Few Notes

Well, I really MISS my blog, but I am changing it to only readers that I invite because Dale didn't like all of my information available to the world. So... I'll probably update at least twice a month instead 3x a week.

The biggest news is that I hiked Mt. Lassen with my family on Sunday, I think that I am just now recovering!

Lisa

Blog Recess

I'm sad to say that I think it's time for a recess of my blog. I really enjoy blogging and blurfin', but it's obvious that I have to devote more time to writing. (and blogging is perfect for procrastinating!) I'm not going to delete it just yet, but I won't be posting regularly. Thanks for visiting my blog!

HALLELUJAH!

I just turned in a summary of my interviews to Yuichi (by email). Gosh, just think only 20 years ago, I would have to deliver it by person! I feel really good about getting started! My mom had a great suggestion this morning: engage my right brain before I start writing. So I designed some cards and then jumped in! I didn't actually make the cards because I knew I would spend the entire morning on it. Now I can't wait to make the cards...
Thanks for stopping by, blog world!

Tidbit

First! S* created his own recipe: Mt. Shasta pancakes and he made them last night. The whipped cream is the snow and the sausage is the rocks. (The picture is a little blurry, but the flash washed it out...)

Funny tidbit: I was standing in line for our grad luncheon today talking about corn syrup to one of my fellow classmates (since my sister has upped my awareness), and then a guy behinds me says that high fructose corn syrup is much worse. He also mentioned that everyone should avoid partially hydrogenated oils. So, after we finished our lunch on our lawn. Guess what ??!! I saw Mr. HFCS smoking! I wanted to go over there and ask him what he thought smoking was doing to his body. Funny, huh?

I'll have to say though, Stephanie has helped me. We were in Costco today picking up "one" item that ostensibly turned into $100. Anyway, S* wanted Fruit by the Foot, and I said that we could get it if it didn't have HFCS in it... he looked at the box, and sighed, but didn't argue. Stephanie can make a believer out of you!

Writing Juice, where art thou?

Master's: I definitely have stats homework. I spent 2.5 hours on the "blue moon" problem Sunday night. I have homework due also tomorrow. I am supposed to turn in some synopsis to Yuichi on 7/18, but it's so hard to write at night. I was thinking of getting up early tomorrow and seeing if the juices are flowing! I did have a fantastic, uplifting, inspiring conversation with one of my friends from the master's program who is finished with his coursework.

Weekend: My funny story... Dale & I met my sister, Dad, her kids + my kids at Lake Siskiyou this past weekend. After my sister hosting my kids for 10 days, she looked exhausted (but was holding up very well). Our families get along very well together, so it was a nice trip. I did have a meltdown at the lake on Saturday, however. I briefly couldn't find Z*who was chasing a tube that was being carried away by the wind. Then, I wondered, where was Dale? I couldn't find J* in the water and I was the only adult because my sister was standing in one of those FOREVER lines to borrow a kayak to retrieve the tube that was still be carried by the wind. Then I wondered, "where is Dale?....I HAVE to go to the bathroom!" So we gathered the kids on the shore so I could make the trek to literally 1/2 a mile to the bathroom. On the way, I see Dale and my Dad sitting in the shade drinking a beer. (90 degrees in the sun) I started to shriek... Only ice cream sitting in the shade could calm me down. Whew!

Kids: Love the energy, so good to have them in the house. I can't get anything done! Laundry abounds. Since S* hated the All day camp, I put him in camp cuisine. Of course, he is way advanced. All they did today (according to S*) was make some fruit skewer with marshmallows (and kids were stealing marshmallows! Horror!) My sister did have my kids reading labels to avoid trans fat and high fructose corn syrup, so I can piggy back on her training. Luckily I brought Hansen's to the camping trip. Did you know that there is HFCS in tartar sauce?

Sadness descends...

A sad day all around. I just found out that two of my coworkers lost their homes in the Concow fire... Also, the cat of my very good friend might have cancer. This is a day to be thankful for houses, air conditioning, healthy family members and friends.
Thanks for stopping by.

Hiya!

