Today is A New Day!

So much to say and so little time to say it...

2010-07-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

I finally figured out how to reset my password! So here I am again. We just got back from an amazing mini-trip to Yosemite and it was just beautiful! I will post a few pics as soon as I download them from the camera and get them to disk. The waterfalls were still going, the rivers and streams were filled with crystal clear water. The girls got to swim in one of the rivers in Yosemite Valley. We hiked up to Bridalveil Falls and so did everyone else! Too many people there! The road to the Tioga Pass was beautiful and had fewer people. The lakes were breathtaking and with all the snow we had this year, they were full of water! We have to go fishing next time. This was an exploratory trip. Got all our info and we are ready to head back soon! I have been wanting to do the drive through Yosemite for the last few years and finally, we went! So much fun!

Spiders and Scorpions and Centipedes, OH MY!!!

2008-09-27T09:44:00.001-07:00

We have bugs. Lots and lots of bugs. Good bugs, bad bugs, bugs that fly around. Big, bad, ugly bugs. We moved here on March 1. Seven months. We just found a scorpion in the shower this morning. They are fast. It is about 1 1/2 inches long. We found a centipede a few weeks ago next to the front door. Inside the house. It was more than three inches long. It was so gross. All legs and pincers on the back and 1/2 inch feelers on the front. Eww. The scorpion is not quite as creepy, but okay, there should not be scorpions in my house. We have found black widows in the house. And there are regular spiders EVERYWHERE. I am totally fine with all these things being outside. We have three inch long caterpillars on the front porch, but NOT IN THE HOUSE. There is this cool website called whatsthatbug.com and they are located in So. Cal, so I have gone there to find out about the bugs we found. I put the centipede in a container and figured, after the cat had scared it half to death, that it would die soon anyway. I put it in a Ziploc plastic container with the lid on. THREE WEEKS LATER, it was still alive! I figured if it lasted that long it deserved to live. So I released it over the fence into the wild area behind the house. Hopefully it doesn't come back to seek revenge! I didn't realize it had been three weeks until I figured it out after. I wouldn't have kept it in there for that long. We have this thing called an Eye Clops. It basically magnifies things so that you can watch them on TV, at something like 200x magnification. Well, we were planning to look at the centipede, but it didn't die! So much for roaches, I think after a nuclear holocaust, the centipedes will rule the world!

Anyway, so I think I have figured out the reason for all the bugs. Not only the fact that we live two doors down from a wild area, but also because the sprinklers are set to go on three times per day and the grass is so lush that we have toadstools growing in it. I think the bugs are enjoying all the water. Need to cut that down. The owners of the house adjusted the water so that the plants would grow and the bugs are thriving! So I am adjusting it down. And I am going to look into getting an exterminator. It's time.

The Good Dog

2008-07-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

Jenny is our German Shepherd. We used to have two. Schaeffer had to be put down. He was really old. Jenny has had quite the life so far.

We got her three years ago. She was just a few months old and got bit by a rattlesnake that got into our backyard in Lancaster. She almost died. But, with a lot of money, medicine works. She spent the entire weekend going from one hospital to the other (the emergency vet is only open when the regular vet isn't and you have to transport the animal back and forth). This happened on a Friday, at 6:00pm. Anyway, she is fine now and no worse for wear.

Jenny has always been very rambunctious. She was bred specifically to have "high drive", a term used to describe dogs that are to be trained in Schutzhund, the German protection dog training. She was not meant to be a backyard dog. But we didn't have the money to do the training, and so she didn't get it. So, she got busy in the backyard. Destroying everything.
The picnic table. Like a big termite attacked it.
The kids balls that got left out. She shredded them.
The resin chairs (ate them)
The patio supports. She chewed them up.
The sprinklers. She would attack them and rip them out of the ground.
She ruined the grass.
She ruined everything that got in her way.
She jumped on people who went in the backyard.
You know that show, "It's Me Or The Dog", well, that is how I felt.
Until we moved.

I took both dogs to the vet to get Jenny her Rabies shot and have Schaefer put down. Then she came with me to the new house. But this was not the same Jenny that went with me to the vet. This Jenny is pretty close to perfect. She is calm. She is well-behaved. She rolls around on her little tiny patch of grass. She doesn't eat the sprinklers. She even comes in and sleeps in the doggy crate at night and doesn't want to go back outside in the morning. She doesn't jump anymore. Scott had purchased something to get her to stop jumping. He never opened it and took it back the other day. We never used it. Didn't need to.

Maybe it was the wind. Maybe it was seeing her buddy get left at the vet. Maybe it was something else. But Mama is very happy now that we have a well-behaved dog! She still kicks up her heels and runs in circles when she gets excited, but she is really, very good. We were going to find a home for her, but as long as she keeps being good, it isn't a problem. So, I don't know what it was, but we have a very nice dog now. Who knew?

What A Day!

2008-06-27T15:18:00.000-07:00

I don't get out much. Sunday we went to church and had people over in the evening. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we stayed home. Didn't need anything, didn't want to spend the money on gas, etc. Thursday, Jessica called her Papa at 8am and said, "Do you want to go to the beach with us?" How could he say no? So he changed out of his work clothes and put on some shorts and came down the hill. We grabbed a change of clothes and some frozen water bottles and headed out by about 9:30am. We drove out on Hwy 126 through all the orchards and groves (this is a huge agricultural area because of the climate) and as we approached Ventura, we started talking about how long it had been since we had been to Buellton and Solvang and how nice it would be to take a trip up there. Well, we kept going. Had lunch at Pea Soup Anderson's. Dad treated for lunch, so I didn't want to spend a lot. I had the "All-You-Can-Eat" Soup Lunch and the girls had macaroni and cheese and spaghetti. Dad had soup and Chinese Chicken Salad. With our tummies full, we took off. We drove to Solvang and Dad was looking for a place to park. He ended up going through town and we found the Santa Inez Mission, so we stopped to take a look around. They have very beautiful grounds and it was nice and peaceful. Over on one side of the grounds there was a path that had crosses and on each cross was one of the Stations of the Cross, numbered and with a description of what each picture was. It was very nicely done. Jessica stopped to read and look at each of the pictures. We also walked through the rose garden. Beautiful!

Next we were off to wander around the town a bit, so we parked on a side street and got out to look around. We stopped at a wine and cheese shop. I noticed that they had Silver Oak and I asked if they had something similar in taste to the '93 Silver Oak we had just had. He said he didn't have that, but he had the '03 Silver Oak, which was $100 per bottle. Said if he could get it, the '93 would be $240! I told him we didn't have that much money, but was there something for less that would be nice? He suggested the Arnold Palmer Cabernet. $14/bottle. That's better. Dad bought two bottles. Then we went on to a bakery and got the obligatory tub of Solvang butter cookies.

We decided to head back so we would have time to spend at the beach. The girls got to have a little taste of Solvang and the mission and so we had to move on.

Next, on the way back toward Santa Barbara, we stopped at a U-Pick Blueberry Stand. Who knew there was such a thing? They had rows and rows of blueberries and they were good! We didn't pick too many. I think they were affected by the heat waves of the past week and a lot of them were wrinkled. We will have to try again another time. But it was cool! And they were delicious! On we went...

To the beach! There is a little alcove beach next to a park off of Seaward Avenue in Ventura and it is awesome. The grass park has swings and a playground, clean restrooms and a sand beach. There is also a big "ship" parked in the sand and it has a rope thing attached to a cable that you can hold on to and it carries you down to the sand. Really fun! Rebekah was too scared to go on it the last time we were there, but yesterday she did and she loved it! She went on it three times, though the second time she fell off. She didn't get hurt, she just fell in the sand, and she got on it after that, so I guess she was okay. Jess loves it and goes on as much as possible. They also enjoyed getting their feet wet in the ocean and the water was COLD!!! I got my feet wet, too! Then we went to Andria's Seafood Restaurant which has, by far, the best food around there! Best fish and chips I have ever had and then we also tried the onion rings. They were phenomenal. The only bad thing was that we had to split the order four ways and there wasn't enough! So yummy! They also have a fresh fish market at the place and everything is fresh!

We stopped for gas (Dad's little Saturn got 35mpg!) and then we hit a veg./fruit stand on the way home. Got oranges, grapefruit, tomatoes, bananas, strawberries, cucumbers, plums and zucchini. And peanuts in the shell for Jessica. She loves those. And then, we headed for home. After the delay because of an accident on the 126, we got home at about 8:45pm. The girls were ready for bed! Kissed and hugged Papa goodbye and kissed and hugged Daddy goodnight and they were off to bed. What a fun day! I took the disposable camera, so when I get the pics developed, I will post some.

So, we have this wine...

2008-06-23T23:35:00.000-07:00

I know very, very little about wine. Like, some are red, some are white, some are sweet and some are not. That about covers it. Well, last night we had some people over from church. So our priest's wife and I go into the family room to see if we have any wines that look appealing. I start reading off names to her and she says, "No, that's sweet...no, that's sweet." I said, "Silver Oak". She says, "That is an expensive wine!" Apparently they had this particular wine at the home of some people that know wine and it was good. And expensive. We picked it up at a winery in Las Vegas, I believe it was the wine cellar at the Rio (where we got married) when we were there several years ago. Not knowing what was good, we asked them for a recommendation and that is what we ended up with. Two bottles. I doubt that it cost more than $20 per bottle. We would not have spent that much. Like I said, I don't know much about wine. So, we opened it last night and I sent her home with the little bit that was left. It was good. Very good. No bitterness, no wierd flavors. I don't usually like wines that are not sweet, but this was very good. So, for fun, I just now pulled it up on the internet. 1993 Silver Oak Cabarnet. Okay, the three prices I found were $115, $150 and $169.99. One place had it for $266.99!!! I about fell on the floor. I think that is funny. I am glad that someone who really enjoys red wine got to enjoy it. We will have to save the other bottle for some special occasion. Funny. Cheers, my friend!

31,000 Scientists Can't Be Wrong

2008-06-20T13:01:00.000-07:00

Let me just jump on my bandwagon here for a little bit.

Really. Al Gore says that there are only a few skeptics left and that there is an overwhelming consensus in favor of the global warming theory. I never really did believe it. It just seems too ridiculous. But I guess I am a skeptic. After all, I am one of those who still believes that God really did create the earth in six days and man did not evolve from monkeys. I believe that man really did land on the moon. The human body has an incredible capacity to heal itself, if you allow it to. And, oh yeah, and the earth is round, too. But I digress. There is something called the Petition Project, where more than 31,000 American scientists, including 9,000+ PhD's have signed this petition, which basically states that they do not agree that human-caused emissions are causing global warming. Which I have been saying for a while now. This project was put together by a man named Arthur Robinson, who has also homeschooled his six children in the twenty years since his wife passed away. He developed a self-teaching method for homeschooling them and now has the program available on CD. The children were raised with no sugar and no television. On a farm where each has had responsibilities and duties. They have thrived over the years. One is now a Professor of Veterinary Medicine and another is a Professor of Chemistry, working with their father at the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine.
The Petition Project is a separate project from the Institute. It is organized by Arthur Robinson. It is really interesting to read the views of other people besides Al Gore, who is so assertive and cannot believe that there are any "skeptics" left. He has so convinced himself that this global warming is real, that there is no convincing him otherwise.
So I did a little research. Over the past 100+ years, if you can believe the news media, we have been headed for first a warming trend (1895), then a little ice age (1920's), then warming again (1950's), then cooling again (1970's), then, since the late 80's, with the catch phrase, "Global Warming", here we are today. Well, I think God created this earth and put in quite a few damage-control measures. I think it would take a lot to mess it up for real. I'm not saying that we can't mess it up, or that we shouldn't be responsible and take care of what He has given us, but I don't think "Mother Earth" is as fragile as all that.
IMHO, I believe that as long as we take care to do our best and take care of the earth, it will be just fine. Warming shmarming. It's all a bunch of hooey.

Jello Recipe

2008-05-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

When Grandma Aurlette passed away, there were some linens and things that had been picked through and nobody else wanted. I took them. I didn't get much, but one of the things that I love is a flour sack towel that has this printed on the front:

LUTHERAN CHURCH BASEMENT WOMEN
RED JELLO QUEENS
PRIZE WINNING RECIPE

4 BOXES RED JELLO
4 CUPS BOILING WATER
4 CUPS COLD WATER
1 LARGE BANANA
WHIPPING CREAM FOR COMPANY

You gotta love it.

Cute.And just for fun.

2008-05-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

LINES TO MAKE YOU SMILE My personal favorites are in bold. Enjoy!
1.. My husband and I divorced over religious differences. He thought he was God and I didn't.
2.. I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.
3. Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them.
4.. I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.
5.. Don't take life too seriously; No one gets out alive.
6.. You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me
7.. Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.
8.. Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.
9.. I'm not a complete idiot -- Some parts are just missing.
10.. Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.
11. NyQuil, the stuffy, sneezy, why-the-heck-is-the-room-spinning medicine.
12.. God must love stupid people; He made so many.
13.. The gene pool could use a little chlorine.
14. Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.
15.. Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?
16.. Being "over the hill" is much better than being under it!
17. Wrinkled Was Not One of the Things I Wanted to Be When I Grew up.
18.. Procrastinate Now!
19.. I Have a Degree in Liberal Arts; Do You Want Fries With That?
20.. A hangover is the wrath of grapes.
21.. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance
22.. Stupidity is not a handicap. Park elsewhere!
23.. They call it PMS because Mad Cow Disease was already taken.
24.. He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless DEAD.
25. A picture is worth a thousand words, but it uses up three thousand times the memory.
26.. Ham and eggs? A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.
27.. The trouble with life is there's no background music.
28.. The original point and click interface was a Smith & Wesson.
29.. I smile because I don't know what the heck is going on.

Grandma

2008-04-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

Speaking with my aunt recently about my Grandma, I started reminiscing about the day I took a trip with my grandma, Aurlette, to downtown Los Angeles several years ago. We spent the day together at the jewelry mart and just doing girl stuff. My grandmother loved to shop. No, really. Other people like to go shopping. She thrived on it. She would get dressed up, usually in a pantsuit, matching shoes, lovely purse, jewels on her fingers, matching sunglasses, sometimes with a scarf, and be ready to go out. A day out shopping with Grandma was A DAY OUT! And going out to a nice restaurant for lunch was a necessity.

I don't really remember if we went looking for something specific or if we were just looking, but Grandma found this ring. Well, actually, a ring guard for her wedding ring. It was, well, HUGE! Beautiful, with diamonds all around. Lots of gold and many, many small diamonds all over. Grandma was hesitant to buy it. She absolutely fell in love with it, but it was expensive.
So, she hesitated. I knew she really loved it. She didn't buy it at first, because it was a lot of money, but we came back to the booth later, after we shopped around a bit more. She SO wanted to get this! I reminded her that a.) you only live once and b.) we probably would not be back to the Jewelry Mart for quite some time and it would probably not be available again. So, she swore me to secrecy as to how much she paid for it and she bought it! She had it sized there and was able to wear it home that day. She loved wearing it! Such an extravagant purchase, but it suited her so well. My grandma, my mother and I all have large hands and as such, we can wear large rings. Lots of gold and stones. With her original wedding ring in place in the center, this just dazzled!

I poked around the jewelry mart that day while we were waiting for her ring to be done. I found a pair of beautiful dark purple teardrop shaped amethysts. About (I am guessing here) 8 carats each. They are huge! About 1/2 long each. Beautiful rich purple. I could not afford to have the stones set, so I was going to just buy the stones and have them set later. Grandma reminded me that we would probably not be back soon, so she offered to pay for one stone and setting, so that I could get them done. I still have these earrings and they are beautiful! And a fun reminder of that day.

We picked up her ring and left the jewelry mart. Boy did we feel like princesses! Then we went to a restaurant that she had always told me about. She said it was called the "Tex", so I was picturing an old fashioned bbq place, sawdust on the floor, etc. I couldn't have been more wrong! Le Freres Taix French Restaurant is a beautiful, fancy FRENCH restaurant! Linen tablecloths, beautiful wood decor, and it has been there since 1927! Was I in for a shock! It was wonderful. My grandma and grandpa had gone there often over the years and she was excited for me to share the experience. It was lovely. The food was delicious and we enjoyed each others company. Such a lovely day! My grandma was a beautiful person, inside and out. She was so very generous and she was always able to find something good, whether it was a person or a situation. She really did look at the bright side of life! She was always so full of life and cheerful. I am so glad that I have these wonderful memories of her!

Seminary Humor

2008-04-23T23:56:00.000-07:00

Spending too much time with my husband, discussing his studies, etc. Time for something light.

Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, and Reinhold Niebuhr find themselves all at the same time at Caesarea Philippi. Along comes Jesus, and he asks these three famous theologians, “Who do you say that I am?”
Karl Barth stands up and says: “You are the 'wholly other,' the vestigious trinitatum who speaks to us in the modality of Christomonism.”

Following this, Paul Tillich states: “You are he who heals our ambiguities and overcomes the split of angst and existential estrangement; you are he who speaks of the theonomous viewpoint of the analogia entis, the analogy of our being and the ground of all possibilities.”

Reinhold Niebuhr gives a cough for effect and says, in one breath: “You are the impossible possibility who brings to us, your children of light and children of darkness, the overwhelming oughtness in the midst of our fraught condition of estrangement and brokenness in the contiguity and existential anxieties of our ontological relationships.”

And Jesus looks at them and says, “What?”

A New Do

2008-04-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

I got a hair cut. Actually, I got them all cut. Or should I say, I got my hair styled. Because it had no style before. It had been about three years, or more, since I had been to a beauty salon. Sad. Scott cut four inches off the bottom one time and a friend did it another time. My bangs grew out and were no longer bangs. All I did was pull it back in a ponytail and try to get it out of my way. It was annoying more than anything. So I finally broke down and went to have it done. A very nice lady, I highly recommend her. She did a great job on my hair. She was recommended by Laurie. She has a beautiful hair-do, so I figured she must go to someone good. Well, it turned out nice. But I can't get it to do what the hairstylist, Julie, did with it. It was all sort of wispy and soft, flipped up on the bottom and curled in around my face. I will have to work with it and figure out what she did. But it is a good cut and it looks okay the way I blow dried it, even if it isn't the way she did it. Practice, I suppose. All the gray is gone, though, so I am happy. I feel like a girl again. And spending time with women whose ages are double digits didn't hurt, either. Girl time. What a concept!

