WifeBear

Lessons Learned

2010-12-03T14:34:00.000-08:00

There are so many things in life that we learn as youngsters and use later in life that have absolutely no connection. For me, one is playing jump rope, especially double dutches. It reminds me of how to merge onto the freeway. Just the right timing to jump in, speed to go and maintain traffic conditions, which is so much like jumping rope. Two people hold the ends, turn the rope and you have to decide when to jump in, when to jump again and how to time it just right....

On the other hand. There are things I was taught that didn't benefit me well. You know, when I look back at all the crap I learned in high school. Yes, it is a song! Spanish class for me should have been taught differently. Some people may have done well with the monologues we had to memorize. To this day if I need a word, I have to refer back to a monologues to find the word. Same holds true for learning numbers in Spanish, where I still have to say the numbers in order to remember that siete means seven. Same goes for the alphabet. I have to sing the song until I reach the letter I am looking for when alphabetizing!

Growing up playing cards, Pinochle and Spades mostly and of course playing dominoes and Yahtzee have made me an addition whiz. I am quick to add numbers in my head and I remember numbers better than most people I know. This is one reason I don't use speed or memory dial. Use it or lose it I say when it comes to remembering phone numbers!

Bullying and Team Mom

2010-11-15T17:16:00.000-08:00

A funny thing happened on the way to "It's not the school's problem."

Last summer after being bullied for several months, my daughter said she hadn't told me earlier because I would get angry with the bully, but also that she wanted to handle it herself.

The bully in question had dated the boy who was my then daughter's boyfriend. My daughter had never met or spoken to this girl. Bully girl did some hateful things to others, such as ordering a lot of pizzas to be delivered to a certain boy, papered his home with tampons and put his personal information on more than one adult web sites. She used Facebook as her means of attack on my daughter. She called her names like caterpillar, because my daughter has to die for eyebrows! She doesn't look like a caterpillar at all, but bully girl was trying to wound my daughter who just happened to be self conscious about her eyebrows. Bully girl said lots of nasty things about my daughter and her boyfriend for all to read. I do have to admit that bully girl did get the nickname skankwhore out of this. However, we at Team Mommy told my daughter and her friends not to use that any longer and try to ignore her.

Eventually the bully girl started picking on another girl who had an eating disorder and wore heavy makeup. This girl was a year younger than my daughter and by this time, my daughter and another friend had taken all they could. They went to see a counselor about what bully girl was doing to eating disorder girl. At this time, my daughter also mentioned the bullying she had endured in silence, at least to any adults. The counselor requested copies of the facebook taunts and comments and was very upset after she read them. She told the girls to talk to the ASB teacher in charge because bully girl was a class president. This teacher took it very personally and said it would not be tolerated. Gone from Facebook were the bully girl and her so called friends. That did not stop bully girl from being mean to eating disorder girl at school though.

Finally, it was told to the vice principal who said, "This is not a school issue." The eating disorder girl asked if it was a school issue when she went to take the SAT and bully girl and followers were there taunting her before the test. Nothing was done from that point, that I know of, until tonight, prompting me to blog for the first time in many months.

Now the funny part. Via robocall the VP called to say there will be two guest speakers tomorrow and one has to do with cyber bullying and how to handle it...Hmm. Guess with all the headlines lately, knowledge is power.

This leads me to Team Mommy. It is a name I coined one day while talking with another mom. My daughter is a senior and still a girl scout. The same troop and girls are still together since first grade. These are not wallflower type girls, but gorgeous, smart, talented, loving young women who have tons of friends even outside their troop of eight. We moms know each other and our girls quite well. Most of the girls call all of us moms mommy. While talking to this mom one day, she told me something that will never be repeated, but we moms need to know. I said Team Mommy vs Angry Teenager, Team Mommy ALWAYS wins!

So, most of these lovely women don't know what I call them, which I will get around to at some point, but do yourselves a favor and take care of other kids and make your own club of Team Mommy. It costs nothing and is invaluable, especially for other opinions or advice. And who has a teenager who doesn't need this from time to time?

American Idol and Sap for Success Stories

2010-05-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

First of all, let me say the only reason I am blogging right now is that a friend is starting a new one and wondered how to do it. Keeping the page open, just in case she needs help, I am watching last night's American Idol....

First, I love Casey. He is quiet in a Jason Castro way. I think he probably got voted off last night, but it has all I could do to now watch, read or hear anything about last night's show.

As I am watching the show, he went back to his home town and I am just crying like a baby at the crowd of well wishers, fans. He is astounded which makes it all the better. Then he goes to the hospital where he was after a bad accident and signs autographs and says thank you. He is a class act.

I want Crystal to win because she just plain rocks! But, it's up to the voters, ultimately. I can't belive Seacrest is talking to Perez Hilton. I really can't believe that he said Lee's Hallelujah is better than JT's! Wrong...Justin Timberlate's performance with Matt Morris was the most moving rendention I have EVER heard! So, WRONG Perez!!!!!

That's my rant for today...

Gotta check out this very popular owl!

2010-03-21T19:07:00.000-07:00

I am blogging for the first time in a couple months. I know, I should be ashamed of myself. Lightfeather, are you on Facebook? Lightfeather sent me a note to post something. So, for now, I will post this.

This is an owl who is nesting. One of the owlets hatched today. It is a box in San Marcos, San Diego County, CA and it's on a couple's property. There is a 24 hour camera and it has become quite popular. Awesome to see wildlife so up close and personal. The mommy owl is name Molly. Her humans just finished talking about their trials with the video feeds, etc. They are a very sweet couple who have already named the owlet, Max. Max won't open it's eyes for two weeks. I don't know how they know it's a boy, or if they do. Max has 17 bones in it's neck, which is why it hangs there. The human said, "Don't be alarmed, Molly is cleaning, not eating her young. The baby daddy should be coming back soon. He comes home at night.

Do yourself a favor and check out this very cool video which just surpassed one million views today. ://www.sportsmansparadiseonline.com/Li Live Owl Nest Box Cam

A True Progressive Dinner

2010-01-10T05:40:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid, my parents both worked and I learned how to cook. By the time I was eight, I was making full course family dinners. My mother worked for a bank, an hours drive from home and she was home less, so it kind of fell to my dad to teach me.

One of the first things he taught me to make was biscuits. Self rising flour and canned milk. Delicious, but I haven't made them in eons.

I was taught to make food go longer with leftovers, if there were any! Hence, a true progressive dinner...

We would get a ham. Cooked in the oven and sliced for dinner. Usually with fried potatoes and corn was the veggie of choice. After about two days of ham sandwiches and leftovers for dinner, we would move on to Pinto Beans. The ham bone would be used as stock for the beans. I learned how to use a Pressure Cooker, which was much faster and simply better than slow cooking beans for hours. The beans were out of this world. We always had fried potatoes with beans. We also used white bread to put under the beans to sop up the juice. If we were lucky, the white bread would be substituted with corn bread. Once I got married and learned how to cook steamed rice (the easiest thing in the world) we very rarely had fried potatoes again. After about two days of beans, next came chili. Everything in the fridge kind of chili with newly added browned burger. Leftover Beans, Shelby's chili kit, in the little paper bag, a can of beer, salsa, steak sauce, velveeta (yes, velveeta, don't do that anymore either) other random ingredients and pickle juice. To this day I buy dill pickles for the juice to go in chili made a couple times a year. Never eat the pickles.

So, from ham, to beans and ham, to chili, it could last a good week and nothing would go to unused. We sometimes had veggies, but they were limited, corn, okra, tomatoes, cucumber and green beans. I don't know if it had to do with little knowledge about vegetables on my parents part, or money that kept us from having yummy broccoli, artichokes and asparagus. I never tried any of these until after I moved out.

David told me last night he liked the progression of the ham to chili dinner. The beans and rice were delicious, if I do say so myself!

Facebook or not?

2009-01-23T17:29:00.000-08:00

All the rage is facebook and I still don't have one. I have enough trouble posting here consistently. My daughters have facebook pages. My husband has one too. The girls are not thrilled about that to say the least. More and more, friends of mine are on facebook. They tell me to get a page. Not that I don't want to see their pages, but I am not sure I want to do it. My girls think it's for teenagers only and I had to tell Katharine today, the adults are there too. No stopping it.

My girlfriend called me last week to ask if I knew that David (GOM) had photos of me on his facebook. One of me SLEEPING...I asked him to remove them. He said he thought they were cute. I thought I should have been asked. My friend said she was not sure she should have told me and I said she absolutely did the right thing.

My friend has a ranch with six horses, four dogs, a cat, and now a pig. She was telling me how funny the six week old pig is. I already know what a hoot her two little Brussels Griffins are. One slides down the hill backwards which is very funny. She always has funny animal stories, but the pig story with the dog jumping in its pen was so funny I told her she needs to video tape the pig at least. A six week old pig is much cuter than the five hundred pounds it will grow to. She called this afternoon and her daughter had video'd the pig and it is on her facebook, of course! I can go in to her facebook to look at it since I have her password. She didn't have a problem with me having the password. I helped her set up online banking and have that password too. Anyhow, should I get a facebook or not?

Too Much Time Has Passed

2008-11-06T21:06:00.001-08:00

I cannot believe the last time I wrote on my blog was in March...I miss it. I miss all the friends I have made here. I still hear from some of you and am amazed you still remember me! I just saw the article Sarah wrote, which was great. I got an email from another person who read it as well. I have no idea what is going on in her life these days. I am hoping she is doing so much better than the last time I was in contact with her, via blog or email. I do keep in touch, albeit seldom, with a couple people. People who take the time to email me. Not like me at all. I appreciate the effort it takes stay in touch with old online friends and would like to be more like them!

Last time I posted was around Easter and here we are on the heels of Thanksgiving. Unreal! The time is flying by way too fast. Zoe is a senior this year with a full load, because she wanted to, not because she had to. She is applying to colleges and will be gone this time next year. She missed the big year for voting by one year! Zoe is again the editor in chief of the high school paper and loves it. She is one smart cookie and I am very proud of her! Katharine is a sophomore and is in her first high school play. Midsummer Night's Dream as Puck. Opens next weekend. She has been rehearsing since school started, almost nightly. She loves it. She is also learning to drive with me as her teacher. A bit scary, I have to admit, but she is doing a great job. She will be ready to get her license in Feb on her 16th birthday.

David has had a couple cancer scares and some surgery this year. He is doing great though and I am very happy about that! He and Zoe are going to NY this weekend to visit a couple colleges in upstate. They are staying with his sister Phoebe in NYC. Hmm, I wonder if she knows that yet...She will if she reads this. Maybe he clued her in. I am working with David at his office now. I love it. I didn't think it was a good idea, but we seem to work well together. I say I work with David because I don't want him to think he is my boss! I do love the office work and am learning a fair amount about working in a law firm.

I had a birthday last month. Turned 49. Sooo close to 50. I am looking forward to my fifties.

Off to bed. Hi to all my old online friends. I promise to do some blog hopping very soon!

I HAVE PARVO!

2008-03-04T08:34:00.001-08:00

Strange right? First I thought my back ached from loading cases of Girl Scout cookies into the car. As the day went on my back was not the only thing hurting. My neck began to hurt as well as my head, legs, arms and even my wrists. I went to the booth sale with all the cookies and thought I would turn around and just come home. I stayed for an hour and a half because I felt bad that our leader Sheri was thinking she had a post surgery hernia. How could I leave her there when all I had were aches and pains?

The longer I stood there watching the girls sell and giggle, the worse I felt. Sheri kept telling me to leave but I wanted to stay until another mom arrived. I finally thought I was getting the flu about the same time the other mom arrived. Sheri insisted I go, especially since I had chills with two layers of sweaters on.

When I got home, I took my temperature and it was 103 plus. I thought I definitely had the flu. I went to bed under three layers of down and a flannel sheet covering me. The heat was turned way up and I was still shaking. A couple hours of sleep later I managed to come upstairs. My temp was still 103 with Advil in my system. Body aches made it uncomfortable to sleep so I was up until the wee hours while my temperature climbed to 104. My temp and body aches lasted well into the next night.

Saturday night I noticed my leg around my ankle was red. Zoe mentioned I probably had them crossed. My leg was on fire and it didn't go away. I placed a wet cloth on the area with the fan going to try to cool it down, to no avail. In fact, it was spreading. Quietly freaking out, I thought I had figured out what I had. A spider bite. I had a bite a couple days ago right where the redness started so it had to be. By Sunday it had spread even more to my foot and my upper calf. I decided not to go to doc in the box because I had heard several stories about the doctor there who was notorious for misdiagnosing ailments.

Yesterday I went to our doctor. He seemed puzzled at first, saw it as a challenge and looked excited. Not by my leg but the challenge of diagnosing it. Finally he told me I had Parvo virus. I was shocked. "Did I get this from my dog, does my dog have Parvo too?" He said dogs get B12. I said, "This comes from B12? I take B12!" He laughed at my graying, not blond self and said, "No, dogs have Parvo B12 and you didn't get it from your dog." He was quite self satisfied that he had figured it out, much to my disbelief. He told me he could prove it with a blood test. He really wanted to prove it! I asked if he was going to draw my blood or if I had to go to a lab miles away. He said I would have to go to the lab. Like a six year old I said, "I don't want to go to the lab!" and I didn't! He told me it was a virus and the rash would go away in due time, maybe weeks.

On the way home I called my friend Pat and she looked it up and told me it is also called Fifth Disease. Now that I have heard of in humans. I was a little miffed that he didn't tell me that. When I got home I looked it up online of course. Found out it is called Parvo Virus B19. It is usually found in children and nasty when adults get it, like chicken pox is. The doctor told me that a lot of people get it but don't notice a rash, which usually appears on the face of kids. They call it the slapped cheek disease because that is what it looks like. I think both the girls had it when they were little. We also think David may have had it a couple weeks ago when he had similar flu like symptom with a high fever.

Apparently contagious before the rash appears, which would have been at the booth sale. I called a few people to let them know. My friend Amy told me that her daughter Devin had it and she looked really pretty! Well, my leg is not pretty and it is still hot, swollen and red. My fever is gone though, so things are on the mend.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T10:49:00.000-08:00

I have been bad about blogging for well over two months now. I think about doing it, but never got to it until today. All the shopping done, presents wrapped, cards, well, I still have half to go! I had the best of intentions and bought cards with a photo of the girls. Costco, what a great place, cards are so reasonable there. Upload from home and pick up the next day. LOVE IT. Anyhow, armed with cards and stamps I was ready to get 'er done. I could not find my eighteen year old phone book and it was essential to this task. I had some addresses on my computer address book, but not many. I remembered some addresses from memory after so many years. Others I looked up via google with names or phone numbers and then I was DONE. Of course that is when I found my address book. It was in the "fire" box. Those are boxes we all prepared in case of fire. This one had important papers, etc., ready to grab a moment's notice. Today is another one of those critical fire or red flag days. Winds whipping and stirring up soot from the fires a month or so ago. It is very warm, in the seventies. I know those of you in the snow might prefer the warmer weather, but it's Christmas! I envy you who get a cool or white Christmas.

We did have a lovely morning though and we are all very blessed.

Anyhow, as you can tell, I could go on and on, but I need to get a turkey in the oven. I think of all my blog friends often and really love that some of you still come by when I haven't posted in so long. I will try to make that a priority so I can keep up with you!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everybody. I wish you fun times and memories with your families and friends.

NO GPS FOR NEW DRIVERS!

2007-09-15T20:48:00.000-07:00

We all know how things have changed since we were kids, if you are over 30 at least. Kids cannot play outside after dark even in their own neighborhoods without a parent around. Parents walk or drive their kids to school and back or meet the bus. These sorts of things show drastic changes from the days of my youth.

Years ago I refused to use speed calling and still do. I like to remember the numbers. I knew I would lose the ability to recall them if I stopped practicing them. Same thing is happening with GPS. More and more of us have one in our car. We plug in the address and a voice tells us where and when to turn or we can just follow in silence using the map on the dashboard.

When I turned 16, the very day, I got my license. Those days we had driver's ed in school. My daughter turned 16 yesterday and wants to drive too, but she needs to still get her permit and we need to make arrangements with a driving school to teach her. What a pain in the ass for kids today. It should still be a class!

Anyhow, since kids cannot run around like we did, they don't learn their own neighborhoods, let alone the city or county where they live. Part of the fun of learning to drive is discovering new areas. Areas the kids of today will not know how to get back to without their talking maps. I think they should be advised to use no GPS systems until they have been driving for two years so they can establish roots!

A new California law was just signed prohibiting teen drivers from using their cell phones while driving. And that includes talking and texting! We should all abide by that rule.

Happy Sweet Sixteen to my Zoe!

Imports

2007-08-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

I just read that our country is buying more imported cars than domestic, for the first time ever. I say let's make it cool to buy American made cars again. We can make a difference. Shaming people who buy foreign cars won't be so hard. We did it with smokers, fur owners, SUV owners all for the greater good. Why not do it for our country? Why is it that American cars are for the most part, ugly? Not all, but many models are just matronly looking. Missing some blinds in the back window is all! For the record, I don't smoke any more and haven't for seventeen months. I don't have any furs, once had a sweater with a fur collar that I really liked though. I drive an American SUV. I would like my next car to be an American hybrid. Now, if only there is one I like.

We have hit the one trillion dollar mark for spending for this war. I have nothing nice to say so I won't.

On a lighter note, an old woman in a Camry (foreign!) pulled out in front of me yesterday. She had to be ninety. My first thought, after I honked at her, as did the person behind me, was that she really shouldn't be driving any longer. I honked at her not because she pulled out in front of me, but because she was going zero mph! Seriously. No gas. She was looking at a house under construction as she was going nowhere. There were four unhappy people in cars behind me. The elderly woman rounded the corner and when she could manage the wheel with one hand, she flipped me off!!! I started laughing so damn hard. She could see me laughing too. I didn't flip her off, I just laughed. As we rounded the next corner, she turned onto the first street and honked as if to tell me "Screw You" and I followed her. I was turning as well. I am sure when I turned she thought I was a woman with road rage and maybe she shouldn't have flipped me off. I stopped to drop my daughter off at her friend's and the woman drove on. Still, how funny that this elderly woman flipped me off. I suppose if I am lucky enough to make it to that age, I would do the very same thing.

New Research About Fat People

2007-07-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

As if being fat isn't enough of a self esteem killer, now this. New research says that if you are fat, you will make those around you fat. If you have a fat friend, you are likely to be fat too. Nothing to do with genes this time, no, this is contagious and caught by just being near a fat person!

It is already to the point of making fat people feel worse than they already do. Similar to how our society got the word out about the bad people who smoked. Yes, it is bad for us, so let's shame them into not smoking when we see them. Same thing now with obesity. It really makes me sick to think that nobody plays with the fat kid now. What happens next, the kids say they cannot play with the fat kid because they don't want to catch it? (Say that with a British accent for a little added effect)

Yes, we know what to eat. We know we are supposed to exercise. We know it could be years before we can look like we are supposed to look and that right there is the unbelievably hard part. It is such a daunting task for some that we go back to our old patterns. Some fatties actually have reasons other than they are not eating enough veggies and fruits. Should the lucky thinner people be able to treat us like lepers now that the new research says it is contagious? If we are to be banished to our own island, I already have mine picked out.

Where is the research that says that having thin friends makes chubby people lose weight? Maybe helps them learn how choose the right foods by example? Maybe the thinnies can choose a chubby buddy to exercise with? I would like to see somebody do that kind of research and then come back and announce to the world that being thin is contagious.

Who funds this stuff anyhow? Live and let live damn it!

Driving Lesson, etc.

2007-07-08T08:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the girls and I did a little shopping, inland. I dropped Katharine off at rehearsal in the canyon on the way back to town. Traffic is a nightmare since the annual festivals opened. Pageant of the Masters too. All right in our little canyon, the main artery in and out of town.

Coming up the hill, I asked Zoe if she would like a driving lesson at an empty parking lot. She was not too keen on the idea, but agreed, I think. We switched seats. I explained the pedals and what they do. Taught her how the steering wheel doesn't need to be touched much to turn. I boast about my car's steering ability often, it is simply the best steering vehicle I have ever had. Turns on a dime, does U-turns better than little cars! Anyhow, Zoe was very brave. She was understandably nervous, being her first time ever. I told her to push the button that moves the brake and gas pedal up and down. She moved it up to be more comfortable. Then it was go time. I had her put it in third to start. She asked how she would know how much to turn the steering wheel to get around the curbed corner. I told her I could not tell her that, she would have to go slowly and get a feel of how it is done. She got the hang of it quickly. She did several laps around the parking lot, turned, straightened out the car, stopped, signaled, parked, backed up, looked for cars coming (humoring me) around corners, the whole nine yards. I figured it was best to get my pet peeves from loser drivers out of the way on the first day. I hate when people don't signal. I am a good driver, we will see how good I am at teaching. When I wanted her to step on the brake, I didn't want to say it, so I made so strange, eeeeeeeeh sound. As if she had decided to stop on her own. In the end, she did great and did stop and go on her own. I suppose it wound not be as daunting if I had a smaller vehicle, but if she can drive my Navigator, she can drive a small car easily. Next, using the gas pedal a little more.

One of the reasons I am teaching Zoe to drive before letting a driving school intervene is simple...My niece was taken the very first day she drove with an instructor, onto a very busy road and then the freaking freeway! Zoe will have some experience before she goes out on the roads. This is beneficial and a must for us and for anybody else on the road. I wish they still had driver training in schools. Nope, now we have to pay for a special school. It would be helpful if she could use the simulators we had back in the seventies. Those were cool. Kind of like the video games of today, I guess. Zoe will be sixteen in September and she does need to learn to drive, but she doesn't have to get her license on her birthday. I did, but I needed a car a lot more than she does at this point. We have a great little bus system here. Up and down the hill, all over town and all for free right now. David took it to work last week and liked it very much. He can do that on days when he stays in town.

The Fourth of July was unspectacular. Instead of watching fireworks from our deck, or from our normal vantage point, where new homes have been erected, we went somewhere new. We ended up on the back field of the middle school Katharine just graduated eighth grade from. We were right on the canyon, watching the goats do weed abatement for us. They leave it looking like Lebanon, but it helps keep the parameter of town in better shape in case of a fire. With less than two inches of rain this past winter, that is a real threat. Anyhow, the goats of all different shapes, sizes and colors were fun to watch until the fireworks began. Then the poor things were scared and huddled together in some trees. The booms echoed throughout the canyon from various locations of colorful explosions in the sky. It was nice for us, scary for the goats and all over in about fifteen minutes. Seemingly fast to us and probably and eternity for the goats. Probably a lot like the first driving lesson for Zoe, from her mother.

School's OUT

2007-06-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day of school for my girls. Poor Zoe the tenth grader has two last finals today. That is no way for a last day to end! She has worked very hard this year and I am happy she will not be doing hours of homework every night. High school is different from when I was there. We didn't spend all our time studying and thinking about what we needed to do to get into college. It is insane that they can't just be students and have some fun as well. I hope she has a good summer and does lots of stuff with her friends. I am so proud of the young women she is. She is sooo smart, works super hard and is beautiful inside and out.

Today is also Katharine's last day of eighth grade. She graduates this afternoon and doesn't have to be at school until then. She is still sleeping. It will be a tissue day for sure during graduation. I remember getting all choked up when Zoe graduated eighth grade, and of course I will do the same with Katharine. Difference is this year, all of the girls who have been in Katharine's girl scout troop since first grade will graduate too, among other close friends. It feels like they are "our" girls too. All of the troop moms feel this way. We all look at this group of smart, lovely and talented girls as "ours" and will absolutely need tissue! I am very proud of Katharine too. She is also smart and has energy to burn, especially if it has to do singing or acting! In fact, she begins rehearsals for the next play on Monday.

