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!

Rain, It really rained!

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

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

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

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

Happy hump day.....

Katharine

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






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

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

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






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






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

Chili Verde Burrito

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Serve with Mexican rice and refried beans.

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

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

To make salsa,

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

Mix together and serve with chips.

Made Good Time

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Off to read blogs!

NO MORE COOKIES

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

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

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

Happy Hump Day!

In Nine Months

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great Sunday!

This, That and That

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blue Cheese Scalloped Potatoes

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

Blue Cheese Scalloped Potatoes

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

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

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

Repeat this process three or four layers thick.

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

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

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

I thought I was so smart!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Day Eighteen

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

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

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



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

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

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

GM vs Bill Gates

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


General Motors vs Bill Gates

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

Patriot's Day Parade

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

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

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

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

Spoiler

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

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

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

Get Certifiied

Happy March!

Clash Day

Crazy Hair Day too


Clash Day


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

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


Impending Rain

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

Girl Scout Cookies Are Coming

Thin Mints

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

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

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

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

*******

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

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

BRONCHITIS

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

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

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

Hope you are all well and staying healthy!

UPDATE

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

Late Notice, etc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not Much Going On

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

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

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

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

Survived the Sleepover

All asleep this morning

Katharine awake, while the rest saw logs

Katharine modeling with all the other girls

Look at this gold metalic purse

opening gifts

Here we begin

Blowing out candles

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

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

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

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

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

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

Where's Winter?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Somebody please do a rain dance for us!

Super Bowl, Super Nachos, Stuff

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Super Bowl and I hope your team wins!

Our 16th Wedding Anniversary

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Anniversary David. I love you.

Finally, Brokeback Mountain

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NO SCHOOL!!

No school today. Getting ready for the new term. Finals are over. Grades posted so far are As. I love that they post the grades online and the assignments as well. Each one graded. The report cards are now online and if you want a hard copy, you must ask the office. No way can my kids cut school the way I did! No way can they get away without doing homework either. Not that they would try that!

Katharine got back last night from the mountains. They got to sled on the man made snow. They went ice skating and shopping too. They had a nice weekend.

Zoe and David went to see a movie yesterday. I stayed home and did some laundry and watched Kill Bill. I never thought I would watch Kill Bill. I was not going to watch Kill Bill Volume 2, but I had to. The first one left a cliffhanger! Strange movies, both. So Quentin Tarantino!

Today, Katharine and a group of friends are going to Boomers. Video games, laser tag, boats and cars to ride. A wall to climb. A little Las Vegas for kids really. They get addicted to collecting as many tickets as they can while playing the video games. And what do they get for all their time and efforts? Toys. Cheap toys too. They should get cash back. Oh, that would be illegal.

I am going with a group of friends to see Brokeback Mountain at 4:00. Then we are going to have dinner and discuss the movie. Kind of like a book club! It should be fun. I need to put something in the crock pot for the kids to eat.

Oh, did I mention we are shooting for a Friday, this week, birthday sleepover for Katharine's 13th birthday. It is going to be a very busy week!

Random

I watched Oprah with James Frey yesterday. It was very uncomfortable to watch. She was embarrassed. He is a liar. His answers made no sense for one who is such a good fabricator. I have not read A Million Little Pieces. I wonder what possesses somebody to do what he did. Did he actually make all that stuff up to make the book better? Did his publisher push for him to make it more sensational? Did they actually think they would not be found out? My impression of James Frey is that he is simple. I wonder who really wrote the book. I cannot believe they are going to release another batch of books with a disclaimer. Why didn't they just call it a work of fiction? What do millions of people feel who have read his book, now that they know it is not a memoir? I give him credit for going on TV in front of millions of people and enduring Oprah's wrath. On the other hand, one reason I think he is simple, is because he has gone on TV to say that he didn't lie and not only to Oprah, but to Larry King as well. What will he do with all those millions he has made, thanks to Oprah? What are the chances of him every penning another book and getting it published? Probably pretty good. He can come clean again, this time about lying and the dark secrets of publishing companies.

Finals this week for the girls. They have gone pretty well. Today is the last day. It has been a busy couple of weeks and by yesterday an ailing Katharine needed to just stop! No lunch with a friend. No going to the school to see a talent show rehearsal. She needed to stay put on the couch and do absolutely nothing. After about three hours of this, she was better. Her throat still hurt and she was still coughing, but she had some energy back. She had to study, do some laundry and pack for a weekend in the mountains with her girl scout troop. No rain here means no snow there. Except for the man made stuff. It is cold enough for that at least. I am sure they will have a good time.