My things

2008-04-23T00:45:00.000-07:00

Things about me. In no particular order. I think I did one of these a long time ago. I am not numbering them, just in case I don't make it to 100. Which I won't. But. At least I am doing it.

I am married.
Happily married.
I am 38.
I always thought 38 was old.
I don't feel old.
I have two beautiful daughters.
They are a handful.
But this is about me.
I am a Wife.
Mother.
Sister.
Daughter.
Niece.
Aunt.
Cousin.
Friend.
My uncle still calls me Pee-Wee.
Because I could fit in the way back of a VW as a kid.
I can't now.
My daughters think I am beautiful.
Did I mention how much I love them?
My brother died when I was 11.
My mother died when I was 36.
My relationship with my father has grown much closer...and I am glad.
I hate moving.
I have too much stuff.
I am working on this.
I hate to throw things away.
I feel better when I find out other people have messy houses, too.
I like Twinkies.
But only once in a while.
I like chocolate, but I don't consider myself a chocoholic.
I prefer white cake to chocolate cake.
So do the girls. Cool!
I like chocolate chip cookies with only a few chocolate chips.
And I like the dough better than the cookies.
My favorite flavors at Baskin Robbins are pumpkin and winter white chocolate.
At Coldstone, Cake Batter with white chocolate chips and pecans.
At Ben & Jerry's, Cherry Garcia or Cookie Dough.
My favorite meal would probably have to be Rib Eye Steak.
My favorite restaurant is the Smoke House, Toluca Lake, CA.
Favorite food - their garlic bread.
I love to cook and bake.
But nothing TOO difficult! I will leave that to my sister.
I hate washing dishes.
I don't mind 38 so much.
I don't want to be 39.
I have my mothers hands.
I live at the very north end of Los Angeles County.
Out of the city.
Which is the way I like it.
I'm probably not big boned. Bones get blamed a lot.
I love my church family.
And I like where we are living now.
I hate wind.
I hate wind.
Did I mention, I hate wind?
I hate wind.
There is not a lot of wind at the new house.
Which is good, because I hate wind.
I didn't used to hate wind.
I spent six years in the wind.
Maybe someday, I won't hate wind anymore.
I love Star Trek.
And Dirty Jobs. Mike Rowe is hilarious.
And The Twilight Zone.
And Deadliest Catch.
My favorite movie is the Princess Bride...inconceivable!
I highly recommend it.
And Secondhand Lions, too. Don't let the title throw you. Great movie.
Oh, and Ella Enchanted. Very cute.

Well, that is it. If I think of more, I can always do a My things...part deux.

Joann, time for a nice list. Think you can come up with 100 things? More or less.

Bacon Candy

2008-04-23T00:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, this I am going to have to try. Everyone likes bacon...even vegetarians. You know I'm right!

This and the bacon cookies. Going to have to look those up on Deacon's website.

Jennie - I will do your list soon, I promise, I just may not get to 100.
Sandy - I am working on it.

Got my hair cut today. Without the extra nine or so inches of hair, my head is lighter and I can think more clearly now! LOL!!! Every time I turn my head, it goes too far!

Ingredients

1 lb Bacon (not thick-cut)
1/4 cup Brown sugar

Cooking Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice bacon into 1/2 inch strips and dredge in brown sugar until thoroughly coated.

Crumple aluminum foil to allow for grease drainage and place it on a baking sheet. Lay out the bacon on this making sure not to overlap pieces.

Bake until crispy. Allow to cool and harden before serving.

Notes

It'll be the very first thing that's munched up if you bring it to a party. Guaranteed.

Moving, moving, moving.

2008-03-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

On the road again. I have been moving. We moved to Castaic to be closer to our church family, closer to Scott's work, closer to, well, everything. It's not windy here either. That is a definite plus. The novelty of the stairs is gone. Rebekah doesn't want to climb stairs anymore. And my sister was right. Be careful on the stairs, because you will fall. I fell. I got a nice whopper of a bruise on the back of my arm, just above the elbow. It's a doozie. I was really tired when Jess came up to wake me up and fix the TV, which she is still getting used to. Well, I wasn't being careful, as I was half asleep and I slipped and fell down about five steps. My arm crushed the side of a box on the way down and helped bring me to a stop. Good job, Amy! Way to go. The good news is that my body is already so sore everywhere from schlepping boxes up and down and back and forth that I don't think I could possibly do any more damage than I already have. Great.

I am tired. Trying to unload boxes and go back and fill them up again. I still don't have all the stuff out of the other house! Maybe in a week or two. What a job! I will need to rent a truck for the last of the furniture and then that should do it. Oh boy, I hate moving! But I do like that Scott gets up later than he used to and he is home about 45 minutes earlier than he used to. That is really nice. This is good!

The girls love it here. The girl next door is 11 years old. She loves having two little girls next door. She comes over almost every day to see if they can play. We are in a cul-de-sac with only our house and one other. So all the neighborhood kids play here. Right outside. It is nice. The weather is nice. There is no hellacious wind outside blowing everything away that isn't nailed down (and some things that are). So that is good. And plants will grow here as well. There is a grape vine in the front yard and citrus and loquats in the backyard. Cool. All in all, a good move. I just wish it was all done.

Homeschooling in California

2008-03-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

For all of you who homeschool, and for those of you who don't, but believe that the right to homeschool should be available to you, please sign the petition at the HSLDA website:

https://www2.hslda.org/Registrations/DepublishingCaliforniaCourtDecision/

The California courts have decided that homeschooling is illegal in California unless a parent is a teacher. Governor Schwarzenegger believes this is a ridiculous ruling. So do the rest of us. Please sign the petition to protect our right to homeschool!

Logan, the Sky Angel Cowboy!

2008-01-02T11:24:00.001-08:00

This is the coolest thing I have heard in a long time and so true. You just have to listen.

Jessica

2007-10-13T10:33:00.001-07:00

Jess pulled out her front tooth last night. Her right front came out a while back. Her left front had been dangling and wiggling for a while. She wanted it out, but wouldn't let me near it. We tried once with the Baby Orajel, but she still wouldn't let me touch it last week! So, last night, she went in the bathroom and comes out with a tissue and a big smile, "It's coming out!"

Me: Did you get it out? (Noticing blood in her mouth and on the tissue)
Jess: No, but I pulled on it!
Me: Well, go back in the bathroom and work on it, so you don't get blood on the carpet.

Five minutes later....

Jess: I did it! I pulled my tooth out. And I didn't even need to put that stuff on it!
Me: Good for you, Sweetie!

So I had her put it in a ziploc bag, then this inside the little box she puts under her pillow and placed it in its right spot. She told me she wanted to hold onto the box, so she would wake up when the tooth fairy got there and I told her she couldn't, because if the tooth fairy thinks he/she will wake you up, they won't leave the money. And they probably won't make a second trip, since they already came the first time.

She asked me if she would get a golden dollar again and I told her that if the tooth fairy had enough for the night, she probably would, but if there were a lot of kids that lost teeth last night, then TF would probably leave a paper dollar instead. She understood. And as it turns out, TF left a golden dollar. Her sister checked the little box this morning. Cool.

Now they have already lost the box.

Since I am talking about Jessica, this is pretty cute.

A few weeks back, when we were driving to Dad's house in his car because he had taken mine with the new recliner in the back, I had left my purse in my car, with my driver's license in it. I said, out loud, that I did not have my driver's license with me. Jessica panicked and asked, in a worried tone, "Oh no, Mommy, do you still remember how to drive?"

Good excuse for a party!

2007-10-11T02:35:00.001-07:00

So, I am going to have a virtual party! A brunch pot luck. I will be providing the coffee and some banana bread I made yesterday! It's really good! Stop by anytime! What are you going to bring? Homemade or store-bought, it's all good. Oh, the chocolate chip cookies are fresh out of the oven, too. Sandy, could you bring your blueberry buckle? It's been such a long time and it is SOOO good! Just grab a cup of coffee and hang out for a while!

And everyone please welcome Joy to the group! She is a Christian, stay at home mom and she is taking on all kinds of new adventures! Welcome to the neighborhood!

I made some changes to my blog. Again. I changed my name. To my real name. I thought that this would clear things up a bit, but instead it seems to have made it more complicated. So, if you see comments posted by me on YOUR blog, they will now show up as "Amy", instead of JessnBekahsmom. Which I still am and always will be, but I decided to put in my name. After what, two years on blogger. I know. Don't ask.

Another Great Movie...

2007-10-11T02:10:00.000-07:00

This one is a bit harder. I was too easy on y'all before!

Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things a man needs to believe in the most. That people are basically good; that honor, courage and virtue mean everything; that power and money, money and power mean nothing; that good always triumphs over evil; and I want you to remember this, that love...true love never dies. You remember that boy, you remember that. Doesn't matter if it's true or not. You see a person should believe in those things because those are the things worth believing in.

Movie Quote

2007-10-10T09:41:00.001-07:00

Thank you so much for bringing up such a painful subject. While you're at it, why don't you give me a nice paper cut and pour lemon juice on it?

Any guesses? C'mon, you should know this one!

Bedsheets and Vacations

2007-10-10T08:28:00.001-07:00

Strange title, I know. But once you read the story, it will make sense.

When I was a teenager, we stayed at the beach at Oxnard for two weeks at the beach house that belonged to a friend of my Dad. It was a tiny little place, very old. The type that has a flat roof and a one-car garage. It was one block from the beach. Actually, only about 8 houses from the beach. Really close. It was June. June in Oxnard, CA is overcast and cool. Not summer weather. So it was too cool to spend much time sunbathing, which I don't do much of anyway. I burn, peel and fade. And I don't like sitting in the sand. So no sunbathing. My sister and my friend, Tamara, went sunbathing at the beach anyway. They like that sort of thing. My Dad was there only on the weekends and my mom and her friend, Sue, were there with us.

It was very windy. And damp. In the two weeks we were there, the salt air ate through the paint on the hood of our mint green Ford Station Wagon and there were a few small spots of rust showing through already!

We were standing out in front of the beach house one day, about to get in the car to go somewhere, when the wind blew this sheet down the street. It was bright red. Like an orange-red, with large white daisies with yellow centers all over the entire sheet. It was like a full-size bedsheet! So, someone, either my mom or Sue, grabbed it as it was blowing down the street. They decided they could use it for SOMETHING, so they put it in the beach house. Later on, they washed it and Sue proceeded to get the sewing machine out. She sewed. And sewed. And sewed some more. In the end, we all ended up with "dresses" and "tops". I use quotes, because these were basically just sacks. She cut a piece long enough and big enough around to make a dress, sewed up the side and then sewed elastic under the seam on top and made a seam on the bottom. Voila! A moo-moo. We had tops made the same way, but with elastic on top and bottom. We were all made to wear these red and white daisy sheet outfits! Oi! And the sheet seemed to have a never-ending supply of fabric! It was everywhere! I was like 12 or 13 at the time and totally mortified that they were going to make me where this stupid sheet. Nobody else knew where it came from, it was just the IDEA that it had been rolling down the street. I never thought of it before, but it probably blew off someone's clothesline. What if they had seen us running around in their sheet, all cut up!

What a trip. Did your parents ever make you do something that just embarrassed the heck out of you? Feel free to share!

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. This was the trip that my mom didn't want to take me back to my ice skating competition. Even though we were only an hour from home. Even though I had been practicing my routine for a long time with my coach. Even though it meant a LOT to me. Didn't matter. It was not important enough to go back for. But I'm not bitter. Okay, maybe I still am. So what.

Whose Line Is It Anyway - Party Quirks

2007-10-04T08:05:00.001-07:00

One of the best Whose Line clips ever! This is my favorite show! I changed our channels on TV and don't get it anymore. I just spent four minutes laughing my head off! This is totally worth four minutes of your life. Play til the very end. Laugh out loud funny!!!

A Great Blog!

2007-10-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes at your local Starbucks? Well, Barista Brat has been writing about it for some time now and she has a super, fantastic blog! It is hilarious! I found her blog from Lorraine's blog and have been reading it for quite some time now. Apparently a lot of people have been! I know Lorraine is in Washington and I believe Brat is, too. Anyway, you've got to check this one out! Just for grins.

Kodachrome

2007-10-04T06:33:00.001-07:00

I love this song! Always have! Since I first heard it about twelve years ago. I know, I know, but better late than never! Now you can all enjoy! You gotta love Paul Simon...and the guy who put these pics together did a good job. It even has Lorraine's green tomatoes! Enjoy!

My Nephew Could Have Been A Statistic

2007-10-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

Jessica and I are going to do the Walk for Life, for the SCV Pregnancy Center. On Saturday. To help unborn babies and those whose mothers decide to bring them to term. To save babies. This is such a touchy subject. Personally, I believe the choice is made before you get pregnant. After that, the baby has a right to live. Whether you keep that baby or give it up, that is another choice, but the baby doesn't deserve to die. My belief. Others don't necessarily agree. I can still love them and understand their beliefs. God still loves them, although He may want what He knows to be better for them. Because there are so many potential mothers that live with the guilt for many years afterward. But I digress. We are going to walk. The Pregnancy Center does not have an "agenda", other than giving moms choices. Choices they may not realize they have or they may not know who to turn to.

The director of the Pregnancy Center met with The Hubby and me when he was doing his report last semester. On people in the church who may have a crisis. Like an unplanned pregnancy. Each student was to pick a different type of crisis, such as terminal cancer, a death in the family, marital issues, etc. The Hubby picked the Pregnancy Center and they were so gracious! We went together to meet with the director and at that time she told us about the Walk For Life in October. So we became the contacts for our church.

This is a subject that is very close to my heart. I am my nephew's godmother. He could have been one of those statistics. My sister tried for several years to have a second child, only to finally turn to adoption as the option they chose. They found a group that specializes in foster to adoption through the state or maybe it was the county. Anyway, they got on the list and waited. And waited. Eventually, they got a call. To come and pick up their baby. A baby boy had been dropped off at a fire station and they could come to the hospital and get him. How cool is that! He had apparently been born at home and he had a shoelace tied around the umbilical cord. The person who dropped him off gave no information. My sister and BIL got to name him and everything! He was, I believe, three days old when they got him!

If the mother of that child had opted for abortion, we would not have the amazing little boy that is my nephew and godson.

So we will walk. I am actively seeking donations for the walk. :-) If you would like to support me, please let me know and I will give you my email address at your blog, or if I know you, just email me! Thanks!

Inspiration

2007-10-02T22:30:00.001-07:00

I was inspired by a new friend, Steph, to write about this. Her writing brought me to tears. You have to go and read it for yourself. She has a great blog. Anyway, she was writing about how much she loves her youngest daughter. Not to exclude the others, but she was just writing about THIS one today. And how much more God loves us. And it reminded me of this song, by Keith Green and written by Melody Green. The chorus, "Thank you oh my father, for giving us your son, and leaving your spirit 'til the work on earth is done." It gets me every time. It never hit me until I was a parent. Just how difficult it must have been for Him to give us His Son, His perfect Son. That God knew men would reject, laugh at, turn away from. And He did it anyway. I couldn't. I am a parent. I love my children more than I ever thought possible. I can't imagine giving them up for ANY reason.

THERE IS A REDEEMER
Written by Melody Green

There is a redeemer,
Jesus, God's own son,
Precious lamb of God, messiah,
Holy one,

Jesus my redeemer,
Name above all names,
Precious lamb of God, messiah,
Oh, for sinners slain.

Thank you oh my father,
For giving us your son,
And leaving your spirit,
'til the work on earth is done.

When I stand in glory,
I will see his face,
And there I'll serve my king forever,
In that holy place.

Thank you oh my father,
For giving us your son,
And leaving your spirit,
'til the work on earth is done.

There is a redeemer,
Jesus, god's own son,
Precious lamb of god, messiah,
Holy one,

Thank you oh my father,
For giving us your son,
And leaving your spirit,
'til the work on earth is done.

And leaving your spirit,
'till the work on earth is done.

When I was pregnant with Rebekah, I worried that I couldn't love another child as much as I loved Jessica. I worried about Jess while I was going to the hospital and I missed her exceedingly. For Jessica's birth, I was awake and as soon as I heard that little cry, I began to cry. The nurse brought her to me and showed her to me. I had a C-section, so I couldn't hold her yet. But The Hubby took the picture. My eyes are all red.

With Rebekah, it was different. A planned C-section. So this time they gave me a spinal, instead of the epidural I had with Jessica. Well, I vomited and passed out on the table. Don't remember her birth at all. It bothers me immensely. Still does. I wasn't there for her.

BUT! When I did meet her, oh, the joy! She was BEAUTIFUL! Now remember, I could not imagine loving another as much as Jess. But here was this little (!) ten pound beauty. The nurse told me she had never seen such a beautiful newborn. I beamed. She really was! Not red and blotchy. No pointed forehead or pinched face. She was perfect, round and pink. Completely amazing! And so beautiful. Forget the Baby Channel they have at the hospital for the moms to watch. My TV never went on. I had this little wonder to look at.

I loved her instantly as much as I loved Jessica. Isn't motherhood amazing?!? Who would think? Favorites? They are so completely different! They are both my favorite!

When I was pregnant with Jessica, I was working for an attorney. A cush job! If he was in the office, I would be typing, doing corrections to drafts, etc. If he was not there, which was quite a bit of the time, I would be doing research on the internet. Sometimes all day. Just sitting at my desk printing out page after page of research (this was when I researched the vaccines!). Anyway, I liked my job and liked my boss. Really nice! Then, I had Jess. My attorney boss even bought me the combo car seat stroller that was like $180 and never once complained about the maternity leave! He was great! After six months of working, I couldn't do it anymore! I missed my baby too much. The proverbial straw was when she turned over and my MIL didn't tell me, because she didn't want me to feel bad that I missed the milestone. But I DID miss it because she didn't even TELL me! That was it, I had to stay home. And home I have stayed since then. And aside from the very rare stressful day, there is no place like home! Dorothy was right!

