I figured I should at least say that much. It has been busy. I am driving down to my friend's tomorrow. She lives about an hour south of me and I haven't seen her in way too long. In fact she has my birthday present from a month ago.
Speaking of birthdays, tomorrow would have been my mother's 76th. She has been gone for six years now. Amazing how fast time flies. So, I will be thinking of her tomorrow. She was exactly one month shy of 30 when she had me. She was a hard worker her whole life. I wish she would have gotten to live longer to enjoy retirement. Cancer took her before the Alzheimer's could. Blessing really. She was pretty advanced and it was so damn hard to watch her lose herself. I missed her before she was gone and I still do.
I was looking at the date on the bottom of the page and it says Nov 7th, but it also says the time as 10:08. Which is my birthday. Freaky!
Hope you all have a great Tuesday and VOTE if you can.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Saturday, November 05, 2005
I Should Do This More Often
It's true. I had a week of "I should do this more often" moments. Monday morning, I had to get a stick pony for Zoe. I went to Main Beach Toys, got the pony, put it in the car and walked on the beach. Then sat on a bench in the warm sunshine and watched the waves and people while listening to the waves. It was free, simple, relaxing and it's always there for the taking! I should do this more often!
I sat down at my computer and paid bills. Before the due dates. It felt great to get them done and not have to think about them again for four weeks! Most months, I dread it, put it off til the last minute and then feel bad. Better to get it out of the way early if at all possible. I should do this more often.
I went to the car wash, which I basically detest. This car wash is in no way fancy. It is simple. Covered with vining flowers and surrounded by Sweet Gum Trees, which provide fall colors for us. We are fall foliage challenged here in So Cal. The koi pond and water fall keep it cool and as does the shade. A light breeze blows the leaves off the trees to swirl down to the ground. So pretty, so relaxing and again simple, if I take the time to relax! I should do this more often.
Thursday night I got an invitation from a Realtor friend of mine, who was having a private showing for Realtors and friends. I took two friends with me and we saw two homes. Both on the market. One for 26 mil and one for 32 mil. The first house had valet parking, which was great. Lots of hills, lack of parking. We put little paper shoes over our shoes and went inside this 10,000 sq ft home. From the photos on the internet, I thought I would love this house more. I was wrong. It was purchased from Ricky Nelson's family and completely remolded and of course made into a dream home, at least for some. While the extensive work and river rock work and beautiful windows and such attention to details were great, it was choppy. No flow. We got lost a couple of times. Stairs that we thought would lead to another area of the home, just led us to another room, and resulted in going back down the stairs to find another staircase. Six bedrooms, ten bathrooms, three kitchens, but very tiny dining area, game room, media room and bedrooms. Major lack of closet space too. Balconies with amazing views above the sandy beach. A long staircase to the pool and spa, a bridge, steps down to the beach. All nice, but not my kind of home. If I had that kind of money, I would never plop it down on one huge home. We were treated to champagne and appetizers on one level of the home. The other level had a chocolate bar, and coffee. Here is a small tour of the home if you want to see it. I hope the link works! sugarloafpoint.com
The next home, in which the Internet did it no justice was much more homey and open. The layout was great and the use of the land was outstanding. Although dated in parts, the bones were there. Each level with decks the length of the home. All doors and windows looking out to the ocean. You could hear the waves breaking throughout the house. Unlike the other one. The huge picture window in the enormous kitchen was awesome. It lowered into the wall to open up to the outside deck. It had the biggest island I had ever seen. While we were strolling the decks, I found this table with and umbrella and I said, I would plop my ass right here and never leave! The closets in the master were to die for! Huge. With a center console with drawers. Lots of shoe space. And they had his and her closets! There was a gym, right off the office. A sauna, spa. A room behind the laundry room was full of vases for flower arrangements. The lighting was perfect inside and out. There was a media room, where my friend the Realtor dared us to sit on the couches to see if we could get up after sitting there for five minutes. The couches were down, and we could literally feel them conform to our bodies. I have a down couch, and it doesn't conform to my body! I took a couple of photos of my friends sitting there, oh so relaxed. We finally made it outside and the pool looked like it belongs in a resort. Surrounded by lounges and umbrellas and lots of lawn. Above the pool was a kid's paradise. A full size play house. A huge tree house. Play structure as well. And did I mention the sound system throughout the home, inside and out? There was a full bath near the pool area, where one could shower and change before heading back into the main home. There was also an outside shower with a drinking fountain. Of course this would be handy to wash off the sand from the steps off the pool area, which led down to the beach below. I would change things, like wallpaper, floor, and maybe take out some of the built ins that were dated. But, for 26 million, you would think nobody would have to do this. It happens every day of the week here in Laguna. Again, if I had that kind of money, I could a place on the beach and the mountains, on a lake with a boat for fishing and of course a dock. But, I would not need a huge house with a four car garage. I would get multiple homes.
I told my Realtor friend that the Internet did not do justice to the house. He said they taped it on a June gloom day. I suggested a night time video of all the lighting and it would show the warmth of the home. Here is the link if you would like to see it, and even if you don't! Rockledgebythesea.com
After the open houses, we went to dinner. We had so much fun, despite the fact that our waitress was a royal bitch. We were shocked by how rude she was. We ordered appetizers and told her to hold off on one, as we were not sure yet if we wanted it. Almost immediately, she puts the one thing we did not order on the table and walks away. My friend tells her as she is whizzing by, that she thinks there was a mistake. We were not sure about that dish. The waitress says, Fine. She takes the plate and puts it on the counter near the kitchen and tells the chef, "They don't want this!" She brings out three prawns with two sauces. We needed spoons. I started to ask her if we could have spoons, and before it was out of my mouth, she said, "I am getting your plates!" Then we asked for spoons. My friend asked if she could explain the sauces to us. She goes into a robotic state and tells us what she knows. The restaurant is called Mozambique and the food is African. We had no idea what the spices were and thought it would be nice of her to let us know! When dinner was done, we actually had to figure out how to give her less of a tip. She was rude and nasty. There was NO way I was giving her a 20 or 25% tip, as I normally do. The bill was $87 and she got an even $13. Then we sat there for another hour and a half and chatted! We were on the roof of the restaurant and it was heated and the atmosphere was great.
I went out to get the car from the valet, while my friends visited the bathroom. The valets asked how dinner was and I told them, that the waitress was a royal bitch. I explained the whole thing to them and they were very apologetic. They asked if I wanted them to get management for me. I told them, No, I suspect my friend is taking care of that, as she emerges shaking the hand of the manager in the parking lot! He told her that if she would have complained earlier, he could have given us free desert or something to make up for it. We waited until the end. It was okay though, we had a girl's night out and had a blast. The waitress just made it more memorable. We decided we are going to have more girl's nights out. Once a month. And we all said this is something we should do more often!
I sat down at my computer and paid bills. Before the due dates. It felt great to get them done and not have to think about them again for four weeks! Most months, I dread it, put it off til the last minute and then feel bad. Better to get it out of the way early if at all possible. I should do this more often.
I went to the car wash, which I basically detest. This car wash is in no way fancy. It is simple. Covered with vining flowers and surrounded by Sweet Gum Trees, which provide fall colors for us. We are fall foliage challenged here in So Cal. The koi pond and water fall keep it cool and as does the shade. A light breeze blows the leaves off the trees to swirl down to the ground. So pretty, so relaxing and again simple, if I take the time to relax! I should do this more often.
Thursday night I got an invitation from a Realtor friend of mine, who was having a private showing for Realtors and friends. I took two friends with me and we saw two homes. Both on the market. One for 26 mil and one for 32 mil. The first house had valet parking, which was great. Lots of hills, lack of parking. We put little paper shoes over our shoes and went inside this 10,000 sq ft home. From the photos on the internet, I thought I would love this house more. I was wrong. It was purchased from Ricky Nelson's family and completely remolded and of course made into a dream home, at least for some. While the extensive work and river rock work and beautiful windows and such attention to details were great, it was choppy. No flow. We got lost a couple of times. Stairs that we thought would lead to another area of the home, just led us to another room, and resulted in going back down the stairs to find another staircase. Six bedrooms, ten bathrooms, three kitchens, but very tiny dining area, game room, media room and bedrooms. Major lack of closet space too. Balconies with amazing views above the sandy beach. A long staircase to the pool and spa, a bridge, steps down to the beach. All nice, but not my kind of home. If I had that kind of money, I would never plop it down on one huge home. We were treated to champagne and appetizers on one level of the home. The other level had a chocolate bar, and coffee. Here is a small tour of the home if you want to see it. I hope the link works! sugarloafpoint.com
The next home, in which the Internet did it no justice was much more homey and open. The layout was great and the use of the land was outstanding. Although dated in parts, the bones were there. Each level with decks the length of the home. All doors and windows looking out to the ocean. You could hear the waves breaking throughout the house. Unlike the other one. The huge picture window in the enormous kitchen was awesome. It lowered into the wall to open up to the outside deck. It had the biggest island I had ever seen. While we were strolling the decks, I found this table with and umbrella and I said, I would plop my ass right here and never leave! The closets in the master were to die for! Huge. With a center console with drawers. Lots of shoe space. And they had his and her closets! There was a gym, right off the office. A sauna, spa. A room behind the laundry room was full of vases for flower arrangements. The lighting was perfect inside and out. There was a media room, where my friend the Realtor dared us to sit on the couches to see if we could get up after sitting there for five minutes. The couches were down, and we could literally feel them conform to our bodies. I have a down couch, and it doesn't conform to my body! I took a couple of photos of my friends sitting there, oh so relaxed. We finally made it outside and the pool looked like it belongs in a resort. Surrounded by lounges and umbrellas and lots of lawn. Above the pool was a kid's paradise. A full size play house. A huge tree house. Play structure as well. And did I mention the sound system throughout the home, inside and out? There was a full bath near the pool area, where one could shower and change before heading back into the main home. There was also an outside shower with a drinking fountain. Of course this would be handy to wash off the sand from the steps off the pool area, which led down to the beach below. I would change things, like wallpaper, floor, and maybe take out some of the built ins that were dated. But, for 26 million, you would think nobody would have to do this. It happens every day of the week here in Laguna. Again, if I had that kind of money, I could a place on the beach and the mountains, on a lake with a boat for fishing and of course a dock. But, I would not need a huge house with a four car garage. I would get multiple homes.
I told my Realtor friend that the Internet did not do justice to the house. He said they taped it on a June gloom day. I suggested a night time video of all the lighting and it would show the warmth of the home. Here is the link if you would like to see it, and even if you don't! Rockledgebythesea.com
After the open houses, we went to dinner. We had so much fun, despite the fact that our waitress was a royal bitch. We were shocked by how rude she was. We ordered appetizers and told her to hold off on one, as we were not sure yet if we wanted it. Almost immediately, she puts the one thing we did not order on the table and walks away. My friend tells her as she is whizzing by, that she thinks there was a mistake. We were not sure about that dish. The waitress says, Fine. She takes the plate and puts it on the counter near the kitchen and tells the chef, "They don't want this!" She brings out three prawns with two sauces. We needed spoons. I started to ask her if we could have spoons, and before it was out of my mouth, she said, "I am getting your plates!" Then we asked for spoons. My friend asked if she could explain the sauces to us. She goes into a robotic state and tells us what she knows. The restaurant is called Mozambique and the food is African. We had no idea what the spices were and thought it would be nice of her to let us know! When dinner was done, we actually had to figure out how to give her less of a tip. She was rude and nasty. There was NO way I was giving her a 20 or 25% tip, as I normally do. The bill was $87 and she got an even $13. Then we sat there for another hour and a half and chatted! We were on the roof of the restaurant and it was heated and the atmosphere was great.
I went out to get the car from the valet, while my friends visited the bathroom. The valets asked how dinner was and I told them, that the waitress was a royal bitch. I explained the whole thing to them and they were very apologetic. They asked if I wanted them to get management for me. I told them, No, I suspect my friend is taking care of that, as she emerges shaking the hand of the manager in the parking lot! He told her that if she would have complained earlier, he could have given us free desert or something to make up for it. We waited until the end. It was okay though, we had a girl's night out and had a blast. The waitress just made it more memorable. We decided we are going to have more girl's nights out. Once a month. And we all said this is something we should do more often!
Friday, November 04, 2005
This is What I Have Been Doing!
It has been an insane week. Girl Scout Nuts. It is going well. Our number for fall product sales are up 89% over last year. My first year as Service Unit Nut Manager. I have spent countless nights with my calculator and computer to make sure this sale has been a good one. When I first started, I asked a friend, "Why did I do this? Why didn't you kick me?" She laughed and said, " I thought it was very generous of you!" As the weeks went on, I began to enjoy the challenge of the whole thing. Getting the troops to turn paperwork and other things in on time. Sending out endless emails to keep everybody in the loop. Following through on questions asked to me and for answers to questions I had asked. Doing the financial stuff, which I love. The hub told me one night, "You have spent so much time on this. Are you going to do it again?" I answered, "Uh, yeah, I think I am!" Crazy? Perhaps and most likely, but I have enjoyed it, much to my surprise.
This afternoon we had our troop booth sale. Used to be easy with only one troop to manage. Still is really, just time consuming. I sent out emails to tell the mothers that I would have their daughter's orders all ready for them to pick up at our booth sale today and asked that they all pay today as well. No chasing anybody down. It went beautifully. I had all the orders in paper bags, with the quantities on them and the amounts due. I stapled them all shut, so none would fall out or get with the booth sale products. We got all the money from our girls and we sold 80 cans of nuts at our three hour booth sale in front of a local Supermarket. We have 4 left. Only $20. So, we are basically done! One day. We were going to end after two hours, and it was mentioned that we have another booth sale to sell more than 25 cans left. Nope, I said, "I think we should stay another hour and get this done." Six of our eight girls stayed. We did it. We do not have to schedule another booth sale, and we have all of our money to put in the bank. Today was the first day of the sale, and we are done! I am sooo happy! Our troop leader called me almost the minute I got home and told me she was thrilled! I told her I was too. The plan was to do it all in one day and we did it. We ordered the right amount of product, which we have to guesstimate, and pay for, no returns. It was a good night.