Cheers to a very happy summer! :)

The Longest Day of the Year

2007-06-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

Happy summer. Today is the first day of summer. I always remember this day on the calendar. Thirty-two years ago I was in a horribly run hospital recovering from giving birth to a baby boy the day before. I always remember the date of June 20, 1975, too. It is his birthday. I was fifteen. I remember it all, as if it were yesterday. No meds for the pain because they didn't want to harm the baby who was about twelve pounds. I had no prenatal care. I hid the pregnancy for nine months. I was in a profound sense of denial.

Yesterday I caught part of an Oprah show about a girl who gave birth in her bathroom and then went down to dinner. She did the unthinkable with her baby. She went beyond leaving a baby in a basket. She is in prison for killing her baby. She was scared and hid the pregnancy too. Although, her baby daddy knew too and was the one who disposed of the baby. To most people this is the most unbelievable thing anybody could do. To me, it could have been my reality.

I have sympathy for girls or women who get rid of their babies. I am sure most hope somebody will discover their baby and give him or her a good home. Unfortunately, it doesn't always turn out that way. I know the fear of getting caught being pregnant at such a young age. It was enough to force me to hide my pregnancy until three days before I had him, and then my mother asked me if I was pregnant. I didn't offer up the info. She saved me from being the girl who gave birth in her bedroom and hid the baby or put the baby somewhere so I wouldn't get caught. She saved me from possibly dying during childbirth from blood loss or any number of complications. She saved my baby too. Who knows what I would have done in a couple more days. I was not a terrible person. I was a scared child having a child!

You may wonder how somebody could hide a pregnancy for nine months. You may wonder how my mother or father could not tell I was pregnant. Why my friends didn't know. Why my brothers didn't know. Perhaps my parents were in denial, I don't know. I do know I was excellent at concealing the bump. I wore smocks or sweatshirts. Yes, it was coming up on summer and quite warm, but I managed.

Still, I know the fear these girls face and am thankful for the safe haven laws that let newborns be brought to churches or hospitals, no questions asked. I would like to think I would have chosen this path. I was lucky. Somebody noticed and took action before the birth. I gave my baby boy up for adoption. He turned thirty-two yesterday and I hope he is a happy man with a good life. I hope he has great parents and wonderful childhood memories.

Lying in the hospital the day after having my baby, it was June 21st. I was not in the maternity ward because I was giving my baby up for adoption. I was moved into the general population area. In those days they didn't release you within twelve hours of giving birth. I had to live through the longest day of the year, the first day of summer in the hospital with my family telling everybody I had an appendectomy. Things have changed a lot. I was one of the lucky ones. The hospital is being replaced by a new modern hospital and the old one sits next to it, for now. One day soon, when I pass by, I will not be reminded of that horrible place.

Sopranos Finale

2007-06-10T23:07:00.000-07:00

When the finale ended tonight, I thought it sucked. After thinking and talking about it, I decided it was an okay ending. Instead of killing everybody David Chase left it up to our imagination.

The family seems to have come out alive. Meadow will become a mouthpiece with a starting salary of $170,000, Carmella and Tony were thrilled. AJ went, hook line and sinker for the entertainment industry and got himself a nice BMW M3 and told his friend how great the gas mileage was. This after he wanted to save the planet. Carm had her house to fix up that she got at an estate sale. Tony survived, or so I imagine. Pauly was fine, not so happy being a skipper again, but walking around fine. Creepy Janice hit up Uncle Jun to get his money. Tony was very emotional seeing Junior not remember anything or anybody.

We got to see Tony take a therapy session about AJ and make it about himself, while Carmella had daggers in her eyes. Makes me think he has a new shrink, if he wants one.

The cat staring at Christopher's photograph and annoying the hell out of Pauly was hilarious. Nine lives, reincarnation of Chris? Who didn't love Anthony and his sarcasm about Pauly seeing the Virgin Mary at the Bing?

I have to admit, the scene in which Phil was shot was pretty funny. Normally I would not laugh as an SUV rolled over somebody's head, but for some reason it was his appropriate comeuppance.

So, I was not upset with the ending. I actually liked it.

Anaheim Ducks

2007-06-10T09:16:00.000-07:00

Well, how about that? The Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup. Yes, the ANAHEIM Ducks. No need for the city of Los Angeles to be connected to the title. Amazing. First Disneyland was good enough to be in Anaheim and then the Ducks. So, why the need to put LA into the name of the Angels of Anaheim? More recognition? I think not!

The Sopranos Next to Last Episode

2007-06-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

I was disappointed in the Sopranos last night. I was left asking if that was it? It was as if they were using the hour to set up the final bloodbath, I mean episode. It's okay to use the show in that way, of course, but there were so many things out of character, which didn't add up for me.

The Sopranos are portrayed as a strong family. At any given meal or at the Bing, there are plenty of them. I realize some have been killed off, but did the rest leave when Christopher died? Last night, only four or five and all alone. Why was Tony alone without a body guard until the end? They were walking around without taking precautions. They knew before the FBI dude told him, that the hit was on. Why didn't Tony and Bobby get Carm and the kids and creepy Janice and her baby and step kids (God help those kids with Bobby gone) and move them to safety immediately? Why wait until Phil and his family had time to plan? And why did they all go to one location so they can just exterminate them all at once. Only a cockroach can survive that kind of thing. That doesn't seem so smart to me. Plus, the first thing Tony does when he gets to the safe house is go to sleep! No planning? Even Paris Hilton planned her entrance to jail with minimum paparazzi present....

I wonder what supersonic aircraft the Italians took to get to Jersey so quickly. It took us about 17 hours to get to Italy. The beauty of TV. But, this is HBO and this is supposed to be quality programming.

Bobby was alone, buying trains when he knew of the hit? How freaking lame is that? I know his phone was in the car with his coat, so he was not told to shake up his routine. That was a given and I would think if he wasn't thinking about moving his family, the least he could have done, was keep the phone with him as one of Tony's captains.

I thought it abrupt and unnecessary for Dr. Melfi to fire Tony last night too. Are you telling me that she read that he would be worse with talky therapy last night, for the first time in seven years? I think some continuing education would have served her well if that is the case. Good thing she was at that dinner party with all her shrink friends, or she would have never known it was time to fire him.

Maybe she will take him back when the movie comes out. That is of course if Tony survives. At the rate they are going it doesn't look good for him. I heard they filmed three different endings. It has to be tragic, so I would think at least one Soprano has to die. Maybe AJ as he wants to die anyhow. I hope they leave Carmella alone. It could also be Meadow too, cuz she is with her boyfriend as if nobody will know to look there for her. As of last night, did anybody tell her not to go home to get a home cooked meal from Carm? I really hope they are not going to have Tony stay in the room and flashback on the last seven years and then shoot it out. Lots of loose ends left untied. Hopefully we will be rewarded with a well written finale, but at this point, I am skeptical...

I forgot my password!~

2007-06-02T07:10:00.000-07:00

It has been so long since my last post that I FORGOT my damn password! That is just crazy. Why have a blog at all if I am not going to post exciting, funny stuff?

Truth be told, (I never use that expression in real life) I haven't blogged lately because I just don't have anything much to say. I am not feeling particularly funny either. I prefer funny posts to the mundane crap of the daily hustle and bustle. But, I have to work with what I've got, or I will forget my password again.

Yesterday, I went to Costco. I don't go as often as I used to for several reasons, but mainly, I don't really need to buy five pounds of muscles. But, I did. David said, "I can't eat this many." Of course he could if he froze some for a later date or ate some today too. Nobody really likes to mess with seafood though. Eat it as soon as it arrives or it is suspect. Once suspect, it will sit in the freezer for a year. But, they were soooo cheap!

I do like buying meat there. Excellent prices for meat that freezes well. And bread. My youngest enjoys the miniature loaves of bread. Six to a bag. I put them in the freezer and she takes one out the night before and has it for breakfast the next morning. Just like it came from the bakery. It is worth the time it takes to freeze things. Much cheaper than the grocery store, especially in this town.

On to vitamins. Holy moly, it takes me forever to choose vitamins. I bought some vitamin E and some fish oil, which I was okay with, because I liked what I bought a few months ago. Some has more omega 3 and some has more fish oil, but the decision was made and I wrote down the name. It saves time and angst. However, it happened again when I needed a new bottle of multivitamins.

If you put the "supplemental facts" next to each other, they are different in quantity of various vitamins. Easy enough right? Not exactly. The bottle I replaced was MEGAVITAMINS. One a Day don't even come close to the numbers of the mega doses. But, do I need 5333% of my daily value in Thiamin? 4706% Riboflavin, 1333% B12? Maybe I do, but I am betting 100% is okay too. So, no more megavitamins for the next few months while I finish the One a Day tablets.

I just realized why they do those frustrating math word problems in school. If a train is going 100 mph and you left the station at 3:00, how long would it take a duck to fly the same distance, with a wounded wing? I just realized those MEGAVITAMINS said to TAKE 2 a day. At least One a Day is obvious....Right?

Happy Mother's Day 2007

2007-05-13T07:26:00.000-07:00

I am very blessed to have two wonderful daughters. Both healthy. Both smart. Both beautiful. Both loving. Both funny. Both sarcastic, one a bit more than the other...They each have very bright futures. I have no doubt they will each become whomever they want to become, unless some loser guy leads them astray! Joking....hopefully.

Everybody is still asleep. I hear the chirping of Tivo downstairs, so I think the hub is up. The girls wanted to make breakfast in bed for me, but I get up at five and they get up around ten. I can eat at the table with them. Just being with them is the best.

I don't know if it's hormones or depression, but these past couple of weeks have been hard on me. I have been letting things build up inside me until I finally exploded the other day. I felt horrible after and went to bed. Had a good cry, apologized for snapping. I felt like the worst mother in the world. I know I am not the best, by any stretch, but I felt horrible. I know mothers are not perfect. We do the best we can and hope they find a good therapist when they grow up. Or sooner, as it is more socially acceptable now days.

It is difficult to let them make their own mistakes when we know what to do. We must let them make their own mistakes though. These are important lessons. Yesterday, while in the car with the girls and a friend, I mentioned that they cannot get away with anything. Their grades and attendance are posted online and checked by the hub often. Not because he is concerned they did anything wrong, but because he is proud and curious. I used to steal the cut notices out of the Saturday mail every week! My parents didn't have a clue. I told the girls it was too bad they cannot get away with anything. They asked why, as they don't want to get in trouble. I told them it is just sort of a right of passage. I learned a lot growing up the way I did. It showed me another side to things. I think it makes me more rounded (no pun here) as a person and especially as a mom.

My mother died eight years ago and I miss her. She died to soon. Alzheimer's. Horrible horrible disease.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful Moms.

For nothing to say, this is long...

2007-05-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

Between not having much to say, nor the inclination to blog on a regular basis these days, my blog is quite boring. I can write about my busy schedule, my family, funny things that happen, silly things that make me laugh, how bad I feel that I don't blog more often, how much I miss going to all the blogs I love for a daily read, what drives me nuts, who drives me crazy, confess to being bipolar opposite and being sad that the days are so long and a hot dry summer is upon us again....See, I just wrote a whole paragraph about nothing!

My mother had this place on her mouth, that when touched, she would get the hiccups. My brother and I knew this and used her less known secret for our own amusement. We would rub it to show our friends and to make ourselves laugh. She didn't mind. She didn't get the hiccups for long. Well, now my daughter thinks it is fun to make me laugh to the point of tears streaming down my face. I can't blame her, they love it when I laugh. Obviously, I don't do it enough, as this seems to be a phenomenon. I love the kind of laughing that is out of control and infectious to all around us. Even if what I said is silly.

We were on the freeway coming back from LA and there was mucho traffico as usual. Bumper to bumper. We were in the car pool lane and still crawling along. The motorcycles weren't though. They ride in an unsafe manner between the lanes and at one point I noticed that not all of them should be doing this...Not for the reason you might think. Of course a car can switch lanes at any time or somebody could open a door and swat the motorcyclist like a fly. But it was this person's ass that got me laughing...I then blurted out, "Yer motorcycle might fit, but your ass duddunt!" It made me crack up. I said it every time a motorcycle went by. Then my daughter repeated it to get me going all over again. It worked, it still works. I spelled duddunt for her too. DUDD-UN-T. Not u n, but un. Anyhow, it is probably one of those had to be there things, but that's okay. The laughing has been cathartic.

We went to the Excellence Awards at the High School and Zoe got Outstanding Student in Honors World History and fitness. She really has no childhood. She spends all her time in school, doing homework and lately she has taken some practice tests for the SAT. These are set up by college board and are very much like the real thing. She took one yesterday for literature and said it was easy. Listen to her schedule next year, as a Junior, she will be taking Spanish 2, Honors Pre-Calc, Physics, AP English, US History, Mock Trial and Journalism. I asked her why she is doing Journalism again, after not enjoying it this year, and she said, because she doesn't want the paper to die. Nobody will be back next year and it will be a new teacher. She will be senior student on the paper next year. I did mention that the paper had been published for seventy years, but she wants to make sure it keeps going. Admirable, I think. What a great young women. I am very proud of her.

Katharine got to miss school on Friday for a film shoot. It was all fun. We left the house before six a.m. to get there on time. She really loves this stuff. Who can blame her? The crew asks repeatedly if she wants anything and then they say it's a wrap and all the crew applauds. It really could give anybody the acting bug...except me.

Happy Sunday....

Depressed

2007-04-19T07:09:00.000-07:00

I am very depressed because of the shootings at VTech. I didn't know anybody there. I don't know anybody who knows anybody, that I know of. I believe I watched too much coverage the first two days and it knocked the wind out of me. I remember people telling me they felt this way after Columbine. I understand better now. It is especially hard now that the media is playing the videos of this mad man. I will not watch any more of his rants. I wished him dead after listening to him. He is already dead. I wish everybody with the amount of hate this man had, would all go away and take their troubled minds and souls with them and let the rest of us be. Don't take us with you when you go. You are dead. There is no glory in having your name repeated over and over on the news. We tune you out, apparently just like we did while you were alive, at least in your own head. If you feel the need to be on the news, climb a tree and rescue a cat. Have a friend video tape it and put it on youtube or myspace. On a slow news day, you are sure to get picked up.

My heart goes out to all the families and friends of the victims, and those of us who grieve from the residual effects of this despicable act. It also goes out to the rest of us who worry about our children going off into this crazy world. And I do mean crazy.

Love and Peace. How hard is that?

Happy Over Commercialized Religious Holidaze

2007-04-07T08:06:00.000-07:00

I received an email this morning from an online shopping site that said, "We miss you." I thought, sheesh if they miss me, it has been way too long since my last post! This is me, making the time to write about nothing really.

The stores have had Easter candy out since Valentine's Day. The Valentine's Day candy was the day after Christmas. It is all too commercialized. At least prepackaged egg dye is cheap. Even teenagers still want to dye eggs. Have you dyed your eggs today or have you had a nice chunk of Gefilte fish with some matza? All on sale this time of year, of course, so enjoy.

We are all fine. Girls are excited that next week is Spring Break. Who wouldn't be? Remembering that "ski week" was only two months ago, it seems to me they get a whole lot more time off than I did as a kid. However, they get much more homework than I did. The amount of homework astonishes me. The class is not long enough, so they send home what doesn't get done? Or is the class long enough and not being managed properly? Other classes watch films on days they have substitutes. Why don't the students just do a study hall for that period? Even better, why doesn't the teacher have a class plan so the substitute can follow it? How hard is that?

These kids are much more stressed than I was at their age. Eighth grade GATE classes don't seem so tough. Homework load seems pretty light actually. Tenth grade honors classes are much tougher. Then there is all the stress of what college to choose and what to do to get in one. We are being besieged college paraphernalia. Some are from colleges we have never heard of. Being a sophomore, we still have time to choose, but not much. It really screws up being a kid to have to deal with all this instead of just enjoying their high school years. Sucks really.

Anyhow, happy spring break to everybody and safe travels for all who get to go somewhere for vacation. Hopefully, none were on a cruise ship in Greece. We are staying put this year. Happy Passover and/or Easter too.

True Confessions????

2007-03-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

Does anybody believe any of these confessions that are so plentiful right now? The latest being a detainee at Gitmo who confessed to plotting the bombings of the USS Cole and two embassies in Africa. Everything tied up into a nice little package complete with a bow. I sure wish I believed it!

Looking on the Bright Side

2007-03-03T06:53:00.000-08:00

I am looking out the window and the first bird I see is a Woodpecker. It is climbing up a Northern Pine. What a nice way to start the day.

Yesterday was different. The school called to say that my daughter's friend had lice and they were going to check my daughter next. Then came the call back and not the kind we wanted. My eighth grader had lice. I thought we'd missed that bullet, but we didn't. I picked my humiliated daughter up and took her to the pharmacy. I love our hometown pharmacy. One of the older women who works there is a hoot. She told me all her kids had it and it happens everywhere, even our little chi chi (SP?) town. I suppose that could be the bright side. Why would I think it couldn't happen here? Afterall, it has been in the schools year after year.

I called the number on the box of Rid because I had a question. The directions say to put on shampoo dry, then lather and shampoo. I wanted to know if that meant with the shampoo I had already used or a nice 2006 Paul Mitchell shampoo. It turns out either is fine. Great. I sent her to the shower to just wash with the shampoo already in her hair. I did get lots of tips from the helpful woman at Rid. Since my daughter has long hair, and lots of it, it would probably take 6 to 8 hours to comb out. I have to admit, my jaw did hit the floor. Not much can make that happen.

Another tip was to section all of her hair and make about 20 braids. Then comb through each section, rebraid and keep away from the other braids. I thought it was a clever idea. We did so and it took us a goof FIVE hours to comb out her hair. Back to the shower for another wash, this time with a very nice 2007 Pantene and conditioner. Meanwhile, in lieu of burning all the bedding, clothing, pillows and stuffed animals, everything had to be washed on hot. The lady at Rid told me that all the stuffed toys could be put in the dryer to kill the lice. I asked if the heat kills that creepy little buggers, why can't we just use the blowdryer on her hair. Apparently it needs to be 130 degrees to kill them. I suppose that is a little warm for a tender head...

Anyhow, it was quite a bonding experience. That's the bright side! Lots of time together! Her friend asked my daughter if she wanted to have a lice playdate....I thought that was funny. So far, it seems contained with just her. She had her hair cut last week and there was no sign of the little critters, so we think it was a recent infestation. How gross is that???

Anniversary, Cleaning and the Academy Awards

2007-02-26T14:53:00.000-08:00

This is a biggie. I just celebrated my ONE YEAR anniversary of no smoking. Actually it was on the 18th of Feb. So another week has been added. I am so happy I don't smoke anymore. I do feel as if I have been a bit depressed but unaware of it. I have wanted to do nothing as far as cleaning or organizing. Yes, I am getting flylady daily and I delete them after I get too many.

I am beginning to se signs of Spring though. Cleaned a storage closet in the garage with the girls yesterday. That was all I wanted to do and it took the three of us an hour. Today, I cleaned out three junk drawers! I found a necklace I have been looking for, among other things. I have a long way to go. One cabinet and drawer at a time. It will take a long time, but it feels good.

I enjoyed the Academy Awards last night. I would have liked to see more Ellen though. She is so funny. I was happy Alan Arkin won. I love surprises. I get bored with shows where the expected happens. I was happy with the outcome of last night's show though. I am over the awards for now though. It is time to give it a rest finally!

Kids and Cell Phones

2007-02-21T06:24:00.000-08:00

When we got Katharine a phone four years ago, at the age of ten, it was still a big deal. I think only one of her other friends had one. Some of the mothers were probably thinking what a nightmare it was going to be until their daughters got one. I know first hand how some of the mothers felt. They thought their kid was too young, they would loose the phone or it would cost too much. But, since then things have become more commonplace. Every child we know has a phone now. There are family plans to add a person for a mere ten bucks. For the record, Katharine never lost her phone. Also for the record, not all kids want one. Zoe still didn't want one last year as a freshman. We pushed for her to have one when her schedule warranted phone calls for rides home. She still only turns it on when she calls me to come get her.

Yesterday, I was watching my video iPod while waiting for Katharine at her voice lesson. I sat in my warm car with the window down. I half watched and listened to three seven or eight year olds playing basketball, while watching a free download of the Top Designer. The boys reminded me of my childhood. Living on a cul-de-sac, where less cars traveled, making it somewhat safe. Carefree, teasing each other, just being boys. I was half expecting a shout from a sister or a mom telling one of them it was time to set the table, wash their hands or that dinner was ready. That never happened though. At least not the old fashioned way, with a nice belt from the diaphragm, or a screech from a put upon sister. It came in the form of one little boy getting a phone call. He told his friends he had to go home for dinner. He walked about sixty feet into his front door. Another boy was going home too and the remaining boy said dramatically, his life was over. He was joking, but he did tell mention that he was bored. I guess he just went in to his video games.

So, a seven year old has a cell phone. His mother calls him without looking out the window to actually see the boy. I don't suppose this is much different from when I am calling Katharine and she doesn't hear me. If I text her or call her cell though, I can get through. My how times have changed!

Last on the Agenda

2007-02-10T06:48:00.000-08:00

Want to get screwed? Be last on the agenda!

Last week there was a city council meeting that went on and on. David was not supposed to be up until the very last item on the agenda. He was representing a client.

Just to be honest, I would of course want his client to win. However, this really has nothing to do with that. This has to do with a very tired city council, who just wanted the meeting to be over so they could just go home!

I had listened to several items on the agenda. I do this from time to time, to find out what is going on in town or not. I listen because I need a good laugh. I listen because I love to see how the rich or powerful get their own set of brand new rules. I listen to see how the little guy can't get a five foot deck added to his house, yet a McMansion can be built into the side of a hill after it was said we were done allowing McMansion's in town. Often times the council listens to DRB (design review board) issues because they are in dispute. And in case you forgot, one of those in the DBR is Jan Brady.....Seriously, I mean Eve Plumb, a la Brady Bunch fame.

After listening to issues and both sides, the council would debate and come to a conclusion. This went on all night. By the time the last issue was addressed, the council listened to both sides again. What happened next, is what pisses me off. One of the members said, "Oh we have heard this issue before. I agree with DRB." Motion made and passes, without discussion. Meeting adjourned until next week. Somebody calls out from the audience and the mayor says, "You will have to bring that up next week, we have been her seven hours!" So, basically, if you want to be heard by the city council, don't let them put you last on the agenda to be heard at 11:30 PM.

I am not sure if the guy should have gotten the city council to review the issue, but it seems to me, that their minds were made up long before the issue came up. Probably while doing their homework. Why then, do they even have the item on the agenda? From what I heard during the arguments, one lady was not allowing her neighbor's work to be done due to the principal of the thing. He had a plan and now he wanted to add more. (In my book, that is what additions or improvements are for!) That turned out to be the bottom line. They listened to her, somebody who's house is basically a rental anyhow. They did say they were going to move back to town and inhabit that house though. All the while, the other person, doesn't get to do what he wanted to do, even though, his architect did everything to appease the woman and he had neighbors in favor of what he was going to do, saying it would not impact that woman's life at all. It came down to two things, the principle of the thing and the fact that the city council members were tired. This is not fair. They should have continued the item if they were to freaking tired. If they were going to deny it, they really should have said why, other than, they had heard it before and it was late. They missed a chance to show that compromise does work, even if they would have had to force it!

Anniversary

2007-02-03T10:46:00.000-08:00

Today is our 17th wedding anniversary. No gifts. Money back into the business, which is fine since I am still not over the craziness of shopping and spending at Christmas...Anyhow, a real marriage works like this....I am so tired from listening to the three girl sleepover til three AM...Would you mind going to Costco for me? That is where he is now. Frankly it is cheaper to send him for a few things we need, than sending me, who would find other things we would need. Isn't that sweet?