I'm on creative break right now... Checking out the *new* card sketch for the week at 2sketches4you. I also wanted to post my ONLY pictures from Calistoga. I am now to the point that I only take pictures for my blog! What will I scrapbook?

I'm in between transcribing and doing my statistics homework. There is 3 assignments due on Thursday. It takes me about 7 minutes to transcribe every minute of my interview. I am in the middle of my 7th interview... only 3.5 left. The last interview was actually 52 minutes, though.

Well, it's the 5th day without kids... and I'll have to say:

• It's quiet


• There's less laundry


• Dinner is done in minutes


• I can talk on the phone for hours {smile}


• I miss them...now

I talked to them on the phone tonight. Z* does not miss home. S* wants to know at what exact time we will be meeting them in Lake Siskiyou (on Friday). I am kind of glad they were gone this week because it's been so hot and yukky here.

On the book scene, I decided to read a light series. It's the No. 1 Ladie's detective agency. I am on the 3rd book. It's kind of fun, and I am allowing myself 15 minutes of reading today.

Off to homework - thanks for stopping by!

Home, Sweet, Home

Well, we are coming home from our delicious trip to Calistoga. I’m typing this on my laptop thinking about the sunshades that now exist for laptops (luxury item.) I’m also wondering if Nadal or Federer won the final set in Wimbledon. I asked the hotel manager to stay until 11:30 a.m. so we could watch the 4th set of the match this morning.

I’m typing this now because as soon as I get home, I need to finish transcribing my interviews. The boys are in Sammamish, WA, and I have no excuse (except that devilish procrastination) to work unabated. However, I will be indulging in a few “creative breaks.” (Does blogging count?!)

Well, our weekend was wonderful. It started Thursday afternoon with me counting the seconds until my kids were on the airplane. To intensify my desire, the kids argued most of the way to Sacramento. Then, I was selected for special screening and I started to cry. I didn’t know if I was humiliated, hungry or sad about my kids getting on the airplane. It turns out that my BIL was able to procure 1st class seats for them, so they rode in style. (Of course, as soon as they were on the airplane, I wanted to go sit on their laps!) Dale & I got to start our getaway at the Sacramento IKEA, and we also ate dinner there. Friday we did the mud bath and massage treatment and ate two fabulous meals. Calistoga has such remarkable restaurants. We lunched at a nice outdoor table butted up against a fountain. I would have made my grandma proud this weekend because I changed my table and/or seat in every restaurant at least once (trying to achieve the {perfect} location.) Saturday we played racquetball and did some wine tasting. I really wanted to visit Frog’s Leap because they tout sustainable agricultural practices, but you have to make an appointment. We had a light dinner from ingredients that Dale picked up at the store. We ate poolside. Both days we rotated through all 3 pools. The big pool was tepid, the hot tub was hot, and the indoor pool was warm. All of their pools were filled with mineral water. It was a nice hotel, and even though there were a lot of families (mostly Russian) there, it was a romantic setting.

I hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend, thanks for stopping by.

P.S. I'm just getting this in Monday night. I think my stats teacher read my blog... we now have homework!

Roman Spas, here we come!

Well, Roman Spas, here we come. I found this spa on trip advisor. Apparently it's rated number 2 out of 14 hotels in Calistoga. We scheduled a massage and made dinner reservations, and I bought a cute cover up, so I'm ready to go!

And... I learned a new term today: Boundary Management Issues. I think I need to work on those.

Also, I was a star for a minute (in my math class) because I could multiply 1.5(4.15) in my head when the teacher reached for the calculator. It's amusing considering every time I am in meetings with administrators, I do my arithmetic wrong because they all look to me.

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable 4th of July weekend!

sketch challenge

Supplies for card: paper (berry bliss, purely pomegrante, SU); stamps: friendship blooms, SU); rub-ons (SU); Rhinestones (Kaiserscrapbook); Flowers (Prima); white gel pen (SU)

I saw a sketch on the new blog, 2 sketches 4 you, and decided it was just the creative break I needed! I am having fun with my flowers and buttons, now that I organized them!

