Hello from Yakima

We thought this article was worth passing along. 12 Tips to Keep Joy in the Holidays By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. December 5, 2008 The Christmas season is upon us once again, and once again we find ourselves balancing between our work or studies, hanging out friends, scheduling time with family, and maybe even attending a party or two. The Christmas tree stands are up down at the corner, where they magically appear every year, full of the usual perfect, green triangular symbols of the season. At some point though, in-between the parties, the family gatherings and the endless shopping crowds, the cheer of the holidays can quickly leave our rosy cheeks and send us into a downward depressive spiral. How do you keep that depression from affecting not only your mood, but the mood of others around you? And how can you keep the joy in the holidays and stop them from turning into yet another year of an endless parade of materialism? 12 Tips to Keep Joy in the Holidays 1. Be realistic and put the ...

We thought this article was worth passing along. Please have a "happy, enjoyable" holiday season. 12 Tips to Keep Joy in the Holidays By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. December 5, 2008 The Christmas season is upon us once again, and once again we find ourselves balancing between our work or studies, hanging out friends, scheduling time with family, and maybe even attending a party or two. The Christmas tree stands are up down at the corner, where they magically appear every year, full of the usual perfect, green triangular symbols of the season. At some point though, in-between the parties, the family gatherings and the endless shopping crowds, the cheer of the holidays can quickly leave our rosy cheeks and send us into a downward depressive spiral. How do you keep that depression from affecting not only your mood, but the mood of others around you? And how can you keep the joy in the holidays and stop them from turning into yet another year of an endless parade of materialism? 12 Ti...

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. There were a total of 10 of us and we feasted on an 18 pound turkey. We had a little mix up on the timing of the bird so our dinner was a little late in the day but the turkey and all the fixins turned out great. It was a day of football games, visiting and just enjoying each others company. Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving day together. Greg takes charge in the kitchen. Mom and Al looking as young as ever. Waiting for the turkey to get done. My brother, Andy and his son Seth Oh, Grandma, I love you....... Time to feast on the turkey and all the fixins. Serena, Jessica and Jackie work on making wine charms to give as Christmas gifts. Then it was time for some games. We played Mexican Train and as you can see in this picture Serena was doing very well. We had a really fun time together!!!

We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends. We are now off our diet and ready to feast! Can't wait for that pumpkin pie and whipping cream today. Well Happy Thanksgiving to you all. This is the kick-off for Christmas so get reeeeeeeady...............! I'm sooooooo excited and can't wait til it snows.

The weekend before Thanksgiving Laura and the kids came for a visit and helped us decorate our Christmas tree. Here are a few pictures of their visit which we enjoyed sooooooo much. Grandma shows Natalie and Andrew some ornaments for the tree. Grandpa, Natalie and Andrew put the garland on the tree. Now for the angel. And the stockings. Natalie and Andrew get a little pre-Christmas gift. And their Mommy does too. Natalie and Andrew were such a big help in putting our Christmas tree up.

Well over the past 5 weeks, Greg and I have been very busy dieting. We've been on a 6 week high protein diet - consuming 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. It has required alot of preparation but it's been worth it. The aim of this diet is to increase your metabolism so you can burn more calories, hence, lose more weight. We have both lost 10 pounds and are still loosing. We have 1 more week on the diet but we will still have a few pounds to loose. We are hoping with eating healthy, watching our calorie consumption and working out, the rest of the weight will come off. We will be going off the diet just in time for "Turkey Day"! Boy are we looking forward to some pumpkin pie and whipping cream. Yummmmmmmm!!

I saw this advice in a recent health email I received. Thought there was some very good advice here. We all need to have the confidence that "this too shall pass". ******************************************************************************************************** But there may be a silver lining in this cloudy sky. Experts have the following advice to help cope and lessen anxiety: Frank Farley, a professor of psychological studies in education at Temple University, said the four "C's" can help people cope. Stay calm. "Don't panic. People who panic do very dangerous things in their life," Farley advised. "Some amount of anxiety is healthy, because it motivates you to do things, but too much anxiety can interfere with your ability to think straight. Be cautious and careful and have confidence. "We have gone through financial crises and recessions, and we have always come out of them," Farley said. "Have confidence that we wil...