I am sure I mentioned how we met and married on a year ago post, so I won't go there. I am just happy to have had my husband in my life for the last 17 years and want to say, Happy Anniversary and I love you!

Blogger says it is scheduled outage time....Gotta run!

The Perfume is Very Irresistible

2007-02-02T14:18:00.000-08:00

I just changed over to the new blogger thing and couldn't get back on after I posted and left a couple of comments yesterday. Not a good start eh?

Anyhow, running out to pick up one of the girls, so this will be brief.

The perfume I was wearing the other day and am currently enjoying very much is Givenchy's Very Irresistible. I actually had to go look at the bottle. I told somebody the other day it was De-Lovely. Lovely is from Sarah Jessica Parker and I like it very much. But it was the wrong name of course. I don't know where De-Lovely came from. I also thought this perfume was Liv Tyler's, but I think she is just the model...I dunno, but I do think it smells yummy....

Perfume

2007-01-31T14:44:00.000-08:00

You know how you apply perfume or cologne and think how strong it is? I do this and I know that the smell will grow faint in time, to where only I can "really" smell it. Then I'll get the compliment from somebody about my perfume. Or the question asking what I am wearing. Of course this brings up the question of whether I am wearing too much or not. I put it on this morning and even I can barely smell it after a couple of hours.

Today at lunch, the waitress came over and asked which of us (three) were wearing the delicious smelling perfume. She literally smelled all of our necks and then couldn't figure out who was omitting the scent. She tried two other tables full of women, finally said it was stronger at out table. I told my friends jokingly, it was me, to which one replied, "It probably is, you always smell good." Again, I wonder if I am over doing it and nobody has told me. I know how awful it is to be around somebody who is overwhelming the air we breath with their scent. I don't want to be that person. On the other hand, I am a lot like the waitress when I smell something I love. I want the name and I cannot wait to wear it.

Well, it turned out to be me. She asked to smell my wrist and that was the scent she had to know the name of. She came from across the room and asked which of us smelled so good. That meant it had to be strong right? Not good, especially when people are trying to taste their food and not my perfume!

We did have a nice lunch. One friend, P, had her birthday the first part of December. We have tried to get together for her birthday lunch since then. Our other friend A and I gave P her birthday gifts over the holidays, but P refused to open them until her birthday lunch. She said otherwise we wouldn't have gotten together and she is probably right. I told her when she opened her gift that I had forgotten what I gave her. Plus, she brought her gifts to open. It was pretty funny.

It was a different sight to see so many people with sweaters and scarves on coming in and get a table near the fire at the restaurant. We have had some cold weather this winter with less than a couple inches of rain, until last night. We got about an inch. Still, we are way behind where we should be. Every storm seems to stop north of LA county and we are south of LA. Holding out hope for some more precipitation before winter goes away. I have been wanting sweater weather and it is truly here for us Californians. Most would laugh at this being only 52 degrees. But, that's okay, it was such a beautiful cold day. At one point during lunch I asked my friends to look out a window at the picturesque view. Relentless fall colored leaves still hanging on the trees, wet from the rain, with a mix of dark clouds and blue sky in the background. So striking. It is lovely to stop and smell the roses, but it is breathtaking to gaze at such beauty and remind ourselves how lucky we are to live where we do.

Spell check

2007-01-20T08:18:00.000-08:00

So, I was writing a note the to the PE couch so Katharine didn't have to run the mile on Friday. She stubbed her toe and then reopened the injury with the corner of a door...Ouch.

I write the note and immediately question the spelling of one word that I wrote. No spell check in sight, I go to the computer and click dictionary. Check the word and it is correct, but while I am there, I decide to check a couple more just in case. Second guessing my spelling is something I rarely did before spell check, because I have always been a good speller and had confidence.

I have never gotten into using speed dial due to the trap I am now in with spelling. I wanted to remember the numbers and I was proud of the quantity of numbers I could store in my brain, for most of my life for some numbers. I didn't want to lose the ability by using speed dial.

Here I am, do I stop using spell check so I remember how words are spelled and make myself think? I actually do the best I can with spelling still and think I do a pretty good job as I always have, but with that little click of the button so easily accessible, I will double check my spelling every time. Except when I am handwriting something.

Now calculators are a completely different story. I would die without one of those! They have made doing math by hand, obsolete. Sad really, but then, I never thought I would need all the crap I learned in high school!

Bob

2007-01-14T07:29:00.000-08:00

When I was a girl we spent two weeks of our summer vacation going to and from Oklahoma. The drive there was not so bad. Two of my brothers, my parents and I, would be excited to get in the car and drive away from Longworth Ave. We would take two days to reach our destination. It was always sweltering and we often had a broken a/c in the car, one year after the next. We would stop at a motel, always Best Western's with a pool. We stayed in that pool until we were literally dragged out. My father would get us up at 2am or 3am to hit the road. We were used to this kind of behavior, because it was a normal thing for him to do when we were going fishing or if it was Christmas morning and we out slept him...In this case, it was more to do with the heat. We drove all day and about 3pm we got to stop at another motel with a pool. Heading to Oklahoma or heading back to Longworth Ave., this was the routine.

Our destination was Bob's house. Really a farm or ranch. Mostly horses raised and hay grown. We called Bob, Uncle Bob. He was not our uncle, he was my dad's first cousin. All my life, he was my second cousin. His kids were my third cousins, and so on. At least until I met David and he told me that Bob was really my first cousin once removed. UGH...I will never get that. This really threw a wrench in things because it seemed half of Oklahoma and I were related. My father had a huge family. His grandparents had huge families. You get the picture.

When my dad's mother died, when he was five, he was left with his siblings to be raised by his father. My father was the youngest of the lot. Around the time his mother died he lost a sister as well, both of them to TB. My grandfather's mother in law swooped down and tried to get them all in the car so she could take them to an orphanage. My grandfather didn't let that happen. It was tough, there are hundreds of stories that I would love to tell you some time, but for now, I will just tell you of about my dad and Bob.

Bob's mother was the worlds best cook according to the masses. Aunt Dewey and her sisters were instrumental in helping feed my father and his siblings and keeping them together. My dad and Bob were the same age and like brothers. They all lived very close by each other. Bob was always there for my dad, not matter what trouble he got in. And he got in plenty. For the longest time, being cute and the youngest got him out of a lot of situations, I have been told. In later years, it was Bob who helped get him out of scrapes.

Years later, it was no wonder that Bob's would be the top spot for our yearly vacations. We would arrive to the warmest of welcomes and sun tea. Bob's wife Jeri was the second best cook in the world from what I was told. At least until Aunt Dewey died and Jeri was given the tiara. Jeri and Bob married very young. Around 15 I believe Jeri was, when they wed. She learned everything she knew from her mama and from mama Dewey. She was a good match for Bob, who pretended to be all gruff and grumpy much of the time. He wasn't though. He was loving and he listened.

Bob and Jeri had a big spread. Ponds where we could fish was just icing on the cake. We could go on the horses with help because we were not used to horses from where we came from, but I was used to fishing. We would catch plenty of fish and then Jeri would fry them up along side fried potatoes and biscuits, always from scratch. Other days it was okra we would cook up. Fried okra. I remember picking it from their garden and it tasted better than ever.

Bob would sit on the porch and tell us stories. He was quick witted and dry, with a quiet and unsuspecting delivery. With that Oklahoman twang to boot. He could bring us to tears from laughing so hard. He told me I would get warts from handling the frogs that came out every night. It slowed me down, but didn't deter me from catching the little critters with my brothers and cousins. One time we were fishing on Lake Texoma or actually in a river near there. I remember him telling his night crawler to get on the hook. I did the same thing. I said, "Get on the hook, you little bastard." I got spanked and Bob told my father that I was just copying him. Still, I was told not to use that word. We loved going back there and seeing Bob when were young. Sometimes we would see other relatives near Bob and other times we would go to a lake and have family reunions while camping.

Years later, after my father died, we went to Bob's a couple of times. I took my family and my brothers went too. Then my mother died and again we went to Bob and Jeri's, only this time we brought the ashes of both my folks with us. We were getting ready for our kids to spread the ashes and another cousin, Bob's age, and his wife were there. They are very religious and were appalled by what we were doing. I told Bob I felt uncomfortable and he said, "Well, Nancy, by God if they don't like it, they can leave!" He knew that it was my father's desire to have his ashes spread around Bob and Jeri's pond. We then let the kids spread the ashes of my folks around the pond. It was very memorable.

We went back to visit and spent a lot of time swatting flies and drinking beer. It was a vacation after all. It was way too hot to fish. Bob would sit with us and share stories about growing up with my dad, among other things. The music he heard would make him tear up at times. My father and his whole family were musicians and Bob's were not, but they were around the constant music and he had many fond memories. My youngest brother plays and my other two brothers like to sing and that is what we did.

There was a very destructive tornado very near Bob's one night. It leveled a whole town. Bob, around 70, got on one of his tractors and drove over there and dove right in, helping move debris from the roads so emergency vehicles could get through. He spent days and days helping. He also did something he had never done in all his years of living on the property. He dug a hole in the ground and put a railway car in there. It was well stocked and he was ready for the next tornado that came through. Helping at the nearby town finally convinced him of the damage tornadoes cause.

When my father found out he had cancer and only a couple months to live, he put my folks home on the market and sold it. He had originally wanted to move to Oklahoma, but my mother wouldn't move that far from us. She was okay with Bakersfield which is about an hour and a half north of LA, or two hours depending on who's driving. Anyhow, they sold the house and Bob and his brother Pete came from OK with a horse trailer and filled it up with everything my folks owned and off to Oklahoma they went. Bob and Jeri hosted my parents (did I mention my mother had advanced Alzheimer's at the time?) until one day Jeri called me and told me my dad needed to come back here and go to a hospital. Bob came out for the funeral and said he would never come back to California again. No need. We could go see him. I had never seen him so sad.

About two years ago, their youngest son died. Jeri died a month later. Bob and Jeri had put up a barrel racing arena on their property for the whole town to use. Jeri, who was in her seventies, still barrel raced weekly. She was doing it one night and her horse had a heart attack and fell on her, killing her instantly. Bob knew she was gone. He sat down on the horse and lit a cigarette. Jeri died doing what she loved.

Jeri always took care of Bob. After she died he didn't use her kitchen once. A few months ago, my youngest brother went to stay with Bob for a while and did his best to cook Jeri's food. Bob was the happiest he had been since Jeri died. Everybody was happy to see him come alive again. This went on for weeks and my brother and Bob adored spending time together. It was probably a lot like it was when my dad was at his side when they were young. It was good for Bob. My brother moved up to Kansas to live near my other brother and left Bob. It was time, Bob never used that kitchen again though. Not long after my brother left, some other cousins came to stay with him while having their home renovated. This was in November, they are still there. Still, the kitchen remains unused.

Friday night there was a voice on my machine, I hadn't heard in years. It was my dad and Bob's cousin Ruth from Bakersfield. She and her husband were a God send to my parents. They were beyond helpful and loving. Anyhow, I heard her voice and knew something was terribly wrong, but who else in Bakersfield was I close to anymore? (Her brother and family are the one's still at Bob's) She told me that Bob had passed away and had not been feeling well, but refused to go to the doctor. His daughter finally came to over to force him to go to the hospital. He had a heart attack and died in ICU. As devastating as this news was to me, after a really good cry, I realized he is together again with his beloved Jeri and my dad. At least I hope so. I will miss Bob very much and am grateful that he was in my life.

2007

2007-01-02T07:19:00.000-08:00

I like the sound of 2007. I think it will be a good year. So far what I remember most is that we have had very little rain and every couple of days we have cold Santa Ana winds! Boring. I want winter. Our lower yard is a good twenty five feet from our upper deck. We had winds so crazy last week that one of the umbrellas went from the top deck to the lower yard like an arrow. It is still upside down in the grass down below. I did put the other two up a couple days ago, but last night, it felt like they were going to take flight again. Down they came. This time they are laying down. Last week when the umbrella that went to the yard below, it was also down, however not laying down. I am not sure how much time one can get for using an umbrella for a weapon, but I don't want to know. And knowing how I feel about creepy neighbor guy would not help my case!

Isn't is amazing how we think our houses are cluttered and then we take out the tree and decorations and it looks huge? I love that! I had to get the tree out two days after Christmas because it was so dry. In fact I got all the decorations and the tree out of the house, vacuumed too and not one child came upstairs. Zoe was sad to see the tree gone. Katharine was a bit sad too. I just wondered if anybody would notice. We gave away two cats to a place that keeps them til they are adopted, years ago. The kids didn't notice for weeks.

I cut off the top part of the tree and stuck it in green waste and the bottom went to the city where they have huge bins. We let them take the stand off the bottom. I am telling you, this was one of the prettiest trees we have had in years. Of course, it was real and the past five or so years we have used the fake one. But the fake trees are easier. No needles all over the place. No fire worries from the dry tree. Still, I think I would do it again. We used colored icicle lights that were on the house last year, for the tree. It was the best kept secret in town. There are three times the number of lights as a regular strand and the pieces that come down as icicles are great because you may push them into the middle of the tree. The results were stunning and gorgeous. So much color. I think I would even put it on a fake tree if I go that route next year. Seriously, next year, remember to use icicle lights for your tree, you will be pleased.

School's back in session tomorrow. The girls are sad, of course. Vacation went fast. As I told them, they only have seven or so weeks before they get another week off for ski week. Then they get a week for spring break and then it's June. Vacation did go fast though. David worked though. He works so hard. He did get some time off though.

I am not doing the resolution thing again. I don't play that game. I did quit smoking last year and it has been almost 11 months. I didn't resolve to do it. It was something I had to be ready to do and I did it. Period. Now I would like to lose weight this year, but I am not making a resolution to do so. I think instead of being an incentive, it is a hindrance and puts too much pressure on me if I don't make it. Better to do things when I can, if I feel I can. No need to beat myself up about it by starting a perfectly good year with a list of things to do. I know what's on the list already, no need to publicize it!

Happy 2007!

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T17:03:00.000-08:00

As I put, I mean "made sure" Santa put out the stockings for the girls this morning, thought of past Christmases. I have been very blessed. I remember being the excited child opening gifts before the crack of dawn. On the years we didn't get up early enough, my father woke us, sometimes at 3am! I remember my girls being the excited children opening gifts. At 13 and 15 they are still excited teens, which warms my heart. Charlie the dog was just like a two year old. He got one gift from the garage and then thought he was getting a new one each time we came in from there. Just the paper and boxes would have been fun for him. Yesterday we used a rawhide cigar, that my sis in law Phoebe sent him, to get back a gift she had given Katharine. Charlie took the gift and headed under the table. We coaxed him out, sans gift, for the rawhide and retreived the gift before he chewed it. He is getting better, although, much to Katharine's dismay, he chewed the toes out of her favorite pair of toe socks....Bummer.

This year was more laid back then previous years. I got all the shopping done early and wrapped early. Much less stress this way. It has been a quiet day. David made some unkneaded bread and studied his new camera. Zoe spent her time playing with her playstation2 games in her cozy TIVO slippers among other plush items she got today. Katharine bopped around from her new CD's and new outfits to try on to her new TV. Her new TV is very cute. Only weighs eighteen pounds. Her old TV broke months ago and she was happy to get a new one. We hooked it up without cussing once. I spent some time napping from a pain pill with an added muscle relaxer. I got some wonderful Body Shop lotion for seriously chapped skin. It rocks. My hands haven't felt this soft in eons. I got a car kit for my iPod. That's pretty cool.

The ham is in the oven. Katharine just finished the mashed taters. I should get going so I can find a veggie to put on the table.

I wish everybody a very Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah or Holiday Season..... I hope everybody got to spend time with loved ones and all are healthy and happy. And to all, a good night.

Here, taste this....

2006-12-11T06:28:00.000-08:00

Don't you hate that? The croissant doesn't taste right, "Will you taste this for me mommy?" Uhhh, "No. I just brushed my teeth." What else can one say to that question? Once the mere thought of eating something thought to be "bad" is enough to make it so.

This meat doesn't smell right, "What do you think?" Too late for me. What about, "Does the color look okay to you?" Done. The old, "I just brushed my teeth" really works well with my kids, because nothing tastes as it should after that. Especially,
orange juice. If it's questionable, toss it, but don't ask me if it is okay.

Done Christmas shopping and with ninety percent wrapping complete. I feel great about that. Even got the tree this weekend. Decided to go with a "real" one this year. That pine fresh smell lasted until we got it home. Less time than that new car smell. The tree is pretty. Buying it was not such an ordeal. They have perfected the nets to keep them from going all over the place. We slid it down the tree and can slide it back up after we defrock it the day after Christmas. It is still taking water on, but I doubt it will continue to do so for much longer. I don't have the best luck with fresh cut trees sucking in sustenance.

While shopping for this tree, we pretty much let Zoe decide which one to get. She hugged some trees. Yes, she is a tree hugger. Who knew? Not only that, she was compelled to name it. She looked at it through the moon roof in the car, all the way home and came up with Peter. Petey affectionately....Have you ever noticed that all the trees start to look the same after you've seen five? It becomes so confusing we go back to buying one of the first two or three we looked at. I asked the guy with hair down to his butt and wearing a flannel shirt which tree he thought was good. Well, what were we looking for? We were looking for fresh! Oh, we get trees in daily. We don't clump them together by the day they arrive. Just look for the greenest trees. I set out with this mission in mind. Green, light green fresher than dark green? Well, that depends on the type of tree, they are all different. Tree sales guy listens and knows how to close this deal. "I would pick this one, it looks fresher." Of course, the fact that he cannot wait to get the tree on top of my car and onto the next customer is foremost in his mind. He is dripping sweat, the more customers he helps, the more tips he makes. I get that. I even like the guy very much. And we didn't end up with the tree he knew he wanted me to hear was best. We ended up with Peter, the one Zoe loved the most.

The one thing I haven't done is taken a photo of the girls for our annual Christmas card. That means after I get said shot, I will still need to copy the one most loved. Then to address the envelopes, add love to those we do and mail them before Christmas! The race is on!

Speaking of photos, last weekend Katharine had new headshots done. We got to meet and hang out a bit with a major ex-OLTL star. We knew that Katharine's manager handled her as well, but we were surprised to see her with somebody we had asked to come do Katharine's make up for the shoot. I tried to be cool and not be not star struck. Normally, I handle these things with grace and I believe I stuck to that, although, I wanted to ask a ton of questions. I suspect we will be seeing each other more in the future and I can ask some questions then. I did tell her that I enjoyed her work, which she was appropriately gracious about. Then on to talk of dogs, make up, the weather, ordinary stuff.....

Thanksgiving, etc.

2006-11-26T06:59:00.000-08:00

I really don't have much to post about, but it has been too long since my last post that it makes me anxious.

Thanksgiving was nice. It was just the four of us this year. Luckily I called my cuzbro and cuzsis because as it turns out, we weren't really invited like I had told the hub. We did go there last year and we did get an invitation this year, but it was for Christmas. Pammy my cuzsis called and just in passing mentioned leaving Wednesday for Arizona. I asked,"What?" She said, "We are going to Tere's for Thanksgiving." Tere is my cuzbro Ronnie's sister. I love her even though she used to babysit me and, well, I will get to Tere in my the next paragraph. Anyhow, I said to Pammy, "You invited us for Thanksgiving." She said, "No, I invited you for Christmas dinner!" I said, Well, good thing we talked before you left or we would have come up there to an empty house and no turkey dinner." My friend Jana and I went there once for Ronnie's birthday party and noticed the house didn't look very festive, only to find out we were a week early for the party. We hung out and had dinner with them, which was nice.

Now to Tere. Pronounced Teri. As much as I love Tere, she is my cousin and not my cuzsis. Ronnie and his wife Pam are like siblings to me. Hence the names cuzbro and cuzsis. Tere used to babysit my brothers and me when we were kids. She used to love to babysit us because she could shoot pool after she put us to bed. For some reason, she used to put me to bed before my brothers. Even my younger brother. Turns out, she did so to keep me from mentioning any boys she had over. I was a tattler for sure. She apologized to me as a grown up at a Cousin's Christmas Party that we used to have annually. I don't remember her making me go to bed early. To this day, we both shoot pool well though. A sign of a misspent youth no doubt!

I remember babysitting as a teenager. I loved it. Made good money at it too. I had one Thursday night gig for a couple of years. My boyfriend and another couple used to come over and we would watch The Streets of San Francisco with Karl Malden and Michael Douglas. I know you would have been pounding your heads trying to remember those names, so I threw them in for you! We also used to drink out of their nice beer tapper! Loved that thing. You really have to love beer to buy a keg and keep it cold. The kids were always in bed by the time I got there which made the job even more cush. I had babysitting jobs on Saturday morning when the only thing on TV was Soul Train and there were exactly seven TV stations. The kids loved cartoons but when they were over, I got to watch Soul Train and dance with the kids. Even white girl dancing was fun and the kids thought so too. I have a lot of babysitting stories...for another day.

I have started my Christmas shopping and am about half done. I am proud of myself for this! I want to be organized this year and not stressed. We have a fake tree with lights, which we have used the past three or four years. This year I was thinking it would be nice to have a "real" tree. Then I remembered I would have to put the lights on it....Not to mention, it may be in the sixties this week, but we were in the nineties last week! Typical Fall weather, but how fresh are the trees coming from Washington or Oregon going to be? They were cut weeks ago and then we had all that hot weather. I have never had a tree take in water after a couple of days. I anybody can tell me how to keep a tree drinking water for three weeks, will you please share with me???

Our heater kicked on last night for the first time since last year. It was in the forties. That's chilly for this area and we might even get some rain tomorrow. "Storm Watch" on all the channels with news. We might get a half inch. It's so embarrassing when they do that. I don't know why they cannot see it.

Hope y'all had a happy Thanksgiving and a lovely long weekend!

Couple of things to ponder

2006-11-15T22:32:00.000-08:00

If you break a mirror and get seven years of bad luck, does that mean you will live at least seven more years?

I have been watching Impressionist week on Letterman this week. Rich Little and Fred Travalena (sp?) have been there so far. They have each had work done, without a doubt. I wonder if the people they impersonate are looking at a realistic version of what they will look like if they too, have face work done. I think the impressionists were better before the face work.

One thing is for sure. George Jones has had a ton of work done too. Did you know he travels with his Barber and always has? It's true. I don't care though, he can still sing like nobody's business. What a gift that man has, even now. No show Jones showed up on Letterman and it was good to see him.

Just sayin.

Does it really cost to get good service?

2006-11-03T19:08:00.000-08:00

I was supposed to go to lunch with a couple of friends from GS the a few weeks ago and it never panned out. We were supposed to go to the Montage. Very expensive lovely hotel and spa. Seen the likes of Denise Richards and other celebrities. A stone's throw from Richie Sambora and Heather Locklear's place. One or the other's now, I guess.

Entrance

Last week another friend told me she wanted to take me to lunch at the Montage. She had a gift cert, two actually, so her hub can go next time. We went yesterday. We had such a lovely time. Hard not to in this place. It is here in town, lovely old California architecture. Not overly pretentious. Superb service. We had a nice lunch with a gorgeous ocean view on a spectacular day. This particular restaurant called The Loft over looks the enormous pool and gardens, walkways and another restaurant as well. There are three on the property. I am pretty sure I saw one of those tabloid cover skinny girls with huge sunglasses, who like to party all night. I am not sure which one she was though. I should have snapped a photo and asked Katharine. She would have known.

