housecatz

Hostile Takeover, Part II

2011-11-14T11:37:00.001-08:00

I just couldn't understand this. I thought these people were my friends, I thought we were united in wanting to put together a team for the future, that would stay together and play together this year and get ready for next year, when things start to count. Just 2 weeks ago we had put together a huge gift basket for the Coach's daughter's wedding present!

People talked openly about some of the things the coach would say, but from the beginning they said he's a nice man and it wasn't that bad. It's funny that the two people who stuck behind the coach the most were the ones that were most bothered by things he'd say (including me). But I just thought about talking to him about it, not try to oust the guy! He was a great coach!

Although on Sunday the Head Coach, Troy, had said there would be a compromise, I figured the Crazy Czech would turn it down, as they kept saying he was resisting having an assistant. So I didn't go to the parent meeting they had at the next Tuesday practice, because I had decided I wasn't going to anymore "meetings" with these people.

Some friends on the team called me to say that on Monday these other parents had gone to the Club President and succeeded in getting the Coach fired. They announced at the "meeting" that Troy would be co-coaching with this other coach that everyone liked, named Eddie. I called the Crazy Czech and he said yes, he'd been prepared to have an assistant coach, but instead they called him in and fired him - not only from our team, but from his younger U12 team, that I know he really loved. That team loved him too, and I think that team pretty much broke up after that.

I just couldn't believe it. Why would these parents go about things this way? Why would they not "reach out" to everyone on the team and try to get more of a buy-in? Why did they just railroad over all of us? Why were divided by emails into people who knew (last year's team) and those who didn't (all the new players)? Why go over everyone's head to get their way?

I really liked most of those people too, thinking they were nice and even letting my daughter stay at their house so she could stay and help her team.

A little ticked, I replied to an email asking who could attend the Thanksgiving tournament, saying nicely that I wasn't sure we'd be around. I got a nice email back from the team Admin (wife) that said she knew it's a tough time of year, so please let her know because they have 3 girls willing to guest for us at the tournament. What? Really? My daughter is that dispensable?

It turns out they've targeted 3 girls from another team that broke up (Coach got fired and 2 players quit with him). That team is not as good and was not having a good season before the split.

So anyway, I was rocked. I really thought that they realized my daughter is a good player and were glad to have her on the team. The same with the girl we brought from our old team. All of us are not really that important? I just couldn't believe this. It really upset me and was on my mind for a good two weeks.

After the first week, I called the other parent that had spoken up in defense of the Coach, Laura, and she gave me the skinny on everything. She said all this talk about the Coach saying bad things and not wanting an assistant was all just a big smokescreen. What it really was about was these parents having their way with the coach.

She was actually copied on the emails, and that's how she knew, and that's why her husband called them selfish whiners. Basically this one mother complained that the Crazy Czech had promised that her daughter could play as striker once the defense was set, and was livid that he still asked her to play on defense sometimes. And I already mentioned about the goalie's family and the team admin's daughter. I don't know what the guy who thinks he's in charge (The Guz) had a beef about, other than the coach finally said something HE didn't like. I know the Coach was not blameless in this, but it does explain why he was getting so negative. It's too bad he played into their hands by saying the last few things about the Guz. After all, the Guz is such a PROUD family!

And somehow there was money involved, and that part I don't understand. I don't think it was the coach, but the club. Anyway, even though most of these people have a lot of money and still somehow got scholarships, these parents evidently had some financial reason for thinking that they coach should do what they said. That's why they were so angry and did what they did. And I suspect that The Guz, who thinks this is his team, was behind most of it. He has always seemed somehow covert to me.

And this made everything understandable. These people think their daughters are so good that it doesn't matter who plays with them. That's why they kept saying how good the team was last year, even though we added so many good players to the team. Last year they were short players, so their daughters got to play all the time. That's why they thought the team was so good last year, even though they only won one game and were scheduled to be relegated to a lower division. Don't they realize that next year is the year scouts will be looking for girls? All they seem to care about is RIGHT NOW.

So I was angry and disappointed in these people. It occurred to me that if enough of us banded together and quit the team, we could sink them to the bottom of our division and most of those parents would leave, but I really rose above myself this time. At first it was hard for me to look at any of them or say hi, but one of the other disenfranchised mothers who I hadn't really gotten to know came over and talked to me at the first game after the mutiny. She told me not to worry about these people, someday they will learn that this is not the way to do things. I had a really good talk with her while we lost that game.

So I got to the point where I could actually look these people in the eye and be cordial, but after that I think everyone was harder on each other. I know I was. I got to saying things like, "Come ON, strikers,let's SCORE." because that was really the team's biggest problem. These girls that want to be strikers used to be on defense, so they don't really know how to turn with the ball and push it forward. This one player that supposedly one of the fastest girls in the nation appears to be afraid of the ball, and somehow manages to always lose it. Before I used to applaud every effort, but I got to wanting results from these players who just had to have their way.

But then my friends daughter's went to very little playing time, and of course they didn't like that or think it was right. But one friend said that the Crazy Czech even told her that only her daughter and one other girl really knew how to play soccer. Really? My daughter doesn't know how to play? And then she said that all they do is push and get penalties, and I admitted that the Girl had a few from her slide-tackles, and she said, "That's because no one ever taught her how to do it right!" Really? She never does it right? And then, because she was so unhappy about her daughter not playing, one of them turned to me during a game and said (with a smile), "Well, this worked out well for you, didn't it? Your daughter gets to play." And I said, "Well, that's because she's on defense! Someone has to play defense so their daughters can 'play up'!"

So this hasn't been easy, even with the people on my side. K always pushes me to "do the right thing" which often means different things to both of us, but mostly we want to be supportive of our daughter and try to do whatever's best for her. And she had no problem finishing the season with this team, although she has grown to dislike a few of them. I tried to stay positive and always encourage her to do well.

And I sort of realized that we're the same in some ways. We all think our daughters are so good, but not all of us are right.

When all this happened we had 6 games left. We lost the first 3 games, and then won the last 3. So I guess the team ended up happy and stayed in their division. I personally feel a bit sad that my favorite friends on the team are gone now, and I don't know if I'll see them again. I'm stuck with these crazy soccer parents (backstabbing fuckwits) until after the Thanksgiving tournament. I used to like these people; now I wonder who they are.

Now we need to get through High School Soccer, which will hopefully be fun and drama-free for my daughter. Her school team's kick-off dinner was this weekend, and I didn't even want to go. I feel a bit burned by getting to know soccer parents.

Hopefully she will have fun.

Hostile Takeover - Part I

2011-11-07T11:08:00.000-08:00

I've already told about leaving our last team and going with the new coach to a new club, and doing pretty well in the tournaments we attended.

Then in the summer the coach (I liked to call him the crazy Czech) was pushing for the girls to attend a soccer camp in Santa Barbara (instead of the fun Y camp she'd already signed up for). The Girl changed her mind and attended the soccer camp, but it turned into a clash of personalities and wills that made some of the girls dislike each other instead of bonding like we'd hoped.

K and I went on a fabulous cruise for a few weeks, and even left The Girl here, staying with the team Administrator, so she could play with them.

After the season started, the Coach seemed to be getting more and more negative. He'd always had a reputation for being frank to the point of being harsh, and this also seemed to be getting worse. He stared talking about retirement more and more, like he was leaving after this year, and even complained one time that the Club wasn't paying him enough.

Then, halfway into the season, the Administrator, Ron, called a parent meeting after practice. A few parents had been with the Coach for many years (4-6), and seemed to act like they were in charge. They said they wanted the coach to have an official assistant coach, to stop saying things he shouldn't, and wanted to see how many families would be around for a Thanksgiving tournament. K went down to tell the coach he was running a great practice, and he said, "The parents are trying to get me fired." K thought he was just joking or being negative.

That Sunday we had a game, and and email went out that we were having ANOTHER parent meeting afterward! When we showed up, the coach wasn't there! But half the Club's coaching staff was. That was my first clue that something was up. My friend V said, "Look what these parents are doing." We immediately suspected who was behind it.

We also got another surprise - some of the parents had decided to take the girls out for ice cream after the game, as one of the dads had a friend who owned a limo company and it was left over from the night before and was therefore free.

I called the Crazy Czech during the game and he repeated that the parents were trying to get him fired. He said the goalie's dad had tried to fight him on the field after the last game, when a 2nd goalie had played half the game. The reason we have a second goalie is because last year this goalie's trainer told her she shouldn't play halfway through the season! Not even her doctor, just her trainer, and the team was left without a goalie for half the season. But now that we have two, the second goalie should never play unless their daughter is hurt?

He also said the team admin had hung up on him after a phone call where he screamed at the coach about why his daughter wasn't playing the whole game. The coach was especially hurt because he'd been with some of those girls for years, being a father figure to a few of them.

So after the game the girls were whisked off in a limo for ice cream, and we parents had a sham of a meeting where we were supposedly airing our views to the head of coaching for the Club, Half the team had no idea, and the other half was prepared, saying the coach was too negative, he didn't want an assistant etc. I complained about the blind-siding and one of them, M, said, "How can you be surprised? But there were all those emails...." seeing that half the team was as surprised as I was, I told her, "Not everyone got those emails."

Only I and one other family stuck up for the Coach. I told the Head Coach, "But no, we're here because of the coach! We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him!" We broke up a nice little team to come there, and now I was feeling even worse about that.

One father told them that they were just a bunch of whiners and complainers that were upset because they weren't getting their way, and that they were being really selfish. That was my favorite part.

In the end the head coach said that he would compromise, and that he (the Club Head Coach) would be the assistant coach and the Crazy Czech would still be coach. I thought that was a good compromise. The girls returned from ice cream, and everyone went home.

Ticket trouble

2011-01-26T19:54:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, K was driving home from church and he got pulled over by a policeman. The cop asked K if he knew why he'd stopped him, and K guessed, "Did I roll through the stop sign?"

And the policeman asked, "Oh, do you do that?"

K said, "Well I'm trying to get better."

The policeman asked, "Do you know what the speed limit is here?"

K guessed again, "30? 35?"

The policeman said, "It's 35 and you were going 45."

So K pulled out his badge and showed it to the policeman and asked for some "professional courtesy" as he is a probation officer.

The officer agreed and told K that now that he knows him, he'll never pull him over. But he advised him to be more careful in the future.

K told him he would try to get better.

lol, I thought that was funny.

Rockstar Tournament

2011-01-21T18:42:00.000-08:00

Last month, you may remember, The Girl changed soccer teams to come to a better team that's affiliated with our local HS. The coach invited another player from her old team to try out, and she (Camillia) joined the team as well.

I felt a bit guilty about that, but who am I to decide not to pass on an invitation?

A few weeks ago, the new coach called and said we'd been offered an opportunity to join a relatively new club (still nearby) that was willing to give us scholarships, uniforms, trainers - a much better deal than the local club.

We asked The Girl what she thought, and she thought cheaper is better as long as the team is still together and good. Partly because the basketball program was (IMHO) messing with my daughter, I said "to heck with loyalty to the local club." K joked that we'd been on the same team for 6 years, and now we'd been on 3 teams in a month!

Last weekend the team went to their first tournament with the new players. At this age, there are some girls on the team playing in HS, and therefore can't play with us until their season is over. So we got 3 guest players to join us in the tournament.

I was a bit stressed on Thursday night and Friday, when I realized that the first game was at 7:45am (why do they always do this to the team farthest away?) and it was at least an hour's drive. K had a game himself on Friday night, and would be getting back late. So I decided to drive down on Friday night, which meant making reservations Friday morning and packing, planning, etc. We were also taking Camillia.

We got on the road without much problem, but when I looked for my directions I found that they hadn't printed out. I'd only printed out the map, which was too big! So when we got to the right area, I gave The Girl my phone and asked her to find my navigation program and put in the address of our hotel.

Bless her heart, she figured it out. When the voice came on, it said, "Take the first legal U turn." Guess that meant I was going the wrong way! lol

The next day we got up early, and the girls played two good games, shutting out the other teams 2-0, and 3-0. Yay! Camillia scored 2 goals and the new Goalie kept the other teams from scoring.

On the way home, the Girl found out she could still make it to her basketball game! We had told them she wouldn't be there, assuming that we'd be gone.

The Boy was coming home to visit, so I told him to meet us at the game. The Girl had a great game and didn't even foul out! She scored 11 of her team's 19 points. And her brother got to see her! She won 3 games in one day.

The next day she was tired and kept falling over the ball during the first game. One of the substitutes didn't come to that game, as she had a prior church-related obligation. One of our players hit heads with the other team, and had to come out. So they played nearly half the game one player short. That team was tough, but rather thuggish, so I was glad when we beat them 1-0 (we'd only needed a tie.)

The second game was around 4pm, so we drove home and ate lunch and I put a roast in the crock pot and tried to take a nap. We convinced the Boy and his GFF to come to the game, and we all drove back to the tournament.

When we got there, we discovered that the tournament was behind schedule, and they were saying that we might not get to play the championship game! (toss a coin?) Finally they decided that the game would be more than an hour late, and they would find some lights.

The Boy was most unhappy to hear he'd be sitting around for another hour, but they managed to eat hot dogs and bear with it. There was a tent giving away Rockstar Energy drinks (with parental permission). I drank one and it made my stomach hurt!

The sun went down and finally the girls got to play. One player who was out with the flu came to try to play, and we got our substitute player back from church. The first 5-10 minutes were intense, as the other team was extremely fast and good. But after awhile the team relaxed and although the other team got some shots off, our team seemed to have more control of the ball. But neither side scored.

The other team had 6 substitutes, and we had a girl with the flu on our bench. She had to go in for another player once, but only lasted a few minutes. We had a few opportunities to score near the end of the game, but the shots were off. One girl was so disappointed in her kick that she almost started crying.

So we headed into two sudden-death overtimes, to be followed by a penalty kick shoot out (which is hard on a parent). The first OT came and went quickly. At almost the end of the second OT, the ref called pushing on the other team.

So they had a free kick about 30 ft and to the right of the goal, and the teams lined up in front. At the last minute, the coach told The Girl to take the kick. I thought she was going to kick it into the crowd so that someone could kick it in. When she kicked it, I thought, "Oh no! It's too high!" and it looked like it would go over the goal. At the last second it dropped and hit the back of the net.

There was a second of silence, and then all the girls (and parents) started screaming.The Girl fell to the ground and the team ran and jumped on top of her, and when she got up she said she had dirt in her mouth.

The boy jumped up off the ground and said, "That was The Girl, right?"

It was so great. We didn't have to go into penalty kicks! We won the tournament! Her brother got to see it! The goal made it worth the wait! All the new girls had a great tournament, and proved they were worthy to be on the team. One of the substitutes is now thinking about joining us!

It was dramatic. It was wonderful. I'm sure we'll be talking about it for years.

Bottoms Up

2011-01-04T19:42:00.001-08:00

The other day the Girl said her friend asked her what "Bottoms up" means, like the song on the radio.

The Girl demonstrated, "You have a bottle of beer, and then 'bottoms up.'" and tilted it upwards.

Her friend said, "Oh, (pause) I thought it meant something else."

lol I don't even want to know what she was thinking!

Oh, and I finally bought another camera! I know you are happy for me.

Picture problems

2010-12-11T10:53:00.000-08:00

My picture problems persist. Now I can't find my camera. It was full of pictures from the Girl's last games, plus a picture that K took when he went to see a former "caseload" of his play a game.

It was the same weekend as my SI picture problems, and I haven't seen it since. So I can't take any pictures, plus my cellphone seems to have stopped "mobile uploading" to Facebook. I can send pictures, but they never show up.

I lost my hairbrush around the same time, so I kept saying that the maids must have put them somewhere, and they were probably together.

I finally found my hairbrush in the medicine cabinet, but still no sign of my camera.

Taxing Directions

2010-12-07T12:10:00.001-08:00

I was so mad yesterday at my tax employer. They gave me an address for my "training" that just plain doesn't exist. I didn't know that, however. I googlemapped it, and was shown a spot near the 605 fwy, quite a ways from my house. Darn! I'd picked that location because I thought it was close.

I should have done a satellite view, though, as I would have seen that it was an empty lot. But I drove clear out there, got off and would have been right on time if the place had existed. But I looked and looked for it, came back to look again, then followed the road clear past the Santa Anita Racetrack when I had enough.

I pulled over and called the person in charge of training, Tami. No answer. So I 411'd the company and got transferred to a local office where I tried to ask the guy who answered where the heck this office was. He ended up being so helpful by telling me the correct address. Turns out they gave us the office number where the address should be.

So I turned around and went there, wondering why the heck the person in charge (Tami?)didn't send out a message, an email, some kind of "heads up" about the wrong address? There had to be 30 people scheduled to go there.

The funny thing is, once I arrived an hour late, I hadn't missed anything. I think they had just gone around and introduced themselves and gotten the books. They were just milling about in class, so I got to say hi to all my friends and get my books before they settled down and started passing around the sign-in sheet. So I got full (paid) credit for the hour I lost.

It was good to see my friends, but sometimes the company just seems so disorganized that I get frustrated.

Season end

2010-12-04T15:06:00.000-08:00

So the last I reported about the Girl's soccer, she had a red card and couldn't play the last game. The team they had to play last had previously beat them 5-0, so we felt like the ref had nailed close the coffin on the team;s future.

But we went to the last game, and the Girl's team persevered and won 3-1! It was great to know the team could perform well without the Girl, as she was planning on leaving the team.

Actually, we called the coach the night before the last game, and told him we were leaving to go to the local club. It would be different if it wasn't the school's club soccer team (affiliated), and they weren't known for trying to get the girls scholarships.

Anyway, he seemed surprised, even though we'd told him she was considering leaving before the season. She basically stayed a season so she wouldn't leave them in the lurch.

But he was really nice at the game, and already had her card and paperwork for me. I hugged him and thanked him, but I hate to say goodbye. She'd been on that team for 6 years! So we said maybe she could still play with them at a few tournaments, etc.

Then a few days later I noticed that we were off the email list. Just like that, communication is cut.

It feels sad, like a breakup or something. A breakup that you initiated because you feel you need to go a different direction in your future, even though you do love that person. Even though you're trying to do what's best, you feel sad and miss that person, and feel badly that they did so much for you. I feel badly causing him any pain.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-28T11:56:00.000-08:00

We had our Thanksgiving a day later than the "real" day when everyone else ate. We had a nice day, the Girl and I. I cooked ahead the stuffing, broccoli, and the cranberry sauce. the Girl made brownies. The Boy ate at his GFF's uncles and she brought him back late.

I had to go to the store because K didn't buy the kind of sausage I usually use for stuffing.. They didn't have any in the store! All they had was a habanero flavored sausage, so I had to get for that.

Friday K really wanted to get my car fixed, so I drove it to Burbank and drove around with the Mechanic a little so he could hear the rattle. K met me there and brought me home.

We put the turkey in the oven and I started the sweet potato casserole. I made the bread topping for the broccoli casserole, and tried to keep the kitchen clean. The Girl made mashed potatoes and I made an apple crisp for desert.

The GFF's parents stopped by when they dropped her off for dinner with us. Her mom I'd met before, but I was surprised to meet her father, as he was rather tall and handsome, and none of his kids really resembled him. His daughter is beautiful, I'm just saying.

We had a nice dinner, but the stuffing was kindof a roller coaster ride. Whew! Everyone liked it though, except for the GFF.

She doesn't like spicy food. And habanero? HOT!!!

Almost Famous

2010-11-23T16:48:00.000-08:00

One (the only) thing that kept the bad soccer day from being a total loss, is that K got a call from Sports Illustated the week before. The department cleared him to talk to them, and it was just sort of a dream. Who gets to talk to Sports Illustrated?

On Sunday, after the Girl got her red card, we got a call from a fact-checker about pictures. Did we have any pictures of the team?

Anyone who knows me knows I take a LOT of pictures. But I got a little ticked at both sides of my family last year, and thought, "Really? You guys need to mess with me? All I ever do is try to be nice and give people pictures!" So that was it, no more pictures from me.

Because of this, I haven't posted any of my pictures to my usual picture sites (shutterfly) where I can easily find them. They were just all in the computer, where I'd downloaded them from my camera.

But my computer had finally gotten a virus so bad that I none of my usual tricks worked to fix it. How the heck was I going to get to all my pictures? I hadn't backed them up for a long time.

