Anger Management or Venting???

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Three More Days

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

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

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

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

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

Another Eight Days

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Just Another Crazy Week

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

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

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

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

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

Nancy Drew

No really, Nancy Drew the sleuth.

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




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




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



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

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

TV

Here is the new one


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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a nice weekend.

HELLO OUT THERE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Mother's Day

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

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

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



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

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

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



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

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



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

I hope you all have a wonderfully lovely day!

Asparagus/Prosciutto Appetizer

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

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

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

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

Geography Today

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

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

Crocodile Attacks Chainsaw

I love these strange but true stories!

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

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

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

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

Neither Buckland nor Brutus were injured.

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

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

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

Last night's American Idol

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

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

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

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

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

Mishmash & A Recipe

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

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

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

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

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

Salmon

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

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

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

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

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

American Inventor

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

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

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

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

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

A VERY Early Morning

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great Tuesday.

Happy Easter and Passover

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Easter and/or Passover to you all.

Convenience fee a rip off

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

My rant for the day.

My Horoscope says....

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

Happy Thursday....

Treading Dangerously

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

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

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

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

No Smoking, Las Vegas, Immigrants

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

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

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

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

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