View from lunch on the patio

The property used to be mobile homes and a green fence kept it hidden from Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). I am sure it was wonderful to live there before this huge place took over the land. You can be sure there was a lot of arguing about whether or not it should be made into a resort. It is not like the Ritz, which is also lovely. It is more subdued. You know the room prices begin at $500 a night, but it doesn't have the feel of a "ritzy" place. All because of the architecture.

Our gorgeous coastline

I told my friend yesterday that it has something that we used to take for granted. Good service and well trained employees. Remember when people would NOT walk in front of you when you were in a store or restaurant. They would ask if you needed anything. They would say thank you when you were done being served. Now days, I say thank you and the cashier or server tells me, you're welcome! That is just bass ackwards. It takes going to a five star resort to get the kind of service that we should get every day, no matter where or who we are?

The Loft

I miss good service. I think we should have an uprising and demand good service and manners once again. Do people not teach manners to their children any more? I know I do and most people I know do as well, so where the hell are all these unmannered people coming from? Is it lack of wages that make them think they don't "have" to be helpful and well mannered to customers? Do they think the world owes them and they are above being good at giving customers service they deserve?

This is where we had coffee after lunch

If I owned a place, the first thing my employees would get, is a course in customer service. How to make the customer feel like they are appreciated. Hopefully, they would feel special and want to come back. It doesn't cost a dime to be nice or to be helpful. It is an untapped resource. It didn't used to be! Why don't companies get that? How does a business stay one these days? Because we put up with their crap, that's how. Then we pay a fortune to get good service, like it is a commodity or something. At this point, I guess it is....Rant over.

View from the water

Endless

2006-10-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

Cleaning is endless. Illness is endless. We have endless bouts with both of late. Zoe was sick, then me, then Katharine. Zoe is sick again. She is doing Mock Trial as I have said before. She has journalism two times a week which gives her an eleven hour school day. She has honors chem, honors algebra/trig and honors English and she is learning Spanish. Mucho homework nightly. So when there is practice for mock trial until 9:00 two nights a week, those end up being fourteen hour days at school. Then they practice again on Sunday for three hours! I never spent that much time at school. I know, it shows too! Anyhow, she had homework after she has these long days and she is so tired. She came home from mock trial on Thursday with a 103+ temp. Her throat is sore again and she has a head cold. I am not sure if it is a relapse or a brand new one, because she has what Katharine had last week. Needless to say, she stayed home in bed Friday! I have yet to see her this morning, but she is feeling better. Still, she has oodles of homework to do. She actually enjoys what she is doing, at least I think she does most of the time.

Katharine spent the night at a friend's. She got out of school early (block day, you all have those?) then took the bus home with her friend. Went to the Boo Blast, which is a yearly carnival at a local school. She just called from her friend's house and they are making pancakes. I could hear the smoke alarm and people screaming all in fun. I wonder about her school year. Last year she had homework nightly. I had heard that 7th was the hardest year in middle school. It still bugs me though, because next year she will be back to having a lot of homework in high school. I wonder about homework too. I think often times it is work that didn't get done in class and came home to be finished. Maybe the teachers are better this year and the kids are getting their work done in class? Why would there be less homework this year? Why does 8th grade seem to be too easy to really be learining? This year is a piece of cake!

Had an issue with Katharine's manager too. She wanted Katharine's eyebrows waxed. I gave in and had them done, but not perfectly, still some innocence to them. She has the greatest eyebrows I have ever seen. Likened often to Liz Taylor's. Katharine went to acting class on Sunday and the manager was not happy. Wants a little more off. I asked why and she told me to pretend I was a casting director. I did. She said, when you look at Katharine's face, what is the first thing you see? I said, those spectacular eyebrows! Nuff said. She has beautiful eyes too, but they aren't as noticeable. So, back we go to have them waxed a little bit more. They will remain beautiful. She will never have skinny little eyebrows! Plus, she is only thirteen and she doesn't need perfectly tweezed eyebrows.

David and I cleaned off my pool table this morning. Trash bags full of clothes and linens to put and give away! It was piled about three feet high. Embarrassing, yet easy to access the clothes. My plan is to put away one bag a day next week. That sounds like a good one right? The Fly Lady way. I should also throw out twenty seven things a day as she suggests.

My main reason for somewhat cleaning the garage happens twice a year. Once at Christmas and once before GS nuts arrive. They arrive on a pallet at 10:00 tomorrow morning. Then I need to separate them into troops and people will come by for their troop orders. Maybe by this time next weekend, I will be able to use my table again! Then Christmas will come and we will use it to wrap gifts! Luckily I have a good cover on it. I had it refelted a few years ago and wanted to make sure the top stays pristine! Still, cleaning is endless.

Endless was posting this. It kept saying there was an error. Then it showed posted four times, but not to the actual blog. I deleted three and waited several hours to post and finally, it works!

iPod crazy

2006-10-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

Several years ago when iPods came out, David bought me one for Christmas. It stayed in the box for years. I had no interest whatsoever in having an iPod. I had my computer which had my music on it and I was happy with that. I had the radio in the car and was happy with that.

At some point, my stepdaughter Daniela was visiting and we got on the subject of ipods. I told her I had one and never used it. I offered it to her and she was stoked. I was happy that she wanted it and it was no longer sitting unopened in the garage.

So, with all that said, I wanted an iPod for my birthday this year. I think it will motivate me to walk. I hope so anyway. David and the girls got me one with a cover called skin. It is clear rubber and plastic and it keeps the black iPod clean and fingerprint free. Not only that, it has the cutest little video player ever! Two inches. Awesome sharp picture. I don't know how often I would use the video, but I did see Law & Order on it the other night. It was on my computer, left over from when the TV was broken and I downloaded some TV shows onto my laptop. This thing has amazing sound too. Now I need to think of a name for it! How fun is that???

All my songs have been uploaded to my new iPod. Until tonight that is. Katharine burned about a hundred songs for me, which I had to type in the titles and artist names before I imported them to my laptop. Tomorrow I will put them on the ipod. I cannot wait to hit shuffle and play the eclectic mixes of music I have.

I also got a sore throat for my birthday. It has been very sore for a week. Today is the first day I can swallow without pain, but there is still that little feeling when I swallow that reminds me it was sore. Also, ice water still kind of burns. Whatever this is, it seems to be going around.

We are watching Annie on TV right now. Katharine was recently cast as Lily for her school play. The version we are watching has Kristin Chenoweth playing Lily. Audra McDonald, Victor Garber and my fav Kathy Bates are in it as well. It is funny to listen to Katharine do a Brooklyn accent. She is great at accents, but usually British is what I hear. This is fun and different. I am sure she will have a blast playing the role. Tomorrow she goes up to LA for her acting class again. Every Sunday and David is kind enough to do the Sunday drive.

Today I took Zoe shopping for mock trial clothes. She is taking it very seriously. She was told what kind of clothes to buy. She plays the defendant. An artsy student accused of bringing a bomb to school. She says she didn't do it! They practice two times a week after school. They meet in the class and talk about the trial and then the actual practice begins at 5:00. She gets done about 9:00. David had five pizzas and other stuff delivered last Tuesday. Each night a parent feeds all the kids who are on the team. They have dress rehearsal in two weeks and then they compete against other schools in the actual courthouse. It has been great for Zoe and I am happy she is enjoying it so much.

That is about it as of now. Not much else going on. Weather has been cool and fall like. My favorite time of year!

My Birthday is Here Again!

2006-10-06T06:31:00.000-07:00

Yes, my birthday is here again, actually it is in two days. No, sit down, don't get up. Thank you, thanks, sit down please....Okay now you are embarrassing me, but thanks for the birthday wishes....Not like the big four oh, or a big five oh. Just a forty sevenish birthday. Too close to the big five oh on one hand, but better than the alternative on the other!

When I was twenty seven or twenty eight, I seriously had to use the calculator to figure out my age. I had one handy because I was a purchasing agent and it was there. I really could have done the math in my head or with a piece of paper and a pen, but I didn't have to. I went back and forth with was I twenty seven or twenty eight? I believe I spent most of my twenty seventh year telling people I was twenty eight. People don't believe that anyhow. Oh, twenty eight or twenty nine, sure you are Nancy! I am not one of those perpetual twenty nine year olds. Neither would I want to be!

Especially bad when somebody asks my age and I have to think or do the math. That is what is happening again. I hate being born in a nine year. You know 1959. I am so bad with my nines. 1960 would have been nice. Easy to count how old I am and I would have been born in a whole different decade as well. As it stands now, I was born in the fifties! UGH. Two months away from being born in the sixties!

I have been ensconced in Girl Scout registrations and nut sales. I know most of you only heard about nut sales from the Girl Scouts last year when I mentioned it. Not the biggie like cookies, but still enough to keep me jumping. Everybody has to have all orders into the computer by 9am Monday morning, or it will cut them off. If they don't get their jobs done, I must hunt them down! This weekend is the final presales and did I mention selling magazines? Oh yes, the Girl Scouts are doing that as well as nuts, under the name fall product sale. I had a training meeting scheduled with about a dozen women. I think five showed up. This inevitably leaves me with a ton of emails and phone calls, last minute being my favorites, to ask questions. I will answer them and probably enjoy it to a point. However, it falls on my birthday weekend. Notice the pun? Falls...

It is next to impossible to get everybody to the table for dinner this school year. My birthday will be no exception. David has to take Katharine to LA for her acting class. Zoe is doing Mock Trial and they will be meeting Sunday afternoon to practice. It is really okay though. I am blessed with a loving husband and great kids. Just seeing the girls blossom and have fun being teenagers is great. Loving people who love me back. Truly a great birthday gift.

This made me laugh

2006-09-25T22:43:00.000-07:00

I was having a stressful day the other day and needed a laugh. I looked up and saw this sign and it cracked me up. Katharine snapped the shot with the camera on her phone. I only wish the photo was larger!

Happy Birthday to Zoe

2006-09-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

Zoe is 15 today. So beautiful, smart and funny. So grown up and sad in a way, happens way too fast.

We had chicken and homemade noodles for dinner. It was her choice. She and Katharine made the noodles, cuz they wanted to. Dinner was yummy and the cake was good too. 16 candles, all lit by Katharine. (One to grow on) Then Zoe lit them. Funny how kids like to play with fire.

All in all, I think she had a very nice birthday. It has been a very long day though and I just wanted to let you know that I am fine and still around. I planned on posting the other night and didn't get to it. But, I will.

Katharine in I were in LA the other day and I saw a funny redundant sign. We snapped a photo of it. I need to post it. Truly made my day. Well, that and singing songs with the radio from the seventies! Love that old rock n roll. Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, Pink Floyd, Styx, even Peter Frampton. Saw him the other night on the new Celebrity Duet show. Love that show and he looked so old with short white hair. Gone the long blond locks. It happens to the best of us.

Off and running. I hope to catch up on Sunday!

Oh and Happy Birthday Zoe!

Labor Day

2006-09-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

It is labor day and I don't want to do a thing. It is too hot. We have had such beautiful weather for the past few weeks and I knew the heat was coming back, but I just hate it. We had a horrid heat spell in July, August was amazingly cool and now September kicks off with a scorcher.

School begins on Thursday. This summer totally got away from us. It never slowed down really. I have been terrible about posting on my blog and even worse about commenting on other's blogs.

I am happy to report this is the last weekend for the festivals. The orange cones directing traffic and slowing down vehicles near the crosswalks will be gone by tomorrow. Yippee. Less traffic, fewer people. I know tourism is important to our town, but it is nice to have our town back.

The Visitor's Bureau says it has seen at least a 25 percent increase in family visitors because of the MTV show called Laguna Beach, The Real Orange County. There have been a lot of questions about things people have seen on the show. It seems a lot of people must watch it because they renewed it for season 3. It is not the real Orange County. It is nowhere near the real Orange County. From what I saw of the one episode I watched, it is more like Beverly Hills. Orange County is very diverse in many ways. Laguna Beach is admittedly less diverse ethnically, however, not everybody here is richer than God, as this program shows these kids to be. I suppose the city is a bit richer this year because of the show and all the people who come up to see the school. I cannot believe how many people I saw this summer taking photographs of the school. In passing cars and people who stopped to pose in front of the Laguna Beach High School sign or people standing across the street just to get a photo of the school. Seems so surreal. My daughter is a sophomore this year and she couldn't be any more different than the kids on the show.

Speaking of my daughter, Zoe is turning 15 on the 14th. I told her the other day, only three years and she will be an adult. I told her it makes me sad. She said it makes her sad too. She is one wise young woman. I told her when I was her age, I couldn't wait to be older. She is so unlike me when I was her age and good for her! She beats to her own drum. She knows what she likes and pulls no punches. She doesn't pretend to like people or go along with things, to be liked. She is her own person and I am very proud of her.

I hope everybody is having or had a fulfilling send off to the end of summer. I like most things about summer, but I wish it could be cooler. Why can't global warming be global cooling?

Say What You Will

2006-08-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Say what you will, but Oprah Winfrey gets stuff done! This woman amazes me. Oprah's name is synonymous with spontaneous tears to me so much of the time. Case in point, her school for girls in South Africa.

I remember when she went all over So Africa to give out gifts to kids during the Christmas holidays years ago. I remember bringing my family to the TV to watch the show with me. While I cried again, seeing it for the second or third time, I wanted my girls to see how great it is to give and how little it took to make a difference in the lives of those kids. Kids who could not go to school for lack of a uniform, were given uniforms, backpacks, school supplies, shoes, and dolls that looked like they did. It was one of the most moving pieces of TV I had ever seen. One woman with a bazillion dollars made such a difference.

There are lots of people in this world with money, some or a lot, who give generously. There are way more who do not. In Oprah's case, she is in the enviable position to see where her money goes and to direct it to where it needs to be.

I just watched a video clip on CNN of Oprah's new school. She interviewed all the students herself. They had to be underprivileged and have above average grades. All the kids were brought to the school in typical Oprah style, under false pretenses. She then told the 150 girls on the stage that they would be the first students accepted into the Oprah Winfrey School for Girls. The girls jumped up and down, their families in the audience were thrilled, I cried. Tears streaming down my face crying. It was just such a magical thing to watch.

I am thankful that there is an Oprah Winfrey in this world. I am also happy she is not a politician. She can get a lot more done in the private sector. Although, we could use some smart, kind, generous, loving, caring, hard working, HONEST, promise keeping public officials in this country. Unfortunately, I believe they broke the mold when Oprah was created. Wow, what a woman.

It's been too long

2006-08-23T06:55:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about posting. I looked at the date of my last post today and couldn't believe it has been almost two weeks. I truly don't have much to say though. Things are pretty mundane around here.

I yelled at a solicitor on the phone yesterday. Well, not really yelled, but told her off. I was stern and apparently not very nice according to my kids. In my defensive, these people had called yesterday, NINE times! In their defense, I didn't pick up the phone until the ninth time. Our phone tells how many times somebody calls and it adds up until it is erased, so I knew exactly how many times these people had called. No need to be here to count. When I saw they were at eight calls, I was already pissed. Their misfortune, that they called again. The phone rang, their name shows up and I asked Katharine to hand me the phone. She passed it to me as if they were a sibling in big trouble!

The poor girl on the phone, told me she was glad she got me because she had two specials she wanted to tell me about. I told her I didn't want to listen to her specials and that I had asked once before, that they stop calling me. I told her I didn't want eight or ten phone calls a day from them any more and that I would never order from them again, so take me off their list! For an instant I thought she had already hung up on me, but she was still there and said, "okay."

When I got off the phone, my girls were sympathetic to her. "That was sooooo mean!" "She was only doing her job." "I feel sorry for her." I explained that I was not trying to be mean but to get my point across to the little girl up in Nebraska who would probably have a lousy night because of me. For that, I am sorry. However, I am not sorry about telling off the company. Seriously, I did one online order with them because it was a pretty good deal. I didn't know I would be subjected to a plethora of daily calls for eternity. Hopefully, it is all over!

Little of this and that

2006-08-12T07:28:00.000-07:00

There are two woodpeckers that I hear the same time each morning. I took my camera out on Monday and listened to their sounds to finally find one. I snapped one bird's photo, but never did see the other. The photos are just too far away. I just saw the woodpecker again and I am dying to know what kind it is. It doesn't look nor sound like the kind we are used to having around. The name completely escapes me at this point. Then again other things do to, I blame it on menopause or perimenopause, as it seems to be an epidemic amongst my friends and myself. Does that sound right?

This is finally the last weekend (three more shows) of Narnia! Katharine has a couple of weeks of play time or sleep time. Zoe is bored and would rather be back in school. The first couple of days are usually fun too and that is exciting to look forward to.

Spring registration seems as if it just ended for Girl Scouts. Now we will begin Fall Registration for those who didn't, wouldn't or couldn't sign up during spring. Not to mention, well, actually I am, Fall Product sales begin too. I am in charge of that as well. And while most of the nuts are are a good deal at $5, they are raising them. So, get out your quarter or two and pay the newly upped price of the GS nuts, in the can I mean. The cashews are still a good deal and they are really good. Usually they have some kind of peanut brittle or something in a nice holiday tin which is a perfect gift for a teacher, paperboy/girl, mailman/woman, gardner and anybody else you may want to give a small gift to during the holidays. Some people are upset by the quarter or fifty cent increase. I see it as a nice challenge for some of the younger girls to learn to count back change. A lost art if you ask me. And, these girls will tell you thank you. Not wait til you say thank you and then tell you, you're welcome. This is a huge pet peeve of mine. I may not have a lot of hobbies, but I have many pet peeves!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend. I am off to get some yummy tomatoes among other things at the farmer's market with my friend Jana. We have make this a Saturday morning ritual. It is great fun. We have known each other for about ten years, when she was my youngest brother's girlfriend. We have an email and phone relationship and didn't see each other nearly enough. Now we see each other every Saturday morning before everybody gets up!!!!

Happy weekend and nice cool weather to you all.

Things work out

2006-08-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

Sometimes things work out and I am happy about that. The play is good. It is fun and cute, but was way too long on opening night. I was not in attendance. It was three and a half ours! Their first show with out interruptions from the director and so they didn't know it was going to be so long.

Last night we went to see the play. We had a lovely night. We started by having dinner at a restaurant called Mozambique. My brother, sister in law, niece and her non-boyfriend were there. As well as a couple of my friends with their daughters and hub's in tow. We were escorted to a room with a long table and huge chairs with very high backs. The table was beautiful. We had a delicious dinner and felt like royalty. It was a nice change from the first time I went there, with the same two friends, and had terrible service.

After dinner we went to the high school for the play. They were handing out fans to the audience since the air was not working. Luckily we have been having the most beautiful August weather I have ever seen. In the seventies! We had record heat then pleasant heat. I am sure we are in for more heat until November or so. Anyhow, we had front row seats. The show was very good, the little kids were such hams and really were cute! The set and the costumes were stunning and could have easily been from a Broadway show. We were told by a friend and mom of two of the leads, that they cut the last scene. Apparently the producer made that call. He said he didn't want people walking out. Unfortunately the scene they cut was the scene when the kids come back thru the wardrobe and talk to the professor who has also been to Narnia. It would have tied it up a little better, and I don't think another ten minutes or so would have changed much. However, it was still good. The kids got lots well deserved accolades and it was worth all the long miserable nights of rehearsing. I am not convinced it was worth all the yelling the kids endured though. These are my thoughts, not Katharine's. She is pretty happy with the play.

One show Friday, two yesterday and one today at three o'clock. Now she is home with her friend spending the night and absolutely no plans for the next few days. A nice change for them. Four more shows next weekend and done.

I haven't seen my brother and sis in law since Christmas and we got to see them twice in one weekend. We saw them last night and then today as well. We headed inland to meet at a restaurant to get together with my cousin who is visiting from the Sacramento area. I don't think we have ever seen her without our folks being around. It was pleasant though. She told me that her mother (my aunt) said she should have been my mother and visa versa for her (my cousin) and my mother. She was the good daughter and I was the wild daughter. So true, so true. I told my cousin the least my aunt could have done was give my mother some pointers on how to deal with a wild child!!!

Yesterday would have been my parents 53 wedding anniversary. A week from yesterday, next Saturday, will be 8 years since my father's death. He died a week after their 45th anniversary. She, eight months later. I really thought about my mother today since seeing her sister's daughter. I miss her and my father.

It's Frustrating For a Mom to Watch

2006-08-03T07:44:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Katharine wants to be an actress. She loves it and everything about it, including rehearsals and auditions. She misses it when she is not in the theatre or acting, she told me last night. Well, right now, she hates it and it is so heartbreaking to watch. I realize she is tired and over wrought, but she was so sad last night when she got home from rehearsal for Narnia.

First off, we got home at midnight. She got to rehearsal at 5:00. Katharine tells me each night how the kids get yelled at. She tells me how the director tells them not to ask questions. They should not "bother" her with questions. Some of these kids went thru a workshop to be in this play. These are very young kids and for some, this is their first play and perhaps their last! I feel so bad for these kids whose spirit has been broken by this director and the other "adults" in charge. These kids would no sooner sign up for this abuse again next summer, nor probably forget that it was this particular theatre putting on the play from hell for children. I would love to tell this director what I think of her and her tactics and how she is effecting these children. I would love to tell her that she is not doing anybody any good by making examples out of some kids and embarrassing them in front of their fellow cast members. I will say, most of the kids understand what she is doing and are very supportive of the "outcast" of the day. I cannot tell this woman any of these things though. It would be like me going to the school bully and telling him to leave my child alone. My child has to deal with this, not me. Although, if I were a mother of a younger kid, I might just have to jump in.

I realize these kids need to be tough for this complex play. They need to pay attention and work hard to make the show a success. Everything they do reflects on the rest of the cast, crew and the play itself. I can see why the director would get aggravated by kids not doing everything perfectly, the show opens tomorrow night. However, it is a show full of kids. Kids are particularly hard to direct, I would imagine. The way to handle them is not to constantly verbally abuse them. It is not to continuously yell at them. I know from personal experience that it does not work and it can scar for life.

The last few nights I have been at the theatre, waiting in the back, listening to how these mostly young actors and actresses are handled. They are constantly talked down to. They are afraid to ask questions they need to ask. I heard one young boy ask a question and he was told if he were not goofing around, he would have known the answer to that. He is a kid. A five year old. He goofs around! Especially after being in a seven hour rehearsal, ending at midnight! She cannot simply tell him the answer in a nurturing, quiet manner? Of course not, it is the theatre and they need to be professional. If she answered his question, she would have to answer everybody else's.

I have spent countless nights telling Katharine that this is the profession she has chosen. She will be working with lots of people with whom she will not agree, like or respect. She will be fortunate to work with people she likes, agrees with and respects. In this business you need a tough skin, I tell her. She knows. She really does. She is very talented. She is very critical of herself. She shows up on time and she works very hard. She has several costume changes and gets yelled at because she cannot get her wings on. Only one person knows how to put them on and he was there for one costume change last night. These are multi layered costumes. Beautiful costumes, but hard for adults and kids to put on. There is no down time with this play. She is running back stage to change and have her makeup redone after each scene.

It is a tremendous undertaking to put on this play in the six weeks or about that. Especially with the cast being children. My problem is I understand both the director's frustrations as well as Katharine's, but beating them down night after night is no way to solve anything. Katharine hates this play and doesn't want to perform it nine more times. At least last night she didn't think she could. She knows she can and she will. Will she ever work for this playhouse again? Probably. Will she ever work for this director again. Not likely.

The set is beautiful. The costumes are amazing. They have pulled out all the stops to put on a very fine production. Hopefully they will pull it off and everything will come together tomorrow night. I wish success to everybody. I would love to hear how fun it is at the end of the day, but I am unlikely to hear that. Which is the saddest thing of all. This was supposed to be fun!