WHEW! I have been all over the map here! Let's just wrap it up by saying that I cannot imagine my life without my little Bekah-Boo. She is a handful and difficult sometimes, but she is such a joy to me. She loves to cuddle and she loves to be the baby. She has a gentle heart and a loving spirit. I can't imagine our family without her! I know now that if God blesses us with any more children, that this mother will have enough love for all of them! Mind-boggling!

ALSO:

Rebekah is doing just fine after all her trauma with the head injury and staples. She didn't cry, or even flinch, when we went to the Dr. to have the three staples removed. She was fantastic and brave! After her Dr. appt., we went to the Valencia mall with Papa (my dad) and we walked past the ear piercing place. As I do every time, I said, "Rebekah, do you want to get your ears pierced?" And she always says, "No, it will hurt", and we keep on going. She said yes. She said YES! So we stopped. And she got her ears pierced. And she cried! And cried some more. And then she whimpered. There was only one girl there. So she couldn't do both ears at the same time! The lady was apologizing when we left. We all felt so bad! But now she is glad she did it. And she feels very grown up! She has little gold balls in her ears and in six weeks we can get something else to put there! My baby is growing up. And she is adorable and I love her so.

Okay, I am done. For now.

Sleepy Time

2007-09-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

Was just catching up on Lorraine's blog and she has had SO much going on, with birthday parties, house guests and such. Makes me tired just reading about it! And MY life hasn't been exactly quiet lately. So her most recent entry is about sleeping, which I can totally get on with. Right there with you. Never get enough of it. My sleep schedule lately is:

IN bed by 8:45pm, reading and rubbing Hubby's back
10:30pm lights out
3:45am up with Hubby to make lunch and say goodbye
4:30am check email, check blogs, etc.
5:30-6am either go back to sleep for two hours or kids wake up and we all stay up (more likely)

That's it. All broken up. I got more sleep when the kids were babies! Jess got up yesterday at 4:30am and was in bed by 8:30pm. That's a long day for a six year old! And she got up this morning at 5:30! Whew! The kid doesn't need much sleep. She's got more energy than three kids her age!

Then I was at the Cows website. This fantastic ice cream place in Canada. We were at the one near Vancouver when we were there several years ago and I have ordered things off their website a couple of times. They have the most hilarious t-shirts and things. All cow-related. Which I love. Love the cows. Stuffed animal cows. Cow t-shirts. Anything with cows on it. I have this shirt, not from there, but from a dairy in Arizona.
Front: Cow's Dairy
Back: See Udder Side

The Hubby refused to let me wear it when I was nursing. I love it.

Anyway, at www.cows.ca you can get anything with cows on it. Funny stuff. A couple of the images are at the top. Cute stuff. I love everything they have! Magnets, stuffed cows. It's all good. The one that made me think of sleepy time says, "Pasture Bedtime". On the pj's for kids. Too cute. And they don't get why that's funny.

Gotta go. Taking Bekah to the doctor this morning for her staple removal. So, if anybody has any warm wishes for her, I will pass them along. She might just need a cow to hold.

Buddy

2007-09-24T19:22:00.000-07:00

Hi, this is Buddy the cat. I thought I would commandeer the computer and give you an update on me, since nobody else has! My people are doing well, no new news, so I figured they wouldn't notice if I popped up here.

They started letting me go outside a few months ago. I go play in the backyard and occasionally crawl under the fence to the neighbors' yard. Nice change of scenery. I go out at about 4:00am, but lately it has been pretty chilly outside, so I have skipped my morning adventure a few times. I appreciate them letting me outside. I am able to watch the birds and bugs and I also can relieve myself there instead of using the box inside all the time. They don't keep it as clean as I would like, so if I don't have to use it as often, all the better.

On Sunday mornings, my people don't get up at 4:00am. I get so lonely and I have to wake up Mom. She doesn't mind too much. I just don't like being alone! I really had to work at it a couple of weeks ago. I even had to bite her toes because she wouldn't get up! It was already 6:00am! Can you imagine? They were still asleep! Sometimes I will go in and wake up the small people first, then THEY wake up Mom. I don't think it would be a good idea to wake up Dad, though.

Mom started buying me Kitty Cookies recently. They are good. I have her trained. Several times a day I start thinking about the cookies and voila! they start shaking the bag! It is amazing! Sometimes they even shake the bag when I don't think of it first! I come running so that they will do it again the next time. Boy, have I got them trained! They are delicious!

I don't chase after paper balls anymore. That is so yesterday. I am practically an adult! I do sleep a lot more than I used to. I get tired during the middle of the day. What is a cat supposed to do? I hop up in my cat tree and the small people don't bother me. Mom doesn't let them climb up my tree. Only I am allowed. Thank goodness! I love my small people. They give me LOTS of attention. I even let them carry me around sometimes. It's okay. They are pretty nice to me and tell me they love me. They hug and kiss me a lot, especially the little one named Rebekah. She gets in trouble for picking me up as much as she does, so I try to be especially nice so they won't find out she picked me up. I don't want her to get in trouble so much. And they have told her if she isn't nice, I may have to go. I don't want to go, so I try to be as nice to her as possible, so I don't cause trouble. I actually do like it when she picks me up. At least I don't have to go bug Mom to hold me and kiss me.

I am glad that they took me away from that bad place where they found me. The Animal Shelter, I think they called it. It was not a very nice place. Before they rescued me, I was drugged and the people there did some bad things I don't EVEN want to describe to you! I'll just say, it is a good thing I am covered in fur!

Overall, I am very happy living with my people. They take good care of me. They do yell at me sometimes when I scratch on their furniture. What is a cat do? It is great stuff for sharpening your claws on! I do stay away from Dad's chair. I think they would probably leave me outside! So NO leather recliner for me!

Don't tell them I was here. We'll just keep it to ourselves, okay? Oh, and if I don't get back here, have a happy Halloween. They won't let me out that day, even though we are celebrating my birthday on Halloween, so I will wish you a safe and happy Halloween now.

Meow.

The coolest thing ever!

2007-09-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

Watch the bat.

I need chocolate

2007-09-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

I do. I need chocolate. I just thought I would share that with you all. Would you like to share some chocolate with me? What is your favorite?

The Birthday...and before and after

2007-09-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

Thursday night we were out at the mall, eating dinner at Red Robin and getting See's Candies for me (Jessica's idea). The girls got me flowers at Costco earlier in the day. We got home, put the kids to bed at about 9:30pm and thought we were done for the night. But Bekah had different plans. Instead of lying in bed with her covers over her, drifting off to lala land, she was crawling across the bottom of her sister's bed. Well, she lost her balance and fell off. We heard the scream from their bedroom and came running. You never saw the Hubby and I move so fast. She met us at the door to their bedroom and was screaming. I couldn't tell what hurt, so she finally said it was her head and put her hand against the back of her head. That's when I saw the blood.

I checked the back of her head and there was a gash about three-quarters of an inch across on the back of her head. It was not bleeding that much, but any amount was too much for Bekah and she was a bit frightened. We grabbed some cloth diapers (yes, I still have them and yes, they work great for everything!) and some wipes and headed for the emergency room. We got there at about ten o'clock. They called her in to look at her after about a half hour and then we had to wait. The place was pretty full. There is only one hospital in the whole valley. Another is being built, however, it will be probably another year before it is completed. So we waited and they finally called her name at about 11:50pm. She was, of course, fast asleep.

I laid her down on the cot and the triage nurse cleaned up the wound a bit. The tech came over and said he wanted to put some staples in it, so it needed to be cleaned. Rebekah slept. The tech comes back with the staple gun about ten minutes later and asks us to wake her up. He said he felt really bad doing that while she was asleep. Rebekah is a VERY sound sleeper. I knew she wouldn't wake up, so I told him to go ahead. So he pulls her hair back and does the first staple. She moved around a bit and he waited. He does the second staple. She fusses a little more and grabs her head. He does the third staple. Now she is somewhat awake and starts to cry a little bit. But not much, considering what just happened. They are amazed. Said she was the best patient! Poor little thing. She just knows now her head hurts. She was awake enough to walk part of the way to the car. Good thing, too, since she is pretty heavy.

I was carrying her quite a lot that night and probably strained my back. I am sure I overdid it, but my baby was hurt. She is fifty-eight pounds and I just don't have the strength to carry her for long periods of time, but she was asleep for about an hour and I was holding her in the chair and then walking with her as well.

The next morning, she didn't remember much. So, aside from getting a late start, we were still going to go ahead with our plans. Last year on my birthday we went to Oxnard and had so much fun that I wanted to do that again. So we packed up the car and I decided to grab the folding chairs in case we needed them. I leaned over to pick one up and BAM! my back snapped. There is this one muscle in my lower left side that does this once in a while and when it goes, it goes BIG! This has not happened in a long time! Well, I could barely reach up to close the back of the van, so I knew I really did something. But we were still going to go!

I drove, which was easier for me than being a passenger. That was fine, but walking around was not easy. So when we got to the park at the beach, Hubby went with the girls down to the water and I stayed back and took pictures of them. It was gray and cloudy, windy and gorgeous! Weather that we love. The girls got to play in the sand and on the swings and then Hubby took them to the beach and the tide was coming in, so they had to scoot back a few times. They had a blast. There is also this "ship" on the beach that has a cable on it with a big rope attached to it. You climb up on the ship and ride the cable to the sand pile. Jess did it a few times and had a blast! Bekah wanted to, but Mommy said no, because of her head and once she got up high enough to grab it, she decided she didn't really want to do that anyway. Worked out fine.

We left the park at the beach and went over to Andria's Seafood and Market. It is the best. Clam chowder, fish and chips and fried shrimp and cole slaw. Yum. You walk up to the counter and order and then find a place to sit. It is so good! I really like the fish and chips at Red Robin. This is like, at least, ten times better. Fresh. The restaurant is within yards of the dock where the commercial fishing boats go out of. Really fresh fish!

We all ate the yummy food and were full and headed back toward home. It was about 4 o'clock. Then it started raining pretty hard. It was pouring by the time we got on the freeway and the windshield wipers couldn't keep up with it! So COOL! We stopped at a couple of vegetable stands on the way back home. There are many between the beach in Oxnard and Castaic. Orchards and fields everywhere. Beautiful area. So we got a box of grapefruit, some dried apricots, pumpkins, strawberries, zucchini, cashews, and some other stuff. Yum!

By the time we got to Castaic, the rain had dissipated. It was still beautiful, with puffy grey clouds with the sun coming through and everything looked fresh and crisp. We drove home and then we all had the cake that Hubby and Jess made for me that morning. The one time each year that I get to have white cake with white frosting and coconut on it. That is SOOOO good! Even Hubby had some, although he said it was only because it was my birthday cake. He only really likes chocolate!

I got lots of calls from people who love me on my birthday. Including one from "Jerry". Once, a long time ago, when I was young and not very bright, I responded to an ad in the Pennysaver classifieds. I met the guy at Coco's and we were supposed to have dinner. He had already eaten, so didn't order anything and I just had dessert. He was trying to be romantic and I was trying to hurry up and get out of there. He unscrewed the lightbulb above our table so as to create "ambience". At Coco's. I never saw the guy again, however, he had my cell phone number. That was more than ten years ago. I know, because I have been happily married for eight and a half years. Well, he calls me every year on my birthday. To wish me a happy birthday on my special day. And to say hello to my hubby. Whom he has never met. I don't answer the phone if I don't recognize the number and his came up "Unknown", so not a chance, but I can't believe he is still calling me! Weird! You would think after all this time he would have something better to do! Oh well, he doesn't know where I am, or what my last name is and he only calls on my birthday. But after the strange things that have happened to me in my life, it does creep me out a little.

All in all, I had a very nice birthday. I am still hobbling around because I can not stand up straight, but I am sure within a few days, I will be back to normal. I hope. Hubby is at church with the kids right now. I figured I had better stay home and take it easy. So I am. I don't get many opportunities to do so!

74

2007-09-20T04:36:00.000-07:00

74 Degrees. In my house. And I didn't even have to pay for it! It has not been that cool in my house since probably the end of May. It is so nice. Today's high should be 71 and the low...48! When Hubby leaves in the AM - very early AM - it is so nice and cool! Next week will warm up, however, I am enjoying the little bit of coolness. I may even bake! I can't wait! I won't even need to turn the air conditioner on! Mmm, just think. The smell of freshly baked carrot cake, chocolate chip cookies, banana bread and pumpkin pie wafting through the air. Yum! Oh, yeah and I forgot about dinner. How about salisbury steak with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes and green beans. Or maybe, umm, a homemade chicken pot pie? Lasagna, with italian sausage, ricotta cheese and smothered in mozzarella? I am going to try making rouladen this year. That is round steak layered with bacon, mustard, pickles and seasoning, rolled up and simmered and cooked in a sour cream gravy. I need to get the recipe from dad. Or what we had last night. Beef stir fry with chinese five-spice powder, soy sauce, etc. and sauteed with mushrooms, onions and bell peppers, served over steamed rice. Am I making you hungry? I gotta get cooking!

I didn't do too badly this summer with the air conditioning. Hottest summer on record, supposedly, and my electric bill for August was $227. Not too bad, considering a normal bill is between $80-100. Last year the high bill was about $300.

Next week I am going to buy peaches. I found this guy that has end-of-season peaches that are the size of grapefruits. Not small grapefruits, either! These things are huge! Last year they were the size of cantaloupe. Now, put your hands in the shape of a circle and picture this...a peach the size of a cantaloupe! He sells them for $10 a lug. And last year I got the last two bags of his crop. His place is off the beaten path and the guy I know on the main road sent me there because he was all sold out. Now I am going there intentionally. He has a kid who thins them out on the trees for him, but he said this year he didn't thin them out quite as much. They were fantastic! So, these are the ones I am going to use to can peaches. Less trouble, since they are huge and it will be much nicer in the house while I do it. Yeah! I can hardly wait. Peach ice cream, frozen peach smoothies, peach pie, canned peaches, peach jam, peach cobbler. And these are going to be the last ones of the season. I can't go there until the 1st of October. I have not been to the other peach place here in a while, so I can't wait for these! It is fun at the beginning of the season to pick them, however, by the end of the season I don't mind that they are already picked and in boxes. Plus, my two little helpers tend to bruise the peaches a bit. Okay, a lot. But how can I get upset? They love to help!

The area we live in is a great agricultural area. You wouldn't think to look at it, but within 1/2 hour of me in several directions, there are great orchards. Vineyards for wine production, cherry orchards in the spring, apricots and plums in the early summer and peaches all summer long. And when those are done, there is a variety called last chance peaches that are grown in the high desert at the base of the hills that ripen at the very end of the summer and into early fall. That is what these are.

AutoZone is So COOL!

2007-09-19T15:51:00.000-07:00

I have gotten things from AutoZone because they are in my neighborhood. Little did I know how cool a store it is. This is a long story, but I will try to edit it. A couple years ago a friend of mine told me that she had heard that if your "Check Engine" light goes on, you should try to replace the gas cap. Sounds corny, I know, but we did it when the light came on and it worked! Cool. Then we dropped the gas cap and I don't think the codes were "cleared" anyway, so it came back on. It was a problem that actually, I think, had to do with the gas cap. The EVAC system, I think. Anyway, so I get my DMV renewal in the mail and I need to get it smogged. Well, the "Check Engine" light is on again, ever since then. The smog station I called said it is an automatic fail if your check engine light is on. So, how much to diagnose the problem? $89. Which you can put toward the cost of repair. Great. I don't have the money to put toward repair. Dad just did the service, so everything is good. Except for this !@?!#* light. I mean, the check engine light. So, since we had gone to AutoZone and they had a caliper set for the brake pad repair, Scott said to call them and see if they loan out the diagnostic meter. It turns out they DO! You give them a credit card and driver's license and you may use it in the parking lot. Which we did. This thing is so easy to use. Put the new gas cap on, checked the codes (they were all related to this), reset the codes and VOILA! The check engine light is off! THANK YOU GOD! So, the manual said that if the problem still exists, then the light will go back on after three engine cycles. I'm thinking this is three trips with the car on. So we went straight home last night after the AutoZone trip and I went straight to the Smog Check station this morning. No light. The tech moved it to the right spot for the test. No light. It passed! THANK YOU GOD, AGAIN!

So, to make a long story endless, AutoZone is way cool because they twice have saved me all kinds of money by having the tools I needed and it didn't cost me anything.

So, thank you, AutoZone and Thank you GOD! Because it would have cost me a fortune to have a service repair shop come up with the same conclusion. And it passed! :-)

Something Stupid

2007-09-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, if you don't want to hear me rant, then go away. I'm giving you fair warning.

Okay, you are still here. Then I assume you want to hear this. So I will continue.

I am steamed. This is about the dumbest thing I have heard in a long time!

I am sure you have all heard of the new vaccine, Gardasil. For girls. So they won't get cervical cancer. This is even more ridiculous than the Hepatitis B vaccine that are given to babies at birth, because when they become "active", they will need a larger dose of the vaccine and probably won't come in to get it.

Consider the facts about the Gardasil vaccine:

Just 2 percent of the patients in the study were infected by the kinds of HPV that put them at high-risk for developing cervical cancer.
A little more than 3 percent were infected with the types of HPV that Gardasil was concocted to prevent.
About 90 percent of all HPV infections go away within two years.

So, here is a vaccine that is to be given to girls who may or may not become "active", but we must assume that they will. And it is only effective against four strains of HPV, so that the possibility exists that the other strains (there are MANY), may become stronger.

Okay, if you are still with me, here is the really amazing part. NOW THEY WANT TO GIVE IT TO BOYS, TOO!!!

So, try explaining this to your 11-year old son.

You have to get this shot in your arm.

Because IF you have oral ___ with a girl, and she has HPV, you could possibly get throat cancer.

11-year old son: What is oral ___? What is HPV?

You respond.

Silence.

THAT'S the basis for recommending it for every boy for a body part that they do not even have! Ridiculous!