All the energy of eight twelve year olds, singing and laughing, selling and talking, nonstop for three hours was exhausting, but, oh so worth it! What a terrific group of girls. And moms.
Since we sold at the grocery store, mothers shopped while waiting for their girls. It was fun to hang out with everybody and chat. Mothers who were going to drop off and leave, stayed. I had intended on doing my shopping as well. When it was almost over, one of the mothers told me to go in and do my shopping. I had stayed with the girls along with our leader, and we had two tables, one at each door. So, this was a nice surprise for me! It reminded me of a game show, because I hurried thru the store and tossed things into the cart. I came out and loaded the car and we were off.
During the sale the girls went in to get snacks. Katharine was inside at one point and a mother of a little girl who was in the Sound of Music with Katharine, stopped her. The girl has done voice overs and has been on a soap opera, among other things. But, the mother said told Katharine that the girl's manager had asked who Katharine was after seeing her in the play. She gave Katharine her number and I am going to call her tomorrow. Apparently, this manager is the real deal. He takes on clients who look different than each other so if there is a call for a little blond girl, he calls her. If there is a call for a petite, dark haired girl, he would say, call Katharine! She is so excited. I am of a different mind on this. I want her to do drama with the great teacher the middle school and high school have. Plus, she has only done three plays. I also, do not want her doing calls with a thousand other girls. But, I will make the call. If it is meant to be her "big break" then who am I to stand in her way? So, we shall see.
I have more news, I will share in my next post! Not nearly as boring as the GS stuff! Just life and how sometimes things are right in front of me, and I forget to relax and enjoy them.
BTW, the hub sent me flowers yesterday. Very sweet and completely unexpected. He said, "Because I love you and life is too short." How cool is that?
This afternoon we had our troop booth sale. Used to be easy with only one troop to manage. Still is really, just time consuming. I sent out emails to tell the mothers that I would have their daughter's orders all ready for them to pick up at our booth sale today and asked that they all pay today as well. No chasing anybody down. It went beautifully. I had all the orders in paper bags, with the quantities on them and the amounts due. I stapled them all shut, so none would fall out or get with the booth sale products. We got all the money from our girls and we sold 80 cans of nuts at our three hour booth sale in front of a local Supermarket. We have 4 left. Only $20. So, we are basically done! One day. We were going to end after two hours, and it was mentioned that we have another booth sale to sell more than 25 cans left. Nope, I said, "I think we should stay another hour and get this done." Six of our eight girls stayed. We did it. We do not have to schedule another booth sale, and we have all of our money to put in the bank. Today was the first day of the sale, and we are done! I am sooo happy! Our troop leader called me almost the minute I got home and told me she was thrilled! I told her I was too. The plan was to do it all in one day and we did it. We ordered the right amount of product, which we have to guesstimate, and pay for, no returns. It was a good night.
All the energy of eight twelve year olds, singing and laughing, selling and talking, nonstop for three hours was exhausting, but, oh so worth it! What a terrific group of girls. And moms.
Since we sold at the grocery store, mothers shopped while waiting for their girls. It was fun to hang out with everybody and chat. Mothers who were going to drop off and leave, stayed. I had intended on doing my shopping as well. When it was almost over, one of the mothers told me to go in and do my shopping. I had stayed with the girls along with our leader, and we had two tables, one at each door. So, this was a nice surprise for me! It reminded me of a game show, because I hurried thru the store and tossed things into the cart. I came out and loaded the car and we were off.
During the sale the girls went in to get snacks. Katharine was inside at one point and a mother of a little girl who was in the Sound of Music with Katharine, stopped her. The girl has done voice overs and has been on a soap opera, among other things. But, the mother said told Katharine that the girl's manager had asked who Katharine was after seeing her in the play. She gave Katharine her number and I am going to call her tomorrow. Apparently, this manager is the real deal. He takes on clients who look different than each other so if there is a call for a little blond girl, he calls her. If there is a call for a petite, dark haired girl, he would say, call Katharine! She is so excited. I am of a different mind on this. I want her to do drama with the great teacher the middle school and high school have. Plus, she has only done three plays. I also, do not want her doing calls with a thousand other girls. But, I will make the call. If it is meant to be her "big break" then who am I to stand in her way? So, we shall see.
I have more news, I will share in my next post! Not nearly as boring as the GS stuff! Just life and how sometimes things are right in front of me, and I forget to relax and enjoy them.
BTW, the hub sent me flowers yesterday. Very sweet and completely unexpected. He said, "Because I love you and life is too short." How cool is that?
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Phishing via US Mail
I received a bill in the mail over the weekend that set me off. I am not sure if I should call Time Magazine and talk to one of the operators there, as if that would get me anywhere, or let the post office know that I received what I believe to be a blatant attempt at getting financial information from me, by fraudulent means.
The bill looks official. Similar to the phishing bills I have received through emails. I once received one from a fake AOL, which asked for me to fill in my name, credit card numbers, ATM numbers, pins, mother's maiden name, social security number, and of course the one thing that AOL says it will never ask for....My password. I didn't fall for this, but I suspect a pretty large percentage of people do fill out this kind of thing and end up being victims of identity theft, or credit card fraud. If they send out enough, they are bound to get some hits.
The bill I received this weekend was called an INVOICE at the top of the bill, telling me I owed $52.08 for 56 issues of Time Magazine. Pretty cheap, in my opinion. The bottom of the bill was headed with DEMAND FOR DELINQUENT PAYMENT. Here is what it said;
Dear Ms Epstein:
PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE THIS REQUEST FOR YOUR OVERDUE BALANCE.
We have spent months trying to collect the amount you owe regarding your TIME subscription. Your outstanding debt totals $52.08. Send your OVERDUE BALANCE with the INVOICE no later than 11/12/05.
If your bill is in error YOU MUST CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY AT 1-800-BLABLAH.
Otherwise, return your INVOICE with the TOTAL AMOUNT DUE today.
I have never heard of a business that writes, we have spent months trying to collect the amount, et al. I knew it was bogus. Not only because of that sentence, but because I let our subscription to Time expire about six months ago. We simply had no time to read it every week.
I called the 800 number and put in the account number on the INVOICE and of course it couldn't recognize the number and I was prompted to put in the credit card number I had used to originally subscribed to the magazine! Like that was going to happen!
I waited for an operator to assist me for about four minutes. A man comes on and asks my account number. He tells me that I am delinquent and I need to pay the bill. I told him I have not received the magazine in about six months. He told me it was in June. Okay, five months then. I asked him why I was receiving a bill at all. He told me that I was signed up for auto renewal. I told him if I was signed up for auto renewal, then it would have automatically done so, with my credit card. He asked me to hold on. He comes back on the line and asks me what I would like him to do. I told him to cancel my supposed subscription immediately. He told me he would and told me if I got another INVOICE, to disregard it!
So, I have this bogus bill. I suppose I could attempt to contact somebody higher up than an operator at Time to let them know this is going on. I also suppose they already know. I could contact the USPS and tell them that I was sent a bogus bill through the mail, which I believe is illegal. I could be wrong. But, I will probably do what I am doing now and just tell you all to be careful and watch out for these kinds of things.
Since we have become so high tech, with pins and credit cards, a new word has come into play. It is called phishing. It is an attempt to get personal information out of us. We should all know by now, what to look for, but just in case, here are a few things to keep in mind.
Never give out your password or pin number to anybody.
Never give out your credit card or ATM numbers to anybody you don't know as reputable.
Make sure you take your copy and that the business does not show all the numbers on even their receipt.
Never give out your social security number or mother's maiden name. If you do, make sure you know who you are giving the info to. Like the DMV, when buying a car or house! Not to Joe Schmo off the street, in a phone call, or even on the internet.
Pay attention to the wording. Many of these phishing emails come from other countries. English is not their first language and they make grammatical errors. Look for them.
And finally, always verify. This could save you a lot of major grief down the line.
The bill looks official. Similar to the phishing bills I have received through emails. I once received one from a fake AOL, which asked for me to fill in my name, credit card numbers, ATM numbers, pins, mother's maiden name, social security number, and of course the one thing that AOL says it will never ask for....My password. I didn't fall for this, but I suspect a pretty large percentage of people do fill out this kind of thing and end up being victims of identity theft, or credit card fraud. If they send out enough, they are bound to get some hits.
The bill I received this weekend was called an INVOICE at the top of the bill, telling me I owed $52.08 for 56 issues of Time Magazine. Pretty cheap, in my opinion. The bottom of the bill was headed with DEMAND FOR DELINQUENT PAYMENT. Here is what it said;
Dear Ms Epstein:
PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE THIS REQUEST FOR YOUR OVERDUE BALANCE.
We have spent months trying to collect the amount you owe regarding your TIME subscription. Your outstanding debt totals $52.08. Send your OVERDUE BALANCE with the INVOICE no later than 11/12/05.
If your bill is in error YOU MUST CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY AT 1-800-BLABLAH.
Otherwise, return your INVOICE with the TOTAL AMOUNT DUE today.
I have never heard of a business that writes, we have spent months trying to collect the amount, et al. I knew it was bogus. Not only because of that sentence, but because I let our subscription to Time expire about six months ago. We simply had no time to read it every week.
I called the 800 number and put in the account number on the INVOICE and of course it couldn't recognize the number and I was prompted to put in the credit card number I had used to originally subscribed to the magazine! Like that was going to happen!
I waited for an operator to assist me for about four minutes. A man comes on and asks my account number. He tells me that I am delinquent and I need to pay the bill. I told him I have not received the magazine in about six months. He told me it was in June. Okay, five months then. I asked him why I was receiving a bill at all. He told me that I was signed up for auto renewal. I told him if I was signed up for auto renewal, then it would have automatically done so, with my credit card. He asked me to hold on. He comes back on the line and asks me what I would like him to do. I told him to cancel my supposed subscription immediately. He told me he would and told me if I got another INVOICE, to disregard it!
So, I have this bogus bill. I suppose I could attempt to contact somebody higher up than an operator at Time to let them know this is going on. I also suppose they already know. I could contact the USPS and tell them that I was sent a bogus bill through the mail, which I believe is illegal. I could be wrong. But, I will probably do what I am doing now and just tell you all to be careful and watch out for these kinds of things.
Since we have become so high tech, with pins and credit cards, a new word has come into play. It is called phishing. It is an attempt to get personal information out of us. We should all know by now, what to look for, but just in case, here are a few things to keep in mind.
Never give out your password or pin number to anybody.
Never give out your credit card or ATM numbers to anybody you don't know as reputable.
Make sure you take your copy and that the business does not show all the numbers on even their receipt.
Never give out your social security number or mother's maiden name. If you do, make sure you know who you are giving the info to. Like the DMV, when buying a car or house! Not to Joe Schmo off the street, in a phone call, or even on the internet.
Pay attention to the wording. Many of these phishing emails come from other countries. English is not their first language and they make grammatical errors. Look for them.
And finally, always verify. This could save you a lot of major grief down the line.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Laguna Beach High School Prank?
Laguna Beach High locked down after phone threat
The call, in which gunmen were said to be en route, turned out to be a prank.
By WILLIAM WHEELER
The Orange County Register
Laguna Beach High School was placed under lockdown for more than an hour this morning after a reported threat that turned out to be a prank, police said.
A school receptionist took a call after school began today, warning that six gunmen were on their way to the school.
"We took it seriously," Superintendent Theresa Daem said of the call.
Police responded, putting the school on lockdown and patrolling the area before determining the call was a prank.
The above article was in our local paper, online today. What a day. I got calls from two friends asking if I knew the high school was surrounded by police, with guns drawn. I didn't. But whatever was happening required the assistance of three neighboring police departments. I called the school and got a message. Something that royally pisses me off on a normal day. Something I will have to complain about another day. One friend called back and said that she heard everything was okay and a threat was called in. I wanted to know how they went class by class and checked every backpack and purse in the school in an hour! And whether my daughter was safe or if I should pull her out of school.
I finally got thru to the receptionist and she said there was a threat and that it was fine now. School was back to normal. I asked what kind of threat. She said she didn't know. I am sure she was told to use those words. Then I got a call from the middle school principal, everybody did via mass phone calling system. She wanted to let all the parents know what was happening at the high school and that the other schools were fine. She said that there was a threat of people with guns coming to the school. Nothing from the principal of the high school...yet. Although the receptionist said there would be police presence there all day.
I still wondered how they were certain that all the kids locked down in the classrooms were safe. What if one of those kids already had a weapon in his back pack in class? Very scary stuff. I was told the police went from room to room. When I drove past the school all of three times today, I saw not one cop. I picked up Zoe and she was laughing and told me about the funny things that were happening in class, during the lockdown. She said that some kids had their noses pushed to the window, looking out. She told me one kid suggested it would be funny to have a laser pointer to aim at the police. These kids have no idea how serious this could have been. I understand the giggling that goes on in class when there is a lockdown, because they are like fire drills and have never been taken seriously! Not even today. Zoe also mentioned that the police did NOT go to every class. At least not hers.
We live in a scary world. I know pranks are pulled all the time to get out of school. Sometimes they are not pranks though. I made sure that Zoe knew that. I told her I didn't think it was funny, I was scared. Then I picked up Katharine from the middle school and she asked Zoe, "So, how was the shoot out today?" This was not funny to me either. My sense of humor had taken a leave of absence today! Real life got in the way today. Thank God nothing did happen. But, I still have questions, and I still want answers.
Ever since the dumb TV show on MTV started, yes, I said dumb, the school has been removing kids from campus who do not go there. All because of a TV show! Laguna Beach, The Real OC, is such a joke. As I have said before there are some people in Laguna Beach, just like those characters, but they are not the majority or even close to it.
By the way, when I got home from purchasing a stick pony for my freshman, there was a message from the high school principal, which was verbatim with the middle school principal's message.
That is my rant for today. Tomorrow, phishing by US mail. Yes, a scam just like on the internet. And I want to talk about calling a school and getting a recorded message. That is ridiculas to me! And not just today.
For tonight, have a happy Halloween and a safe one. Katharine is a darling witch and Zoe's a very cute cowgirl. As I mentioned above, I got her a stick pony and she is wearing a cowboy hat. As Jackie (updated, my mistake) mentioned in a comment to me, they now make sounds. Trotting, and neigh and the ever popular breathing thru their nose noise. I asked the woman at the toy store, "Didn't these used to be $3.98 when we were kids?" Granted it isn't plastic, it is plush, a stuffed horse head on a stick. Yes it does make horse sounds. I suppose it was worth the money for a last time trick or treater!
