A Surprise in the Making

Graeme and I are in the process of creating what we are going to get/create for our loved ones for Christmas. This little display of love is part of some of their surprise and truly just a shout out to Graeme and his incredible skills in the kitchen. 

This is a celebrated chocolate cake within Graeme's family called Dana's Chocolate Cake. The recipe itself is pretty simple, yet ever so good! If you want to make it yourself you will have to translate its measurement as they are all in the metric system! Enjoy!

1 2/3 cups flour

1 1/2 baking soda

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups trim milk

100 g butter, melted

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Filling/Icing-

100 g butter

250 icing sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

milk to mix

1 tsp vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (I translated that portion for you :)). 

Grease loose bottom cake tin and line the base with a greaseproof paper. Mix all the main ingredients together and pour into prepared tin. Bake for at least 50 minutes. The cake will rise a lot and when cooked the center should spring back when gently pressed. 

To make the filing/icing, mix butter and dry ingredients together, adding a dash of milk and mixing together again, adding tiny amounts of milk until you achieve a thickish, soft, spreadable icing. Once finished add vanilla to the mix. 

Once cake has cooled spread filling/icing to your hearts content. 

4th Of July Pinterest Project

Summer isn't over just yet, so I thought I would finally blog about our 4th of July creations!

I saw these a couple of months back on Pinterest and I knew I wanted to make it my goal to make these for the 4th of July party we were going to and thought they would be the easiest thing to create and take!

Creating them really wasn't all that hard, I had found this ideal recipe (again on Pinterest) for the rice krispie treats and putting the fruit on skewers wasn't hard, just a little time consuming, but that was expected; it all came down to the transporting them that made it a bit rocky. I had purchased green planters foam for them to stick into inside the cute red tin I had found, but because the rice krispie treats were just a tad too heavy some of them started to "fall" off the sticks.

Overall they were a huge hit, super yummy, and no one really minded eating "fallen stars". If you want to try this fun little creation yourself even just for a random day no where close to the 4th of July look no farther than here.

Our Big C

No one is really prepared when you hear the word cancer in relation to those that we love.

Cancer sadly is a part of a lot of people's daily lives, I know, but nothing could have prepared me for that day in April when I got the call that someone I love very much was going to have to fight in a way they never had before. My Dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer on April 27, 2012; and yes, it is one of the most treatable kinds of cancer, but to me all I could hear were the words, "it's cancer Heidi".

The days and weeks to follow were a couple trips back and forth to the central coast, crying, lots of phone calls, crying, research, writing, more crying, and prayer. Over the months I really became numb to the whole situation and really just started to operate in cruise control mode, until a choice was made to which route he would fight.

July would be the month of his surgery, they would open him up, remove the cancer, and call it a day.

July has come and gone and that early Thursday morning seemed to drag on like no other day, but it all went well and they got it all! Some of the best news one could hear, but it was the days following that really showed me what I was made of and capable of. I learned how to be a "nurse in a pinch", communicate effectively in stressful situations, and learn to love my parents in a whole new way. I made a couple of new friends and I realized I just can't control or take care of everything no matter how hard I tried.

One of my new favorite friends is Piper. She was my Dad's main nurse and truly such a thoughtful, caring, attentive individual. Come to find out her life had been impacted by cancer as well. Just a couple of years ago her husband lost his battle with cancer and because of the interactions with his nurses and the lack of interaction, she thought she could do a better job and went back to school for her nursing degree. It broke my heart to hear her share this story, but I was so thankful for her story too, that she chose not to roll over and die herself after losing the person she loved. She chose to make a difference in those who were fighting the same fight she and her husband had. I loved getting to know Piper, seeing her put up with my Dad and his stubborn side, along with dealing with my somewhat overbearing Mum. She's an incredible person and if it were only for this reason for my family to meet Piper and get to know her, it would make sense in a strange sort of way.

Cancer has been around my life, but now it has been a part of my life, and will continue to be as Dad gets his regular check ups and tests, but like so many other things in this life it doesn't define me or him. It just changes you and impacts you in a way I think most of us are never prepared for.