Day 1 of tennis camp/school

Classes has started, day 1 of tennis camp has also begun. S* is disgruntled, Z* is amazed that an older kid is throwing his tennis racquet when he missing the ball. Z* comments, "We're just out there to have fun, it's not like we're good or anything." Was I that wise at 10.9 years? Apparently, some girl hit S* with a racquet or ball and whispered that she was sorry which wasn't acceptable at all.

Then the stuff came piling in and I went to collect towels, half-eaten sandwiches, and then I just said, NO. So I typed the following list (below)and told them to do it. Lists work so much better for me because I don't have to be the verbal prompter:
1)Bags emptied
2)Wet clothes/bags hung up
3)Lunch cooler emptied
4)Water bottle in cooler put in freezer
5)Tupperware in dishwasher
6)Racquets put away
7)Water bottles on kitchen counter

I have good news and bad news. My math class seems like a cake walk compared to the last 2 years, not a lot of homework, easy class activities (in fact, I feel a little guilty/chagrined). However, my advisor hinted that I may have to do more interviews next year if my interviews weren't "meaty" enough. So I am thinking about changing advisors. Yikes! I don't know what to do!
Thanks for stopping by!

Off to school

Well, I'm gathering up some stuff for school tomorrow. I'm curious how much homework my math class will have. I got to make a card today. Z* and I watched Get Smart. Very fun! I laughed through the whole thing.

Thanks for stopping by! Thanks for all of the great comments about the kitchen, we're loving it!

Back to smoky Chico

Well, my good friend's daughter was sick, so I ended up taking Z* to the concert with me. He was lukewarm about it, but then he is into the "cool" thing, so I think he enjoyed it. We spent the night in Napa and drove home today. We had a nice lunch in Davis at Pluto's to pick up S* who went to my friend's house in Oakdale.

The concert was too amazing for words. Brandi Carlile opened for them and had such an unique and full voice. She played guitar and her backup was 2 guys each with a guitar and a cellist. I got the CD, but it doesn't do justice to her wavering, strong voice. Then the Indigo Girls were so impressive. I was sitting in the tenth row and enjoyed every nuance. The entire concert was 3 hours!! The theater was recently refurbished and was north of Napa on the grounds of a VA retirement home. Most of the audience was singing along with all of the IG older songs. I'm definitely going to try to see them once a year.

Thanks for stopping by!

video of kitchen

My dad suggested that we should upload a video of the kitchen. We are at 95% completion. We plan to do the backsplash & counter in the next 6-12 months. (Did I say we??! I meant Dale)

Thanks for viewing my first video!

pics

Here is my father's day card, I used some of my new hardware!

S* & I at SF pier 39

My mom and I at SF zoo (S* took the picture)

All of my buttons organized!

hi, there!

Well, so much to share, I can't wait to show you some SF pictures. S*, mom and I had a blast. We went to Aquarium of the bay, Gharidelli square and the SF zoo. Dale finished hooking up the gas line to install the microwave. Our kitchen looks very official.

I organized all of my hardware, buttons and flowers (paper) in a tool organizer. I felt very anal when I was separating them all by color. My thoughts ranged from:
a) You could never tell anyone that you actually spent time on this pursuit;
b) If I used one of these embellishments everyday for an entire year, I would still have leftovers...

It sure looks great, though!

Tuesday night, Indigo Girls in Yountville, CA with my good friend Ellen!

Thanks for stopping by!

Week 2 of bliss

Park City, Utah adventure boy! That's my son living it up! He got to drive the golf cart today. Tomorrow they are going white water rafting. In case I didn't mention this, Z* was invited by our former neighbors to join them for a week in Park City. They own a time share out there. It has rendered our household pretty mellow and quiet. S* told me tonight that he enjoys being the "only" child.

I had plans of cleaning, but I landed on my foot wrong last night playing tennis, so I am taking it easy. I did find two interesting websites reading the Real Simple magazine. (And, since it's summer, I actually got to look them up)

literature map - enter any author you like, and it forms a map of similar authors.

novel action - you can sign up for a year for $25.00 and for every used book that you send them, they send you back a book.

