Fall

Lincoln calls Perrier "cowboy drink". You know how in the Old West cowboys were always drinking French mineral water?

I have truly missed blogging. It's always hard to start back up because I feel like I should have a clever pick up line or a lightening bolt epiphany or something super amazing to share... well, the last one is kind of true.

You see, today my oldest boy started 2nd grade. He is so darling. He loves me so much and he is just so dang happy and wholesome. It is a little melancholy to send your child back to school after playing with them and protecting them all summer, but it's also fun to share the excitement. Lincoln and I are leaving town tonight for NYC, just the two of us. It is a really poorly timed trip, but I had some sky miles that I wanted to use and he desperately misses his cousins, so we are just going for a long weekend. Dan is staying home with the babies because that's the kind of guy he is. The picture on the left is a re-enactment. Naturally, I forgot to take a picture before school.

Since I last posted... where to start! Well, Dan scored an internship w/ the Nevada State Legislature, and because they were in session he had to hurry there in May as soon as his classes ended. Lincoln still had a month left of first grade, so I stayed in Oregon with the kids for a month and we met him in Carson City in June. I was very nervous to be husbandless, but it was fine. Fun, actually.

Then we got to C C, and our apartment was SO gross. When Dan arrived he called to warn me and he said he was considering moving before I arrived. I asked, "Gross to you, or you are worried that it will be too gross for me?" I should have believed him when he said, "Too gross for me." Dan's not too... picky... so you think I would have let him relocate before we arrived, but I wanted to be tough, and besides, how bad can a place be for a few months?

Bad. It smelled like a cross between a poultry processing plant and a porta-potty after a hard living week at the state fair. At least I think that's what it smelled like. I thought maybe the smell was coming from the powder room, which looked clean, so one day I Lysoled the whole thing, even the walls, and got to scrubbing. There wasn't a smoking gun, until I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the underside of the outside of the toilet bowl, where I found the crime scene. I will spare you the details, but it was one of the more horrific experiences of my admittedly sheltered life. I haven't even told my husband about it. I just said, "I think I got it", and gave him a reassuring smile. Note to self: The next time my closet-redneck husband who wasn't even grossed out that night we had to stay at a trucker hotel that didn't even have pads on the mattresses tells me a place is too gross, believe him.

BUT! He got the job! We are back in Corvallis for the school year. He is finishing up law school and things are back to usual. We love Carson City, we have all sorts of family in the area, and we are looking forward to buying a proper house. We had a really fun summer. We spent as much time as possible NOT at home and we had a lot of time to explore Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and I even got to visit my sister in Sacramento a couple of times.

Oh, yeah! My sister had a baby. My second Gonzalez niece, bringing the niece count to a healthy 4. I am determined to be each one of their's favorite Aunt. Every time I hold little Tegan I whisper lots of cool secrets in her ear, like how she can wear lip gloss at my house whenever she wants, and if her mom ever says that the prom dress she wants is too expensive, just let me know and I will get it for her. She is so sweet and tiny and perfect. I got to be there when she was born, a very special privilege.

I checked my stats and saw that 10 people checked here today. I don't know why, but I hope that they come again.

Phoenix

Meet my paparrazo. Great photographer, great guy.

I am away from my babies, once again. This week I am at a Health Coach training in Phoenix. Dan keeps sending me videos of the baby doing cute things, like playing peek a boo around the piano leg and throwing balls. He will be 1 in a month. So cute. As hard as it is to leave my kids, I am so grateful to have a fantastic job that I love, that also allows me to work from home. I would rather leave them with a dad for a couple weekends a year than in daycare every week, but it's still hard.

I have learned so much this week, and my head is swimming. I am starting a monthly e-newsletter that will be more specific info about how I help people. I don't want to spam people though, so if you would like to receive this informational and inspiring little note, please e-mail me, jacquireich@hotmail.com or ask to be my facebook friend (Jacqui Gonzalez Reich) and I will make sure that you get it.

Have a great weekend.

My Glamourest Weekend Ever

Driving our Dark Silver Mustang. It was funnn!!!!!

I haven't been able to brag about my awesome weekend in Cali, because I came home to some very sick kids. It's the kind of misery where all I can do is hold them all day. I don't even try to get anything else done. I just feel so badly for them. The little two are barfing, coughing and snotting. The baby is on steroids and antibiotics, so now he has diarrhea. My little family was healthy until Graham came along, but our home has been a cesspool of disease ever since... but back to the GLAMOUR!
Here I am in the bathroom at the Grammys. We were told not to bring in cameras or phones, so we were trying to be sneaky. Dan ran me up to Portland the night before I left and I grabbed this dress off the rack. Yes, my sixth dress, but it was perfect and I loved it. If Dez sends me some better pics off her phone I will post them, I realize this one is pretty lame, considering.
All my wildest dreams came true the next day... lunch at Villa Blanca in Beverly Hills. If that doesn't mean anything to you, it's Lisa VanDerpump's restaurant. If that doesn't mean anything to you, she is the star of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. If THAT doesn't mean anything to you, well, I give up.

The food exceeded my expectations. The only bummer was that it was a little dirty, I don't think Lisa had been around in a while. Here are some of the gems overheard while we were there:

"Jill just called. She can't come in today because she is stoned."

