The day of my birth...

People celebrate their birthday for many reasons. As for me, I'm happy to be alive today! As you all know, I was born to a desperate 16 year-old who could have made a different choice. Instead she provided me the opportunity to meet and enjoy all of you! I'm so thankful today for that choice and for my family and friends who have made my life the wonderful journey it's been so far!

Hooray for March 27th!

Love to you all!

-JNP

Flying in February

2009 has been great so far! There are so many ways life is changing for me & it feels great. It all started January 2nd...

As many people do, by the time the New Year has arrived, I was jumping for joy! There were some definite wonderful things that happened in 2008, but it was pretty touch-and-go at times. Just before the few days off of work for the New Year, my wonderful boss Teresa informed my angel-coworker (Edie) and I that our department was going to have a "release and visionary ceremony" at the beach Friday, January 2nd. We were all to prepare some thoughts, that included what we would like to release and what we would like to see for ourselves in the new year. The release would be something that was no longer serving us in some way. The visionary would pertain to our lives personally and professionally. We set out for the beach on the cloudy morning of that Friday. We each found a rock and a shell on the beach and found a spot down at Swami's beach where we all could sit comfortably on the rocks. We meditated for a few minutes. Teresa guided us in the ceremony to place the release into the rock (take it for what you will...haha...I was mostly praying instead!) and we "let it go" into the ocean. Let me tell you - I threw that thing as far as I could! We then held the shell and placed in it our desires for the next year. More on that to come. As someone said to me recently, "just watch!" We were finished with the ceremony and were taking a slow walk along the beach back to the car. I was looking down at the beach - of course - because I know myself enough to watch for any big rocks that I might stumble on, and I had a clear voice tell me to look up, out into the water at a specific place. I did so immediately and I saw a pod of dolphins just where I "knew" to look. I'm totally confident that was a confirmation from above...it was so awesome.

So that was the start! And ever since it's honestly been a whirlwind of fantastic things happening. I feel like God is really "turning my page." Here are a few changes: I'm happier than I have been in so long. I have started attending the temple regulary again. I work out 3-5 times a week. I am eating mostly vegetarian - I usually have a little meat once a week.

Other than all that...life is still good. My family is good. Work is still great. Last night we had an adventure to Hollywood to see a great Doors cover band called Wild Child. This was my fourth time seeing them - they put on an awesome show. The show last night was at the Whiskey (a Go Go) and it was a spectacular display of Doors-ness as usual.

Like I've said before, I'm terrible with calls, emails, etc, but I'm sending out the love now. I hope you all are happy and thankful. I'm sure there will be more updates soon, but for now, hugs to everyone.

Our October Trip to Oregon

We had a great trip to Oregon last month. Oregon is beautiful in October!


It was great to see Kira. It's down to about twice a year we get to see each other, so we'll take what we can get. She lives in Bend and is absolutely loving life. She is doing well in the real estate business. She has become an avid hiker, and has hiked most of the peaks in the valley! Amazing! Obviously our interests differ at some point! haha She's also dating a great guy, Ryan, who is -you guessed it- another bike racer. He really is pretty cool and I know they really enjoy their time together!

My parents and I had a fun drive up the 5, and if you can believe it, we didn't even have any music playing until the California/Oregon border! We had some good conversations and lots of laughs. It was good for us to spend some quality time together. My dad is super funny (I forget that sometimes), so I'm going to say that's where I get it! ;)

-My dad at the lava fields-

-Mom, Dad & Kira-
-I found a friend in Sisters, Oregon-
We saw so many beautiful places I've never imagined. I also learned that Bend is a great town, for anyone but me! I guess I have spent too much time in or near a city to live in a place surrounded by miles and miles and miles of trees! I was surprised because we lived in Big Bear for almost 10 years, but we were never more than an hour from a decent size town. All in all, it was a great trip. I had to fly home after only a few days to get back to work. Thanks to Mikey for watching the house & the high-maintenance dogs!

Life is still good

This are still the same for me...still living with my parents (a blessing in not-so-much-of-a-disguise). I'm still working at the Chopra Center and loving it. I have awesome coworkers who will be lifelong friends, and an ideal boss. Shorty and Neo are still kickin'. Shorty is lazy as ever and Neo is keeping the lizard and small animal population down in our backyard. Ben is up in LA with Rosa, his caretaker. It's so much fun to see him once a month. He is healthy and seems very happy. In fact, he can hardly stop laughing these days, and if you know Ben, that's a great sign. Kira is great too...absolutely loving living in Oregon & finding success as a relator. My parents & I are excited to visit her in a few weeks. We're going to drive up & I'll fly home to get back to work.

I think that's it for now. I really hope you all are doing well and are happy. Love to you all!!!

A little Jonnelle...

So, this is the story of a little Jonnelle...

Right now I'm in between "real" jobs. I'm working retail for a sportfishing company right now, but the good news is that I get to see the water right out my window. This picture shows what it's like going out on one of the boats for a twilight (evening) trip. It's fantastic to be able to be on the water when I get the chance.

My parents are still on their mission, which means I'm watching their house. I just got a "new" dog...more like I got one handed down to me, for a while at least. He's a great dog, just wish I had more time to walk him. Shorty is a little bent about it, but she's adjusting. I think she just needed to know that she still rules the roost, even though she's a foot and a half shorter and eighty pounds lighter than Neo...too funny. Small dog complex?

Other than that, just the same old, same old in California. Still looking for a "real" job, still looking for "the one". Man, so many opportunities for growth! Let's hope it gets somewhere.