We just got back from a lovely jaunt to L.A. We were invited to a grad party on Saturday and Sunday. To finish off our lovely weekend, Dale & I went to Ikea Sunday night to buy some more organizers for our kitchen. We also bought some cool bar stools. They have white covers (washable). Dale assembled them last night and S* has eaten on them for breakfast and lunch. Unfortunately, S*'s friend used his bar stool and the bar stool next to him as a NAPKIN after eating cherries. (Did I mention they have white covers?) It definitely shows....I was thinking they would be clean for longer than 4 hours. Yikes!

Day 4 of bliss

I just finished 4 cards for the coaches of Zachary's team. I went to the scrapbook store and they had some amazing paper and chipboard accents. The cost for all my goodies: $12.55 which works out to roughly $3.183 a card. I still have extra goodies which I may or may not use. Ironically, I was perusing the new bobunny baseball paper with a woman who wanted to scrapbook for her grandson, who was on the Giants. I didn't bother to mention to her that the Giants beat us on Tuesday night. Anyway, I was trying to figure out how to put "Rockies" on the card. At first, I tried to mount my Rough Edges Alphabet. It took me 15 minutes to mount the first 3 letters. Then I tried to write "Rockies" with purple stickles, it just looked too corny. I ended up typing it in the computer and printing directly on the paper.

Scrabble: I'm currently playing a scrabble game with Lauri, my coworker and my mom through the website: bugcafe. It's a really fun way to keep in touch and hone your word (what three letter words really do exist?) skills. If you want to start your own game, you just need to create a username and password, click start a new game and invite someone with an email to play with you. I can handle scrabble and my blog during the summer. It is a little addicting...

Summer: I can't believe how many things I still need to do like laundry, manage my kid's cleaning their room, dishes, preparing meals, calling doctors, etc. I decided this summer I would get up between 6 and 7 rather than sleeping in so I had a chance to talk to Dale before he goes to work. I also get some quiet time before the boys get up and start planning our day. My boys and I did tennis lessons M/W. It was very fun!

I bought 2 books today. Careless in Red. I usually never buy hardcover books, but I adore this author. Her last book did not include her usual team of inspectors, but this one continues the saga of Inspector Lynley.

The other book I purchased was recommended to me, Kabul Beauty School. It's a memoir about an American woman who moves to Kabul, Afganistan to work in a beauty school. It looks like a great 2nd read if I finish Careless in Red.

Family Life: Scissors. I. Need. Them. Now. I remember vividly a mom (who has since moved to Florida) stating that she locked up her scissors and various other tools so that she could access them before they mysteriously disappeared. The missing scissors has been a topic in our household lately. Dale & I are stashing pairs in obscure places to locate them when we Need. Them.

Well, long post! There is a fire raging south of us in Chico and Paradise area, but the friends I know are all safe!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ribbon Storage

Ribbon Ring (from their website)
refrigerator
stuffed already!
blurry oven, the cookies we baked were yummy!

So, I just purchased a "ribbon ring" to organize my ribbon. I got it at this website. I found it on craft critique which is such a great website. They review a lot of craft products. It could be dangerous to read because you end up wanting everything that they critique! I was looking up different storage options because I am try to rearrange items as I am unpacking. I have my ribbon in a ziploc bag which means I just buy more ribbon at the scrapbook store because the ziploc bag is too stuffed with ribbon remnants.

Watched Nadal & Federer. My summary: Federer doesn't like to slide. I totally could see Z* sliding.

Thanks for stopping by!

Appliances are installed...

I'll load the pictures later of all of our new appliances. Dale and I actually had a conversation in the kitchen while the dishwasher was running. Usually the whole first floor is consumed with the sound of the dishwasher. (And we yell across the room to each other to no avail.) The refrigerator is sweet, but a tiny bit smaller than I had imagined (counter-depth did us in). And, no crushed ice... I convinced my kids to make us cookies tonight (and they did). The oven did not dry them out! yummmm! They are delightful. The only, er, problem is that the cookies oozed in the oven since we didn't really have enough flour, so we have already burned something in our oven. The microwave is sitting on the counter waiting to be mounted. We decided we need a taller cabinet so that the microwave isn't too high.

