I wish to dwell

Where I am just happy to be so alive

There is a solution and how I do thrive

So I need to thank you for just being you

You're calming and brilliant and I like the view

So here's to the heartbeat that my soul does claim

One thing's for sure, I am not the same!

Love,love, joy,joy. happy, happy, Linda, Linda, bye,bye. Talk manana!

My peeps from Saturday and Sunday.

Tonight, following the meeting where Paula took her cake.
Happy Birthday Paula.
Cynthia, Connie and Paula.
The color burst originating upward from the distant San Jacinto mountains, just before the sun came up while on the Bump & Grind with Connie this morning.

Last night we all (Me, Ray, Connie, Paula, Cynthia and Dusty) went to see the Bill and Bob play in LaQuinta.
Cynthia, Paula and Connie.

Dusty and Cynthia.

New photos from Karen from our day in Big Bear.

Quincy and Karen
Karen, Sandi, Quincy and Linda
Quincy and Linda

A day in Big Bear at a Convention.

Quincy and Linda

Quincy was the Saturday, 9am speaker. She gave a fantastic planned program of recovery talk; she carries a great message of hope.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

A mini slumber party.

Connie and Paula are getting ready for bed. We leave for the San Fernando Valley tomorrow at 5:30am. My sponse, Debbie, is speaking at an all day Three Legacy Workshop.

Found photo of and for Ralph.

Ralph, Ray, Johnnie, Jay, and John.

Ralph has been asking me for the photo I took of him at the SFVAA Convention last January. Since then I've had two computer crashes and all my photos are no longer organized.

Today and tonight, while alone, I spent time searching, organizing and trying to make sense of the photo mess I have.

Enjoy Ralph. Sorry, the photo didn't turn out better. I must have been previously shooting in a very low light situation as I obviously forgot to change the ISO back down lower.

Home from the W2W weekend.

I'm just back from a wonderful weekend at Woman To Woman in Brentwood. There were about 25 or more of our family lineage of friends who attended this workshop weekend. We laughed. We were silly. We shared. We ate. I hiked with Tina Saturday morning and Gina Sunday morning. I must say I think this was my favorite year of all the 17 or so years I've been attending the all women weekend workshop. Why was it the best year? Probably because I was in the now, I was ok with me, I was ok with everyone else, I didn't feel the need to do anything but what I wanted to do. In essence, I was not in care taking mode. I was there for myself. I even took a nap.....wait....no, the nap took me. I passed out once my head hit the pillow around 2pm.....until Sandi came in my room to enter her room through our shared bathroom because she had locked her room door.

I enjoyed all the women I know and love who attended this year. I watched them all, young and older (20's to 70's!), have a good time with each other. Age wasn't a factor in who spent time with whom. I was a happy mom. A proud mom. Not to brag, but I have the best family of friends and on down the family lineage ever. Sorry if this reference to family and family lineage doesn't make sense to some of you reading my blog. I am trying to not reveal too much about how we all know each other. Anonymity you know.

So I bought a new Canon Lens. I took the photos below with this lens. I am not familiar with how to use the lens and not real clear what it does. I'm just shooting away trying to become familiar with it. I wish Carol Leigh lived closer. I do much better when someone is explaining things to me or I watch what they are doing.

Anyway, whether the photos are good or not, aren't these ladies the most BEAUTIFUL ladies ever! Antonia wins the contest of easiest to photograph. She loves the camera and is completely comfortable having her photo taken. In the future, when I hopefully someday study studio lighting, I'd love to practice shooting her. I like photographing people.

Milly
Angie, Quincy, Sarah
Paula, Katya, Alima, Tina, Linda
Katya, Paula
Jaime, Katya, Antonia, Gina, Paula
Jaime, Antonia, Gina
Antonia, Gina
Debbie
Karen
Annette, Milly
p.s. I'm off again tomorrow morning with Ray. We're going to Pebble Beach. Next Thursday we return home after having attended our Thursday night meeting - JTBP.

A poem Susan wrote the other day.

Susan's life mate, Rick, died of a masssive coronary heart attack a couple of weeks ago. Rick was Susan's love, her rock, her everything. Susan is lost.

Susan is a beautiful writer who doesn't usually write much, until now. The poem you'll read below, written by Susan in about 5 minutes the other day, is a sample of the gift of writing she has been given.

Photo taken: August 17, 2006


HOLD ME
by Susan Alvarez
(copyright 2009)

I wonder where the memories go
If they fade away
Deep within a subconscious tomb
Never to see the light of day?

Your face is growing hazy
My tears not brushed aside
I might be going crazy
Some part of me has died

I’ve never known this feeling
that burns inside my soul
I’ll never be the same
I wonder if I’m whole

I wake to find the morning
has come and leaves me here
In sorrow and in panic
It’s all so very clear

I try to plant my feet
so deep into Your ground
I know You have the answers
You know this pain I’ve found

God send me mighty angels
So I can rest my head
My heart so badly broken
Perhaps it’s me who’s dead


I know I must walk through this
and find the light again
I know your love is mighty
My God, my love, my friend

So keep me close beside you
and walk me through these doors
my empty heart is bleeding
and lying on the floor

I have no arms to hold it
or legs to walk myself
I’d rather be an object
and sit upon a shelf

But alas your love awaits me
and I will reach my soul
I’ll follow every bread crumb
you leave to make me whole

God thank you for your patience
for loving me in spite
of all the wayward journeys
I’ve followed in my life

Please wrap your arms around me
and keep me off that shelf
my world’s still full of wonder
about you if nothing else

 

Jim is 36!