One of the reactions to this vaccine is death. This is not a good reaction. According to JudicialWatch.org, more than 1600 adverse reactions were logged, including three deaths, shortly after receiving the vaccination. The list of possible reactions is extensive.

The same thing will happen to the boys.

This vaccine is manufactured by the same people who brought you Vioxx. Wonderful. They are currently lobbying state legislatures to make vaccination mandatory in the nine to sixteen year old girls. Ridiculous.

And if all this doesn't get you upset, according to the list of ingredients on the merck.com website, each 0.5-mL dose of the vaccine contains 225mcg of aluminum.

I just don't see how they can justify this one.

Background:
When I was pregnant with Jessica I read an article regarding the Hep B vaccine. I researched the heck out of it. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about vaccination. I have spent literally hundreds of hours researching this. I went into it thinking I would vaccinate. I realized after extensive research that I did not want to do this. The vaccine manufacturers and the government do not always have our best interests at heart. I do. When it comes to my children. People tell me you can't believe everything you read on the internet. Well, I pulled most of my research information from the vaccine manufacturer websites and vaccine information sheets and also from the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization. So, MOST of my information came from the people advocating vaccine. And I chose not to vaccinate.

References: mercola.com, merck.com, judicialwatch.org

Hamster Dance

2007-09-04T10:29:00.001-07:00

It has been so long since I saw this and it is so cute that I thought you all would like something to smile at today as well. Enjoy!

Plus I am pretty proud of myself for figuring out how to post a youtube video!

Miscellany

2007-08-20T23:02:00.000-07:00

I have these two friends. I introduced them to each other. They were having a play date and apparently the little boy came out and said the girl hit him. So the girl's mom said, "Well, what did you do?" The little boy's mom took offense to this and they began a heated email discussion that ended up with them not speaking to each other. Oh boy. I have only spoken to them each briefly about it, but I don't think it is mendable. And they have known each other now for about a year. Hmm. Apparently they both said things that were hurtful, but I don't know what. Should I try to help them with it and see if they can patch things up or just let it go? A neighbor of the girl's mom called me today to invite me to a bath and body works party she is having and she wanted to know if I had the phone number and could invite the little boy's mom. We all went to her daughter's 1st birthday party and also to the little girl's birthday party. Well, I had to tell her something, so I just said that they had a disagreement and weren't speaking to each other. She said she thought that kids did that, but not adults! Interesting observation. I am still friends with both of them. I like them both. I think maybe I should get involved because I introduced them to each other, but then again, maybe I should just let it go. They probably won't cross paths unless I am a part of it. Who knows?

My dad is doing well. He is adjusting to being able to work for shorter periods of time and resting his eyes. He is taking some natural stuff for his eyes, for his blood pressure and for his blood sugar, which is just a few points higher than it should be. I will be keeping in close contact with him to be sure he watches this, especially the HBP. He figured if he was healthy and watched what he ate that he wouldn't have any problems. Uh-huh.

Rebekah was sitting in front of the refrigerator arranging the Word Whammer letters on it. "My masterpiece would be even more marvelous if I had something to put there."

Oh. And she wants to be called Bekki. Not Bekah. She just decided. So, she's Bekki. It will take Mommy a while to switch to this, though.

The girls were both up at 4:30am on Monday morning to see Daddy off. Well, they decided against my better judgement to stay up. Jess told me to go lay down, everything would be okay. You know, when you do sleep and your babies are awake, it isn't like real sleep, more like twilight. I could wake up at the slightest sound. About an hour later Jess comes in and I was reading. "Oh, you are still up? You can go to sleep, it's okay." And she leans over and kisses me on the nose. "You can sleep as long as you want." Well, it sounded good, anyway. About 20 minutes later, "Rebekah!!!!! Stop it!!!!!!!!" Yeah, so much for Mommy's carefree morning.

I figured they'd be falling asleep on the couch at 7pm. No such luck. They were still awake, though in bed, at 9pm! No rest for the weary!

I started to clean out my cupboards. Now there is no room on my counters. They were bad. Now they are worse. I am cooking every night at home, though, in an attempt to save money. That means more dishes to wash. Such fun. However, since I now know what I have in the way of food products, I was able to find a can of jellied cranberry sauce, a can of creamed corn and a package of Stove Top Stuffing Mix to go with the turkey that came out of the freezer that we had for dinner. It was free, since all the stuff was bought and paid for months ago. Cool.

I have started reading a book by Lisa Whelchel, aka Blair Warner from the Facts of Life television show. She is a very good writer! I read another of her books on homeschooling before, but this was, I think, her first book. I got it for 99 cents from www.bookschristian.com. She has really gone through it and come out okay because she trusted in the Lord. And she stood up for her values all during her time on TV. Now she is the wife of a pastor and has three children. All homeschooled. Very neat. Cool story about how she and her husband got together. Light reading, highly recommended.

Hubby is nervous about this latest class he just started. It will be different than all his other classes to date. I asked him if he wants to quit and he said yes! But then, he has said that about every class! He will be fine. He's just entering new territory again!

A good friend of mine is dating. It is so cool! I get to relive the dating experience with her without actually having to go through it. How cool is that? The good parts only, please, because in real life, I hated dating! It really sucked! Anyway, the guy she is seeing seems just perfect for her and I am so happy! They are one date into it. Such fun!

Jess and I start school next week. We have already begun with the Phonics program. She is halfway through the first level of five levels. She is doing very well. I think, mainly, because we waited until she was ready. She is ready now. She can sit still and concentrate and although she still gets frustrated, she has much more patience than she had a year ago. And she is reading signs everywhere we go now! I hope she learns to love to read as much as I love to read. I got her math books and vocabulary books and spelling books and word puzzle books and we will go on field trips and we will have so much fun! There is so much time wasted in school for sitting still and lining up and breaks and roll call and we don't have to do any of those things. Our school day is all about learning! She is chomping at the bit and I am looking forward to it as well.

I can't wait for the heat to go. I hate the summer heat and I love the cool fall weather. I hope it isn't too far off.

The Middle Name Game

2007-08-20T22:41:00.000-07:00

Here are the rules: You have to post these rules before you give the facts. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog post containing your own middle name game facts. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Thanks, Jennie, I hate these things. At least it isn't a chain letter email! Ha!

Well, here goes, but, I don't think I can find seven people to tag to do this, so we will see how it goes.

C - Caring. I care about other people. I have given up caring what other people think about ME, but I do care about other people's feelings.
A - Able to handle a crisis or two. I have had to, with the things that have happened to me in my life!
M - Mommy. To two of the most energetic girls around.
I - In Love. With my hubby. He's great.
L - Lively. I am generally pretty upbeat and it takes a lot to get me down.
L - Late. I am always like fifteen minutes late. Getting better, but it drives my hubby nuts!
E - Everywhere! Anyone who knows me, knows I spend a lot of time in the car. Not always by choice, either! We live an hour from church and doctors, etc. so we have to travelto go anywhere.

Umm, okay, Sandy and Joann. I think you will both do this. I am tagging you.

Meteors

2007-08-16T16:23:00.000-07:00

Well, Sunday night/Monday morning we got up at 3:00am to watch the meteor shower. All four of us. There are two streetlights next to our yard, so it was too bright to watch it from home, but we all climbed in the car and took off for dark parts unknown. We found a spot and got out and the girls fidgeted and fussed and Hubby was upset and frustrated, so we went back home. We got chairs and snacks and blankets for the girls and headed back out. Hubby wasn't very impressed. He had never seen a meteor shower before. Jessica liked it okay. Hubby was getting frustrated because the girls wouldn't look up. They kept looking at all the lights, cars, etc. in the distance. It was pretty black where we were. I enjoyed it immensely. It was nice weather for 3am, probably about mid-60's and the meteors were visible. I watched a shower years ago from Mt. Pinos. People go up there with their telescopes and you can walk around and they will let you look through them. Lots of people. Anyway, I knew what to expect. Hubby was expecting it to be more like fireworks. Oh well. I enjoyed myself and then got to sleep in late, since the girls did, too.

Hangin' Out With Dear Ol' Dad aka The Golden Years

2007-08-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

So, Monday night at about 6:30pm I get a call from Dad. He said he had left a message earlier, but I missed it. He said about a week ago he woke up and his vision was blurry in his left eye and the lower half of his vision was gray. He couldn't read small print. And he's getting frustrated. So on Tuesday morning I call my optometrist and try to schedule an appt. Booked up until Saturday. Can you refer me? Yes, to an ophthalmologist. Cool. Even better. They can get us in on Tuesday afternoon. Call Dad. Come on down! So he comes out to our house and we go to lunch and then to his appt. Apparently there is some type of blockage in the blood vessel behind the eye and the doc wants to run some tests. About six different blood tests. And he refers him to a specialist that can see him on Wednesday. Good. Let's get this figured out. So Dad spends the night with us on Tuesday night and on Wed. we go to see the specialist. Turns out it was possibly caused by something like a small stroke, possibly caused by his blood pressure being slightly elevated and this dr. wants to see him in a month. Time for Dad to get to the doctor and find out where his numbers are and run some more tests. He does not have a primary care doctor. Hasn't been to the doctor in several years. Now he needs to go. Another guy in the waiting room with the same problem, "Well, these are the golden years!" Dad got a kick out of that one. He is very healthy and just needs to know where he is at.

His vision is coming back. Yesterday morning he said it was already a little bit better than it had been. That's good, since they said it could take up to a few years for the vision to come back.

The girls had a great time with their Papa. They love having him over. The only trouble is that he has such a hard time hearing that when he watches tv at our house, it is painfully loud for the rest of us! But hey, if that's the worst thing, then we are doing okay.

I was glad I could help. Dad left on Wed. with a sense that at least he knew what it was and what to do about it. I wanted him to get in to see these doctors as soon as possible so that he wouldn't have to wait and wonder. So I was glad he was able to get it done in two days. I am sure he will be just fine. And I was glad he felt that he could come to me and ask for my help.

Next thing we need to work on is hearing aids.

What?!

Bekah

2007-08-03T22:52:00.000-07:00

Driving in the car a couple of days ago. Out of the blue, she says, "Okay, let me get this straight, your Daddy is OUR Papa?"

Let me get this straight? Who talks like that? At four? Sometimes, she just blows me away.

And please do scroll down. I posted three posts tonight. I am trying to catch up.

Bekah's First Big Boo-Boo

2007-08-03T22:27:00.000-07:00

It was so sad. And she was having such a good day, too. We were swimming at my friend's house. The girls were in the pool. My friend and I were under the patio umbrella, nursing our sunburns from the last visit. (Don't ask. It was really ugly and I am still licking my wounds, so to speak.) So Rebekah is on the "sand beach" portion of the pool. It is built like a beach and the edge gradually gets deeper, like a beach. But it is made out of like concrete pebbles or something. Very cool. Anyway, so she is in like VERY shallow water. She is yelling at the dog, who is standing on the rock at the side of the pool right next to her. As we are watching, the dog jumps on her. Good sized dog, too. It is an australian sheepdog mix. Very smart. Very protective and watches the girls when they are in the pool. Well, he jumps on her back and she goes face down into the pool. About two inches of water. When she lifts her head up, her nose is bleeding and her forehead had hit the concrete beach. Hard. It immediately started swelling and turning red. Like you could see the veins showing through, red. With the addition of the water to the blood, it appears that she is bleeding like crazy, but it actually stopped after about five minutes. I took her to the doctor's office, since we were only ten minutes from there. I had to watch her closely last night, however, she was fine. No complaining, no headache, no nothing. She is a trooper. She was nervous and everybody who looked at her had this concerned and worried look and said, "ooooohh!" But she was fine. Is fine. She did very well. Not her fault and she wasn't really upset with the dog, either. She knows he didn't try to hurt her.

So last night her daddy took all of us to Coldstone Creamery. So she could get whatever she wanted. She ordered Sweet Cream...with chocolate chips. She said that was the best. She is so down to earth! Not much fazes this kid. She is such a joy in my life!

Special Bulletin From the Emergency Chocolate Network

2007-08-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

	1)
	Milk Chocolate Butter
	Chocolate buttercream

2)
Dark Chocolate Butter
Chocolate buttercream

3)
Milk Buttercream
Vanilla buttercream

4)
Dark Buttercream
Vanilla buttercream

5)
Cashew Brittle
Hard toffee with cashews and shredded coconut

6)
Butterscotch Square
Firm brown sugar, vanilla buttercream

7)
Almond Square
Roasted almonds and caramel

8)
Milk Bordeaux™
Brown sugar buttercream

9)
Dark Bordeaux™
Brown sugar buttercream

10)
Pecan Buds
Pecans and vanilla caramel

11)
Milk Walnut
English walnuts

12)
Dark Walnut
English walnuts

13)
Milk Almonds
Roasted almonds

14)
Dark Almonds
Roasted almonds

15)
Milk Peanuts
Roasted peanuts

16)
Raspberry Truffle
Rich raspberry chocolate

17)
Almond Buds
Roasted almonds and caramel

18)
P-Nut Crunch™
Crunchy peanut butter center

19)
Scotch Kiss
Marshmallow and caramel

20)
Marzipan
Honey almond paste

21)
Ginger
Glaced ginger

22)
California Brittle®
Hard toffee with almonds

23)
Dark Butterchew®
Vanilla brown sugar caramel with dark chocolate coating

24)
Dark Chocolate Chip Truffle
Rich chocolate buttercream with chocolate chips

25)
Maple Walnut
Maple buttercream with English walnuts

26)
Scotchmallow®
Honey marshmallow and caramel

27)
Light Chocolate Truffle
Rich chocolate buttercream with ground nutmeats on top

28)
Mocha
Coffee milk chocolate buttercream

29)
Cocoanut
Cocoanut buttercream

30)
Polar Bear Paw®
Peanuts and vanilla caramel

31)
Lemon Truffle
Rich lemon chiffon buttercream

32)
Dark Nougat
Honey nougat, coconut, vanilla, with almonds

33)
Dark Chocolate Truffle
Rich chocolate buttercream with ground nutmeats on top

34)
Caramel
Caramel with almonds

35)
Rum Nougat
English walnuts, rum, cherries, raisin nougat

36)
Orange Cream
Orange buttercream

37)
Strawberry Cream
Strawberry buttercream with strawberries

38)
Raspberry Cream
Raspberry buttercream with raspberries

39)
Vanilla Nut Cream
Vanilla buttercream with English walnuts

41)
Chelsea
Chocolate buttercream with roasted pecans

42)
Milk Divinity
Whipped egg whites, vanilla cream and English walnuts

43)
Walnut Square
Caramel with English walnuts

44)
Milk Butterchew
Vanilla, brown sugar caramel

45)
Peanut Nougat
Chewy peanut nougat

46)
Milk Pattie
Vanilla caramel Recipe

47)
Dark Pattie
Chocolate vanilla caramel

48)
See's Apple Pie Truffle®
Rich buttercream with Granny Smith apples and cinnamon

49)
Vanilla Nut Caramel
Vanilla caramel and pecans

50)
Key Lime Truffle
Rich buttercream with Key Lime

58)
Café au Lait Truffle
Rich coffee buttercream

64)
Apricot Delight
Apricot buttercream with chopped apricot and toasted coconut Recipe

65)
Divinity Puff
Whipped egg whites, vanilla cream and English walnuts with shredded coconut

66)
Butterscotch Chew
Vanilla, brown sugar caramel

67)
Almond Truffle
Dark chocolate buttercream with ground almonds

68)
Kona Mocha
Coffee, chocolate buttercream and toasted coconut

75)
Dark California Brittle®
Hard toffee with almonds covered in dark chocolate

What is your favorite flavor? I just love the pecan buds and the walnut squares. Hubby loves the rum nougat. Hands down. Jess, the Scotchmallow. Rebekah, so far, whatever she can get her hands on.

Oh, and I just had an apple pie truffle the other day. OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!! Hubby's comment, "How DO they make a candy that tastes EXACTLY like apple pie???!" It tastes like more.

If you have never had See's Candies, you have no idea what you are missing. If you have, you KNOW what you are missing and if you are in the vicinity of one, you must go. They have the best candy, like, EVER! And if you don't like chocolate (and you know who you are), they have lemon truffles, key lime truffles and the aforementioned apple pie truffles that are, hands down, the best non-chocolate candies EVER! If nothing else, get some shipped to you when the weather cools down (though they CAN ship in the summer, it just costs more). That way, you can spend your money on more important things...like more candy.

Mmmmmmmmmmm. This concludes this post from the Emergency Chocolate Network. If this had been an actual chocolate emergency, there would be people running around in the streets trying to find a See's Candies. It is best to know where they are before an actual emergency occurs.

Stupid Cell Phones

2007-08-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

Hubby has been having trouble with his cell phone. Press a button to do something and it goes to the main screen. Try to charge it and he has to bang it against the counter for the connection to work and start charging. Not good. The kicker is, we are only 14 months into a 24-month contract. So we go to the Cingular, now AT&T, store to see what can be done. Keep in mind these phones are just over a year old. I bring my coupon for 15% off accessories. They have nothing for it. No accessories. They are completely outdated. Not a single charger, car charger or accessory available. There is nothing you can do except buy a new one. So I whip out the letter from AT&T with the free phone offer. Thinking maybe we can switch the contract to another of the phones. They don't even have the phone in the offer. It is out of date. No longer available. I just got this letter in the mail! They have no FREE phones (you know, sign the contract and get the phone for free). They don't exist anymore. Except if you get the outdated one from the website...but then you can't get anything to go with it!

Do you remember several years ago when new computers were coming out faster than they could stay on the shelves and pretty much by the time you got it out of the box it was obsolete. That's how this is. They have the replacement model on the shelf before the letter gets to you to tell you about it. Ridiculous. I don't have a problem with keeping up with technology, but when technology gets ahead of itself, so that NOBODY can keep up, well, that just seems ridiculous. Like the $600 phones that all those people were standing in line for a few weeks ago. I just don't see the point. Keeping up with technology is only going to put us all in the poorhouse and keep American Dollars flooding into China. Is that really what we want to do? How big is the deficit? How much money do we send to China each day, so they can create junk that doesn't even last the life of the contract you sign to get it?

