The Move -Day 2 The longest day yet! From Salt Lake City, Utah to Barstow, California. What should have been a 8 hour driving day turned into a 12 hour day! It started out to be a sunny cold day with nothing but mind-blowing gorgeous views! The topography was all different kinds of mountain scapes, deserts 🌵, canyons, and plains. The 26’ UHaul towing a car hauler struggled at times up the mountain freeways. BUT! When we got just south of Vegas and entered California everything “went south “ ! GPS suggested an alternate route that looked harmless saving 30 minutes! We took the bait… Traveling 30 miles per hour on a two lane curvy, hills-and-valleys road for 12 miles of the 24 mile stretch. We came to a stop at the literal “end of pavement“ sign! Starring at a sand covered “dirt road” heading UP a mountain! It was getting dark, no cell phone coverage and no way to back up, risking a jack knife situation! I looked left… there was a sort of sandy “entrance” to something unseen. But, there was just enough room to make a circle over some low brush and turn around! We made it back to the freeway just in time to NOT be in pitch black darkness! We hit awful traffic adding another 2 plus hours ! Traveling out west is not for the faint of heart! Did I mention, the dead end road was named “ Sandy Valley Road”? Oh, GPS you’re so funny…

The Move Day 1 - We finished loading the truck and cleaning the house then drove across Wyoming to Salt Lake City, Utah! Today we drive to Barstow, California. Monday is the last leg of the trip to Vandenberg Air Force Base!

Part one of our trip out west to help Collin and Sydney move from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Vandenberg, California to continue his service as a Senior Airman. This week we all packed up their home and celebrated Thanksgiving! Tomorrow we load up the U-haul to make the three day two night trip. Counting our blessings. Stay tuned for part 2: The Move !

You might want to sit down for this post! Michael and I have some wonderful news… but first a bit of the backstory: Our Collin joined the Air Force 4 years ago. He and Sydney have been a couple since then. His contract was going to be up and they decided for him to re-up for a 5-year contract at his BOP (base of preference) Vandenberg Space Force Base in California! He and Sydney also made the decision to get MARRIED before the move and live on base. They “eloped” on August 12th (all parents were in the loop and happy about it!) What they didn’t realize, is that only a month into their marriage a surprise began to develop! YES, they are having a BABY!!!! We are so excited and happy for them. The baby is due June 12th! Michael and I had already decided to make a trip out to Warren AFB in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he is currently stationed, to help with the move! We are here now and packing up their home off-base. Soon we will begin the long road trip with a U-Haul truck pulling a car, driving the other car with their two precious dogs all the way to Cali! Collin was able to secure a three-bedroom home on base. We are so grateful to be able to help move them in, get settled before Christmas, and start to envision the nursery and other living spaces. What an exciting and special time… to be continued. (posted with permission from Collin & Sydney)

Easy dinner: I love keeping seasonal, fresh fruits and vegetables around, as well as proteins in my freezer. Tonight, I had pulled out a few chicken thighs from the freezer earlier in the day. I set the oven to 375 degrees. I cut the sweet potatoes into wedges and tossed them in olive oil. Put the thighs, potatoes, and some chopped sweet onions in a baking pan. I sprinkled a poultry spice blend (paprika, garlic, cumin) over everything as well as sea salt and ground pepper. (Drizzled some EVO over the chicken too) roast for 50-60 min. For the salad, I washed and chopped some red leaf lettuce, sliced some fresh pears, and red onion. Then drizzled some vinaigrette over it. And that’s it! Sooooo good 👍🏻 #bonappetit

A belated birthday celebration for our DiDi❣️ @dianesharp #sisters

The MOTH - My mom is writing a book of short stories from her years as an ESOL teacher! Her writing coach and editor, Ginger, suggested that she might bring one of her stories to the Moth storytelling contest. Mom and I went a few months back to see what the contest was all about. It is an amazing, important and fun experience to hear all different kinds of people tell their personal experiences with humor, vulnerability, inspiration and uniqueness! This month’s slam topic was “Yes Chef!”. She had a story about the hilarious journey of making a particular coconut cake. We went last night. She was ready and prepped knowing her name might not be drawn from “the hat”. There were 21 entrants so it turned out that she did not get to go up. But, they do a cool thing and have all the people whose name was not pulled, come up on stage at the end and just tell their opening line. (That is the video) I’m so proud of her and thankful for the inspiration she continues to be in my life! She’ll be back!

“My people” ARE my family! We had a great time at our bon-fire family gathering.

Update: I’ve been doing my personal physical therapy for my spinal compression and #spondylolisthesis. Today was the first time since I was in bed with pain for three-plus days, that I got some cardio! I walked 2 miles and feel good❣️#findingmymojo 💚

Improvisational Spaghetti Bake: I cooked some protein angel hair pasta, sautéed fresh baby spinach w/ pressed garlic, pulled some rotisserie chicken meat, and grated some fresh parmesan. I put the cooked pasta in a baking dish, placed the spinach and garlic on that. Next, I poured half of the jar of marinara (I love Raos) over it. Next I placed the pieces of rotisserie chicken evenly across the dish. I put big dollops of ricotta (about 5) on top of that and spread a bit with my wooden spoon. I poured the rest of the marinara over that and grated parmesan over the top of it all. I baked it at 350 * for 25 minutes uncovered. Then I topped each serving with fresh chopped basil and flat leaf parsley and a little more parmesan! Soooooo good : } #bonappetit

GUMMIES Day 1 BTS - I’m Executive Producer on a fun short film coming from two first time female filmmakers! @kellyanugent (writer/actor) and @sneharaoacts (actor/producer)! I love working with my filmmaking partner (who brought me onto this project) Director @robertpralgo and Co-Director @dieabeticrage Sound Bugsy @_dnzn_ , Camera (s) John Prew @reeljohnra And a shout out to my other filmmaking partner and friend Vandon Gibbs @graphitepictures for coming out to the shoot to say “Hi” ❣️ The rest of the cast and crew! More details and credits later, we have a Day 2 call time coming up! #staytuned