Past Post Resurfaces

2006-07-31T07:22:00.000-07:00

Last week I got more than five hundred hits in one day and subsequent high numbers in days following. As you know, I have not posted as frequently as I have in the past, nor have I written anything profound. Sparked by the curiosity of this, I needed to investigate. I found a link on a website had been linked to this post from last September. While I did not know why it was chosen, I did find out that Yahoo Search and Google both have it on their sites. If you put in good housekeeping 1955, up pops wifebear and this previous post.

I received this very article in an email from a friend this morning. It is going around again thus sending people to search to see if this was in fact how it actually was or if MEN want things this way. I can tell you from what I have read in the last couple of days, the answer weighs a lot on the side of, yes, they do! They want more too, but that is nothing new.

I posted this because I thought it was so damn funny. It is timely again though, as ribbons in the hair look so darn cute on 13 year olds and are a trend again. However, maybe not so cute on wife aged women. I won't even go to that topic and how young girls did get married back then. My grandmother got married at 13.

Here is the post, although I omitted my remarks from the original.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Good Housekeeping 1955

This is from an actual May 1955 Good Housekeeping Magazine. Fifty years ago.

The good wife's guide

* Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious
meal ready, on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know That you
have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men
are hungry when the come home and the prospect of a good meal
(especially his favorite dish) is part of the warm welcome needed.

* Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he
arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-
looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.

* Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need
a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.

* Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house
just before your husband arrives.

* Gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper etc and then run a dustcloth over the
tables.

* Over the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for
him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and
order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering for his comfort will
provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

* Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and
faces (If they are small), comb their hair and, if necessary, change their
clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the
part. Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the
washer, dryer or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.

* Be happy to see him

* Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please
him.

* Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the
moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his
topics of conversation are more important than yours.

* Make the evening his. Never complain if he comes home late or goes out to
dinner, or other places of entertainment without you. Instead, try to
understand his world of strain and pressure and his very real need to be at
home and relax.

* Your goal: Try to make sure your home is a place of peace, order and
tranquility where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.

* Don't greet him with complaints or problems.

* Don't complain if he's late home for dinner or even if he stays out all night.
Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day.

* Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or have
him lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.

* Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing
and pleasant voice.

* Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or
integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always
exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to
question him.

* A good wife always knows her place.

Does this offend you?

2006-07-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

See here

It does not offend me in the least! Whoopee a breast. I was a discreet breastfeeding mother of two children totaling 25 months. If they needed to eat, that took priority over everything else. If somebody got a glimpse of my breast or didn't like what I was doing, too damn bad!

We are taught that breastfeeding is the best for our babies. Why is it so disturbing for people to see a breast? The photo on the cover is of a sweet baby looking up at its mother. I remember that loving look. How can it be a problem to put this on the cover of a magazine with people thinking it is gross? Are breastfeeding mothers supposed to stay out of sight and only come out when they know their child will not be hungry? That is totally unrealistic. They eat on demand, they eat different amounts at different times due to growth spurts, among other factors. It is impossible to feed a baby and expect he/she will be content with full tummy for a shower, let alone a trip to the supermarket!

We live in a culture of teenagers and young women with their thongs or cracks hanging out of the back of their pants and that seems to be acceptable everywhere we go. I find this trend disturbing a lot more than a baby breastfeeding. I hope my daughters grow up and breast feed comfortably and without shame and if it helps now to "put it out there" so to speak, then I am all for it!

Long day, but worth it!

2006-07-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Friday we drove two hours north of here to a town called Fillmore. It has been used in many movies for its location and its retro look. Quaint little town. Great place to film a music video, or it would have been on any other day than Friday! It was 105 degrees and they had the kids dressed in black. Katharine was in black corduroy pants and a black sweater in that heat!

The video was for a band from Canada and apparently well know up there, not so much down here. We hadn't heard of them until we looked them up. Punk band called Billy Talent. They want to become more known here and have begun their US tour the day after they filmed their video for their new song called Red Flag.

We arrived at 6AM. Woke up at 3AM! The song is about how things are left for their generation. Every street, other locations and city hall was draped in red fabric, for filming. Red Flag about how we are leaving our world for our children. I think the video will be pretty cool, although a sad fact.

Katharine was among 24 other kids who were there to film scenes running down the street, around town and being in the crowd watching the concert the band was putting on. Military tank and smoke machine included. There were over a hundred extras as well. We hope when it comes out that Katharine will be scene! If so, she will be on MTV and myspace.com/billytalent. We should know in a couple weeks.

It was miserably hot. I had to go to a hotel room to cool off for a couple of hours. At one point Katharine was filming around the corner from where we were hanging out and the band members came out one at a time and introduced themselves to everybody. Really nice guys. I got autographs and photos of all but one member, whom I didn't see. I told them my daughter was filming and they were so nice about how awesome all the kids were. All three band members that I saw, posed very graciously for me to get a photo or two in some cases for Katharine.

We left Fillmore for LA about 8:30. Took about an hour to get to the hotel we booked for the night. I picked up some friends from the airport on Saturday morning and saw no need to go home to Laguna for ten or so hours. We had a beautiful room with heavenly beds. Took hot showers, had room service and passed out in the heavenly beds. We were awakened at 8:30 by the phone. The operator told me room service was there with breakfast and we slept through their knocking. We ate and waited for our friends to call. Picked them up with no problems.

Hot as it was Saturday, Katharine and I set out to find another hotel. Anywhere with a/c. Everything was booked from here to about 20 miles away. We found one hotel and after hanging out for two hours with a broken a/c, we got our money back and left. The owner told me it was hot out and there was a high ceiling. No shit! Still hot though! We finally found another hotel for the night and slept okay. Wasn't a posh place like the first night, but it had air.

Today, foggy and a beautiful 75 degree day! Just in time. People are snapping and cranky! We picked up Zoe and David from their DC and NYC vacation. They got back just in time for a nice cool day! I don't think they believe how hot it has been out here. LA county saw the hottest recorded temp on record the day of the filming. 119 degrees! Okay, that's hot.

We are happy to have Zoe and David home. So are the animals. Glad they had a nice vacation.

I will post some of the photos later. Off to get Katharine from rehearsal. Only a couple more weeks of this nightly stuff, although pick up time moves to 11:00 soon, for a week or so before the show, which I believe opens a week from Thursday....Finally.

OUTSOURCING

2006-07-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

Titled: World Class Talent

I have cooled off since I first wanted to post this. I called Circuit City today to discuss somebody wiring our TV and other connectable items and I got to talk to a woman in India! She spoke so fast that I could not understand most of what she said and I asked her to repeat every question at least once. I cannot even tell you how much this PISSED ME OFF!!!!!

What the hell is wrong with our country? Okay, bad question. Why are we sending phone calls to India instead of giving them to some people who can work from home? I mean, seriously, come on! It can be anybody who needs money who answers the phone. Just as long as we can understand them. How about those unfortunate people who call us and we hang up on them for bothering us during, well, anything. Telemarketers are in dire need of money to take the haranguing they get. Why not keep the customer service in this country and give those verbally abused people a break? In turn, giving the rest of us a break because we can understand the person on the other end of the call!

We could do this here! DUH!!!

After she takes my information, she has to call somebody in the states and they have to call me back. Seems pretty damn stupid if you ask me. I know AOL does it, I know other companies do it as well. I was rather surprised to hear the Indian woman on the phone today. I am sure I sounded annoyed. I could have probably been nicer, but we have so many homeless and poor people making below poverty line minimum wages in this country. It seems pretty lame to be sending away jobs that they can have.

Outsourcing really pisses me off! For the record, I am reasonably sure the woman I spoke with and others in the past and future, are perfectly nice people. That is not the point!

Long time no post

2006-07-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

It seems like forever since I posted. It has been a busy summer. Hot too, as I am sure you know.

David and Zoe are leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow for DC and NYC. I am taking them to the airport about 5 AM. I think they will have a great time. They are meeting David's sister Phoebe in Charlottesville, VA, then going to see Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. Next they will do some touristy things in DC and make their way up to NYC to see Phoebe (again) and other relatives. I think they will have a very good time. Zoe is not too keen on seeing old mansions. She has seen enough of those in our own state capitol apparently. I bet she will like the Smithsonian though.

Katharine is still doing nightly rehearsals for Narnia that will open and play eight shows next month. Exciting news is that today she auditioned for a music video and got the gig! They asked Zoe if she wanted to audition too and she said no. I told Katharine last week that people get offers like Zoe did all the time in Hollywood. A couple of weeks ago we met sisters who were auditioning. Only one was auditioning one day and they took her sister too. Now they both audition. Not Zoe though, we need her to be the shrink for our family.

Anyhow, I had never heard of this band until we researched it a few nights ago. I like them, they are punk rock and play to younger teens. They shoot the music video for one of their new songs next Friday. Katharine plays a tough funky teen. Serious acting for this role! It will be about 110 degrees, but it is her first real gig and we are very excited for her, but not as excited as she is! I will share more details after it is done.

I have not been feeling well this week. Better tonight, but the heat is a killer. Drinking lots of water and keeping it down is a good thing. Tomorrow I will hit 21 weeks (or five months!) of no smoking and have over $700 in my non smoking account. My brother reminded me that my dad bought a 1969 VW with money he saved with his cigarette fund.

We did go see The Devil Wears Prada. I loved Meryl Streep in her role. Sarcastic and just great one liners! This movie is not for young girls who have a tendency to think they are fat. They say in the movie, that size six is the new fourteen. And one girl says that she is one good stomach flu away from her goal weight. I actually thought that was funny. I know, that is bad of me. Good movie though, one I want to own and see again. I bought a couple of used DVD's from Netflix. Nothing is over 9.99 and they are guaranteed. Some of the videos are 5.99. I think the most recent video I got was the Family Stone, it's pretty good.

I am done with Girl Scout registrations finally. I have to admit, it was a lot of work. I will be getting on to cleaning off my pool table, cleaning out junk drawers and sending some Barbie stuff to a little girl in KY. Things I have been meaning to get to forever! Not to mention visiting blogs that I haven't read in far too long!

Happy weekend!

The 4th of July

2006-07-04T06:35:00.000-07:00

It's quiet this morning. People are sleeping in or they are headed downtown to stake out a spot at the beach for the fireworks tonight. Enjoying the quiet while I can. The birds are up. Katharine noticed the birds were up at five something yesterday morning. She is not used to that time of day and was surprised. They didn't let her get back to sleep. She has a very bad cold and needed to sleep. The birds don't seem to be disturbing her this morning.

We have no plans for this day. No bbq to go to. No invitations. None given. Just a wide open day. It feels strange being a Tuesday. A broken weekend for some. For others, day four of their long weekend. They cannot sleep it off tomorrow either.

Fireworks here in town are beautiful. They start at 9pm and last a whopping fifteen minutes. People are already staking out their spots on the beach or the nearby grassy areas to get a good seat for the show. Funny thing about fireworks, you don't need to sit near them to see them. The traffic will be insane. The number of people in town will swell to probably four or five times our normal population. Take the bus, take the tram. The tram is free. Leave the car home. By 9:30 tonight a line of tail lights from here to there will be seen. From up here, almost as pretty as a firework show.

We don't need to go down to the fireworks. Up here we can see several firework shows. Unless the fog rolls in too early. Since the trees have been cut, trimmed and generally cleaned up, we have great views all around. Enjoy it while we can because these trees grow back fast. Did I mention that CNG (creepy neighbor guy) got a tree trimmer with enough guys to hold tarps under falling branches? They tied tarps in some areas over the "sensitive" plants. Did I mention that said plants are bent and tattered from the tarp itself? Oh how I take joy in that. Bad, I know.

Thanks to the soldiers who are away from their families on this Independence Day. Thanks to the families who are one short of a perfect picnic today.

"Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends (life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness), it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government.”

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), from the Declaration of Independence

So I Thought

2006-07-01T06:31:00.000-07:00

Summer if off to a busy start. Things were going to slow down, or so I thought. As I sit here yawning, thinking of going back to sleep, I know I need to be up.

I normally give Charlie chicken jerky treats first thing in the morning. I am out of them this morning. Instead I gave him a bone with vitamins in it. He dropped it and looked up at me. I walked away and he took the bone to his bed. He seemed to handle being out of the jerkey treats better than I thought he would.

It is going to be hot again and I have been shutting the blinds early to keep the sun out. This morning, I am leaving the doors open to let the cool air in. I will close the blinds in a bit. I am not sure why I do this because it will get hot in in here later anyhow! With no a/c the only thing that really would work is opening skylights that will let the heat out of the roof. We don't have those though. Actually, we have a perfectly good a/c. It just doesn't work on our non-insulated home. I hate the heat!

I got a call on Wednesday night from K's manager. She told me there was an audition in the morning at 9:45. We got up there around tenish. There were lots of little kids running around in costumes for this commercial. We called the agent and she said that K's audition was there and the part was for a girl rolling her eyes. We were finally told at 11:45 that her group would begin auditions at 12:30. We stayed. I tried to get her to go try out for a Ford commercial while we were there. The guy kept coming out and asking if there were more people auditioning for Ford. Obviously they had not found the right person for their commercial. K would have no part of it! One mom quizzed her about how much she really wanted to be an actress and mentioned that her mother (me) would rather be anywhere else but there. She took K over to sign her up and K would have no part of it. Called the woman psycho. The woman said she has no patience for that. She said if they wanted to act, then they better act! Then she hauled her son over for the audition.

It was past 12:30 and they still had a lot of parents and neighbor handing out candy auditions before K's group. Finally, the woman gave her a script to read all of thirty seconds and took K and a boy in to read. The director told K that she is a very good actress. She was stoked to hear that. Finally we were out of there.

On the way home, I missed two sigalerts. Sig was a man who designed these alerts, which were for major traffic tie ups. I am getting used to all the freeways in LA that will take me home or to Egypt. I listened to the radio and heard about the sigalerts. I took a different route and thought I was so smart! I got off the fwy in Long Beach (about half way home) to get gasoline. I had to drive for miles to find gasoline. Got back on the fwy and there was a sigalert and I was right in the middle of it. Apparently a big rig had gone thru the center divider and there was also a fuel spill. Both sides of the fwy, and three lanes on each side, were closed. It took an hour for me to reach the first off ramp where I could get off the fwy. I followed the road the GPS told me to follow. It took me back to the fwy. I looked at the fwy and it was empty. I had gone around the accident and had the surreal experience of being with less than dozen cars on a wide open fwy in the middle of rush hour.

Stopped at the store. Got dinner fixings, cooked them, ate them and then back in the car to take K to her rehearsal for Narnia, the play.

Poor Z and cousin L were stuck in the house all day. I dropped them off yesterday. Z is staying with cousin L for a couple days. Today they are going to the huge Anime convention. They will register and get their neck tags. They are going back tomorrow as well. Cousin L is dressing up. Z is not. I think they were pretty excited to be going to this event.

Last weekend my cuzsis Pam stayed in line at Disneyland for 14 hours so they could all see Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp for the premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean. L got a kiss on the cheek from Bloom and a hug from Depp, so it was worth the wait. 14 hours, that is a good mom!

I am off to Farmer's Market. Have a great weekend.

Anger Management or Venting???

2006-06-26T07:11:00.000-07:00

I wonder if I need Anger Management. I am not postal or anything. Things just annoy me and they don't seem to be getting any better!

I will begin with a couple tips to avoid road rage from somebody, unlike myself, who is sick and tired of a few things and they are so damn simple to fix. But, people need to play by the rules!

Number 1. When you are turning, please signal! How hard is that, put the lever up or down. Can't remember? POINT! I am not talking about a four way stop out in the middle of the desert where no other cars are. I am talking about being on, for instance, a street that turns onto another without a stop or signal for turning traffic. If say, I, were waiting at a stop sign and say, you, were turning onto my little road, you would be kind enough to signal, so I could then turn safely, knowing you are not going straight. This is sooo simple, yet, people refuse to turn on their dang signals. I know in some cases, it is space cadettes, in others, it is because they are on the PHONE!!!!!!

Number 2. Hang up and drive! I know I have said this before, but it is worse than ever now. Here is a simple hint to avoid being rammed by another vehicle by a person who will later have no recall of the event. Be it Ambien or short term memory loss! Oh, not me....Seriously. Tip. If you are at a four way stop and you are chatting with your bud about your new breasts or Botox injections and it occurs to you that you really should go because the person behind you honked, WAIT! Look around to see who is new at the intersection since you have been there and let them go first unless they let you! Just cuz you have been there for three or four minutes does not give you the right to just go! Pay attention.

Can you tell Summer is here? Traffic is a nightmare again. Tourist season has begun. As long as the side streets are still available, all will be fine. Now, if people would remember driver training and apply lessons learned, it would just be a little simpler!

On to the creepy neighbor guy. (CNG) It may not be capitalized if I don't feel like hitting shift! Anyhow, my daughter says that I am obsessed with talking about him. I just wanted acknowledgement that I am right about him. I got it too! HA

David and the CNG talked about getting our shared trees trimmed. Huge Eucalyptus trees. He found a guy who was going to trim the one going thru our back eave for $450 each. David agreed to this. I called my guy, cuz I figured I could get a couple hundred off that price. I did. CNG told David he was okay with our guy, but he wanted him to come next weekend so he could supervise! After a day of Euc branches falling and being put into a truck, the front yard tree looked great. CNG told Bruno (Trimmer) that was exactly how he wanted his trees too. Bruno left and came back yesterday. One of his guys got here first and started on our side of the shared tree. CNG was watching. He then began yelling at the guy in the tree. One of his plants had been damaged. I believe it was a horse tail plant? Green, like bamboo, about the circumference of a straw and can be a kid's best friend when they pull them apart every four inches or so. Anyhow, the guy in the tree had not been in his yard, nor had he dropped any branches over there.

Bruno shows up and after verbally sparring with CNG, he tells me he is not trimming his side of the tree or the other trees that he wanted him to cut! CNG is outside picking up leaves one by one in his yard. Picking them out of the dirt from in between plants. My cuzbro was here and he said CNG was about to explode over a mere 25 or so leaves. Bruno and his guys finished and were going to do one more tree in the front that the nice neighbor on the other side was paying for. When he began to pull away from the curb, after they had cleaned the yard, the CNG said to Bruno, "That is all you are going to do? You are not going to do my trees?" Bruno told him he didn't want to damage his plants! CNG said all Bruno had to do was have two guys holding a tarp and a guy in the tree cutting. Bruno told him no. CNG told him his guy was better anyway and to get out of his face!!! Bruno has more that enough work and doesn't need to work for people who treats him like that.

So, David who told me he thought I was just nagging about the neighbor has decided that the guy is a genuine ass. Also, Bruno and his guys concurred with me as well. All I had to do was sit back and watch!

Three More Days

2006-06-20T06:39:00.000-07:00

Three more days of school! Half days as well. Finals this week too. Doesn't that just suck? Last week of school and three days of finals. Last year they had three days of finals and the last day was basically for yearbook signing. This time, they will be busy for the final three days. It lessens the excitement of the end of the school year for the kids. Zoe isn't feeling the excitement and when I picked up Katharine and a friend yesterday, they concurred.

Actually, Katharine, who is in middle school has two days of finals and one day of yearbook signing. She will have fun on Thursday afterall. They will get their yearbooks and spend the half day signing each other's books. The way I think it should be.

These kids work very hard. Much harder than I did when I was in high school. The amount of homework is insane. I realize that the teachers don't have time to go over everything in the curriculum, but to send it home every night is rough on the kids. As in years past, the teachers have spent the past couple of weeks cramming in the remaining work that was not done thru the year. This is very hard on everybody. The teachers also have to keep the grades up to date on the computer for students and parents to get with a click of a key. You can bet there are parents who call the school if the teacher has not updated the site in a day or two! While handy to have all this information, it is more work for already overworked, underpaid teachers.

Had this technology existed when I was in school, I probably would have been a better student. Well, that would also have depended on whether my parents would have used the technology. We got cut notices in the mail every Saturday like clock work. I got them before my parents did and destroyed them every week. The school did not call either. It was pretty lame. We had minimal homework given. Nothing like today. And we had a blast the last week of school. Ditch day, off to the beach daily after school. No finals the last week! We got to be kids and I wish my kids could be feel the excitement of how the last week is supposed to feel. I know they have in the past, maybe as they get older, things are just different!

In other news....31 years ago today I was having a baby. 6:51 AM, June 20, 1975. He is 31 today. If he is still alive. I hope he is and that he is having a wonderful birthday celebration with his family!

Another Eight Days

2006-06-16T07:22:00.000-07:00

It has been eight days since my last post. Doesn't that sound like I am making a confession to a Priest? It does feel that way, the guilt is real!

I know we are all busy right now. Beginning of summer. Kids finishing school. Finishing up work that must be taught by the end of the year, which is next week, being crammed into their already full schedules. And all the shows for elective classes and after school activities!

Last night we went to Zoe's Chorus Concert. It was AWESOME. They sang all eras of Broadway show tunes. Most poignant was their singing For Good to the outgoing Principal. The songs lyrics say, "Because I knew you, I have been changed for good. It was so very touching. The one thing that hasn't happened to me in a long time happened though. I got a tall guy in the seat in front of me who seemed to move his head to the left or right simultaneously with mine! Not to mention, I was first in line at the door, got a good seat and at the very last minute, Mr. Six Foot Five sits his ass right in view of my daughter singing! UGH

Spring Registration for Girl Scouts just ended. This is important to me because I am the GS Registrar for Laguna Beach. We are just going online so I am now a glorified data entry person as well. It will take a lot of time to input all the registrations, but it will be worth it and it is fun. I just flashed on writing this or a portion of this before. Oh well.

I was listening to Bill Gates yesterday. He still sounds like a very young man. Nerdy guys really come into their own in their fifties! They finally look better than the rest of the boys they went to school with. They look younger, their wives have updated their clothes, their glasses and tossed the pocket protectors as well. Good for them! Good for us that Mr. Gates and his wife will work to help the world. We need it. So, thank you to them!

School gets out on Thursday. I am stoked about that. There will be plenty of things going on this summer, but the schedule will be more laxed. Katharine has rehearsals for Narnia, lots of them! Hopefully, more auditions in LA during the day. I do hope she spends time playing at the beach too, just to relax.

Zoe will be helping David at his office this summer. She will be running the place by the end of summer, I have no doubt. She is going to an Anime (Japanese cartoons) Convention soon with her cousin. Her cousin is dying her hair and dressing up. She is also coming to stay with us for a week, right after school gets out. Again later in the summer as well. Zoe and David are going to DC and NYC in July. Seeing family in NYC and being tourists in DC. It's gonna be hot!

That's about it. I hope everybody is well and I will be blog surfing very soon, I hope! Unless of course I run off to Tahiti for a few weeks! Don't laugh, it could happen!

Just Another Crazy Week

2006-06-08T06:45:00.001-07:00

We finally got the new TV put up last Friday. It works, even in HD, but the Tivo and DVD players and speakers are not hooked up yet. Mark, who put up the TV, is going to rewire all the other stuff. I had to purchase a TV stand for the living room that is no wider than 18 inches. We have decided, while nice, the entertainment cabinet is impossible to work with. It is low to the ground and all the wires are in the back and it is dusty and dark. Now they will be easily accessible and easy to dust, plus they will stay cooler. We can take all the DVDs and CDs that are on top of the entertainment cabinet and actually put them inside and shut the doors. Right now, we have to keep at least one door open to use the remote controls. It will look much nicer when it is all closed up. The cabinet would not have been my choice if I were out purchasing one for the living room. The fireplace mantle and the cabinet are made of Koa wood from Hawaii. It is very beautiful wood and I am not sure they can still cut down Koa trees. The cabinet is L shaped and takes up a whole wall. Limits rearranging furniture in that room! Anyhow, it is nice to have a TV upstairs again.