So, he had no choice really, but to sign one of the other lines to a contract and get a new phone. The NEW RAZR. He is happy with it. I don't think it will last the two years before the contract is up. Stupid cell phones.

I blame all the people who shop at these stores that have "Rock Bottom Prices". If people aren't willing to pay for quality, then it will not be available. And the only way to have everything be CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP is to get it from China. Where a lot of times, prisoners are the ones making the electronics. And guess who gets imprisoned in a Communist country? Christians.

One store I am thinking of was founded on the slogan, "Made in America". Not anymore. They buy more Chinese junk than anyone else. I am not really faulting the Chinese. They are smart. They are selling what we are asking for. But, really, is this what we should be asking for? For a few dollars more, we could get something quality made in this country. Or maybe it just isn't possible anymore. It may be too late already.

But I digress. Part Two will come out when this phone no longer works. In a year.

Input, Input!

2007-07-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, I need opinions here, people. I have been looking into getting a personal organizer and I think I found one that will work. It is the Sharp OZ-590 Electronic Organizer. $49.99 at Staples. Same price at Office Depot. 8mb of memory, calendar, to do list, english-spanish dictionary (in case I ever need that) and I think it will do everything I need it to do. Don't need internet, don't want to spend more than that, so I think that will be enough. But does anybody have any comments or suggestions about these things? The need for one is apparent. I have forgotten play dates for both myself and the girls and missed dr. appts and other things. Not good. I need to get organized. For not a lot of money. So, if you have any information, suggestions, etc., PLEASE send them my way! Thanks!

Cool Tool!

2007-07-27T13:40:00.000-07:00

So, I was on Rosemary's blog and she had this NeoCounter thing. Well, it tells you where your visitors are from. Really cool. Those of you who have been with me for a while know that occasionally I wonder if anybody really reads the blog. Well, apparently somebody is! A lot of somebody's! (My sincere thanks for your visiting my humble blog site) I installed the NeoCounter from here and opted for the city list. There are many different options to choose from, but this seemed pretty well-rounded. I didn't think I could figure out how to install it, but they explained how and it was pretty simple. And guess what? People are coming to see me! So, if you are one of them, feel free to say hello and tell us where you are from. Especially if you are a first time visitor. And welcome!

Mechanical pencils 5 pack for 10cents!

2007-07-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

I love school supply shopping. Filler paper 29cents. Pencils 10 for 25 cents. Box of crayons 5 cents. Pencil sharpener 1 cent. Folders 1 cent. 15 pack of colored pencils 50 cents. A whole 64 pack of crayons with the sharpener on the back $1.50. I went yesterday and spent $4 on school supplies and got a whole bag full of stuff. Too cool. I just love shopping for next to nothing. It makes me feel like I am really doing good. But now I have enough school supplies for the next ten years. Because every week when the ads come out, I go nuts. Gotta get 'em. Because I'm only gonna spend two dollars. Or whatever! It is fun! The girls have a blast, too. But then they want to buy something that is not on sale and I'm like, "No! I'm bargain shopping!" And they go, "Awww, Mom!!!!"

Rebekah was picking up the cat the other night. This occurs about 50 times each day. Well, I told her to put him down. She says, "I know, he's a poor cat when I pick him up!"

Jessica wants to have parties and shows everyday. She set the table yesterday for a snack party. Styrofoam plates and cookies and candies and little bathroom sized cups with juice in them. She would make a great kindergarten teacher. I remember having the little snack after my kindergarten class every day. Nilla wafers and juice. Interesting combination.

Huh?

2007-07-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

I went to a friend's birthday party recently. It was her 40th birthday and she wanted it to be really special. So first she had a tea party at her house. She wanted everybody to wear dresses and hats. She borrowed some beautiful china from a friend/guest and had a beautiful luncheon. Her niece was late getting there and she wanted to wait for her, so, while we arrived at 3:30, we did not sit down to the tea until about 5:00. The niece still had not shown up. The tea, sandwiches, etc., was very nice. Then she wanted everyone to walk down the "runway" and show off what they were wearing and be "critiqued". I didn't want to do this, so another lady volunteered to go at the same time. I walked up, down, and sat down, then went to look for something in my car. The niece still had not arrived. My friend had made reservations at a restaurant in Valencia for dinner. At the Rio Rio Brazilian Restaurant. For 8:00. Well, it was after 6:00 by this time. No niece. So we waited. Because she finally called her niece and she said she was on her way. So we couldn't leave before she got there! She wanted everyone to listen to a song and then pray. So we did. Then she wanted us to have cake. Some did. I was still too full from the tea, so no cake. She also wanted to have everyone put their name on a piece of paper to draw a name for the two gifts she had bought as presents for guests. So we all put our names on little pieces of paper. Folded them in half and put them in a hat box. She then proceeded to shake it up for the next ten minutes, saying that she could not pick the name because she was the one giving the gifts. So, I took the box from her, mixed up the names and lifted it up above her head. She put her hand in and pulled out a paper. She unfolded it and looked at it. She laughed and said she should have taken the first one she touched on top, but she figured I had put my own on top so that I would get the prize. (in other words, saying I was trying to cheat) Hmm. I know she sometimes says things that she doesn't really mean, so I let it go. BUT, she had said that AFTER she looked at the name she drew. So she was also telling my friend that had come with me (I introduced the two of them) that she didn't want to draw her name. HMM! Well, my other friend is very sensitive to begin with, but this was just not very nice. So she says, "Well, if you don't want me to have it, then fine. I won't take it! I will just give it to Amy!" I said I didn't want it and wanted nothing to do with this, and Friend #1 says, "You can't give it to someone else! It's a gift! That's rude!" Look who's calling who rude! So my Friend #2 gets upset (understandably so) and says she is ready to leave. She is supposed to go to the dinner place. I finally got her calmed down and she agreed to still go. When Friend #1 realized she said things that weren't very nice, instead of apologizing, she just said to another person, "Well, I have said something to everybody...I called you anal retentive!" Friend #2 ended up leaving the gift in my car. She didn't want to take it. So, I gave it to my mother-in-law. She said she really liked it.

So then she draws the second name. It is my neighbor up the street who had already left earlier. Everybody tells her to draw another name, of someone who is there still. She looks at me and my other friend and says, "I would draw another name, but YOU TWO would tell her, wouldn't you?" I raised my hands in the air and said, "I am not saying a thing!" My friend goes in the bathroom and doesn't come out for like ten minutes. And Friend #1 is asking me if she is upset about what she said earlier. I never got an apology from her for accusing me of trying to cheat.

So, it's like 7:00 now. Still no niece. There were nine of us there for tea. Five of us were going to the restaurant. Friend #1 didn't want to drive. Her sister-in-law from Boston didn't want to drive. She wanted me to drive. But she wanted to be at the restaurant in Valencia until 2am. I wanted to be in bed asleep at 2am. And well before that. So I told her, which was true, that my car was so full of junk at the moment that I could only take three people. Myself included. So I took Friend #2 and we got in my car and Friend #1, her sister-in-law and the piano teacher (who she talked into driving #1's car) all got in the other car. We drove through the canyon. We left her house at 7:40pm. We got to the Rio Rio at 8:30. For an 8:00 reservation. No niece. We were seated at a reserved table (for eight people). As soon as we were seated, she says we should wait for her niece and maybe just have some drinks. I said no. Sister-in-law said no. Piano teacher says no. They have a salad bar and side dishes and the servers come around to the tables with 14 kinds of meats on swords. Whichever ones you want to try, they cut off a portion and put it on your plate. They stop serving dinner at 10:00pm. It was 8:45pm already. NO, we are not waiting for your niece! And they have this show that goes on starting at 9:00 and they close up the salad bar and don't serve food during the shows, so you have to wait to eat again. So the waiter comes over and explains that it is $40 for the dinner and show. Friend #2 is a vegetarian. There wasn't much for her to eat. They finally talked the manager into letting her have the meal, with no meat, for $34, which is the mid-week price. Not exactly a bargain, but what can you do? She DID enjoy the show, though and didn't seem upset with the price. At about 9:00pm, who shows up? The NIECE! No explanation. No apology. Just here I am. Oh my gosh!!! So here we are eating and the show is going on and we are sitting on the dance floor. I was seated like three feet from the dancers. These dancers don't have very many clothes on. I am not sure you can call what they are wearing clothes. They made Las Vegas showgirls look overdressed. Little tiny costumes. And when you are that close, where are you supposed to look? It was noisy and I didn't really enjoy it knowing that I was spending so much money. Well, by 10:30pm we finally got the waiter to bring the bills and (remember we were at a table reserved for 8?) with the 18% gratuity included and 8.25% tax, for dinner and water the total was $50.49. For just me. One person. Food only. I didn't think it was all that great. Hubby would probably have enjoyed the show. I didn't. Knowing I would rather be with him and that it cost all that money. And the girls hadn't wanted me to leave and I would have to drive home and it was a long way home.

Well, we finally got out of there at 10:45pm and home by 11:45pm. Took the freeway, because who wants to drive the canyon at that time of the night. The piano teacher came with us. I don't know who drove the other car back home, my friend or her sister-in-law. Neither wanted to drive. She had originally wanted to hire a limo and have everyone divide the cost. Yeah, I don't think so. I told her that was a bad idea. But at that time I thought it was going to be $34 total for the dinner.

It was an interesting birthday party. But here is the funniest part of all. She didn't tell us until we were at the restaurant.

This party took place about three weeks ago. June 30.

Her birthday was in March.

Lost My Credibility

2007-07-23T05:20:00.000-07:00

We, as parents, should try to be sure that we know what we are talking about before we open our mouths. Take the four-leaf clover, for instance. I was always under the impression that it did not exist. Well, apparently it does. And I didn't even need to look it up on the Internet, although I did this for verification.

Jessica found a four-leaf clover.

In the clover patch in the front yard. Who knew? I took a close look. I had her bring me another clover to be sure the leaves were the same. Sure enough. We dried it flat in a book.

According to the websites I looked up, it happens about once every 10,000 times. Not too often, but still, I was wrong.

Now she isn't going to believe anything.

Too many movies!

2007-07-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

Jess and Bekah were playing in the playroom and Jess had to go use the bathroom. Jessica yells to Rebekah as she is on her way to the bathroom, "Pause the game!" Rebekah keeps playing and Jess yells louder, "PAUSE THE GAME!" I guess they watch too many movies...

Shhh!

2007-07-20T00:40:00.000-07:00

Me: Rebekah, are you almost done going potty?
Rebekah: (whisper) I need to go poo-poo..........Let's just keep this to ourselves, okay?

Every day she says something that just cracks me up! This little girl makes me laugh. She is so serious and comes up with these things that you just don't expect.

Rebekah: Mommy, why do I have girl parts?
Me: Because you are a girl.
Rebekah: What if I had boy parts?
Me: Then you would be a boy.

Too funny. Went to a friend's house on Sunday after church and went swimming. Rebekah was floating in the raft in the deep end and, although she was told not to lean over the side, there she went. Over and into the pool. She was reminding us later how she had gone under the water "all by myself!" So proud, too! You would think she had done it on purpose.

Jess is growing up so fast. The girls recital was so cute! Jess did a little tap number called "Shiny New Shoes". Very nice. They did a fantastic job! I couldn't believe it was my baby up there doing so well! She is a naturally gifted performer and just loves to be on stage, with all the world watching her! Rebekah, not so much. She had fun doing it, but not on the same level. Jess just lives for the stage. Every day she wants to have a "Show" of some kind. A huge production where she is singing and dancing and her adoring audience is clapping for her. Hmm. I wonder where this will all lead? There are about ten things she wants to do with her life and I believe most of them involve performing. Oh boy. Well, she has the figure for it! And she's good. It was very cute to see them all lined up and dancing.

The little ones were adorable as well. Not quite as polished. They watch each other for clues as to what to do next. They did a cheer number to "Yankee Doodle" and had on red, white and blue costumes and blue and silver pompoms. They looked so TINY on the big stage! The recital is at the Performing Arts Center and it is a big production! We sat in the balcony. The kids just look so small from there. Like I said, she enjoyed it, but not with the same enthusiasm that her sister had. For Jess, this is like her dream come true. So cute.

I have just been figuring out the school calendar for this year, with holidays and all. I am nervous, but I know that this is the best thing for my kid at least. It's funny. When people think of homeschooled children, the response you usually get is, "But what about socialization?" Well, to this I have two responses:
1. I don't want my children to be Socialists!
2. Teachers are always telling kids that school isn't the time to socialize and they need to be quiet in class. My children will have more time for being social than those in school, who have to wait for lunch or after school! On field trips, doing projects, being with me and around other people.

I know other people don't agree with homeschooling. Not everybody will agree with everything you do. I found this out when I started telling people that I don't vaccinate my children. I spent hundreds of hours researching this before I decided. But nobody wants to hear it. So I stopped telling people. That some vaccines are grown on fetal (aborted) tissue. That babies get sick and can die from vaccines. That if that happens, there is very little you can do. That you CAN send your kids to school without vaccines. That you can wait to vaccinate them and you can delay any of them that you want to. That many still have mercury in them. That the autism rates are finally reversing, since the mercury is slowly being removed from the vaccines. I know all the vaccines and all the possible side effects. I know what the risk is of getting the disease itself, and the side effects, vs. having the vaccine and the risk of side effects from them! I charted and graphed all of it. For every vaccine on the immunization chart. I studied them inside and out. And then I made my decision. But...

Now I am losing my audience. See? You all don't want to hear it. People I know think I am absolutely INSANE for not vaccinating my kids. Even my sister! So then I shut up. Same with just about any decision you make though. I mean, we all have choices to make, right? And we all try to do our best and make the best decisions we can with the information we have. As parents, don't you think it is our responsibility to find out for ourselves what the information is so that we are making an INFORMED decision. Or should we leave it up to the school administrators, the doctors, etc. to tell us what the best plan is.

Earlier this year, there was a girl in Germany who was falling behind in school. Her parents started tutoring her at home so she could catch up in her classes. The school found out and expelled her from school. Because her parents were trying to help her study. Then, since she was expelled, her parents began to homeschool her, so she wouldn't fall behind. The court removed her from her home! She was fifteen years old. They didn't even tell her parents where she was! When she turned sixteen, she left the foster home and returned to her parents home. This had gone on for a few months! But here's the kicker. The government in Germany will not allow parents to homeschool because they don't want to lose control of what the children are being taught. And this law went INTO effect when Hitler was in power in Germany! Amazing, isn't it? They want to be in control of what the children are taught! Because aren't the children the ones who will be in control when we are seniors? They must be controlled! Phooey. I want my children to think for themselves, to be able to act independently and to act on what they believe! Not what the government tells them, JUST because the government says so. Yes, obey the laws, but know how to think for yourself. Do you think it is just concern for the children that is prompting the state to fund and push public preschool and kindergarten? I think not. Who is raising your kids?

I may have offended some. I hope that is not the case. Hopefully, you will think about these things. They are simply my opinions and, like all of you, I am entitled to them. I made my choices, like you, for love of my children. I am certain that if we put them first and seek the Lord in raising them, they will turn out okay. Because isn't that the most important thing we can do as parents...to instill in them a love of God and a future in His Kingdom?

Bad Blogger...Good Mommy

2007-07-14T01:28:00.000-07:00

Oooh, my bad. I haven't blogged in like three and a half months! Wow, where has the time gone. Obviously, my resolution went kerplooee. Is that a word?

It seems every time I get on the computer during daylight hours, the kids have some sort of crisis, during the 45 minutes I am waiting for the dumb thing to boot up. No joke. Scott doesn't like to use the laptop because it will lose signal for a few seconds and then come back on. The PC just sits there for ten minutes at a time, seemingly doing what is supposed to and then it either boots you off of the internet or you get some sort of error message. It certainly doesn't make me want to spend hours in here waiting for the dumb thing while the kids are wreaking havoc on the family room, bringing out every toy known to man from the playroom, down the hall and heaving them willy-nilly across the family room floor.

Scott's car needed new brake pads. Rears. The car apparently brakes from the rear first. Unlike every other car in the world. 26k miles and he needs new pads. Whatever. The car was at the dealer for the scheduled maintenance.

Service guy: It needs new pads, and did we want to do it? For $90 parts and $200 labor.
Me: No thank you.
Service guy: It needs to be done soon, they are almost completely worn and if that happens it will need new rotors, for an additional $260. And in order to do it, you need this special tool to remove the calipers and it has to squeeze and twist them at the same time.
Me: Thank you. I will call my husband to find out if he wants to do it.

Call Hubby. He suggests the auto parts store. I then call Dad.
Me: Umm, Hi! What are you doing tomorrow? Do you want to put pads on Scott's car? They are almost worn out.
Dad: I guess. I will call my parts guy and call you back.

No luck. His guy can't get them. I call the dealer. $400 for the tool. 3-4 weeks from Germany. Great. Stop at Auto Zone. Nice guys there. Helpful, too.

Me: Do you have rear pads for this car? Oh, and I need to find out about this special tool I need to remove the calipers.
Auto Zone guy: Our other store has the pads. The tool we can loan you with a $35 deposit.
Me: COOL! I need it!

So, today we dropped Scott off at the park and ride. At 4:30am. Then we stopped at Uncle Andy's Donut Shop. They were still warm. Yum. Then home, shower, run back to the dealer when they open because the dumb check engine light is on after taking it in for the service. Service guy says it is a coincidence. I think not, but there is nobody there that can help me unless I leave it. No can do. Thanks very much.