We never made it to Brokeback Mountain. We have all rescheduled for Monday. Monday is a day off school. I would like to see some more Oscar contenders before the big show.

Local NPR is doing their fund raising, it is annoying me. I know they need to do it, still, it annoys me. I need to go to another radio station for the next two weeks. Thankfully, they do not have their fund drives simultaneously.

I finally got the incentives (prizes) for the nut sale for girl scouts, which was back in October. Talk about slow. I now have them in troop order and really want them out of my house! I have received too many emails from troops asking for them. As if I got them and stashed them until I felt like giving them out! And 8 items belonging to five troops are on back order! What a pain in the ass. To top it off, cookie sales have begun! Only the preorder right now. Nobody really likes the preorder part. I guess the scouts do it so they know how many cookies to have baked. Still, people like instant gratification. Pay for cookies and receive cookies. That begins in a few weeks. You will see them all over. Booth sales outside stores and other locations, only lasts two weeks. After being bombarded every place one goes, two weeks is plenty long. Until next year.

Katharine will be 13 next week and is still stressing about what she can do for her birthday. Apparently, her friends want her to have another sleep over. She did that the past two years. She is still undecided. Now we will have two official teenagers in the house. They are good kids.

Last night I had a beautiful dream that our garage was clean and piles of laundry were all washed and put away. Then I woke up.

Happy Friday.

My New Vacuum

Sadly, nothing better to write about today than my new vacuum!

My new vacuum is a Dyson. After figuring out how it went together yesterday, I couldn't wait to try it out.

It is amazing. It truly sucks! The bare floor tool has so much suction that it was difficult to pick up and move. I ended up sliding it instead. It picked up microscopic pieces of dirt. I just know it did. Dog hair too. I could see that.

I was using in on the upper windows and wood beams to remove webs. Yes, I did say webs. It is a wood house and we get lots of those. None of my other vacuums would even reach them without a ladder. This vacuum has an extra long hose and a wand to attach making it even longer. And the cord is long enough, keeping me from changing plugs!

As I was using it, I thought to myself, I like playing with my new vacuum. Then thought better of using the word play in the same sentence with vacuum. One could infer that I actually like vacuuming. I may have yesterday and maybe will a few more times, but I don't want to be the only person who vacuums in this house. It was simply because it was new and I wanted to try all the bells and whistles. Oh, and get rid of the webs.

The vacuum is an upright. Purple and scarlet. It is low enough with the right attachment on the end of the hose for it to go under most of the furniture. I like that. The bin comes off to toss out whatever gets sucked in. No bags. I like that too. It does have a filter that should be washed out once every six months. It says lifetime. We shall see.

My friend called yesterday and started a conversation as if I knew what she was talking about. Then she said, "You haven't read any of my emails!" I told her, "No, I have been vacuuming." As if I was having a great time. I was just still in new toy mode.

When I asked David what he thought about me buying this expensive vacuum, he told me, "Well, we do have an anniversary coming up." Think he means it? I do!

I thoroughly researched this vacuum. I found it on overstock.com for $130 less than the other stores. Free shipping too. I read more than fifty reviews. A five star rating from the reviews. People who didn't know their pets shed found out they did. Others vacuumed with their old vacuum first and then went back thru with the Dyson and were amazed at how much more it picked up. A couple did complain that it was a bit heavier than the ones they had and that it is not self propelled.

I realize this sounds like an add for Dyson. Perhaps it is. I just know that this machine rocks!

I had a terrible night sleep last night. My feet were hot and I could not keep them still. So, after some vacuuming this morning I may just take a nap! Except I am supposed to go see Brokeback Mountain. No nap.

Scrabble

I have not played Scrabble for years because I got burned out on playing it with an ex-boyfriend years ago. We recently purchased one and have been playing. We played the other night and it was my first time against the hub. He told me to watch and learn. He kicked my ass.

We just finished and I beat him! I needed ten points to win and I got seventeen! I never thought I could beat him with his knowledge of words and their origins. But, I did. And that makes me the winner!

The End

Time To Slow Down

This past week had been insanely busy. Running around constantly at a moment's notice to get the girls somewhere or to get them something they needed for school. This was the week before finals. It seemed to me that the high school teachers were hurrying to get all the curriculum that they had yet to teach this term stuffed into this past week, before finals. Unfair to the students and parents as well.