I am in total vacation mode right now, I even took Z* and company to frisbee golf today. It's been a bit windy, but the weather hasn't been too hot, so I am not complaining. Also, I got to watch the women's final for the French Open. I can't wait to see Federer and Nadal duke it out. (Sorry, you non-tennis folk) And, speaking of duking it out, Z* plays little league on Sunday. If we win, we play more, if we lose, the season is ended.

I'm excited because the next 3 weeks, I am "off" I hope to relax, clean out and organize and work out!

Thanks for stopping by!

The dishwasher is coming!

Well, the most exciting news is that our appliances will be delivered tomorrow. I can't wait for that dishwasher. Of course, we are still eating on a card table, so it will be nice to get a table soon.

First card created: Here is the card I made on Tuesday. This is the first creation since my craft area was unpacked. I stayed up too late Tuesday night because I did a splitcoast stampers challenge.

Well, only 1.5 days of work!!!

Unpacking

S*'s original creation!

Ready for a NEW dishwasher!
New 8" deep sink!
Lazy Susan corner cabinet!
Craft Area starting to take shape

Well, I want you to know that our living room looks empty... because all of the boxes are still packed! I started to unpack my craft area today which always proves to bring out those unfinished projects. I am chanting to myself, "If you haven't touched this project in 5 years, you will never touch it." While I was starting to sort and organize, S* made a card for his teacher, he got to use those brand new prima flowers that I bought last week.

I wanted to post some pictures of our new SINK, new cabinets, etc. The appliances are supposed to arrive in the store on Wednesday. We had the kids wash their dishes the last few days which was a little difficult. We will all be VERY happy when we get a dishwasher back! It's so nice to have all that counter space. In fact, I made 70% of the dinner Monday night! We had shrimp because every time S* is in S & S with me, he begs me to purchase shrimp. We sauteed butter, added garlic, red wine and simmered the shrimp in it. S* at first turned up his nose at the dish because of the wine (and what were we thinking anyway???!). Then he had one of those buttery morsels, and he was a believer. He was curious if he could get drunk on the wine.

Well, we are at the home stretch, I have 3 more days of work and then some time off!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Monday

Well, I survived the weekend without Dale. I watched a lot of little league. Z*'s team is 1/2 of the way through the tournament. It's very exciting/tense.

Today was one of those wistful days. At the beginning of the year, I secretly decided that I was done working in the court school. It's a tough place to be with students constantly challenging your very existence. However, the fact that it's going to close in 3 days is just so sad. It's interesting how my feelings have shifted towards the school. It seems as if we are all floating towards Niagra Falls together which makes us appreciate each other and our work together so much more... I made plans with my class (3 students) to play tennis and go to Schubert's. My coworker came up with a plan that the students get a double scoop if they beat me, (this was to encourage participation). I'll let you know how it goes!

Well thanks for stopping by!

Carnival, Graduation, end-of-the-year staff party.... I won at ping pong tonight, I'm thinking of changing sports. I hope to make a card this weekend, but all of the unpacking of my craft stuff is intimidating me.

6 more working days

Well, I had to watch all of my French Open highlights tonight on the tennis channel.com. I was complaining... er...discussing the fact that I don't have cable to a coworker (to watch tennis), and he said, "Tennis channel.com does live streaming." Wow!

And, if you have noticed, I changed my "blog banner". I didn't think the picture of the kids in the snow really worked anymore, but it's hard to get them both looking at the camera at once. So... I'll be experimenting with my banner. There are some really awesome banners out there. I was looking at this one tonight. Some blogs play music when you click on their site, like this one. This always flags Dale that I am blurfin'

S* performed tonight in the class play. He was a riot! He alternated between playing with his tail and singing on the top of his lungs. It was fun to watch. (Lauri, I'm sure you were missed!)

8 more working days

Dale took a few pictures at the tournament yesterday. This is a picture of Sima and I chatting, and then there is a picture of me serving.