On a lighter happier note...this is Max. Since he couldn't come to the hospital with us, he wanted to make sure to send Dad a get well and come home soon bouquet...

Local Travels

Grae and I have some major set goals for us financially for us over this next year, so it has caused us to be creative about taking time away from Orange County. So a couple of weeks ago we had the chance to go up to Santa Barbara. This was a duo purpose trip with getting a chance to see my parents while showing around some of Graeme's friends who were visiting from Australia. 

We drove up the coast to Santa Barbara and this is a place that I have spent a ton of time in especially with one of my best friends having lived there for several years. Every time I had the excuse to stay with her for a couple of days I took it. The Santa Barbara I knew with Rachel was the home-grown, little secret hangouts, the Santa Barbara away from the beach. The Santa Barbara we got to experience was a bit more of the touristy State Street part, which had its own fun parts to it. 


We had lunch at a cafe right on the beach (literally our table was on the beach) with seagulls snatching up the lady's sandwich right next to us! After lunch we explored State Street, walking down the pier and looking through all the little shops that reside at the end of the pier. Graeme and I then went and explored a couple of the hotels just for the fun of it, because who knows when we'll be coming back and want to stay a few extra days!

Vegas in 48 Hours

A couple of weeks ago Graeme and I got the chance to celebrate two good friends and their union into marriage. For this wonderful event we traveled to Las Vegas and this would be Graeme's first time to Sin City and I couldn't wait to see his reaction.

Our adventure started by having to taxi on the airstrip in Vegas till our gate was cleared while sitting in front of the party row; informed the whole plane they had been drinking all day to prep for their weekend...brilliant idea.

Once we got out of the plane and into the terminal Graeme's first statement is, "there are slot machine's in airport?" I knew going forward this was just going to be so much fun to see his shock and awe face and it totally was! Our weekend continued on with people watching in the taxi line for about an hour, walking down the strip late at night, getting to see the human body exhibit (that Grae is still talking about!), celebrating with Tiffany and Larry in the "world's largest limo", and getting to see the Bellagio fountain go off!

It was a great jaunt over to Vegas and I think Grae had a pretty good time himself and is still in a bit of shock from the whole experience! Enjoy a few snapshots of our adventure!

Celebrating Life

My family as a whole is going through a lot right now. Empty nest syndrome, health concerns, college tuition issues, the teenage years, things that come with aging, and more. Some are easy to laugh at, some have caused us to get angry, and others just leave us in a state of shock; but all in all there has been something sweet about coming together as a family and being there for one another through each situation.

Graeme and I traveled up North to spend time with my parents, to say goodbye to a dear friend, celebrate my Grandpa and Uncle's birthdays, along with celebrating my Mum for putting up with my Dad and I all these years!

It was a truly a fantastic trip and I have to say that I don't think Grae and I were expecting that with all the things that were going on with the family. I had just come back from a work trip in Vegas that week and so getting to spend 10+ hours in the car with Grae was fun, just getting to catch up and talk about our summer/future plans. Spending time with my parents was sweet and being able to help around the house and cook brunch for Mum for Mother's Day did a bit of spirit lifting for he and I.

Yet, I think it was my Grandpa's birthday that was the most shocking fun part of the whole trip. I was under the impression that my family knew Grae and I were coming with my parents, but when we arrived everyone was in shock with lots of shouting and hugging. My Grandpa had the best reaction, laughter and tears and his wife was pretty sweet too, not believing that we had made the trek to spend the afternoon into the evening with all of them. Getting that time is rare and it made me love my family all the more. They are these creative, generous, stubborn, loud, and most loving bunch I could have ever asked for. They love me whether I have shown up to these or events or not these past 15 years and they have embraced Graeme in a way like he has been a part of their lives this whole time. I love them so much for that alone.

For coming off a very long week and jumping right into what would be a long weekend, it was a ton of fun, with memories that will be tucked away for those rainy days when I miss them the most.

April Showers Bring May Flowers...

Though we didn't get a ton of April showers, these May flowers sure are pretty! Graeme and I had fun little adventure down to the Carlsbad Flower Fields, can't believe it was my first time!