I believe that next weeks finals will be an easier week than this one was. Minimum days for both the middle and high schools and then they have the next Monday off. Then in two weeks, it is ski week and they are off for a week! Seems like they just got back from Christmas break! I mean, I still have my Christmas lights up. (I am doing it for the anal creepy neighbor's sake. At least that is what I keep telling myself) I am pretty sure these kids have less school days than we had when I was in school. Although, I will admit, they do work harder and have much more homework than they had when I was their age.

It feels like we are running all the time. My wonderful friend who moved from Laguna about two years ago, I finally got to see on Friday. I gave her the Christmas gifts I had been holding onto for her and the family. We got ours too. That was fun to open more gifts yesterday. We finally had her birthday lunch and another friend's birthday lunch combined on Friday. The other friend's birthday was in December! We don't see each other nearly as often as we should. Then when we do, we both race home to pick up kids. Although, it was Jami who had to race home 60 miles south of us. This time she came up here. I only had to go up the hill.

When we are in Huahine and spending days and nights together for weeks, we promise we will see each other more. We don't. We need to slow down and make the time! Seems that when we do, something comes up. One crisis or another! I miss her so much. One of these days I am going to go down to her house in my pjs just to have coffee with her like old times here in town, after we dropped off the kids!

My other friend Jana, lives about 15 minutes from here. We exchange multiple emails through out the day and talk on the phone some nights. We may not see each other, but we are in constant contact. I met her at 8:00 this morning! Saturday morning. My family were not all up yet and her daughter was still asleep too. It was cold, at least to us here in sunny California, it was cold! It was 33 in the canyon this morning!

Jana and I were going to meet in Crystal Cove. There is a Starbucks and a Trader Joe's there and it would have been perfect except for the Ferrari show in the parking lot. We ended up at a bakery in town and leisurely had quiet time for just the two of us to talk. No interruptions from dogs, kids or phones. Then we went shopping and she bought a bunch of stuff. I bought nothing! There is a store here in town called Fresh Produce. It is their original store which turned twenty a couple of years ago. I have been such a good customer in the past that they call me to tell me when they have new shipments or a sale that I should know about. I got that call last week. Jana got a bunch of stuff at least 50% off. I already had most of what I wanted from what they currently have, but she told me a new shipment is coming in and showed me a green that I just love. I will get something in that color when she calls. She will put my size on hold for me too! Such fun to live in a small town and get that kind of service!

Jana and I went to another store. Beautiful stuff, tropical in nature, but way over priced. Jana is my Martha Stewart friend. She saw some mirrors with sea shells and said she could go home and do that. Then a very expensive bed had the head board that she loved and she decided she would go home and make one for her daughter. Hard to explain what it looked like, but it had bamboo frame in black and woven material across the face of the headboard. I was not sure if she was headed home or to Home Depot after we parted ways. She made her own headboard. It looks like a picket fence. Very cute and then she decorated her room with that piece in mind. I am in awe of her abilities and visions!

She also let me borrow a tape of the first night of the new season of 24! I was basically distraught that I missed the first two hour show, kind of important, I sucked it up and I figured I would just watch the second night. A coworker of Jana's taped it and so now I will be able to see the beginning. I am rather stoked about that. This is supposed to be the best season yet, though it is hard to imagine it can be any better.

Two hours with Jana this morning. About the same with Jami and Pat on Friday. Just to slow down and take the time for a visit or two is such a relaxing thing to do. We should all do it more!

Tagged

Tagged by Bonny. Thanks Bonn.

Four Jobs I've Had
1. Worked at Import Store for a couple of months at 14.
2. Winchell's Donuts, made donuts & coffee and sold them for three years.
3. Made circuit boards and ended up Purchasing Manager for ten years.
4. Bartender, made drinks for two years, until I broke my ankle and got married.

Four Places I've Lived
1. Santa Ana, CA
2. Huntington Beach, CA
3. Irvine, CA
4. Laguna Beach, CA

Movies I'd Watch Again
1. Almost Famous
2. Spanglish
3. Crash
4. Bad Santa

TV Shows I love to watch
1. House
2. 24
3. Apprentice
4. The L Word

Four of my favourite foods
1. Chicken and homemade noodles
2. Anything Mexican
3. Fresh hot bread
4. Good French Onion Soup (like mine)

Four places I'd rather be right now
1. In bed
2. On the beach in Tahiti (very relaxing)
3. Fishing
4. Connecticut

Four Bloggers I'd like to Tag
1. Sarah
2 Jan
3. Alan
4. Zbjernak
or anybody else who wants to play. I know some who won't! LOL

This is too funny

I read this on CNN this morning and got a good chuckle. This is not exactly as it was written. I have summarized, because I don't have much time this morning and I don't want to be accused of plagiarism. LOL

An English man found out his girlfriend was having an affair. He and his girlfriend were sitting on the sofa when his parrot Ziggy said, "I love you Gary." The man's name is Chris. He didn't know what to think when he heard the parrot say, "Hiya Gary," which was how the girlfriend answered the phone when he called.

