A few (and I use that word loosely) pictures from my mini-vaca…

Gretchen’s Twitter…

omg! All the stories being posted r ridic! Seriously making me laugh a little!

funny how blogs completely make up lies in order to have a story!

I think it’s safe to assume she is referring to today’s courtroom drama. Interestingly enough, Slade has been a little quiet. Perhaps he is actually busy preparing for the next hearing so he doesn’t have to walk in to court with an empty brief case…again. Does this dynamic duo really believe they are above the law? It appears that somewhere along the line, they have lost the true sense of, well…reality. The world they live in seems to be nothing short of a fantasy, consisting of puppy dog tails and rainbows. Nothing lasts forever though…

“…According to court documents and Radaronline.com, Smiley, 41, owes between $84,962 and $110,000 in back child support to Michelle Arroyo of Los Angeles. They are the parents to Grayson Arroyo-Smiley, 10, who suffers from a rare form of brain cancer (diffuse fibrillary astrocytoma) and has been in and out of hospitals since preschool….”
Read the full story at Orange County Register

Long story short. You make a baby, you take responsibility. No if ands or buts. Period. •Check back in the next day or so, I will be posting some new information on this. Most Wanted Deadbeats

a.k.a. Deanna and Heidi

It has been so long since I’ve done a layout and although I miss doing them, I had forgotten how time consuming they can be. Apparently I forgot more than that. SAVE. SAVE. SAVE.  Just as I was adding the final touches, poof…the whole thing was gone. Done. Lost. After taking a few shots deep breaths, I did my best to throw it back together recreate it.
These are from my Ventura trip…a few of our gazillion cell-phone-self-portraits!

You know when somebody has a really good secret…you already know it but have to wait for them to share it with you? Or when that present under the Christmas tree is the exact dimensions of something you really want…but you have to wait to open it? What about when your favorite meal is cooking…you can smell it, but you have to wait until it’s done to dive in?

Well, what if that really good secret was never shared with you? Or that present wasn’t even for you? How would you feel if your favorite meal wasn’t edible because you mistakenly let it burn?
(I don’t know, maybe you were all too consumed with the secret and the present)

Get where I’m going with this?

What if you discovered a cocoon? What if you watched that cocoon for say…oh a very long time? Smiling every time you see it…at the thought of what is transpiring within those silky walls. Waiting, wondering and anticipating the newly evolved life to emerge…

You share your excitement with others…they smile, finding your enthusiasm endearing. They find your enthusiasm entertaining…actually, they find it downright hysterical.

It was like the secret that was never shared, the gift that wasn’t meant for you, and the dinner that you burned. You are disappointed, feeling a small sting in your pride.

What if you discovered a cocoon? What if you watched that cocoon for say…oh a very long time? What if you found out that cocoon was really a…..

..

..

..

..

cotton ball?

Just curious….
because the same thing just happened to me a friend too.

Part 2 of The Seal Whisperers, be sure to read part 1 here. Note this is The Seal Whisperer…there is no s, there was no Deanna. Just me, braving it on my own…

Meet Buenaventura, rescue number 2. After finding him, I put a call in to the other rescue unit (you know…protocol) I am sure they were extremely relieved to see me there, I’m sure. You never know when Slacker-the-sand-slinger might show up again!

However, I was a bit disappointed to see it was someone different assisting me with this rescue. I explained to them the pup was probably about 4 months old (he was bigger than Ace V.) and aside from exhaustion, was perfectly healthy. Listen and learn. They are weaned at about 6 weeks old, mom just leaves them to fend on their own.

Because they have not yet learned to hunt, they lose up to 1/2 their weight and become weak. They beach themselves to rest and then return to the water. I told them that is exactly what Buenaventura was doing.

I suggested We put up more CAUTION tape, and I assured them I would check on him a few times an hour. Not that that would necessarily be necessary…considering it was a male and it was still early afternoon.
B. Ventura slept well into the early evening. As the tide started coming up, he began to stir. Deanna had returned home from work and the other rescue lady showed up just about that time as well. It was decision time for the little fella. Is he rested enough to make his way back into the ocean like Ace V. did the day before? Will he simply move to higher ground to continue his slumber? Obvi, we would like to cheer him on, scream and yell, and coach him, as he finds his way back into the water. We would like to celebrate with a high five, a fist bump and a few tears, making our way home with a spring in our step and a smile on our face.
No, he wasn’t having it. As he yawned and wiggled around….B. Ventura made his way to higher grounds.

I checked on him as the sun came up only to find a small seal path that led directly to the water.  I took down the stakes and CAUTION tape…I felt the tears well up in my in my eyes as I made my way back to the house. Although we weren’t there to witness it, I am confident he did just fine on his own and our rescue was a success. I continued my walk with a smile on face and a spring in my walk…it felt good, really good…to be The Seal Whisperer!

Going home soon? It’s inevitable…at some point. My mini-vaca is now 3 weeks+ and I’m thinking my cats might be getting hungry. They have 9 lives anyways, right? Actually 1 of them only has about 2 left. Oh, don’t get your panties bunched up and start calling P.E.T.A., they are being well cared for…but I do miss them!

