{Mike's Back....}

Okay, here's where we stand right now with Mike's back problem. He has 2 herniated discs. One is 7mm and the other is significantly less. He's been on limited duty for over a month now. He was "getting better" aka, the pain wasn't so bad for awhile there. He still goes for physical therapy twice a week, but it's getting worse now. Now the pain goes all the way past his knee and sometimes into his foot. He went to his GP yesterday because his limited duty doctor's note was that he go back on full-duty tomorrow....which wouldn't be good for anyone. His GP told him that he may be compensating for his pain with other muscles which can then cause OTHER problems. He's going to see another specialist and get a 2nd opinion. When he saw the first one, he was feeling better.....so he had suggested to just keep on with the physical therapy. Herniated discs CAN correct themselves. However, with the history of crappy backs that runs in his family, all the lifting that Mike was required to do as a child, the lifting of things in the Marine Corps, the constant sitting in the patrol car with the weight of the belt, being t-boned in his patrol car @ an intersection in April, physical altercations with suspects, etc. have all contributed to a pretty significant herniation. We'll see what the specialist says, but all we know is that Mike is in constant pain and he needs relief from the pain with something other than drugs. We'll keep you all updated as we learn new info! Thank you for your continued prayers for him!!

{Clean Craft Space.....Ahhhhh......}

(Any image can be clicked on for full sized one)The Basic Overview of my Craft StationAll my big tools and drawer units under my craft station. My PS3 tote that is FILLED with cardstock and patterned paper. And my Janome Sew Mini...perfect for crafts!Close up of my Stampin' Up and PaperTrey Ink cardstock as well as my pretty IKEA ribbon jars. All my punches are behind the jars because I want to wait until we buy our house to mount a bar on the wall for them.Background stamps, Making Memories rotating tool holder, Scor-Tape, etc.Close up of my rotating embellishment storage jars. It was a super cute spice rack from Sam's Club a few years ago that was modified to hold all my little buttons, brads, Swarovski crystals, etc. It's the BEST!

I'm so lucky that Mike supports my "habit"! All my friends and family support it as well....with gifts and $$$ for MORE supplies! I know everyone enjoys receiving my handmade cards/gifts so it makes it so much more rewarding for me! I can't wait until we buy our house so that I'll have a whole room just for crafts! It'll be nice to have it out of the "living space", though it does keep me close to my family while I'm working on all the projects I do.

{2008 Year in Review Movie}

If you have a dial-up connection (does anyone really have dial-up anymore?) this probably will NOT load for you. Enjoy a look @ 2008 in pictures....I didn't include anything from our Paso Robles vacation, since those pictures have been posted on the blog already.

{Happy New Year!!}

To our beloved family and friends....have a safe and Happy 2009! We're so blessed to have you in our lives! You bring such happiness and joy to our family & we look forward to yet another year of togetherness with all of you!

Love,
Mike, Michelle & Meghann

{A Few Photos from our Paso Robles Vacation}

When we were @ Hearst Castle, Mike saw this shot and thought it would be neat. It turned out REALLY well after a bit of adjustment in my Lightroom program. My non-believer husband points out an angel...and wants a picture of it! (It IS a naked one, so I'm sure that is why he pointed it out! Ha, ha!)Here we are standing outside of Mission San Antonio de Padua. This mission is located on an Army Reserve base, Ft. Hunter Liggett. It was really neat...it's been almost completely rebuilt, but it's nice because they did it to look as it would have back then, so it's nice and rustic.

Something interesting about Ft. Hunter Liggett is that you can actively hunt on the base. Hunting opportunities include: Elk, Wild Pig, Cottontail, Jack Rabbit, Bobcat, Coyote, Tree Squirrel, Quail, Duck, Dove, and Goose. I guess that's the "hunter" part of Ft. HUNTER Liggett, eh? These elk were just standing right along the road behind the fence. They all just stood and looked @ us while we took pictures. It makes me sad that people will be shooting at these beautiful animals one day.

When we came out of the Firestone Winery on Monday night, we turned around and this is what we saw! Isn't it BEAUTIFUL?? We couldn't believe what amazing pictures our Lord creates for us to enjoy. We had a great trip and look forward to our next one!