The call, in which gunmen were said to be en route, turned out to be a prank.
By WILLIAM WHEELER
The Orange County Register
Laguna Beach High School was placed under lockdown for more than an hour this morning after a reported threat that turned out to be a prank, police said.
A school receptionist took a call after school began today, warning that six gunmen were on their way to the school.
"We took it seriously," Superintendent Theresa Daem said of the call.
Police responded, putting the school on lockdown and patrolling the area before determining the call was a prank.
The above article was in our local paper, online today. What a day. I got calls from two friends asking if I knew the high school was surrounded by police, with guns drawn. I didn't. But whatever was happening required the assistance of three neighboring police departments. I called the school and got a message. Something that royally pisses me off on a normal day. Something I will have to complain about another day. One friend called back and said that she heard everything was okay and a threat was called in. I wanted to know how they went class by class and checked every backpack and purse in the school in an hour! And whether my daughter was safe or if I should pull her out of school.
I finally got thru to the receptionist and she said there was a threat and that it was fine now. School was back to normal. I asked what kind of threat. She said she didn't know. I am sure she was told to use those words. Then I got a call from the middle school principal, everybody did via mass phone calling system. She wanted to let all the parents know what was happening at the high school and that the other schools were fine. She said that there was a threat of people with guns coming to the school. Nothing from the principal of the high school...yet. Although the receptionist said there would be police presence there all day.
I still wondered how they were certain that all the kids locked down in the classrooms were safe. What if one of those kids already had a weapon in his back pack in class? Very scary stuff. I was told the police went from room to room. When I drove past the school all of three times today, I saw not one cop. I picked up Zoe and she was laughing and told me about the funny things that were happening in class, during the lockdown. She said that some kids had their noses pushed to the window, looking out. She told me one kid suggested it would be funny to have a laser pointer to aim at the police. These kids have no idea how serious this could have been. I understand the giggling that goes on in class when there is a lockdown, because they are like fire drills and have never been taken seriously! Not even today. Zoe also mentioned that the police did NOT go to every class. At least not hers.
We live in a scary world. I know pranks are pulled all the time to get out of school. Sometimes they are not pranks though. I made sure that Zoe knew that. I told her I didn't think it was funny, I was scared. Then I picked up Katharine from the middle school and she asked Zoe, "So, how was the shoot out today?" This was not funny to me either. My sense of humor had taken a leave of absence today! Real life got in the way today. Thank God nothing did happen. But, I still have questions, and I still want answers.
Ever since the dumb TV show on MTV started, yes, I said dumb, the school has been removing kids from campus who do not go there. All because of a TV show! Laguna Beach, The Real OC, is such a joke. As I have said before there are some people in Laguna Beach, just like those characters, but they are not the majority or even close to it.
By the way, when I got home from purchasing a stick pony for my freshman, there was a message from the high school principal, which was verbatim with the middle school principal's message.
That is my rant for today. Tomorrow, phishing by US mail. Yes, a scam just like on the internet. And I want to talk about calling a school and getting a recorded message. That is ridiculas to me! And not just today.
For tonight, have a happy Halloween and a safe one. Katharine is a darling witch and Zoe's a very cute cowgirl. As I mentioned above, I got her a stick pony and she is wearing a cowboy hat. As Jackie (updated, my mistake) mentioned in a comment to me, they now make sounds. Trotting, and neigh and the ever popular breathing thru their nose noise. I asked the woman at the toy store, "Didn't these used to be $3.98 when we were kids?" Granted it isn't plastic, it is plush, a stuffed horse head on a stick. Yes it does make horse sounds. I suppose it was worth the money for a last time trick or treater!
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Ahh, An EXTRA HOUR
How nice to get an extra hour. Most would use it for sleep, but not me. I was up at 3:00, or was it 4:00? I dunno, but the sun is brighter earlier and that will help me when waking the kids for school at 6:30 most mornings! Tonight when it gets dark at 5:30 or so, it will be a very long night. I know I will want to put on my p's and climb into bed and watch the boob tube.
Friday night was the Boo Blast at a local elementary school. They do this event every year to raise funds for the school and they make a bunch. High atop a cliff over the blue Pacific. What lucky little kids to have that view and breeze all day! The Boo Blast was packed and the kids went with friends. Hub and I were on pickup duty for our two and three more at 8:00.
I called hub at 4:30 and asked if he would like to meet me for a drink at Cedar Creek. Downtown, across the street from his office, is this quaint English cottage style restaurant. We enjoy sitting outside to watch the people and cars go by. We even book a table for the Patriot's Day Parade every year. We have drinks and a leisurely lunch and have a perfect view of the parade. The restaurant is normally packed, but not last Friday night. Apparently most of the town was at the Boo Blast. Which was fine for us. We hadn't gone out as a couple in sooo long. It was nice to talk and laugh without interruptions. We decided we should do it more. I even straightened my hair with the straight iron and put on makeup before I invited hub. I made the plans in my head earlier in the day, before the girls even got out of school. Friday night out!
After dinner we did the ever romantic trip to the grocery store for Halloween candy and two pumpkins. Then onto another store and while sitting in the car, I saw a cowboy hat and asked if that was a cowboy hat. Hub agreed it was and he went back into the convenience store to purchase said hat for a mere $7. Zoe is going to be a cowgirl for her last trick or treat. I still have to get her a stick horse. Do they still make those??? Katharine is a sort of 50's style witch. Poofy lacy skirt attached to a halter style top. Black, with lime green polka dots and a hat to match. I will be home handing out candy to the few who come to the door. We have more kids in the neighborhood this year though, so I may get six or eight this year! LOL
We picked up the hyper girls at the Boo Blast and delivered them home. Came home and relaxed. Made it an early evening, because I knew I would be getting 1825 cans of nuts at 8 am yesterday. I did too. Two gentlemen put the cases in the garage for me. Then I had 13 people come to the house and pick up their orders for their troop. It went pretty smoothly til we counted out the last two orders and realized that we were short 14 boxes of peanut butter cups. I immediately figured out it was because I thought the cases had 10 in them, when in fact they had 12. I got out my list and sent emails to the people I knew got 2 or 4 extra and I received one email back so far. She did give me an A in mathematical skills though. She was over by 4. So, now I have to get those back and everything will be perfect. And distributed! Not so bad for as many boxes as we had. The girls helped me and the last pick up was the Service Unit Manager for Laguna Beach. She asked the girls if they were keeping track of their time helping, because they can record it toward community service hours, which they need a certain number of, by the time they graduate. So, Stephanie filled out the form and signed Zoe's and Katharine needs to fill one out at her school too. Katharine also found out that she can get hours for all her rehearsals and the three plays she has been in since last year. Zoe seems to think Katharine will have enough hours already. Even though she is in seventh grade. She will have enough to graduate, if she stops now. But, that will not happen.
Anyhow, that is what has been going on around here. I think I may just take my lazy butt back to bed for a while. That is a nice thing to do on a Sunday morning!
Have a great Sunday!
Friday night was the Boo Blast at a local elementary school. They do this event every year to raise funds for the school and they make a bunch. High atop a cliff over the blue Pacific. What lucky little kids to have that view and breeze all day! The Boo Blast was packed and the kids went with friends. Hub and I were on pickup duty for our two and three more at 8:00.
I called hub at 4:30 and asked if he would like to meet me for a drink at Cedar Creek. Downtown, across the street from his office, is this quaint English cottage style restaurant. We enjoy sitting outside to watch the people and cars go by. We even book a table for the Patriot's Day Parade every year. We have drinks and a leisurely lunch and have a perfect view of the parade. The restaurant is normally packed, but not last Friday night. Apparently most of the town was at the Boo Blast. Which was fine for us. We hadn't gone out as a couple in sooo long. It was nice to talk and laugh without interruptions. We decided we should do it more. I even straightened my hair with the straight iron and put on makeup before I invited hub. I made the plans in my head earlier in the day, before the girls even got out of school. Friday night out!
After dinner we did the ever romantic trip to the grocery store for Halloween candy and two pumpkins. Then onto another store and while sitting in the car, I saw a cowboy hat and asked if that was a cowboy hat. Hub agreed it was and he went back into the convenience store to purchase said hat for a mere $7. Zoe is going to be a cowgirl for her last trick or treat. I still have to get her a stick horse. Do they still make those??? Katharine is a sort of 50's style witch. Poofy lacy skirt attached to a halter style top. Black, with lime green polka dots and a hat to match. I will be home handing out candy to the few who come to the door. We have more kids in the neighborhood this year though, so I may get six or eight this year! LOL
We picked up the hyper girls at the Boo Blast and delivered them home. Came home and relaxed. Made it an early evening, because I knew I would be getting 1825 cans of nuts at 8 am yesterday. I did too. Two gentlemen put the cases in the garage for me. Then I had 13 people come to the house and pick up their orders for their troop. It went pretty smoothly til we counted out the last two orders and realized that we were short 14 boxes of peanut butter cups. I immediately figured out it was because I thought the cases had 10 in them, when in fact they had 12. I got out my list and sent emails to the people I knew got 2 or 4 extra and I received one email back so far. She did give me an A in mathematical skills though. She was over by 4. So, now I have to get those back and everything will be perfect. And distributed! Not so bad for as many boxes as we had. The girls helped me and the last pick up was the Service Unit Manager for Laguna Beach. She asked the girls if they were keeping track of their time helping, because they can record it toward community service hours, which they need a certain number of, by the time they graduate. So, Stephanie filled out the form and signed Zoe's and Katharine needs to fill one out at her school too. Katharine also found out that she can get hours for all her rehearsals and the three plays she has been in since last year. Zoe seems to think Katharine will have enough hours already. Even though she is in seventh grade. She will have enough to graduate, if she stops now. But, that will not happen.
Anyhow, that is what has been going on around here. I think I may just take my lazy butt back to bed for a while. That is a nice thing to do on a Sunday morning!
Have a great Sunday!
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Hello
Don't have much to say. I at least wanted to say hello. Hello! It seems like forever since I posted. It was two days ago! Things have been busy. Just the same old thing.
All the service unit managers for girl scout nuts got an email yesterday afternoon, asking for help. Apparently sales of magazines is down fifteen percent in OC and nuts are down as well. We were asked to query our troop managers for their opinions as to why sales were down. I got some feedback and of course, I have my own ideas as well.
My opinion is that they mixed it up a bit too much this year with new flavors. They took away some favorites. Like deluxe mixed nuts are gone and replaced by cinnamon mixed nuts. Chocolate covered peanuts have been replace with chocolate covered almonds. Chocolate covered trefoils have been replaced with peanut butter cups. Also added were chili con limon nuts. Ten products in all. We were asked if they ordered mixed nuts without cinnamon, would we order additonal nuts. The answer is, that most have already spent all they want to spend. But, mixed nuts would have sold better, absolutely. In addition to the odd flavors this year, they start the sale right as school begins and we are already bombarded with writing little checks for various school items, not to mention the amount spent on school clothes, leaves everybody with less money in September. And trying to get into a routine for the new year is crazy enough without having to go out selling nuts door to door. At least those are my reasons.
Others suggested we do training earlier, sell in October. Some have girls who don't want to sell nuts because they don't sell themselves like the cookies do. Others are burned out and don't want to sell. And the natural disasters have many of us sending money to additonal charities or the red cross.
After I sent out the email, I decided to crunch the numbers and found out we sold 89% over last year. We nearly doubled the amount of girls selling. And troops were up by half as many as last year...Our town did very well. But, I will still send our opinions to the council, it is important feedback for them. Still, we could have sold more with a better selection!
David is on the mend. He is back to work and working very hard. He was off longer than he imagined, after the set back last week. Now the bills come rolling if for the hospital and the ER we have both visited in the past month. Always interesting to see what the Insurance company will pay for or not. And how they disallow over charging by the doctors, hospitals and labs, they are contracted with. One bill for the Doctor who reviewed an xray and sent David home after a minor car accident, got a whopping $13.89! That amazes me. It seems that all the paperwork is more costly than that miniscule amount.
I have done well to keep the Halloween candy out of the house thus far. I always get too much, then we have two kids come to the door. Our area is dark, no street lamps and is known as the scary area to kids. Although, in the past year, we have had a few families move in with little ones. I suspect we will have more kiddies this year. We usually go down a couple of streets to a long flat street. It is full of kids and most of the homes are decorated for Halloween. It is fun. There is a famous street, to locals, where many kids end up going. We still have not done that street, and probably won't. Halloween is different than when I was a kid. We went without our parents, with a pillow case and we would fill it up. I am glad the girls don't get that quantity of candy though. They eat some and the rest stays until it gets tossed around Easter. I was talking to the girls about Halloween on the way to school this morning and was reminded that last year they went out in a group of four, as the mothers hung out here drinking wine...That sounds like fun, we should do that again.
All the service unit managers for girl scout nuts got an email yesterday afternoon, asking for help. Apparently sales of magazines is down fifteen percent in OC and nuts are down as well. We were asked to query our troop managers for their opinions as to why sales were down. I got some feedback and of course, I have my own ideas as well.
My opinion is that they mixed it up a bit too much this year with new flavors. They took away some favorites. Like deluxe mixed nuts are gone and replaced by cinnamon mixed nuts. Chocolate covered peanuts have been replace with chocolate covered almonds. Chocolate covered trefoils have been replaced with peanut butter cups. Also added were chili con limon nuts. Ten products in all. We were asked if they ordered mixed nuts without cinnamon, would we order additonal nuts. The answer is, that most have already spent all they want to spend. But, mixed nuts would have sold better, absolutely. In addition to the odd flavors this year, they start the sale right as school begins and we are already bombarded with writing little checks for various school items, not to mention the amount spent on school clothes, leaves everybody with less money in September. And trying to get into a routine for the new year is crazy enough without having to go out selling nuts door to door. At least those are my reasons.
Others suggested we do training earlier, sell in October. Some have girls who don't want to sell nuts because they don't sell themselves like the cookies do. Others are burned out and don't want to sell. And the natural disasters have many of us sending money to additonal charities or the red cross.