So, no working sink tonight ... I took S* out to dinner. He talked my ear off the entire time when he wasn't studying the kid's booklet. He convinced me to go to Chili's which I have stopped going to because the service is usually really bad. I relented, but unfortunately, was keenly aware of any glitches in the service. (There was 4, but who's counting?) I told S* that we were going on a date. When we got home, he wanted to play a game with me. I was curious if giving S* attention just whetted his appetite for more? Interesting. I think I am still recovering from the tennis tournament because I am very tired.

I called my dad for perspective on all of my losses this weekend. He said that he made "Playing well" his goal rather than "Winning." Then I happened to mention that there was some controversy between my partner and I about line calls. Then my Dad (IN ALL SERIOUSNESS) told me which partner should call which line and why. I couldn't grasp it because I had arrived home at this part of the conversation and the boys were leaking out of the house to see Mom. I'll have to ask him again. My Dad is always good for a bit of wisdom!

So, I am yearning to make cards, but my desk is shoved against my craft desk and all of my stuff is still packed. I've asked Dale gently when he thinks my craft area will be available. I think the kitchen is the first priority right now. I mentioned that it would be a BUMMER if this weekend (when he is out of town) I couldn't craft anything. He agreed. Of course, the fact that I can't make any cards (easily) makes it so much more desirable.

And, I want to thank Lauri and my mom for coming out to support me during my tennis matches, thanks guys!

Thanks for stopping by...

Some more...

I wanted to post a few more pictures. We got to see the "plastic bag" guy at the Schubert's Good Morning America visit. I also took a great picture of Z*. S* was refusing to be on my blog.

Final Kitchen update: Sink is in, but not fully functional yet. (We went out to eat for lunch and dinner again) Dale installed our temporary counter. We have no dishwasher...BUT we have 4 new appliances on order: microwave, refrigerator, stove and dishwasher. We actually still have our "rolling" dishwasher, but it won't fit in the space for the built-in dishwasher. I went with white appliances and not stainless steel because

(1) It was $500 cheaper;

(2) The stainless steel only comes with black accents that won't go very well with our white cabinets;

(3) It shows fingerprints more than white does;

(4) Dale wanted white.

It's interesting to note that I was really considering the stainless steel because my sister has them and most of the advertisements in magazines feature stainless steel appliances. Anyway, just in case you were like me and had never heard of "french-door" refrigerators, I uploaded a picture for you. The freezer is on the bottom, and the refrigerator has all sorts of cool features. We also purchased the refrigerator "counter depth" which means it will align with our counters instead of "sticking out." Ahh, the luxuries! We actually bought all of these appliances while on our date Saturday night!

Enough procrastinating, off to plan our week, hope you have a great one!

pics

My mom and I got pedicures.

This is a picture of our new coiffed toes.

Kitchen with the cabinets starting to form.
Picture of Sima and I (my doubles' partner)
Picture of Dale & I eating breakfast on a

TV tray. The boys were eating in the living room with a TV tray.

I had a great time at the tennis tournament. I got to play 3 matches and we had a great time even though we lost (boo hoo!). I played tennis with Z* and S* this afternoon. I saw some dad/son combos at the tournament. Maybe next year Z* and I will be out there!
Thanks for stopping by!

Excitement Mounting

Hey, I am VERY excited about being in a local tennis tournament this weekend. If it doesn't rain too much, I'll get to play Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Yippee! I asked my boys to consider watching me play for at least 10 minutes. I had to remind them of the HOURS that I spend watching them play baseball. Speaking of which the baseball tournament starts May 31st. Z*'s coaches eyes were gleaming when he talked about winning this time (apparently he's been real close twice).
Hey thanks for stopping by, if it rains a lot, I can post a few pictures. Dale has been working nonstop on the kitchen. He has installed most of the cabinets, now he needs to put in the sink and the drawers. The floor looks fantastic!
P.S. I just spent close to $100 on stamping stuff that I can't even open since all of my stuff is packed up. I also got the cutest ever prima flowers. They are print flowers... almost like old magazine pages cut into flowers.