So off we go to the mountains to have the brakes done. Oh yeah. $25 for lifetime guarantee pads. Cool. So we get to Dad's. He gets the tires off. Goes to remove the calipers with this little tool that has different sized disks on it. Umm. Problem. They all have two little bumps on one side, directly across from each other. We need one with three in a triangle formation. This will not work. There is no disk with three bumps on it. Dad swears. Again. A couple more times. The car has been elevated from a car to a piece of s--t. He tries a few different things. Then I watch as he goes to the shop and comes back with a piece of paper. He's marking something. He's gonna make the freakin' part! And so he does. And it works! We end up going over to his brothers' place at the camp and helping them serve lunch to the campers who are there. The priest of the orthodox church has two daughters, ages 4 and 7, and they are just as bored as Jess and Bekah. So, together they had more fun. LOTS AND LOTS OF FUN! So I call Dad at 12:15 and tell him lunch will be ready at 12:30. He just got done with the car. Made the part to attach to the tool and saved me not only the money for the brake job, but also from having to buy the tool. Amazing. Dad is my hero for the day.

The girls ended up having a great day. We got the brake pads on. Saved lots of money and all is well. Oh, and it was pretty cool up there. Much nicer than at home, so we were able to enjoy the nice weather. And my aunt and uncle sent me home with a bunch of food from the camp. Neat! So, all in all we had a great day! We are going up next week to play with the same little girls and the girls will all get to go swimming in the pool there. Fun.

And their mommy is surviving summer...

It has been ten days...

2007-03-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

and I didn't even realize it! I have hardly been on the computer at all, though, so I didn't notice that I hadn't been here! Did anyone else realize I was MIA?

Well, the cat has officially taken over. He really is our little Buddy, spreading his time out between all of us. He will play fetch with me at 4am, then sleep so close next to me that I cannot roll over. Then he will get up in the morning and go to Jessica before she wakes up, so she thinks that he has been there all night. He and Scott were messing around on the bed, and when Scott had his hand under the covers the cat gets this WILD eyed look, his pupils get HUUUGE and he crouches down, does the butt wiggle, puts his ears back flat and POUNCES! Then Scott jerks his hand up in the air and the cat goes, whole body into the air, straight UP and BACK about a foot, ready to pounce again. But you can't do it again, because you are laughing SOOOO hard at what he just did. It's very entertaining. Rebekah can't keep away from him either. When she picks him up, the cat goes completely limp. No claws, not tense, nothing. He just lays there. Even when she has carried him around the neck! He somehow knows she is not going to hurt him, not really.

His favorite toy is a paper ball. When you crumple it up, he does the crouch down to the ground thing again, his eyes so huge all you see is black and waits. When you throw it, he leaps into action, then brings it back! He will do this ten or twenty times. He plays fetch better than my dogs! And a pile of newspapers in the family room turned into a pile of fun for him. So does a brand new roll of toilet paper. It has to be attacked and shredded. Whatever that TP roll did, it must be punished severely for it. And then, just as quickly as he got started, he will jump to the top of the cat tree and curl up for a long nap. And sleep...and sleep.

We left the house in a hurry yesterday evening and left a pan with some chicken thighs in it on the table. Well, when we got home last night, it appears that Buddy had a feast! He ate one completely and dragged another off the table onto the floor. He wasn't interested in the food I poured out for him last night. I can't imagine why. I guess we need to be a little more organized and put our stuff away!

He is a great addition to our lives and we love him very much. Aside from learning to keep his claws off the furniture, he has been very good. And the last few days, he has been using the cat tree as a scratching post as well. He is doing well.

So much going on!

2007-03-17T14:52:00.000-07:00

This is me holding a one-day old baby, Sean Patrick. How adorable he is! 9lbs, 13 oz. And so cute! Yeah, when she asked me if I wanted to hold him, I said yes. I got to hold Baby JJ when he was, I think, five days old. I guess I actually am getting more comfortable with the little ones. Oh, yeah, and Frankie when she was only a few days old, too. Wow, I held them all at less than a week old! I guess I am better! Maybe it has something to do with the fact that mine are growing up so fast! Rebekah will be four on the 28th! And Jess will be six in April. SIX! No way! I just had her! It does not seem that long.

We have had a full day today and it is only 3pm! The mall had a Breakfast with the Easter Bunny program on today. A craft, free breakfast from McDonalds, visit the Easter Bunny and a nice man making balloon animals. There was a woman doing face painting, too. It was all free! The girls had a great time! We went with their friend Zack and his parents (my friends). The kids had a lot of fun, but it was crowded, so we left after a little while. Then we went to Mulligan's. There was hardly anybody there! We went on the bumper boats, the go-karts, we played lazer tag and miniature golf. Very fun, but we were there until about 1pm and it was getting really warm. We got a little pink from being in the sun and we were all getting thirsty and tired. But a good time was had by all!

And now, for pictures of our Buddy. He is a very good kitty. Except when Jess and Bekah were at my dad's overnight on Wednesday, Buddy was lonely. Jess was not in her bed to sleep next to, so he came in our room. Apparently Buddy has been sleeping during the day, so does not need to sleep at 1am. He was awake. Wide awake. And he wanted to play fetch. He will bring the paper ball back ten or more times before he gets bored with this game. Better than either dog. He waits for you to throw the ball and hauls butt over the side of the bed to retrieve it. Hilarious. He is a good kitty and pretty smart, too. Jess does really well with him. Bekah, not so much. She won't stop picking him up and, though he is very patient with her, sometimes she ends up on the wrong end of a claw. I think it is mostly accidental, when they are playing. He is very sweet and good about not scratching the girls. But I want her to learn to be nice to the cat! Anyway, he is a love and has already wiggled his way into our hearts. It wasn't hard.

Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

2007-03-10T08:30:00.000-08:00

I was talking with Sandy and she was looking for a healthy recipe for something yummy. I created this recipe a while back for Scott's uncle, who is diabetic. The nice thing about these cookies is, they get better with age! The flavor of the cinnamon permeates the oats and flour and they actually taste better a day or two after you make them! And they stay soft, too, because they don't go flat like most cookies. They are yummy little mounds of goodness. And you don't notice the fact that there is only a total of 1/2 cup of sugar in them (the brown sugar and evaporated cane juice). Try 'em, you will like them!

Diabetic Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/2 C. whole wheat flour
1 1/4 t. baking soda
1 t. Stevia sweetener
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
Mix together and set aside.

2 sticks butter
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. organic evaporated cane juice
1/4 c. applesauce, unsweetened
3 C. oatmeal
1 C. raisins

Cream together butter and brown sugar, add eggs and vanilla, cane juice and applesauce. Add flour mixture in thirds, stirring to combine. Then stir in oatmeal and raisins.

Use large scoop (#40) to make uniform 3-inch cookies. Turn onto baking sheet (preferably baking stone) and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.

Dad and Ebay

2007-03-09T09:15:00.000-08:00

I can't remember if I ever wrote about the problems Dad had with the guy he bought parts from on ebay. Well, he paid for them back in October and received them in November. The parts were junk, sloppy and worn out, but the guy claimed they were tight fitting and in good shape. Well, he wouldn't return them. So we complained to ebay. Took forever, but they replied and said we needed to talk to Paypal. So we did. The guy wouldn't budge. So we filed a claim. Took another five weeks. They decided in our favor. Return the parts, get your money back. So we did. Waited some more. Finally got the credit on the Amex. The guy was a complete jerk. Claiming the parts were in good shape when they were not. Porsche repair is all Dad has done for the last 45 years!

Dad called me up the other night to tell me the guy re-listed the parts. Said due to a "recent horrible experience with a rookie in California" that he would accept no returns on these parts. Trying to sell them again to some unsuspecting person that probably won't take it as far as we did!

It is irritating, though also comedic, that my Dad, who is very well known in the Porsche field, especially vintage racing, 356 restoration, etc., would be labeled as a "rookie".

The nerve of some people!

Here I am

2007-03-09T08:31:00.000-08:00

Thanks, guys, for missing me. I am fine. All is well. I have just not even gotten to the computer for more than five minutes. Yesterday was Kid Day. We started out at the park, where my friend Lisa and I walked and the kids played and ran around on the grass. Then we went to the library for story time. Then we went to the mall and had lunch at Red Robin. Then we went to the play area at the mall and the kids played. We ran home and got Jess ready for ballet and dropped her off there. Rebekah and I went to the store and Albertson's was having an 8-hour sale. I spent $71 and saved $93. No coupons! Well, two coupons that they had in the aisle. I did good! Then we went back and picked up Jess and went home and had teriyaki chicken (marinated for two days), steamed broccoli, carrots and zucchini and steamed rice. Yum! I didn't get to the computer! The day before was much the same. No computer! Today I will be home most of the day, except for Rebekah's ballet lesson. She is so cute in her little ballet outfit. Jessica looks like a mini-ballerina, Rebekah looks like she swiped her sister's ballet outfit for dress up. It fits her fine, it's just she doesn't do much. Last week her teacher sent her out of class because "Rebekah wants to lie down on the floor instead of dance". Hmm. We had a little talk and sent her back in. I don't think she is a born ballerina. Jess is. She is graceful and loves to dance. Her only problem is that she wants to do it HER way instead of listening to the teacher. But she is getting much better! No complaints from her teacher in WEEKS! My baby is growing up!

My friend Mary is having her baby today. She called me last night to tell me she would be going in this morning at 6am! She was like 2 1/2 inches dilated yesterday when she went for her appointment. Maybe the dr didn't want to have to be called over the weekend? Anyway, he is a good dr (the same one I go to) and very nice, so she will be in good hands.

We still don't know what the baby is and they have not definitely decided on a name! She said when they saw the baby then they would see what he or she looked like and pick the name from their list.

We will go see them at the hospital on Saturday. Such fun!

We are off to ballet at 10am today, then waiting here for Fedex to deliver eight Pampered Chef boxes and the delivery company to deliver the lower foundation for the bed. Three inches lower - so I shouldn't have to take a flying leap into my bed because it is so high. No joke.

Speaking of the bed, it is VERY comfortable. I don't wake up in the middle of the night when I turn over. Actually I don't wake up in the middle of the night at all anymore. Scott's mom came over on Monday and she wanted to try it. She said she could easily sleep on that and that it didn't hurt her back. It is comfortable.

The kitty is doing very well. He sleeps on Jessica's bed all night. He is feeling much better now, too. He was playing with the girls a lot yesterday. They cut off pieces of curling ribbon and walk around with it trailing behind them and he chases after them. And he can go from that to curling up in your lap and taking a nap. He is really becoming a part of the family. And he is really cute. When you talk to him, he meows back. Then purrs. Really loud. His cold is almost gone. He still has a little cough left. May take him to the vet just to make sure it is all gone. I will see how he is next week.

So all is well and I am fine. Sorry that I haven't written. So much for my resolution! That didn't last long! I will still try to write as often as I can. But don't stop visiting if it isn't every day! Have a great day!

Heeeeeere Kitty kitty!

2007-03-01T17:13:00.000-08:00

This should have been posted at 9am, however, blogger was being a butthead and wouldn't let me post. I kept getting error messages! But I'm not bitter...

No, he doesn't have a name yet. And he is going to be an indoor only kitty. Unless, of course, he pees in the bed. Just kidding. We lost two to coyotes and don't want to lose any more! He was very good yesterday and he is learning to not scratch on the furniture. We have a BIG cat tree, reaches almost to the ceiling. He was sleeping on the thing yesterday. It has a round enclosed area and he plopped himself in it, with his head sticking out the front and took a nap. The girls wore him out! Last night Dad spent the night because he was here all day and we decided it didn't make sense to drive home when everything would be frozen! So he left this morning after we made German pancakes.

The kitty sat on my lap for about an hour last night while we watched the food channel. Even Scott is getting into the food channel! He better not try to get in my kitchen! Just kidding, I like it when he helps in the kitchen. Something I like doing and doing it with someone I like. Anyway, while we watched Alton Brown, the kitty sat on me and purred and cleaned himself. He was very good. For a kitten, he is very calm. The kids tried to chase him out of the front room and he looks at them like, "What?" Not scared or spooked at all. Just kind of curious why they are yelling and waving their arms around. It's funny.

So far the only thing we've called him is "Kitty kitty". And that doesn't seem like the right name for a boy kitty. So we will have to confer on this one and come up with something that works. I have always liked Siatee (pronounced C-A-T), but that also sounds like a girls name. So, I don't know. Scott likes Edgar. I think that was it. How about Tommy. Any suggestions? Definitely open for suggestions.

The bed is working out fine. I didn't wake up in the middle of the night, which I used to do. I feel like I sink in and can curl up into a comfortable position. I sleep wierd, kinda twisted over, with one leg crossed over and bent on top of the straight one underneath. Hard to describe. Anyway, it is much more comfortable in this bed than the other one! And Hubby is happy. Much happier than he was in the Number bed. That was such a joke!

Gotta go. Have a great day!

I'mmm Baaaaack!

2007-02-28T08:16:00.000-08:00

THE MATTRESS

The Hubby didn't wake up with a backache! Yeah! He usually does. He slept well. Me? Oh, well, I need a little time to get used to it. It's just me. I DID sleep more comfortably than I did on the mattress we HAD. And much better than the Sleep Number Bed. Dad still loves his, by the way. Scott even took a nap yesterday. He had a couple of hours between the mattress arrival and the cat pick-up, so he took a little cat nap. Ha. He loves his new mattress.

They brought the wrong foundation. The mattress is....fourteen inches high. To the edge. The top is actually a bit higher. And the foundation is five inches. Put that on top of our Ethan Allen bedframe and the whole thing is like thirty-seven inches off the floor! My feet are like 6-8 inches off the floor when I sit on the edge of the bed! Well, they were supposed to bring the low-profile foundation with it. It is two inches lower. They didn't. We ended up with the regular one. Even though Scott talked to the Aireloom rep beforehand, called and left the message for the saleslady and she called him to confirm. It didn't say low-profile on the order form. So, they are going to order it now. So they have to come back out here. Bummer for them.

Scott is evil. The delivery guy, when he is getting ready to drag the old mattress out, takes a blade and slices the side of it, so he can put his hand in and haul it out. After he slices it open, Scott says, "Oh. We were going to keep the old one." He said the guy turned white. I couldn't do that with a straight face. The Hubby can.

THE KITTY

He is so cute! The girls spent the night looking after him. Rebekah says, "He is SOOOO CUUUUUUTE! He is just a baby!" She likes anything that is a baby. Won't eat baby carrots. You know, 'cuz they are babies. Loves everything tiny. She just adores the kitty.

Jess is really good with the kitty. She is able to pick him up and he doesn't have a problem with that at all. He is very calm and well behaved. She is learning to watch him and follow after him to be sure he doesn't scratch the furniture or anything.

We are going to have somewhat of a transition period, but you know, when you get a new puppy, they have accidents and stuff, too, so this is not surprising.

Should be interesting...

It's Coming

2007-02-27T09:03:00.000-08:00

Don't bother me today. My mattress is coming between 9 and 1 and I will be busy after that. Scott stayed home today for this momentous occasion. So, we will be trying it out after it's arrival. Then we have to go pick up the newest member of our family. We got to hold him yesterday and he was just as adorable as I thought he would be. Very sweet. So, what a day! A new bed and a new family member! Wahoo!

My 200th Post

2007-02-26T07:57:00.000-08:00

Wow. A momentous occasion. 200 blog posts. I'm good. Pretty soon my number of posts will catch up to the number of profile views. Which means my number of readers is not very high. Oh well. To my five loyal readers - THERE'S LOVE!!!!

So, we, well, more to the point, I, decided I was ready for a cat. It has been a year since the whole cat bite incident and well, I miss having a furry friend to cuddle up on my lap, to wake me up in the morning, to play with the kids, to just generally be there for us. So, The Hubby reluctantly agreed to let me look. Found a few prospects in the Pennysaver, but he shot them all down. And none were kittens. Newspaper? Nothing. Really. Nothing. Petsmart. One cute cat. Eight months old. How long has he been in the cage? Didn't seem all that friendly. Truth is, after what happened the last time, I was pretty nervous about ANY cat from there. The adoption places just get feral cats a lot of times and after the supposedly "nice" cat bit me, I was really nervous about that. So, we went to the pound. All the while The Hubby is warming up to the idea. A little. He's worried about his leather recliner. So am I.

So we go to the pound last week when he was off of work on Wednesday. They had some tiny kittens. They were on hold. They had this cute black one, but he was just found, so we couldn't hold him, take him, nothing. Well, we decided to put a hold on him (that's the way you do it if they are not available yet) and they told us we could take him out of the cage on Saturday and take him home on Monday, after his little snip-snip. So, we dutifully go over there on Saturday.

Animal Control Person: Oh, it hasn't been five days, so you cannot take him out of the cage. It has to be five days and that will be on Monday.

Me: So, you are telling us that the other person got the dates mixed up and we cannot hold him and visit with him until we come to GET him on Monday?

ACP: Yes. And he will be having surgery on Monday morning, so he will be a little groggy from the surgery.

Me: So, we will have no idea of what he is like prior to taking him home.

ACP: Right. But we offer a two week trial period. So you can bring him back and exchange for another animal if it doesn't work out.

Me: Great.

So we go back to look at the cats. All new faces, it seems, except for Junior. (We already named him, since he looks just like Scooter.) So we find the cage numbers for a couple of other cats. No go. One just came in, so he has to be there for five days first and the other has a hold. THIS IS FRUSTRATING! We leave and plan to come back on Monday between 3 and 6, like they told us.

So I get a phone call this morning.

It's the Animal Control Person.

"This message is for Amy. We couldn't do the surgery on the cat you were going to pick up because he ate food after he was supposed to and the vet didn't want to do the surgery on him. So you can't take him home until tomorrow between 3 and 6."

What a rebellious cat. He chose to eat after being told not to! He was probably thinking, "Hmm. If I eat, they won't do the snip-snip on me. Let me think..."

So, why didn't they remove the food so he couldn't eat? He's only four months old. He isn't going to listen if they say, "Okay Jr., don't eat tonight, okay? Good kitty."

Mm-hmm. Scott described the guy working there as Inbred Jed. Not the brightest lightbulb in the box.

I guess we will go visit Jr. tonight and maybe bring him some flowers or kitty grass. After all, he is having surgery tomorrow.

Actually this is good. The Hubby has sympathy for him and his procedure tomorrow. And we could use another boy in the house.

And he's really cute.