After I sent out the email, I decided to crunch the numbers and found out we sold 89% over last year. We nearly doubled the amount of girls selling. And troops were up by half as many as last year...Our town did very well. But, I will still send our opinions to the council, it is important feedback for them. Still, we could have sold more with a better selection!
David is on the mend. He is back to work and working very hard. He was off longer than he imagined, after the set back last week. Now the bills come rolling if for the hospital and the ER we have both visited in the past month. Always interesting to see what the Insurance company will pay for or not. And how they disallow over charging by the doctors, hospitals and labs, they are contracted with. One bill for the Doctor who reviewed an xray and sent David home after a minor car accident, got a whopping $13.89! That amazes me. It seems that all the paperwork is more costly than that miniscule amount.
I have done well to keep the Halloween candy out of the house thus far. I always get too much, then we have two kids come to the door. Our area is dark, no street lamps and is known as the scary area to kids. Although, in the past year, we have had a few families move in with little ones. I suspect we will have more kiddies this year. We usually go down a couple of streets to a long flat street. It is full of kids and most of the homes are decorated for Halloween. It is fun. There is a famous street, to locals, where many kids end up going. We still have not done that street, and probably won't. Halloween is different than when I was a kid. We went without our parents, with a pillow case and we would fill it up. I am glad the girls don't get that quantity of candy though. They eat some and the rest stays until it gets tossed around Easter. I was talking to the girls about Halloween on the way to school this morning and was reminded that last year they went out in a group of four, as the mothers hung out here drinking wine...That sounds like fun, we should do that again.
Monday, October 24, 2005
First, Last & Current
FIRSTS
First best friend: Jeri, age 3
First Car: Blue 72 Ranchero
First kiss: Mark, age 12
First real kiss: Jeff, age 13
First makeout: Tim, age 14
First big trip: Oklahoma City, very young
First flight: Catalina Island, age 9
First time skiing/Snowboarding: Never
First concert: Donny & Marie, age 12
First Alcoholic Drink: Beer, age 12
First ticket violation: I don't remember! LOL
First job: McDonald's...Part time, Christmas wrapping, store in mall, age 14
Winchells Donuts, age 15 lasted three years.
LASTS
Last car ride: Coming home from dropping off girls at school, this morning.
Last kiss: David, this morning
Last time you cried: A couple of weeks ago.
Last movie watched: Can't remember.
Last food you ate: A burrito.
Last love: My Hub.
Last temptation: To stay in bed on a rainy day. I didn't.
Last item bought: A magnet for the fridge that says "THINK."
Last annoyance: Contractors sanding the house next door.
Last time wanting to die: Never. I am terrified of dying.
Last alcoholic drink: Scotch, last Wednesday
Last concert: Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Brown, Keb Mo
Last phone call: Jami, this morning.
Last friend you added on MYSPACE: What is myspace?
CURRENTS
Current Best Friend(s): Jana, Jami, Pat, Amy
Current Car: 2005 Lincoln Navigator
Current love: My Hub and my daughters.
Current drink: Water, all the time.
Current activity: Posting.
Current annoyance: Remembering I have to get gasoline!
Current mood: Tired.
First best friend: Jeri, age 3
First Car: Blue 72 Ranchero
First kiss: Mark, age 12
First real kiss: Jeff, age 13
First makeout: Tim, age 14
First big trip: Oklahoma City, very young
First flight: Catalina Island, age 9
First time skiing/Snowboarding: Never
First concert: Donny & Marie, age 12
First Alcoholic Drink: Beer, age 12
First ticket violation: I don't remember! LOL
First job: McDonald's...Part time, Christmas wrapping, store in mall, age 14
Winchells Donuts, age 15 lasted three years.
LASTS
Last car ride: Coming home from dropping off girls at school, this morning.
Last kiss: David, this morning
Last time you cried: A couple of weeks ago.
Last movie watched: Can't remember.
Last food you ate: A burrito.
Last love: My Hub.
Last temptation: To stay in bed on a rainy day. I didn't.
Last item bought: A magnet for the fridge that says "THINK."
Last annoyance: Contractors sanding the house next door.
Last time wanting to die: Never. I am terrified of dying.
Last alcoholic drink: Scotch, last Wednesday
Last concert: Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Brown, Keb Mo
Last phone call: Jami, this morning.
Last friend you added on MYSPACE: What is myspace?
CURRENTS
Current Best Friend(s): Jana, Jami, Pat, Amy
Current Car: 2005 Lincoln Navigator
Current love: My Hub and my daughters.
Current drink: Water, all the time.
Current activity: Posting.
Current annoyance: Remembering I have to get gasoline!
Current mood: Tired.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
It's all about me.
1. Name someone with the same birthday as you.
Chevy Chase
2. Where was your first kiss?
At my house.
3. Have you ever seriously vandalized someone else's property?
No.
4. Have you ever hit someone of the opposite sex?
Only my brothers, when I was a kid.
5. Have you ever sang in front of a large number of people?
Only in front of inebriated friends and family, when everybody
gets together to play music and sing. I prefer to blend in! LOL
6. What's the first things you notice about the preferred sex?
Hair, hands, eyes, teeth, arms, in that order.
7. What really turns you on?
A great smile.
8. What do you order at Starbucks?
Carmel blended drink.
9. What is your biggest mistake?
Being afraid to tell my parents I was pregnant at 14.
10. Have you ever hurt yourself on purpose?
No.
11. Say something totally random about yourself.
I can whistle with my fingers in my mouth. Very loudly.
12. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celebrity?
Yes. A young Judy Garland, Wynonna and lately, Rosie.
13. Do you still watch kiddy movies or tv shows?
No, my Tivo is full of need to watch new shows.
14. Did you have braces?
Yes, three full years. I still have nightmares that I lost
my retainer.
15. Are you comfortable with your height?
Yep. 5'6" Although being a tall Redwood to climb,
would have been fun.
16. What is the most romantic thing someone of the
opposite sex has done for you?
I can't think of just one. Some are way to personal.
Hub has done many romantic things for me though.
17. When do you know it's love?
When I cannot think of doing anything without
him in my plans. When I told a friend I was going to
marry him, right after I met him.
18. Do you speak any other languages?
Some Spanish.
19. Have you ever been to a tanning salon?
Never.
20. What magazines do you read?
Sunset, People, Home, Woman's Day.
21. Have you ever ridden in a limo?
Several times. No big deal. Just a big car!
22. Has anyone you were really close to passed away?
Yes, a cousin, grandparents, and then my parents,
in that order.
23. Do you watch MTV?
Nope. CMT for me!
24. What's something that really annoys you?
Bad drivers, drivers who do not pay attention to the road.
People who think they get paid just to show up to work.
Bad service! Contractors who are always late, if they show up.
People who hurt others on purpose.
Not all in that order.
25. What's something you really like?
Gardening, fishing, writing, reading, TV, dinners with the
whole family at the table. Feeding birds, photography.
Not in that order.
26. Do you like Michael Jackson?
I am not sure what to think of him, so I would not say that
I like him. I like his music though.
27. Can you dance?
Anybody can dance. I just do it poorly.
28. What's the latest you have ever stayed up?
Couple of days. Won't tell why! I suppose now I don't need
to, but it was a lifetime ago.
29. Have you ever been rushed by an ambulance into
the emergency room?
Twice, both times I had compound breaks in my left ankle.
Once after a car accident, but it was not rushed.
30. Do you actually read these when other people fill them out?
Yes. I like to get to know people better.
I took this from Annie's blog. It would be fun if some others would
do it too! Come on.....please
Chevy Chase
2. Where was your first kiss?
At my house.
3. Have you ever seriously vandalized someone else's property?
No.
4. Have you ever hit someone of the opposite sex?
Only my brothers, when I was a kid.
5. Have you ever sang in front of a large number of people?
Only in front of inebriated friends and family, when everybody
gets together to play music and sing. I prefer to blend in! LOL
6. What's the first things you notice about the preferred sex?
Hair, hands, eyes, teeth, arms, in that order.
7. What really turns you on?
A great smile.
8. What do you order at Starbucks?
Carmel blended drink.
9. What is your biggest mistake?
Being afraid to tell my parents I was pregnant at 14.
10. Have you ever hurt yourself on purpose?
No.
11. Say something totally random about yourself.
I can whistle with my fingers in my mouth. Very loudly.
12. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celebrity?
Yes. A young Judy Garland, Wynonna and lately, Rosie.
13. Do you still watch kiddy movies or tv shows?
No, my Tivo is full of need to watch new shows.
14. Did you have braces?
Yes, three full years. I still have nightmares that I lost
my retainer.
15. Are you comfortable with your height?
Yep. 5'6" Although being a tall Redwood to climb,
would have been fun.
16. What is the most romantic thing someone of the
opposite sex has done for you?
I can't think of just one. Some are way to personal.
Hub has done many romantic things for me though.
17. When do you know it's love?
When I cannot think of doing anything without
him in my plans. When I told a friend I was going to
marry him, right after I met him.
18. Do you speak any other languages?
Some Spanish.
19. Have you ever been to a tanning salon?
Never.
20. What magazines do you read?
Sunset, People, Home, Woman's Day.
21. Have you ever ridden in a limo?
Several times. No big deal. Just a big car!
22. Has anyone you were really close to passed away?
Yes, a cousin, grandparents, and then my parents,
in that order.
23. Do you watch MTV?
Nope. CMT for me!
24. What's something that really annoys you?
Bad drivers, drivers who do not pay attention to the road.
People who think they get paid just to show up to work.
Bad service! Contractors who are always late, if they show up.
People who hurt others on purpose.
Not all in that order.
25. What's something you really like?
Gardening, fishing, writing, reading, TV, dinners with the
whole family at the table. Feeding birds, photography.
Not in that order.
26. Do you like Michael Jackson?
I am not sure what to think of him, so I would not say that
I like him. I like his music though.
27. Can you dance?
Anybody can dance. I just do it poorly.
28. What's the latest you have ever stayed up?
Couple of days. Won't tell why! I suppose now I don't need
to, but it was a lifetime ago.
29. Have you ever been rushed by an ambulance into
the emergency room?
Twice, both times I had compound breaks in my left ankle.
Once after a car accident, but it was not rushed.
30. Do you actually read these when other people fill them out?
Yes. I like to get to know people better.
I took this from Annie's blog. It would be fun if some others would
do it too! Come on.....please
Friday, October 21, 2005
Something I noticed
I saw a new trend that worries me. All the nurses that I saw in the hospital were using Purell on their hands instead of a good old fashioned hand washing.
I didn't see them use the sink and a couple of times I noticed them rubbing their hands as if they were putting on lotion. I even mentioned to one that she must use a lot of lotion due to washing her hands all the time.
Later, when I realized that each and every room had Purell dispensers on the wall, the lotion thing clicked. It was not lotion at all. It was Purell.
I should buy some stock in the company that owns it. But, I am not happy to see nurses or anybody else substitute soap and water with rubbing on an antibacterial product.
In other news...I was asked tonight why I call plastic bags, baggies. Funny thing is I never thought about it before. I explained that when plastic bags were first introduced, the brand was called Baggies. I guess it stuck. Just like all zipper type bags are called Ziploc Bags. Ordinarily, I call things by what they are and not by brand names. Maybe Bandaids is an exception. But Kleenex is called tissue. And spa is called spa, not Jacuzzi. I suppose petroleum jelly is still Vaseline. I actually call pain relievers by their ingredients, like acetaminophen, because I rarely buy the real Tylenol. Ibuprophen, because I rarely by Advil or Motrin. Q-tips, are cotton swabs...Coke is soda pop. So is Pepsi.
You get the drift.
I didn't see them use the sink and a couple of times I noticed them rubbing their hands as if they were putting on lotion. I even mentioned to one that she must use a lot of lotion due to washing her hands all the time.
Later, when I realized that each and every room had Purell dispensers on the wall, the lotion thing clicked. It was not lotion at all. It was Purell.
I should buy some stock in the company that owns it. But, I am not happy to see nurses or anybody else substitute soap and water with rubbing on an antibacterial product.
In other news...I was asked tonight why I call plastic bags, baggies. Funny thing is I never thought about it before. I explained that when plastic bags were first introduced, the brand was called Baggies. I guess it stuck. Just like all zipper type bags are called Ziploc Bags. Ordinarily, I call things by what they are and not by brand names. Maybe Bandaids is an exception. But Kleenex is called tissue. And spa is called spa, not Jacuzzi. I suppose petroleum jelly is still Vaseline. I actually call pain relievers by their ingredients, like acetaminophen, because I rarely buy the real Tylenol. Ibuprophen, because I rarely by Advil or Motrin. Q-tips, are cotton swabs...Coke is soda pop. So is Pepsi.
You get the drift.
Philosophy of Charles Schultz
I was going to post something different, that I stole from another blog. But, I received the following in an email and decided to post this today. I think it makes a lot of sense!
The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip. You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just read straight through, and you'll get the point.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winner for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.
How did you do?
The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
Easier?
The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones who care.
Pass this on to those people who have made a difference in your life.
"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia." (Charles Schultz)
The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip. You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just read straight through, and you'll get the point.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winner for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.
How did you do?
The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
Easier?
The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones who care.
Pass this on to those people who have made a difference in your life.
"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia." (Charles Schultz)
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
He's home, cell phones, solicitors
I picked up David this afternoon. He is better, but still weak from all the morphine and pain meds. It is nice to have him home. We missed him very much.
I spent a lot of time on the road today and I want to do a survey of how many people have cell phones glued to their ear. Not just anywhere, but at one corner in particular. I watched five or so cars round this corner with phones attached to their heads and not paying one bit of attention to stop at the freaking stop sign!
I was behind a woman who was changing lanes without enough room and just plain not paying any attention to the road. Of course I knew she had a cell phone before I noticed, just because of the way she was driving. David actually said he would like to give her a piece of his mind...Didn't happen.
I think we need to stop this insane cell phone and driving thing. People pay no attention to who's turn it is to go, they cannot slam on the brakes in time for pedestrians, especially in a school zone, where kids dart out from behind parked cars! What will it take for people to put down the damn phone and drive?