It was a long drive home, but when we got there, I turned on the computer and tried different ways of booting it to try and bypass the virus. I ended up only being able to restore to default, which it said would not delete any DATA files. I could only hope that pictures were considered data files.

We left to scan some photos other people had taken, and ran into trouble at Kinkos. We scanned all the pics, but at the end it wouldn't let us save to CD, so we had to start all over again. Argghhhh! So frustrating. At the end K complained that in one picture we had cut off the top of his head. I was overwhelmed at the thought of figuring out how to fix it, so I told him that it was just his hair, and moved on.

I was bummed out because I was pretty sure I'd deleted all my pictures, and thought it was some sort of poetic justice because I'd been such a snit about pictures and now it was coming around to bite me in the ass!

When I checked my computer, I found my pictures were still there! So we picked the best ones, loaded them into an email or three, and sent them to SI.

Later they said that their favorite pic was mine! I was almost going to get a photo credit in SI!

Well, almost. They ended up not running any pictures.

But at least my computer got somewhat fixed, altho I had to take it offline. And I spent the next week archiving my pictures onto CD's and flash drives.

So I dodged a bullet there, but we did lose all our iTunes. That hurts.

Fur, crying, and 1-hour books

2010-11-14T19:38:00.000-08:00

Fur

Last night I started watching the movie "Fur" on the Sundance channel because the info said it was about the photographer Diane Arbus (starring Nicole Kidman). I had seen a photo of hers of the Disney castle with a swan out front that looked slightly menacing, and because of that I was interested in learning more about her.

Anyway, the movie had her falling in love with Robert Downey Jr, who was a hairy man out of a freak show. How they got these people to be in this movie is beyond me. Every time K tried to watch it with me, he started getting depressed and asked me to change the channel, but I argued that I wanted to see it because it was true. (even if farfetched) So he kept leaving. It got very strange at the end.

Then I got to the credits and saw that it was a "fictionalized account" of her life. I was a little ticked off about that. I was unaware of her preoccupation with freak-show and circus (and naked) people, but I prefer to think it was a reaction against an upbringing where everything looked perfect.

I looked up her husband later, as the handsome Ty Burrell from Modern Family played him. Turns out Allan Arbus went on to become an actor, and played Dr. Friedman in MASH.

I thought that was interesting, although Diane's pic of Disneyland isn't mentioned online as one of her more famous photos.
----------------

I may have mentioned that I tear up easily. Even in movies that aren't sad, if something touching happens I get all teary.

A few weeks ago I was reading a book that wasn't even sad - "Shopaholic and Sister." Who would cry at that, right? But she was just so misunderstood in the book, and tears just kept escaping from my eyes, prompting K to ask me, "Are you enjoying your book?"

Then a new movie came on TV, "Love Happens." It really got sad at the end when the main character relives the death of his wife, and I was off crying again. It got so bad that I had to go downstairs and hide because my eyes were all red and puffy and I didn't want to have to explain it to my kids.

======================

By the way, Jenny McCarthy has been out promoting her new book, "Love, Lust, and Faking it." I saw it in the library, so I decided to take look at it. I was looking for dish about what happened with Jim Carrey, and I really enjoyed reading about her son's autism.

I read nearly the whole thing in an hour in the library, and there's NO DISH in there about Jim Carrey! So, no need to buy it. It's just her opinions or things that happened to her - her first boyfriend, etc. It has some good advice in there I guess (don't expect that just because you date a loser that he's going to appreciate it/you.)

I already told my daughter that, so that's not news to me.

Life is a work of art

2010-11-11T18:38:00.000-08:00

Last week I heard that Demi Lovato had to go into "treatment" and not finish her tour with the Jonas Brothers. It seems that Joe Jonas broke up with her, and who would want to stay on tour with your ex who already moved on to a new girlfriend?

Evidently she had eating issues and was cutting herself too. I told the Girl about this, and noted that it can be hard being a teenager or young adult at times, and encouraged her to ask for help if she needs it, like Demi did.

It's sad too, because she just released a song saying, "Every day is a new canvas", that I found inspirational. I know she didn't write it necessarily, and it can be hard to live in your highest ideals when things seem tough. I guess I just wish she listened to the song herself.

--------------------------
Everyday is like a blank canvas
You know you can paint it anyway you want it
You can draw a black cloud
You can make the sun shine
Coloring a rainbow
or use black and white
---------------------------

A few weeks ago K went to see a football game the boys from his camp were playing. Turned out they were playing Campbell Hall, a private school in the Valley. When he got home K said that Dakota Phanning was Homecoming Queen!

Wow. Good for her. She got the typical high-school experience!

Not.

Last Night

2010-11-10T20:24:00.000-08:00

Just so you know, falling asleep on the couch can be very dangerous.

Last night, actually this morning, I woke up at 3am on the couch. The TV was on, and I jumped up, confused. I didn't realize that my foot had also fallen asleep, though, and when I jumped up, it declined to support me.

It collapsed under me I didn't really fall or hurt myself, but I twisted my ankle pretty badly.

You don't realize how fully you're trusting one foot to hold you up until you're fully on it. Like when you step off a curb, and your ankle hurts.

So just be careful out there. No more falling asleep on the couch.

Guilty

2010-11-09T21:24:00.000-08:00

I've been feeling guilty about the thought of telling the Girl's Coach that she's leaving the team. He's been such a great coach for her for so many years - 5 or 6 years now. He indulges her drama and tendency to miss practice now and then. He's been good for her, but now she has a chance to get onto a better team on a club that's known for getting scholarships for the girls. Plus if she's on this club, she'll have a better shot at playing in High School.

So I feel like I'm breaking up with someone I really like. K asked me if he should tell him today, but I keep delaying it. I'm hoping something will happen that will make it so that we won't have to tell him at all.

We'll see what happens...

Soccer Sucks

2010-11-08T19:46:00.000-08:00

The Girl's latest soccer season ended badly and abruptly. Going into last weekend, we were playing two beatable teams. Her team has not been winning overall, but they've been playing well. They just can't score!

On Sat we played the next to worst team that had come up from Bronze this season, and were losing 0-1 most of the game. Then the Coach moved the 2 best girls (including the Girl) to the front to try and score, and boom, boom, boom - the other team scored 3 times in 5 minutes.

We scored once after that, but it was over. At least the Girl had a sleepover that night to look forward to.

Sunday they played better. This team was doing well in the league, but only beat us by one goal last game, so we felt it was doable. We were losing 0-1 when the Girl tried a little too hard to get the ball, and accidentally kicked an opponent in the face - and got a red card. Which means she's out and the team plays short one player, plus she can't play in the next game. The last game of the season.

This was no relaxed league like this summer's though, because even though I tried to tell the ref it was accidental, he said it didn't matter. I know it sounds bad, but I also know she was just trying hard.

She was crying and said, "This is the last game I'll ever play with this team!" and I said, Hey! They don't know that yet! Plus, we might play in some tournaments with them, or you might decide the other team is too hard core and you'd rather come back.

I tried to cheer her up, but after awhile she wanted me to leave her alone.

The team was a little stunned after that, and got scored on again right away. Another of her team got hurt and they had to play down 2 players for awhile! They ended up losing 0-3, but the team played a lot better than the score indicates.

So we have one more week of practice and another game, but the Girl can't play.

I talked with the coach of the team she wants to go to, and they are struggling with injuries and such too.

We'll have to see what happens.

Jimmy Carter?

2010-11-07T18:43:00.000-08:00

Last night I dreamed I came home (to our old house) and my Dad was sitting in the living room with Jimmy Carter!

I was annoyed that my Dad had let him in and hadn't even picked up the house, so I went around picking up laundry baskets, etc., and taking them to my room.

I asked Mr. Carter if he wanted any tea or anything, but he declined. I asked what he was up to lately, and he said nothing. I said, "Really? There are no causes you want to get behind?" And he said no, he didn't have to do anything anymore, he was retired.

Later he asked me how Rick was doing, and I said, "You know I'm married to K, right? Not Rick."

That was pretty much it. I wonder what the heck it could mean!

Migraine Pills

2010-11-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

I have been getting migraines for many years. I was lucky to find a medicine that worked for me, but I have a major complaint against the packaging.

The first med came 3 pills to a little plastic box. I felt it was wrong to throw them out, so I didn't really know what to do with all the leftovers. They were packaged carefully, so I guess it's bad for the pills to get somehow smashed or punctured.

Now, they changed my Rx as my old med is now not covered, and I had to use a new one, that I might even like better than the old pills. But why, why, why is it so hard to get to them?

OK, I already have a headache. Now I have to figure out how to get to the stupid pill?

The new pills come in a regular box, which I like. They are in plastic bubbles, on a sheet of 3 pills. They are perforated, so you can get them apart, but here's where it gets tricky.

There's a triangle at the edge which can bend and snap off (also perforated),with a thin covering of foil on top of a layer of something else. The thing is that when you use the triangle and try to peel the foil back, it doesn't work. It's very hard to get the foil back, but even if you do, you have to get through the layer of paper or whatever below it.

And remember, I have a headache. I usually end up poking my fingernail through the layers I can, and peeling it back to expose the hopefully unharmed pill.

I don't know what they are afraid of happening to that pill that would be worse than my trying to poke it out with my fingernail!

Lost Info

2010-11-05T16:09:00.000-07:00

The other day I was in the tax office, and answered the phone. A man was calling with a question - he knew that his ex-wife had filed an extension, but he didn't have a copy of it. He wanted to file his taxes, but he didn't have his ex's SSN nor that of his step-daughter. He'd need those to file as MFJ or MFS.

I asked if he couldn't look at some past returns or papers that might have it, but he said no, his ex took everything. I asked if he couldn't just call her and ask, but he said she wasn't responding to his calls or emails.

For some reason, I brought up how he was going to file for this year, and he said, "Oh, I'll be filing as married. Because I'm married again."

OK, now I understand why he doesn't have any paperwork and why his ex won't return his calls.

Not sure I feel sorry for this guy...

Phantom Bank Account

2010-11-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

We all know that there's been quite a turnover in backs in the last year or so. K was at a bank we don't usually use, for the Boy's loan, when they talked him into signing up for a new checking account.

The lady had gone on and on about how there were NO FEEs, and that finally convinced K to put $500 into a new account there. Later, K went to check on his account, but the bank had changed names and for awhile they couldn't find his account! He was somewhat troubled by that, but was happy that in the end they found his money.

Well, he didn't check on the account much, because he didn't use it. Last month he checked it again, and found that the bank had taken $75 out of the account! They had taken nearly 20% of the whole deposit!

Naturally upset, he made them check to see what had happened. It seems that they forgot what kind of account it was, decided it was the kind of account where they subtract $25/month for some reason.

He made them credit the account for what they had needlessly subtracted, but came away rather upset with the whole thing. Banks have a reputation of being so rule-based and having to do the right thing, but the truth is that they'll do whatever they can get away with!

He went back to that bank on Monday for something else, and found that the bank had deducted another $25 (now that it was November.) Frustrated, he made them credit the account again, and he withdrew the whole $500.

He said he could see the woman who had sold him on the account cringing in the background.

Soccer Drama

2010-11-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

The Girl's soccer team started the league playoffs last weekend, with 2 games on Sunday. (Halloween, weird) The first game was against a really tough team in a higher bracket, and they lost.

The second game was against one of the best teams in a lower bracket. It was a beautiful day, but a dramatic game.

Before the game I said a prayer that her team could do well, and they did! The first goal was off a penalty kick, pretty far away from the goal. The coach was yelling at the Girl to hurry up and kick it, but she had to wait for the ref to blow the whistle first. After the whistle she kicked it hard and high and right over the Goalie's head. It was beautiful! She's now the leading scorer again, with 3 goals for the season. And she's on defense.

Later the other team came down and chipped the ball over the defender's heads, and right into the goal. Darn, now the score was tied.

Then one of our players who has been trying and trying all season to score, ran it down and scored by herself. Her father was there to see it and she and he were SO happy. First score of the season for her.

Later, one of our best defenders headed the ball, which had come hard and spinning in her direction, and she went down. Her Dad went to see her on the field, and said her eyes were rolling back in her head! So the Coach told us to call 911, and the ref called halftime.

The fire department came, an ambulance came, and the girls went onto the field and took a knee for her. Then, they decided to go into a circle and pray for her. It was a shame for several reasons, but also because the team had been playing so well and were currently ahead. How would they play without her?

When the EMTs showed up, she was feeling much better. She was answering questions correctly and was able to stand and walk off the field. Yay!

After a little while, they got past our defenders and scored again. Argh! Now we were tied again. Then we got a penalty kick from far away, and the Coach had his daughter take the shot. She's a very good kicker, capeable of long, high kicks, but not great at controlling her shot. It could be a good shot, but a bit more likely to be way too high or off to the side.

Her kick went far, and high, and hit the far post of the goal, and ricocheted into the goal! It was so perfect, it was enough to make me believe in magic. Or God. Or both.

It was such a good game, and the girls were very happy.

After the game, though, a woman walked across the field to tell our coach that one our players had said something to her, and she would be embarrassed if that were her child. This player, Jazz, said that this woman had been cursing at her during the game.

IMHO, she should have been embarrassed about herself. Lowering herself to curse at a 13 year old? I would have been angry if I had been Jazz's Mother, no matter what my daughter said to her. Of course, Jazz shouldn't have done that. But I'm thinking that in the first place, she must have been responding to something that lady said. Players don't talk to the other team's parents, normally.

But the Coach said, "Oh, sorry." and left it at that.

Anyway, we learned afterward that this woman had waited in the parking for Jazz's family, and had confronted Jazz's family about their daughter. Who would think that this would go well?

Ultimately, Jazz's Mother offered to settle it right there in the parking lot with this woman, but I guess they were able to walk away without coming to blows. Or the police being called. (we'd already called the FD and EMTs, after all.)

I think that because this team wasn't used to losing, their tempers got the best of them. Our girls played great and deserved to win.

Regis & Kelly

2010-11-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

I have been a long-time follower of daytime TV, and have been watching Regis & Kelly when it was still Regis & Kathi Lee.

Anyway, the other day they called someone for their daily trip giveaway. An elderly lady answered, and said she'd been waiting for years for them to call. Also she was so glad they called because her husband had been diagnosed with cancer. The audience said, "Awwwwwww....." Then she said, no, it was OK because he was better now.

Then they asked her the question, where was Maggie Q, who had been on the show the day before, born?

The lady said, Oh, I think it was Japan.

Kelly said, "Name a city."

The lady said, "Tokyo!"

Regis said, "No, I'm sorry, it was Hong Kong."

And the lady said, "Oh! Bangladesh! I knew it was somewhere in Asia."

Ha!

Today they called and asked if Karen was there. The lady who answered said no. Then they said they were Regis and Kelly, and she said, "Hi. I'm Karen."

So Regis got confused. Was she or wasn't she Karen? So they put up her picture (you have to send one with your contest entry) and asked her to describe it. She said, Oh, she was sleeping. The lady in the picture was standing up.

So they asked her to describe what she was wearing and she said she thought it was pink. It was white pajamas with some kind of print on it.

So they moved on and asked her to pick a number, and she picked 40. Regis said, "OK, 42! Where's 42?"

LOL - fun in the morning.

Local Politics - Meg & Carly

2010-11-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

The commercials for local politics are increasing as we get closer to election day. They are getting longer too, and I wish they would just go away. I'm tempted to DVR everything now, just so I can forward through them all.

Meg Whitman is currently challenging Barbara Boxer here in CA, saying she was head of Ebay and blah, blah, blah. Then her former nanny came forward to say that Meg knew she was an undocumented worker, and kept her on anyway. When the nanny finally went to Meg for help to get citizenship, Meg fired her.

Now the hypocrisy of hiring an undocumented worker and being tough on immigration doesn't really surprise me, as it seems typical of people seeking to be "tough on immigration."

What floored me was that this woman worked for Meg for 9 years, raising her children, and the minute the nanny asked her for help she was out. It seems to me she'd be part of the family by then. How did her children take that? Plus, what does that say about her as a person?

I've since found out that it's nearly impossible for workers like her to get citizenship, and that seems wrong to me too. After all, all these other people came from somewhere else. Shouldn't everyone have the same opportunity?

And then there's Carly Fiorini, looking so, so smug in her cute haircut. She just thinks she's SO cool. She also was head of a company (HP) that laid off thousands of people.

I would love for this to come around and bite them in the ass. I mean really, laying off workers and moving those jobs overseas is not a very creative or innovative idea. Sure it save these companies money, but it would have been so much better if they had come up with an idea that would grow the company instead.

Plus, both these women received huge (millions) bonuses for doing that. Really? I don't understand how that is justified. That should really be a last ditch solution to save a company. How about taking a reasonable bonus instead and putting the rest of the money into the company?

The economy is bad right now, and lots of people are unemployed. I would love for some of the people responsible for that to go down. How can they blame Democrats for unemployment levels when they are the very people that caused much of the current unemployment!

I also hate that ads for various propositions, as they all directly contradict each other. Like "It will save the environment!" vs. "It's sponsored by Oil Companies!"

Because of this I guess I'm going to have to sit down and read the darned Voter's Information Guide to decide for myself what to vote for.

Sigh. (Just kidding)

Dog story

2010-10-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

The other day I was going out with my realtor friend Bren, who is married to a lawyer and is more conservative than I am. I drove to her house, and called to tell her I was there. I waited outside her house for her to come out.

Meanwhile, the lady across the street pulled into her driveway, and she and a little girl got out of the car. The lady kept looking at me seeming interested in me for some reason. She was smiling and seemed nice, so I smiled and said hi. She had a dog on a release type leash, where you can let it out or reel it in.

Bren came out and said hi and introduced me to her neighbor. We chatted for a minute, then we walked to Bren"s car so she could drive. We pulled out of the cul du sac and Bren started telling me that the only thing she didn't like about this lady was that she let her dog...

She looked in her rear-view mirror and saw this lady crossing the street to Bren's house. Bren said, "Wait, this will just take a minute." and she pulled a U=turn (screech!) at the main street and drove back into the cul du sac. I never saw her do anything like THAT before!

The other lady had walked across the street to let her dog go into Bren's yard! I think she saw us coming because she started reeling her dog back in. Bren pulled up beside her and opened my window. I started searching for makeup in my purse and really wished I wasn't there.

Bren told her nicely, "Listen, could you please not let your dog go on our lawn? My husband won't even let OUR dog go on the lawn because he says it turns the grass yellow." She said it nicely, but she repeated it about 3 times, trying to make sure it sounded nice.

The other lady immediately picked up the dog and said yes, of course she understood and she wouldn't do it anymore. But she had to listen to Bren say it a few more times.

You see, this lady doesn't let the dog go to the bathroom on her OWN lawn, she takes it to the neighbors lawns. It's not that she takes the dog for a walk, she takes it to other people's yards!

Bren keeps asking me why someone would do that, does she think she's better than everyone else? (they live in an upscale neighborhood) I say not to worry about it - I think she's just selfish. Or inconsiderate?

But it was a little aggressive that right after talking to Bren, this lady takes her dog to HER lawn and lets it go to the bathroom there. Or maybe she thinks people won't mind?Maybe she thought Bren seemed friendly and wouldn't mind.

But now she takes her dog to other neighbors lawns.

What do you think?

New School Year

2010-09-21T14:12:00.000-07:00

School has started anew this Fall, and every year is different. At the Girl's middle school, she says there are 200 more students this year! I guess the incoming 7th grade class is much bigger than last year's!

I was wondering what was going on the first week of school. I took the familiar route to drop the Girl off, and couldn't believe the traffic. After 3 years of having kids at this school (2 for the Boy and 1 for the Girl), I know the best place to drop them off, how to avoid traffic jams, etc.

But suddenly the street was full of all these parents that have no idea! They park along both sides of the side streets, so that only one car can fit in to drive, so that you have to take turns with people going the opposite direction. Some people are apparently blind or something, as they couldn't seem to figure out that they needed to take turns, and just went ahead and barged into the lane anyway, going the opposite direction!

So far, by getting too far to the right trying to avoid other drivers, I have knocked back a mirror on the van of a woman I know ("So sorry! I'm sorry!") and knocked over a trash can!

How embarrassing. Now I go a little later to avoid the crunch.

The girl is happier this year, since she has more friends and is no longer the younger class at school. Last summer her best friends never wanted to do anything - not even come swim once a week. But when she went to camp, the Girl made friends with a popular girl, and after that got invited to do a lot of things and made more friends. When school started again, her old friends got jealous. But really, what was she supposed to do?

