Faith

I'm not sure that I have enough faith or trust in myself when making life decisions. Perhaps I rely on others to make the difficult decisions for me.

Does your mind, whether it be conscious or subconscious bring to light those things that you typically don't think about but maybe should? You know how at some point something that you rarely thought about before comes to the surface and then there are a million signs that come to you through things such as songs, movies, television shows, commercials, etc... that make you aware of that one thing. Are these signs and how do you know what these signs are really telling you to do? And when you figure that out, do you follow what you think they are telling you to do? At what point is a sign really a sign and at what point is it purely coincidence?

When you need answers to questions, who do you ask? Do you pray to a divine power and if you are saying "yes" - isn't the divine really just a part of your subconscious mind which brought this about in the first place?

Did I just answer my own questions?

Weird Science

I like to cook. Actually, I like to cook A LOT and I am good at it. My friends and family love to eat my creations as I can create my own recipes and or I can eat something at a restaurant and come home and re-create it. From simple appetizers to the most difficult meals - I can do it. The thing I like about cooking is that it's not an exact science. Toss in a little of this, some of that, you know what I mean. Cooking to me is a creative outlet.

Today I found out (the hard way) that baking, unlike cooking anything else, has to be exact! You can't skimp on flour or baking powder or any other ingredient and I mean not at all.

I think I will stick to cooking.

Christmas Letters

You know how everyone sends out those letters at Christmas that tells you all about their family and what has happened over the year? Well, when you don't have kids and aren't technically married you miss out on the fun of creating these family newsletters. I think if Skip and I created one of those and sent it out it would look something like this:

Well it's been one of those busy years again in the Burbank / Robinson household. Skip and I are both still working for Wells Fargo, Skip is going on 10 years and I am touching 15 - can you believe that? Skip has worked his way up to Program Manager and is the senior team member in our department. I am so proud of him. We both feel very blessed to have our jobs in the Mortgage division with all of the struggles this industry felt this year.

We are all enjoying our new home. Lucy and Joey love the huge back yard and I especially love the lemon, orange, grapefruit, olive trees and the garden. We have been able to make so many treats just by visiting the back yard! The pool and hot tub are an added bonus to the house and Skip is just crazy about the 5 car garage (like we needed that with only three cars)!

Joey turned 10 this October and she is still just as feisty as she was when we got her. I tell you, if you don't have her cheese laid out for her and her water filled up to the brim in her coffee mug she will let you know that she is not happy! Meow, meow, meow! She is so mouthy sometimes (like her Father :)) but we love her just the same.

Our baby Lucy turned 1 in August and we had a party for her. All of her cousins and friends came and brought her gifts; what a blast! She is in school at Camp Bow Wow and she goes three times a week and loves it! She has made a lot of friends at the park also - she is such a social butterfly (like her Mother). She loves playing with her big sister although Joey isn't always happy to have her sister tagging along after her! For the most part they get along well and you can tell they love each other very much.

That's a wrap for 2008, we hope this year brought you and yours as much love, laughter and happiness as it did us and we wish for you an amazing 2009!

Love from our house to yours!
Skip, Janeal, Joey and Lucy

Yep, I think people would finally realize how completely insane we are!!

Christmas in AZ

It's that time of year in the Robinson / Burbank household... Ok, it's that time of year in EVERY ONE'S household, however; this year for us isn't quite as frantic. Since I have had a bit of extra time I have everything ready for Christmas and then some. This can be good or bad because I feel like I need to have some sense of urgency to get everything done so I keep adding new things to our plate (Skip loves that about me ). So on top of the gifts that I bought for everyone and their dogs (literally - we buy for all the pets) they will also get home made lemoncello, marinated olives off my trees and home made organic dog cookies - not to mention, everyone is coming here next week to decorate their very own gingerbread house - which I baked. For more reasons than one, we are both hoping that I don't have quite as much time on my hands next year!

The Fab Five!

Well, it's that time again... It's the time of year when you hear all out blessings (it starts at Thanksgiving dinner and goes through New Year resolution time). As I was playing Martha Stewart yesterday and preparing for Christmas at our house I started thinking about how I am blessed and I came up with 5 big blessings:

1. Debbie - My longest friendship which spans almost as long as my lifetime. We are family every bit as much as we are friends. She makes me laugh with out even trying and she makes me cry whenever her big tender heart brings tears to her own eyes.
2. Jen - I have known her the least amount of time but know her the best. She is the strongest woman I know and she seems to be able to conquer anything thrown her way. She is inspirational to me and don't forget, she has provided me with the children I couldn't have.
3. Em - She has this uncanny knack of knowing when I need her and finding a way to show up, even if it is just a text message. She is one of the funniest people I know and she can give even me a good run at a talk off!
4. Sandy - She reminds me that "things are what they should be". She is the spirituality that I need in my life. I love her outlook on all aspects of life and when I need a good uplifting book recommendation I go straight to her!
5. Amy - Here is the one that matches me in being a free spirit. Nothing can bring Amy down, she has such a amazingly sweet and open spirit about her that is obvious the first time you meet her.

So you see, it is the tenderness, strength, humor, spirituality and easygoing qualities of these 5 women that I strive to find in myself everyday. From California to Florida and even in between, we manage to stay a close as if we live in the same house. I am truly blessed to have the Fabulous Five in my life.

Packing up!

My doctor started me on new medication a week ago. She really felt like this, combined with the others would make a difference... so she gave me two weeks worth of samples, a script and told me to come back in two weeks. I have taken the pills for a week now and I think I am finally starting to feel better. Could this be the right mixture to heal me so I can get on with my life??? YAHOO! That was, however; until I went to Target to get my prescriptions filled (i love the bottles and I picked purple as my color!) and discovered that my new miracle pill costs $439.00 for a 30 day supply! Are you fucking kidding me? But wait.... I have insurance, this shouldn't be a problem. Ok - so my portion is $270.00 for the 30 day supply. So the question is... do I move to Canada or Mexico?

Realization!

I have a lot that I want to get done today, mostly cleaning up around the house after a crazy holiday weekend. One thing that absolutely had to be done was cleaning the windows in the family room. Now - let's talk about these windows....6 windows each spanning 4 feet wide and 7 feet high. Yes, my family room is basically a greenhouse! The view from these windows is amazing. The pool that sparkles in the sunshine, olive, orange, lemon, lime and grapefruit trees each bearing colorful fruit, beautiful flowers and foliage everywhere - truly stunning. However; it has been a little hard to appreciate the view because the windows have been SO dirty. I'm not talking a little dirty, they were disgusting! The outside of the windows have an excuse.... they have gone through monsoon season, the inside - who knows??? They were just damn dirty! So I spent about an hour cleaning the inside and just in case you want to know - dish soap and water to wash them down and a clean cloth to dry works so much better than any cleaning product such as Windex. Then I make the trek outside, grabbed the hose and went to work. I hosed down each window and every time that I sprayed the water the most beautiful rainbow would appear. The glory of this life is that you can find beauty in even the dirtiest jobs!