After we went to the flower fields we stopped in San Clemente to have lunch and we found this "vintage" type sweet shop that had some of our favorite kiwi candy and we decided after a mini adventure like that we should get flowers for the house too! 

Ever Have One of Those Days?

The photo below is one of several from this ever crazy day, but it captures the fact that I was going to be in way TOO deep a couple of Fridays ago. 

So most of Orange County experienced the crazy down pour for a solid three or four hours on this Friday, but I really got to experience it. 

Grae and I were still house-sitting on Friday and I had been working from this house all week, but I needed to go into the office on Friday to ship out a couple items and take care of some things that I could only do there. I had planned on taking "lunch" at noon, but because of a lot of changes at work I ended up knocking off around one. I knew I needed to walk the dogs before I left and it was only sprinkling at this point. I had just finished getting ready (with the exception of putting on makeup, I figured there was a chance I would get sprinkled on so what was the point, I'd have a few minutes when I got back in). 

The girls (Maui and Cali; two very beautiful boxers), got around the corner and that is when I saw it, the "wall of rain" I was standing under dry sky and suddenly we were getting pelted with golf ball size rain drops. They freaked out and started pulling every direction, when I finally got them composed a bit we bolted down the back alley and into the back way of the house. At this point it was too late, I was soaked all the way through; sweater, t-shirt, socks, shoes, the water mark on my jeans is up to my knees. I told Graeme it was one of the craziest weather experiences I have ever had, just because I watched it coming right at me. 

After laughing at the fact that I just had taken a shower, I changed, put my makeup on for the first time (smart me! ha!) and headed out the door. Instead of going straight to the office, I went to our apartment to grab my rain boots, just so I wouldn't have to bother with getting my feet soaked again. 

Made it to the office with all my belongings in a trash bag, just because I didn't want to have everything soaked through by the time I walked in the door. I got set up, managed to tackle more than I thought, but mid way through I discovered that my recycling under my desk was gone. Now, I know that sounds funny, but over the last three years I have kept a box neatly hidden away so it doesn't make my desk look cluttered or like I am the local dump. No one seemed to notice anyone taking my bottles out of the box; I thought it was strange, but I let it go and finished working on my projects. Just as I was getting ready to leave one of my co-workers told me to check my email, because she knew where my recycling had gone. Then I hear one of my friends over our cube wall exclaim out that her month's worth of recycling was gone too. 

In short, our company took our recycling because it was not within the ethics of cube cleanliness. If we want to recycle we must take it home each day. They explained there were protocols for this and that from here on out our janitorial staff would be taking our recycling if we did not take it each not. Because of our "social networking" age, I won't get into the nitty gritty details of how this made me feel; the fact of taking before informing. The fact that there are an abundance of policies to keep up with sometimes it is hard to keep up and know what it the most up to date. What is done is done, but it only added to this never ending day. 

I finally left work around 5:30 and did I mention I started around 6:45 that morning? It was a Friday that felt like a Monday. Graeme and I ended up making pizza, having wine, and eating donut holes for dessert; all in all it was a great way to end the day with my best friend! 

A Stroll Down Huntington Beach

Last week Graeme and I were house-sitting in Huntington Beach and with such a great location we couldn't miss out on a couple walks down to the beach. This was Monday night, a beautiful crisp evening where we found a sand castle, a nice jogger who offered to take our picture, and where we spent 20 minutes waiting for a wave to come up close enough to our sand drawing so we could capture it :)

Beautiful sunset; I truly do love where we live.

The photo that took 20 minutes to capture. Graeme practically ran back when he saw a wave coming to get this. 

Part of the sand castle we found

Someone put some real time and effort into this sand castle, it was pretty elaborate too with little bridges leading to other parts of the castle. 

This has over time become a classic photo for us as a reminder of the places we have stood together.

It was nice to disconnect from a Monday and go for a walk together in one of my favorite places. I love the ocean and I have told Graeme many times we either have to live on the East Coast, West Coast, or move back to New Zealand :)

Risk Taking

Yesterday was a lovely day in Southern California. A close friend and I adventured up to Malibu to explore the Getty Villa, it recently opened up after over a decade of renovations, and both of us had been meaning to go for quite some time. It is by far much more smaller than the Getty itself, but still quite a beautiful place to explore. 