Zoe had her award ceremony at school last week. She got most outstanding in Biology and Geometry. A couple of nights ago was Katharine's award show. She got an award for most outstanding in Social Studies. She seemed surprised by this. I was happy in was an academic award. She would have been happier if it were for Drama! She and Zoe are both straight A and A+ students, any award is icing on the cake to me! I am very proud of the girls and how well they do in school. I am a lucky mother.

Katharine had her first two auditions for commercials on Monday. She was only supposed to do a Bratz Doll audition, but we got a call before we left home to do another one while we were in LA. She did a cell phone audition at another location. The first one was rather silly, but she can play younger. The second one, she had a blast doing.

The building we needed to be in for the second audition was above a Petco store. We parked in the parking lot and a security dude told us we could not park there. He saw Katharine had her head shot in her hand, so he knew we were going upstairs. Anyhow, I asked the guy if he meant we could not go into Petco. "We cannot go into Petco?" I asked a couple of times. He told us we could, but we had to come right back out and move our car. He told us to park down by Ralphs. Apparently, he didn't care what that security guard had to deal with. We went into Petco and bought a toy for Charlie. When we came out, I pointed out that the sign said "ONE HOUR" parking. He said it was only for those still in the store! Finally we left after I gave him sufficient shit! We went around the block and parked on a busy street, right in front of the store. We went inside, up the stairs. Katharine finally did her audition and we headed back down to the car. Wait, there is something on my windshield, I thought. Shit! A freaking ticket. I looked and I was one inch into the red zone. ONE INCH and I got a ticket for $65.

I asked David if he would fight it for me. He told me he would if I came with him to court in LA. Plus it will be 120 miles round trip and he would miss a morning at the office. Overall, it is better to just pay the damn thing. It really burns me up that I have to pay that ticket. I imagined the way it would play out in front of a judge.
Me: I was only and inch into the red.
Judge: What does red mean?
Me: No parking.
Judge: And you were in the no parking area, yes?
Me: Yes, but only an inch.
Judge: Pay the $65!
Me: #$%# $% running!

Nancy Drew

2006-06-01T15:41:00.000-07:00

No really, Nancy Drew the sleuth.

Years ago Zoe finished the whole collection of Nancy Drew books. I think there are sixty five books in all. A while back she brought them all upstairs and boxed them up. She needed the space on her wall to wall, ceiling to floor bookshelves. The space was filled up quickly enough. Anyhow, normally I take the books up to the elementary school library. Last haul I took, I was told to take them in to the library. I took them in and thought it would at least warrant a "thank you!" Not.

I was happy about giving books to the school over the years, but with no appreciation, I was pretty done! We gave them several hundred books over the years. I should have been giving them to a needy school instead. This time with a full set of books in hand, I thought why not put these on eBay? They have been sitting in the garage and need a home. I thought maybe we could make a couple of bucks on eBay. Apparently, that is about all they are worth!

I went to Amazon.com to see what they were going for. Little did I know the books go up to more than 175 currently! I thought the writer Carolyn Keene was real too. Apparently that was a pen name and there have been and continue to be several writers for the Nancy Drew Series. So, we no longer have a full set of books. Neither does my friend Jana. She has 56 books that she read when she was a girl. I called her and she is now giving away her books as well. Used books are going for up to about two buck each. New books cost about eleven bucks these days. By the way, all the new books, which come out every other month or so, are in paperback. We have hardcovers. The books looks are updated, but that is to be expected for something that has been ongoing since 1930!

Here is a link if you want to read all about it. Nancy Drew

The first book shown is number 2 of at least 175. Then it shows a Gameboy game of Nancy Drew. Also shown, the newer look, is book number 134.

TV

2006-05-27T21:41:00.000-07:00

Here is the new one

As you may or may not remember, our TV has been busted for months. For a while it was on all the time because the on/off switch was broken. Just left it on. One Sunday morning, power failure in the neighborhood. Shit, the TV! Of course, it doesn't come back on. We push the button every so often hoping...Nope, doesn't work. Even though it sort of reminded me of Lost. You will not understand this unless you watched them pushing the button every 108 minutes in the hatch on the show.

I have been researching for weeks. The TV, officially dead for weeks too. Our TV is about six years old and Plasmas have come a long way since then. Lots to research. LCD? Plasma? When spending that kind of money it is good to do lots of research. At least know what the hell you are talking about when you step into the store. Right? Well, yes and no.

Consumer Reports rates Panasonic as the best Plasmas this year and last. I was all set, armed with new knowledge of big screens, which changes often by the way. We walk in, see the Panasonic and it sucks. The picture truly is the worst of the dozens of TVs we look at. Salesman says that Consumer Reports picks always suck. We see a Samsung, 42 inch plasma. Beautiful picture. And no tuner box like our old plasma. All the buttons are on the TV like our little LCD in the bedroom. One less box will be nice.

While ringing us up, I see the TV next to us has a crappy picture. I mention it and the salesman tells me it is because he has to use one cable for all the TVs in that row. I begin to wonder. Did they do that to the Panasonic so we would buy something else? Perhaps some other TVs they got better deals on and need to get rid of? Or they want to save the Panasonic's cuz they know that CR's says they are the best, those will surely sell after the holiday weekend.

I begin to feel quite manipulated. Much more so when I got home. So much more so, that I went online and read reviews for the TV we brought home with us. The reviews were encouraging. I wonder if I am on the edge of a good 20/20 story. It would make sense for then to show a poorer picture if they didn't want to sell a particular set that day. Or to make it beautiful to sell a lot. Manipulation.

We will know more when we get it on the wall next week. I could do the wiring myself. Putting up a 75 pound TV on the wall would not be wise. Towel racks and toilet paper holders fall down when I put them up. I use the screws that come with and I should use bigger stronger screws. Anyhow, for something that costs this much, a professional is in order.

Have a nice weekend.

HELLO OUT THERE

2006-05-22T20:53:00.000-07:00

I haven't been here in so long that my auto speller in the browser window didn't work and I actually had to type out the whole Wifebear.Blogspot.com! I have gotten a couple of emails asking if I am okay. The last time I posted was Mother's Day...

I am fine. Super crazy busy. End of the school year, after school activities. Life. Girl Scout Registration which is my new volunteer gig. I am the new Registrar for our service unit here in town. I had a training class on Saturday because the Girl Scouts are moving into the new millennium and finally doing a pilot program to put all registrations online...Woohoo. Just think of the possibilities! Boring to you perhaps, but it is fun for me. Especially since I can use my Mac with Safari and was told it would have to be done on a PC...Wrong!! I would have been bummed if I could not do this because it was not Mac compatible.

I love paperwork and forms and things like that. When I was a kid I wrote on everything I could get my hands on. I would fill out those bothersome subscription cards that fall out of magazines. I would fill out the front of the school district's books. Any scrap of paper in range had "Nancy was here" written on it. When anybody in my family had a form to fill out, there I was! To this day, I enjoy the act of physically writing. I also enjoy typing. Typing I learned when I was eight. My father had an Army manual that showed where the home keys were, etc., and I practiced without a typewriter. Finally, my mother got out the old Smith Corona. I loved it. I got a Brother portable typewriter for Christmas that year and you would have thought I won the lotto...My brother (not the typewriter) mentioned how obsessed I was back then and I told him of my new position with GS and he laughed and said it could not be more perfect. I still wonder why my father had the Army manual that taught typing of all things. Odd. Looking back, learning to type at eight was no big deal. Kids today all learn early to become computer literate. Back then, we learned in Jr. High. I loved my typing classes, hated the teacher. Mr. Cox, military issued glasses, they had to be. He made me put my bubble gum on a board with my name under it for the whole day once. I was embarrassed, which was his point, he made it.

There was a dinner and award event tonight at a local Mexican eatery. Yummy. Margaritas were good too. I have not had much to drink since I quit smoking 93 days ago. It is to the point now that I forget exactly how many days it has been. I had to look it up. But, I didn't want a smoke at all and I was nearly ecstatic about that. It used to be that I would love bars where I could go out and have a smoke or I would start craving a smoke and would want to leave so I could get in a smoke between the bar and the car! All that is gone and it is such freaking relief.

I started walking with my neighbor a few weeks ago. We have lots of hills around here and they are not conducive to walking with my twice broken, shattered each time, ankle. We now go downtown after I drop off the last girl at school and walk on the flat lands and at the beach. It is nice to walk in the mornings, even with the fog and drippy low clouds we have hanging around this time of year. We actually got more than a half inch of rain last night and today. It is the first time since the 1920's that it has rained on this day. Exceptionally rare to get rain this late in the year, especially a winter storm or what passes for one here in So Cal.

Okay, lots to tell, lots going on. I am beat and want to go watch Prison Break! I finished, actually I am all caught up with Lost. Love that show. Our plasma still is not working. Nor have we replaced it. I use my computer and watched all of Lost. I have now downloaded Prison Break to see if I would like it and after three shows, I am hooked. I can watch til the wee hours of the morning.

Hope everybody is well and I have missed reading all of your posts! Be reading you soon. Nighty night.

Happy Mother's Day

2006-05-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

I know this is a couple days early, but the lull in my hectic day of mostly running around to and fro, makes this the ideal time to write this.

Being a mom is the best. Not always easy by any stretch. Worth the job and the best job on earth? Absofreakinlutely.

As a mom of now teenagers, I see babies and try to remember when my girls were that little. I wrote a lot of things down. I took zillions of photos. Not nearly enough videos. I do remember many things, of course, but I don't remember more than I do remember I am afraid. There is just too much to remember. When something happens or I hear a story, I remember something from when the girls were little. I hadn't really forgotten it, I just hadn't thought about it in a long time.

I guess what I am trying to say is for those of you with young ones, take the time and make those videos of those adorable little voices just beginning to speak or saying or doing funny things. Take videos of those creative, colorful outfits that they put together themselves that a photo will not do justice to. You need to get the whole picture with words, signing, music, songs and dances. You can pop those in the machine when they are teenagers or just when you want a warm loving feeling in your heart. Just to remember.

Same thing goes for your mother. Do you have videos of your mother? I don't. My mother died seven years ago last month and I don't have any way to hear her voice. It makes me very sad and I hope that you will get that video cam out this weekend and film your mother with her kids and grandkids. I hope your husband, partner or child will film you as well.

Motherhood for me, has me beaming with pride, as usual. Zoe just got a letter informing her she got into Honors Chemistry next year! David said, "I never took Chemistry, I cannot help her." He, by the way, is the smartest person I have ever met, so I am sure they will both be taking Chem next year. I have no doubt that Zoe will excel at Chemistry all on her own. The other night they had an award ceremony at the high school and Zoe got two awards. One for Outstanding Student in Biology and one for Outstanding Student in Geometry. I am so proud of her. She is very smart. I would say she works hard, but she will disagree with that statement. It comes to her, she just gets it. In case you were wondering....I stopped giving out math help about fourth grade!

Katharine tried out for Narnia. They are putting it on in a one of the local theatres. It seems all her friends, well several, are trying out for the play. They did call backs on Wed. We could not go to the Thursday call back because Katharine had a showcase in LA. The showcase was from one of her acting classes. She has been going to two acting classes on Sundays. Anyhow, there was a casting director there to see the kids perform. It was also our second time up there this week. We met and are going with an agent we met on Tuesday. Very energetic and a good fit I think. Now a manager and an agent. Apparently, she will have a tag team. Agents for specific jobs. TV, movies, print and commercials. Anyhow, it all seems so real when we are up in LA with all the new or up and coming actors.

Being a mother right now seems to be mostly a taxi and cook position. I don't mind at all. I mind the gas prices, but I don't mind driving 65 miles, one way, twice this week. This is what we signed on to do. I was not happy with the schedules at school this year. Middle school and high school are off just enough for me to go up and down the hill four times a day instead of two. I figured it out though. The schools are about a mile apart. One is higher on the hill than the other. But there are only two roads that lead in and out. If the schools got out simultaneously, it would be a worse nightmare than it already is. So, I get it and I accept it. Zoe has journalism on Monday and Wednesday, so she could call for a ride any time from 2:30 til 5:30. Katharine has dance and guitar two different days as well. Lots of driving, but I am honored to be able to do it for them.

Happy Mother's Day to all you who eat that broken egg, or have to clean up the cat's hair ball or dog's mess, because your children gag at the thought. Also, to all of you who cry (without being noticed) when your child wins an award or scores a goal or brings home awesome grades because you do not want to embarrass them! And those you who fight the school boards/districts and or teachers to better the situation for years to come, long after your child has moved on. Finally, Happy Mother's Day for those you who are just there!

I hope you all have a wonderfully lovely day!

Asparagus/Prosciutto Appetizer

2006-05-06T07:18:00.000-07:00

I am winging this recipe here. I have had these at a friend's home and I have made them a handful of times and they are simply delicious. You may omit the prosciutto if you don't do meat or you may substitute other things. I have done this with other veggies on hand, for instance, broccoli. I just eyeball the amounts but will try to be more precise. The recipe here will make about 15 appetizers, if you have 15 stalks of asparagus.

1 pack fillo dough (squares)
asparagus, cut off bottom inch
1/2 pound prosciutto
About 15 shavings of parmesan cheese
1/2 cube melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Melt butter for brushing on fillo dough
Roll small piece of prosciutto around asparagus stalk
Place on buttered fillo square (triangles are OK too)
Add a piece of parmesan
Asparagas will be longer than dough
Wrap dough around asparagus/prosciutto and parm
Put seam down on greased cookie (Pam) sheet
Bake for about 10 minutes in preheated oven @ 350 degrees

Done when light brown and flaky. This may be made with several variations. Use your imagination.

Geography Today

2006-05-03T07:13:00.000-07:00

Have a go at this. It's fun!
Click here

Okay, how long has the little wheelchair been next to the word verification box in the comment section? I clicked it and it speaks what you should type! Hmm, what will they think of next?

Crocodile Attacks Chainsaw

2006-04-28T16:58:00.000-07:00

I love these strange but true stories!

SYDNEY, Australia (Apriil 28) - A 14 1/2-foot crocodile mauled a chainsaw a worker was using Friday to clear up debris left by a tropical storm that lashed northern Australia. While the croc and worker were both uninjured, the saw's woodcutting days are over.

Freddy Buckland was cutting up a tree that fell against a crocodile enclosure at the Corroboree Park Tavern, 50 miles east of the northern port city of Darwin when the crocodile, called Brutus, apparently took exception to the chainsaw's noise and attacked.

"As he was trimming up the tree on the outside the croc jumped out of the water and sped along the tree about 18, 20 feet and actually grabbed the chainsaw out of his hands," said Peter Shappert, the tavern's owner.

"It must have been the noise ... I don't think he was actually trying to grab Freddy, but I'm not sure. He had a fair go at him ... I think he just grabbed the first thing he could and it happened to be the chainsaw," Shappert added.

Neither Buckland nor Brutus were injured.

The saltwater crocodile, which Shappert said he now is considering renaming Two-stroke in honor of the saw's fuel, appeared to like the snack.

"He chewed on the chainsaw for about an hour-and-a-half, then we finally got it out," Shappert said, adding that the saw was destroyed when it finally was retrieved from Brutus' giant jaws.

Saltwater crocodiles have been known to attack small power boats, apparently because they do not like the noise of outboard motors.

Last night's American Idol

2006-04-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

If you don't watch this show, then you may be excused!

I think most of the performances on last night's show were awful. As cute as Kelly is and as beautiful as Katharine is, they just couldn't make the jump to something big. Paris showed her big voice, but I agree with one of the judges about the fact that she over sang the song.

I was surprised at how well Elliot did. I thought he would easily go home tonight, but he did well. Taylor's performance had no energy to it. Chris rocked the house. I was fully prepared for him to sing his song lying down on the stage. That would have been funny. He was an awesome singer before, but now that he has discovered his diaphragm and taught how to use it...Watch out!

Unfortunately, at this point in the competition it is a popularity contest instead of a true singing competition. For that reason, I believe that Paris or Elliot will be going home tonight.

I wonder what it would be like if AI let people vote for their favorites, but then let the judges make the final decision anyway. You know they cannot cut out all those millions of calls or lose Cingular as a sponsor. I think part of the whole AI experience is that people are actually making the decision and they like the power. Perhaps politics should be run that way...

Mishmash & A Recipe

2006-04-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

I can smell cigarette smoke watfting up through the open door to the deck. I haven't spent as much time on the deck since I quit smoking NINE WEEKS ago today. I think when it warms up I will resume my habit of typing and doing most everything out on the deck. Since I am no longer smoking, I do not have to endure the cold cloudy days with two or three layers on. Instead, I am at the kitchen table a mere few feet away, but with a glass door barrier.

Back to the smell of smoke. It never occurred to me all that time that my smoke, at least sometimes, was coming in the house or into a neighbor's house. I do not like the smell either. I am not Turning into a righteous ex-smoker that I detest so much. I simply do not like the smell, any more than I would if it were on a pillowcase. I do however like the initial lighting of a cigarette. I smelled that the other day in a parking lot and it smelled so good. I suppose it always will.

We had a power failure this morning. A pretty lengthy one too. It shut off the TV that has been on for weeks. The plasma TV that has a bad switch which can probably be fixed for a mere $700. My handyman said he couldn't do it. After much research he decided that it would be a nightmare to go through five layers of circuit boards and declined to do it. I can't blame him. I am not looking forward to hooking up a completely new TV with the wires changed, with Tivo, the cable box, the DVD player and the theater system! Cripes, what a freaking nightmare this will be without a smoke! UGH Why is it that the wires cannot be universal and easy to understand. One simple S-cable and you are good to go. If only it worked that way. Each set up is different. If and when we get a new TV, it could take me days to get the wiring done, but I will get it done!

Katharine is due home from NYC tonight. They are all tired and will need a day off before school begins again on Monday. She did have a blast though. They left their hotel in the morning, breakfast at eight. Home by midnight most nights. I am happy she is coming home.

Zoe has been cleaning her room for days. We went to The Container Store the other day and got her some very cool stuff. Her room looks great and she worked very hard to get it that way. Still has the closet to do. Bins and bins of toys and dolls that she no longer wants or needs. She has already managed to get a lot of stuff out of her room and it has so much more space. My input was very minimal. Moved a bit of furniture, swept and made a few suggestions. This was Zoe's way of spending a few days of her Spring Break. I am very proud of her and all she got accomplished! We all know how fun it is to clean and change things around. It makes us want to spend more time in our rooms. At least initially.

Salmon

1lb salmon
1/4 c soy sauce
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp ground cumin

Wash and place salmon in microwave safe dish
Mix soy sauce, garlic salt and cumin in small bowl
Pour mixture onto salmon. Let sit 5 min and turn over
Cover with cellophane (or a lid) and nuke for about 6 minutes

Remove from dish. Put on a plate, toss marinade.
Serve with rice and a veggie.

You may think you will not like this microwaved fish.
I bet you will though, just give it a try. It is fast and
delicious, I promise!

FYI, this recipe is for making fajitas. I use it on EVERYTHING!
Fish, chicken, meat, this marinade is very good. I usually nuke
fish, but this can be used for grilling or cooking in a pan.

American Inventor

2006-04-20T20:22:00.001-07:00

I just watched two episodes from last weeks Tivo'd reality show, American Inventor. I was not going to watch this program when it first came out, but it hooked me. Some of the inventions were so lame or funny that I couldn't resist watching it again the next time it came on.

Last week four judges narrowed it down from 50 inventors to 24 then down to 12. I absolutely balled my eyes out watching these twelve people as they were told they were getting checks for $50,000 and they were going on to the next round. After listening for an hour to the sob stories and then watching them win, I was glad nobody was in the room with me while I cried about a reality show. It is bad enough when it happens from other stories on TV or in movies, but this caught me totally off guard.

What is amazing is how much these people put into their inventions. Money, lots of money and in some cases their life savings and homes in foreclosure. Watching the man who invented a different kind of car seat after his daughter was killed in a car crash was so very sad. He has a very clever and potentially life saving idea. Another very clever idea which is small and nobody died, was a clamp to hold shut bathroom doors in public places. The woman who invented it made it the width of a small bag of tissues, the kind for a purse. The clamp can go on the tissues very nicely until needed. It goes on top of the door and slides to the side and locks the door for those often broken latches on public bathroom doors. I would buy one. Simple and smart.

There are other inventions that are both okay and not so wonderful, but the passion and drive of the inventors is something to really see. Especially for those who have literally given up everything they own in pursuit of becoming the American Inventor and winning a million dollars.

This is the last show I ever thought I would shed tears over, but it really touched me in a big way. There are two episodes on tonight and I cannot wait to watch them.

A VERY Early Morning

2006-04-18T04:40:00.001-07:00

I dropped Katharine at a friend's house a little while ago. They were meeting there to take a limo to the airport. No need to park and the same limo will pick them up. It was supposed to seat six, but it seats ten. I wish we would have know that yesterday as one girl and her daddy were quite upset that Katharine got a ride in the limo and she didn't. Of course we did book it last Friday and not the day before the trip...I did offer her a trip home in the limo and I would get Katharine another ride and they declined. Okay, enough of that.

Katharine and about 120 other kids, parents and teachers from both the middle and high school drama classes are going to the big apple. They must be at LAX by 5am for a 7am flight. They are going to see five plays. They are going to the MoMA, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero to see the Eternal Flame, Empire State Building, Chinatown, Little Italy, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, NBC and behind the scenes at the studio, Greenwich Village, SoHo and Fifth Avenue to shop. They get to see Trump Tower, Tiffany's, etc. They are going to have a blast.

Today for instance they will arrive about 3pm. They will go to Greenwich and SoHo. They will have dinner and they will see the Off Broadway Show "Blue Man Group." They will finally check into their hotel at 11pm. Up at 8am tomorrow to have a full day again. This week they will also see these Broadway Shows, Doubt, Spamalot, The Color Purple, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. It is a whirlwind touristy visit and they are going to arrive back home at 10:30 Saturday night.

We have family in NYC but we never did the touristy stuff. I think this will be a trip of a lifetime. Going to NYC in seventh grade without parents. We were up at three, I made scrambled eggs, toast and oj for breakfast. Confused the hell out of the dog. We are not supposed to be up, let alone be eating at this hour! But, he wanted to eat nonetheless. He is sawing logs now. I need to wind down and try to go back to sleep.

It has been so crazy and my girls' spring break is this week so I haven't been around to say hi to very many people lately. I want to do so this week though. I miss reading all of your stories!

Have a great Tuesday.

Happy Easter and Passover

2006-04-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

Seems like Christmas just got over and here it is, already Easter. This is the first year we didn't dye eggs. I am okay with it though. In a year or two, I may miss it, but who's to say we cannot dye them in future years? The girls are older, 13 and 14, but even last year they wanted to dye and then search for eggs. There is no age limit.

I look to my childhood to gauge how long to carry on traditions with my children. I don't know why I do that. I always over do and exceed what I had in my childhood. It just seems my girls are younger than I was at their age. They verbalize wanting traditions to continue. I never did that. When it was over, when the Easter bunny stopped coming to our house, it was over. I didn't put in a request for the Easter bunny to keep coming. It never occurred to me that it was an option. Which continues to show me how smart kids are today. Younger than I was, but absolutely smarter. Or maybe it was part of their early Montessori teachings, use your words that enabled them to speak up when they want or need something from us.

The girls are still getting baskets this year, not large and not overly full. A few chocolate items, some jelly beans, a mini stuffed bear and bunny respectively. I have learned from the past that the candy in the baskets lasted at least til the next holiday and we ended up tossing what was left. These baskets should be devoured in the next week or so. That will be perfect.

Zoe asked me if she should wake Katharine to see her basket. I told her, "Absolutely not, let her sleep as late as she can!" I didn't buy hair supplies, pens, pencils or any other goodies to go into the baskets this year. It will take a mere five seconds to see it is about sugar this year. They will appreciate it.