I know I have used the phone in the car, with the headset, but still, I need to be concentrating on what can happen and be prepared to react. Not to what is being said to me. I can get the information another time. Nothing critical, if it were, I would pull to the side of the road where it was safe. But it truly is not safe, cuz some asshole will be more involved in their conversation than the car stopped on the side of the road and slam into me. I am convinced that this happens on a daily basis.
Just messing with the radio or navigation system is not even okay anymore. You have to drive defensively against cell phone drivers. It is a very bad trend and I would vote to make it illegal to drive and talk on a cell, especially a hand held. I have seen people holding a phone, smoking a cigarette, and making a turn all at the same time and they probably drove a stick! All with two hands. Unbelievable to me. Is our time so valuable that we must talk while driving? What did we do for the last hundred years without cell phones...Only land lines. At home. No caller ID. No call waiting. How did we do it? We did just fine and all the new tech is great, so, wait til you get home to have that conversation or stay off the roads!
Even in my doctor's office this morning, a woman was talking very loudly to somebody about a problem, and it should not have been discussed in front of me. People use their wait time at a doctor's office for phone calls. Fine, just move it outside! I don't need to hear their personal crap. Same goes for restaurants. How many times have you seen a couple having dinner and each are talking to somebody else, on their phones? Or the all important person who wants all to hear how important they are by taking calls? Oh, so popular! Give me a break!
Speaking of phone calls. I received one last night. It sounded like a real person. This person worked for something call DOV. I have never been tricked by a recorded message before but this one got me for a minute. They asked if I have kids. I said, NO. Thinking they would hang up. Then I was told, OK then, are you tired of all the violence and sex in movies these days? I said, No. Then it said, wouldn't you like to see more family values in movies and as he is saying this I was thinking that there are a lot more family movies these days. Then I thought, this guy is not stopping...I asked, are you a real person???? You are not a real person, you are a machine, and I have to admit a pretty good one at that. Then I hung up. Zoe was laughing at me. She thought it was funny that I was talking back to the machine...It was pretty funny. The message started out by saying it wasn't a solicitation...Bullshit. So, I got the number off caller ID and went to the web site and placed a complaint against the number. I felt better!
It is rare for solicitors to get thru these days. When they do, I know they are reading from a script. I like to ask them a question and it throws them off. Some even restart the whole script from the beginning...The kids have gotten in on this and love to do it too. Sometimes when they ask for me, I tell them that I am the babysitter and Nancy isn't here. They ask what would be a good time to call her back? I tell them, how would I know!
I spent a lot of time on the road today and I want to do a survey of how many people have cell phones glued to their ear. Not just anywhere, but at one corner in particular. I watched five or so cars round this corner with phones attached to their heads and not paying one bit of attention to stop at the freaking stop sign!
I was behind a woman who was changing lanes without enough room and just plain not paying any attention to the road. Of course I knew she had a cell phone before I noticed, just because of the way she was driving. David actually said he would like to give her a piece of his mind...Didn't happen.
I think we need to stop this insane cell phone and driving thing. People pay no attention to who's turn it is to go, they cannot slam on the brakes in time for pedestrians, especially in a school zone, where kids dart out from behind parked cars! What will it take for people to put down the damn phone and drive?
I know I have used the phone in the car, with the headset, but still, I need to be concentrating on what can happen and be prepared to react. Not to what is being said to me. I can get the information another time. Nothing critical, if it were, I would pull to the side of the road where it was safe. But it truly is not safe, cuz some asshole will be more involved in their conversation than the car stopped on the side of the road and slam into me. I am convinced that this happens on a daily basis.
Just messing with the radio or navigation system is not even okay anymore. You have to drive defensively against cell phone drivers. It is a very bad trend and I would vote to make it illegal to drive and talk on a cell, especially a hand held. I have seen people holding a phone, smoking a cigarette, and making a turn all at the same time and they probably drove a stick! All with two hands. Unbelievable to me. Is our time so valuable that we must talk while driving? What did we do for the last hundred years without cell phones...Only land lines. At home. No caller ID. No call waiting. How did we do it? We did just fine and all the new tech is great, so, wait til you get home to have that conversation or stay off the roads!
Even in my doctor's office this morning, a woman was talking very loudly to somebody about a problem, and it should not have been discussed in front of me. People use their wait time at a doctor's office for phone calls. Fine, just move it outside! I don't need to hear their personal crap. Same goes for restaurants. How many times have you seen a couple having dinner and each are talking to somebody else, on their phones? Or the all important person who wants all to hear how important they are by taking calls? Oh, so popular! Give me a break!
Speaking of phone calls. I received one last night. It sounded like a real person. This person worked for something call DOV. I have never been tricked by a recorded message before but this one got me for a minute. They asked if I have kids. I said, NO. Thinking they would hang up. Then I was told, OK then, are you tired of all the violence and sex in movies these days? I said, No. Then it said, wouldn't you like to see more family values in movies and as he is saying this I was thinking that there are a lot more family movies these days. Then I thought, this guy is not stopping...I asked, are you a real person???? You are not a real person, you are a machine, and I have to admit a pretty good one at that. Then I hung up. Zoe was laughing at me. She thought it was funny that I was talking back to the machine...It was pretty funny. The message started out by saying it wasn't a solicitation...Bullshit. So, I got the number off caller ID and went to the web site and placed a complaint against the number. I felt better!
It is rare for solicitors to get thru these days. When they do, I know they are reading from a script. I like to ask them a question and it throws them off. Some even restart the whole script from the beginning...The kids have gotten in on this and love to do it too. Sometimes when they ask for me, I tell them that I am the babysitter and Nancy isn't here. They ask what would be a good time to call her back? I tell them, how would I know!
Monday, October 17, 2005
I hate Emergency Rooms! Updated Tuesday
I have not mentioned that my husband has bladder cancer. I suppose had, because he had surgery on Friday and removed the tumor. No incision either. So, he was feeling well enough to do some normal things by the next day. I am free to tell this story now, as he has blogged about it. Here is the story of today.
I just got home, again, from the ER. David was bleeding yesterday and called the doctor last night and they said, hmmm, you shouldn't be bleeding and to call the office in the morning. He did, and then went to court! He came home dripping in blood all over his clothes! I told him to shower and I was taking him to the ER. The doctor's office called and I told them I was taking him to Mission where he had the surgery. Stupid me thought it would be a good place to go, since he practices near there.
We got there and he was given an iv line only, they took blood. And he went to the lab this morning for blood work. Anyhow, then he was sent back to the waiting room with the umpteen other poor people. Not enough beds. Finally after an hour and a half, I went back to the on duty doctor and told him they still had not inserted a catheter nor had they taken him to the new ER section. We were told that they didn't do cathaters there on the side he was on. Flat out lie. We were called in within five minutes and they finally inserted the catheter about a half hour later. No pain meds at all. Then this very good and nice nurse started flushing out his bladder! YUCK. I could not believe all the blood. We never did make it to the new section of the remodeled ER.
David was having contractions like a woman having a baby. He was screaming and they were going to release him because his tube was clear. I told the doctor I was going to get the kids fed and come back. He told me we would be out of there in a few minutes. I waited a half hour and left. I called David from home when I was ready to go back and he was practically crying. I got back and heard him screaming from the waiting room. I went to the doctor on duty again and asked what was going on. He tells me that his job is triage and that I need to talk to the nurse. I find her and demand something for the pain. The on call doctor calls and tells David via my cell phone, that he is releasing him...I got on the phone with him and told him he was bleeding worse that ever. He said he was told the fluid was clear. I told him it was, four hours ago and nobody had been back to see him. I told him I would not take him home bleeding thru a tube and that I would not have him in pain and scaring the kids! He told me he would admit him and give him some pain meds. I went to the nurse, the good one was on dinner break. I asked where the pain meeds were and she said, I was just writing the order! I pleaded with her to get his medicine. I closed his door and tried to calm him down again. Finally a shot but nothing for the contractions. They were waiting for the pharmacy to dispense them. He finally got them and was taken upstairs. I left at 9:30.
I am furious that his doctor called ten minutes before I got home for dinner with the girls. He left a message and asked how David was doing and said he would see him at his appointment! He will be getting a phone call in the morning! Apparently his partner never told him he was in the ER...
What a day. The good news is that the pathology was good. No signs of spreading. We talked to one doctor who said that in the early nineties they did a study and found that dry cleaning agents were a big factor in bladder cancer. He asked David if he wears a lot of dry cleaned clothes. The answer is daily. Scary, but I know they changed chemicals a few years back due to the report.
What I think will happen tomorrow is that they will have to go back in cauterize the wound again. Nobody told him to go home and stay on his back! They told him to take it easy. He ran errands with me the day after surgery, then went to the play. And this morning he took a huge basket of laundry downstairs. The doctor said, no lifting and to stay on his back to let the wound heal...Now they tell him. Four days after surgery.
UPDATE:
David called me about two hours after I left last night and he was feeling much better. They had taken very good care of him once he got to a room. And the on call doctor from his surgeon's office actually showed up and did his thing to help clean out his bladder. They were going to do it every three hours last night, so I am going to assume he didn't get to sleep too much. But he sounded so much better and said he felt better. And to top it off, they gave him ice cream. He told me not to rush over there this morning, and that he would call me when he knows something. As long as he feels better, I am not ripping off doctor's heads this morning. Although, I will be doing the surveys, and I will at least make one phone call to his doctor, who didn't know he was in the freaking ER for nine hours!
UPDATE Tuesday:
David's actual doctor came to see him today and told him if the fluid was not clear by tomorrow, they were going to go back to surgery and cauterize the wound. Either way, they plan on sending him home. He is feeling all beat up, as you can imagine. He is trying not to take the morphine any more, but is taking other meds for the spasms. I just talked to him on the phone and he was lucid and sounded very worn out. Hopefully they will fix him up tomorrow and he can come home pain free. The doctor did say he didn't think he overexerted himself by lifting anything or moving around too much. He said some people just develop clots and David was one of them. He told David that it was a shame since his outcome was so good and now he was in so much pain. I guess that statement is certainly true.
Thank you for all your well wishes for David. I appreciate it very much and I am sure he will too!
I just got home, again, from the ER. David was bleeding yesterday and called the doctor last night and they said, hmmm, you shouldn't be bleeding and to call the office in the morning. He did, and then went to court! He came home dripping in blood all over his clothes! I told him to shower and I was taking him to the ER. The doctor's office called and I told them I was taking him to Mission where he had the surgery. Stupid me thought it would be a good place to go, since he practices near there.
We got there and he was given an iv line only, they took blood. And he went to the lab this morning for blood work. Anyhow, then he was sent back to the waiting room with the umpteen other poor people. Not enough beds. Finally after an hour and a half, I went back to the on duty doctor and told him they still had not inserted a catheter nor had they taken him to the new ER section. We were told that they didn't do cathaters there on the side he was on. Flat out lie. We were called in within five minutes and they finally inserted the catheter about a half hour later. No pain meds at all. Then this very good and nice nurse started flushing out his bladder! YUCK. I could not believe all the blood. We never did make it to the new section of the remodeled ER.
David was having contractions like a woman having a baby. He was screaming and they were going to release him because his tube was clear. I told the doctor I was going to get the kids fed and come back. He told me we would be out of there in a few minutes. I waited a half hour and left. I called David from home when I was ready to go back and he was practically crying. I got back and heard him screaming from the waiting room. I went to the doctor on duty again and asked what was going on. He tells me that his job is triage and that I need to talk to the nurse. I find her and demand something for the pain. The on call doctor calls and tells David via my cell phone, that he is releasing him...I got on the phone with him and told him he was bleeding worse that ever. He said he was told the fluid was clear. I told him it was, four hours ago and nobody had been back to see him. I told him I would not take him home bleeding thru a tube and that I would not have him in pain and scaring the kids! He told me he would admit him and give him some pain meds. I went to the nurse, the good one was on dinner break. I asked where the pain meeds were and she said, I was just writing the order! I pleaded with her to get his medicine. I closed his door and tried to calm him down again. Finally a shot but nothing for the contractions. They were waiting for the pharmacy to dispense them. He finally got them and was taken upstairs. I left at 9:30.
I am furious that his doctor called ten minutes before I got home for dinner with the girls. He left a message and asked how David was doing and said he would see him at his appointment! He will be getting a phone call in the morning! Apparently his partner never told him he was in the ER...
What a day. The good news is that the pathology was good. No signs of spreading. We talked to one doctor who said that in the early nineties they did a study and found that dry cleaning agents were a big factor in bladder cancer. He asked David if he wears a lot of dry cleaned clothes. The answer is daily. Scary, but I know they changed chemicals a few years back due to the report.
What I think will happen tomorrow is that they will have to go back in cauterize the wound again. Nobody told him to go home and stay on his back! They told him to take it easy. He ran errands with me the day after surgery, then went to the play. And this morning he took a huge basket of laundry downstairs. The doctor said, no lifting and to stay on his back to let the wound heal...Now they tell him. Four days after surgery.
UPDATE:
David called me about two hours after I left last night and he was feeling much better. They had taken very good care of him once he got to a room. And the on call doctor from his surgeon's office actually showed up and did his thing to help clean out his bladder. They were going to do it every three hours last night, so I am going to assume he didn't get to sleep too much. But he sounded so much better and said he felt better. And to top it off, they gave him ice cream. He told me not to rush over there this morning, and that he would call me when he knows something. As long as he feels better, I am not ripping off doctor's heads this morning. Although, I will be doing the surveys, and I will at least make one phone call to his doctor, who didn't know he was in the freaking ER for nine hours!
UPDATE Tuesday:
David's actual doctor came to see him today and told him if the fluid was not clear by tomorrow, they were going to go back to surgery and cauterize the wound. Either way, they plan on sending him home. He is feeling all beat up, as you can imagine. He is trying not to take the morphine any more, but is taking other meds for the spasms. I just talked to him on the phone and he was lucid and sounded very worn out. Hopefully they will fix him up tomorrow and he can come home pain free. The doctor did say he didn't think he overexerted himself by lifting anything or moving around too much. He said some people just develop clots and David was one of them. He told David that it was a shame since his outcome was so good and now he was in so much pain. I guess that statement is certainly true.