I got a little worried about the new friend, however. The first day of school the Girl said she was sharing a locker with this new friend, as she doesn't really like where her own locker is (bottom row, downstairs). Later that night, the friend texted her that her parents didn't want her to share a locker.

So I was hoping that this new friend wouldn't turn out to be a problem, but so far it seems OK. You know how girls can be.

She is 13 now and I feel her pushing me away. She's taken to calling me "Monkey" - a term less endearing than I'd like. The other day I got excited when she sat next to me, in front, when I took her to soccer practice. It turned out, tho, that she only wanted to changed the radio station at will.

Last weekend her soccer team won a game on Sat., but the Girl was mad at one of her teammates and basically wanted her kicked off the team. The next day they lost a game, but the Girl scored on a great penalty kick and was very happy. She tries to get cranky with us trying to help her (bringing food and offering it to her), but I try to emphasize that we are only trying to support her.

Meanwhile, the Boy has visited us twice already this semester! Wow. He says he's going to try to visit more, as he now realizes how little he came home last year. Really? What about the year before that?

I think that because he's in an apartment now, he's more on his own than ever before. He called me one day, saying, "Mom, I hate cooking SO much!"

One day he called from Costco, asking what he should buy. I made some suggestions, and he said he'd already picked out rice, salsa, and bologna. OK, whatever. He asked what he could do with bologna, and I said, well, you can try frying it.

Later that week he texted me that he HATES fried bologna! He said he cooked it for dinner and couldn't even eat it! He asked what else he could do with it, and I suggested eating it with a lot of mayo, or trading it to his roommates for an egg or something.

He bought about 2 lbs of it, and wanted to bring it home, but I said don't bother. It's not even good for you. Technically, it's bad for you.

But I told K that now that the Girl is pulling away from us, the Boy seems to be coming back our way.

That would be nice.

Colorado Trip

2010-09-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Colorado was really nice, I may have mentioned. I had an unexpectedly great time visiting my family. The Boy showed up after I'd already been there 2 days, with his GFF. He called the day before he left to ask us to make him a Dr. appt as his back was really bothering him.

So the next day we went in (luckily they have Kaiser there too) and they gave him stronger drugs and told him to rest it. Then we went to visit my friend in Colorado Springs and show them Garden of the Gods. Luckily my friend went with us, as she knew a lot more about the park than we did!

I was a little annoyed that the GFF slept the whole way there and back, but I guess that's to be expected in teenagers. The next day the kids went to Waterworld, and my Mom had a BBQ afterward. It was good to see everyone.

When we went to my in-laws, I became an unexpected hero when I was able to "fix" their computer so that they could view their email again. Whatever I did was fairly simple and I can't say how long it will last, as mainly it seems that their computer is very old and slow.

But K's sister kept saying that their father just had too many old email in his google account, and that was jamming him up. I said that no, those are actually on google's computers. This opinion was not met with favor.

When we got to their house, the Boy was now suffering because he picked up an ear infection at Waterworld, and had to be taken to ER. The cost of ER was actually the same as it would have been at Kaiser, but the medicine cost almost $200! He said, "Only a few days ago I was thinking, if only my back didn't hurt! Then I'd be happy..." But no, now an earache.

We always go for a hike when we visit them at their home in the mountains, and this time we went up high so that the Girl could see some snow. So the hike wasn't too far, but it was a steep slope and up high, where there's hardly any oxygen left.

But I guess all our "walking" around the neighborhood has finally paid off, and I was for the first time able to keep pace with everyone else. Well, at least I wasn't the slowest this time. K's mom complemented me on being in shape, but I think I picked up a little sadness from her about being a little slower herself.

Getting old is hard on all of us. I was telling my sister how I expected to get wrinkles, but I don't like the ones showing up on my forehead. I told her I was going to have to cut my bangs again, and she laughed and said it's the poor woman's botox!

One of the most fun moments of the trip was when we were in the airport waiting for our flight, and I pulled out a pack of cards I always keep there, but seldom play with. We played a few games of crazy 8's and then a game called BS, and it was really a lot of fun.

We got home late and ran into some unexpected delays (our highway exit was closed, we had to wait on the runway, etc.) so it felt good to finally get home.

Sunday dinners

2010-09-06T13:55:00.001-07:00

My sister closest in age to me, M, recently finished a LONG educational experience and finally earned her long-awaited Nursing degree. Yay!

Then, she found there's currently no shortage of nurses, and she was discouraged at not finding a job right away. Then right when we visited, she got a job in a psychiatric hospital. Yay again!

So she was training much of the time we were there, although we did get to see her a few times. As part of her training, she spend two days learning defensive moves and how to "take somebody down" if she had to.

She told a co-worker, "Well, if nothing else, it might come in handy at Sunday dinners with my family."

And the guy laughed. He just doesn't know....

Cruise dream

2010-09-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

I often have dreams about being on vacation, often around water. Last night I dreamed I was on a cruise ship. I went outside to look at the water, and saw that the waves were really high. In fact I looked up, and the wave seemed to be as high as the sky, ready to crash down on the ship. So I ran back indoors and everything was fine.

If water often represents emotions, this dream would seem to say that I'm overwhelmed and scared of strong feelings. My own or those outside of me? Probably both. I'm scared of feelings so strong that they might destroy me.

Back inside the ship, I had trouble finding K. When I found him, he was busy with friends and promised to meet up with me later.

I went into a room with some other people, and there was a guy sitting next to me. I was visiting with these people, and the guy put his hand on my leg. For some reason I left it there, and didn't tell him to move it away.

Later I was back to looking for K, and ultimately ended the dream feeling frustrated and disappointed that he wasn't around for me.

In real life, this is possibly because he stayed in CO a week longer than I did, and therefore is literally not around. Or it might reflect my frustration that when he gets around his friends, sometimes the needs of his family are put on the back burner, and I feel hurt that I'm not getting the attention and affection that I normally get at home.

Anyway, I don't often remember my dreams anymore, so I thought I would write this one down.

The Picture Police

2010-08-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

This is a tale of two families. One, K's, is confrontation-free. Not that things don't happen that people don't understand, but we are not to ask about them.

Then there is my family, who is pretty much the opposite. From one family we have a history of yelling, and in the other we have the Mystery of the Jade Necklace. For some reason, K and I moved far away from both families and started our own in sunny CA. Possibly because of this distance, we have had pretty good relationships with both families.

All my life I have loved to take pictures. My first was a tiny camera I bought from the back of a comic book when I was around 9. I had a vivitar for a long time, and took a Photography class in college. I loved developing the black and white images, watching them appear on the white paper.

When I grew up and had kids, the picture-taking only increased. Plus now with digital images, why not take 300 instead of 24?

So anyway, you get the picture. I have always tried to be generous with sending and sharing my photography, although at one time I sensed that K's sister E was somehow upset with me about pictures, and was no longer sending us any. It's so easy to offend women, and most of the time they never even tell you what you did wrong. And again, this was the non-confrontation family.

Back in my own family, my own sister E is living with my parents. She has OCD, and lately this has manifested itself in her claiming that people have stolen things from her, as if somehow we've stolen her childhood. BTW she is 12 years younger than me.

So I ask you, what could I possibly have of hers? Pictures. Pictures she says I have taken out of albums and absconded to California with. Most painfully, she even has my parents now questioning where I got the pictures of themselves that I enlarged as gifts for them! So even my most thoughtful gifts are coming back to bite me in the ass.

How do I know after all these years where I got the picture? One thing I know is that I never rifled through someone else's pictures with the idea of stealing them! Unless of course I am evil unknown to myself, like the man in Angel Heart, or delussionaly crazy like the girl in The Double Bind (don't read it!). In that case I'm probably not responsible for my actions anyway.

Then I gave my Mother an electronic picture frame for her Birthday (replacing the one stolen at Christmas) and included a flash drive with some recent pictures from my computer. Guess what? There were none of my sister AND IT WAS NOTICED!! Nevermind that another sister was also left out too, that was NOT noticed. Please people. I only had time to go through my most recent pictures. They're just lucky there weren't all of the cruise last year!

I think my Mother is brainwashed into believing these things herself, and every now and then will say something like "Well there was this one album...." So being worn down from all my sister's obsessing, she asked me a week before my visit to gather and copy all the pictures I have of my sisters.

So I did this, wishing to be done with the subject, and gave a copy of the disc to ALL of my 3 sisters.

In spite of all this, my sister managed suck it up and be nice while my family and I visited there, and we had a very nice trip and visit with her. All my practicing saying, "I don't want to fight with you." was not needed! I was thinking that the situation had improved.

Then the Girl went through my pictures from the trip and pasted some of herself on FaceBook. Then my sister asked why there were none of that side of the family. The Girl said she didn't have any, and my sister said she'd send her some.

Now my Mother tells me that she's offended that the Girl posted more pictures of K's family than mine, and that it isn't the first time that she and Dad have noticed it! She wonders if the Girl doesn't have some sort of identity crisis and wants only to acknowledge the whiter side of the family.

I wish I could say I was completely surprised, but my family often tends to see race as an answer to lots of things. I explained that the Girl only posted pictures that SHE WAS IN, but that didn't pacify my mother at all. She's entitled to her feelings, and she feels offended!

Later, my sister called to say that she finally looked at the disk I'd given her, and it was "bittersweet" because she sees pictures that she KNOWS are hers. She says she knows it was from her disposable camera, and I just told her I didn't see how that could even be true. I took a picture from her disposable camera?

Finally, all my practicing came in handy and I said that no one can make me feel guilty for something I didn't do. She says that is sad, as that means I am delusional.

Am I? Someday she's going to finally convince me that I am going crazy!

It's a short trip, my friends.

Club Soccer

2010-08-29T15:07:00.000-07:00

Part I

The Club Manager of the local Gold team sent a formal invitation to The Girl to practice with the team, and come play a scrimmage with them on Saturday. So I sat down with her and told her about the offer, and she wanted to go. But her ankle was still recovering from a sprain, so we decided to go watch the scrimmage instead.

I talked to her about the fact that this team had moved up to Gold last year and then lost some players, reminding her that she'd been through such a transition before and it was a lot of pressure to step up your game and frustration at losing. And I reminded her how lenient her coach has been with her about her drama, a result of frustration, and not every coach is going to appreciate her like her current coach.

Trying to be honest, I told her coach about it, and that she probably wouldn't want to change teams now, but she's curious. He answered that without her the team would probably fall apart and he'd lose a ton of money, but that he'd never stand in her way. He said they'd promise us the world, but will most likely go back to the club down the street next year. Nothing like a little pressure!

So we got a ride to the Scrimmage (which was an hour away!) with a former teammate of Gracie's (M). My first surprise was that when I was introduced to the Team Administrator, she was polite at best. She greeted us, but didn't look happy to see us at all.

The next surprise was that the coach didn't show up on time. In fact, he was nearly an HOUR late! Which he says isn't really like him. Sure! He did tell me thanks for coming, which I thought was really nice.

The next thing was that I was really curious to see what skills a girl on a Gold team must have, and I didn't see anything that looked outstanding. No moves put on anyone, no slide tackles, One girl was super fast and a few had really big kicks, plus the Goalie was good. Other than that, I think the Girl was at least as good as any of them.

The Girl's former teammate (M) didn't take her into the group or introduce her to anyone, which I also found a little surprising. I'm not sure M wants the Girl on her team at all!!= Maybe it's her Mom that cares. And I'm surprised at how helpful the Mom was being, as she never wanted to help our team when she was on our team in the past!

So nobody promised us the world, they barely noticed we were there (except for M's Mom.) A few people were friendly, but gradually I realized that a few girls were trying out, and everyone was just thinking about their own players on the team. So much for the glories of being recruited by another team! Hah!

Club Soccer Pt. 2

So after our visit to the Gold team's scrimmage, we attended a practice. I think the Girl wanted to show everyone her skills, but that too was the opposite of what I would think should happen.

First, the coach had them do drills that the Girl has never done before, and frankly don't seem that useful in a game. So the Girl was not especially good at bouncing the ball off her head a lot of times in a row, or similar drills. And when it came to racing, she wasn't nearly the fastest, as this team has a girl that is one of the fastest in the nation in track meets.

Plus she hadn't worked out in awhile because of her ankle, and she got tired after all that racing.

But it was such a beautiful day at the local high school, and the Boy, home from college, was playing basketball outside there too. I could pretty much watch both my kids from the right vantage point. So I called K and told him to come down and watch.

It was right after he got there that the Girl wanted to go home. She was tired from the running and afraid she'd throw up, but the team was just starting to hand out pinnies for a scrimmage. So K got there and she told him she wanted to leave early, and he was very confused and disappointed, saying, "What?" and "Why?" a lot.

So it was kindof funny that neither the team nor the Girl put their best foot forward on their first opportunity. But on Wed they had a scrimmage against some older girls, and both the team and the Girl looked very good. The coach gave her a few instructions, and when she could understand him, she said what he told her was really smart.

But since it was right before the season started, we decided that we couldn't abandon her old team right now. But we feel like if the team stays in our community, the Girl would like to go there after this season ends. The Girl told the Gold team's coach (the crazy Hungarian), and he said she could still practice with them if she wanted to, which I thought was very generous.

She had the idea that if she played Club soccer instead of High School soccer, she'd be able to play basketball in High School. I don't know if she'll still want to be that busy when we get there, but right now it seems like a good idea.

Soccer Angst

2010-08-01T18:40:00.000-07:00

The Girl's soccer team is at a critical point right now, having lost one of our best players to basketball this summer. Last year we didn't have enough girls, and no one wants to go through that again. So already we're challenged to get more (hopefully good!) girls.

Then a few weeks ago, the team was dealt a blow by the League when her team was demoted to the Bronze division. You may remember that they fought hard to not have to move down to Bronze from Silver last year, and their success was a true achievement, as a few games they even had to play short, with not enough players. That was seriously their main goal last season.

Well, apparently there's this whole bunch of processes that we parents know little about, and someone took his team to another Club, and challenged our place in our division. And they won on points for the season.

I sent a strongly-worded email to the "Commissioner", and she basically said it's a done deal and it's something that happens. That was hard to accept, but our coach said he was fighting it.

Then I heard him talking later about how maybe Bronze was better because we wouldn't have to drive so far. I told K and he said, "No, if they move down, the Girl is leaving the team." We hate to do it, but she's one of the best players on the team and she doesn't deserve to have to go down to Bronze. If anything, we could be trying to get her on a higher-division team (like Gold, which at this age is the best.)

It's hard because the Girl tried out for this team when they were first starting it, when she was 9 years old! We've always been loyal and I'm even sortof the team manager.

So I told K he'd better tell Coach that, as I didn't want him to get any bad surprises later. So K told him at the last practice, a week ago, and K said he looked SO sad and was saying, "No, K, don't leave us! That would just kill us!" So of course we felt even worse. It was maybe the worst thing he ever had to tell somebody.

The way we found our, actually, is that a friend of ours who lives in our neighborhood called, and said that her husband noticed we were moved down to Bronze and did we want to join HER team, which is still in Silver. We started out in soccer together when both our girls were about 5, and she was previously with the local (expensive) Club, VC, but last year moved to an even more expensive Club down the way (LCFC). Actually, this LCFC had been taking players from lots of teams, and were up to 3 teams in this age group.

This friend (Mary J) has a daughter that is also good (if short), and is on the Silver team that moved up from Bronze last year. We told her the Coach was trying to appeal our drop to Bronze, but we'd get back to her if it didn't change.

Then we told the Girl about the team getting moved, and she surprised us by saying, "Maybe I should check out VC." Since it's in our area, some of her friends are on the team, and this summer she's been all about making new friends. But VC's only team in our age group was at the bottom of the Bronze league, so that wasn't really a better option.

So K started looking on the internet, and saw that VC's web site claims that they have just started a Gold team! How the heck did that happen? Where did this Gold team come from?

Out of curiosity, I emailed the person indicated on the web site, and asked him where the girls for this team came from. He never answered that question, but instead was saying my deadline to change teams was this Friday. Finally I convinced him that we haven't signed yet for the year, so there is no need to change by Friday. A few days later I got an email from someone else saying he is the coach of this Gold team, and asked that I call him.

I felt a little guilty about that, as I wasn't really trying to start the ball rolling somewhere else, I was just trying to get some information. I felt like I was cheating on our coach! So I said a prayer that the "Commission" changed their minds and moved us back to Silver.

That night I got a call from our Coach, saying we were moved back up to Silver. Yay!!! He said it took a lot of work, so maybe it was good that we lit a fire under him. He even got us into a better division geographically, so that we don't have to drive as far as we did in Silver North. Now we're in Silver East.

Coach was so happy that he had an impromptu BBQ at his house, and we went to celebrate a little bit. He was joking and thanking K for sending him into a depression last week.

I was talking with a friend who was there, whose daughter is on a Gold team, and she said that the coach for LCFC's Gold team took his team to VC, and you have to take a minimum of 7 players to stay in the same bracket. So THAT's where VC got their Gold team! And the Girl probably won't know most of the girls on THAT team, if any.

Now all the Girl's current team needs is a few more (hopefully good!) girls! Maybe I'll say a prayer for that next.

With friends like you,

2010-07-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I mentioned before about K’s good friend Dan who was selling his house and buying a new one, but didn’t want to use me because he wanted “to keep his friends friends and his business separate.” It seems he'd had a bad experience hiring a friend of his before.

Now I’ve been in the business long enough to know that it’s full of disappointment – next door neighbors, acquaintances, even people who ask you to help them sometimes let you down. So I try to be understanding – I know friends sometimes have prior relationships with Realtors, etc.

But this wasn’t like that. He didn’t know anyone already, and he went out and found strangers to help him. At one point, after K advised him not to talk to me about it, he decided that he’d let me help him look in one little area, but of course that didn’t work out.

The weekend after he sold his home in Palmdale, he made an offer in Burbank with another realtor that was ultimately accepted. And now he keeps insisting that they’re having us over soon so we can see their new place!

My sister says that it speaks to his paranoia more than to my abilities, but when I think about how much money it would have been, I just can't see a way to be OK with that. Yet.

My feelings about the subject are summed up by Dan’s former neighbor, who is also a Realtor and probably also pissed at Dan. At a party at his house, I was saying that I’d made friends and lost friends in this business, and she said, “If someone knows you work on commission, and they don’t use you? They’re not your friend.” They get downgraded to acquaintances – people I’ve known for awhile or even like, but they’re not really friends.

So it's sad. When they first told me they were moving closer to us, I was really happy and excited. We used to be close, but after he got married and moved farther away, we grew apart. Part of that was not being invited over or his wife coming over our house for at least 5-8 years. But this was a chance to put ALL THAT (and more) behind us.

And now he thinks we're coming over all the time? I feel like he's insisting that I tell him its all OK, like the time he made me hug him through the car window. All I will think about when I see his house now is how nice it would have been if we could ALL be happy about it. About all the presents I would have bought them and how happy we'd all be. About how he says they moved here to be closer to us, but then did the one thing that would really piss me off.

Personally, I wonder if it isn't a Freudian thing where part of him doesn't really want to be friends with us at all. But when I talk about Freudian things, the Girl says I'm taking things too literally.

K is such a good person, so much better than me. He'll be able to go over there and act somewhat happy for them. This is the most angry I've ever seen him get towards a friend, though, and I see him making moves to cut down on the amount of Dan in our lives. I've told him not to, that he's usually so forgiving, but even he is having trouble this time.

I guess I am happy for them, but I'm more personally and professionally disappointed. And I don't think it's my job to make him feel better about the choices he's made by forcing myself to go over there and make it all better for him before I actually feel any better.

I think that we're in this world to practice forgiveness, and that's why I'm getting so many opportunities to practice. I'm sure in time I'll see that this was the best thing, but right now it's hard to see.

This is me, complaining and trying to move on.

Dodger Game

2010-07-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

We had been planning to do one thing every week while The Girl is on summer vacation. So this week we went to a Dodger game. Dodgers vs. Florida Marlins.

The game started at 7:10 and we were there a little early. We saw some tv announcers getting ready near us, and one of them waved to us.

There were some funny girls sitting behind us, obviously looking for someone in particular. It turned out to be Mike Stanton, who is a local boy who got picked up by the Florida Marlins. They were excited to see him and ran down and waved, and he waved back at them.

