WOLF MOON TONIGHT

I love full moons; especially here in the desert. Tonight is the biggest and brightest full moon of 2010. I found this article very interesting.

Tonight's full moon will be the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. It offers anyone with clear skies an opportunity to identify easy-to-see features on the moon.
This being the first full moon of 2010, it is also known as the wolf moon, a moniker dating back to Native American culture and the notion that hungry wolves howled at the full moon on cold winter nights. Each month brings another full moon name.

But why will this moon be bigger than others? Here's how the moon works:
The moon is, on average, 238,855 miles (384,400 km) from Earth. The moon's orbit around Earth – which causes it to go through all its phases once every 29.5 days – is not a perfect circle, but rather an ellipse. One side of the orbit is 31,070 miles (50,000 km) closer than the other.
So in each orbit, the moon reaches this closest point to us, called perigee. Once or twice a year, perigee coincides with a full moon, as it will tonight, making the moon bigger and brighter than any other full moons during the year.
Tonight it will be about 14 percent wider and 30 percent brighter than lesser full Moons of the year, according to Spaceweather.com.
As a bonus, Mars will be just to the left of the moon tonight. Look for the reddish, star-like object.

A full moon at perigee also brings higher ocean tides. This tug of the moon on Earth also creates tides in the planet's crust, not just in the oceans.
Beaches are more polluted during full moon, owing to the higher tides.
In reality, there's no such thing as a full moon. The full moon occurs when the sun, Earth and the moon are all lined up, almost. If they're perfectly aligned, Earth casts a shadow on the moon and there's a total lunar eclipse. So during what we call a full moon, the moon's face is actually slightly less than 100 percent illuminated.
The moon is moving away as you read this, by about 1.6 inches (4 cm) a year.

New Beginnings

The definition of new beginnings: New start, clean slate, clean hands (I like that), clear conscience, fresh start, square one

Justen, our oldest son, has moved back to Tucson. We are so, so excited and happy that he is here with us. He has his whole life ahead of him, a clean slate. So much is in store for Justen; he has so much to offer this life and him discovering this is going to be so incredible to watch.

"You can learn new things at any time in your life if you're willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up to you"

"You will never reach your goal until you start to take action, any action"
Byron Pulsifer, from Take Action; Don't Procrastinate

"The secret to a rich life is to have more beginnings than endings"
Dave Weinbaum

"There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.
Louis L'Amour

"All glory comes from daring to begin"
Eugene F. Ware

"Making the beginning is one third of the work"
Irish Proverb

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."
Demosthenes

I am so excited for the now and the future!!

Already missing...

Jason, April and Lola are now in Vegas. It still doesn't seem real...I'm sure Lola will be coming over Friday to hang out with 'GeeGee', won't she?
On Friday Ken and April picked up the moving truck. Jason was still in Vegas; he had started his new job last Monday. Friday afternoon, Ken, April, Uncle Don and his friend Russ loaded the truck up with boxes until it started to get dark. Ken then picked Jason up at the airport. Time to go to bed...for the big day tomorrow.
We got at 7am (late for us), had coffee and breakfast and I dropped Ken off at Jason's. I came home and took a shower. I got in the autopilot mode, where you ignore your emotions (as best you can) so you can get through it. I was trying to not be sad...I had really become close with Lola in the last twelve months. I decided to make up a 'travel bag' for her: fresh grapes, fresh blueberries (one of her favorites), apple juice, a small Volkswagen beetle she likes to play with and a drawing board that has a pen attached (so it won't fall on the floor of the car!) that erases so you can keep using it. We always take this for Lola when we are traveling.
I arrived at their house and when she saw me, she came running, 'GeeGee'! Nothing like you heart melting right there! Everyone (Jason, Ken, Uncle Don, Russ, April and two of Jason's friends) was busy. I kept busy with Lola: we walked down to the park, picked berries for the birds, ate blueberries. The goal was for them to be on the road by noon. Around 11 am, I asked if they wanted Lola and I to go pick up lunch so they wouldn't have to stop on the road.
Lola and I went to Baggin's and then I decided to stop at Safeway to pick up a few things they may want for the trip: water, bananas, raisins, popcorn and Ken wanted some pringles.
We got back, ate in their garage and now it's time for goodbyes....gosh I hate goodbyes!!
Ken left with the truck first. Now it was time for me to say goodbye...I hugged and kissed Lola; she was asking for 'Pops' so she could kiss and hug him too. Of course, she thought he and I were just going home...but Pops had already left. I hugged April and then Jason and that's when I started to cry. It seems like we were just getting close again. I have really enjoyed this past year. I got in my car, crying, shifting gears and drove straight to Henna's. I think she is my 'substitute mom'; always there to say the right thing and help you through.
She was on her way to Jackie's house to make a felt purse. Annie was going to be there, so I decided to go too. It was a great diversion. Annie was feeling good and was having fun. I stayed awhile and then went shopping. I called Justen to chat with him, picked up dinner from AJ's, rented 'Julia and Julie' and went home. It was the first time being in the new house alone. It's weird the noises you hear when you are alone. I really, really missed Ken. I think I missed him extra because you want to be with the one you love when you are sad. The movie was long, kind of boring but interesting enough to make me tired. I didn't sleep well.
Ken called around 9 am; they were busy unloading the truck..it was going to be a long day with just him and Jason to lift the heavy stuff. They got everything unloaded; even put some beds together, took the rental truck back and got Ken to the airport by 2pm. He was so beat when I picked him up! We stopped at one of our faves "Sauce"...had salad, soup, a little wine...oh...of course we had to stop at Frost too....one of Lola's favorite :(
Bella will be staying with her Dad here in Tucson for the rest of the school year, so hopefully we will get to see her often.
Now, it's back to work....we already have plans to take our RV to Vegas the first week in February! :)