Musings

So, on Monday, I went to a "retreat" at our educational consultant's "ranch." For some reason, I was imagining movie-theather style seats, but it turns out he built a room above his garage. Anyway, he was mentioning how expository writing is so critical to student achievement and how nifty it would be if students would publish their own writing. And, then I thought,... my blog!! I like being published! Maybe I'll raise my achievement level.

I just finished, "Losing my Faculties" which was a very funny, poignant and biting book. I brought it to Z*'s surprise band performance (on to that in a minute). Anyway, sitting next to me, is another mom about to start her first teaching job at the Waldorf school. She was starry eyed and asked me what I thought of the book. Well, of course, I loved it, but I didn't know if I wanted to admit that to her, so I hemmed and hawed. The author basically details his teaching jobs and his ups and downs and how his experience with his students never is congruent with his experience with administration. It is definitely ruthless at points, and, how could I, with a smile on my face recommend it to a brand new teacher?

On to the performance... At exactly 7:20 a.m. today, Z* announces that "oh! I have a band thing tonight" Needless to say, May is very busy and I had tennis and Dale & S* had farm league. As I tried to explain scheduling to a 10-year old boy, he says, "I get it." I wonder sometimes the things that I attempt to explain in a very rational way to my sons. My voice did have a little bit of a irrational edge, though. I ran into his very cool music teacher at school and found out that Z* was up for an award, so we were in those metal folding chairs for 1.5 hours listening to all the music offerings at Hooker Oak.

So, thanks for stopping by! Continue to support Schubert's (we went there tonight and I got a Mt. Shasta, mmm!)

Home, Sweet, Home

OK, it's way too late to be posting, but it's really great to be home again (even though we had a lovely time staying at my mom's). The varnish smell is around, but it's not too noticeable. We had a lovely picnic dinner al fresco on our card table (with a tablecloth) with various food items that could be scrounged up in our refrigerator and prepared with a microwave only. S*'s plate was by far the most eclectic: pancake, shrimp dumpling, small bowl of syrup and beef teryaki. Many of S*'s food items would accidentally "fall" into the syrup bowl, and I had to stop him from drinking the remainder of the syrup!!! Yikes!
CHICO MADE GOOD MORNING, AMERICA!
We already had our quota of sugar this afternoon because we got milkshakes at Schubert's (which is one of the 4 best ice cream shops in AMERICA). You can vote for them here. You can watch a video, too! Update: Z*'s head is in the video!! Apparently Good Morning America picked the four contenders. We will find out who the winner is on next Sunday. Z* got 2 coffee scoops and a chocolate scoop in his milkshake, S* got 2 mint chip and 1 chico mint in his, and I got mocha chip (all 3). Very filling, very yummy!

Now that I am home again, I will be posting pictures again because that's what's makes a blog so much fun. Tomorrow I will be spending my day in Zamora as an all day "retreat." Trader Joe's is on the menu for Monday night.

Thanks for stopping by!

Quick Note

Well, we are still at my mom's because the varnish smell is way too strong. We can walk on it with our socks and have to be very careful (thanks for the comment Alicia). The floors do look beautiful. We had a rip roarin' baseball game and then grandma, S* and I saw Iron Man. It was PG-13, so I covered S*'s eyes at different points. He wasn't happy about me sticking my hand in his face. A lot of movies coming out this summer. The critics have TRASHED Speed Racer, but I still stand by m enjoyment of this flick. My boys want to see the new Indiana Jones movie which is coming out May 22nd.
We have been boiling over here...100 degrees.
Well, we're tired...but excited about how the kitchen is coming along!
Thanks for stopping by!

Best donut in the world

So... one of my coworker has been talking about a "bacon donut" since I met him 4 years ago. When I saw it on the internet, I couldn't believe my eyes! It's from voo doo donughts in Portland Oregon.

Chico made national news today because our local ice cream shop was chosen as the top 4 in the nation (!). We had a scoop today with the rest of the city.

