So yeah, I know I’m a little late, but Happy Thanksgiving Ya’ll! Or as Poet John would say, ‘Happy “We stole ya land, killed ya fam, and got the rest of you living in utter poverty” DAY!!!’ lol Not that attempted mass extinction of the Native Peoples is a laughing matter, but it is interesting how the origins of some of our Holidays get completely overlooked or sanitized.

I’ve never been big on the Holidays myself. I’m all for a day off work, but I really don’t appreciate society dictating when I should be thankful, celebrate my love for my partner, and buy gifts for all my friends and family. Think about it – the Season of Giving. Everyone is supposed to be charitable from November thru New Years. My question is–why for only two months? Why can’t we be charitable and giving 12 months of the year? And does the mere existence of holidays and holiday rituals let people off the hook from being attentive, loving, and generous the other 360 non-holidays???

Oh well, at least we get a day off work. 😉 Naw, I’m just playin’, there IS a bright side to the Holidays, and I DO have a lot to be thankful for. This has been an incredibly blessed year for me, filled with a lot of love. I don’t feel half as inspired to hate on the holidays as I usually do 😉 The holidays also brings families together, and lately, I’ve really enjoyed our “family times.” I swear, Devin makes family functions so much fun, and we all seem to get along now. Devin is Magic!!! 😉

The Sunday before Thanksgiving we had a pre-Thanksgiving at mom’s house, complete with gumbo and pumpkin cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. This was an awesome day because it was really small, just the “core” family. Sometimes I really miss those times when it was just the five of us, four of us, three of us… Every time you add another person to the mix, the dynamic changes, and while I love those other people, I do get nostalgic for the times when it was just me and the twins… But the family will only get bigger from here on out, as people get married and more babies are born. And I have to admit, watching the onset of the next generation is cool in a really trippy way.

Thanksgiving at Auntie’s was chill and low-key. All the married family members were off with the in-laws, so Bill, Kim and their families were absent. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to not having Bill around on the holidays. It always feel like less of a holiday when he’s not here–I guess after 28 years, you just get used to having folks around 🙂 But we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless, hanging out watching football and being entertained by Big Eric. Now begins the countdown to Christmas, which is going to be historic this year because the Jackson Fam will be coming to Cali for Christmas for the first time EVER! I am so excited that I’m not even going to bother breaking out my Grinch costume this year–between Devin’s first Christmas, a Casher Family Reunion, and a week off work, the holidays are going to be off the chain. Bring it On!!!

So Friday was an awesome day 🙂 I’m hard at work on WHEN LOVE ISN’T ENOUGH, and in the spirit of syncing up with the energies of the Universe, I’m using this Retrograde to do a revision of the first half of WHEN LOVE. In chapter six I set two scenes “on location” — one in Big Sur, and one in Carmel. When I wrote the scenes months ago, I had relied primarily on internet research — I’ve never been to the waterfall in Big Sur that Tony takes Samantha to. But it’s been on my to-do list for awhile to take a field trip, hike to the waterfall, and rewrite the scene to make it more vivid and accurate. Ditto for Carmel.

I had Friday off due to Veteran’s Day (god bless the veterans and their loved ones), and decided to head down to Big Sur and rewrite this chapter already. Great idea. I had the best freakin’ time and it reminded me so much of my road trip! (note to self: plan another road trip) For one day, I got to taste freedom again, and I cherished every second of it. And I got alot of writing done!

I left Santa Cruz around noon (after a quick stop at Target to get the new Sugarland and Keith Urban CDs–reviews to come). The weather was great, and there was barely any traffic. I forget how gorgeous Highway One south of Monterey is. The road is almost completely coastal with breathtaking vistas along every curve.

I was constantly pulling over to snap pictures… I just couldn’t help it — it was so dang pretty!

My first stop was at Limekiln State Park, where I hiked through the forest alongside a roaring creek to a 100 foot waterfall. It was so awesome, I have no idea why I don’t do this more often. Brought my manuscript with me, and literally scribbled notes and sentences while I was hiking. It was too funny. But I wrote some really good stuff out there in the forest, and accomplished exactly what I set out to do.

Next stop was Carmel, where I received even more visual inspiration. I can’t even tell you how much I love this little town. I definitely have to have a house here when I grow up, in addition to the ones in Sedona, Hawaii, and Savannah. I got there right at sunset, and the colors in the sky were just incredible. I’m convinced autumn on the Central Coast hosts the best sunsets… After an adventureful day, it was nice to sit down and enjoy a totally serene moment. So good for my heart, so good for my soul.

(More pics from the journey up on Flickr)

I returned home totally refreshed and inspired. Re-wrote two chapters and even did a little laundry, lol. Folks, do not underestimate the healing power of a day trip. We’re heading into winter, the season of hibernation, where most of us will be homebound due to cold, crappy weather. While you still can, jump in the car, drive somewhere pretty, and have a picnic. Catch a sunset. It dosen’t have to be super-elaborate to be therapeutic. I hear Santa Cruz is a lovely destination this time of year 😉

Well I vented quite a bit during the Primaries in June about whether or not “voting” makes a difference. So much has been so messed up for so long that I really feared our country, under the current leadership, was in an inevitable downward spiral. But I sucked it up and did my duty yesterday anyway, reading up on the propositions and candidates, and turning in my absentee ballot. Listened to the results and predictions pour in during breaks of Dancing with the Stars, lol, and watched with wide-eyed satisfaction as state after state went BLUE.

First of all, this whole red/blue thing is a little out of control. Talk about stereotyping, lol. But that said, it is an apt metaphor for the polarized political landscape of our country. Red became identified with conservative, republican and pro-Bush. Blue seemed to represent the stunned and outraged minority. Well, thank the Lord, the minority is now the majority.

Democrats kicked some serious ass in this election, completely taking over the House, and likely the Senate in a history-making power shift. Folks have woken up! People are paying attention! Hell freaking yeah! The President may finally, finally be held accountable for his poor decision-making, and most importantly, he can be prevented from doing any more damage on his way out the door! This is great news people, really great news.

And a female Speaker of the House?!?! I love it. I actually know two people who work for Nancy Pelosi (hey – I’m only two degrees away from some serious power ya’ll), and she is a smart, strong, outspoken woman who is not afraid to call “Bullshit!” when something stinks. This is a wonderful development. All we need is a female President to really round things out 😉

After the exodus-inducing train wreck that was the 2004 election, it feels so good to feel hopeful for once about the future of our world. Call me idealistic, but I really think the tide is turning in a positive way. Maybe we’ll hear more truth than fiction now… Maybe we will stop the killing and start the healing. Maybe I can go to sleep at night without wondering if its cruel to even think about bringing children into this world. But I can feel it–change is coming. And not a moment too soon.

PS: I also have to give props to the lovely people of Santa Cruz for passing Measure K, a law that requires police to make enforcement of marijuana laws on adults their lowest law enforcement priority. That’s right people, focus your resources on real criminals and terrorists and leave the stoners alone! LOL!!! Take that South Dakota!