This is the very player that hit a home run with 3 men on base, which gave the Marlins all the runs they got in the entire game. Enough to beat the Dodgers.

When we got home the Boy said this player Mike S was now on his fantasy team. Since he came out the same time as Stephen Strasburg. he didn't get any attention, but he's really good!

I heard one girl say, "Remember how good his butt used to look in his football uniform?" and another girl said, "Oh, yeah, I remember!"

Also funny, the Bachelor Ryan somethingorother got to throw the second first pitch. I didn't realize at first who it was, then a lot of booing was going on. The Girl yelled, "get a girlfriend!" and some guy behind me yelled, "You're a media whore!" V. funny.

His pitch didn't make it to the plate, by the way. This resulted in more booing from the crowd, but he just smiled and waved and walked away.

Well, it was cold for a summer night, but we had a good time. This summer has been really cool - I remember 2 years ago when the Boy graduated it was so hot that everyone's AC blew the transformer in the power pole, and we sat and watched as they fixed it.

The Boy is moving into his first apartment. One of his roommates, his best friend from High School, is living with him again. I think it's ironic that this friend of his seemed so judgemental about my having a list of stuff the Boy needed to do, but he didn't understand that without the list the Boy was not doing anything! No chores, nothing. He even told his Mom, who came to a party at our house to meet me because she'd heard about this list.

So now this friend gets to teach the Boy how to do dishes. Ha!

Where is her country?

2010-07-03T17:42:00.000-07:00

It turns out the maids accidentally took the Girl's cleats. I didn't call them for awhile, as the timing didn't seem right for them to have taken them, but finally (after looking and looking for them) I called and spoke to the daughter of one of the maids, as she speaks the best English. She asked the other maid, and found that she did see them, but has already sent them to "her country."

They were just in a white plastic drawstring bag, on a certain chair, so they just mixed it up with stuff I'd given them. I'm constantly (it seems) going through my stuff and getting rid of things. The Girl does it even more than I do, so lately I'd been just giving it to them instead of Goodwill. Well, at least we know what happened to them!

The Girl is mad, tho, and imagines that someone in another country is running around in her soccer cleats. She's mad that she now has to wear what she calls "clown shoes."

She's second on a waiting list for a camp that starts in a week, so we'll see what happens with that.

Soccer and Internships

2010-06-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

Things have continued to be challenging with the Girl's soccer summer. First, she yelled at me to be quiet ("Shut up" were her exact words!) during the game (when I wasn't even talking to her BTW) and got duly punished by not getting to go to a party that day.

Next, at another game, she shouted at her teammates to "get the fucking ball!" I said "Girl! Watch your language!" The coach asked what she said, and I just said she cursed. He thought about it and said, "It's nothing I wouldn't have said. Just let her play." At home she did get punished, however, because we had an agreement about cursing, that we wouldn't censor her TV or movie watching at this age as long as she doesn't say those words.

I told her I like it that she cares about the game, I don't mind if she has an edge, but she can't go around cursing like a sailor! So she'd made her peace with not seeing R rated movies for awhile, when she discovered that a TV show she liked was rated TV-14. And she's 13. Arghhhhhhhh! She didn't even know there was such a thing.

So the next game, instead of cursing, she took off running after getting scored on and pushed a boy on the other team! I knew as soon as she took off that she was very angry, but it was a long way to run, and I saw her rethinking the whole thing by the time she got there. But she couldn't just stop after running all that way, so all she did was give him a little push. But still. She got a red card and miraculously, the kid on the other team got a yellow card. So I guess the ref knew that the boy had done something to provoke her.

I wasn't going to punish her because I figured she got a red card and had hopefully learned another lesson. When she came over to where I was sitting, she was crying and saying I didn't hear what the boy had been saying to her. I didn't really say anything, but then she demanded to go home. Well, I didn't like that idea at all. It was bad enough she could no longer help her team (and she's the sweeper), but to just leave?

But she was very upset and beseeching me "Mom can't you just try to understand?" when it was halftime. I decided to go ask the coach what he thought.

But when I got to him, he said, "Go ask the ref to change it to a yellow card!"

So I did. He knew me because I was the one who paid him and gave him the cards at the beginning of the game, so I ran over there and asked him if he couldn't please change it to a yellow card because the boys were saying bad things to her and upset her, but she's very sorry and will never do it again. And he said OK.

I didn't know if he meant OK, go away, or OK I'll change it. But he did say OK. Like I said, this league is somewhat casual.

But the coach went to the other side and I couldn't get the girl to go onto the field or to see the coach! She insisted she was out no matter what I said. So I stalked over to the other side and asked the coach if she shouldn't be in since the ref said ok. He said, "The ref said OK?" and I said yes. So he shouted "Girl!" but she didn't come over. He told me to go get her.

So I stalked back and I was SO, so mad at her. If she didn't get her butt into that game I was planning all sorts of punishment and possible torture. But I went and told her that the coach wanted to see her. She said she was too embarrassed to go back, but I told her it was a better way to get out her energy than crying.

So she went over and after some discussion with the ref and a kid on the other team and mutual apologizing, she got back into the game. She played well and there were no other incidents or issues.

The coach didn't get angry with her, because frankly he wishes some of the other girls cared as much as she does. But her brother advised her to just take her anger out by playing harder or better. Her father told her that letting the other team get to her head is letting them take her out of the game - she's taking HERSELF out of the game. I told her that she needs to learn to control her temper or I'm going to send her to a counselor, which I totally mean, because I'm hyper sensitive right now to violence and cursing and people not being able to control their tempers. (ie my sister)

And any time we get everything together and take her to a game, we're staying for the WHOLE game (unless the police are called.)

Thankfully things didn't escalate this last weekend, but she did manage to lose the bag with her cleats and shin guards. It was around 7am and we were a little cranky anyway. K kept asking her where they were and she got frustrated and yelled at him to let her think. So K and I were desperately searching her room, our cars, etc,. and every time we went into the living room she was standing there, thinking.

She never did find them, so we moved on to Plan B - my old cleats from my brief coaching career. A week later we still have no idea where they are.

She claims I probably moved them and don't remember because I'm getting older and that's the kind of thing I do now. Unfortunately, this could be true.

Meanwhile, there's the Boy

During his spring break we put together his resume and he applied for a lot of internships at once. One company in Santa Monica was interested in him, but he wasn't ready to start yet as he had to finish his semester at school. When he finished his term, he emailed her again but this time got no response.

When he got home he started applying for jobs like crazy, but seemed to give up on internships. I looked on Craigslist and found some and emailed them to him, but he didn't follow up on them. It made me sad, because it reminded me of basketball - how he gave up at the first sign of an obstacle.

I hate to see him give up when things get difficult, but I also remember how hard these things were for me at his age. So I offered to help him, because it's very easy for me - being in marketing and sales for all these years. So this time when I searched Craigslist, when I saw something interesting I'd just send an email and his resume from his email account.

I only did this a few times, and miracle of miracles, he got an internship in nearby Burbank! SO much closer than Santa Monica! So he's all happy and thanking me, but honestly it was his resume that got it for him. And being available immediately seems to be somewhat important in getting internships.

I'm hoping once he gets some confidence he'll be less easily discouraged. I tried to show him how putting it out there and just trying can actually get you what you want, so hopefully he will learn to keep trying.

Next, K and I are in a dilemma regarding getting another car. I don't want to keep driving the Boy around and would like to get another car that's good on gas, but I've been meeting a lot of resistance from K. Finally he said that he should be the one to get a new car, and he wanted an El Camino. So I found him one in our neighborhood, and he thought about it, and it just doesn't make any sense gas-wise. So hopefully we've decided to get another small car - now I just need to make it happen.

I have to say that I've been loving life lately - soccer in the daytime and Laker games at night. It's been a lot of fun.

Jury Duty 2010

2010-06-08T20:29:00.001-07:00

Today I was excused from Jury Duty. Yay! I was willing to try, but the Prosecutor was right to cut me loose, as I had a low probability of finding for his seemingly preferred punishment.

It was interesting because it was in Lance Ito's courtroom, and he's a familiar face. It was kind of fun getting asked questions by him. I like seeing people from all over and being downtown.

It was bad because it was a murder case, a 5-week trial, and we'd be hearing bad things and seeing bad pictures the whole time. The defendant even looked pretty scary, and kept looking over at us and writing something in his tablet.

I like my drive to jury duty, and I always go the same way. I take the 2 Freeway south to where it runs out, by my old house in Silverlake. It turns into Glendale Ave, which I take south and to Echo Park and the huge Foursquare church built by Aimee Simple McPhereson. I think that was her name. I find her interesting.

I drive by Echo Park and see the big water fountain and the big birds in the water (swans? ducks?) I go left at Temple, and it takes me right downtown. I turn right at Grand and go right past the Music Center and the Disney Somethinghouse, where jurer parking is currently located.

If you walk downhill from there, there is a walkway between the court buildings, where you can buy a Starbucks before court. These don't seem to be a problem at Security, which you have to pass downstairs. Then there are only 4 elevators that go upstairs, of which only 2 are usually working. Today there were 3, but there were SO many people, and I was SO hot. And I was wearing as sleeveless a shirt as you can get!

Anyway, I will miss my pals, Juror #189 and 198, but maybe we will meet again some day.

Later, I went home and voted.

How's that for doing my Civic duty?

Interesting

2010-06-03T13:07:00.000-07:00

Lately my life has been a little too interesting. For instance, I went out for a walk yesterday with K and my dog. Our home is in a hilly area, and we've been trying to get into shape hiking up the hills.

We were almost home when a little girl who was riding her bike asked if she could pet the dog. I was about to answer her when K yelled out, "Don't hit your sister!" and I looked up to see the little girl's older sister barreling down the hill toward us!

She didn't seem to know how to use her brakes, as that never seemed to be an option. It all happened so quickly. She could have turned, but she was going too fast. She could have hit her sister, me, or the car. But she aimed for the space in back of the car, and went flying off the retaining wall into our neighbor's yard!

I don't know HOW she didn't get hurt, but she landed on a bouncy horse which could also have been bad, but it seemed to have broken her fall. K picked her up out of the rubble of her bike and the horse and only her wrist seemed to be hurt. It's strange that our neighbor even has one of those, as they don't have any children! Not young ones, anyway.

When we got home we could laugh about how bad it could have been, but just because she was OK. It was very nearly tragic. I asked K, "But the horse was OK, right?" and he said, "Uh,... no."

On another front, I'm still in play for jury duty. The few times I've gone, they've been full of very hard questions (What's the hardest decision you ever had to make?) that have been heavy on my mind. Of course I'm not thrilled about having to "judge" someone else, but then it's the system we have. I wasn't trying to get out of it, but ultimately I don't really know if I'm capable of making the decision they're asking me to.

Or if I really want to sit and listen to all the bad things that have happened to get to this point.

So that's been heavy, but I do love going downtown. I take the little Dash downtown bus for a quarter, and I can go all sorts of interesting places. Next time I'll try to go to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), as I hear they'll let in jurors for free.

I also like to go to Union Station as it's so retro and cool. Olvera street is right nearby, too.

Off-season tax work so far has been fraught with headaches, but then I guess most people that come in at odd times usually have some sort of problem with the IRS. I like helping people and everything, maybe the hours were just too long. But right now I'm on a break because of jury duty, and might try to stay off the tax schedule for awhile.

And make more money, hopefully, doing other things.

Not Today

2010-05-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

Today I was feeling overwhelmed, looking around my house I see so many messes that need to be cleaned up. But today my horoscope said not to worry about it. Really!

*******
Resist the urge to run around tidying everything up today. The messier things are, the more possibilities reside within them. If you just shove everything in a box, you might cut yourself off from some extremely important opportunities. Give yourself plenty of room to grow and expand today. Try a little stretching or yoga to keep your body flexible -- and work the same kind of magic on your mind!
*******

So that's it folks! Not today....

This & that

2010-04-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

Phone trouble, Vegas

We went to Vegas for a few days to celebrate all of our birthdays and K's end of the Basketball season. For a few months we don't see much of him, so it was nice to have some down time.

Honestly, some of the things we do there we could do at home, but I feel more relaxed getting away. At home if I read I'm often thinking of other things I should be doing instead.

We stayed at the Flamingo again, in one of their redone "Go" rooms. It was really nice - retro white plastic furniture and a frosted glass bathroom. The bathroom had a TV with its own remote, and K would say "I'm going to the bathroom to watch the game!" It was fun. There was even a Bose speaker in the ceiling of the bathroom.

We've been having all kinds of family telephone and other technical difficulties. K dropped his phone in the street one night, and it's never been the same. On the trip, however, it decided not to hang up anymore, so he spent 30 minutes trying to end a call! We have lots of minutes, but not unlimited.

K was so frustrated and angry that he cracked his phone in half. When that happened, the battery popped off the back, and I felt like saying, "Duh! We could have just taken the battery out!" But it was quite a problem for a little while. Later my battery died while we were trying to find each other, and it nearly led to a complete meltdown.

Why, oh why are we having so many technical difficulties?
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Getting some credit
The Boy was home for K's birthday, and had reached a crisis point in his college career. The school raised the GPA requirement for the Film School, probably just because they have SO many applicants, but the Boy's GPA is just under 3.0.

So funny enough, he's thinking of majoring in something where he can be a sports coach, which is what I suggested he do in the first place. But instead of trying to get onto the boy's basketball team, he took a basketball class where his skills were noticed and he was invited to practice against the girl's team. So he still will end up with a Coach's recommendation.

He's going to try to bring up his grades and see if he can get into the Film school later, but he's now working on a Plan B too.

Anyway, we decided that instead of getting a summer job, he should try to get an internship to get experience and contacts. Which is how people really seem to get jobs in Film, anyway. So he asked me to help him with a Resume, which is one thing I happen to be really good at. So it was easy for me to help him, and within an hour we'd banged out a pretty good sounding resume.

He sent it out on some web site and got 2 replies! But he still has to finish his semester, so he can't intern quite yet.

So it made me happy that I could help him and hopefully I got some credit with him, which is a good thing. Plus I cooked bacon for breakfast, and my kids are always appreciative of that.
--------------------------------------------------

Soccer in springtime

The Girl's soccer team is playing in a Pasadena league that's really flexible - like sometimes we play boys teams or mixed teams or sometimes the kids seem a bit older than our kids. So I think of this league as not being that important, but good practice for them.

Eighty percent of the time the Girl is one of the best girls on the team, fastest, fiercest, great kicks, and I am so proud to be her mother. The other 20% of the time, if she gets hurt or even too, too tired, she gets mad and wants out.

And the coach resists taking her out, as she is so important to the team's defense. So lately she has taken to just stopping playing. People just run by her and she hunches over and lets them. In the last game she sat down! In the middle of the field, in the middle of the last quarter, because she'd been stung by a bee in the first quarter.

That was so embarrassing. I feel her pain; she says since there's no subbing except at certain times, she has to go down to come out. OK then, take a knee, but sitting down? I have to be careful how I respond to her, mostly I can't say anything. If I even ask how she is, she tends to snap at me because she knows everyone wants her to stay in the game. So I try to be supportive and yet not say much of anything.

K wants me to have a talk with her and tell her she has to stay in the game for the sake of her team, but I don't want to have that fight with her. I try to pick my battles, and I think telling her that will just make her more negative, and she'll accuse us of not caring about her. And of course, I do care about her and don't want her to be hurt.

He can tell her that if he wants to, and see how far that gets him.

Bad Mood

2010-03-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

The other day I was in a bad mood. First, I woke up at 4am because of a 4.4 earthquake, and then had trouble getting back to sleep. I kept waiting for an aftershock or a bigger quake.

When I finally got back to sleep my dreams were tiring. Often I dream I'm on vacation, which is nice. But sometimes I dream that I'm packing, and those dreams can make me wake up feeling drained. I kept dreaming about things I'd forgotten to pack, so I kept going back for things and sometimes not finding them.

When I was on my way and it was too late to turn back, I realized (in my dream) that I'd forgotten my migraine medication, and was duly worried about that. That was my first clue that I was getting a headache (in real life).

So I awoke headachy and tired, but I took a pill and tried to rally. When it got to be around lunchtime, K started telling me that Dan was coming over, as though I might want to be gone when he got here.

About the whole home-sale situation, K just told Dan not to talk to me about it, and that pretty much told him how I felt about that. Since then I've seen them at one of K's games, but I was perfectly nice. His wife looked scared that I was mad at them, but I was nice as always.

As I said, we almost lost him last year. So because of that, I can't very well get too angry with him. If he says we shouldn't work together, I'll just trust that he might have a good reason (his wife).

But I did have to go to the store to get some food for lunch, and when I finally went out, Dan was sitting in his car talking on his cell phone.

So I went ahead and got in the car and suddenly he said out his window, "Is that how it is now? I come over and you leave?"

I told him I needed to get some food for lunch, and before I knew it he was out of his car and sticking his head through my van window! So I hugged him and asked, "What's this all about?"

And he said, "I just need a hug."

I asked K about it later and Dan didn't tell him anything that was bothering him or that he needed a hug. And K doesn't usually like me even talking to men friends, let alone hugging them. But he didn't say anything about it.

I thought it was weird, but then I was in a bad mood.

Odds and ends

2010-03-11T23:06:00.000-08:00

Today the maids broke our shower holder. We still have the spray part, but you can't really put it back in it's holder because it's broken.

It used to be a joke with us that nearly every time they came they broke something. There are two of them and they work together for about 2 hours every two weeks. They broke my coffee maker, unraveled a rug, got the sliding glass door off its track, the list goes on.

I like them because they clean to my Mother's standards - really scrub things down. But I think all this breakage just goes to show that you CAN be too clean!

-----------------

The Girl came home from school on Friday outraged because there's a new girl at the school, and all the guys are ga-ga over her. They even have a "dibbs list" or depth chart among the guys as to who can ask her out first, and she was impressed that the guys were really going to honor it.

She's outraged, though, because it's not that the new girl is prettier than all the girls at the school, its just that she's NEW.

I thought that was funny.

-----------------------

I had my 50th birthday and it was fun. I had been thinking of doing something big for it (and I still might go to Greece or something), but I accidentally offended my sister E, so I might not. I had invited my Mom to do something with me and the Girl (she turns 13 in March), but she only called back to see if I asked her because I wanted her to pay. So I'm officially giving up on her, as far as doing "mother/daughter" things together. She just doesn't seem to understand why anyone would do that.

Anyway, we made reservations for one night at the Bonaventure downtown, because it promised us a view and room service, which seems terribly extravagant to me. We got there early and walked around downtown. I love the library and Angels Flight, the rest of it was pretty new to me. They are converting lots of the old buildings into lofts, which look pretty cool. We stopped at Wolfgang Puck's to eat, which was good. K got bacon-wrapped meatloaf, and it came on a big bed of mashed potatoes, with a ketchup sauce decorating the plate. He loved it. I had pasta Putanesca because it has olives, and no one but me in my family likes olives, so I can't make it at home.

We had a great view of lights when we got back. We didn't know about the revolving restaurant at the top, or we would have gone up there. The next morning there was some mixup where the kitchen didn't seem to know anything about our coupons for room service. But when K explained we were there for my birthday, everyone got so nice! They even rolled it in on a tray and kept wishing me Happy Birthday. It was fun.

The Boy came home the following weekend. I was pretty impressed that he remembered my birthday at all, so I was happy when he came home. He and the Girl made me breakfast on Saturday morning, and we went out to dinner that night.

Before he came home, the Girl was doodling or something, but I noticed she had made a post-it note say "TV" really big. Then when the boy came home he brought an "extra" TV that he wants to keep here for his apartment next year. The Girl went and stuck the post-it note onto the TV.

I wondered out loud, "Wow, you wrote a note that said TV and a TV showed up!" She got excited and said, "I should say "boyfriend" or "laptop"!" So right now there's a post-it note on the front door that says "$1,000".

==================================

The Girl's basketball team played about 4 more close games, and only lost one. Wow! Tonight they won the championship. Yay!

K's team won their Division, which had never been done before by that school. They were really looking forward to their first game at State, where they'd play Sierra Canyon, the top team in the League that K's team beat during the regular season. They were the only team to beat them all season, so a rematch would have been fun.

Unfortunately, they found that one of the boys had too many credits or something, which disqualified them. It's hard to keep track of the kids credits because they change and quit schools so much, so it's really a shame.