I made a turkey yesterday. It was in a bag already cleaned and seasoned. All I had to do was put it in the oven. We made mashed taters, stuffing, green beans and had a very nice dinner. We will have leftovers today, but I will throw a ham into the mix. Personally, I love ham on Easter. Dinner will be simple and lovely, just because we are having dinner together as a family.

Happy Easter and/or Passover to you all.

Convenience fee a rip off

2006-04-11T06:33:00.000-07:00

I paid the property taxes yesterday and had every intention of doing so online. I read the insert which said, why pay for postage and envelopes? Pay online. What it didn't say was save money by not using a stamp or envelope! It's all in the wording because I thought it would save me 39 cents, when actually it was going to cost $50 for a convenience fee!!! I sure hope only people who had no other choice used the pay online system. Maybe then they will make it more cost friendly to use. Who pays $50 for a convenience fee? That is hardly convenient. Writing a check, using an envelope and putting on a stamp is not so obsolete that I would pay that kind of fee on an already hefty amount due to the county. Perhaps I should write a letter to the editor of the local paper. I think it is wrong to charge us for something that doesn't cost them much. No employees necessary to open envelopes or manually remove checks and post to the appropriate accounts. It is done automatically via payment online. Maybe that is the problem, they don't want to loose employees to technology.

My rant for the day.

My Horoscope says....

2006-04-06T06:04:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about what to post today. I could write about the hawks nesting in the tree in our yard and while that is very cool, the fact that they are not putting caca on my car is a bonus! I could wonder out loud about who that man was on American Idol who sounded like Kenny Rogers but in NO WAY looked like him. I could go on and on about all the plastic surgery here in Orange County as well, but they already did a few shows about those people. I could tell you about how embarrassing the newest show is...I won't go into how I feel about the other shows...Well...No, I am not going to. I could mention how the internet was down all day yesterday and I felt like I was on an island without any news. Actually, I have been on an island without any news and it's wonderful. This was more like being out of the loop. See I had a few ideas, some not even mentioned here as well. But, I didn't have a lot to work with. I have an out though...My horoscope said, "You may be truly inspired today, but it might be an uphill battle to transform your vision into anything productive," also, to avoid frustration by letting go of my need to show others what I know!!! HAHA

Happy Thursday....

Treading Dangerously

2006-04-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

I am happy that the outcome of Jill Carroll's kidnapping was a good one. I am not happy about those who are left behind.

It is so unnecessary for the press to "get to the bottom" of the video Ms Carroll made on her last night of being a hostage. What she said to get out of Iraq, out of the situation she was in was completely understandable. Anybody would have made a video that said they didn't agree with Bush's war to go home again. Whether they believed it or not.

To harp on the reasons in the press, is dangerous. Dangerous to the hostages still being held. Who is going to believe them if and when they get the chance to make a video? Are the pissed off kidnappers going to believe that their hostages feel what they say and then let them go? I don't think so.

I think Ms Carroll was extremely lucky to get out of Iraq alive. Now I think all should remain mute until a later and more appropriate time to discuss this whole ordeal in the press. This includes a full disclosure article written by Ms Carroll herself. Ratings and seizing the moment are not the most important things in life. I would think Ms Carroll for one, must certainly realize this after all she has been thru.

No Smoking, Las Vegas, Immigrants

2006-03-31T06:20:00.000-08:00

A weekend in Las Vegas with one of my brothers and my cuzbro Ronnie and his wife Pam has been in the works for a while. I told them a couple of weeks ago that I would not be able to join them. I know it will be a great time because each one of them is fun and a blast to be around, but as a group, think laughing headaches.

Tomorrow marks my six week mark of not smoking! Six weeks already. 42 days. I am afraid if I go to Vegas with two people who smoke and all who drink, that I will be drinking and smoking within minutes of being with them. I would be upset to mess up for a night or two, but that would not be the end of the world. What the real problem would be, is that I would begin all over again. I would think that I smoked for a day or two, I may as well smoke for a few more days and then start all over. It could be a very long time before I go six weeks without smoking again. So, I will stay home and miss the fun. As hard as that is, I think it is the best option for me right now.

On another subject, I just heard on NPR that students in North San Diego County have begun waving American flags, wearing red white and blue clothing and make-up. They are making their statement about the border issue. They seem uneducated to me and should remain in class. Where do these students think our ancestors came from? Some families may have been escorted off the Mayflower, but they still didn't originate here. I highly suspect that a huge percentage of them are not Native Americans.

There is a local organization that goes to the day labor sites and photographs people who hire the workers. They then put the photos on their website, to try and shame them. Not all of the day laborers are illegal. Even if they are, so what? They want to work and will stay there all day, day after day, to get a job. I don't see Americans hanging out in the hot sun waiting for somebody to pick them up. Americans do not want the jobs these people are willing to take. So, what is all the fuss? Leave them alone and allow them to feed their families without being a drain on our government.

I think the Latino and Latina students have made their point. Leaving school and protesting in mass has been noted and now is just an excuse to get out of class. I applaud their attempts to get the government to do the humane thing and let these people work here. All I see is hard working people who want a better life. That is supposed to be what America stands for right? The American Dream and all that!

Rain, It really rained!

2006-03-29T06:12:00.000-08:00

We were down about five inches from our normal rainfall amount. That was cut in half yesterday. We actually had more than two inches here. I had the pleasure of driving into the spring storm for several hours and then driving out of the storm as it made its way down here to our area.

We drove to the valley, north of LA. Yes, that valley. Gag with me a spoon, valley girl speak valley. I like it up there. Even with all the rain, it was a nice day. Driving back home through Laguna Canyon was so pretty and green and it will be for a few more months.

It took us more than two hours to get up the manager's office. Watching cars go in and out of the car pool lane, illegally crossing the double yellow lines and not waiting until they got to the legal entrances. Even on a dry day, this is a dangerous practice. It is not expected and may cause accidents. Although it should be expected because it happens so often. I saw a Prius cross the lines into the carpool lane and thought, well they are driving a hybrid, perhaps they are above the law cuz they cause less pollution. That sounded a bit nasty didn't it? Sorry. I just think rules make things safer on the road and people should follow them. Slow down in the rain! Don't cross the lines that are there for a reason. Keep the blow up dolls for other uses and not in your back seat so you can use the car pool lane. Those kind of rules....

I also came to the conclusion that some people just know we will not hit them while cutting us off. We may want to and on a bad day, road rage could rear its ugly head, but for the most part, we slam on the brakes, let the person in and call them a bad name. Well, I do!

Happy hump day.....

Katharine

2006-03-26T19:45:00.000-08:00

Here are three of the 70 plus shots that were taken of Katharine last Wednesday. I don't think we have the best ones scanned yet, but we don't have time right now to scan them all. I do think the photographer did a fine job.

I don't care for the outfit that was chosen for this photo, but the colors do show off her eyes.

We see Katharine's manager on Tuesday and she will help us pick out a final head shot for Katharine.

It will be a marathon trip to Studio City probably, we are expecting rain and in California, people do not slow down.

This one is darker than the originals for some reason, probably me.

This shirt was a hand me down and a last minute choice to take. We put it thru the dryer before we left home to get rid of the wrinkles. There are some darling shots of her in this outfit. Some look like gap jean ads, even though I don't think the jeans were gap!

Chili Verde Burrito

2006-03-25T07:01:00.000-08:00

I love Mexican food. I have spent years finding my favorite recipes. I was given this recipe years ago and it is out of this world. It can be used with or without cheese. You may add fresh salsa, guacamole and or sour creme. I have added my quick and tasty fresh salsa recipe at the end of this page.

If you don't have the time to roast the tomatillos and jalepenos, you may buy salsa verde in a can. It is not as fresh and has not been grilled, but is pretty tasty. If you are going to buy prepared pork from a Carnaceria, you may as well order the whole thing there and skip this recipe!!! LOL

3 lbs pork roast
1 1/2 lbs tomatillos (looks like green tomato w/husks)
5 jalepeno peppers
1 clove garlic
1/4 c water
salt to taste

Cut pork roast into small bite size chunks.
In skillet, add 1/4 cup water and add pork, salt and crushed garlic.
Cook on medium turning frequently until brown and water is gone.
Set aside when done.

While the pork is cooking, clean husks off tomatillos and wash off sticky residue.
Cut in half and roast on both sides in a pan or on a grill.
Set aside when done. They are done when they get soft.

You may want to use gloves now. If not, DO NOT RUB EYES or other sensitive areas!
Cut off the end of the jalepeno peppers, then cut in half.
Removing seeds will make it less spicy. If you can handle spicy, leave some seeds.
Roast until softened and slightly cooked.

Using a blender or food processor, add tomatillos and jalepenos. Mix until smooth.
Set aside.

With a large flour tortilla (corn will work too), heat by warming in a pan or my way, which is to toss onto fire from the stove and heat both sides.
Add pork mixture to tortilla. Fold up bottom of tortilla and
roll up from left to right. Put burrito into foil, wrap and let sit for a moment. This will seal the tortilla.
Place on plate and add the tomatillo and jalepeno sauce on top and place in oven for five minutes.
It is okay to microwave too, just to heat up.

Serve with Mexican rice and refried beans.

This recipe is from memory and amounts may very a bit. Serves six nicely.

To make refried beans, I generally add some cheese and salsa, cover and nuke for four or five minutes. Stir when done and serve.

To make salsa,

4 tomatoes chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 c cilantro chopped
1 or 2 jalepenos chopped
1 small can of mexican tomato sauce
salt to taste

Mix together and serve with chips.

Made Good Time

2006-03-23T06:33:00.000-08:00

Made good time is a rare statement when traveling the freeways in southern California. Yesterday, I mapquested the photo studio in West Hollywood and I also did the GPS in my car and they agreed it would take me 1 hour and 17 minutes to get to my destination. It was pretty close because we only hit a slow spot on the 5 freeway for a couple of miles.

The photo shoot was good. Katharine brought about 40 outfits and the photographer said, "Wow, these are all really cute, but we need you to look younger, not nerdy younger, just younger." She chose three outfits. The funny thing was she said that a lot of people throw in one or two things at the last minute and that is what she chooses.

We were in an old warehouse studio. I liked the photographer very much. I have to go back up there on Monday preferably, to pick up the photos and hand deliver them to Katharine's manager. I am just hoping the traffic will be similar to what it was yesterday. I need to snag somebody to go with me so I can ride in the car pool lane too.

We got back in time for Katharine to change into her dance clothes and back down the hill to her hip hop class. I went to the grocery store and then to the high school to pick up Zoe after her journalism class. She was not there. We got her a cell phone for this purpose. I called it and she didn't answer. I had no idea if she took the bus, somebody else picked her up or if she was still in class. As I pulled away to circle the school, Zoe called and said she was still in class. I asked her for how long and she said she didn't know, but that she would call me and I could come back down and get her. I know it was not her fault, but I was tired and pissed.

I got home, unpacked the groceries and put them away and Zoe called, she was ready for me to pick her up. To her credit, she did apologize and explained that the paper was being printed last night. I passed Katharine and her friend going down the hill and then up the hill. The actually stopped and asked if Zoe needed a ride, but she told them I was coming down and she didn't not want to be there when I arrived! Needless to say, it was a very long day.

The freaking TV has been off for days now. It is really broken now. I doubt it will ever turn back on again, at least in this house. A red light blinks at us constantly and it annoys me further. I am not sure what we are going to do about this yet. I awoke this morning with a wild hair to clean the piles of junk that had accumulated in the kitchen. It is clean now and at least that makes me feel better!

I will save most of my disgust for another post, but have any of you seen the ridiculous new program called The Real Housewives of Orange County? If you haven't, good for you! It you have, let me just say it misrepresents of the majority of us here. It is like the show Laguna Beach, where they pick a handful of spoiled kids and go with it. Same thing here. Trust me, it is trash and frankly, I find it highly insulting to think that people think of us this way and that this crap actually made it to the air! Seriously, I could go on!

Off to read blogs!

NO MORE COOKIES

2006-03-22T05:58:00.000-08:00

Friday is the official end of selling this year's Girl Scout cookies. Our troop is done and I turned in the paperwork yesterday. DONE. I don't care to see another cookie for a year. Unfortunately, there are still stragglers out there who want to exchange cookies or buy some still. We have bombarded this town for the past three weeks. Very few people in town want to see another Girl Scout as long as they live! It is such a small town that there are very few places the troops haven't blanketed. On the other hand, it was a good sale.

Today I have to take Katharine to West Hollywood to get her photos taken. She is bringing no less than forty tops of all colors and styles, with a few skirts, jeans and jackets. We have waited over six weeks to get in with this photographer. From the work I have seen, she does great stuff. Katharine is beyond excited. I was going to send her to school for a couple of classes until about 10:00 last night it occurred to me that we will need the time to pack up all the clothing she is bringing and she will need to eat before the shoot. Depending on traffic, it could take two or more hours to get up there. Better to leave some extra time and not get stressed by the traffic that there is bound to be.

I have been very busy with scouts and other things and have not been visiting blogs as often as I should. I will be taking care of that tomorrow. At least until Katharine starts going on auditions and I get busy again. Again, I may not be around as often as I like, but I think of so many of you very often. Plus, think of all the new material I will have, cuz lately, I have been boring myself!!!

Happy Hump Day!

In Nine Months

2006-03-19T06:49:00.000-08:00

It will be Christmas again...Thought there would be something else going on in nine months, like say a baby? Been there, done that. Maybe for somebody else, but not for me!

I cannot believe that we are only three months til school is out again. It means I will have a sophomore and an eight grader. When your kids are young and people tell you to start the college fund, do it. It flies by, even though it seems like it will be a very long time.

I was thinking I should start Christmas shopping now to make it easier on the pocketbook when the rush is on. It is hard to think of what to buy people for Christmas so early in the year. A lot of savings to be had though, if we can do it. Instead of a Christmas club, just buy the gifts now, for those who stay the same size, have liked the same things forever, collect things, still would like another years subscription to a magazine, who actually use gift certificates and if you can figure out this year's most popular gifts this far in advance. Maybe something that is not even on the market yet...I always find sweaters are safe, if the person doesn't weigh significantly more or less in the next nine months.

Anyhow, that was what was on my mind this morning. When what I really should be thinking about is getting shorts for Zoe. The stores have finally started stocking shorts and I will be happy to see Zoe get some new shorts. Note to self...Buy shorts before they leave the store for the winter. Get them on clearance before they disappear. Make sure Zoe has several pairs to get her thru the winter.

David got the girls razr cell phones Friday night. Katharine's 3 year old phone has seen better days, but hey, she got it when she was 10 and she still has it!!! Zoe didn't want a phone. She finally agreed to have one so she can call me when she needs a ride. These phones do everything but, well, you can insert your own words there. They are very thin, have great sound and take pretty good pictures. Zoe and I got out the manual so she would know what to do. She caught on very quickly. Katharine learned the new stuff that her old phone didn't do very quickly. I caught her gazing lovingly at it a couple of times yesterday. David upgraded from his antiquated phone as well. He spent a good deal of time updating info as well. Me, I got a new phone about a year ago and I have still not input all the old phone numbers from my old phone. I really need to do that. One great thing about the razr phones is that they have built in speakers and can be used if the phone is open or closed. No ear bud required, hands free, even though neither of the girls drive...yet.

A brief lesson. David got two razrs in a special from Verizon. Buy one get one free. But, he had to pay extra for the pink phone for Katharine. Cingular, who we have had forever, has an ad today for razrs for $50 each. Works out to buy one get one free, except they do not charge for the color phones! I still have cingular and the rest of my family have switched to Verizon for the next year or so. I never get use near my limit of 400 minutes anyhow. No big deal.

We did the St. Patrick's Day sing along at the neighbors and we had shalalies to drink. Yummy. It was a fun night.

Have a great Sunday!

This, That and That

2006-03-16T05:47:00.000-08:00

It was a rough few days for Zoe and the flu. Her temp was 103 for three days. Poor thing. She is better now and back to normal, but it took a couple of days after the fever went away for her to regain her energy.

David's eldest daughter has been with us all week. She has two boys and a hubby, is a teacher and lives in Houston. For Spring Break, they were all going in different directions and Daniela chose to come here for a few days. It has been very laid back and fun with her here. She spent the night in LA the other night and it took her several hours to get back to OC. LOL She got caught in traffic from one of LA's infamous car chases! Luckily, she was not near the driver who was sideswiping cars and knocking their doors off. I believe he was a murder suspect. Anyhow, she accomplished what she wanted and got back safely. She is leaving this afternoon. It will be sad to see her go so soon.

I watched The Apprentice this week and I have to say, I don't like many of the contestants this time around. I particularly find Brent repugnant. At first I was not happy with the director or editor who felt the need to show Brent eating several times. Had he been skinny, I am sure they would have passed on showing that. I have never seen them obsess about what anybody else has eaten. Anyhow, I also felt he got a raw deal from his team the first week. The woman he supposedly "scared" was not scared, she just didn't like him. By the end of Monday's show and seeing the clip of next week's show, only one word came to mind about him, repugnant. He will not last on the show and I hope he gets fired this week so we can think of something other than the spoiled fat guy and how everybody hates him.

Watched Idol last night and there was no surprise there. Watched Bones for the first time, like it too. Watched the new show after call Loop. It had good moments, but mostly juvenile and dumb. Bones is Daniela's favorite show. I didn't realize that one of the scientists is referred to as Bones. And I didn't know it was a drama. Daniela has introduced us to shows before. Seinfeld being one. She was visiting one time during the second season and told us we had to watch it. We did and of course we know everything there is to know about the show, along with most of America. She also showed me Ali G (sp) who does rap and other strange things. He is English and acts a lot like Father Guido Sarducci! Quite amusing, I will admit.

Saturday is week four of no smoking! I am pretty happy about this. I read that to change a habit it takes 28 days. That will be Saturday. So, I should be able to go out to the table on the deck with my computer and not want to pick up a smoke. I went out the other day to talk on the phone and I didn't want a smoke. That is one of the hardest things about not smoking, I always talked on the phone with a smoke....No more of that though.

In case I don't post tomorrow, Y'all have a happy St. Patrick's Day!!! We are going next door to our neighbors for a sing a long. It is another annual holiday they do up right and we all sing our hearts out. Fun, fun , fun!

Blue Cheese Scalloped Potatoes

2006-03-11T07:07:00.000-08:00

Let me start by saying, the turkey I made the other day didn't make Zoe sick! She has the flu complete with 103 temp! Poor baby and poor me and my fear of fevers. On to the recipe......My first recipe Saturday!

Blue Cheese Scalloped Potatoes

3 baking potatoes (can use red too)
1 cube butter (cut into small squares)
3/4 cup flour
3 tsp salt
3 tsp white pepper (black is fine too)
8 oz blue cheese (other cheese okay too)
Milk to cover mixture when complete

In a baking pan spray with Pam. Mix salt and pepper together with flour. Peel and slice potatoes. Preheat oven to 350.

Add a layer of thinly sliced potatoes. Add dolops of butter to the corners and around the center. Sprinkle blue cheese crumbles all over. Add some flour, salt and pepper.

Repeat this process three or four layers thick.

Cover entirely with milk and put foil on top. Cook for about an hour with the foil on and about 15 minutes with the foil off, until golden brown. Let rest 15 minutes and serve. Be careful putting it into the oven with the milk being so close to the top of the pan. The potatoes will thicken before serving as well.

This is very basic and other spices, onion and/or garlic may be added. With small kids, this works well and is quite good.

This recipe goes very nicely with apple stuffed pork chops. Or on its own! All measurements are in my head and may be adjusted to your own taste.

I thought I was so smart!

2006-03-10T07:12:00.000-08:00

Back in November I bought an extra turkey while the prices were so low, which I thought was pretty smart! I put it into the freezer as soon as I got home from the store. I took out the turkey on Monday and popped it into the fridge to defrost. When I took it out and opened it yesterday it smelled funny. I didn't put a slit in the wrapper as it thawed. My second mistake was telling David that I thought it smelled funny and that I was going to toss it in the trash.

He came home to drop off Zoe and I told him after the turkey aired out for a bit, it smelled fine. He didn't seem convinced that it was okay. I told him I would never cook a spoiled turkey! It is like when the milk smells funny. Once you ask somebody if it smells funny to them, it may as well be bad, cuz the seed has been planted.

We had the turkey dinner and it was quite delicious. An hour or so later, Zoe told me she had an upset stomach. I was thinking it was psychosomatic. She asked if the turkey was okay and I assured her it was. Anyhow, I immediately felt bad. I wondered why Katharine and I didn't feel bad. Then David came home and said thanks for the plate I had out for him. I suggested he eat something else, cuz Zoe was not feeling well and it could possibly be the turkey. He agreed that once the question of quality was raised, the turkey didn't sound very good.

So, Zoe got sick a few times last night. Said her tummy still hurts. She is on the couch and is staying home today. Did I give my child food poisoning? I don't think so. I still think it is psychosomatic....Although, I do feel bad. Needless to say the turkey is not in the trash.

She is lying on the couch in front of the TV I never want to turn off again! It is a Plasma TV that was very expensive when they first came out. There is a short in the on/off switch. I am just sick about it cuz I would love to fix it myself. Just a matter of soldering a circuit that my father could have fixed in a heart beat! However, he died almost eight years ago. So, I had to call around to TV repair places.

The first guy was very honest and I have used him before. He told me it could not be fixed in the home. Since it is only 4 inches wide, they would have to remove layers and layers of circuit boards to find the right one to fix. He suggested I get a new TV set cuz this was going to cost no less than $650.

I called another place and they wanted $95 for a service call, $500 labor and he didn't know how much the parts would be yet. And, the labor fee could increase, that was the minimum cost of fixing the plasma TV. They only cost a couple grand now, much cheaper that four or five years ago. We checked around at pricing. I still want to get ours fixed. The stupid thing would not turn on and it was Academy Awards Night. Later it worked. Then the other day it wouldn't turn on again! I can tell when it is not going to work. The red light blinks rapidly. Hours later, it stops blinking so rapidly and the TV will go on. Now, I am afraid to turn it off for fear it will not come back on!

I really don't want another TV and to have to reconfigure all the wires with the theater system, cable box, Tivo, and TV. It gives me a headache that I may have to do that again! I can do it though. I just get a bit crazed and used to take many smoke breaks! Can't do that anymore. I have never gotten a new TV where it was wired the same was as the current one that I had. Ever! So, I don't expect it to happen this time either. All is well if I just leave it on until the next thing goes wrong with the TV. It doesn't take very much electricity. Lots less than the older versions did. In a perfect world, it would just work and come back on each and every time I clicked the button.....

Day Eighteen

2006-03-08T06:08:00.000-08:00

Today is day eighteen. Eighteen days since I have had a cigarette. A nasty habit that I have hidden from several people over the years. My family knew and my friends as well. I didn't smoke in front of a lot of the girl's friends or their mothers though. I was embarrassed and didn't want to embarrass my girls either.

I quit years ago, back in the early eighties. It wasn't cool to smoke anymore and I just quit. Cold turkey. Before patches. I didn't smoke for many years and one day my best friend and I went to the bar where we worked. I had the key and the owner/friend was out of town. My friend and I went in and locked the door. We turned on all the TVs and music and had ourselves a day at the bar. It was an official holiday and the bar was closed, but not to my friend and me. She smoked and I started again that day. I am not the type who can have just one or smoke for the day and then stop the next.

A couple of years later, I quit. I got pregnant. My girls are sixteen months apart and I didn't smoke during the pregnancies or nursing either girl for thirteen months each. Then I began again. I never smoked in the house. I always went outside to smoke.