My Secret Fairy Friend

2007-02-23T15:04:00.000-08:00

Well, here it is. These are the things my secret fairy friend sent me! SSSOOOOOOO COOOOLLL!!! All things chocolate! And when I thought there was nothing more there, we found a little chocolate bar in the bottom of the box! She thought of everything! Stuff I didn't know existed! Everything was so nicely packaged and the girls thoroughly enjoyed opening all the little red packages! It was beautiful. We received it a week ago, two days after Valentine's Day, so for us, V-Day lasted longer than normal! It is so fun to get things in the mail. In this day of email and telephones and all things digital, it is nice to get an old-fashioned package. Especially one brimming with goodies that you don't know about! Such fun! She made a beautiful card that was just adorable! There was an adorable little painted canister full of Hershey's kisses like I have never seen before! Raspberry and Cherry Flavored kisses! Who Knew!!! There were altoids. Chocolate ones! The regular ones are way too hot for me, but when they are paired up with chocolate, I could eat the whole box! And the girls just LOVED the M&M's flavored lip gloss. Such fun! And who ever heard of candy-covered, chocolate dipped sunflower seeds. Rosemary, you gotta try these! And the cutest little magnet and key chain! So many nice things!

So, thank you, my Secret Fairy Friend, Stefani, for making this Valentine's Day a day to remember!

When I joined the SOSF, I didn't think it was going to be this much fun! I thoroughly enjoyed this!

The Aireloom Mattress

2007-02-18T18:23:00.000-08:00

Okay, we ordered THE MATTRESS. We finally decided on which one to get. And we got the killer President's Day sale price. We were the proverbial "Wheelers and Dealers". We talked 'em down till they were exhausted. We left em in tears 'cause they didn't make any money off the deal. Yeah, we did good. And we got a mattress that is so comfortable, I am going to sleep like a dream. Scott is pretty happy. He said every day till we get it, he's going to be miserable. It's a paradox.

So, we finally got this whole mattress thing done. I can't wait.

Now, what if we don't sleep any better on the new mattress?

Today I am Thankful For...

2007-02-18T16:04:00.000-08:00

My Secret Fairy! I will show you all the things she sent me within the next day or so. SOOO Nifty! We got this oh-so-cool package in the mail on Friday afternoon! Thank you!!!

John Harvey

2007-02-18T15:55:00.000-08:00

There is a lady at our church whose son is in Iraq. He has a birthday coming up in a week. So, I got this brilliant idea to send him a package from anyone and everyone who wants to participate! We are going to make some cookies and brownies and send a birthday card with happy wishes for him and anyone who wants to comment and send a birthday greeting his way can do so. In fact, we encourage you to do so! If you want so send something along with the package, I will be sending it out on Wednesday, so whatever you want to include (baked goods, toothbrushes, toothpaste, chewing gum, something cool I am not thinking of now), then let me know and I will plan to include it in the shipment. I figure if we get too many things, he can share them with the guys he is with. I am certain they can't have too much! Chocolate bars are happily accepted and I am told Butterfingers are his favorite! So, if you want to be included, please write something nice and I will print all the birthday wishes and if you want to just send a generic hey, how are ya to the guys in the troop, we will send that along as well. No matter what your feelings are on the war, these guys are over there doing their job for their country and deserve to be acknowledged, right? So let's do right by them! Please feel free to post well wishes in the comments!

Pie Soup

2007-02-16T08:12:00.000-08:00

I never made a lemon meringue pie before. But Hubby wanted one for Valentine's Day. I was so worried about the crust (it has been 20 years since I made a crust) that I just didn't concern myself about the rest of it. The good news is the crust was excellent! I had a good recipe, using all butter, no Crisco. And I had a pastry blender that Pampered Chef just came out with last year with a long handle and it made cutting in the butter a breeze. I had a silicone pastry mat (also from PC) that shows you how big to make the piecrust and then you just lift it up, turn it over and peel the crust off of it and into the pie plate. Voila! Easy. The rest of the pie - not so much. I did something wrong with the lemon filling. It tasted really good, but it didn't set up. It seemed fine when I was making it, it just never got really solid. More like lemon pudding consistency. And the meringue. Well, I added the sugar too early. I didn't know you have to whip it up first and then add the sugar. So it took FOREVER! And I never achieved the volume that meringue is supposed to have. It was only about an inch high and then that shrunk. Tasted good, though.

Oh well. This just means I have to try again! It was a fun experiment! So I have had a piece of pie soup for dessert and Hubby had a brownie and milk. Made the brownies the other night when we were watching the chocolate special on Food Network. Couldn't NOT make something chocolate that night.

When I get the recipe right I will post it on the Bon Vivant website. Until then, I am going to practice. I have lots of lemons left!

Today I am Thankful For...

2007-02-14T10:24:00.001-08:00

My cold going away.

Finally.

Thank You

2007-02-14T10:11:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everybody for all your caring words and concern about me. I am actually really getting better now. I thought I was doing okay the other day, but then I got bad again. Now it has been a week and a half. This thing stinks! I have only a little bit of stuffiness left and a little cough, but it has really zapped all my energy! But this too shall pass and I am feeling better everyday!

So, HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYBODY! Hopefully yours is full of chocolate and love! I made some chocolate caramel turtles yesterday with pecans in some and almonds in others. Then I had more chocolate, so I covered some mini-marshmallows and added a few walnut pieces to that. The girls really liked that. I am trying to temper the chocolate so that it sets up properly. The Food Network (one of the only channels we get that is any good) has been having chocolate week and they have had some really good information on there lately. So, I figured I would give it a try. I may need to buy a chocolate tempering machine, though. Please feel free to tell this to the hubby, in case he is looking for a cool present, oh, in say, mid-September! Or earlier. Maybe in April. Or now. You know, if it comes up! Because chocolate is pretty temperamental, you know. Anyway, everything tastes good, so that is half the battle!

I am going to call a friend. Got to get back into the normal swing of things. The girls are doing better. They are just getting over their colds, too.

Lots of love and hugs and kisses to all of you out there! I will be back at this again regularly! Have a great day!!!

Still Yucky

2007-02-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

This is the cold from hell. I haven't slept for the last two nights. I am wheezing so much it wakes me up. Then I start coughing and hacking and I wake up The Hubby, too. Yesterday Mary dropped off three lemons so I could make her cold remedy. Lemon juice in a shotglass. Squeeze a clove of garlic in it and drink it down. Well, I didn't think about it last night after making dinner. But this morning after I got up I took this:

2 Sudafed caplets
1 AirBorne lozenge in a cup of water
1 shot glass of lemon juice with 1 clove of garlic

Anybody else have any suggestions? I certainly won't have any vampires after me, that's for sure! This thing is harder to kick than I thought, though. So far, the score is cold 2, Amy 0.

Oh yeah, and I haven't had any sugar or anything bad, either.

Feeling a little better...

2007-02-06T21:17:00.000-08:00

I don't feel like I am going to die now. That's good. Apparently I can't treat my body like I am nineteen anymore. Too bad. But I do feel a little better. Maybe it's the rest, or the 12000 mg of vitamin C I have taken today, or the astragalus, or the ibuprofen. Or a combination of all of them. Whatever it is, it's working. Thank goodness, because the hubby doesn't know what to do with me. He has never seen me sick before and isn't coping very well. Although he did help get dinner on the table (Campbell's chicken noodle soup) and served me my hot tea. And helped the girls get ready for bed. All this after working all day. What a good hubby! I sure hope I am back to normal pretty soon. I don't like feeling useless.

I sent off a package on Thursday to my Secret Fairy friend. I signed up for a parcel exchange a couple of weeks ago at the Society of Secret Fairies blog page here and sent out my handmade card and chocolate parcel. Along with a couple of other things I thought she would like. I don't actually know if I will be receiving a package from the same person I am sending to or if it is someone else. Kind of fun, though. I will be posting a picture of the package I receive when I get it. I can't wait! It is fun to buy a little present for someone and anticipate getting something in the mail. Some of the SOSF fairies are in other countries, mine is in the US. Other than that, I don't think I can say much yet. You all will just have to wait.

Have a wonderful day!

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN???

2007-02-06T07:52:00.000-08:00

Well, Friday, I was cleaning the house until 4am on Saturday morning getting ready for the baby shower on Saturday. I slept from 4-8am, then got up and got back to cleaning. My friend Lisa, who did the shower with me, came over at 12:00 and we started in on the food. My house was almost clean, and her husband actually picked up the last few things that were on the table. So nice! We made a fruit platter, veggies and dip, chips and dip, ham and swiss on croissants, heavenly pink salad, mandarin pasta salad. I think that's it. And another girl named Amy, a friend of Mary, brought over some spinach and artichoke dip and french bread and crab stuffed mushrooms. YUM!!! And then she proceeded to stay in the kitchen and put the pasta salad and heavenly pink salad together. What a nice person! I am so glad I have such nice people around me. I wouldn't and couldn't have done the shower without Lisa. I called her up four times for stuff I didn't get a chance to get and she was so kind and never said no, I can't do it. She is such a gracious friend! She even drove over to the party store on Saturday morning and got some stuff to decorate. I totally forgot about that until about 2am on Saturday. Once all the junk was gone from the family room and living room, I looked around and said, hey, I forgot about the decorations! So she made a really cute banner and bought the streamers and she and her husband decorated the living room and it turned out great! What would I have done without her? And Amy was a big help in the kitchen, too. We are going to get together and hang out in the near future. Such fun!

The baby shower was a huge success. There were about fifteen people here. We played stork bingo, the chocolate diapers game, guess how big around the pregnant woman is, guess how many smarties in the baby bottle and I think there was something else, but now I can't remember. And we had some great prizes! Mary brought a $20 gift cert. to Applebee's, Lisa brought two different body lotion/spa treatment type gift sets. I got a stained glass candle holder, little boxes with See's chocolates in them, and a box of pretty, embossed note cards. Of course Lisa and Mary's prizes were the ones that got stolen when we did the game where you can steal a prize or take a new one! There was a lot of stealing going on! Amy even stole the Applebee's card from a little girl! However, when the little girl ended up with a box of chocolate, she was quite happy! A good time was had by all!

Then on Sunday I had a friend over who I had not had a chance to spend as much time with as I would have liked. We had a blast! She has quite the interesting past and found out about a portion of it. What an amazing woman! Talk about handling adversity! I wish I could tell you all her story, but some things are better left unsaid! I can say, though, if you ever met this woman, you would all love her as much as I do! She is truly amazing and has been through so much!

Well, by the time Sunday night came, I was so exhausted, I ended up getting Rebekah's cold. I really hope my friend doesn't get it! I could hardly sleep, I had the chills. And I stayed in bed for like twelve hours! Then on Monday at 11:30, we had a reservation for tea at Molly Kate's Tea Room. It was so nice! The first time I have taken the girls for tea. They both behaved very well. They had dinosaur shaped grilled cheese and chocolate chip and cherry scones and clotted cream, red grapes and strawberries. And raspberry lemonade in footed goblets! And Jess had her pinky in the air the entire time! Then they had a tiny chocolate cupcake with swirled pink icing and little candy hearts on top, sitting on top of a paper doily on a china plate. So cute! My lunch was a delicious broccoli cheese soup, chicken salad (with raisins, walnuts, celery) on a croissant, mini cucumber sandwiches with dilled cream cheese on wheat, a chocolate chip and cherry scone with clotted cream and for dessert, chocolate cake with chocolate raspberry syrup and cream on top! Yum! We all had tea and the girls got to put "Sugahhh" in theirs. That was supposed to sound fancy. All the time with the pinky in the air, of course. I got a couple of pictures of them there. A great time was had by all. Hey, Joann, they can seat up to twenty for a ladies tea! We could get the whole place to ourselves!

Hope you are all well. If you don't hear from me, it is because I am a little under the weather still and I am trying to recover so we can go visit my aunt this weekend! Have a great day!

My Mom

2007-02-01T03:38:00.000-08:00

Well, this is depressing. I sat down a couple of days ago, to write all about my mom. And I realized I don't know enough to write down anything. I know she was born in Florida, that my Grandma was married to someone I never met before, but I don't know much else. And the only one who knows any of it is my aunt, my mom's sister. I am going to have to talk to her to find out more. But when I realized I don't know much, it made me sad. Because I should know about my own mother, shouldn't I? By the time I was at the point in my life that I wanted to know anything, she was so sick that talking was a struggle for her. It just seemed like everything was so difficult. Her mind was getting very fuzzy. About current things. She would ask the same question five or six times and forget the answer. And if she got something stuck in her head, she wouldn't stop thinking about it. For weeks. She had a something on her ear. I don't remember exactly what it was. But she was worried about it forever! She was so worried about this that she finally went to the doctor and I don't remember what they did about it, but then it wasn't an issue anymore. She thought it was cancer or something. And she didn't want to get cancer! But all the while, when she wasn't worried about dying of cancer, she was praying that the Lord would take her home, because she didn't want to live anymore. She was miserable, not able to do anything, couldn't lift a finger by herself, literally. But she was sure she didn't want to die of cancer! Some things just didn't make sense for the longest time. But talking about her history was not really possible at this point. And I should have made more of an effort to do so, but I didn't. And now I don't know much. That makes me sad. But now I will have to piece this all together. Because there aren't many people left.

And on a lighter note. My mom's mother was Grandma Aurlette. Her husband (the man I always knew as my grandpa) was named Arthur. So, Art and Aurlette. My dad's parents were Oma and Opa. It never occurred to me that these were not their real names. Art and Aurlette were so close, I didn't think Oma and Opa (the German name for Grandma and Grandpa) was too much of a stretch. Didn't know until I was like a teenager that their names were Anna and Joseph!

So, after this baby shower is done, I will have to start doing research on my mom.

Today I am Thankful For...

2007-01-31T05:47:00.000-08:00

Our friends. New and old. For the happy times we share with them and the wonderful memories.

Our Friends Are Leaving!

2007-01-31T05:24:00.000-08:00

My friend Lana is leaving. Boo-hoo! I am sad. Jessica is very sad. Her friend Melanie and her brother Austin are leaving, too. We went to Chuck E Cheese with them yesterday so the kids could play. They are moving to Nevada on Monday. Sold their house and bought one in a small town in Northern Nevada. About 11 hours drive from here! They had looked in Idaho (yes, she knows exactly where Sandpoint is) and some other places and they ended up in Nevada. Got some land and they are going to have chickens again. I used to get eggs from her before they sold their house in Palmdale. Rebekah wants to move to Duh-vad-a. And Jess does, too, when she turns eighteen.

I met Lana a few years ago when the kids were in gymnastics together. Neither of our kids go to the gymnastics center anymore, but we remained friends. And she has been my best Pampered Chef customer! She has had like four kitchen shows in three years! The last one on Friday last week.

I remember when my best friend moved away when I was four years old. She moved to Cincinnati. When we got old enough to write letters back and forth, we did. Covered them with stickers. I think I had to pay extra postage because of all the stickers on the pages! Now she is a television producer! And I visited her in New York when she worked at NBC before I got married. We stayed in contact through the years. Still do. I hope that Jessica and her friend Melanie stay friends.

Rebekah is sad that Austin is leaving. He gave her some cotton candy at Chuck E Cheese yesterday. You would have thought he gave her the best thing in the world. She gave him this look - smile, with lips pressed together, head tilted to one side, shoulder lifted up to rest her cheek on, eyes half closed. Trying to look sultry. Only succeeded in looking funny and cute. That's Rebekah! Then when we laughed at her, she kept doing it. Then she winked at him and I lost it! It was pretty cute.

I know Jessica will have more friends. She makes friends everywhere she goes. But Melanie has been her best friend and her first real friend. That she got together with and played with. That is special. They have had their differences, but for the most part they have gotten along great. And Jess has always told me if they disagree. Melanie is the one she wanted to call when she lost her first tooth! Thank goodness we have Vonage and calls to anywhere in the US are free. So they can still talk on the phone and send each other letters.

So we are losing some good friends, but maybe we can get up to northern Nevada and visit them sometime. Hopefully! Well, we are not really losing them, but we won't be able to get together like we have. What a bummer! But I wish them well in their new adventure.

Now Jessica wants to move because she thinks it is exciting to move.

The Doug Jones Experience

2007-01-30T06:06:00.000-08:00

So there's this guy who goes to our church. He's an actor named Doug Jones. And he is a great guy and a wonderful example of Christ. And he has a beautiful voice. And he has done some very interesting movies. So I am looking up his site, the Doug Jones Experience, and I click on the link for his store. Well, it just seems really funny, to ME, that I could buy t-shirts, hats, trivets and teddy bears with Doug's picture on them. With "The Doug Jones Experience" emblazoned across the front. Now granted, this is not HIS site. He does not maintain it, it is maintained by a fan of his, a very nice one at that. Still, it made me laugh out loud. And I know he would be laughing about himself, which makes it even funnier. I may have to buy one of the children's shirts for the girls.

Today I am Thankful For...

2007-01-30T06:02:00.000-08:00

My mother-in-law. Who watched the kids for me yesterday so I could go to the doctor. So I didn't have to explain to the kids at this age what the dr. was doing. AND she put the kids to work and straightened up my family room and kitchen! I'm going to have her over more often! What could I do nice for my m-i-l that wouldn't cost a lot? Any ideas?

Recycled Dollars - Part Two

2007-01-30T05:42:00.000-08:00

She asked about it. Yesterday. Oh boy. Then she started looking for it. Frantically. Because she wanted to show it to her friend. I told her she needed to get ready to go to the library for story time and I was able to delay her for a while. So, we got home from the library and I had to go to the USPS website, get the phone number for the post office in Santa Clarita to find out if their stamp vending machine still gave change in dollar coins. Yes! So, on my way back from the dr's office yesterday, I stopped there and deposited a $20 bill into the machine. I had to buy a whole book of stamps! Oh well, it is for a good cause. I got twelve golden dollars and two dimes back! Now I have enough for later, too! I got back home and deposited eleven golden dollars into the monster safe and carefully placed the other on the floor of her playroom, right underneath where the tooth box had been on the shelf. After a little while, I casually asked her if she had a chance to look for the missing dollar. She said no and we went to look for it. I showed her where I had found the box and told her to look on the floor around there. There was plenty of debris on the playroom floor, so she had to do a little digging. She found it! "There's something here and it is shiny! And it is round!! It's my golden dollar!!!" Me: "Oh, good, you found it! Now put it someplace safe, okay? So you don't lose it again." Well, we put it in the monster as well. In a separate location from the other eleven. Phew. Done. I was so worried all day, since I had used the same one. What if the post office no longer had them? What if they only had susan b anthony dollars in the machine? I have received those as change before as well. So I was very relieved when I got golden dollars out of the machine!