Anyway, it was an exciting season.

Now back to soccer.

Ups and downs

2010-02-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

I certainly do like the Ups. K's team won last night, and now are going to the Semi Finals! He is SO, so happy.

Last week I had mixed news. First, I got an estimate for the roof damage on our rental, and it was $7,+++! I was so bummed out. Then I found out the Insurance was going to pay for most of it, and I was SO relieved!

Then I found out the company I work for filed my tax return before it was ready, without my permission. The only person who should have filed it is me, and it wasn't ready yet! I suspect management, because files on "hold" count against them somehow, and I think a specific District Manager saw it was basically finished and just filed it. I think this because she has shown that she doesn't care about us workers, plus someone else discovered that this DM removed her password from her return.

I'm so mad I'm thinking of suing them.

But then I passed my Super Duper test, and I was VERY relieved about that. I wanted to finish before my birthday, so I could just enjoy it. I don't know if I felt more relieved about passing the test (I'd had lots of distractions) or finding out the duplex roof was going to be paid for.

The new client that called me a few weeks ago has so far turned out to be my favorite clients ever! They had a realistic idea about the price, they were ready to sell, and they totally trust me. They said, "What ever you say, we trust you." Wha? Well, that's just great!

And so far my plan has worked and they accepted an offer over the asking priced. Yay!

Then, one of our best friends (Dan - the one who almost died in the river) told us he's selling AND buying a new house, but he doesn't believe in mixing friends and business.

Wha? Why do I have such crumby friends? Does he think he'll KEEP his friendships by refusing to work with them? If his wife started a business and we went to her competitor, that would be the right thing to do?

His next door neighbor, when I met her at a party, turned out to be in Real Estate and taxes, just like me. We talked about real estate and I said I'd made some friends and lost some friends because of it, and she said, "If someone knows you are in the business and that you work on commission? If they don't use you, they're not your friend."

And I think that philosophy has some merit. I would do this for my friends, but if I find they feel differently, I figure that they're not really friends - maybe aquaintances. But how am I going to cut Dan out of the picture? He almost died last year, for heaven's sake. But I can tell you that his next-door neighbor is pissed off at him right now.

But if he's going to move closer to us and do questionable things like this to us (which mostly I blame on his wife - it's not the first weird thing), I doubt we'll be seeing much more of them than we do already.

K was trying to make it better, saying "Remember unconditional love?" And I sadly said, "But it turns out I'm no good at that! I tried with The Boy! Remember?" And we laughed.

I'm still trying.

Since then, K's team has won yet again! They're going to their league final playoff game!

Wow.

What evacuation?

2010-02-12T18:23:00.000-08:00

Lately when I try taking a nap, I sleep just a short time and then suddenly feel like I'm falling and wake up. It's very fast, but whew! Then I'm awake and my heart is beating fast. Maybe that means I don't need the sleep.

I've been asking the Boy since last September to go to the Financial Aid office to find out something I don't know, and was having trouble finding out. During the Holidays my husband asked him again, but he just couldn't seem to do it. Finally I asked him, "What is it that you don't understand? Do you not understand what we're trying to find out?"

He said, "No, I don't know where the Financial Aid office is."

I felt like laughing, because I know he got a map of the school on the day he moved in, but I told him, "Ask somebody! Someone there must know where it is!" (It's in the Student Center).

A few days later I texted him, and he said that he'd found the Financial Aid office, but they said he needed to make an appointment to find out the answer to my question. So I texted him back, "Could you please make an appt as soon as possible?" and he said "okie dokie." Honestly.

So today he called me with the answer, and I told him i was proud of him for taking care of such a grown-up thing. He says he's trying. He actually admitted when he was here on vacation that he wants all the perks of getting older, but none of the responsibilty.

The girl is a different story. She's always had an enthusiastic personality, but now she's 12 going on 13. I blame part of it on the Twilight series and how funny the main character is because she's so uncoordinated, but now tripping and bumping into things is SO funny. I don't remember the Boy ever going through this, but she's become boisterous! When she talks to her friends there's a lot of loud talking and laughing these days.

Her basketball team is on a 4-game winning streak.

K's team won two more games, and are now officially in the playoffs. This has been his dream since he started coaching 2 years ago, but this year they've pulled it off. He never knows from week to week what kids he'll have (getting in trouble, going home, etc.) so it's always been challenging. But now he's so happy he's been giddy.

I've been studying to take a super duper tax test next week. It's funny, but the more I learn the specifics of the rules, the more I find there are grey areas. Is it rent or is it not? Is he a dependent or not?

Anyway, we've had some wild rains up here, but our luck has been good. Let's hope it's a big wave (of luck, not water) and that we can ride it for awhile.

Good day

2010-02-05T13:02:00.001-08:00

Tuesday was such a good day! It's rare to have such a good day, so I'd like to remember it.

First I was working, and my appointment was an old tax client from my previous office. The company had closed that other office, and I don't know how many clients will drive the extra distance to see me this year.

Anyway, I was really glad to see her. When I first met this client she seemed really cranky. Fortunately, that doesn't really bother me anymore. The next year, I realized that she had kindof a fun crankiness, and it really wasn't very cranky at all! This year she positively LIKED me and even gave me a hug when she left.

That made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Then, while I was helping her, I missed a call on my cell phone (or rather, didn't take the call because I was with a client.) Later, I checked my messages and found that a potential new client called me for my OTHER business. Yay! That almost never happens.

Oh happy day.

Then, when K got home, he told us that his basketball team (of juvenile delinquents) had beaten the best team in their league! Every year he has high hopes for this team (which is different every year), but this is the first time they've actually done fairly well. And winning against the best team is unprecedented. He was positively giddy.

I wish every day could be like that.

Dear Mom,

2010-01-18T20:43:00.000-08:00

I was thinking about what you said the other day about how none of us wrote to E (my sister) when she was in rehab, and I started feeling bad about that. That I didn't even think of that or know she might like that, feeling bad that I was such an unsupportive sister.

But then I thought, hey, she's not the only one who ever felt like that. I bet a lot of people wish people around them would be more supportive, but they don't go around asking why after the fact and making people feel bad about something they can't change.

I can think of several such times myself, when I didn't feel the love or support I would have liked from my family or my sisters. There were so many years that they never gave me presents that I finally stopped expecting them. And there were several times over the years when I wished that you had been there for me a lot more.

But you know what? I took responsibility for my feelings, and understood that I could try just telling you that I wanted more attention, or just deal with it myself. Even if I had told you, there is no guarantee that other people are going to act the way you wish they would. So I just sucked it up and tried to be good to myself and managed to not tell you about those times.

Should I tell you all about them now? Should I blame you for something you didn't know I felt and can't change now anyway?

I think that the way E obsesses over perceived slights to the point where she talks about them a lot. And the more she talks the more you wish you could fix things for her. If only everyone would change! And so you try to explain her point of view and fight her battles for her.

I know you are trying to help her, but now it seems that I am spending time fighting with you when the fact is I hate to fight. Hate it. And so the prospect of fighting with E is unappealing. And now I am fighting with you too.

Where is all this going to end up? I thought we had a good relationship, but it seems like things are just getting worse.

I know you are trying and I know it must be hard, but I think your efforts would be better spent trying to get her off those ruts her mind goes into and try to get her onto another line of thinking. Everybody has feelings that she experiences, but we have to learn other ways of talking ourselves down, making ourselves feel better. We can't all go around demanding that other people change.

Only we can make ourselves feel better. I can apologize all day, but only she can decide to feel better.

Obstacles

2010-01-14T17:21:00.000-08:00

On being pleasant
A few months ago I decided to be more easy-going. To try, anyway. I talked with a friend who had just watched "A Wonderful World" and she felt the same: She was going to try to be "as pleasant as pleasant can be!"

Right after I made this decision, as usual, life tried to test me. First, I saw a big dog in my yard, so I went outside to tell it to quit pooping on my lawn. After I yelled at him to stop, I saw his owner coming to get him. I wanted to ask the owner to please take his doggie's poop with him, but was unable to think of a pleasant way to do so.

So I went inside and closed the door.

Then I took my daughter to soccer practice. Some of the parents were standing around talking about last week's game, and one of the Dads told me, "Actually, that referee was correct. Maybe if you don't understand the game of soccer you just shouldn't talk."

Excuse me? I just shouldn't TALK???? I wanted to say, "Maybe if you don't have enough of a grasp of the English language to know when you might be offending people, maybe YOU shouldn't talk!"

But I couldn't think of a pleasant way to say this, so I left.

And we all know I failed the being pleasant test at Christmastime. This being pleasant business is a lot harder than it's cracked up to be.

It seems whenever I decide I want something in life, there are immediately obstacles. A friend told me about sauteing cabbage in sesame oil and mixing it with the rice noodles found at local Korean stores, so I thought that sounded good. I'm always looking for good vegetable recipes (plus I love noodles.)

So Monday I went to the local Korean store, and there weren't any. I asked the lady behind the counter, and she said "Not today. Come tomorrow!"

So the next day I braved the unusual smells and unfamiliar products again to look for the noodles, but again, I couldn't find them. So I walked all the way to the back of the store, past the butcher station, and I saw some of the noodles spread out on a pan on the counter. I asked the man standing there, "Do you have any noodles ready to go?" and he said, "Not yet. One hour."

So you see, one has to really try once you make a decision. Or you give up. At least I finally got my noodles (yum!).

I hope I can stay pleasant. Sometimes I feel like giving up.

My Plan

2010-01-06T14:27:00.000-08:00

We had some work done in the basement in November. New flooring, ceiling stripped of popcorn, paint. This meant clearing everything OUT of the basement (and our bedroom), and this was a BIG job.

The Girl was helping us at first, mostly carrying books outside. She stopped and asked me, "Mom, do you have so many books because you don't want people to think you watch too much TV?" Wha? Isn't that a funny question?

I told her no, it's because I like to read. She said, "Well, that explains why you BUY the books, but no why you KEEP them!" I explained that some I like to look at again or refer to later.

But she got me thinking, and I have too much stuff in general, but also too many books. So as we unpack, we're paring down and hoping to clear out LOTs of stuff.

So I don't really need to make a resolution, but this year I plan to get rid of lots more stuff.

Also, I'm determined to find a way to lose weight that doesn't involve stopping drinking.

Exercise! Next week the Girl and I start tennis lessons again.

Here's to carrying around less weight this year! I'll drink to that!

The saga continues...

2010-01-05T14:46:00.001-08:00

The day before yesterday I got an email notice that our TV had been picked up at Best Buy in Boulder, Colorado. OK, but the TV for K's parents was already picked up on 12/12. Hmmm....

When we ordered the TV online to be picked up in Boulder, we followed up with a phone call to the store. The store manager told us that our order couldn't be picked up without ID, which would be impossible since we live in California. So he had us order one over the phone, and put a note on it so K's sister could pick it up for him in CO.

K was concerned about accidentally buying 2 TV's, but the manager said it wouldn't be possible, without ID. Later, I also received an email about our first order, saying we only had a limited time to pick it up. So there was no need to cancel the order, because we wouldn't be charged until the unit was picked up.

A month later, someone DID pick up a 2nd TV, evidently without ID. I think it must have been an "inside job", as who would know that a TV was waiting for someone with a certain name? Who else would let someone pick up a TV w/out the required ID?

The store is now investigating, and hopefully we will not be out another $300!

We never had ANY of these problems before. What's with all the crime this Christmas?

Teardrop

2010-01-05T14:44:00.000-08:00

Christmas Surprises

2009-12-29T15:39:00.000-08:00

This year I didn't stress out for Christmas, I was so proud of myself. So grateful. In past years I've threatened to become Buddist. But this year I wasn't working, and altho I feel some anxiety about that, it was really nice. K has been working extra (basketball coaching), so I picked up the slack. Plus, the Girl is such a big help that I had presents ready and wrapped on time, cards sent out, everything.

In fact at one point I was remembering how sometimes Holidays have a way of telling me that I'm not important - over and over, and how much I hate that. But, no sign of that this year! I'm so lucky.

We had some work done downstairs which meant we moved lots of stuff to the garage, and our Christmas stuff is still stuck in the back. So I picked up some cheap decorations in blue (my favorite color) and our little tree looked so cute! But one day I was looking at it and realized - it's all blue! Is it a Hanuka tree? I still don't have the answer to that.

The Boy was home from college, desperately looking for a job.

A few days before the holidays we drove upstate to see K's sister & BIL who were renting a house in Cambria for the Holiday. No job yet for the Boy, so he came with us. They are dog friendly, so we took the dog and had a great time. Especially the dog, as he LOVES getting to run off-leash and especially at the beach. They'd already opened their gifts, and remarked about how generous my in-laws are. After all, they just gave everyone in the family a cruise. We'd expected them to cut back at Christmas. But no, it seems they were more generous than ever! I couldn't wait.

I'm really lucky that both my parents and my in-laws are so generous. It's something I had come to look forward to. But this year we tried to be generous too. I picked up an electronic photo frame for my Mom, and gave my Dad a CD of pictures to load onto it (plus some other stuff he likes). K decided to give his parents a TV. He gave them one about 20 years ago, and that's still the one they had! So he arranged for his Sister who lives nearby to pick it up and deliver it to them for Christmas.

With the kids I tried to give them ideas of what to get me, and I finally asked them for a magazine subscription that they would split the price. I didn't want to end up with a box of candy like I did last year. (My figure would protest)Then I felt guilty because $12.50 for half a present seemed like a lot for a 12-year-old, so I gave her a couple of books I had picked up for myself (at the $.99 Store), telling her she could just give me those. I talked to the Boy and gave him some ideas of things I might like.

The first sign of Christmas trouble came when my Mom called me. They'd received a package, but it was very light and taped and strapped strangely. There were no presents in it for my parents! It seems that someone opened the box, took out the heaviest and just a bunch of things, left a few gift bags and taped it back up, strapped it closed, and sent it on its way. WTF? The only thing of real value was the photo frame, the rest is a bunch of junk to anyone other than who I intended it for! SURPRISE!!

The Boy's birthday is a few days before Christmas, and when he opened his present from the in-laws, he was stunned. They gave him $1,000. That was a BIG surprise! He called them up to say thanks and ask why, and they were nonchalant, saying they had meant to give it to him in September for the school year. Wow! They really WERE being generous this year! That's just so crazy, I don't want to tell MY parents. They sent him a more reasonable amount of money, and I don't want them to think they have to compete. BTW, he is no longer looking for a job.

Then the day before Christmas Eve I noticed that I had what looked like a book from the Boy. So I asked the Girl, and she she'd given one of the books to him to give me. SURPRISE!! I know it sounds stupid, but I was really disappointed. SO disappointed, it brought tears to my eyes! After the year I've had with him, I was really looking forward to seeing what he'd get me. Instead I got something I'd bought myself. I guess I deserved that, for trying to control things so much.

Oh, and BTW, my FIL had bought my MIL a TV for Christmas! So it seems that even tho we both tried to be generous this Christmas, it was all for naught.

Stupid holiday.

Don't judge me. Sometimes we all need to vent.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-16T13:19:00.000-08:00

The week before Thanksgiving, the Boy texted me that he'd gotten a piercing in his eyebrow. OK, I was afraid he was going to get a tatoo, so I guess a piercing is better than that. But he acted afraid of what his father would say, but what COULD he say? He just shook his head.

I love our turkey. I adapted an easy roast chicken recipe I saw on TV once (which is also great.) First empty out the turkey. Then I take apart at least 2 heads of garlic but leave the skins on, and scatter them on the bottom of the pan. Put the turkey on top, and pour a few cups of wine over the top of the turkey. Bake as directed.

Since I don't have a roaster, I also use those cooking bags for turkey, and a disposable roasting pan. It smells SO good once it gets cooking, and it's just so easy. Tastes great too. Yum.

I was telling the Boy about my recipe (once he got here) and how easy it was, and that song popped into my head, "Just put it in the bag." I heard Whoopi Goldberg on the View talking about how she gets up all night to baste the turkey (it's a tradition), and there's just no need for that. Just put it in the bag!

This year I noticed that I've been making the same mistake for several years now. If it says the turkey will be ready in 3-4 hours, I tell everyone it's ready in 4 hours. But it's always ready in 3! That's kindof OK, because I have to bake the sides, but that doesn't really take a whole hour.

And this year the Boy was a little late. He hit traffic, and his new girlfriend was bringing him. She couldn't stay, tho. So it was a little ackward. We were hungry, it smelled so good, but we waited for the Boy. When he finally got here, he introduced his girlfriend (v. pretty and seems nice), and we wanted to EAT!! So she kindof had to leave right away.

The meal was nice, and the Girl helped me quite a bit. It's a lot less stressful when I have such good help.

We had a nice visit with the Boy and I tried to be as pleasant as possible. He is really riding that line between childhood and adulthood, and even said, "I want all the perks of growing up but none of the responsibility!" when we were urging him to check something out with the school counselors.

We were asking him about his new girlfriend and he said he knew her last year, but she was dating a real jerk. The Girl and I both wondered aloud how he managed to do that again. He acknowledged that he only has to do the minimum and she thinks its great because she had such a bad boyfriend before him.

He also let it slip that he'd met up with her family a few times during the semester. I was surprised to hear that, as he only visited us ONCE all semester, when we asked him to come take care of his dog so we could attend a funeral in Indiana. He said it was because he was afraid of what we would say about his piercing.

He also surprised me by saying he needed to give us his Christmas list! We said, "What?!" We were already done and weren't planning on giving him much anyway. He's not a kid anymore! He doesn't get to give us Christmas lists anymore! He just doesn't know that yet. He asked us for things like presents for his friends and a plane ticket to visit his girlfriend!

I asked the Girl if I should tell him, and she said no. I said, "What if we just tell him we're already done shopping and he can use his money to buy what he wants?" and she said no. Next thing I knew, she was checking online and actually working to get him something he asked for (Clippers tickets). She offered to pay half. Isn't she the best?

On Sunday his girlfriend came back to spend the day and take him back to college (he still doesn't drive.) I had taken some steaks out for dinner, so I told him to let me know if they wanted to stay for dinner. They went out to the mall and visiting friends, and I didn't hear from him again until around 5, when he called to say he and his girlfriend would be there for dinner, and could he bring his friend too? (so his girl wouldn't feel put on the spot)

We went from 3 for dinner to 6, just like that! Luckily I had enough food and it came out well. I've been sauteing chard in garlic and olive oil, and it is SO good! It's good with rice or mashed potatoes.

The Boy called us a week later to ask what restaurant we go to in Chinatown and where it was. It seems he likes to show his friends the cool things we've done with him. I told K he'd probably do that with his kids too, and then they'll grow up and not visit him all semester.

But really, I'm thankful. I have a nice, handsome husband. A smart, charismatic son, and a beautiful, kind and helpful daughter. I have a roof over my head and more than enough to eat. I have my health.

Thank God.

Frayed Knot

2009-12-05T13:16:00.000-08:00

Near the end of last summer, the Boy was really testing my patience. We'd have conversations like this:

Me: Boy? You said you would take out the trash. When are you going to take it out?

Boy: Why are you fighting with me? I've been trying really hard to get along with you today!

Plus I'd been angry with him about a few incidents in Europe. They weren't worth discussing after the fact, but it did change some things. Suffice it to say, he won't be going on any more vacations with us. I look forward to vacations too much, and they are too expensive to waste time being angry.

So I knew that there were problems, but it just seemed like a normal part of his growing up. But somewhere along the way I came to realize that he really has a problem with ME. Not BOTH of his parents, but me in particular.

So being a terrible curious snoop, I found something he had written about me. I found out that he's been telling his friends that altho he loves me, he doesn't really LIKE me as a person! And this particular rant went on to describe a fight that happened in Paris, and how it illustrates all that he hates about my personality.

Well, of course I was upset and my feelings were hurt. I hate the unfairness of it all - that his father could fight with him about basketball his last 2 years of high school, and he ends up angry with ME. And to think I tried to shield him from his father's pressure, which seems terribly disrespectful to my husband now in retrospect. Yet another thing he's made me regret doing for him.

But I tried to look at it all rationally. I've tried to tell him many times that altho I will try to respect his wish for information when he asks me "why?", I won't always be able to do so. Sometimes I'm under stress, in a hurry,
etc. Sometimes I only have a vague idea in my head of what I'm trying to make happen, so I don't even have a plan that I;ve verbalized to myself. But I always have a reason, and I wish he would just trust me.