On our way up we were talking about her latest adventure of applying to grad schools and moving to LA. She was telling me a story about a mutual friend of ours from college that had been laid off from her dream job, didn't have a job for about 6 months, decided to move over to Ethiopia to teach. After being there for only a couple weeks (her commitment was for a year) she got an email letting her know that the man who had taken her role and his on was leaving and if she wanted the job it was hers (however they hadn't received his actual resignation) so in faith she booked a one way ticket home believing the job would be hers. Sitting in the airport she received an email saying that he had formally resigned and the job was hers. She had a wonderful 14 hours reflecting on the fact that she had stepped out in faith and was coming home to her dream job. 

My friend and I talked about sometimes we have to make choices (for our benefit) that may in turn make our season of life a bit harder to begin with,  but ultimately the "reward" is completely worth it. My friend is at that place, where moving to LA is going to make her life a little bit harder, but in the end it is going to make what she wants that much easier. For me, I haven't even quite begun to know what my next steps are. I know my next steps are going to take research and that no one is going to give me the answer. So, maybe this is my hard transitional season. The part that is difficult before it gets better. I am not entirely sure. 

I really enjoy feminine style movies (as some would say...chick flicks). One of my favorites to get lost in, do house work to, or just have on as I am working on a project is Under the Tuscan Sun. My life isn't at a tragic crossroads, but its definitely at a crossroads and I am definitely having my little break down moments with family and Grae; and I couldn't ask for better people to expose myself to in such a way. They are all so patient and understanding. Knowing that I have to figure this one out on my own and that they can't provide the answers or the roadmap, but the support as I figure it out. 

Now begins the research and attempts at taking the hard road in order to find the good road. 

Next Chapters

Confession. I have been watching Oprah's Next Chapter and so far each and every one has been incredibly interesting, from Steven Tyler to interviewing Hasidic Jews. I love a good story, different cultures, and getting to learn things I never knew before. 

Her latest chapter was interviewing Whitney Houston's family. I really wanted to watch this one, more for the fact to see how her daughter was coping, as much as one can see when being interviewed by Oprah. This video of Whitney caught my attention when they played a portion of it and it was an encouragement to my soul in this season of life.

Graeme and I are doing great. His first official day of his job is coming up on Friday (hooray!), we've decided to not move this year (another hooray! So as to have some stability for one year), and we have a lot of wonderful things on the horizon. Still there is a lot of change and a lot of choices that have to made this year as well and with that I think I get slightly overwhelmed and just want to revert to what I know versus moving forward. I guess I am more like my Dad when it comes to these kinds of seasons. I talk a great game and when I am thrust into change I can succeed, but to make the choice to change is a bit harder. 

This song is a beautiful reminder that I am never alone. That I get help in making the changes and help in seeing those open doors to move forward and embracing what is next. 

28 Candles

First let it be known that Graeme was very excited to have creative input in this blog (ie, the title was his creative genius.) He truly is an ideas man.

Last week I celebrated my 28th year on this planet and boy do I love my even years. There truly is something to be said for my even years of life (though I have had some great "odd" years too), my evens just seem to have a lot more fun in them.

This year's birth day started out with getting to spend the day with my high school best friend Rachel, she was in town for a work trip and this work trip landed her staying the night at the Disneyland Hotel which meant I got to stay there too! This wall art is in every room and with the switch of a button the fireworks would go off while a song played, pretty cool if you ask me! Such a fun evening, because living 20 minutes away entitles me to driving home after a day at the magical kingdom vs. getting to stay in this sweet set up. Thanks Rache for the wonderful pre-birthday bash!

The fun continued to coming home to a present from Graeme...my very own kindle with an amazon certificate for, The Hunger Games. I know I may be a bit old for these books, but I don't really care, I got sucked in and finished all three in five days! The day was spent though, cleaning and organizing a few things around the house (that I had been putting off and since I decided to take the day off of work I thought it was the perfect day to attack them). Then I treated myself to an afternoon by the pool (first birthday I can remember in ages when it didn't rain) and read away. It was by far one of the nicest days I have in a while and just nice to disconnect from work and everything that is tied up with that. The flowers below were a mixture of some that I had gotten throughout the week from Graeme, my parents, and my "other" family in New Zealand, the Un's.