{The Walker Winos...}

After fighting it for years....we decided since we were staying @ the Wine Country RV Resort, and we are SURROUNDED by vineyards/wineries, that we would do some tastings. Well.....3 tastings later, and we now have a "collection" of 8 bottles of wine! Okay, okay....4 of them are the Firestone Late Harvest Riesling (which is a SUPER sweet dessert wine), 3 of them are White Rieslings (2 different vineyards), and the 4th is a Cabernet Franc Rosé. We HAD a 4th bottle of Firestone White Riesling, but somehow between Dan, Cindi, Mike, and Michelle....it was gone VERY quickly! I guess we have big wine glasses! Hee, hee! We went to the J. Lohr vineyard and bought only 2 bottles of Bay Mist White Riesling (1 for us and 1 for a fellow CHiPpie). We then went to the Firestone Vineyard which is right outside our RV resort. There is actually a vineyard path to it from the park, so you get to walk along through the vineyard....really neat! THAT is where the bulk of our wine buying took place. We found that we prefer their wine. There was a SUPER cute puppy @ the Firestone Vineyard named Charlie. A King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. He gets to go to work with his owner and has free run of the place. He's so sweet and friendly and since Cindi and I went tasting there twice, we got to know and love him! We definitely will not become wine connoisseurs, but we sure enjoy it!

{Hearst Castle Night Tour}

I thought I'd post a little photo slideshow of our Hearst Castle Night Tour. It was really difficult to take pictures because you can only use the lighting that's available, and obviously at night you don't have the benefit of light coming in through the windows. So, pardon some of the use of "fill light" to make things more visible. It was a WONDERFUL tour! We got to see so many places that we didn't see last time! We saw both bedrooms that Hearst personally used, we traversed a TON of stairs up & down and got to see the AWESOME kitchen! They had a full beer-on-tap bar there! Just a really great tour, I would HIGHLY recommend it....but maybe as a 2nd tour, since during the daylight you really get to see so much more of the outer structure that is just beautiful!

{A Few Trailer Pictures}

I thought I'd post a few pictures of our trailer. I'll probably add to this post later, when it's warmer outside and I can take pics out there too! We have a 2007 Jayco JayFlight, 27 foot Bunkhouse model. It's nicely upgraded and we LOVE it! We have decorated it with a "Surf Woody" theme and have acquired lots of decor in that motif. I recovered the headboard in the main bedroom as well as the outlet covers and valances in there. I had custom bedding made out of the same fabric for the full & twin bunks in the back (aka Meghann & friend's room). Michelle's parents have bought a few things for us along the way (2 of our tin signs and my newest, surf woody key rack--see picture of the door area, it's right to the left of the door), and we've gotten a few gifts from others as well. I LOVE my stained glass woody that we picked up in Seal Beach! We started a magnet collection of places that we've visited and have it on the hood above the stove for now. Mike is talking about putting up a metal piece just for the collection near the door, but for right now it'll stay where it is.

(Click on any image to see it larger)

{On the road....with the Walker & Hernandez Families!}

Well, we've arrived safely in Paso Robles, CA! It was a BEAUTIFUL day for traveling. The sun was shining, the skies were clear, and the traveling companions were....companionable! Hardly any traffic, just a nice easy drive. We stopped @ Mission San Luis Obispo, which was funny because we had to park on the street and feed a total of 5 parking meters with the 2 cars/trailers. The mission is okay....too much renovation for my taste, I prefer them to be more "original" looking. This mission is not as pretty as some that we've seen. San Juan Capistrano is still my favorite! We'll be seeing another one on Monday....

We're staying @ the Wine Country RV Resort, right in the heart of wine country! BOY, oh BOY! Are there wineries GALORE right around us! We're only about 500 feet from the Firestone Winery, which we plan on visiting tomorrow before Hearst Castle. And another one down the street that Mike's co-workers recommended. Since we don't drink wine, it should be fun to just taste a few different ones. Our friends DO drink wine, so they'll be a little more knowledgeable about it...good people to have along! More posts will come....it's just the beginning of vacation!

{Christmas @ the Castle}

During the Holiday Season, Hearst Castle presents an opportunity for visitors to experience the Castle as it might have been on Christmas in the 1920's or 1930's. The Experience Tour is an excellent tour to see many of the decorated rooms. Every December the staff at Hearst Castle works hard to decorate the estate for the Holidays, creating a special atmosphere that is sure to get you in the Holiday spirit. Christmas at the Castle is an event that is not to be missed and is fun for the entire family! The Evening Tour program includes Living History Docents dressed in 1930s period clothing along with the holiday decorations in many of the rooms. Two 18-foot Christmas trees fill the Assembly Room as Living History Docents dressed in 1930s period clothing socialize before dinner.

Well, we're off on vacation with friends! I'll be posting some pictures of the trip here once we're up there! We're so blessed to have good friends that we enjoy camping with! Thankfully we have about 5 families that we camp with, so there is always someone to go along with us! (Or us with them!)