Chris saw how embarrassed his girlfriend was and figured out she was having an affair. She admitted to a four month affair with a co-worker, using the flat.

Chris said he was not sad to see his ex-girlfriend leave, but he is heartbroken that he no longer has Ziggy. He had him for eight years. Chris said, "It was too painful to hear the Ziggy keep calling out Gary's name." He made sure the Ziggy went to a good home.

The ex-girlfriend said, "I'm not proud of what I did but I'm sure Chris would be the first to admit we were having problems. She added, "I was surprised to hear that Chris got rid of that bird, he spent more time talking to him, than me."

We Do Have A Cat

Yesterday Charlie went for a bath and a pedicure. While he was out, we brought up Patric the cat. No k, just Patric. Zoe gave him the name and the spelling.

Patric is a big furry orange cat. He used to have free rein of the house. Once Charlie got too big for his crate, which he slept in at night, Patric took to the lower level of the house, where all the bedrooms are. We were sad for him at first, but he has all the comforts he needs. He is an indoor cat. We have coyotes around here.

I don't have a photo of him on my new computer cuz the photos didn't migrate with the rest of the stuff. I am sure somebody in the family will send me a photo to upload. I will also learn how to get those photos before the old laptop goes to the boneyard.

Patric used to sit under a plant and try to get the birds around their feeder. We made sure he had a bell on his collar so he would scare the birds, but not eat them. He loves to hunt.

While Charlie was gone yesterday Zoe brought him up and he sniffed everything single plant on the deck. He was very nervous and listening for the dog. Charlie was supposed to be gone for hours, but Patric didn't know that. He smelled the dog all over the place. He was having a good time checking things out. His tail was wagging. He was so happy.

Then Hub called. He and Charlie were on their way home. Zoe got Pat the cat and took him back downstairs. He let out a couple of cries and we felt sorry for him. He came back upstairs and went out onto the deck again. About that time, Hub arrives with a clean Charlie. I shut the open door to the deck. Patric knew Charlie was home and freaks. Charlie saw Patric out on the deck and just looked, didn't bark. David and Zoe tried to get Charlie into the bathroom so Patric could go back down to his domain, which is gated at the bottom of the stairs.

When the attempt at getting Charlie to chill in the bathroom failed, Hub just held the leash and I opened the door. Patric came in and went to the stairs. He was unsure if he would go down until we let Charlie off the leash.

Once Patric was downstairs, Charlie went all around smelling every where the Patric had been.

Zoe was hoping that Patric would have enough fun upstairs that he would confront his hate, I mean fear, of Charlie and come up more often. Who knows, it could happen!

Friday the 13th and My Brother Turns 50!

I grew up hearing how wonderful Friday the 13th is because my brother was born on this day, a half century ago! My friends always had their superstitious feelings about this day. I suppose that is why I am not bothered by a black cat crossing my path either. I had a black cat and now there are two in the neighborhood. What kind of day would I have if every time I saw those kitties, I thought it was bad luck?

I walk on cracks, although I don't allow my children to! Not really. I don't mind walking under a ladder (provided it is tall enough) or opening an umbrella inside either. I am not fond of those emails that say I will have bad luck if I don't foward them. In fact, I dislike the ones that say something good will happen to me if I forward it to ten or so people, just as much.

My brother is not real happy about turning 50. Can't say that I blame him, I will be there in four years myself. I am hoping that I will be happy to turn 50! 30 was hard, 40 was a piece of cake. Yes, literally and lots of gifts cuz I threw myself a big shindig.

Of course, hitting 50 is better than the alternative. He is healthy, he has a wonderful loving family and is generally happy. Who can complain about that?

My brother and I are closer now than when we were growing up. I mean, he is four years older. He did have some cute friends though.

Happy Birthday Clark and Happy Friday the 13th to everyone else!

"Mommy can even make the dog feel guilty!"

Apparently, I can make anybody at anytime feel guilty. A gift? I think so! To those I make feel guilty, maybe not so!