L-R Ray, Jim, Jim's brother, Matt, and Perry hidden behind.
Ray and I picked up Perry in Palm Desert and we drove into the San Fernando Valley yesterday. We met Jim and his brother, Matt to drop Perry off with them.
I asked if I could take a photo of everyone right then instead of at the meeting later. Ray has just given Jim Jim's 36 coin.


Matt, Jim, Perry and Ray

Jim and Perry. Perry had just given Jim his birthday card.

Perry and Jim

Last Friday and Saturday with Paula and Katya.

Ray took this photo of Katya, Paula and me before leaving for dinner at Tipico's. Katya spoke at the ABC Club one block away from the restaurant. Katya gave a great talk.

So I'm eating clean right? As is Katya, Ray and Sandi (who joined us for dinner and the meeting). We're at the Mexican restaurant where the chips and salsa arrive as we are seated. On the food plan you get one grain or starch with dinner. Hmmmmm. I'm starving. I want to eat chips, NOW. But then if I eat the chips I can't have the tortilla with dinner. While going back and forth in my head..."Chips or Tortilla?"....I decide to lay out chips on the table in a circle the size of a tortilla to see how many chips I could have if I decided to choose to eat chips. Paula thought that was funny. I was quite serious! The tortilla won. Actually, I had two tortillas with my Fajitas dinner!!!!!


Katya feeling her oats heading up the Bump & Grind hill. Paula and I were dying in the 95 degree heat.


A nice lady took this photo of us on our way down from the top of the Bump & Grind hill.


Down from Bump & Grind, on the walk back to the car, I asked Katya if she wanted to carry my pack. She said, "Carrying it makes me walk funny."

1st Tuesday meeting at Milly's in Encino.

Hiding out from the rain drops before we could get in to Milly's.
L>R Taye, Linda, Angela and Sandi


In Milly's living room before our teleconference call to the out of town ladies.


Many thanks to Milly for allowing us to use your living room each month.

Saturday's hike photos. Eat your heart out.

I'm not complaining, I'm not feeling too sorry for myself, I'm not bragging..... but after getting home at 1:30am Friday night I got up at 5:30am to lead the 7 mile Mission Hills CC hike carrying a 26 pound backpack!

We 7 seven hikers on this hike decided this particular 7 mile section on the PCT is our favorite hike of all the hikes our Club has gone on.

Here is the link to photos from our four hour hike.

p.s. Once on Smugmug, after clicking the link above, you will notice another gallery has been added to my Smugmug photosite and I've posted to this new gallery the Debbie D. Talk photos from March 10th. Any of you who were at the talk and would like a photo, you may order photos from Smugmug.

I will be emailing out one group and one family photo in .jpg format to all who are in our family within the week.

Three photos from Tuesday night of our family lineage that was able to attend Debbie's Talk.

Our group shot of Ray's family and my family.

Ray's family.

Linda's family.

Debbie, Milly and Linda - 3 generations

Last night Ray and I hosted a 12 Step Talk given by my sponsor, Debbie, at the Just the Black Print meeting room in Sherman Oaks. Before the meeting, I asked to have my photo taken with my sponsor and grandsponsor, Milly. They are both my verbal, visual and emotional examples of how I want to be when I grow up.

3 photos taken over the past 3 weeks while out of town.

Hopefully this coming trip to LA for 3 days will be the last in a back to back travel phase.

Quincy's children,Sienna and Nicholas at the mall 3 weeks ago in the San Fernando Valley. And no, I did not have ice cream.

Me and my sponse, Debbie two weeks ago in Concord, near Oakland.
Tina seated next to me, in my attempt to capture a motion photo to submit for the last assignment in the online photo class. We are on the plane, headed home from a weekend in Oakland at PRAASA.

Karen's first 5 K race!

Karen spent the night last night. She got up early and drove out to the start of her 5 K race in Palm Springs.

When she arrived home sometime after 9am she was smiling, holding her race number and exclaiming, "I ran a 33:36 minute first 5 K!"

Bravo Karen.

I remember the days when racing was all I thought about. I asked Karen to sit down and share every detail from the beginning when she arrived at the race, including her thoughts and feelings during, to the finish. She didn't walk a step. After the first mile, she knew she could do the remaining two miles. She wasn't even tired at the finish.

It was so much fun watching and listening to Karen talk about her race as she realized how much more she can do than she thinks she can do. Boy, do I relate.

She's already got her second race, The Great Race of Agoura Hills, a 10 K picked out and even a possible marathon (before the end of the year!).

Next photo assignment - FISH.

While at the Zoo last week, I asked Stacy and Sandi to give me their best fish impressions in case I couldn't come up with 3 fish photos from my next assignment.

What do you think?

Thanks you two.

No time to blog, but a much needed break for a smile.

Catching up with some photos from last week.

L > R Taye and Linda

Taye and I had a blast at Balboa Lake last week. I'm sure everyone thought we were somewhat retarded in our childlike exuberance. We didn't care.

Next photo session will be at the zoo, February 3rd before the Baby Meeting.
All are welcome.