But he seems to have decided in his head that I just make things up to mess with him, and just make decisions willy nilly because I'm mad and drunk with power!

Plus there's this whole thing about once you tell someone WHY you want to do something a certain way, that opens the door for them to decide for themselves whether or not they think your reason is worthy. Sometimes you don't want to open that door, you would just like things to go the way you are trying to make them.

By the way, this was all about sandwiches that I had made for everyone, and he wanted to eat early. I wanted to wait until we got to Notre Dame, and he asked me why. I was already feeling unappreciated for making these stupid sandwiches that people took for granted, so I just told him it was because I had made them. I thought I had the right to make that call because I had made the stupid sandwiches! I thought even in some kind of playground rules that making the sandwich should give me the decision-making power over them. So maybe I didn't articulate how nice it would be to sit down and eat them as a family, but I don't think he would have agreed that it was a good reason anyway.

Anyway, I know I'm not perfect. For instance, I'm an incurable snoop. I have a temper, but I don't beat my children (like I was) or verbally abuse them (like I was.) But here I am, thinking I have a fine life and how much I've overcome the bad temperment I grew up with, blah, blah, blah, and life slapped me in the face and said, "Your life is not what you think it is!"

One of my favorite movies is Another Woman by Woody Allen, where a woman finds out that her life is nothing that she thought it was. It was such a good movie, but it sucks when that is YOUR life, and you're completely surprised to find out it's not what you thought it was!

So anyway, I'm glad I got this out of my system before the holidays, because I knew I had to forgive him before Thanksgiving. I decided that he's still just a kid, looking at things from his kidlike point of view. I realized that I'm STILL very hard on my parents, and feel fully aware of their flaws even today. And all of our feelings are normal I guess.

I realized that a lot of the things I say discipline wise may seem funny to me, but not everyone thinks they're funny or no big deal. It's strange to me that as much as my kids seem to ignore me, on the other hand some of the things I say seem to loom so large for them, and have way more importance to them than I thought.

I remember once when I was little I told my mother I hated her, and she looked SO hurt! I remember thinking that she shouldn't take it so seriously, I was just a kid after all. So I try to remember that and rise above it to be an adult.

So anyway, I'm glad I was able to get over it so that I could be nice to him on Thanksgiving break. And for this kid anyway, my snooping days are over. I definitely got what I deserved!

Fall

2009-12-02T17:52:00.000-08:00

The rest of our Fall has been very busy. After our trip to Indiana, I took Part 1 of a 3-part tax test that is pretty difficult. The whole time I was taking the test I was also praying to God to help me and cursing my bad luck that got me such difficult questions. But, I passed! I do tend to be good at taking tests, but still it was an accomplishment. I got to enjoy it for about 2 days before I had to start working on Part 2.

I'm supposed to be studying for that now, which explains why I am writing a blog post instead. Argh! I hate it!

Then we took a long weekend to visit some friends in Florida. Actually, one of my best friends has a senior attending Stetson Univ, and we went to see her play Vollyball before she finished school. We also have friends who have a condo in St. Augustine, and their son just entered school at Flagler. They were still in town, so we got to visit with them and eat some GREAT food, as well as see two games in DeLand. They weren't having a very good season :-(

I liked that the Charlotte airport had rocking chairs in it. I liked the outside of the Women's room in the Jacksonville airport. I especially enjoyed the BBQ we ate at the Charlotte airport and O'Steens (in St. Augustine), a place that takes no reservations or credit/debit cards. How good can shrimp be? Go there to find out! We really like it in St. Augustine, and it's really affordable housing-wise. I'd love to be able to buy a vacation home there.

That was Halloween weekend, so we left the Girl home to play in her soccer game and go out for Halloween with her friends.

I know I did some brave talking at the end of last season, about how if The Girl's soccer team lost a few girls it would be no big deal. Except that one of our best players left, and some of the others didn't leave until right before the season started. We played in a fun league last summer, where we played boys teams and learned some new tricks. But our official league started up, and we were short 1 player!

Lots of us had tried recruiting girls all summer, but ran into bad luck of one sort or another. We ended up getting our old goalie back, who we once considered too short, but we were now glad to see her. The coach actually recruited one girl at a taco stand, but her skills were behind the rest of the girls, and they were too hard on her. Finally we got a girl who only spoke spanish, but she showed up to almost every game, and that was great.

So even tho I predicted that this season would be a lot easier, it was brutal. We had barely enough girls and NO substitutes. If one girl didn't show up or got hurt, we played short. One ref went out of her way to tell me after the first game how well-conditioned our girls must be, to play a whole game with no subs.

I may have mentioned before that there are 8 teams in our division, and the top 2 go up to the next level (where we were last year), and the bottom two go down to the next lower level. The Girl said more than once that they did NOT want to go down a level, and if the team did, they would probably break up.

They tied the first game and then it was loss after loss. It was painful to watch and live through, and some of the parents took it the worst. One girl was sobbing after games because her parents were being so hard on her. What's the point in that? If I tried telling the Girl ANYTHING about how to play, I'm sure she would quit in a heartbeat.

When they got too negative, I reminded them that every great sports story starts out with a difficulty. I told the Girl, "Everything happens for a reason. I don't know what the reason is for your team to be struggling right now, but maybe it will make you stronger." And I think it did!

Then they beat a team in a game when they were short a player. Then they lost a game, then tied another one, then won again! Slowly, game by game, they clawed their way into the middle of the pack. Finally, in the last game of the season, they won 4-1. It was glorious, being able to score so many goals! It was truly the highlight of the season.

I don't know if they were happier about knowing they weren't going down a bracket, or finding out that their enemy Palmdale Thunder WOULD. Even the team we beat in that last game was happy about that.

Right before Thanksgiving we had some work done on the house. It turned out to be Asbestos in our popcorn ceiling downstairs, so first we had that removed. (Well, first we moved everything out of the basement! What a job!) Then we had the asbestos removed and primed the wall of my bedroom. Next we had a guy come in to redo the ceiling and also put in the new floor. He brought some relatives with him, and it was strange. At one moment they would be yelling at each other in Spanish (such language!), and 2 minutes later they'd be singing (in Spanish.) One guy in particular seemed to be behind most of the singing.

After they left, the weekend before Thanksgiving, the Girl and I started painting. She is really a blessing to me because she's so helpful and energetic. I couldn't have gotten it finished without her. We also roped K into helping paint every now and then. It still needs molding, but the walls and flooring now look great!

Just in time for Thanksgiving!

Netflix and FaceBook

2009-11-13T15:17:00.000-08:00

One thing that happened this Fall was that we joined the mainstream internet users and joined both Facebook and Netflix. We're a little challenged with Netflix right now, as most of their "new" movies are ones we saw this summer. Between the two plane flights and the cruise itself, we saw:

He's just not that into you
The Reader (think I missed something in this one)
The Watchman
Bride Wars
Made of Honor
Hotel for Dogs
Bolt (very cute)
Mama Mia
Last Chance Harvey
Wall -E
Benjamin Button
Bedtime Stories (most of it)
Marlee & Me
Horton Hears a Who
Monsters Inc.
New in Town
Yes Man
Mall Cop
Definitely Maybe

And possibly some others I'm forgetting. So we're scraping the bottom on Netflix right now, but hopefully this situation will improve.

I joined FB because someone invited me to be their friend, and the only way to do that was to start my own account. Plus the Girl wanted to, and I told her she could only do it if I was her friend (and could monitor the situation.) It's been around for years, but I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I do. It's a great way to keep up with people you don't see a lot.

I've noticed a few things about FB politics. First, FB got right into my Yahoo contact list in order to suggest people I should befriend. This brought up pictures of people whose blogs I've read and communicated with, altho I'm not sure that they were ready to be that known to me. Now I know what they look like! That seemed like some kind of violation of privacy, but I seem to be the only one who's against it.

Then, the Boy blocked me from his posts when I complained that his cousins could now see his questionable language and pictures. So he filters himself somehow, which I guess is fine, but I still wish he'd be more appropriate. I only hope he's filtering his cousins too.

Then I noticed that the Girl hadn't seen some pics I'd posted, and I figured out that she blocked MY posts! I asked why she would do such a thing, and she said she was just mad at me. Mad at ME? Whatever for? So I tried to unblock myself and think I may have completely deleted myself from her friend list instead.

Sigh.

I've found that there are different ways people can post too much. The first is like my original friend from HS who invited me to be his FB friend. He posts multiple times a day to say things like, "I'm up. I think I'll have coffee now." or, "Time for bed." OK, we all do those things. Should we all post similarly?

And don't get me started about people who post things, but never seem to comment on other people's posts. Why? Do you only care about yourself?

Then there are people my sister calls page hogs, and they post 4 things in a row that take up your whole page! They post their every accomplishment in Farmville, every video of songs they like, things like that. OK people, get a life! Maybe they just like to share.

But I have to admit that there were a few weeks when I first joined that FB helped me immeasurably in my efforts at procrastination. Particularly, Zanga Poker. I was supposed to be studying for a BIG TEST, and I was trying not to think about people drowning in Alaska, so I found FB poker to be a great outlet. Plus, I won lots of money! I started out with $5,000 and now I'm up to $290,000. Now my husband wants to send me to Vegas, but in real life I'm sure people don't go "all in" with such junk in their hands.

At least I hope not.

The rest of September

2009-11-06T19:00:00.000-08:00

OK, so what happened in the rest of the month? First, K started having problems at his job. First, they gave him a crumby shift = the worst shift you can get. Basically he has to work during ALL the holidays. He was offended because he works really hard and should get some kind of seniority, but it doesn't work like that. This shift was weak and he is strong, so they stuck him there to balance it out.

Meanwhile, management has been implementing changes that make it harder to do K's job, and not staffing the place correctly to cut costs. K told them he wouldn't be Acting Supervisor during his shift anymore if the staffing levels were short. As it is, K still thought it was weak, and told a Supervisor that it was "a setup" to fail.

K went to work after the shift change, and tried to talk to his supervisor about his shift. His supervisor said that if he wanted to be promoted, he should help him with a mentoring program he's putting together. He implied that the shift would be changed if K agreed, so he said yes.

Then, K did something to tighten things up. Later, after he got home, he found out he was "under investigation" for doing so.

First, he might be promoted. Now, he might be fired? All in the same day. Wow.

Then, he took a shift off for a little "staycation." On Friday night (during his regular shift), there was a riot! Sheriffs were called, kids were shot with paint pellets, people went to the hospital. So much for cutting costs.

Of course Management never took any responsibility for what happened, but one Supervisor kept telling K, "You said it was a setup! You were right!" But, again, nothing has changed, including K's shift.

THEN...

We got a call while K was at work that one of his best friends had died. His friends from High School in Indiana take a hunting trip every year, and this year Rick didn't make it back.

There's one friend from that group who lives out here near us, I'll call him Don. Don looks forward to this trip every year. This year they went to Alaska, a place that Rick had been before and loved. His daughter even lives up there now, so they visited with her before they took off hunting.

They were on their way back to start home. Don had shot a Caribou, the only game any of them had killed. He and Rick were carrying the meat on their backs as they crossed the river. The river was mostly not deep, but somehow Rick lost his footing and got swept up in the current. Don tried to go after him, but didn't get any closer. Finally he got scared that HE wasn't going to make it out, and somehow he dragged himself out of the river.

Anyway, they didn't find Rick for 6 days. Don felt guilty that he couldn't save him and that Rick had been carrying his meat. But they all do that for each other, and sometimes you just can't save people.

It just so happened that K saw Rick in June, right before we took our big trip. He flew back for just a few days, and now he's so glad he did. He hadn't seen him in about 8 years before that.

Anyway, we flew to Indiana, but it took Alaska a long time to release the body, and they had to keep pushing the funeral back. Finally I had to get back, but K was able to stay another day and help carry the casket, etc.

On the plus side, we found that Long Beach has a little airport, and it's really cute.W e also came out of it closer to some of our friends.

But we were glad to see the end of September, and October was a big improvement.

More about that later.

Drama is my life

2009-10-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

OK. I was going to write about my trip this summer and all the wonderful places we went, but life went and got in the way and I've been really busy lately.

First, my sister R came to visit in late August, and we had a great time. We went to the Sunset Street Fair, Melrose, Universal City Walk. At the airport we saw Ice T, and she got his autograph. Then she went home and the fires started. A friend of ours who lives at the beach called because he heard we were evacuated! He invited us to his house, and that was nice.

The next night The Girl saw the fire on the way home, when her friends Dad drove right by the fire in the town next to us. She came home crying, and I tried to comfort her. She said it looked like a wall of fire.

The next day I woke up coughing at all the smoke, and had to turn on the AC just to filter the air so we could breath!

But the fire was still a long way from our home. The next day The Boy wanted to move back to his dorm at a certain time. I stopped at the store to get some Starbucks, and in the process of getting pressured to hurry up, I locked the keys in the car! He was SO mad! I asked some policemen who were there if they could open it for me, but they called the Auto Club guy for me instead.

Meanwhile, everyone in the store parking lot was looking at the fire, which was now on one of the mountains behind us. It was an impressive sight, coming over the hills bearing down on us. The police warned us that the street was getting evacuated later that night. The Girl started crying again when she heard this.

The Boy was only concerned about getting to his dorm, so he told her that it would never happen and this was all just a bunch of alarmists getting upset about nothing.

Somewhere around this time the Girl started feeling stronger about the situation. I told her I used to have bad dreams about fires, and I think it speaks to a fear of a loss of security. She agreed, and somehow it seemed to make her feel better.

The next day we went to visit our friend at the beach, and had a nice time. We could see the smoke from a long way on the drive home, but it was dark and it didn't look that bad.

The next morning, at 2:30am, we got a call that told us to evacuate! What?

I was immediately wide awake! I've never been evacuated before. I had gotten a few things together after the police had told us about the possible evac the day before. A few pictures, my best jewelry, my leather jackets and boots. Important papers. A change of clothes. It's strange when you think about what to save when you're leaving your home behind.

So I had the car packed in no time. K decided to take a shower, so there was some waiting for him. Meanwhile, there were police cars driving around talking on some loudspeaker, telling us we had to evacuate.

It was a surreal scene, being dark outside, hearing the police and seeing our neighbors packing their cars. A guy came across the street and told us he'd come to his parents house from Pasadena, when he'd gotten evacuated there. Now he was evacuated here too!

We grabbed the dog and the fish and got into the car. We drove to the local High School, which was the evacuation center. When we finally found it, it was small, it had cots, and the lights were on. Who could sleep in there? Plus there were no pets allowed, so some elderly people were sitting outside with their pets. I thought this was a real glitch in the system, because lots of people have pets.

I also noticed the teenage girls carrying around their pillows and blankets. I was jealous, and now I know what to take if I'm ever evacuated again. A pillow! A blanket! (plus my pictures and jewelry and important papers.)

We drove around for awhile. I didn't want to wake my friend who lives down the hill from us, because it was SO early and I knew there was already someone (and possibly some dogs) staying there. I decided we'd wait until 5am to wake her up.

Meanwhile, I tried to sleep in the van with the dog. Then we heard they might let us go back, so K drove back up the hill, and at 4:30 am they let us return. It was really hard driving around with the fish sloshing in his bowl. We kept telling K, "Be careful! Drive slower!" Poor fish.

Anyway, we got back home and went to sleep. They evacuated us again the next morning, but a man down the street was listening to everything on his police scanners, and he advised us to stay put. He'd let us know if it really got dangerous. We no longer trusted the evacuation system, and it was a hassle to leave home and find a place for the dog.

So we stayed home and watched the fire. The Fire Department decided to burn the hillside nearest us on purpose - to get rid of the fuel and avoid a bigger fire I guess. So we drank a beer and watched it burn and fielded phone calls from people who were worried about us.

The worst thing was the smoke, which came down every night and blew away every day. Since we didn't evacuate, we couldn't leave the house, either, because then they wouldn't let us come back up the hill. This lasted for a few days.

The police drove around, which was good, because there were lots of people who had their valuables sitting in their cars, ready to evacuate.

All in all, it was pretty dramatic, as you can see from the pictures. Now we have to worry about the mudslides, since the hillside no longer has vegetation to hold the dirt.

It's always something, right? I'll tell you about the rest of September in my next post.

Whew!

Blarney and Dublin

2009-08-16T17:08:00.001-07:00

The next day of our cruise we went to the Blarney Castle. We docked in Cork, and took a bus to the castle. Of course, I'd heard of people kissing the Blarney stone before, and since we were there it seemed like the thing to do.

It turns out that this Blarney stone is at the top of a dilapidated castle, right at the edge, over a hole. To kiss this stone, you have to lean over backwards, at the top of a castle, over a hole. The stone is at the bottom, too, so you have to lean backwards, hold onto a rail, and lower yourself as far backwards as you can and kiss the wall.

There was a long line, and The Boy grew increasingly more anxious the higher we climbed. Neither one of us like heights, but he has me beat in the anxiety department. When we got to the top he wanted to go back, but since we'd climbed an ancient, small, and winding stairway that was full of people, there was no going back.

So we all kissed the stone and hopefully now are more eloquent and persuasive.

That day we watched the beginning of Bolt (so cute!), Enchanted, and Yes Man.

Day 4 was Dublin. By this time I'd devised the perfect breakfast, and I had it the rest of the trip. Their scrambled eggs tasted a little sweet, and I didn't like the omelets either. But every morning they served eggs over easy, so I'd go in and put some bread in the toaster, then get an egg and a piece of ham. When my toast was done, I'd assemble an egg sandwich and it was delicious. Sometimes I had the fresh pineapple too, as that is a treat.

They served some strange things for breakfast on the ship, probably catering to the many different nationalities on board. Some of the odder things were fried hard boiled eggs, fried rice, miso soup, fried liver, and cooked tomatoes.

I also made sandwiches for times we'd be away from the ship around lunchtime. I'd take a hard roll, cut in in half, spread it with butter, and insert a piece of ham. Yum!

Anyway, Dublin was MUCH bigger than I expected. I don't know why I expected it to be little, but it's a major city. We went to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. It was really interesting. In the Long Hall upstairs they had an exhibit about Napoleon, which I also found very interesting.

We walked around the Temple Bar, which is a cool part of town. We went to the big park in town, an it was lovely and full of people. When we stopped to see the ducks in the pond, The Boy spotted a fox across the pond, sitting on a rock! When we were pointing it out to each other, a lady nearby said she lives in the area, and goes to that park every day, and she'd never seen that fox before!

When we went back to the ship, we grabbed a piece of pizza for my snack. One of our favorite things about the ship was the hamburger bar and the pizza station, which were open nearly all day on deck. We really missed them when we got back home.

That night we watched Hotel for Dogs.

Captivated!

2009-08-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

That book turned out to be really good! I was taken captive for awhile, but it was worth it. Now I'm back to reality and will post more about my trip soon. I practically promise!

Guernsey

2009-08-06T11:51:00.001-07:00

The first stop of our cruise was in Guernsey. I learned that there are islands in the English Channel, called Channel Islands! I was surprised to learn this, as there are islands off the coast of Ventura, California, that are also called the Channel Islands. Makes a bit more sense in the English Channel I suppose.

I was also surprised to see on a map that Guernsey is much closer to France than England - we could faintly see Normandy in the distance. But it was a political reason that they ended up belonging to England.

My In-laws had decided to rent bikes, so we ventured onto the island and searched for the bike shop. I was impressed with the island - it looked like Catalina's harbor, but with a lot of nice flowers. Clearly they take pride in their flowers!

It had been a long time since I'd ridden a bike, but I managed to avoid falling down! The Girl and my MIL both managed to fall into traffic (right next to the bike path!), and luckily I was not there to see either. I said a prayer for the Girl as she rode off without me.

K and I decided to ride over to the Castle Cornet, an old castle on the island. It was fun riding the bike there, as there was less traffic and it was much faster than walking.

We walked around the castle and got a really good view of the canon they fire every day at 1pm. Even tho I knew they were going to fire it, it still surprised me when it went off. I kindof screamed and took a less-than-perfect picture.

It was interesting to find that England abandoned these islands during WW2, as they were too close to France and too hard to defend. That must have been an interesting time to live there.

When it came time to ride back to the bike shop, I followed K into traffic and said a silent prayer for the best. We ran a red light in a busy intersection, and everyone was driving the wrong way, but I just followed him and we made it back without incident. Whew!