Since my birthday fell on a Wednesday, Graeme asked if it was ok if we celebrated over the weekend, which was fine by me! He surprised me by taking me to this great steakhouse just down the street from our place called Mastro's; they have a great salmon dish that I love and of course he enjoys getting the steak. For dessert we got their house signature called a 'butter cake' and yes, it is just as amazing as it sounds! He followed dinner up by taking me to a "new" (they recently remodeled it and made it rather posh inside) theater to see "The Vow". He was a total trooper through it all and had a great attitude even after it was over. Overall, it was a wonderful to finally have Graeme around for a birthday and to just celebrate what this year holds!

Love Day

This past Tuesday was Graeme and my first Valentine's ever together and it was lovely. It was simple and just a wonderful day to remember how much have we have done and gone through to be together.

The right three photos were a small surprise I had for Grae when he came home, just to be a simple reminder of how much I loved him and what I loved about him. He made a fantastic meal with champagne and turtle brownies for dessert, yummy!

Hope all of you, wherever you were and whomever you were with, it was a day filled with love; whether love of life, family, friends, or significant other.

Kurt Halsey

Kurt Halsey was an artist that I was introduced to in college. Two weeks ago Graeme and some of our friends made our way to a gallery in Santa Monica where his work was being shown. We got there and started up a conversation with the girl running the gallery and found out this would be his last solo show. I have to say I was a bit disappointed because his work is something I enjoyed and even more so was seeing what was next.

It seems as though the same goes for Kurt. Who knows what his next adventure will be, but maybe this is the first step in seeing what is next.

It isn't every piece he has ever done, but here are some of his latest works. Enjoy them as much as I have!

The Tiger's Wife

Another book club month has come and gone. It was my pick this time around and I chose The Tiger's Wife. It was a book that kept coming up in articles I had been reading and every time I walked into a book store the cover just caught my eye (way to go art direction team). I had nothing but pure excitement to jump into this book and get into the adventure it promised me it would be. Sadly, I had so many false starts to getting into the journey.

I will say, like most of the critics, that Téa Obreht is an amazing writer when it comes to her details, but sometimes I believe too many details can make a great story so confusing that you lose your readers interest. The basis of the book spans over a period of about two days, but in these two days there are several (and by several I mean five) other stories happening. I found myself skipping parts, just so I could read more about the story I was interested in and in the end it didn't really matter because there was no final closure to practically any of the stories.

What I did respect about the book was that, Tea gets to you think about death and life, relationships and the way we treat others. I was sad that this book didn't meet my grand expectations, but it did for her and as an author I believe that is one of the most important things; that you finish what you set out to and you finish it in a manner that you are satisfied with, no matter what others may think.

Recipe for the Joy of Cooking

I grew up in a family of chefs and have my reasons for why I didn’t really like to be in the kitchen with them, mainly because they knew how to do EVERYTHING and when they would try and teach me it felt more like a nuisance, then passing on the joy they felt when they created a meal. They may differ in their opinions, but growing up this is how I perceived it.

I left for college and really lived by the college cookbook, cafeteria and microwavable meals (so sad I know). Then I moved into an apartment with five other girls and getting to the kitchen and having the space to create anything let alone healthy was a bit of a marathon. Then came moving to a foreign country where cooking became more of an experiment; as you might imagine. All the measurements were different and the ingredients were quite a bit different; so once I moved back to the states it was as though I had never stepped into a kitchen, still by the time I came back I was a bit more inspired to be in there in the first place because I had done so much more cooking while living in New Zealand.

I began making things from scratch, because that had been my norm in New Zealand versus here where you can buy practically ANYTHING ready made. I kept up on my shepherd’s pie skills, started baking more (which my roommate at the time loved), and I even cooked Salmon for the first time! In this time I found a bit more inspiration and creativity in cooking, but then I moved twice within a period of 7 months and I am not quite sure where that time went. Then I moved in with another chef (and dear friend) of sorts and all the feelings of being a nuisance in the kitchen came back. I made my fair share of things and baked quite a bit, but nothing like the past two years.