I needed this get away, I really did. It has been absolutely nothing short of perfect! Lots of food, drink, belly laughs so hard it hurts, walking, talking, reflecting, relaxing, some tears and…adventure! I shared about my first day here (on the beach..for 3+ weeks. Don’t hate) in Angels In Flight, with out a doubt one of the best days of my life!
A few days later, while walking on the beach we see this

We’re all, “Hey, look at that cute puppy swimming!”

As Fido made his way out of the water, it was clear, it wasn’t
a puppy and it was in need of attention.

Without thinking twice, we spring into action…

…both of us. Because that’s how we roll.

He lay on the sand barely breathing, unable to move even the smallest of his whiskers. As the water washes over him, we scream and yell, coaching him to safer grounds. As you see in the pictures, we were the only 2 on the beach that morning…his fate lie in our hands. Screaming wasn’t working so well and by the size of those teeth, mouth to mouth was out of the question…not that it didn’t cross our minds.

We finally managed to get a hold of a rescue. Don’t get me wrong, despite our quick thinking and rescue skills, we had never rescued a seal before…mostly just people. We were told it would be “a while,” are you kidding me? After calling in 17 different voices, with 17 different names and stories, we were asked to explain the seal. Kinda big…but not real big. Dark, flippers, whiskers, oh yeah…and big teeth. “How is his breathing” they ask. Ummm…in and out? “He sounds like he’s fine, just resting.” Is that how they knew it was a male…because it was so damn tired?? “We will be there as soon as we can.” O.k., we’ll be the girls in the red bathing suits…

It was a good hour and a half and we were still waiting. We kept onlookers at bay, forbidding them to get too close. An elderly couple who had been watching the rescue us from their window came out to offer a hand. We decided to go change, and grab a piece of toast while they stood guard for awhile. We returned shortly to find the rescuers had arrived. They explained the pup was about 3 months old and aside from exhaustion, was perfectly healthy. Listen and learn. They are weaned at about 6 weeks old, mom just leaves them to fend on their own. Because they have not yet learned to hunt, they lose up to 1/2 their weight (Seriously? I don’t know how to hunt…what the hell?) and become weak. They beach themselves to rest and then return to the water. That is exactly what “Ace Ventura” was doing

The rescue lady (oh, and uh-hum, myself) made a circle out of about 6 signs explaining the situation, advising lookie loo’s to keep their distance and let the baby (male) sleep. It was fascinating to some, some could really careless and others were complete and utter idiots. One in particular. We will call him Slacker (…as his shirt read). Slacker decides to cross “the barrier” …because he could. As he approached Ace, the rescue lady asked him to “please stay away from the seal and let him sleep.” “I don’t have to.” he says. “No, you don’t…but I’m asking you to.” Know what he did? He kicked sand in her face. This is where I went from being a lifeguard, to wonder woman…or something. Yeah. Ever lose control, like in a bad way? Slacker crosses the circle, kicks sand on my new best friend and he is now heading towards the poor, defenseless, exhausted baby. Heidi, A.K.A. lifeguard, A.K.A. wonder woman, A.K.A…or something decides to stop him. Obviously reasoning wasn’t working out so well, time to pull the psycho card…because, clearly that would be the right thing to do.

Deanna captures this last shot of me before she runs…far and fast. Hell, I was afraid of me. Slacker and I, Heidi, A.K.A. lifeguard, A.K.A. wonder woman, A.K.A…or something went into a face to face screaming match, (the right thing to do, I remind you) as he continues to kick sand, I hold my ground standing between him and the seal…wondering if my obituary will read, ‘she died a hero, saving a poor, defenseless, exhausted, baby.’ I could hear the rescuer (the real one) and my friends telling me to back off, but it was too late. Not to toot my own horn, but after what seemed like forever, he eventually turned and walked away. toot-toot I look around to see a small crowd had gathered, someone informed me they had called 911 back and told them never mind, it was over. 911? I stood there a bit mortified at what had just taken place, apologizing for my behavior. Know what the rescue lady said to me? “Sometimes that’s what it takes, you fought for his safety.” My humiliation began to fade as I felt a sense of pride come over me.

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We She, (the rescuer) (my new best friend) decided it would be best to create a new barrier around the lil’ soul with CAUTION tape, and so we did.  I continued to check on him about every 30 minutes throughout the day. Without further interruption, Ace V. was able to rest for a good 8 hours, restoring his energy and strength. As the sun began to set, he opened his eyes and lifted his head. With Deanna and I cheering him on, we scream and yell, coaching him, as he finds his way back into water. We celebrate with a high five, a fist bump and a few tears. Our efforts had made a difference and despite Slacker and his feeble attempts, our rescue was a success.

We make our way home with a spring in our step and a smile on our face. We are hero’s amongst the locals, we are the seal whisperers, and little did we know…our journey has just begun….

Read more here
and here!

CNNBC announces 2010 Mother of the Decade…I’m so honored!!

Wishing all the Moms out there a wonderful, relaxing, fun-filled
Mother’s Day!! ♥