That afternoon and evening we watched BOLT, DEFINITELY MAYBE, ENCHANTED, and BRIDE WARS. For dinner I had ceasar salad, black bean soup, and tiger shrimp kabob.

I just bought a book about Guernsey that takes place during the German occupation, and I'm looking forward to reading it! It's called THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY by Mary Ann Schaffer. I'll let you know if I like it...

Family Cruise

2009-08-03T14:36:00.000-07:00

Day 1 - Traveling and Waiting

K's parents decided to take the whole family (12 people) on a cruise to the English Isles to celebrate their 50th anniversary. They've been planning it for a long, long time. I was packed at least a month in advance, but I was still rushing around at the last minute until we left. There's always so much you want to get done before leaving for vacation.

Anyway, one of The Boy's friends drove us to the airport, in our own van, and that worked out nicely for us. At the airport it turned out my bag was 8 lbs overweight, so they asked me to put some of my stuff into another bag. Somehow in the midst of transferring things, my suitcase managed to get poured out onto the floor, but we were able to quickly scoop it all back in and nothing too embarrassing fell out. Whew!

The flight was fine. We'd stayed up late the night before, hoping it would help us fall asleep on the flight, but all it did to me was give me a headache! I didn't sleep much on the way there, which was only about a 10-hour flight. I saw some good movies - He's Just Not That Into You, Bride Wars (never quite saw the whole thing), New in Town, and The Reader. I think I missed something crucial in The Reader, tho, as I didn't quite understand the end.

Ten hours later we landed in London, where it was 7am! Going through customs, I was advised to put two perfectly good packages of beef jerkey into the "Honesty Bin" = which looked an awful lot like a trash can. So much for honesty!

I bought some coffee at the airport, and some wine for the cruise, as we were allowed to take a bottle each (adult). Then we were shuttled to a bus, then driven to the port about an hour away, then into a large waiting room for over an hour. Somewhere around 1 I think they let us onto the ship, and we made our way to our room.

I was pleasantly surprised to find our room and bathroom a bit bigger than the last (and only other) little cruise we took. We got settled and then set out to explore - getting some fries from the hamburger station on deck, and eating them beside the pool. Ah... heaven! We saw K's sister and BIL, KT and David, come out of the buffet, and we got to visit for awhile.

I told everyone to try and stay awake until our new bedtime, but the Boy went ahead and took a nap that afternoon. I think this threw him off for the rest of the trip, as he kept waking up at 5 in the morning after that.

Peanut RIP 7/7/09

2009-07-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a fabulous cruise to the English Islands. It's a little overwhelming, but I plan to journal it all soon. Lots and lots of pictures.

For a long time I've been meaning to post about our cute little pets and their stories with us, but I still haven't gotten around to it.

Meanwhile, upon returning from our trip, we found that one of our two cats, Peanut, is missing. I did some pet detecting, and Peanut was last seen next door at 6am on 7/7. Peanut was our cat, but he was appreciated in several homes on this street.

Something happened that morning, because the cat two houses down became very upset and fearful and demanded to be let into the house. Its owner said it kept looking up and around, as if afraid something was coming to get him. So it seems that something happened that morning that Peanut did not survive. What with all the large birds and animals that come down from the mountains, it's a tough neighborhood for small animals.

We got home 2 days later. I feel sad that it happened while we were gone, but truthfully, our being here would probably not have made any difference. And it happened in the daytime, apparently.

Peanut was a cute cat. We got him at the pound when he was a little older than a kitten, but still pretty young. We got him to be a companion to Cosmos, a large black cat that we took in, but was in the process separated from another cat that had been a long-time companion. So we thought that Cosmos was lonely for a companion, and adopted Peanut.

Well, Cosmos could not have been more pissed off! He was completely offended that we'd brought in another animal, especially one as lively and playful as Peanut. Cosmos would come in and eat, but he refused to stay in the house and would NOT let us touch him in any way. This lasted for about 2 years.

Then we had to keep Cosmos inside for 10 days when he got injured, and after that he seemed to feel that we loved him again. After that he would come in the house and even stay all night. Sometimes he meows at us to pet him, which we sometimes do, even though Cosmos is HUGE and we are all scared of the size of his claws. Plus cats are liable to turn around and bite you without warning when you are petting them.

Well, like I said, Peanut was cute, but on the small side. He was playful and liked to tease other animals (including Cosmos and sometimes us) by bopping them on top of the head. He was very smart, and could open a screen door with his paw. Cosmos watched him do this many times, but never has had the idea to try it himself.

Peanut was also a great mouser, and often brought us gifts from nature.

Peanut was very affectionate too, until we brought home the dog, Gallo. Then Peanut got pissed off with us, and hardly ever came home or gave us affection anymore. The people next door really loved him, and I tried not to be jealous, as Peanut loved being a free cat and I think they gave him fish. If I didn't let him go out, he'd pester me and meow right in my face until I let him out.

In the last few months I'd tried to keep him in the house longer, and he got a little more affectionate with us. He got so he'd sleep inside for longer and longer periods of time.

I really miss him, and I wish I'd had more time with him.

I guess that's always the way.

June Gloom & Jazz Fest

2009-06-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

June Gloom

1. I've never seen the clouds stay so low for so long out here in sunny CA. Last year, at the Boy's graduation, I almost melted from the heat! This year it's been cool, cool, cool.

Meanwhile, we're supposed to have a party in 2 days. Supposedly it's going to warm up for that day - I sure hope it does!

I've been really busy with end-of-the-6th-grade activities I'd volunteered for. Thursday we knocked out these Memory pages we'd made the kids. Friday I went with them on their 6th Grade Trip to go ice-skating and bowling. Whew! I had fun talking with the other Moms (OK, except one), but it tired me out!

It's also been gloomy because some of my favorite bloggers seem to have stopped blogging. I've tried to find others I like, but so far not much luck. Also, it seems to be re-run season on the talk shows, and there's been lots of reliving Thanksgiving and such. Yawn...

Best Day Ever.

2. Last Saturday we had another Best Day Ever. It started out with a nice, relaxing, romantic morning. The Girl's game wasn't until noon, so we all got to sleep in.

She was in kindof a bad mood, so I think it was good that the other team scored right away with a ridiculous mixup by our defense. That put us immediately behind and they played really hard the whole game. They had to win this game to have a hope for getting into the playoffs, so the coach was on them to be serious and play their best.

No one else scored in the first half. The second half, their goalie touched the ball outside the box, and since he was the last defender, he got an automatic red card. We scored with a penalty kick that was just under the pole. Then they got on a roll and scored 2 more times! Yay!

Then, near the end of the game, the Girl (who is sweeper) went for the ball but missed and hit the player on the other team, got an automatic red card because she was the last defender. At first she didn't even know, and the Ref had to tell her to get off the field! So her team had to play short, but the joke was on them because she can't make the next few games anyway. Ha!

We were still up 3-1, but the other team scored on the penalty kick resulting from the Girl's red card. Her team was still up by one, but went ahead and scored again for good measure.

For us it was a good win, a good game, and the Girl was laughing about her red card. Now she says she's gotten every color card.

Then we went home and got ready to go the the Playboy Jazz festival. I'd gone to Trader Joes and loaded up on hummus, chips, flatbread and pita bread. I made some ham and arugula wraps and some drinks, and then we hit the road. We were a little more prepared than last year, taking lots of food, jackets, umbrella, etc.

Like last year, we took the shuttle from the LA Zoo and it was great. It dropped us off right there, and we picked up our tickets and hiked our way to our seats. Our good friend Schlow was there, visiting from Philly. We saw the gang from last year, and it was fun.

This year we were sitting in the middle, so we had a great view of the Hollywood sign beyond the Bowl. After awhile we took a walk, and I discovered a path that leads to a picnic area that has a great view of the Observatory! Too bad I didn't take my camera on that walk.

The bands were great. Each band that came out seemed better than the last, although truthfully I enjoyed them all. When the Pete Escovedo Orchestra came on, his daughter Sheila E. was with them, and she played a little bit of her hit song (Glamorous Life).

People were throwing mardi-gras beads - I guess the Bowl sponsored that, because there were sure a lot of them. I never did need to put on my jacket. Near the end of the evening some guy gave me a glow-in-the-dark stick. I played percussion for awhile with it, but finally stuck it in my hair.

The last band was the Neville Brothers, and they really jammed out to songs like "Fire on the Bayou." It was so fun - good music, good food, good friends.

What more could you ask for?

Hot Dog Soup

2009-06-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

The other day I accidentally made hot dog soup. Usually I pride myself in being a good cook, but this soup was ill-advised. I had purchased what claimed to be "Hot Sausage" , and thought I'd use it to make a soup like the sausage-potato soup they serve at Olive Garden. Then I discovered that our potatoes were no longer edible, and K suggested I use the rest of our uneaten mashed potatoes in the refrigerator. Anyway, I think the soup turned out ok except for the meat, which turned out to taste like spicy hot dogs! There was no getting around it - good soup, but hot dogs. I won't be making that again!

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1-800-Dentist

Commercials keep running for 1-800-dentist, quite a few during the daytime. I sometimes suspect my own dentist of being more interested in my pocketbook than my teeth, so one day I called to see if they had a dentist we could use. The guy on the phone (advisor) was extremely nice and asked a few questions about my preferences, location, etc.

"Well, good news!" he enthused, "I found a few in your area!"

"Great!" I answered, "Where are they?"

"One is in Beverly Hills," he said, "and the other is downtown Los Angeles."

Well, neither one of those are anywere near where I live! Who wants to drive 35 miles to visit the dentist? Or even 25 miles when I know there are probably 10 on the nearest big street alone! He claimed that there are only a few dentists who can meet the strict criteria of 1-800-dentist. (I'm thinking that means "dentists who are willing to pay the fee.")

But only 2 in the whole Los Angeles area?! Why even bother to run commercials all the time if there are only 2 dentists in all of Los Angeles? How can they afford to do that?

What about a smaller city or town? How far would they have to drive?

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Reality TV

I got a chance to be part of a Reality show today! They had asked for volunteers to comment on something in the show, and it was pretty fun. I had to be there at 7:30 am, which is WAY early for me, but I woke up excited to go.

It was interesting, it was fun. I can't tell you anything else about it or I could get in really big trouble. But if you see me on TV, let me know!

-------------------------
Across the Universe

This movie was recommended to me by more than one person. I mentioned that we saw "LOVE" in Las Vegas, and one of my best friends lent me the movie to watch. We've actually had it a long time, so last weekend we sat down to watch it.

What the...? Parts of it actually made my eyeballs hurt! It was a really strange movie. Looking back on it, it may have stimulated my imagination somehow, but it wasn't an enjoyable process.

I've asked around, and people seem to really love it or hate it.

Decide for yourself, at your own risk.

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Lakers vs. Nuggets

My son walked out of the house wearing a Nuggets jersey today. Carmelo Anthony. I told him he's only asking for trouble, but he thinks it's funny I guess. I hope he makes it home OK.

What now?

2009-05-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

1. I saw this video, and thought it was really funny. I guess it's more funny if you've seen Jaime Fox's "Blame it on the Alcohol", which is kindof funny all by itself because Ronnie Howard is in it.

2. When my Boy was home for Spring Break, he walked around one day singing, "Kanye West - thinks he's the best" I thought that was pretty funny, for some reason. (because it's true?) The Girl says kids at her school put three fingers in front of their eyes to imitate Kanye - I guess they're making fun of the glasses he wears in one of his videos. I think he's OK, but I don't like that new, flat sound of his new songs.

3. A few weeks ago Lil Kim got voted off Dancing with the Stars, and I just couldn't believe it! I guess there are a lot of country fans out there, but that Ty was pretty cute. I was really impressed with Lil Kim. I'd watched her Reality show, but this show showed her in a different light, and you could see how sweet and pretty she is. And even though this isn't her kind of dance, she gave a really good show every time. She's a real professional.

Usually I don't even vote, but this time I voted for Gils at the last minute. He was the only one without any dance training (I think gymnastics trains girls somewhat similarly to ballet), and I think he did a great job. I was surprised that Shawn won in the end, but they really were all so good, it was pretty even.

4. Could American Idol have been more surprising? Everyone was saying that Adam would win, and I think even Kris believed it too. I have to give him credit for still trying his best and doing a great job with "Heartless." This is also a Kanye West song, and the Girl said, "He managed to make that song sound good!" But when Ryan Seacrest announced that the winner was Kris, the Girl, who was listening from the bedroom, said, "First Lil Kim and now this!"

Don't do this, don't do that

2009-05-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

As Mother's Day rolls around again, I'm reminded how much my little girl is growing up. One year she saw Regis & Kelly on TV say that they were looking for people to write in about their wonderful mothers and get them something from their dreams. She looked up at me and I could see she was thinking I was a great Mom and she should do that for me, and I told her it was OK, she didn't have to write a letter. I was happy that she thought I was a great Mom.

Now she's getting older and quieter, while at the same time more irresponsible and silly. She recently didn't even tell her father about the father-daughter dance they'd gone to the last few years, and he was sad about that. But I can see she's gearing up for middle school, and starting to withdraw and fight with us more.

Finally last weekend I told her that she's fighting with me too much. I can see she's headed into the years where everything I tell her is going to be wrong.

We learned from the Boy that kids try NOT to do what you tell them. For instance, I always told him, "No matter what you do, don't bring home a C. I'll get you tutoring, I'll help you any way I can. Just don't get any C's. So his last semester of school he got 4 A's and a C. Everyone says, "That's great about the A's!" But the C was the one thing I told him not to do!

So with that in mind, I want to say to tell the Girl the following:

Don't get good grades. In fact, quit school! Quit sports too.
Get into a relationship early, and what the heck, get married as young as possible!
Don't read, and whatever you do, don't go to college.
Don't learn how to drive, or get a job.
Don't be happy.

Hopefully, in her need to have us be wrong about everything, she'd go against us in a positive direction.

Think that would work?

Eight things

2009-02-15T15:24:00.000-08:00

My horoscope, at Free Will Astrology.com, said the following for this week:

"identify five other ways to enjoy yourself without having to spend a fortune or hurt the earth. It's an excellent time, astrologically speaking, to experiment with the hypothesis that cutting down on consumerism can help you discover new approaches to feeling really good. "

So I sat down to think of 5 things, and I thought of a few more, too!

1. Drive somewhere high and look at the lights. You can even take something fun to eat or drink - like a box of doughnuts! No alcohol, though, as that could make the drive down too scary!

2. With kids, it's fun to make your own pizza. Make the dough in advance, then at dinner time divide it into pieces or into one big pizza with everything you want on it. Kids like making their own and eating their own creations.

3. Drive somewhere and enjoy nature = to the mountains to see and play in the snow, to the beach, to a waterfall. Take a light picnic!

4. Movie night! Pick out a few new movies (or oldies but goodies) and make some special popcorn (like maybe Tabasco Popcorn) and get comfortable!

5.Go to a restaurant and split something, like an order of nachos or a bowl of Pho. OK, maybe order a margarita or two. Relax, enjoy, talk and have fun.

6. Make an appetizer dinner. Dig your tin of smoked fish out of the pantry, some capers, olives, maybe some cheese in the refrigerator. Make one or two of your favorite snacks, and add some crackers and/or tortilla crisps, and snack the night away!

7. Have a soup party! Make one or two of your favorite soups, and invite your friends to bring a soup as well as a mug and a spoon. Share the soups, maybe provide some crackers and bread to back them up. Inexpensive, and not much cleanup, as people rinse out and take home their mugs and spoons.

8. Keep track of local restaurant specials. Often they have deals to get people in during the week, or have snacks for FAC. For instance, the local restaurant has "Taco Tuesday" and another has "Margarita Monday." We did this a lot in college too, and it made for some affordable dates.

Things I learned from Reality TV in 2008

2009-01-03T10:18:00.001-08:00

-I learned that nearly every problem with dogs can be solved with chicken - or else you tell the dog "Uh uh!." from "It's me or the Dog."

-I learned that every problem with a dog is the fault of the human. And also that humans exude an "energy" that is picked up on by dogs, and we all part of the pack I found out that it's more important to be a good pack leader than a friend to the dog, and to forget the past, look to the future, and live in the now. - From "Dog Whisperer"

-I learned way more than I ever wanted to about Cloris Leachman - from "Dancing with the Stars."

-I learned that every overly messy houses and hoarding problems are "foolishness" and a symptom of another issue. I also learned to put a large flower in my hair. - from "Clean House."

-I learned that even someone with 8 kids can have OCD and refuse let their kids walk barefoot on hotel room carpet (like the bedspreads are better? - from "Jon and Kate plus 8."

-I learned you have to taste your food before sending it out to be eaten - on "Top Chef."

Happy New Year

2009-01-02T17:19:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a nice New Year's Eve. I ate way too much, and now have to start exercising more.

My sister, R, went to Aspen to visit friends for New Year's Eve. My Dad was worried about her driving in the mountains, but it turns out he should have been worried about a nut delivering bombs to banks. What are the odds, right? They ended up evacuating parts of town, so altho she didn't get evacuated, she couldn't go out for New Year's Eve! Everything was shut down!

But I guess she could hear the police cars and the police detonating the bombs. I heard the guy left long rambling notes around town, threatening mass destruction. I think he just wanted to be heard, and thought no one would read his long rambling notes unless he punctuated them with bombs!

My sister- she's always where the action is.

Birthday Christmas

2008-12-29T19:00:00.001-08:00

I had a really nice Christmas this year. It started out with The Boy's birthday, tho, as that comes first (Dec 23.) That was not as nice. His girlfriend took him out to breakfast with his friends, and I asked if he could come back and stick around for most of the day, because his grandparents, etc., might want to call him on his birthday. He said sure.

Then he left for breakfast around noon and didn't even call until 5. I was SO mad at him. I had started getting angry around 3. I just like people to do what they say they're going to do. When he got home, I asked why he said he'd stick around and then didn't even try. He said he'd been playing monopoly and lost track of time. I said that would be a good excuse for a few hours, but not 5.

When we went to dinner at Chilis, I got back at him by telling our waitress that it was his birthday, so that they all came and sang at him and clapped at him and gave him a chocolate shake. He hates that. Ha!

I spent all evening feeling acute pangs of disappointment at how he's turned out. I keep wanting to think he's grown up and dependable now, but he keeps proving me wrong. The next morning I reminded myself that my happiness cannot depend on the actions of others, or I'll really be in trouble.

We went to D's for dinner on Christmas Eve, and it was so delicious. She made jambalaya, and I was so full that I felt sleepy in church.

The next day we opened our presents. I was surprised to get a gift from Sister #2 that I'd given her last year - a cute little Karma kit. She never even opened it! I was kindof offended at first, but then I thought that since it's karma, maybe it SHOULD come back to me! What goes around comes around. In that vein, I'm giving it back to her for her birthday.

People told us they were cutting back this year, but mostly we didn't notice it. We got some very thoughtful gifts. Not as many as some years, but at this point in our lives we don't need any more filler presents. No more Christmas decorations, no knick knacks please.

There wasn't as much clean-up afterwards, and for me, no post-present malaise.

It was great.

How about you?

Good news and bad news

2008-12-22T13:27:00.000-08:00

The good news is I got a call from the Dr. today - it was just a cyst, not cancer.

The bad news is that I got a letter in the mail - I didn't get the job.

All in all, I'd rather have my health than the job, so it's all good.

Happy Holidays!

Holly days

2008-12-20T13:48:00.001-08:00

Things are always busy around the holidays, so you'd think I'd be used to that by now. Last week I was involved in classes for my seasonal tax job, while at the same time attending holiday parties, mammogram appointments, and an interview for another job.

This week I shipped out our Christmas packages, and had to go for a second mammogram, and then a biopsy. Crap! It wasn't pleasant, and I hope I never have to do that again. Mostly I hope I won't have to go through this every year, as this is the second time I've had to go back for a second mammogram. I'd be more worried, but this is about the third time Kaiser has called me back because of suspect lab or xray results. The first time was the worst, as I was pregnant with The Boy and they told me I had to "come back and see if you have cancer."

So Kaiser is very careful, and that's a good thing. But meantime, I'm not really worrying about it. I'm firmly in denial and plan to stay here unless something forces me to leave.