I did the same thing here. Always out on the deck with my computer and smokes. I haven't been out on my deck much in the last eighteen days. I have been out there maybe three times for a little while at a time, trying to break the habit that I needed a smoke in the ashtray as I typed.

My friend quit more than four months ago and we have been a support system for each other. Plus the websites that tell the benefits of not smoking and how things change from 8 hours after the last cigarette to years after. It has been surprisingly helpful. My friend has been too. She knew I was getting myself in quitting mode and she didn't preach. She knew it would only work when I was ready.

It has been a very difficult thing to do. I don't think I will ever smoke again. I am feeling better and having less cravings every day. I still want to smoke a cigarette at times, however, I can feel that I am done and that I don't want to start over after making it for a whopping eighteen days. I am proud of myself for finally quitting. Hopefully for life.

GM vs Bill Gates

2006-03-07T08:23:00.000-08:00

I received this from David's Aunt Lucille and I liked it so much, I decided to make it today's post.
BTW, I have a Mac.

General Motors vs Bill Gates

For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way
computers have enhanced our lives, read on.

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the
computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with
technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00
cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release
stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be
driving cars with the following characteristics (and I just love this part):

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a
new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the street for no reason. You would
have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the
car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some
reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your
car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to
reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable,
five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five
percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be
replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed an Illegal Operation" warning
light. The airbag system would ask, "Are you sure?" before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and
refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned
the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. Every time a new car was introduced, car buyers would have to learn how
to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the
same manner as the old car.

10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.

Patriot's Day Parade

2006-03-05T07:04:00.000-08:00

Friday after school, we set up a booth sale for GS cookies. We sold 96 boxes in less than two hours. Not very much foot traffic for some reason. Back again in less than two hours for another booth sale downtown.

Yesterday was the Patriot's Day Parade and a dozen of us sat inside a restaurant to watch the parade. This was the third year we have done this. The quantity of people increases yearly. It is so much fun though. Even without bloody marys, mamosas and margaritas! When we were done about eight friends came in and we let them sit with us and we left, purposely leaving the big table to them. They got the table without going thru the front, so it was kind of sneaky, but worked out very well. Trevor, our waiter was not the least bit upset. Maybe because he was happy to see seven 12, 13 and 14 year olds leave! Actually, I think he enjoyed waiting on all the girls, who were having a blast, we just paid the bill.

One of our local theater companies in town does a lot of tongue in cheek and out and out jokes about things that happen in town. Our town didn't allow the Minutemen into the parade which made big news here. They have been protesting the local labor area in the canyon too. I don't see any American's out there day in and day out, in all types of weather looking for work. Anyhow, the No Square Theater made fun of the incident by dressing silly, as always, and singing a song about the Minutemen and handing out green cards, with the theater info on the other side.

This was the first year one or both of our daughters were not in the parade. They could have been, with many different shops in town or the girl scouts as well. It was kind of nice to sit without having to go retrieve a child. It was also so cute to see all the little kids who are now walking with the band, chorus, theaters, scouts, Hobie, boys and girls club, etc., they were sooo little. I miss when I had little tiny girls, but then I remember how much I love and enjoy them now as teenagers too. The time goes so fast, as it was told to us over and over again. Only to really realize it once it has gone by. Slow down, take the time to enjoy the NOW.

Spoiler

2006-03-01T06:38:00.000-08:00

I hate spoilers! I don't read the last page of a book to see who did it. I play by the rules and think others should as well! Especially when it is for a TV show, movie or book, I don't want to know how it ends until the end.

I was told yesterday that one of the final two of the new Apprentice was at a friend's restaurant and mentioned that they are in the final two. That is just wrong if it is true. They must sign some confidentiality agreement, right? UGH

In other news my friend sent me a link to this website that I thought was fun. I am not very good at it though.

Get Certifiied

Happy March!

Clash Day

2006-02-26T06:34:00.000-08:00

Crazy Hair Day too

Clash Day

Seriously, how many people do you know that could put on six layers of mismatched clothes and still look chic, not to mention skinny?

They had Clash Day and Crazy Hair Day at the middle school right before ski week. I think Katharine looks amazingly cute considering how may patterns and colors she has thrown together.

Impending Rain

The weather heads are predicting a lot of rain beginning tomorrow. Any rain is welcome here. Our wettest month might not be a wash after all. Okay, so maybe it will.

Girl Scout Cookies Are Coming

2006-02-23T06:33:00.000-08:00

Thin Mints

Tis that time. Starting next weekend, March 3rd, Girl Scout Cookie Sales Begin. The booth sales only last for two weeks, but by the time the sale is done, it seems like the cookies have been around for months. Everybody is tired of seeing them. Everybody has already bought some. Nobody wants to see them again for another year. Except the occasional cookie junkie. They will think they need just a couple more boxes in their freezer. They will bring them out in October and surprise their friends with GS cookies and tea!

I will get our troop cases on Tuesday, Feb. 27th and no, we may not sell them before Friday, March 3rd, so don't even ask! Sheesh. We didn't sell as many this year as we did last year. In fact, almost half as many. My garage will only have 87 cases this year. Still over a thousand boxes of cookies. The girls are older and they are not as in to it as they were when they were little. Just keeping a daughter in scouts by the seventh grade is not the easiest thing in the world either. They have already worked for and received their bronze award. They should be working toward their silver and then gold award, if they last that long. Luckily, when the girls get older, they don't have to wear the little brown or green uniforms. The downfall is that those little darlings in those brown and green uniforms can sell better cuz they are cuter! Missing front teeth and a big smile asking for you to buy a box of cookies. Who could resist that?

We will be selling after school on Friday, March 3rd and again on Sunday, March 5th. Wanting to sell while they are still new to customers was our thinking. But the second week, at least here in our small town, everybody has been hit up more than once and not everybody is very happy with seeing Girl Scouts at the entrance of the grocery store.

So, keep your eyes open and buy some cookies if you want!

*******

In other news, I am feeling so much better today that I am taking the girls shopping for a few things. Nothing too frivolous, just necessity stuff. Thank you to all of you who sent me get well wishes and those of you who tried to bully me, I mean persuade me, to go to the doctor. I did talk to a doctor, I just didn't go in. I knew what I had and I know how much better I feel now. Thank you!

We finally got a half inch of rain last weekend. We needed it even if it was a small amount. Back to the 70's today. Another chance of rain by Monday. Not holding my breath for that "storm" either.

BRONCHITIS

2006-02-21T18:02:00.000-08:00

That is what I have. I am very sick. I took Katharine to get her hair cut and was almost certain I would be headed for the ER after. I got my inhalers and I think I am actually a little bit better. If I still feel like shit tomorrow, I will go to the ER and have a respiratory treatment. See how sick I am? This made no sense. I am very sick, although I took Katharine to get her hair cut. Then I was going to the ER and didn't. Then as if I actually admit to feeling a bit better, although in the first sentence I was very sick. Then if I still feel like shit tomorrow, I will go to the ER. I realize this makes no sense to a non medicated person. Sorry.

Oh well, face it, I am sick and my hairdresser told me even my eyes look sick. That only seems fair to me. If I am sick, my eyes are entitled as well, are they not?

Actually, I have been ill for days, Zoe and David had it, Katharine got it on Sunday. We all want to feel better. I guess it will just take some time.

Hope you are all well and staying healthy!

UPDATE

I am feeling a little bit better today. I called my doctor to get the inhalers yesterday. She told me if I didn't feel better or if I got worse, that I had to go see her. I agreed to that. I am going to see her next month for my yearly physical anyhow. I really wanted to avoid another visit. I am very aware of how I am feeling and I can tell I am better. I can breathe a whole lot better. I will keep on top of things though and call my doctor if I don't feel even better by tomorrow.

Late Notice, etc.

2006-02-17T06:48:00.000-08:00

Ever had something for a very long time and all of a sudden you realize something you didn't notice? I was typing this morning and hit a button and the line moved down. I wondered what the heck I hit. Right there, on my keyboard, next to the apple button is an "Enter" button! I am on iBook number three and I just noticed the little bugger! I hate that. Of course, I know where the regular Enter button is!

I use the same flat street to get to two different roads that go down the hill. There is not a day that goes by that I notice a house or yard that I have not noticed before. We even trick or treat on that street. Strange how that happens, even after living here for over eight years.

We had a mini van for three years and as I was cleaning it out to return it at the end of a lease, I discovered the cup holders that would have been 'oh so helpful' when the girls were little! Not only that, this was the second mini van I had, same make and model. I was bummed that I didn't know where they were hidden for what, five years? And, they were hidden!

I know you are thinking I am just oblivious, and maybe I am about some things. Normally, I am very good at noticing things. Too good in fact! I could be a private detective and a damn fine one at that!

*************************

I watched the Olympics for about a half hour last night. I just cannot get into it. Every time I had turned them on before last night, I hit a commercial. Last night, NBC boasted thirty minutes without commercial interruption. That hooked me. I was not very impressed with the male figure skating programs. None seemed to be great. Of course, they are all terrific athletes, but they didn't seem to be Olympic quality last night.

I have gotten so spoiled watching TV thru Tivo, where I can zap the commercials. I just cannot watch the commercials that NBC insists on shoving down our throats! Unfortunately, unless I Tivo the Olympics, I will unlikely be a viewer this time around. I have no idea how their ratings are going, but I do know they are out of control with the way they leave a sport and when they come back, they tell you that coverage of whatever was on will return later. I am not playing that game. I can't. I have neither the time nor the patience to watch conventional coverage of the Olympics any longer. I don't think I am alone in this. I could be, but I doubt it. It is sad really, because I used to look forward to watching the Olympics. End rant!

I have been catching up on all the episodes of many shows that I have been Tivoing since last October, in some cases. I watched ten episodes of one of my favorite shows, Grey's Anatomy. This show rocks. I am happy that Fox has stuck to their regular programming. I am not missing House or 24 and that makes me happy happy!

Not Much Going On

2006-02-16T06:52:00.000-08:00

I don't have much to say today. I have been under the weather with a nasty sore throat and headache. Zoe and David had it too. It could be due to the weather. One day 90 the next 55 degrees. I know this doesn't account for the fever, but I know it plays havoc on my body. Not to mention seasonal clothing. If I were the type who actually put summer clothes away til summer, I would be pissed right about now! I suppose it is fortunate that I am the worst at changing closets to what is in season, let alone putting anything in the damn closet once it is washed. It all seems to stay in the laundry area of the garage. Doesn't seem like much use to put it downstairs when I am upstairs and going to be using it all again. I should have a closet in the garage for my clothes. That would make more sense.

On another note, I have been waiting for shorts to come back to the stores. Zoe only wears shorts, year round. She needs some new ones and they have not been anywhere to be seen. They sell men's shorts, why do they not carry women's or junior size shorts? Especially in California. Sheesh. There are a lot of women who wear shorts all year long here and you better buy them before the winter season, otherwise I hope you like the ones you have until next "shorts' season.

Next week is "ski week." No school. Another week off school. Didn't Christmas break just end? Sure seems like it. I know I didn't have this many days off school when I was a kid. Although, my kids are much smarter than I was. I think it is partly genetics on their dad's side, but they work hard too. Harder than I did. Perhaps they need the extra days off to regroup to work hard til the next break. They take school or at least their grades seriously. I never cared about my grades or trying to make them better. I also didn't have nearly as much homework as they get.

Finally, this whole Dick Cheney thing is just so damn interesting to me. Everybody has a different opinion. The guy shot another hunter, it was an accident and he didn't step up and alert the media. I am not going to get into the whole thing about that being just one more secret of the Bush Administration. I just think it is interesting to see what people think. David was wondering why their wives were not there, yet they were hunting with two women. Usually, that kind of thing would have been the first thing I would have noticed. It didn't even occur to me until he mentioned it. Now, that makes me wonder a bit. At least it adds a bit of intrique to the story. I don't believe they were with these women for the purpose of having an affair. I think these women were hunters and their wives are not. If I were the wife, I would have rather been anywhere else, other than hunting. Fishing is a love of mine. Shooting is not.

Survived the Sleepover

2006-02-12T18:00:00.000-08:00

All asleep this morning

Katharine awake, while the rest saw logs

Katharine modeling with all the other girls

Look at this gold metalic purse

opening gifts

Here we begin

Blowing out candles

Fifteen girls. Lots of giggling, dancing and singing. Lots of presents, food and beverages. Not the kind I am having right this very moment. I think they finally got to sleep about three this morning. I know that is about the time I fell asleep and was wide awake at five. Off to the store at 7:00 for bagels, donuts, muffins, cream cheese, oj, strawberries and bananas. One of the photos is of all the girls ASLEEP! All the furniture pushed up against the walls and sliding doors to make a big open space in hopes that nobody cracked their head open. It worked, I am happy to say!

Got home from the store, where I took my sweet time cruising, all the girls were awake. We cleaned off the table of what munchies were left from the night before and put out the new spread. After they ate, the girls started playing games again and I mentioned that their parents would be here soon. Nobody moved. I got a little more forceful and they picked up all their sleeping bags, pillows, blankets and stuffed animals and a couple actually asked for a broom! Yes, a broom! I love these girls! They are an awesome mix. Some more helpful than others, but all very nice.

One of the girls got a robot claw and got up on a bar stool and took out no less than two dozen balloons that were wrapped in one of the ceiling fans. That was very cool. About 10:30 all were gone. Katharine excused herself to her bedroom. Zoe, David and I cleaned up. David got the ladder and took out a leftover ribbon in the fan from last year or the year before. The fan has only worked on low for a long time and the penny dropped. It could have been the freaking ribbon all along. With the ribbon gone, the fan still works on low, but the ugly sound is gone. While the ladder was in the house, David decided to change the burned out light bulbs above the kitchen table fan. This, I knew would result in dead moths falling down. It did, we cleaned that up too. Needed to be done, not the best time, but, when is?

After we placed most of the furniture back where it belonged, I went down for a nap! I slept very peacefully for a solid two hours! Our bedroom was not as hot as upstairs. Usually stays about 10 to 15 degrees cooler than upstairs. I had the ceiling fan and another fan pointed at me and I conked out! It was lovely.

For dinner, fish filets, tater tots and chicken tenders. Katharine told me thank you for unfreezing the food! UGH and LOL.

We hit 90 today. I am envious of all of you in the nor'easter! Lucky ducks! We did get some cooler, foggy weather for a few days, then back to the heat wave. YUCK! I am glad to see that global warming has let some of us remember that winter still exists!

Where's Winter?

2006-02-08T06:22:00.003-08:00

It rains 98% of the time on Katharine's birthday, Feb 6th. It didn't rain this year. It hasn't rained significantly for months. February is supposed to be our wettest month and the TV forecasters don't see any rain until about nine days from now and they say it looks like a 20% chance. The northwest is getting all the rain. I would like them to share it with us!

It is not even 6:30 yet and it is already 68 degrees! Holy crap, it is winter and it could hit 90 today! UGH

Our rain accumulation is tragic. Last year was a record year with 30 inches courtesy of El Nino. Now we have La Nina and only a couple of inches of rain since last July!

We have a red flag fire danger in place. We have had a fire here in OC that is still burning. No structures, but about 4000 acres of chaparral. Lots of smoke. This is not supposed to be our fire season either! It is dangerous, especially living on a canyon with dry vegetation! I just heard that there is another fire in the Santa Monica Mountains and that Malibu Canyon residents are getting nervous. The fire department told them they should be ready to evacuate if asked. Temps near 90 and 40 mph Santa Ana winds are expected!

The one thing we have going for us is goats. There are couple of herds of goats in town who eat the vegetation that surrounds our town. This has turned out to be a very economical way to get rid of the overgrowth near homes and other structures. It does look like Lebanon when they are done and there are the people who disagree with the goats eating native plants. It all grows back eventually, in time for the goats to consume it again.

Katharine just came up with a new sweater on that she got for her birthday and I mentioned it might hit 90 today. She replied, "It is February!" Now she is changing to a cooler shirt.

I want sweater weather and rain. Is that too much to ask?

Somebody please do a rain dance for us!

Super Bowl, Super Nachos, Stuff

2006-02-05T06:31:00.000-08:00

We don't have a team in here in the OC. I am not into football like I was years ago. There are teams I have barely heard of these days. But, when the Super Bowl is on. We watch. I love to see the high paying commercials. I want to see the Stones this year as well. The other fun thing on Super Bowl Sunday is my nachos! Made with homemade chips, salsa, gaucamole, beans and of course cheese. As long as it is a good game and not a low scoring defensive game, we will actually watch the whole thing. It will be fun any way you look at it. A low scoring game means a nap could very well happen. An exciting game would keep me tuned in.

Blogger seemed to have something wrong yesterday and I could not get on my blog most of the day. I hate seeing the word forbidden! As if I am trying to get into some national security website. It is just my little blog. I tried other blogs as well and the problem seemed to be wide spread. Made me feel a little better. At first I thought it was my MAC.

I had a handyman (Mark) here for two days last week. I've met this man at my cuzbro Ronnie's house several times. He is a member of the Porch Bastards. They play music every Thursday and at most of the parties at Ronnie and Pam's house. They are all very good. Anyhow, I had a list of mostly small stuff to get done. Faucets that were not working properly, a toilet that rocked, a light switch where the hole in the drywall was too big for a switchplate, among numerous other little repairs. It was at least an hour drive down here for him. He charged a very reasonable hourly fee and he did a great job. Nice to know that there are still good guys out there. He fixed the kinds of things my father had always done for me, before he died. Nice to know that Mark is around! He will be back this week for more repairs. It is nice to have that crap done!

David and I had date night for our anniversary on Friday night. Dinner was very good. We then went to the video store and Zoe's best friend was there. Her folks own the store. They ended up not charging us for the rentals and wished us a happy anniversary. It was unexpected and very nice of them.

I finally watched all six hours of Angels in America. I am still trying to decide what I thought of it. One minute I would love it and the next, I was wondering if I should finish. I am glad I did. I was one of the most unusual movies I have ever seen.

Happy Super Bowl and I hope your team wins!

Our 16th Wedding Anniversary

2006-02-03T07:29:00.000-08:00

I know some of you have heard this before, but it is my tribute to our anniversary!

I met David while I was a bartender. I bartended for about two years and loved it. Playing shrink without a license was something I enjoyed as well. I had been dating the owner of the bar for about a year at the time I met David. The bar was sold not too long after I started working there.

One night while I was working, David and an old girlfriend came in. They didn't sit at the bar. They took a booth. They nursed their beers, so it was not a pain to wait on them. My bar was pretty full and I was busy. At one point I heard David talking about getting in there and working with his hands. I asked him if he was a surgeon. He told me no, he was a lawyer and gave me his card. I put it on the back on the bar and didn't think much more about it.

I had just turned 30 the month before I met him. I had never been married, although, I did live with a man for many years and we had been done for a couple of years by the time I took the bartending gig. There were lots of reports of a woman's chances of getting married at 30 were about as good as getting struck by lightening! I was not fretting about that. I was having a really good time.

That night was the night before Thanksgiving and I was looking forward to the next day off. As David and his friend were leaving the bar, he made a turkey with his two hands and it made me laugh.

The day after Thanksgiving, I was back at the bar. David came back. He was alone and he sat at the bar. He charmed me with his stories and jokes. He asked me out and I told him I was dating somebody and would have to let him know. The next day, I told the man I was dating that I had met somebody I wanted to go out with. We broke up. It was not a bad break up, but I really wanted to go out with David.

We dated and saw each other almost daily. He had taken me to his house and it was lovely, sparsely furnished and new. One Sunday near Christmas, I was working, mainly because I was the only one who could get all the football games tuned in from the satellite for the seven TV's that we had. It was much different than changing channels like it is today. Anyhow, David stopped by the bar and told me he was out buying pool supplies. I said, "You have a pool?" I had been there several times at night, but the blinds were always closed. I was not impressed that he had a pool, just thought it was funny I didn't know that.

He told me he wanted to give me a personal Christmas gift before he came to my family Christmas. He gave me a pair of sapphire and diamond earrings. They were beautiful and when he left, my boss told me he was a keeper. Suzie, who had bought the bar, was a very opinionated Japanese lady. She made me laugh because she didn't like many of the guys I had dated in the two years she known me. She acted like a mother hen.

One day David asked me if I wanted to take a vacation with him. He told me to pick a place. I chose Paris. We got tickets, passports and were ready to leave on Feb 3, 1990. I broke my ankle for the second time in January. I got my heel caught coming out the front door, which resulted in a compound and shattered bones break. Exactly like it had been done when I was 16. I was in the hospital for several days and when I got out, I went home to live with David. We never made it to Paris, so we went to Las Vegas on that day 16 years ago to get married. I was in a cast, used crutches going down the aisle and cannot remember most of the vows. We were both nervous getting married. It was quick and we headed home the next day, me in the back seat with my leg elevated.

Lightening had struck. I was thirty and I was married. Zoe was born the next year and sixteen months after that, Katharine was born. We had a nice little family and we were very happy and having a lot of fun.

We never did go to Paris, which is fine with me. We have traveled to places I never thought I would see. We went to Honduras after my ankle healed. Roatan, for scuba and snorkeling and then to Copan to see David's daughter and the Mayan ruins. We went on a cruise to Alaska when I was six months pregnant with Zoe. We spent a couple of days in Vancouver after the cruise. We went to NY and CT pretty regularly before and after the girls were born. There have been vacations to other countries as well. Before I met David, I had only been on two planes. One to go to Mexico City and once I took a sea plane to Catalina Island which is about 26 miles from our coast.

We have had our ups and downs, mostly ups fortunately. I have been blessed to be married to this very generous, handsome, funny and exceptionally intelligent man for the past sixteen years. We have been very blessed with our girls as well.

Last night we went to see Walk the Line with the girls and tonight we are going on a date to Mozambique, a restaurant here in town!

Happy Anniversary David. I love you.

Finally, Brokeback Mountain

2006-01-31T09:53:00.000-08:00

After all the hype and anticipation, I finally got to see Brokeback Mountain yesterday afternoon. Was it worth the wait? Yes. Was it the best love story of all time? No.

Brokeback Mountain is a beautiful film. The characters were somewhat painful to watch. For me, it was particularly agonizing to watch how life was forty years ago, for the cowboy lovers. It could have been written with an interracial or interfaith couple as well. There was no tolerance or understanding back then. If there was, only a few voiced it and not vociferously. One thing is clear, we have come a long way in the last half century. To be open and out, to be free to express love without reprisal, was just a dream back then. Sadly, even today, there are some who just don't get it. No doubt we have a long way to go, as ignorance which breeds intolerance, is still alive and well.

The acting was excellent on all levels. It was directed brilliantly. The setting was absolutely spectacular. The movie was a bit slow in spots, but I think necessary, to let the viewer get to know the characters more profoundly and see where they came from.

All in all, in was a good movie and I would definitely want to own it on DVD.

I went to see this movie with my friend Amy and three of her friends, whom I had never met. After the movie we moved to a nearby restaurant and were met by yet another of Amy's friends. She had seen the Brokeback Mountain already and wanted to hear our take on the movie. The six of us discussed the movie and it was nice. Like a book club, but a movie club. We are considering having a movie club. How fun is that? It was also interesting to see what stood out to some and how some noticed things others didn't. Or just a completely different take on certain scenes.

I am not one who would normally feel comfortable going out with a group of people I don't know. I sit in the aisle seat, in case I need to flee. David knows this and always makes sure I get the outside seat. I have had panic attacks in the past, at plays and other events. I quietly slip out and get air and calm down. I don't know why I have the dreaded panic attacks, but I have learned how to handle them and still be able to attend shows, as long as I can get out in a hurry.

This was a terrific group of women and I am glad I met them. They were fun, lively and all very intelligent. I cannot wait until we do it again!