Then I got married to a chef (what are the odds!), Graeme is exceptional in the kitchen and for the first six months of our marriage cooking was really his thing (since he wasn’t working yet), so I stayed away and the time when I did get in there, I felt like I was trespassing into territory that wasn’t mine. Since he has started working we go back and forth on the cooking duties and with this comes learning how to communicate with one another while in the kitchen. He is patient with me and encourages me to be creative and actually find joy in it (like he does). I am learning how to take constructive criticism and also realizing I am not a nuisance.

We have been cooking quite a bit more together and when I see this most play out is when we both want to try something new, so we pull out one of our many cookbooks (as seen below), tag a recipe, and make a go of it. We took a few short cuts with this latest meal, but he was gracious, encouraged me for what we should do next time with the recipe, and then gulped it down telling me how delicious it was even if it wasn’t exactly as the recipe describe. 

Patience + Words of Love = A creative kitchen with some tasty meals; I have discovered this is my recipe for finding joy in cooking.

Finding Joy in Tragedy

I believe that things happen for a reason, even if I don't know that reason for many years, if ever.

When I was living in New Zealand with Kristin it was a fear that her Grandfather would pass away while we were living there; he had some serious health issues and we  both had discussed the several options of her leaving if he had passed away. Never once did we think I would be the one to loose someone.

My Uncle passed away mid way through our year there and it was a shock to my whole being. He had, been having several health issues himself, but nothing that wasn't under control. Sadly though, some other things came up and he passed away quickly. It was a shock to my system and I felt as though I couldn't be any farther away from home. I knew I couldn't fly home unless I wanted to stay and not finish out my year and my Aunt adamantly told me that he was so proud of what I had chosen to do, it would be silly to come home half way through. Yet, to not be able to grieve alongside the rest of my family, I knew would leave a certain void in me.

On Saturday morning Graeme lost a dear friend Alexis in a tragic hot air balloon accident in New Zealand. I had woken up early in the morning to read and came across an article about it. Something in me thought he might know someone because it had been so close to Wellington, but I thought to myself, truly what are the odds. Regardless, I decided to wake him to tell him. No names were listed, just that all 11 people had lost their lives. Over the course of the day we came to find out that Alexis and her boyfriend Chrisjan had been on the balloon.

I had never met either of them, but I remembered seeing a photo of Alexis at Graeme's going away party and as the day went on he told me stories about her and the joy that she brought everywhere she went. He showed me her facebook page and the outpouring of love and sadness at her loss. Over the day I think it was just complete shock for him that this had happened, that out of all 11 they were the two youngest by 30 years, and the sadness of how they had passed.

We had decided to go to church on Saturday night and throughout the service he seemed "fine", but it wasn't towards the end in the middle of worship were he broke down. It hit him, that his friend was gone, that he was incredibly far from home, and that he would not be able to have the kind of closure that everyone else would have. It was a sad moment as his wife to allow him to cry on my shoulder and know that there is nothing I could do, but be there. In a way I knew that what I had experienced in New Zealand, at the loss of my loved one gave me an insight to how he was feeling in that moment. Being homesick. Grief. A void that may never be filled.

For Graeme though there is joy. Alexis, from what I have heard and seen in the testament of those who loved her dearly, was that she was filled with joy and that she carried it everywhere she went. She was passionate for people, Christ, and the world. I wish I knew why God chooses the time that he chooses, but He is God and in no right does He have to share that information with me, but loss no matter the time or age is an incredibly hard, yet real part of the lives we lead.

Below are the last memories Graeme has of spending time with Alexis, as she wished him well on his new adventure to his new second home. You are dearly missed Alexis Still, thank you for reminding us to take the joy of the LORD with us wherever we go.

*Alexis (blonde) at the center with Grae and friends...May 2011

Finishing...

What a year of writing this has been for me or should I say lack of writing, well at least I made an effort and didn't completely fall away from the blogging world.