Tonight, Charlie got a hold of an expensive tie of hubs. Hub had it nicely folded on the kitchen table. Not lost on Charlie as a meal, he took it out to the deck where Zoe and I were writing thank you notes. We tried to retrieve it, but he would have no part of it. We finally got it away and the tie was ruined. Zoe hung it on a light to show David when he got home from chorus. He saw it and was none too happy. Maybe putting things away would work?

Charlie takes paper towels, food and anything else on the counter that he can get. This includes dollar bills, so far, only ones. We have almost learned to push things back so he cannot get them. Sometimes we fail. You would think the dog grew up with a bunch of other dogs and never got his fair share. We got him at eighteen weeks, and they even called him chunk a monk. He seems to eat everything in sight as if we are starving him, which we most certainly are not!

After Charlie growled at me for trying to save the tie, which I don't tolerate, he let go. No, I didn't smack him, although I did yell at him. I went to another room and I heard Katharine say, "Mommy can even make the dog feel guilty!" I cracked up hearing this and when I came back, I told them, "I have my next post!"

I am not Jewish, but I am an honorary Jewess, according to my sister in law. I don't mean to use guilt as a weapon, but it certainly works. Funny thing is that I truly don't even try. For instance, somebody, of course, unnamed, was going on and on about her day. When I spoke, she cut in. I stopped talking. She told me to finish what I was saying. I declined. She told me that I do that all time and it isn't fair. The way I see it is, if I, or anybody else is talking, the considerate thing to do is listen and then talk. If I am interrupted enough, I finally quit! Not a Jewish thing at all, just a matter of common courtesy.

The stubborn part of me says, " I am so done" and I am. No matter what cries come from anybody. I am just done! If I am not worthy of hearing the first time then, well you know!

"Mommy, Can I Have Some GoGo Boots?"

Katharine: "Mommy, can I have some gogo boots?"
Me: "Katharine, do you realize we just finished with Christmas and you got cowboy boots?"
Katharine: "Yes, but I need these for D's birthday party on Sunday."
Me: "Why do you need gogo boots?"
Katharine: "To go with my gogo outfit."
Me: "Oh, of course."
Katharine: "And I will wear them after the party too!"
Me: "Well, how can I refuse that offer?"

Katharine: "We need to get something for D's birthday."
Me: "How about a scarf?"
Katharine: "We have to get her something better than that!"
Me: "Katharine, she is having 32 kids at her party. I think it will be okay!"
Katharine: "But I am her best friend."
Me: "Is there a rule about how much best friend's spend on bday gifts?"
Katharine: "No, but can I get the gogo boots?"

D turned 13 yesterday and is having a murder mystery party for yes, you read the number correctly, 32 kids. Luckily, D's family owns a restaurant and are having the party there. Katharine is spending the night tonight, by request, to help set up the party and get other things ready tomorrow.

Katharine will be 13 next month. Her last two birthdays were celebrated here at home with numerous girl friends. Lots of pink balloons hanging down from the ceiling with ribbons. All the furniture pushed back to the walls to make way for games and dancing. Lots of games planned, prizes too. Then all the sleeping bags come out. Wall to wall sleeping bags. Then it begins. Sewer Rats. A game that requires all the lights to be turned off and one or two people are "it" or the sewer rats. Lots of screaming and laughter. Sounds like elephants from our bedroom downstairs. Crawling around on the floor, chasing each other or trying to get out of the way. Last year, I told anybody who got scared to go down to Katharine's room. Some did. I was also asked, politely, to go downstairs so they could begin the game.

Katharine came home from school yesterday and told me she had asked for suggestions from her friends about what she should do for her birthday. Seems they want another sleepover. Hmmm. I offered to take her and a friend and drop them at Disneyland for the day! Of course, I would go back and pick them up!

West Virginia

I was elated staying up til the wee hours watching the miracle rescue of twelve surviving miners. Until I heard, "there was a miscommunication," according to the CEO of the mining company. "Only one miner survived and is in critical condition."

My heart go out to the families and friends of the miners that died and to their small community as well. For them to hear that the miners were alive, to give them the miracle of hope they had prayed for and then to take it away three hours later is just incomprehensible to me.

The Last Couple of Days

Front yard & deck after the storm

Salivating at the thought of the kids going back to school? I'm not really. We have had fun the past couple of weeks, especially watching a bunch of movies. I just found out that HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc., all have on demand. I knew that on demand had movies that cost four bucks, but if you have the pay stations, you can not go to on demand and watch them for free whenever you like. And they are yours for twenty-four hours. Stop, go shopping, cook dinner, walk the dog and go back and resume play too. Very cool. I was watching movies on the pay channels that we don't use enough, but they start at odd times and I either missed the first five minutes or go on to another channel. HBO on demand was the best of the lot.