http://www.peanuts.com/comics/peanuts/greatpumpkin/trivia.html

This past weekend we took a quick trip over the mountains to the Seattle area for our granddaughter, Jordyn's 5 th birthday party. Before the party on Sunday, we enjoyed visiting with the kids and even got a chance to attend Jordyn's soccer game on Saturday. Here are a few pictures of our weekend with the kids and grand kids . We had so much fun! Enjoy! Jordyn is ready for her soccer game. Good luck "Bears". She is number 2. Jordyn taking a break from the game for a hot dog with her daddy. After the game Jordyn and Serena had fun in the fall leaves in their front yard. Such a sweet family - Josh, Kristi and our new grandson Lucas. Lucas will be 3 months old on October 16 th . On Sunday morning before her birthday party Jordyn opened a few presents from her Daddy and Mommy. This is the Hungry Hippo game she had really been wanting. She was so excited! Before Jordyn's birthday party got started the kids had fun playing the arcade games. From left, Natalie, ...

Joel is interviewed at the end of this video. For those of you who have not met Joel, he is JJ on the right. Enjoy. :) http://www.king5.com/video/index.html?nvid=289886

Please view this video regarding the "Army of Women" who are currently being recruited to volunteer for the research that will eradicate breast cancer once and for all. It was aired on The Today Show recently. I hope you will join this "Army of Women". The Love/Avon Army of Women is a national initiative to recruit one million women of every age, ethnicity, and breast cancer history interested in partnering with scientists and taking part in breast cancer research that will move us beyond a cure. As of today, 131,000 women have been recruited. http://www.armyofwomen.org/

There is a movement going on that is aimed at going beyond a cure for breast cancer. It's trying to recruit an "Army of Women", 1 million strong, that can help in the research to understand what causes breast cancer, move beyond a cure and end it once and for all. Please read the attached site in this post for information on how you can be included in that 1 million "Army of Women". They need women of all ages, ethnicity and risks - whether you have had breast cancer or not. You are needed now!! I have joined this "Army of Women" for my mother, my sisters, my daughters, my granddaughters - all future generations of women, in the hope that through this research, this disease will be eradicated once and for all. Please join me. http://www.armyofwomen.org/aboutus

Well Greg and I have been doing the annual physical/doctor appointments the past few weeks. We had to establish new doctors here in Yakima so it has taken a while to get in but we are just about finished and glad to get that out of the way. The weather has really changed. In fact, this morning it is actually raining. It's kind of a nice change and we sure need it around here. Very, very dry time of the year. The leaves are turning slightly and starting to drop. The temperatures are dropping too. The expected high today is only 77 degrees. It's been running around 85 - 90 up until now. By Wednesday, it is supposed to be a high of 67 during the day and dropping down to 34 at night. So fall and winter are definitely on the way. Which makes me think of the holidays and the possibility of snow at Christmas. It probably sounds strange to many of you but I am actually looking forward to seeing some snow this year. Greg isn't too excited about it but I sure am. A white Christmas -h...

Last weekend, we headed over to the Seattle area with my Mom and Jackie to visit the kids. Due to the distance between where our children live in the Seattle area and the short trip, I spent time with my kids and Greg met Laura and Melanie and the grandchildren at a park in Bellevue. They had a fun afternoon together. Sorry Greg didn't get any pictures. :( My Mom had a nice visit with her brother Dick and her nephew Willie who live in Bellevue and with Cindy and Andy, my brother and sister. They all had breakfast together on Sunday at Cindy's new apartment in Bothell. Recently, Jessica and Serena and Joel, Sarah and Jordyn moved into a new home in the Kent area. It's a beautiful, 2 year old, 4 bedroom Quadrant home. http://www.quadranthomes.com/about/ It's very spacious with lots of room for Jordyn and Serena. We are very happy they were able to find a home that could accommodate all of them; helping them to save on housing expenses which are extremely high in the S...

We took a road trip to Idaho and Wyoming over Labor Day weekend. My sister and her family live in Idaho Falls and have a beautiful cabin in Star Valley, Wyoming, just 50 miles from Jackson Hole. We traveled to Idaho Falls last Thursday with my sister Deannie and her husband Scott who live in Yakima too. Deannie is my sister who was diagnosed with breast cancer this year and just completed 6 months of chemotherapy. My sister, Martha, who lives in Idaho Falls had a great idea to throw a "barn dance" for Deannie to celebrate her fight against cancer. Deannie has for many years had a dream of some day having a barn dance and Martha wanted to make this dream come true. On Friday, the three of us spent the day together shopping and as you see in this picture below enjoying a glass of wine or two along the way. The barn dance was a surprise for Deannie so Martha and I had to keep her busy all day, as the party didn't start until 6:00 pm and she thought we were headed to the cabi...