Thank you for all your well wishes for David. I appreciate it very much and I am sure he will too!
Sunday, October 16, 2005
The Final Show!
I enjoyed the show so much Friday night that I was going to get more tickets and see another with some other friends. No good seats. Oh well. We had front row on opening night, that was certainly more than enough.
Katharine called between shows and said they were ordering pizza before the next performance. I asked her how it went and she told me that the audience was not drunk enough and they just sat there and didn't want to participate! I felt so bad for her, but I also wanted her to know that, even though we had wine before Friday night's show, WE were not drunk. WE were just having an excellent time and were simply goofy! Which was the way it should have been, in my opinion.
Kate sounded stuffy so I told her I would bring her a Claritin. I grabbed a box of Capri Sun drinks to bring for them to have with their pizza as well. When I got there she was very unhappy looking. Then the woman who founded No Square Theatre was walking by, and I said, "The audience was not drunk enough Bree?" She said, "It was the second show slump. Plus we needed the kids to almost yell because the acoustics in the theatre are not very good." I was thinking micking the kids who had lines would have not been so hard! The audience was full of older people and little kids. Katharine was then more upset by the performance. I told her to sing louder in the next show and that night time shows are better anyhow. Plus, what I didn't say was that they would be a bit loosened up by the wine...Again.
We picked her and her friend up at 11:00. The third show went very well and she was once again bubbly and excited. Apparently somebody ordered the hearty meat pizza and it was not very good so most were still hungry after the show. Even if she ate, she would be hungry after the show. She is like a hummingbird, eats constantly. We drove thru Jack in the Box, on the way to dropping her friend at their place above their fabulous Italian Restaurant!
One last performance tonight and back to school and the real world tomorrow!
We had thunder and lightening last night! It was wild. I spoke to my friend for almost two hours on the phone and that was fun! He daughter asked how long she had been on the phone and I told her what she says to me, "Who is the parent?" She repeats it to her daughter! It was pretty funny.
I was up at three with the thunder. I put down the umbrellas and was a bit nervous about the lightening around me. About five, I hear a noise and one of the umbrellas fell over. I will leave it down for now. Not like we are due any significant rain, but we are supposed to have thunder storms through Monday. Rare here. But even a half inch of rain could help lessen the fire season and that would be fabulous!
I went back to sleep about 7:30 and slept til 10:00. A nice thing to do on a rainy day. But it was sunny when I got up. And now it is beginning to cloud up again. Yippee. I want to watch many things I have Tivo'd. Only problem with the rain, even though I love it, is that if it rains too hard, I have to take my computer in the house and type from there.
BTW, I didn't take photos of the show. There is a professional photographer that shoots hundreds of photos, at all the performances and then puts them up on the website for us to purchase. I figured I wanted to relax and enjoy friends and the show without my camera. I should have taken some though. Although flash photography is forbidden in the theatre! They will be online soon and I will post some then!
Katharine called between shows and said they were ordering pizza before the next performance. I asked her how it went and she told me that the audience was not drunk enough and they just sat there and didn't want to participate! I felt so bad for her, but I also wanted her to know that, even though we had wine before Friday night's show, WE were not drunk. WE were just having an excellent time and were simply goofy! Which was the way it should have been, in my opinion.
Kate sounded stuffy so I told her I would bring her a Claritin. I grabbed a box of Capri Sun drinks to bring for them to have with their pizza as well. When I got there she was very unhappy looking. Then the woman who founded No Square Theatre was walking by, and I said, "The audience was not drunk enough Bree?" She said, "It was the second show slump. Plus we needed the kids to almost yell because the acoustics in the theatre are not very good." I was thinking micking the kids who had lines would have not been so hard! The audience was full of older people and little kids. Katharine was then more upset by the performance. I told her to sing louder in the next show and that night time shows are better anyhow. Plus, what I didn't say was that they would be a bit loosened up by the wine...Again.
We picked her and her friend up at 11:00. The third show went very well and she was once again bubbly and excited. Apparently somebody ordered the hearty meat pizza and it was not very good so most were still hungry after the show. Even if she ate, she would be hungry after the show. She is like a hummingbird, eats constantly. We drove thru Jack in the Box, on the way to dropping her friend at their place above their fabulous Italian Restaurant!
One last performance tonight and back to school and the real world tomorrow!
We had thunder and lightening last night! It was wild. I spoke to my friend for almost two hours on the phone and that was fun! He daughter asked how long she had been on the phone and I told her what she says to me, "Who is the parent?" She repeats it to her daughter! It was pretty funny.
I was up at three with the thunder. I put down the umbrellas and was a bit nervous about the lightening around me. About five, I hear a noise and one of the umbrellas fell over. I will leave it down for now. Not like we are due any significant rain, but we are supposed to have thunder storms through Monday. Rare here. But even a half inch of rain could help lessen the fire season and that would be fabulous!
I went back to sleep about 7:30 and slept til 10:00. A nice thing to do on a rainy day. But it was sunny when I got up. And now it is beginning to cloud up again. Yippee. I want to watch many things I have Tivo'd. Only problem with the rain, even though I love it, is that if it rains too hard, I have to take my computer in the house and type from there.
BTW, I didn't take photos of the show. There is a professional photographer that shoots hundreds of photos, at all the performances and then puts them up on the website for us to purchase. I figured I wanted to relax and enjoy friends and the show without my camera. I should have taken some though. Although flash photography is forbidden in the theatre! They will be online soon and I will post some then!
Saturday, October 15, 2005
The Internet and The Sound of Music
Yesterday the internet was down and I checked all the wires and rebooted several times, before I called the cable company. There was an outage in our area and technicians had been dispatched. I am fully addicted to the internet! I admit it. But, it has also become a huge source of where I get my information necessary to schedule on my calendar. I finally got out the dreaded phone line and was able to check mail and make a couple of comments! I was kicked off line several times! I called the cable company in the afternoon and got the same message. Then the phone was dead as well as the TV. All through cable! May need to rethink that if it becomes a habit. Frankly, it has not happened to this extent before. We had DSL a couple of times and the first company went belly up and we were stuck with none. After several months, we relinquished the line, waited more than a week and started with Verizon. It was a disaster. Every night it would go down for hours. Finally I call to cancel it, to once again relinquish the line and wait the week again. I was told that we were too far from the routing station and never should have been sold DSL from Verizon and we were lucky it worked at all! HA, lucky? Cable has been great since they got the kinks out from when we first had it, when it was new! Funny thing was they must have had several calls, cuz the Angel game was on.
I was not watching the Angel's get their collective butts kicked last night, or at least that was the last score I heard while they were in the fifth inning. We went to see Katharine/Brigitta in The Sound of Music. Well the rest of the cast as well! They misspelled her name. Not just her first name, but our last name was wrong as well.
The play was so much fun! It was interactive with the audience. We had paper bags with bubbles, a little wine glass, tiny flowers for corsages, an Austrian flag, little flashlights. Items for the wedding and for when the Von Trapps leave at the end of the play. Some people were approached by "nuns" during wine hour before the show. Asked to mini audition, if anybody wanted to be in the play. People got on stage or just did their thing from their seat. The words were projected onto the wall and the whole audience sang along.
I have to say, Katharine was terrific. Well, I don't have to say that, but she was! The child can really act! We had a group of about 15 of us. First row. Katharine was hugged and told how well she did and got a couple of bouquets too. Of course you are probably thinking, I am her mother and the others were friends, but she was good. And the costumes were so cute. Her entrance was walking, while reading a book and bumping into the Captain. And she had a lot more lines than I thought she would.
The smallest child was four. We knew thru rehearsals that there would be some fun with this cutie pie! She delivered some wonderful laughs. During the scene where all the kids were off to bed, the little girl (Gretel) was supposed to put her head down and fall asleep on the stairs. She tried, really hard to do it, her head kept getting close to the stairs and then would sit back up! Finally, after all the loving laughs, she was scooped up and taken upstairs.
The wedding scene cracked us all up. Apparently it was not supposed to be funny! But it was. The priest was chewing gum! And when they exchanged rings, the made the motions, but there were no rings!
Anyhow, it was a blast. The kids were asked during rehearsals to bring in some of their nice clothes to choose from for the play. Katharine took a pile of Cotillion dresses, most too small. I told her to let somebody have them and not to bring them home! She wore one of her Cotillion dresses in the play. A sheer all white dress that she looked so beautiful in.
It is funny, even though it is a small local production, after the show every flocks around the actors and they really feel like stars...My friends and her friends told her how good she was and she got lots of hugs. I wanted everybody to know that she was my daughter and I was very proud of her. But, she belonged to her public! It was great to see after all the weeks of rehearsals.
During the wine hour, a friend of ours, who was actually our Realtor when we bought our home eight years ago, was there. I asked him how it was going selling the 26.5 million dollar estate he has listed. We joked and asked if we could book it for the weekend. He said he had been there for parties and just recently had one for Realtors. Then he told my friend and me that he was having another on November 3rd and he would send me two tickets. My other friend walked up and asked, "tickets to what?" He is sending me three. It is a sunset party, with food and wine. And he said, we get to see Ricky Nelson's estate which is also on the market for 31 million....It is on the beach as well, about a block away! How fun is this going to be? Oh, and our husbands were standing there. My friend's husband said, "oh, I don't want to go anyway." I told him I didn't invite my husband either and we laughed! That little invite was icing on the cake to a very nice night.
The show was very long. It started at 8:00 and lasted til 11:00. Two shows today, one tomorrow and that is it! Then she wants to audition for Narnia. UGH and good for her! Kudos to my darling little actress, Katharine Epstein!
I was not watching the Angel's get their collective butts kicked last night, or at least that was the last score I heard while they were in the fifth inning. We went to see Katharine/Brigitta in The Sound of Music. Well the rest of the cast as well! They misspelled her name. Not just her first name, but our last name was wrong as well.
The play was so much fun! It was interactive with the audience. We had paper bags with bubbles, a little wine glass, tiny flowers for corsages, an Austrian flag, little flashlights. Items for the wedding and for when the Von Trapps leave at the end of the play. Some people were approached by "nuns" during wine hour before the show. Asked to mini audition, if anybody wanted to be in the play. People got on stage or just did their thing from their seat. The words were projected onto the wall and the whole audience sang along.
I have to say, Katharine was terrific. Well, I don't have to say that, but she was! The child can really act! We had a group of about 15 of us. First row. Katharine was hugged and told how well she did and got a couple of bouquets too. Of course you are probably thinking, I am her mother and the others were friends, but she was good. And the costumes were so cute. Her entrance was walking, while reading a book and bumping into the Captain. And she had a lot more lines than I thought she would.
The smallest child was four. We knew thru rehearsals that there would be some fun with this cutie pie! She delivered some wonderful laughs. During the scene where all the kids were off to bed, the little girl (Gretel) was supposed to put her head down and fall asleep on the stairs. She tried, really hard to do it, her head kept getting close to the stairs and then would sit back up! Finally, after all the loving laughs, she was scooped up and taken upstairs.
The wedding scene cracked us all up. Apparently it was not supposed to be funny! But it was. The priest was chewing gum! And when they exchanged rings, the made the motions, but there were no rings!
Anyhow, it was a blast. The kids were asked during rehearsals to bring in some of their nice clothes to choose from for the play. Katharine took a pile of Cotillion dresses, most too small. I told her to let somebody have them and not to bring them home! She wore one of her Cotillion dresses in the play. A sheer all white dress that she looked so beautiful in.
It is funny, even though it is a small local production, after the show every flocks around the actors and they really feel like stars...My friends and her friends told her how good she was and she got lots of hugs. I wanted everybody to know that she was my daughter and I was very proud of her. But, she belonged to her public! It was great to see after all the weeks of rehearsals.
During the wine hour, a friend of ours, who was actually our Realtor when we bought our home eight years ago, was there. I asked him how it was going selling the 26.5 million dollar estate he has listed. We joked and asked if we could book it for the weekend. He said he had been there for parties and just recently had one for Realtors. Then he told my friend and me that he was having another on November 3rd and he would send me two tickets. My other friend walked up and asked, "tickets to what?" He is sending me three. It is a sunset party, with food and wine. And he said, we get to see Ricky Nelson's estate which is also on the market for 31 million....It is on the beach as well, about a block away! How fun is this going to be? Oh, and our husbands were standing there. My friend's husband said, "oh, I don't want to go anyway." I told him I didn't invite my husband either and we laughed! That little invite was icing on the cake to a very nice night.
The show was very long. It started at 8:00 and lasted til 11:00. Two shows today, one tomorrow and that is it! Then she wants to audition for Narnia. UGH and good for her! Kudos to my darling little actress, Katharine Epstein!
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Man, Am I Tired!
It has been one hell of a long day! I am waiting for Katharine to come home from rehearsal. It is 11:00 and she does have school tomorrow and she was sick earlier in the week. But, the show must go on. Sound of Music opens tomorrow night! Brigitta is very nervous all of a sudden...She will do a great job, I am sure!
It is hot. Around 80. I just cleaned the deck, dodging gargantuan spiders in their respective webs. Not fun. I thought about squirting some of the webs down, but they worked so hard making them! And, if I can see them, I know one is not going to drop down from the umbrella above my head. It has happened and I am sad to say, I smashed the sucker! Invade my space? Not to live and tell about it spider!
I was in a Circle K store the other day and noticed numbers on the door. I had plenty of time to notice many things, as the line was very long with kids buying oodles of candy to eat on the beach. Gotta replenish themselves with all the surfing or skateboarding they do! Anyhow, I wondered why they had strips on the doors with heights on them. Then I figured it out! If a robber comes in there, the camera will get their height when they leave thru the doors, and of course mine. Thank God they don't have scales there too...Or do they???
I was still doing Girl Scout nut stuff til midnight last night. Hub came home and said he couldn't believe I was still working on all the crap for nights on end...It was rather fun though. I like the puzzle solving that comes with screwed up orders! Going back and retracing steps to find the error...I do that with my own checkbook. It must balance to the penny or I will look until I find it. I always do. Anyhow, it is a lot of work and even though I may have complained now and then, it was a good thing to do. Kept me busy and my mind occupied. By the way, I changed the word screwed, in screwed up, from another of my more popular words. Just thought it would not look appropriate in a paragraph about the Girl Scouts!