More

We watched Crash. Excellent movie. Loved Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Big Bounce, an Elmore Leonard book, was funny and starred Owen Wilson and Morgan Freeman. Can't go wrong with that pair! Bewitched was surprisingly funny and fun with Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell. Watched other movies too in the past couple of weeks. Fun.

I mentioned I was in a cleaning mode lately. Yesterday was the refrigerator. Top to bottom. Out with the old. Have you ever thought rearranging the shelves would help keep it organized? I have tried that again and again and yesterday I rearranged the shelves and layed out the rules. Leftovers go here. Yogurt, sour cream, jello, small items go on this shelf. No longer under the deli bin where they get lost. That is now reserved for tortillas and basically leftovers. Only the very top shelf is high enough to hold a two liter bottle of seltzer, oj and cranberry juices. The next shelf is for the big Costco size salsa and real maple syrup and mayo, among other things. We are going to make this work!


Front yard and deck

We cleaned out the snack cabinet too. Really, it is a snack cabinet and has been for eight years. Every kid that comes in our house knows where the snacks are. Rolling shelves come out and there are Airheads, licorice, Crackers, Raisins, Cookies, Croutons, Pretzels, Chinese noodles, those sorts of things. We filled up a black trash bag with all the stuff in there yesterday. Out with the old. It got to the point that we were tossing things in there but when the girls wanted a snack, there was nothing to eat! It has already worked. Zoe was looking in there this morning and gazing at what to have. It has not been restocked, but I did know where the Ritz Crackers were. Katharine was impressed by that. LOL

We got the tree out of the house the other night too. Everything looks so much more spacious when the big tree is gone.

Although our weather is nothing like what they are experiencing up in Northern California, we finally got our first real storm of the season. Not a huge rain event, but the wind was downright scary up here in the eucalyptus grove. Our front yard is full of bark that has fallen off the huge trees. We leave it on as was recommended, so they are not the beautifully stripped trunks that we may see around town. We have strips of bark wanting to fall off and it usually takes some good wind and rain for that to happen. The bark protects the trees from three threatening types of bugs, currently eating the eucs for breakfast, lunch and dinner. One kind of Lerp eats just new foilage. Another eats the older leaves and yet another eats anything. I did have to laugh at the creepy neighbor and wonder how he was doing in the storm yesterday. Bark, branches and leaves falling onto his itty bitty house. He has a flat roof and it is new. He was out there in the storm putting plastic on the roof with big river rocks. I was nice enough though, to not tell him those are our rocks! They line our side between our driveways. He was outside raking and put all the bark into a pile that I bet he is taking photos of to show how messy the eucs are! They are known as trash trees and he lives in a eucalyptus grove for cripes sake!

More

Our street and yards are covered with long strips of bark and I am happy to say lots of the blooming flowers are washed off the trees. The flowers looks like snow falling in a light wind. And they make me sneeze! They are very pretty, they make a huge mess and that is okay. Our back deck is a disaster at the moment. There are three umbrellas out there. Two that are rectangular. One is tied up and it fell over a couple of times before I left it on the ground. The other rectangular umbrella never falls, but did yesterday and we lost a mosaic bird bath and a hummingbird feeder. We did close them before they fell. The other umbrella is a standard octagon. I had it up all summer, tilted to keep the morning sun out of our eyes. Locked securely between two eaves, it never moved and I never put it down. Yesterday, Zoe and I decided it should probably be put down and it was a joke watching us in the wind and rain. I had visions of her being taken away in a big gust of wind. The problem was I could not get the umbrella off tilt. So, we took it apart at mid level of the pole and put in on the ground, while wide open. It survived and while I was just putting it back up, I remembered the button to push to put the umbrella off tilt! I will have to get it locked into the eaves again. The heaters fell over, a fan blew over but the house is still standing and no trees fell on us. It was a good day.

These photos are of the front yard and deck. The girls wanted to take photos of me out in the pouring rain while trying to get Charlie to do his business. The creepy neighbor was watching us from his front door. We got soaked but making the kids happy is what I live for...

The gardener comes tomorrow and normally, I would not have him clean up all the mess. However, he is just back from a three week vacation to Mexico. I think he can do the clean up. Plus it is very difficult to clean up with a broom or a rake until it dries out. So, there!

sunrise a couple of days pre-storm