Graeme introduced me to John Acuff, who I enjoy reading immensely. He wrote this blog that challenged my thoughts towards the concept of "finishing" and what it means to finish what I have started. Graeme will testify that I am great with the big picture, the dreaming on a large scale, but when it comes to the details and working through to accomplish this BIG dream I lack the immediate follow through. If I set out to do something I eventually get around to it, but no promises of when that might be. When I read John's blog I couldn't help but laugh out loud, because I felt like he was describing all of my habits.

With 2012 literally hours away, I am aiming to start small and begin to finish projects that I have begun. Starting small I think helps me to get motivated and moving forward. So here is to a year filled with finishing projects and doing my best to post my small and hopefully large successes along the way!

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful start to 2012!

Knock Knock, Are You There Keys?

What was meant to be a fairly relaxing evening ended up in a course of learning how to unscrew the backseat of a Kia Optima. A note I would also like to make here is that Grae and I are looking to buy a car this coming summer/autumn and the Optima had been one of the choices but after this particular evenings experience, I can say that thought has been put on the farthest back burner possible.

My Mum had driven down for Uncle Mike's funeral and we had just returned to our apartment to finish up the day and wait for Grae to come home so we could do the last of our Christmas shopping. Through a flurry of information, rain, and packing up the car for her trip back home in the morning, she locked the keys in the trunk. Now my first thought was, not a big deal, we'll call AAA and they'll come unlock the car and we'll pop the trunk, easy!

Now, calling AAA and having them unlock the car was the easy part, but what we didn't factor in was that everything was tied together via the electronics of the car. Once the car was "forced" open everything practically locked down except for the alarm which went off about every 10 minutes until Grae got home with the tool kit to get the battery out of the car. Thus began a four hour pursuit of the keys in the trunk, from disconnecting a large portion of the backseat, using our phones as videocameras to have a look around the trunk, to getting a great work out by having to pull the back portion of the seats away from the door so Grae could reach in and pull out items that were blocking the way to unlatch the trunk.

Finally after several failed attempts Grae was able to stick the end of a broom in with a good view of the emergency latch and open the trunk... Success!!

The next hour consisted of reattaching the seats to the car, packing up the car, having dinner, and falling into bed.

Lessons learned: buy a car that manually allows the backseats to fold down from inside the car, always know where the emergency latch is within the trunk, keep tools handy, if able have a hide away key stored somewhere on the car, and if possible maintain a sense of humor when such situations arise :)

Uncle Mike

My Great Uncle Mike passed away yesterday in his home, with his lovely bride and family beside him. He was the baby brother in a family of ten siblings; he was a beloved Grandfather, Uncle, Father, and Husband.

I have more memories of Uncle Mike from my early childhood than I do presently, but the memory that will stick with me the rest of my life is from last weekend. Through a phone trail we learned that Uncle Mike had been admitted to the hospital again and was not doing well. He had been on dialysis for the past several years and had taken a spill a couple months back which resulted in injuring his leg, and through a series of events, lead to an infection that brought him back to the hospital. Graeme and I spent last Saturday crowded in an ICU room in Fullerton with about ten other family members, exchanging stories, memories, and helping Aunt Pauline with whatever she needed.

After everyone had left, Graeme and I waited to walk Aunt Pauline out. Uncle Mike had been heavily sedated and barely spoke throughout the evening, but when my Aunt Pauline told him she was leaving for the night to go home and get some sleep, he whispered "I love you" and stuck his lips out for a kiss. He had saved his energy for her. Aunt Pauline cried as she kissed him and whispered back, "I love you too, I love you very much". I cried. She had told us earlier in the evening that leaving was the hardest part, having to say goodbye, and sleep separated.

I know Uncle Mike is in a better place, but my heart aches for my Aunt Pauline because this goodbye is now more permanent. They were partners in this life; in good times and not so great times. They were lovers, parents, companions, and more.

Goodnight Uncle Mike, we will all miss you. Hey Uncle Mike, will you do me a favor and tell Grandma Ginny I said hello when you see her and that even after 19 years, I still miss her.