In answer to your questions, Rosemary, golden dollars are the Sacagawea $1 coins that came out a few years ago that are no longer being minted. They were originally called Sacagawea dollars, but when people started to call them "Sucky's" because Americans don't want to carry coins around, they changed the name to Golden Dollars. They are a gold color and tarnish very quickly, so then they look almost copper-colored. They are the same size as the Susan B Anthony's. Apparently, the US Mint could save over $500 million per year if we would switch to dollar coins instead of paper dollars, but we the public are so whiny about it that they keep the paper and get rid of the coins. Since when do they listen to us about anything? JUST MAKE THE CHANGE. People will adapt! The campaign should be about saving the money, not making the money! But I digress.

Jess has her golden dollars from the tooth fairy. My guilt is gone. Today will be a good day. Now if I can just keep Rebekah from hitting her sister...

Recycled Dollars

2007-01-29T06:52:00.000-08:00

I am a bad mom. I didn't realize that her tooth was as loose as it was. She was able last night to push it straight out forward, at a 90 degree angle from where it should have been. We put the Baby Orajel on and waited. It takes about ten minutes for it to take effect. So then I tried. She cried. I tried again and it came out. Then she bled. But she was happy! She really wanted the tooth fairy to come last night. Then she wanted to go to bed so Roy, the Tooth Fairy, would come. Then she was asking all kinds of questions. How does he get in the house? What does he do? Too many questions. I had to admit that I didn't really know that much about him. Well, then there was the problem of the golden dollar. She was anticipating a golden dollar. She wanted another one! But, being the bad mom, I did not plan ahead. Alas, there was no golden dollar to be found. EXCEPT...the one that was still left in the little tooth box from the first tooth! I went looking for the little tooth box and found it, with the gold dollar inside. I put the gold dollar in my pocket and brought the little box to her, where we together put the tooth in it. Then we put it under her pillow. Then this morning, she came to me and said, "He was HERE!" and produced the golden dollar! Ouch. Another twinge of guilt. She didn't ask about her other golden dollar. She hasn't realized yet that it is missing. However, she will. Just a matter of time. So, I need to find another golden dollar. And a third for the next tooth that is already loose. Nothing like planning ahead.

Today I am Thankful For...

2007-01-29T06:50:00.000-08:00

The Tooth Fairy. Who paid another visit last night and made my daughter very happy. She's not going to have a tooth left in her head at this rate!

crazy week!

2007-01-29T06:37:00.000-08:00

This IS going to be a crazy week. I have so much going on and the baby shower on Saturday! So far, there are going to be eight of us here for the shower. Maybe nine or ten. Not too bad. And I have only had two calls. Mary has had three people call her and one of them called me. Good thing it wasn't a surprise! Yes, I know the shower is a week away. And they haven't had a lot of time to think about it yet. But I will need to buy food and plan the menu. Some of you understand how frustrating it is when people don't RSVP. They don't seem to know that it means RESPOND PLEASE. Not "Call if you can make it". I have been guilty of this myself. I forget to call. I always feel bad when the shoe is on the other foot. So to speak. I mean, if I do it and I realize I do it, then what of all the people who don't give it a second thought? Nobody RSVP's anymore. My sister once gave a baby shower and one guest showed up. And I gave a baby shower last year that nobody called to say they were coming. We had NO RSVP's. So, I had to call everyone. We ended up with about 13 people. Who hadn't called. Who we would not have known were coming if they hadn't been called. Oh the shame of it! We all, myself included, have such bad manners now! I do vow to from now on figure out what is going on in a timely manner and RESPOND when I get invited to something.

Okay, I feel better. Let's move on, shall we? I gotta get my house cleaned!

Poor Scooter!

2007-01-26T11:50:00.000-08:00

So, my friend was over yesterday and during the course of the conversation, she tells me that the last time we were down to visit her (about two weeks ago), she accompanied Rebekah to the toilet. And Rebekah was telling her about Scooter. Scooter was the best cat I ever had. He was the brother to my dad's cat, Grey Kitty. Dad also has Orange Kitty. Scooter was originally called Black Kitty. My nephew was three when he named them. (As a little aside, when I took them all to the vet for their first shots, the vet asked which one was which. Duh.)

Well, Scooter loved living in the San Fernando Valley, and he spent his days chasing birds and insects, rolling around in the dirt and sunning himself in the sun. He would come in sometimes, but mostly enjoyed being outside. He had spent the first two years of his life as an outdoor cat. He was given to Dad's neighbor, a guy that mainly cared about himself, because he had mice in the mobile home. When John left, he abandoned the cat. When I moved to an apt. that I could take him in at, I went up the mountain and took the cat home. He loved it. Anyway, when we moved to the desert, he stayed inside most of the time. Didn't like it. No trees outside, since we moved into a new house. He liked chasing mice, but we also had coyotes, which is most likely what happened to him, since he just didn't come home one night. Rebekah doesn't really remember him. She was very small when he disappeared. Jessica remembers him and loved him. He would curl up on the bed while she was asleep and take a nap with her. He loved her, too.

Well, occasionally Scooter will come up in conversation. Jess says she is going to cry. Rebekah says the coyotes got him. She elaborated on this in her conversation with my friend.

"Scooter DIED! The wolves got him!"
"Really?"
"Yeah, they tore his feet off and ate them up!"
"Really?"
"Yeah, then they tore his tail off and ate it up! Then they tore his butt cheeks off and ate them up! Then they tore his ears off and ate them up! Then they tore his tummy off and ate it up! Then they tore his nose off and ate it up! Then they tore his BUTT CHEEKS off and ATE THEM UP! "
"Do you just like saying butt cheeks?"
"Yes."

Somehow, I don't think this little girl is going to grow up and be a vegetarian. My friend said she related this story with such glee! It was all she could do to keep from bursting out laughing.

Hmm. The things girls talk about when they go in the bathroom together!

Today I am Thankful For...

2007-01-25T06:35:00.000-08:00

Sling.

I was trying to figure out how to link to someone's blog and a very nice person, with a very interesting blog gave me some directions. So, I am going to try to link to his blog and see if this works.

Sling's Domain is here.

I think it worked. Thanks, Sling! Have a great day.

I feel smarter already. I was probably the only person on the face of the earth who didn't know how to do that.

For those of you who didn't know...

2007-01-25T06:04:00.000-08:00

I have allowed for anonymous comments on the blog. So, for those of you who don't have a blogger account and don't want to get one, you can still comment. So, post a comment and let me know you were here!

Twelve Things

2007-01-25T05:57:00.000-08:00

Okay, 5:30am and I have just finished washing all of the dishes and the dishwasher is going. It sure doesn’t take long before there are no more clean spoons, bowls or pans! The kids go through so many sippy cups, you would think they are disposable! And I actually get paper cups so they won’t use as many. Their main liquid is water and they are allowed to get it freely from the refrigerator. This does mean, however, that they leave water cups on the table. At least if they are open cups, I don’t have to retrieve them later from unknown places. Sippy cups are mainly used now for non-water items and for the car. But I digress.

I need to clean up this messy house today. Finally put away the Christmas tree. But in a few months I will have to pull it out again. It seems the Christmases come much closer together now. It used to take SOOOOO long for Christmas to get here and now, before I know it, there is another one around the corner.

Yesterday I actually got some stuff accomplished! I poked around in the shed for boxes for the Christmas stuff and ended up rearranging part of the shed. The Hubby actually noticed! And it was driving me crazy that there was only a small area to walk around my car in the garage, so I swept and rearranged part of the garage and now there is a decent amount of room to get around my car. My goal is to get The Hubby’s car in the garage, too. I do have a few things I would like to accomplish. Maybe I should make a list and see what gets done. You know, if you write it down and tell someone else, you have a better chance of getting it done, right? So, here goes:

Put away Christmas tree.
Clean out garage.
Clean up patio, sweep, get rid of tumbleweeds, wash table and chairs.
Organize closet (been working on this)
Clean up and organize computer room.
The computer room is such a mess, I need to put it on here twice.
Clean up and organize play room.
Clean up kitchen.
Vacuum.
Shampoo carpets.
Wash floors.
Wash windows.

Okay, twelve things. Some small, some big. Average one per month, though some will have to be done more than once and some will take longer than a month. So, once I get the tree put away, I will have to get started on a couple of the big ones right away, so I make sure they get done before the end of the year. I can’t be out in the garage in the summertime, so that will have to get done soon, if it is to get done at all. I am going to print this out so I can put it on the refrigerator. Wish me luck! This is the year I get organized!

I hope.

My Mom

2007-01-23T17:10:00.000-08:00

So, after reading Rosemary's blog http://rosemarys-attic.blogspot.com, I have been thinking a lot about my mother. So, I am trying to put this all together in my head, but one day soon, I am going to start to tell my mother's story. Parts of it, anyway. And from my perspective. So, stay tuned!

I got to hold the baby!

2007-01-23T17:03:00.000-08:00

A one week old baby girl! Yeah, I know, but her mother handed her to me and how could I say no? She was wide awake, bright-eyed and beautiful. So tiny, but she seemed so comfortable. So, I put her in my arms and both of us were just fine. She was absolutely beautiful! Tiny ears and hands. She is half Filipino and just beautiful. Her mother is doing well. We took dinner to them last night. Just Jess and I. The Hubby was nice enough to meet me on his way home and take the little Sister home. Jess got to sit on the floor and hold the baby. I felt like an octopus, keeping my hands directly underneath her arms. She held her for about two minutes and I figured we were doing good, so stop while you are ahead. Well, I asked her, when we were in the car later, "So, what did you think of that little baby?" "SHE WAS SOOOOOOOOOOO CUUUUUUUUTE!" Just as I thought. She loved holding the baby.

Today I am Thankful For...

2007-01-23T17:01:00.000-08:00

Sleep. When my children are asleep. I get a little quiet time before they get up again. Besides, they look so beautiful and peaceful when they are sleeping!

Three

2007-01-23T16:44:00.000-08:00

Three is the new two. I don't like three. There are some things about three that I like, but there is a lot I don't like. Like the hitting. Of the big Sister. Why? I don't understand coming up to someone and hitting them for no reason. And when asked, "Why did you hit your sister?", the answer is, "I don't know." That's not an answer! I want to know what is going on in the mind of a three year old and she can't explain that to me. It is frustrating.

The things I like about three are that she is finding her independence, but still needs Mommy. She is learning about the things around her and what her likes and dislikes are. She gives great hugs. She has a great smile. But there is an ugly, wrinkled up face that she has, too. Oh dear. What is four going to be like? This one is different than the big Sister. She is mostly love and hugs and trying to please. A little rebellion now and then, but for the most part she just wants to love everyone and have a good time. The little Sister has somewhat of a mean streak. This one is going to be my challenge.

"I'm In"

2007-01-20T10:05:00.000-08:00

Hillary has finally admitted she is running for President. We've all known since she left the White House that she was going to attempt to get back in. Well, now it is official. Why can't we have someone in office that does a good job and is looking out for the best interests of the people? Republican, Democrat, whatever, a good candidate that has a chance of winning. Because of the way the electoral college is set up, nobody other than a Republican or Democrat can win. So all those votes are wasted. Let's all pray that in this election we end up with someone who will do the will of the people and do what is in the best interest of the country. I guess part of the problem is that the will of the people is divided in half. The country is divided down the middle with half the people on the left and half on the right and no middle ground. Well, we can hope and pray that it works out, can't we?

Today I am Thankful For...

2007-01-19T20:12:00.000-08:00

That Jessica asked for prayer when she got sick. Her faith in God is amazing!

MOMMY?!?!

2007-01-19T20:05:00.000-08:00

There's nothing worse than being awakened in the dead of night by a child's cry for Mommy! I leaped out of bed. It was 12:30. She was vomitting in the toilet. Scott also was awakened and went to check her bed. Nothing. She woke up from being sound asleep and made it to the toilet to puke. What an amazing girl! No mess anywhere! Well, we stayed up from 12:30 until 4:30 in the morning when Scott left for work (he had gone back to sleep) and she had about twelve episodes of heaving. Poor thing! There was nothing left to come up! Well, she slept until about 9:00 this morning and she felt much better. No more throwing up. But we only fed her top ramen for lunch just to be on the safe side. She seems to be all better now and is running around like normal now. I am so glad. I hate when she is sick! Hopefully Rebekah doesn't get it! I don't think she will. Jess has a sensitive stomach and picks up every stomach thing just because she doesn't want it to get away, it seems. This one was bad, but not very long. My baby is healthy again!

Upgrade!

2007-01-18T08:33:00.000-08:00

Well, I am upgraded now. I have joined the world of the new blogger. I try to avoid changing things on the computer until everyone else has worked out the bugs. It is no longer in Beta, so I think I will be okay. Everything seems to be fine. I think this will work.

Little changes around every corner, but nothing dangerous. I think. Bear with me whilst I figure this out. And let's begin a new adventure with a new year!

Welcome to my new(er) blog!

TodayJessica is thankful for...

2007-01-18T07:11:00.000-08:00

Sleeping. And flowers and dogs and all our life.

Oh the weather outside is frightful.

2007-01-18T07:09:00.000-08:00

And it's cold inside, too. Went to Grandma Alice's house to visit yesterday. Well, let me back up. First, we went to storytime at the library. Then we went to the mall. The girls and I and two friends. So, the kids played at the library, then played at the mall for about 2 1/2 hours. Then we went to See's and they each picked out a candy. This, in addition to the sample candy that each got and they were both in chocolate heaven. So then we went to Grandma Alice's house. Hubby's mom was there too, since her house still has no carpet after the big flood. For those of you who don't know, they were in Oklahoma for three months and she didn't have her heater on in her house. In early December, Hubby's uncle went to check on the house and when he opened the front door a wave of water poured out. The ice-maker line apparently froze and expanded, cracking the plastic and gushing water for two days. This caused a flood in which all the carpet in the house got soaked and had to be replaced. Anyway, they have been staying with Grandma Alice since then. SO, we visited the girls' Grandma and Great Grandma. Grandma Alice will be 96 this year. She's gettin' up there. Pretty amazing for a woman who survived polio in her twenties, the death of her husband in her thirties and raising two children by herself. But then she is an amazing woman. I wish I had met her sooner. She is amazing. Anyway, so I was talking to the Grandmas and Bekah comes in and sits down on my lap. Then I turned her sideways and cradled her in my arms and within a few minutes she was asleep. It was very sweet. She slept like that for about an hour. Then we had to go and I put her in the car and she continued to sleep. I got to have a nice visit and Jess played with Lincoln Logs in the other room. She got to play undisturbed and I got to chat. What a nice way to end a day! We were gone all day so I didn't get anything done, but it was a fun day. AND since Grandma's house is kept at 74 degrees, we got to thaw out a bit. Such fun!

Today I am thankful for...

2007-01-17T08:22:00.000-08:00

Blogger. Without which, I would not be able to keep up with the people around me and I would not have met some nice, new friends! There's love!

I Already Blew It!

2007-01-17T08:20:00.000-08:00

Oops, only a few days into this and already I didn't blog yesterday! Sorry! Life gets in the way sometimes. We went to Santa Clarita to visit a friend and we walked around the mall. Looked at the puppies in the pet store, the kids played in the play area, and we had lunch at the Asian Food place. Then we went and looked at the sparkly store. I love that store. Everything in there is sparkly and pretty and pretty affordable. More so than the $7500 necklace at the jewelry store next to the pet store. And that was 50% off! I got a pretty pair of green earrings for $7.99. Such a bargain!

Anyway, all in all, it was a good day. Even if I didn't have a chance to blog!

Today I am thankful for...

2007-01-15T21:36:00.000-08:00

That I can be a stay at home mom and be at home with my kids. It is such a joy to see them grow up!

I'm so jazzed!

2007-01-15T21:35:00.000-08:00

Okay, went to the monthly pampered chef meeting tonight. Got the brochure with all the new stuff for spring. I AM SOOO EXCITED!!! I want it all. Since I can't have it all and I don't have any money, I will have to figure out a way to earn it all. Anybody wanna do a Show and get some free stuff? There are some totally cool new products...

Yeah, yeah, I know, I am too into this stuff. (There's new tropical themed recipes and shows, too!)

Aireloom Mattress

2007-01-14T22:03:00.000-08:00

Been looking into a handmade mattress made by Aireloom. Anybody heard of it? It is supposed to be VERY well made, all natural, and it feels like you are sleeping on a cloud. We tried them out at three different stores so far. Very nice. Please let me know if you have any experience with them.

Today Rebekah Is Thankful For...

2007-01-14T21:59:00.000-08:00

Rebekah, what are you thankful for?
I don't know.
Okay, WHO are you thankful for?
God. Why did He made us?
Why DID He make us?
FOR HIS GLORY!!!
Anybody else you're thankful for?
No. Just God.

ANOTHER Baby Shower?!

2007-01-14T21:56:00.000-08:00

Yes. I am going to give another baby shower. My friend is having her baby before the end of February. She has two sisters that live within 1/2 hour of her and neither of them has said anything about having a shower. So, my friend and I talked about it. I introduced the two of them to each other. In December. Lisa said that wouldn't it be sad to think later on that this baby would ask her mother, "How come nobody gave you a baby shower when I was born?" It was too much. Besides, I wanted to do it six months ago when she told me she was pregnant, however, I held back because I figured one of her sisters would do it. Nope. So, Lisa and I are going to give it to her. I can't wait. I like giving baby showers. But this will be a rush! AND...we don't know what she is having! She isn't going to find out! That makes it fun! SO, here goes, with another baby shower! If anybody has game ideas, let me know...