We are officially bunking at my mom's tonight, so I better get some sleep because the morning will probably take a little longer with a different kitchen. Dale says our floor looks great! (It stills smells bad, though)

Thanks for stopping by!

mother's day demolition

Yes, that is Z* mowing his first lawn!! He is donating all of his profits from his fledging mowing business to endangered animals.

Well, the last of our cabinets are gone. Dale ended up having to saw them out. The boys and I left him struggling with a crowbar when we went to the movies to see Speed Racer. I really enjoyed the flick! Z* say he liked the special effects, but it didn't have much of a storyline. (He pretty much agreed with the critics.) I had to watch it because it was written and produced by the creators of the Matrix trilogy. I enjoyed every lavish minute of it, eye candy, predictable story and all! It was funny because I nixed Ironman because it was Mother's Day after all, then I run into another mom who was going into see Ironman with her son & husband.

I had a lazy Mother's Day. Our house is pretty much in disarray which makes it hard for me to do anything. Of course, I wanted to do everything that I couldn't do. I did wake up to blueberry pancakes made in the shape of 2 women. The boys made them for me. Very yummy! S* had to point out that it was his idea and that they couldn't use the heart cookie cutter because it was plastic. I did get to lay in bed and finish Dead Clever. What a fun ride! Dead Clever is the first in a series of British mysteries with a quirky, hip female detective. I want to read the next one, but they don't have them in the library.

Ode to our table:

you gave us a place to sit

we ate heartily

set you, cleaned up

solid, strong, up to 3 meals a day

you were there

spills galore, tablecloths after tablecloths

you withstood it all

we broke bread on you, passed food and did homework

may you do the same in another household

goodbye!

Saturday News

I borrowed this art from Chico Sustainable's blog, it very appropriately describes the state of our house for the next 2 weeks.

Crafting news: Dale & I just boxed up all of my craft stuff, so I can't THINK about making cards until next week. The whole process made me extremely cranky because I was sorting through all of this half-started and half-organized projects. Also, I have so many boxes/baskets/drawers from my various attempts to organize my craft space. I woke up this morning wanting my ribbon to be organized because right now they are in ziploc bags. We are boxing up the downstairs area because Wednesday the floor guys will be sanding the living room and hallway and dust will surely be floating around.

Speaking of our floor guy, I just found out last night that I work with his sister at Four Winds. The last day with students at Four Winds was Friday. The Four Winds staff has a tradition of going to Quackers (a bar) after their day at the park with their students. The teachers were making plans for their summer, and I felt a little bereft. Then I realized, OH! They are off, I'm not! It should be an interesting schedule with one of my school's dismissed and the other 2 still in session.

We will be moving into my mom's house Wednesday night and returning to our house Sunday morning. We can walk on the floor with socks ONLY. Luckily, blogging is web-based, so I can post from whereever I am.

Table update: The guy from freecycle will be picking it up sometime today. I miss it now, just knowing that it will be gone.

Happy Mother's Day and thanks for stopping buy!

Memories

This guy is crazy! painting on a week night!

It was fitting today that I was proctoring the exit exam for one of my very first students at NCCS. That first year was pretty crazy! I don't think I knew what I was getting into!

Grad update: Starting interview #7 tomorrow. I am planning on interviewing 3-4 students in Oroville next Friday. I'm getting there. My last 2 interviews were a little lackluster which slowed me down a bit...but I hope I am coming back.

Mom stuff: So yesterday I had 6 boys in my van ranging from ages 7-10. We were going to the baseball field! I had a flash forward to when the boys will be teenagers in a few years. I got to watch S*'s game which I haven't been as diligently watching as Z*'s game. S* isn't the fastest runner, in fact, he can barely outrun his ball, but I got him to look at the base and not his ball.

Kitchen update: We have wood in our living room. Dale is picking up the last of our cabinets on Saturday at Ikea in Sac. Next week the floor will be done. I can't wait! The first thing I said to Dale when I walked in this house almost 8 years ago is, "We have to replace that floor." So, then we will slowly replace our appliances. If you have done any research, please share it with me, I got bogged down with finding the "perfect" appliance!

Thanks for stopping by!