"Can our baby get some water?" The baby was a miniature poodle... in a stroller. A poodle stroller.

And my personal favorite, the crusty older gentleman asked his astonishingly gorgeous young date, "So, what should I expect? Does lunch with you cost the same as dinner?" So, that explained it.

As fun and exciting and relaxing and wonderful as my weekend with my sister was, by Monday afternoon we were just basically talking about our kids. We missed our little boys. We were getting so homesick, that to distract ourselves we found a fetal-photo place in downtown LA and found out that my sister... IS HAVING A GIRL! It was a very exciting cherry on top of the perfect weekend.

Homesick

I hate to complain about my house, because there is nothing wrong with it. It's really cute, and my husband built it so I got to pick a lot out... it's just that... I can whine for a second, right? Well, it's less than half the size of the house that we lived in when we just had 1 kid... and now we have three kids... and WHINE! The "nursery" is a pack and play on wheels that we roll into the quietest room at the moment when the baby is ready to sleep. So, when I am (unreasonably, I'll admit) feeling sorry for myself I love to go house hunting on realtor.com. I love it! This is the kitchen from my current home du jour. Please don't buy this house. I am hoping it sits on the market for a couple more years.
The problem IS (besides we don't live in the state and they are asking about 700k) the stove was ripped out. See, in the first picture there is a stove, then in the next one it is gone. I get the impression the owners went back and ripped out what they could. Jerks, messing up my kitchen.

I dream of having a fabulous home where I can host our Support Soirees. Unfortunately, the support groups fits perfectly fine in my little house. There are maybe just a half dozen of us there at best. I am telling you! You have to come. We have a great time and we come up with some great ideas. We talk each other into going on runs and share recipe ideas, too. I usually have something awesome recorded on the DVR to share, like a cooking demo or a success story. I won't be satisfied until the soirees are standing room only. Then I will HAVE to move to Nevada and buy my big house. By that time, my friends who are coming now will be hosting support soirees of their own in Corvallis and I can take my ministry to Reno. But first, I need my new kitchen. Well, first my husband needs a job, then I need a new kitchen.

Hottober

One of my hobbies is studying the French Revolution. My interest started in a mild obsession with Marie Antionette, then I visited Versaille, and I haven't been the same since. I recently have become very interested in Napoleon. Every character description I have ever read of him could be describing my late father. It is uncanny. One of the craziest things those Revolutionaries did, besides lopping off all those heads, was they made up their own calender with their own months. Well, we're a little crazy, too. We are leading this nation's fitness revolution, and I have made up my own month. It's called Hottober, and this year, it falls on the Christian solar calendar, from what you might call Monday, February 14 to Sunday, March 13th. During the month of Hottober, I am inviting all of you to take your health to the next level, whatever that means to you.

This is just a challenge to live your best life for one month; body, mind and spirit. I will eat and drink right, do all 30 days of Tracy's Mothod this time, take my supplements, sleep, study my scriptures, pray and meditate every day of Hottober. My big pay off? I will run in my community's Woodstock's Spring for Kids Fun Run on Saturday, March 12th (or Hottober, 27th, actually). Some of my other friends are joining us, and you are invited, too. Oh, and maybe buy my white jeans. Dare to dream?

I realize that the first day of Hottober is Valentines Day, a traditional blow-it day in many of our minds, but this is a Revolution! Instead of bringing me a box of fresh truffles, which believe me, I would LOVE. I'm sure my husband can find something else to put in a pretty little box, and I can probably come up with a calorie-free surprise or two for him, too. This will also help you to be your best in time for Spring Break. If you want to try my program, you have just enough to call me and order your materials.P.S. Marie Antoinette was very careful with her diet. She never actually drank champagne and she very rarely ate sweets. We'll give Sofia Coppola a pass for this liberty, since her Marie Antoinette is still the best movie ever. Actually, M A's friends said she ate like a bird, and watching Louis pig out every meal seriously grossed her out. She also never said, "Let them eat cake", so neither will I.

My Thinspiration

This time of year, you hear all sorts of marketing inspiring us to get bikini-ready. Does that do anything for you? It doesn't for me. Frankly, that ship has sailed, and not just because of my figure. No, I will never again wear a bikini, but I do have my holy grail item: white jeans. It is inspired by the most enduring fashion icon in the history of our country and my namesake, Jackie O. (I liked her best when she was with Ari, so that's what I call her. Jackie O. I think she was at her most authentic).

Like a bikini, white jeans are a privilege, not a right. Like a bikini, there are people who wear them who shouldn't but I don't want to be one of them. White jeans are so chic and luxurious. Come on, I have three little boys. It would take a lot of planning to make it more than 10 minutes with them still white. Much less practical than the black stretch pants I wear half the time. They are also very unflattering and visually expansive. I don't own a pair, I don't remember ever owning a pair, but this year I will. Also like a bikini, white jeans season is still a few months away, so I have some time to get ready. What is inspiring you to wellness and hotness these days? I would love to know.

Support Soiree

There has been some confusion, so just so we're clear, it is every Thursday 7:30-8:30.

4718 SW Roseberry St.

Corvallis, OR 97333

Among other interesting and entertaining things we are going to discuss, we are going to watch a clip from today's Oprah with

Michael Pollen. Dang, I love that guy.