Guest Authors: April 2010 Archives

Written by guest author Debbie Yocum:

Looking for something to do this weekend? The Temecula Wine and Music Festival is celebrating its 4th anniversary Saturday, May 1st in Temecula. This year there are 18 acts, 50 vendors and over 11 wineries offering a unique wine tasting experience. The event is raising money to support a local charity called All From The Heart which benefits Military Families in need of assistance.

Debbie Yocum
Guest Author

The Temecula Wine and Music Festival is one of the most prestigious music events in the Temecula Valley. With its mix of Pop, Jazz and R&B artists coupled with the atmosphere of Temecula's venue of Vail Lake Resort, this will be an event that you do not want to miss!

The beautiful Vail Lake Resort located just 9 miles from Interstate 15 on Highway 79 in Temecula. Prices range from General Admission seats at $45 (or $30 for a group of 10 or more), Gold Seating is $55 per reserved seat and Platinum Seating is $110.00 (which includes a gourmet meal of New Orleans style cuisine). The gates open at 11 AM, the music starts at noon and the gates close at 7 PM.

Some of the artists appearing are Paul Brown, Marc Antoine, Patrice Rushen, Paul Jackson Jr., Michael Lington, Gregg Karukas, Richard Smith, Greg Adams and East Bay Soul, Brian Bromberg, Kanzaki, Blake aaron, Nita Aartsen, kiki Ebsen, Freddie Washington , Porter House Bob and Down to the Bone and Michael Paulo. Some of the wineries that are featured at the event are Callaway, Stuart Cellars, Wilson Creek, The Briar Rose Winery, San Antonio Winery, Monte De Oro and Francis Coppola among others.

Beautiful Vail Lake is also an RV Resort and they are offering RV Discount Packages available through Vail lake Resort. To Book an RV Package please call 951 303-0173 and ask for the festival discount.

Come and enjoy World Class Music among the oak trees and have a unique wine tasting experience from Temecula's award winning wineries all at the Temecula Wine and Music Festival! For more information regarding this event, please go online to www.temeculawineandmusicfestival.com.

Written by guest author Dianne Bright:

Dianne Bright
Guest Author

True friendship is a gift. It means having someone who accepts you as you are, but who loves you enough to challenge you to grow. A dear friend listens when you are steeped in despair without judging you or trying to change your mind about how you feel. She empathizes with gentleness while encouraging you towards a more hopeful perspective. She loves you even when you are without make-up, your clothes don't match, and you are still wearing your slippers at 10 a.m.

Written by guest author Dianne Bright:

It's hard to traverse the journey of a pet who is dying. It is especially tricky when you have young kids, because to them, he is more like a sibling than just an animal. And course, he is more than "just" an animal to us as well. But, we more readily depict the differences between his passing versus a family member's movement beyond this world.

Dianne Bright
Guest Author

We've been preparing our kids for this day, Sage's last day. Our tan kitty who used to weigh seventeen pounds and easily stood three feet tall when standing up on his back feet, is now a seven pound pile of tender bones and fur. He is the one who used to race his paws on our bedroom door like an Olympic swimmer, the same one who would shut our bedroom door in those wee morning hours, begging to come back in. He was the one who kept my kids' beds warm, the one who tickled his nose up into my face in the early morning to say hello. I will miss him tremendously because he was our "baby" before we actually had real babies.

Written by guest author Dianne Bright:

Life with young kids is stressful, especially when (like most people), you're sprinting out the door at 100 MPH. So, here are five helpful tips to alleviate some of the morning chaos.

Dianne Bright
Guest Author

First, lay out the kids' clothes the night before. If you have drama-queen daughters, try setting out two outfits so the girls have a choice. While Weather.com is not always accurate, it does help to gauge how they'll need to dress. Go ahead and lay out your own outfit as well. Even though I think I'm a decisive person, this becomes a contradiction of terms, as I stand aimlessly in front of my own plethora of shirts and pants.

Second, set out the kids shoes by the front door. This might seem unnecessary, but it really helps in my family. Instead of hunting for that one sparkly pink tennis shoe at the last minute, it's right there sitting peacefully by its partner. This of course doesn't mean your children won't fuss for a different pair, but it's a good starting point, especially as they get used to this routine.