I dropped off all the reports, etc., this morning! They are due tomorrow morning at 9am. I am not driving 20 miles in the morning to drop off anything! On October 29th, I will have a all the nuts we ordered delivered to my house. I will give all the nutty moms twenty minutes increments to get their nuts and onto the next order. I know this can be done in a timely manner. I have seen it with my own eyes, and now I will practice what I have learned from a pro! The woman who does cookies has done it for twenty some odd years. Her kids are grown and she still does it...Not saying I will do what I did this year for twenty years or even next year. But, if asked I will probably do it. I don't know why I would not be asked, since the vicious cycle of doing a good job comes back to haunt, by asking again and again! But, don't go thinking it is over....Those were just presales. Now we have booth sales for two weeks in November.
Got an email today asking for help from the council. They now need help counting all the cities who have turned in orders. Magazines and nuts! I am not nuts enough to take a job for a half day for $25 coupon book, redeemable in their store! Or a whopping $50 for the whole day. Drive 20 miles, work for girl scout stuff and drive home 20 miles....Nope, not me.
Well, still no Katharine...She is going to be so tired after being at the theatre since 5:00. I know she is going to be giddy with excitement at the prospect of the opening of the play tomorrow night too. Friday is her day to go to school at 9:00 and Zoe goes in at 8:30. Both can sleep in. Me, I will be up before the birds. Reading blogs and drinking coffee!
It is hot. Around 80. I just cleaned the deck, dodging gargantuan spiders in their respective webs. Not fun. I thought about squirting some of the webs down, but they worked so hard making them! And, if I can see them, I know one is not going to drop down from the umbrella above my head. It has happened and I am sad to say, I smashed the sucker! Invade my space? Not to live and tell about it spider!
I was in a Circle K store the other day and noticed numbers on the door. I had plenty of time to notice many things, as the line was very long with kids buying oodles of candy to eat on the beach. Gotta replenish themselves with all the surfing or skateboarding they do! Anyhow, I wondered why they had strips on the doors with heights on them. Then I figured it out! If a robber comes in there, the camera will get their height when they leave thru the doors, and of course mine. Thank God they don't have scales there too...Or do they???
I was still doing Girl Scout nut stuff til midnight last night. Hub came home and said he couldn't believe I was still working on all the crap for nights on end...It was rather fun though. I like the puzzle solving that comes with screwed up orders! Going back and retracing steps to find the error...I do that with my own checkbook. It must balance to the penny or I will look until I find it. I always do. Anyhow, it is a lot of work and even though I may have complained now and then, it was a good thing to do. Kept me busy and my mind occupied. By the way, I changed the word screwed, in screwed up, from another of my more popular words. Just thought it would not look appropriate in a paragraph about the Girl Scouts!
I dropped off all the reports, etc., this morning! They are due tomorrow morning at 9am. I am not driving 20 miles in the morning to drop off anything! On October 29th, I will have a all the nuts we ordered delivered to my house. I will give all the nutty moms twenty minutes increments to get their nuts and onto the next order. I know this can be done in a timely manner. I have seen it with my own eyes, and now I will practice what I have learned from a pro! The woman who does cookies has done it for twenty some odd years. Her kids are grown and she still does it...Not saying I will do what I did this year for twenty years or even next year. But, if asked I will probably do it. I don't know why I would not be asked, since the vicious cycle of doing a good job comes back to haunt, by asking again and again! But, don't go thinking it is over....Those were just presales. Now we have booth sales for two weeks in November.
Got an email today asking for help from the council. They now need help counting all the cities who have turned in orders. Magazines and nuts! I am not nuts enough to take a job for a half day for $25 coupon book, redeemable in their store! Or a whopping $50 for the whole day. Drive 20 miles, work for girl scout stuff and drive home 20 miles....Nope, not me.
Well, still no Katharine...She is going to be so tired after being at the theatre since 5:00. I know she is going to be giddy with excitement at the prospect of the opening of the play tomorrow night too. Friday is her day to go to school at 9:00 and Zoe goes in at 8:30. Both can sleep in. Me, I will be up before the birds. Reading blogs and drinking coffee!
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Here I Am!
I have received emails asking where I have been and if I am alright. I am fine. I have been exceptionally busy. Between taking the girls to school and activities, and the close of Girl Scout preorder nut sales, the obvious sentence to follow, would be that I have been nuts. Not only have I been nuts, but I have had thirteen other nutty moms who had to fill out their orders and get them to me in a timely manner. That probably could have happened, uneventfully, however, of course, it did not! The website had a glitch yesterday and nobody could do their job. First the website said to come back after 11am, then 1pm, then 2 pm then an all out, "We are doing our best to fix the problem, please come back later and thank you for your patience!" Obviously, they extended the cut off time from this morning at 9am to tomorrow at 9am. I finally called the last person in our unit and said, "So, how's it going? Working on finishing your order?" She told me she had been to the bank and everything was done. I looked at her numbers and sign her out of a few steps and think, done. NOT. Two troops still show as not done on the list of troops who have not entered their sales....Sheesh....They're done!
So, I have some things to do for the next couple of days, but it seems that everything went pretty smoothly, considering the website had problems and added numbers wrong,...
Aside from my two girls, we have a friend visiting for three days. Her parents are away and she is bunking with Katharine. Katharine has had a cough for a couple of weeks. She says four! Bad mommy! I took her to the doctor after school yesterday and we were there for nearly an hour and a half. First time seeing the new woman pediatrician. Although, she has had the girl's records for a year and a half now....It was time....You know....
We ordered Chinese food waiting for her prescription, since I had enough time to get Katharine some food and back down the hill to rehearsal. When she got home, sick and miserable. Coughing unproductive. A slight fever and very sore throat. The doctor knew she needs her voice for Brigitta in the Sound of Music opening night Friday! She gave her a Z-pak and told us to get her Delsym cough medicine...I am here to tell you, this shit works! 12 hours with NO coughing. Then this afternoon she finally had a productive cough....She did stay home from school today. Funny thing was it never occurred to me. Her friend said, "Are you going to let her stay home tomorrow?" I thought, "Hell yeah!" Why did this not occur to me? Because, I am lucky to have two very healthy girls who hardly ever miss school. I don't think Zoe has missed a day since third grade, her first year here in town! She is now a freshman. And, frankly, I cannot remember the last day Katharine has missed. Last year though, at some point.
This was while I was trying to get all the troop orders entered into the website by the cut off time. I got home to a reprisal. Which was inevitable for their computer glitch!
Today, I went to get Katharine's friend at school, after I picked up Zoe. Katharine wanted to come. I told her no way, she missed school. So, I pick up her friend and as soon as I pull into the driveway, Kate is out there asking why I did not pick up her friend that we started car pooling with last week...Oh SHIT....I forgot your friend...I went back to the school and took her home. I apologized profusely. Too much going on!
Then my neighbor, who lives with her daughter and her parents, asked if her daughter could come over for a half hour or so until her grandmother got home from teaching...Of course. Her grandmother calls and sounds dead tired. She is a music teacher at an elementary school. I told her to have a rest and I would send her granddaughter home after while. Then I get a call from my friend, who's child I am watching and she says, "So, you are making my daughter do her homework and giving my mother a rest?" I said, "Yes, your mother sounded so tired." Grandma called an hour or so later and asked her granddaughter if she was ready to come home. Grandma did not have to help her with homework and that was good. And she had a blast watching the girls and their comedy routines!
My friend's father, who was a computer etc., salesman opted out. Jobs were too difficult to get anymore. He has been going to school to be an x-ray technician. All he needs now is his license. Something new. He applied for a job with FEMA and got it. Pays well, twelve hours, six days a week. He will be a building inspector in New Orleans. He will be gone for four months and come home one weekend a month. It will be hard on them as he and his wife have never been separated this long. But, financially, it will be good for them, especially so close to retirement.
There really is not much more I can share and aren't you lucky for that....I am okay. Hanging in there. Still have the cysts. I do have another exam soon. But, the cancer test was good. I do have that to be thankful about! As miserable as I was, waiting for the results....Never go to the doctor on a Friday...Good lesson!
While I am at it....I would like to thank all of you for your birthday wishes! It was a fun birthday and I will tell more later, if you can stand it!!!
So, I have some things to do for the next couple of days, but it seems that everything went pretty smoothly, considering the website had problems and added numbers wrong,...
Aside from my two girls, we have a friend visiting for three days. Her parents are away and she is bunking with Katharine. Katharine has had a cough for a couple of weeks. She says four! Bad mommy! I took her to the doctor after school yesterday and we were there for nearly an hour and a half. First time seeing the new woman pediatrician. Although, she has had the girl's records for a year and a half now....It was time....You know....
We ordered Chinese food waiting for her prescription, since I had enough time to get Katharine some food and back down the hill to rehearsal. When she got home, sick and miserable. Coughing unproductive. A slight fever and very sore throat. The doctor knew she needs her voice for Brigitta in the Sound of Music opening night Friday! She gave her a Z-pak and told us to get her Delsym cough medicine...I am here to tell you, this shit works! 12 hours with NO coughing. Then this afternoon she finally had a productive cough....She did stay home from school today. Funny thing was it never occurred to me. Her friend said, "Are you going to let her stay home tomorrow?" I thought, "Hell yeah!" Why did this not occur to me? Because, I am lucky to have two very healthy girls who hardly ever miss school. I don't think Zoe has missed a day since third grade, her first year here in town! She is now a freshman. And, frankly, I cannot remember the last day Katharine has missed. Last year though, at some point.
This was while I was trying to get all the troop orders entered into the website by the cut off time. I got home to a reprisal. Which was inevitable for their computer glitch!
Today, I went to get Katharine's friend at school, after I picked up Zoe. Katharine wanted to come. I told her no way, she missed school. So, I pick up her friend and as soon as I pull into the driveway, Kate is out there asking why I did not pick up her friend that we started car pooling with last week...Oh SHIT....I forgot your friend...I went back to the school and took her home. I apologized profusely. Too much going on!
Then my neighbor, who lives with her daughter and her parents, asked if her daughter could come over for a half hour or so until her grandmother got home from teaching...Of course. Her grandmother calls and sounds dead tired. She is a music teacher at an elementary school. I told her to have a rest and I would send her granddaughter home after while. Then I get a call from my friend, who's child I am watching and she says, "So, you are making my daughter do her homework and giving my mother a rest?" I said, "Yes, your mother sounded so tired." Grandma called an hour or so later and asked her granddaughter if she was ready to come home. Grandma did not have to help her with homework and that was good. And she had a blast watching the girls and their comedy routines!
My friend's father, who was a computer etc., salesman opted out. Jobs were too difficult to get anymore. He has been going to school to be an x-ray technician. All he needs now is his license. Something new. He applied for a job with FEMA and got it. Pays well, twelve hours, six days a week. He will be a building inspector in New Orleans. He will be gone for four months and come home one weekend a month. It will be hard on them as he and his wife have never been separated this long. But, financially, it will be good for them, especially so close to retirement.
There really is not much more I can share and aren't you lucky for that....I am okay. Hanging in there. Still have the cysts. I do have another exam soon. But, the cancer test was good. I do have that to be thankful about! As miserable as I was, waiting for the results....Never go to the doctor on a Friday...Good lesson!
While I am at it....I would like to thank all of you for your birthday wishes! It was a fun birthday and I will tell more later, if you can stand it!!!
Sunday, October 09, 2005
My Birthday Yesterday
What a great day. My husband and girls worked so hard to give me a perfect day. Poor David got a half cup of coffee, before he and Zoe were out the door.
Katharine got up and has an ongoing nasty cough. She opens in the Sound of Music of Friday and we need to get rid of her cough. I heard the word Airborn twice yesterday. Anybody know what that is? First, my friend mentioned it for her daughter and then somebody told Katharine to take some at rehearsal....
We met my friend and her daughter at a local Mexican restaurant and had a very nice time. Six of us and when my friend asked for more chips, the waiter said with disdain, "MORE chips?" Never have I heard that at a Mexican restaurant! My friend said, "Well, there are SIX of us!" Good for her!
Lunch was good. David commited the ultimate crime. He told the waiter waiter it was my birthday and they all brought flan and sang happy birthday and after they were done, all the people around us clapped, and my face was red...UGH
We got home long enough for Katharine to get ready for rehearsal. And David offered to go to Costco for me. He and Zoe left for Costco and to drop off Katharine and I took a NAP!!! When I got up, they were back and everything was put away. They were starting to make my birthday cake and had to go get Katharine.
My cousins Ronnie, Pam and Lindsay arrived. David and Zoe got back and continued in the kitchen. Made a very nice cake, and a surprise dinner. The surprise dinner was homemade lasagna and garlic bread. Yummy...The kids were giggling and the adults were talking and we just had a really nice time...At least I did. Oh, when cake was served, they brought out two. They were making a yellow cake and asked me what kind I wanted, I said, "Well looks like I want a yellow cake." They surprised me with a store bought chocolate cake as well.
I got a book from a friend that I wanted. Diana Gabaldon's newest. I got a hibiscus sticker for the back of my car from Katharine. David got me a big turquoise bag that I had eyed at lunch time. Ronnie and Pam got me a bottle of 15 year old scotch and Zoe gave me lavender lotion and a padded door hanger that says, "Shh Baby Sleeping." Got the biggest laugh for the night!! I was quite funny.
And I got lots of cards and ecards and emails from blogger friends too. Thank you all. I have updated my profile to 46 from 45!
I am glad birthdays come once a year! It was a very long, but good day. Was in bed by midnight. I watched the clock turn to October 9th! My birthday officially over, I went to sleep!
Katharine got up and has an ongoing nasty cough. She opens in the Sound of Music of Friday and we need to get rid of her cough. I heard the word Airborn twice yesterday. Anybody know what that is? First, my friend mentioned it for her daughter and then somebody told Katharine to take some at rehearsal....
We met my friend and her daughter at a local Mexican restaurant and had a very nice time. Six of us and when my friend asked for more chips, the waiter said with disdain, "MORE chips?" Never have I heard that at a Mexican restaurant! My friend said, "Well, there are SIX of us!" Good for her!