Written by guest author Debbie Yocum:

Caring for a child with autism over their lifetime can be a huge financial cost to the families that look to cover their costs for insurance, for non-covered expenses and for educational programs and other expenses.

Debbie Yocum
Guest Author

Island's Restaurant, located at 3645 Central Avenue in Riverside, is helping these families by offering to donate 20 percent of the food and beverage purchases on Monday, April 19 from 11 a.m. until close. The fundraiser is sponsored by the Riverside Medical Clinic Foundation and will be directed to the Speech and Fun Camp that is celebrating their 4th year. The camp is designed for Children with Autism and their siblings. It is a local camp held at the Grove Community Church and will be held July 26 through August 6.

According to the Autism Society of American, Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. Autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is a "spectrum disorder" that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. There is no known single cause for autism, but increased awareness and funding can help families today.

Written by guest author Dianne Bright:

Dianne Bright
Guest Author

My house is a kid-proofed, kid-blessed, kid-crazed kid-zone. Of course there's a Nerf-axe next to my foot as I sit down to use the potty. There are also crayon marks decorating my white blinds and marker drawings coating the sliding-glass doors.

The dining room houses Big Bird and all of his buddies, along with a bin of markers, a coloring book, a toy giraffe, and a miniature Barbie doll. A pink can of bunny bubbles sits on my kitchen counter, along with a pair of white socks, a white t-shirt, and a brush with the end chopped off of it (not sure how the heck that happened). Did I mention the Spider-man ball or the red microphone yet?

Shoes sprawl across my entryway as well; it's as if they leap out of the shoe-basket themselves greeting the new day. The coats look similar... draped above the shoe organizer as if a tornado threw them into an indistinguishable pile of rubble.

Written by guest author Dianne Bright:

Dianne Bright
Guest Author

Sometimes, life is just really hard. You might not feel like getting out of bed. That laundry pile that's starting to take over half of your room might get put off for one more day or week. The weeds may not get pulled at all this month. You might even put your kids in front of the television for an extra hour because you just can't deal with them right now. And guess what? It's ok.

When life feels overwhelming, sometimes you just need to accept yourself right where you're at. Instead of putting on an even bigger smile and brighter make-up to cover up what's going on in your heart, you need to keep things real.

Earlier today, I had a very honest conversation with a good friend. She shared about some difficulties going on in her life and I responded with a few of the struggles I'm having in mine as well. I always remind this friend of how I appreciate her sincerity.

Written by guest author Dianne Bright:

Clearance items are great. Don't you just love finding a killer deal? When I see those three magical words: "Seventy-five percent off," I'm in shopping heaven. But, as moms, we can sometimes feel like we've become the clearance item. So, it's time for no holds barred. Are you ready to spoil yourself a little bit?

Dianne Bright
Guest Author

But, it's easier said than done because you're buying shoes for the kids, a new collar for the dog, and groceries for everyone and their best friend's sister. It's easy to put yourself last when you're stressed out pinching the copper out of every single penny filling your faded old purse.

But, ladies, it's time to close your eyes to all those sale signs! You must treat yourself right. Go off the deep end! Spoil yourself silly! Okay, not every single minute of every day, but at least once a month. Remember that you are not a clearance item. You are special and you've been working your you-know-what off for the past several years, so remember to live like a queen every once in awhile. Here's how you get started:

Written by guest author Debbie Yocum:

The cold night air made him shiver and he pulled the blankets up closer to his face. He knew that today was Easter and he would be getting up soon to take the walk up Mt. Rubidoux with his family to celebrate the morning church services from the top of the mountain.

Debbie Yocum
Guest Author

This was a tradition for his family and they looked forward to it every year. The white cross on the top of the mountain held a special meaning to him and even on a warm summer day he would look at the cross on the top and would think of Easter morning.

Quietly he heard his mother come into his bedroom and go to the end of the bed and say "Time to get up, we don't want to be late." He had already put his socks, shoes and clothes next to this bed before going to sleep so getting dressed only took him a couple of minutes. Before his brother and sister were even up, he was dressed and was eating the scrambled eggs and toast that his mother had left for him on the table.

The morning was still pretending to be night as they drove down the sleeping streets of Riverside. Every now and then they would pass someone walking a dog in the darkness or see a light on in one of the homes that they passed on the way. The heater on the car warmed them up but he knew that the walk up the mountain would be cold and he was glad that he brought a warm jacket.