Lunch was good. David commited the ultimate crime. He told the waiter waiter it was my birthday and they all brought flan and sang happy birthday and after they were done, all the people around us clapped, and my face was red...UGH
We got home long enough for Katharine to get ready for rehearsal. And David offered to go to Costco for me. He and Zoe left for Costco and to drop off Katharine and I took a NAP!!! When I got up, they were back and everything was put away. They were starting to make my birthday cake and had to go get Katharine.
My cousins Ronnie, Pam and Lindsay arrived. David and Zoe got back and continued in the kitchen. Made a very nice cake, and a surprise dinner. The surprise dinner was homemade lasagna and garlic bread. Yummy...The kids were giggling and the adults were talking and we just had a really nice time...At least I did. Oh, when cake was served, they brought out two. They were making a yellow cake and asked me what kind I wanted, I said, "Well looks like I want a yellow cake." They surprised me with a store bought chocolate cake as well.
I got a book from a friend that I wanted. Diana Gabaldon's newest. I got a hibiscus sticker for the back of my car from Katharine. David got me a big turquoise bag that I had eyed at lunch time. Ronnie and Pam got me a bottle of 15 year old scotch and Zoe gave me lavender lotion and a padded door hanger that says, "Shh Baby Sleeping." Got the biggest laugh for the night!! I was quite funny.
And I got lots of cards and ecards and emails from blogger friends too. Thank you all. I have updated my profile to 46 from 45!
I am glad birthdays come once a year! It was a very long, but good day. Was in bed by midnight. I watched the clock turn to October 9th! My birthday officially over, I went to sleep!
Friday, October 07, 2005
THE REAL LAGUNA BEACH
There is a trampy TV show on MTV called, Laguna Beach, The Real Orange County...This show honestly represents a very small portion of our town. There are the, "I am so rich that I never have to ask the price of anything," people in Laguna Beach. The majority do not buy Hummers for their sixteen year old kids. Some do, and they are being portrayed as the REAL Laguna Beach?
This bothers me a great deal. My kids go to school with these kids. Although, they do not watch the show, nor do they expect the world to be bought for them, they live in this town and I hate to see the kind of reputation that this show is touting.
My twelve year old has a couple of friends who have moved away and became instant "celebrity-like" people because the kids couldn't believe they came from Laguna Beach. These are good girls and now they have to prove they are not like the spoiled, thong showing, crack baring girls on the show. And, the show was just picked up for a third season. By the way, at least I can say for the show, that it does film in the town. The OC is taped in Malibu, which is in LA county. What a crock!
I know there are a lot of people who like it. My sixteen year old Christian niece, loves this show. My brother told me this today and I was shocked. How can people enjoy watching a bunch of spoiled kids. Not to mention, non actors. I am not saying they are bad kids, I have only seen the show twice. Just to try and understand the draw. They used to tape at the high school where Zoe goes, the only one in town, but they were banned the first year. Now they shoot all around town. Katharine, who wants to be an actress when she grows up, likes to watch it being taped. She recognizes the girls who are on the show, out and about. Maybe she has seen more of it than I know. But, I am not worried, because she is a very grounded kid. Maybe these other kids are as well. I don't know, but I am about to give you an example of how the REAL Laguna Beach is!
Today, I spent the morning on the phone with moms who were inputting Girl Scout Nut Sales into the computer. I walked them thru, step by step. They seemed surprised by my taking the time to hang on the phone and do this. My reasoning was that I am the Manager and want to do a good job and second, I would rather they do it right and not for me to have to go back and figure out where they went wrong. Plus, I really didn't mind. I have never met some of these troop nut moms and I wanted to get to know them a bit. I was feeling like every last one was flaky a week or so ago, but they seem to be coming around and doing a good job, which helps me out a great deal! Anyhow, I digress.
About 11:00 my neighbor called and told me she lost her car keys in the sand. I asked her what she wanted me to do. I know where they keep the spare keys, mine included, but she wasn't sure where the spare keys were, so could I come down and get her. Turns out she and a friend were down there with two little sweet dogs. I retrieved them and dropped of the friend first and then my neighbor ran in her house to get her keys. I took her back down to her car. Problem solved. Last week she was at work and her daughter locked herself out of her bedroom and my neighbor had the key with her at work. Hub and I drove to her work and got the key and we dropped it next door. I do this because they are good neighbors and I want to be one too. When I had to go to the ER, I called her and she took me, hung out with me and picked me up five hours later without skipping a beat. When I had pneumonia once, the same thing. She is just there.
On my way down the hill, I got behind two cars going very slowly. I noticed a brown, medium sized dog running down the road on the opposite side, into oncoming traffic. Luckily, the first car got him off to the side. She got out of the car and called him, he took off again. She got back in her car as we followed slowly behind her. Eventually, there were two more cars behind me, driving off to the right and left of me to see what the hold up is. I was worried one would be impatient, try to pass and hit the scared dog. Again, the first car caught up with the dog, the woman got out and called him, and he took off running again. I wondered how long this would go on. It would have been funny, if the dog were not in danger of being hit. The dog made a turn down a canyon road and the first woman pulled over. The woman in front of me drove on. I stopped and asked the woman if it was her dog. She told me no, it was her neighbor's and the dog was really upset when her neighbor left with her other dog to go to the vet. She was beside herself. I let her pass in front of me, and told her I would call animal control to come up and help her. I drove on down to get my neighbor. I looked behind me and the two cars, had pulled over to opposite sides of the road. Both had dogs in their cars and both got out to help the woman look for her neighbor's dog....I have goosebumps just thinking about this again. I felt so proud to live in a community like this. Then I thought to myself, what a flake I am, still in my pj's, not getting out to help the poor woman. Had I been clothed and not going to pick up my neighbor with the lost keys, would I have been kind enough to get out and help this poor distraught woman? Or would I have just called Animal Control to come up and help her? I guess I will never know. However, I would like to think I would have pulled over and helped her search for the scared doggy!
I did see her on the way back up the hill the first time and she did have a man in uniform walking with her. I could tell by the way she was gesturing that she hadn't found the poor little guy or gal yet....I hope she did. We are surrounded by canyons and the poor thing was probably resting in the shade. Hopefully when it got rested, it came out from hiding to get some water and somebody found it!
This is the REAL LAGUNA BEACH!!!
This bothers me a great deal. My kids go to school with these kids. Although, they do not watch the show, nor do they expect the world to be bought for them, they live in this town and I hate to see the kind of reputation that this show is touting.
My twelve year old has a couple of friends who have moved away and became instant "celebrity-like" people because the kids couldn't believe they came from Laguna Beach. These are good girls and now they have to prove they are not like the spoiled, thong showing, crack baring girls on the show. And, the show was just picked up for a third season. By the way, at least I can say for the show, that it does film in the town. The OC is taped in Malibu, which is in LA county. What a crock!
I know there are a lot of people who like it. My sixteen year old Christian niece, loves this show. My brother told me this today and I was shocked. How can people enjoy watching a bunch of spoiled kids. Not to mention, non actors. I am not saying they are bad kids, I have only seen the show twice. Just to try and understand the draw. They used to tape at the high school where Zoe goes, the only one in town, but they were banned the first year. Now they shoot all around town. Katharine, who wants to be an actress when she grows up, likes to watch it being taped. She recognizes the girls who are on the show, out and about. Maybe she has seen more of it than I know. But, I am not worried, because she is a very grounded kid. Maybe these other kids are as well. I don't know, but I am about to give you an example of how the REAL Laguna Beach is!
Today, I spent the morning on the phone with moms who were inputting Girl Scout Nut Sales into the computer. I walked them thru, step by step. They seemed surprised by my taking the time to hang on the phone and do this. My reasoning was that I am the Manager and want to do a good job and second, I would rather they do it right and not for me to have to go back and figure out where they went wrong. Plus, I really didn't mind. I have never met some of these troop nut moms and I wanted to get to know them a bit. I was feeling like every last one was flaky a week or so ago, but they seem to be coming around and doing a good job, which helps me out a great deal! Anyhow, I digress.
About 11:00 my neighbor called and told me she lost her car keys in the sand. I asked her what she wanted me to do. I know where they keep the spare keys, mine included, but she wasn't sure where the spare keys were, so could I come down and get her. Turns out she and a friend were down there with two little sweet dogs. I retrieved them and dropped of the friend first and then my neighbor ran in her house to get her keys. I took her back down to her car. Problem solved. Last week she was at work and her daughter locked herself out of her bedroom and my neighbor had the key with her at work. Hub and I drove to her work and got the key and we dropped it next door. I do this because they are good neighbors and I want to be one too. When I had to go to the ER, I called her and she took me, hung out with me and picked me up five hours later without skipping a beat. When I had pneumonia once, the same thing. She is just there.
On my way down the hill, I got behind two cars going very slowly. I noticed a brown, medium sized dog running down the road on the opposite side, into oncoming traffic. Luckily, the first car got him off to the side. She got out of the car and called him, he took off again. She got back in her car as we followed slowly behind her. Eventually, there were two more cars behind me, driving off to the right and left of me to see what the hold up is. I was worried one would be impatient, try to pass and hit the scared dog. Again, the first car caught up with the dog, the woman got out and called him, and he took off running again. I wondered how long this would go on. It would have been funny, if the dog were not in danger of being hit. The dog made a turn down a canyon road and the first woman pulled over. The woman in front of me drove on. I stopped and asked the woman if it was her dog. She told me no, it was her neighbor's and the dog was really upset when her neighbor left with her other dog to go to the vet. She was beside herself. I let her pass in front of me, and told her I would call animal control to come up and help her. I drove on down to get my neighbor. I looked behind me and the two cars, had pulled over to opposite sides of the road. Both had dogs in their cars and both got out to help the woman look for her neighbor's dog....I have goosebumps just thinking about this again. I felt so proud to live in a community like this. Then I thought to myself, what a flake I am, still in my pj's, not getting out to help the poor woman. Had I been clothed and not going to pick up my neighbor with the lost keys, would I have been kind enough to get out and help this poor distraught woman? Or would I have just called Animal Control to come up and help her? I guess I will never know. However, I would like to think I would have pulled over and helped her search for the scared doggy!
I did see her on the way back up the hill the first time and she did have a man in uniform walking with her. I could tell by the way she was gesturing that she hadn't found the poor little guy or gal yet....I hope she did. We are surrounded by canyons and the poor thing was probably resting in the shade. Hopefully when it got rested, it came out from hiding to get some water and somebody found it!
This is the REAL LAGUNA BEACH!!!
Thursday, October 06, 2005
One Good DYE Job
I had a day of beauty in our swealtering heat yesterday. I have not had my hair cut or dyed since June. And it was getting mighty white! I had to leave it curly to reveal less of the gray.
I got a nice new color, with quite a bit of red, that really shows more in the sunshine. I got a little different cut than usual. And I got waxed...Never a fun experience, but the results are what really matter....
We had a hot windy day yesterday, and we will have another today. Except today we can smell the smoke from a fire in a neighboring county. It will make a fantastic sunset. And so far, no lives or structures have been lost, which is great. I am in awe of the firefighters lately. They did an amazing job in LA last week saving thousands of homes. I hope this is a sign of how all fires will be judged. This is a very dangerous time of year to live in the foothills and mountains. Last year we had fires to the north, south and east of us, but Orange County was spared. The sky was smokey for weeks. This past winter we had thirty inches of rain, which in turn makes more vegetation capable of fueling very large fires. Our normal rainfall is about twelve inches a year. So, let's hope one idiot doesn't toss a cigarette out of the window of their car, while driving in hazardous areas.
Two of my friends are taking me to lunch today. That should be fun. I have some great friends who make me laugh a lot. We see each other often, or talk on the phone a lot, but we don't get to sit and BS as much as we used to. One friend has moved her daughter to a different school. So, I see her even less, and I miss seeing her. The school is good for her daughter, who wants to be and artist. The school is for artists and performing artists of all kinds. But, it is about a forty-five minute drive each way, in heavy traffic. That is taking it's toll, but I think they will stay there for the next six years anyhow. Maybe at some point move closer to the school.
That is about it for today...Off and running. Taking one to school and the other is still sleeping, because Thursday and Friday, she goes in an hour later than the other days. And for the one I am taking now, she goes in at 9:10 on Friday, so both can sleep in tomorrow. And I can drive one then the other at different times again, and turn around and do the reverse in the afternoon. I don't mind though. I would rather do the driving to make sure they get to where they need to be...
I feel better. It is amazing how one good dye job can make your whole day! Or mine in this case.
I got a nice new color, with quite a bit of red, that really shows more in the sunshine. I got a little different cut than usual. And I got waxed...Never a fun experience, but the results are what really matter....
We had a hot windy day yesterday, and we will have another today. Except today we can smell the smoke from a fire in a neighboring county. It will make a fantastic sunset. And so far, no lives or structures have been lost, which is great. I am in awe of the firefighters lately. They did an amazing job in LA last week saving thousands of homes. I hope this is a sign of how all fires will be judged. This is a very dangerous time of year to live in the foothills and mountains. Last year we had fires to the north, south and east of us, but Orange County was spared. The sky was smokey for weeks. This past winter we had thirty inches of rain, which in turn makes more vegetation capable of fueling very large fires. Our normal rainfall is about twelve inches a year. So, let's hope one idiot doesn't toss a cigarette out of the window of their car, while driving in hazardous areas.
Two of my friends are taking me to lunch today. That should be fun. I have some great friends who make me laugh a lot. We see each other often, or talk on the phone a lot, but we don't get to sit and BS as much as we used to. One friend has moved her daughter to a different school. So, I see her even less, and I miss seeing her. The school is good for her daughter, who wants to be and artist. The school is for artists and performing artists of all kinds. But, it is about a forty-five minute drive each way, in heavy traffic. That is taking it's toll, but I think they will stay there for the next six years anyhow. Maybe at some point move closer to the school.
That is about it for today...Off and running. Taking one to school and the other is still sleeping, because Thursday and Friday, she goes in an hour later than the other days. And for the one I am taking now, she goes in at 9:10 on Friday, so both can sleep in tomorrow. And I can drive one then the other at different times again, and turn around and do the reverse in the afternoon. I don't mind though. I would rather do the driving to make sure they get to where they need to be...
I feel better. It is amazing how one good dye job can make your whole day! Or mine in this case.
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