I did have one meltdown, one Friday ago. As room rep for The Girl's 6th grade class, I'm in charge of the holiday party. For over a week I'd been trying to get a copy of an "approved" letter to send the parents. That day I'd FINALLY found the web site, but there were no letters in the place they'd told me it was! I had to go to class/interview, and it was exactly one week before the party! How was I going to get the #@#$#@ letter to the parents in time to collect enough money to cover the party???? Argh!!!!!

Luckily my dear hubby helped me out. I sat down and wrote my own #@$@ letter and gave it to him to go to the school, make copies, and give it to the teacher to give the students. Luckily, the strict office lady was in a good mood and helped him with it, and my letter passed muster. I think the most important thing was that the letter clearly stated that donations were voluntary.

So yesterday we had the party in question. Hubby helped me schlep stuff to the classroom, and that was really helpful too. I collected just enough money to buy all the toppings the Girl specified, plus a nice gift card for the teacher. ($50!) We served ice cream with an assortment of toppings, and the kids really liked it. Then the teacher turned them loose to PE to help use up all their sugar-rush energy.

Last night the girl scout troop the Girl is in helped make a Christmas party for some girls at a foster home. It seems their regular sponsor dropped out due to cutbacks or something, so the girl scouts stepped in to help out. It went really nicely.

Now I can relax for awhile, altho I still have some classes to complete for my seasonal tax job. I can take them online though, so it's not so bad. Plus I have a few presents to wrap. I don't have a lot to give this year, but I tried to give generously of whatever I do have.

Hopefully I'll get some good news before Christmas. I could sure use it.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-07T15:29:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving this year was really nice - better than last year, when the Boy had to leave after dinner to go work. This year he was home from college a few days before the feast, and it was good to have him home. Suddenly he appreciates good food and hot showers without wearing flip flops!

As usual, I tried to see if I could cut a dish from the full traditional menu (stuffing), but the family again insisted on having everything. The Girl helps more every year. This year she made sweet potato pie all by herself and mashed potatoes too. The boy helped by washing the potatoes and emptying the dishwasher. Without complaining! This alone was a big improvement over the last few years living with him!

Our traditional feast consists of:

garlic turkey (turkey cooks in bag, roasting the garlic below it in its juices mixed with white wine)
mashed potatoes
cranberry relish (I make mine a spicy salsa, but I'm the only one who eats cranberries)
sweet potato pie (we also like the casserole with marshmallows on top)
broccoli cheese casserole (the secret is buttered pumpernickel or rye crumbs on top)
stuffing (two boxes mixed with cooked hot sausage, mushrooms, and onion)
crescent rolls
gravy (with a roasted garlic flavor, yum!)
roasted garlic (spread it on the rolls!)

I experimented with using the meat thermometer this year, and the turkey came out to be my moistest turkey ever! Now you know all my secrets!

I don't usually make any dessert, but I'd made a good batch of pumpkin cupcakes a few days before, and they were very tasty.

I'll post the recipe for them on my recipe website soon.

The next two days we had a huge yard sale. It was really a blow out of our storage unit, which we suddenly decided we can't afford anymore. I think it might be a sign of the times, because K said he saw lots of other people emptying out their units too when he was there.

I met lots of nice people and many of them asked if I'd had a store. Mostly I meant to, but never fully got around to it. Plus my Mom works at a Christmas store, and has given me highly discounted collectables for years. Time to get rid of it all!

The first family showed up early the first day and walked off with lots of bargains. They bought a BIG box of stuff I never fully looked at for $25.

Saturday even better. I sold more than I'd ever at yard sale, plus I got rid of lots of stuff. One man had me change a $100 bill, and bought $6 worth of stuff. Two ladies were buying lots of presents for their church. I got to see lots of my neighbors.

Our neighbor gave me a good idea about ebay, and I think I'll do that with the stuff I ended up keeping.

The Girl had a friend come over who visited for a few days. Her dad came to get her, and started talking about the boys who are still having problems that seem to stem from the high school's basketball team - especially the last few years. We talked about the Boy, and I think I fully realized what a blessing it was that he found something else to love instead of basketball, and that it may have saved him in the end. Saved him from the kind of problems (drugs) the other boys seem to be having.

Something to be thankful for.

I can't remember ever being this "out" of money before, and it's giving me all kinds of creative ideas. Like giving away for the holidays some of the best things I didn't sell at our yard sale. Like maybe going on the Ellen show to pick up some cool giveaways for really GREAT presents. Like giving the Boy a gift certificate for paying for his cell phone the last 5 months. That's $100 he was supposed to be paying himself!

Any other ideas?

Homecoming and Round of 32

2008-11-25T11:06:00.000-08:00

On Friday night, The Girl went with her friends to see Twilight, the much anticipated movie extravaganza. She had a lot of fun and spent the night with her friends.

Saturday, we drove down to Cal State Univ Long Beach to see The Boy and go to the game. He was really cute, showing us around and introducing us to everyone he knew. His girlfriend was there, of course.

K had said he wanted to buy stuff for Christmas, but he forgot all about it when we were there! He kept stopping to film us instead, so I called him over and reminded him. So we looked at some shirts and he said he wanted to get one for The Boy. So I held one up and asked if he thought it would fit the Boy, and he turned around and said, "Hey Boy! Do you think this will fit you?" I couldn't believe it!

We kindof walked around until the game started, and then we went into the Pyramid. Long Beach doesn't have a football team anymore, so Homecoming is for their basketball team. The team started off badly, and at one point was down 24 points! Somehow they chipped away at the difference, and finally came back and got ahead of Weber State right before the end of the game. With seconds to go, they were still up 3 points, and a guy from Weber State team hit a 3 pointer to tie up the game! He went down on the floor and pulled back his fist, like "YEAH!"

So we went into overtime, and somehow CSULB pulled out and won. That was good, because it was their homecoming and all. It was an exciting game.

I almost forgot, one of the most exiting things about the night was that they honored some prior coaches at halftime, and especially Coach Jerry Tarkanian! He is one of our favorite coaches since he was at UNLV and they called the arena the "Shark Tank" after "Tark the Shark" Tarkanian! He looks very old now, but it was such a nice surprise to see him there!

The next day K went to work early, and I carpooled to go to the Girl's game in San Bernadino. On the way there, I heard more about girls who may be quitting the team. The coach told me a long time ago this would happen. If we were winning, everyone would be happy. But you go up a level and start losing, and parents get unhappy. IMHO most of these girls in question are not that strong anyway. They played fine when we were a bracket lower, but they never stepped up their game to the higher level. It will hurt if the best girls leave, but we're not going anywhere. The girl has been on this team since the beginning, and will stay with this coach. This is a club team that is affordable, so we'll be staying unless the whole team disbands.

The game itself couldn't have been closer. We were playing a team in the same bracket from a different area, and we seemed pretty closely matched. The first half the action was in front of OUR goal much too often. The second half, we spent more time in front of their goal, but we just couldn't score. We were tied 0-0.

So we went into the kickoff phase, which I haven't seen since my son played AYSO many years ago. One by one the 5 girls from each team took their kicks, and every kick went in for both teams. So we went to the second phase, where the second five girls kick. Our second kicker kicked it right to the goalie and they made their next kick, so that was it. We lost 6-7, but the girls seemed OK with it. They had played well and come very far (round of 32), so they seemed pretty happy in the end.

Now it's basketball season!

Tough Soccer Season

2008-11-20T14:56:00.000-08:00

This has been a tough season for the Girl's little (U12) soccer team. Last year they placed first in their bracket, so they moved up a bracket. So all season they played tougher teams, and they tried and tried, but only won one game. They tied 3 or 4, and lost the rest.

After the game last weekend, we had to confront the Girl about her drama on the field, when she has trouble breathing and drops to the ground when she's frustrated. It never happens if they're winning. It's a lot of drama, and the coach is good about it, but it happens way too often. We felt that she needs to communicate with her coach more or something, but she needs to find a better way to handle her feelings.

Saturday they needed to beat the "worst" team in the bracket to move up a spot, but instead we gave them their first win of the season. So we ended up in the same bottom spot as this other team, and will have to move (with them) back down a bracket. To me, this is not the worst thing in the world as they'll be more likely to win, and it's definitely more fun to win.

But there are people who feel that's not the point, and the Girl sure took it pretty hard. She was crying at the end of that game.

Then Sunday League Cup started, and they played 2 games. First of all, the air quality was not good because of the fires. We played in Burbank, and at 8 am we could see a brown cloud in the valley below us. I could smell the fire in the air, so I advised the girl to hit her inhaler even tho she didn't think she needs it anymore.

Secondly, I noticed a lot of grumbling from different parents. We have 16 players now, and it's good to have a good bench, but parents don't like to see their kids on the bench. One parent said that the coach is too negative, and that her daughter hasn't improved this season. So it's the coach's fault her daughter isn't improving?

Anyway, in the first game The Girl scored! It was so exciting. But then the other team tied the score. Darn.

We came back for a game at 2, and the field was now inside the brown cloud. It was also very hot. The sky looked a bit yellow, and one mother took her daughter home. We asked the refs about it, but they'd just reffed another game, so they thought it was fine. One mother asked the refs if the girls could take a water break during the game because of the weather, but the other team said no.

Why? I don't know, but they didn't seem very nice. I think they scored first with a big kick over the goalie's head from practically midfield. Then we scored and it was tied. During the second half, I went to sit in a spot of shade under a tree at the end of the field. A man was sitting there with 3 little girls, and were just hanging out for the day watching soccer games.

I was taping the game for K, and just chatting with this man when a lady from the other team walked up to the line judge near me, and pointed at us. She told him to tell us to move, as we were with the other team and were shouting instructions to the girls.

The man got his back up about this, and said, "You're one to talk! You're over there coaching from the sideline!" Truly, I hadn't even noticed her before, but clearly he had.

I was annoyed, and told the line judge, "He isn't even WITH our team! He's just over there watching a game!" as I stomped off. During all this, the ref called a handball against the other team in front of their goal, and darned if we didn't score again!

I told the coach, "You should slow the game down! Substitute a lot! (like the other coach did to us yesterday)" He told me to take it easy, as I'd already caused enough trouble for the day. (he was kidding) I laughed and noted that I'd even gotten an innocent person in trouble! And I wasn't even trying!

Anyway, the Girl's team won, and it felt really good to win. Everyone felt a lot better.

After the game I went back over to the man, and he told me his name was Mark. He was glad our team won too.

You might remember that last year the Girl's team placed first in their bracket (which was why they moved up a level), but then lost two games the next day. They went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows the very next day, and that felt really bad.

I think I preferred it the way it happened this year.

Language differences

2008-11-16T16:38:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been thinking about language and how we use it. We noticed our next door neighbors seemed to be taking everything out of their house, and K remarked to them that they seemed to be doing a lot of work.

She nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, we replaced the house." I think this was a language gap, but I kindof liked it. We put everything in a new place - we replaced it!

Then I was listening to the TV news coverage when the fires broke out in Montecito.

Why do people say things in a complicated way when a simple word would do just as nicely? One man said they were going to "Effectuate" a plan, instead of just saying they would put a plan into effect. Then he said that another man had "endured the implications of this fire." when the fire had burned down his house! I thought that was a colorful, if not specific, way to put it.

Then the Fire Chief was the master of understatement. Reporters asked him to describe the character of the area for people outside California, and he said it was the "Riviera" of the area, with lots of homes in the hills. The reporter pressed on, asking if he could characterize the community, and the Chief said, "It's very nice."

By that he meant very expensive homes in an extremely expensive area near the ocean, with many homes in Spanish style motifs.

Election Day Fire

2008-11-10T17:06:00.000-08:00

Election day was such a beautiful day in southern Cal. Nice and sunny, not too hot, with a slight brisk breeze in the air.

I drove to my polling spot to see how crowded it was, having seen long, long lines on TV. But it looked as it usually does - there were cars on the street, but still plenty of parking.

So I went in, and there was NO line! So I cast my vote and was on my way.

For dinner, I decided to make meatloaf. I got the idea to make it in a muffin tin, so it would come out in serving sizes. I put it on the top rack, and a cookie sheet with potatoes and the meatloaf that wouldn't fit in the muffin tin underneath.

When I went to remove it, I didn't realize that the muffin tin had been dripping oil onto the cookie sheet below, so I removed the cookie sheet first and shut the door. Then the Girl said, "Mommy! Mommy! Look!" and I looked at the oven, and it was smoking like crazy. So I opened the door to take out the muffin tin, and a fire flared up and threatened to leap out at me! So I quickly shut the door again.

Then, for what seemed like 20 minutes but was really only about 2, we ran around trying to figure out what to do. I thought shutting the door would cut off the oxygen supply, but the sucker kept burning! It kept dripping and burning and dripping and burning! I had visions of the meatloaf turning into charcoal, let alone the house!

The house quickly filled up with smoke as we ran around. The Girl ran for the door, and K kept opening the cupboards looking for salt or something to throw on the fire. We tried one of our fire extinguishers, but found it was out of whatever it needs to work. We went and got the second one and tested it in the front yard, and found it was charged.

When we returned to the oven, the fire was luckily out. Luckily, because whatever we had thrown into the oven would no doubt have created a BIG mess!

We were airing out the house all night.

In the evening I was watching the election returns, and it was hard to tell what was going to happen. Obama was ahead in electoral votes, but a lot of states were really close. The TV commentator kept saying that they wouldn't make a prediction until they felt certain what the electoral votes were over 270 for either party.

Then, at 8pm our time, he looked up and said, "That's it. It's 11pm Eastern time, and the polls have just closed on the West coast. We can now predict that Obama will get California's 55 electoral votes (and some others I can't remember), and we project that Obama is the next President of the United States."

Wow. Even tho he wasn't the candidate I had wanted originally, in the end I was proud of our country. I'm old enough to remember the struggles of the 60's, and it was so great to see how far we've come as a nation. I'm once again proud to be an American (United Statesian?), and I have more hope for the future than I've had in a very long time.

Looking at the numbers, however, I realize that for nearly half the country, the result is a disappointment. I know what it's like to feel like that, and to have the media act like it's what EVERYONE wanted. Last election they declared a "mandate" when it was nothing of the sort. So for those who are disappointed, I hope that Obama will prove to them that a good choice was made in the end.

Let's hope.

Pumpkins and football

2008-10-30T15:14:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to see K's cousin in Half Moon Bay. When she came for a short visit this summer, we made plans to go see the Pumpkin Festival they have there. She has a house full of glass pumpkins that she's bought over the years, and since we won't be getting together for Thanksgiving like we've done in the past, it seemed like a good time to go see what the fuss was all about.

So we made these plans when we thought we had money coming in, that ended up not coming. But we had the tickets, so we went and tried not to spend a lot.

We flew on Southwest, which was an awesome airline when I needed to change the date. I didn't realize it would be like musical chairs once we got on board! People before us were taking the window seat or the aisle seat, leaving the middle seat empty. The girl in front of me sat in one of the two seats that were left together, sitting in the middle. Couldn't she have done that on any of the middle seats we saw on the way down? So we sat apart, but luckily the flight was short.

K's cousin picked us up, and drove us to her new home near Half Moon Bay. We met her new boyfriend, who seems really nice. She'd been heating up lasagna, and it was delicious! Then we sat outside in her lovely yard, mesmerized by her fire pit. It was a gas pit, coming out of colored glass rocks, and it was awesome! I want one now.

The next morning we slept in, then got up and got ready. We drove a short way to get near the Main Street area. We saw pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin beer, even pumpkin mac and cheese! We were afraid to try the last one. In the food area, we got some great artichoke hearts. Delicious! Artichokes have a certain aftertaste that's kindof addictive. K and I also shared a roast beef sandwich that had an unusual taste - his cousin declared it to be corriander.

There were so many interesting crafts there - I asked K to buy me a ring made from a spoon, and I looked at about 500 glass pumpkins before buying one for myself. We did a LOT of walking around, and finally headed home. On the way to the car, we stopped and bought crabs for dinner.

Dinner was one of the best meals I've ever had. Each of us had a whole crab ( I know!) and half an artichoke, with butter and a special sauce K's cousin had made. I thank that crab for giving it's life for me, as I really appreciated it. I was so stuffed, I couldn't even eat it all!

That would have been enough for a good trip, but the next day we got up early-ish and headed to SF for a Raider game. We met some of their friends for a tailgate party, and it also was delicious. They grilled hamburgers and kabobs with a special(Spedee?)sauce. There was also artichoke dip, salsa, and 3 kinds of pasta and salad.

When it was time, we cleaned up and headed toward the game. Brett Favre was playing for the Jets, so the girls (OK, guys too) had a little extra to be excited about. He looked good out there too.

We were sitting in the very last row, as high as you could get on that side of the stadium. There was a fan near us that kept yelling out instructions to the team and banging against the metal in back of him. I told K that the guy should be sitting a lot closer, as they couldn't possibly hear him from there. Yet he was yelling as if they should.

Funny.

The Raiders also ran my favorite play - the fake punt. I liked that.

The Raiders were ahead a lot of the game, but on their last possession, the Jets really advanced up the field pretty quickly. They set up for a kick that would tie the game - and they MISSED it! Yay, Raiders win. Wait, not so fast. The Raiders called Time Out just as the kicker was going to kick - a Shanahan trick that is supposed to psych out the kicker. But in this case it backfired, and the kicker got another chance to make that kick. And make it, he did. Tied game, overtime. I was pretty mad at the Raider coach for that.

Luckily, after a few possessions back and forth, the Raiders finally scored and won. The fans were SO happy! We kept running into fans the whole trip home, meeting a few people that fly up there just to see a game.

We got to sit together on the flight home, and that was nice. It was one of the best times I've ever had - especially in such a tight time period. And it was delicious every step of the way.

Commercials

2008-10-30T11:57:00.000-07:00

One of my pet peeves is commercials, and how badly they're screened for young children. My young kids didn't need to see scenes from scary movies, but ads for them run at all times, not just after 8pm.

What I don't understand are the recent political commercials about California's Prop 8. Prop 8 is a proposal to ban gay marriage, something we've already voted on anyway. In the ads, a child brings a book home from school and says that she learned in school that boys can marry boys. A couple claim that this happened in their state, and when they complained, they were told they had no right to have their child not taught that.

So... they're objecting to their kids hearing that in school? Buy aren't you telling them about it now on TV? Aren't you in fact telling every kid that watches TV in California about this new concept? So is it they don't want their kids to KNOW about gays, or they just want to teach them that it's not right? Can't they do that at home anyway? I just don't get it.

I love it that my daughter doesn't even see an issue about having a black president or understand what it could be about, and I really think that this generation will come to feel the same way about gay people.

I must say, though, that the ads for the other side have been awfully dry. A strict-looking couple say that they have a gay daughter and it would be WRONG to treat her any differently. Finally they've come out with an Ellen ad which is a little more friendly. I think they should have focused more on the human aspect of not being able to visit someone in the hospital and things like that.

It doesn't matter anyway. Like I said, we already voted on this (conservatives won, I believe), and the courts overturned it. Why are we voting again?

Oodles of noodles

2008-10-27T10:56:00.000-07:00

The other day I bought a few groceries in a store I don't usually go to, and I found some packaged noodles near the Top Ramen section. I thought the chow mein in peanut sauce sounded good, and it was on sale for about $.99, so I bought it. oodles

At home, I added water and microwaved as directed, mixed and stirred. When I sat down to eat it, it was good! It seemed like a lot of noodles, but it was so good I ate the whole thing! I wasn't really full when I was done, but it was so good! I told K, "Too bad it has no nutritional value, that's the only thing wrong with it!"

I started thinking of going back to the store and getting 10 more of those. Such a deal! In spite of no nutritional (and possibly some bad nutritional) value.

Then something made me go find the wrapping. I looked at the calorie section, and was surprised to find that I'd actually eaten 2 servings! Worse, each "serving" was 270 calories! I'd just eaten 540 calories, and I was still hungry!

Then I was mad, because for fewer calories I could have eaten a Snickers bar. And I'd probably be more full because of the peanuts!

So anyway... I've been looking at that section more often when shopping, and a few times I've been shocked. Wow.

----------------------------

In an update to a previous complaint - I'd been surprised to find that a company was forcing through subscriptions to a few of our Verizon phones. A few weeks ago I got a notice that I am now part of a class-action suit (all Verizon customers are, I think) against a certain company for this very offense.

I'm glad that someone took that on, because that just isn't right.

Ambush at Breakfast

2008-10-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

When I got back from vacation, there was a flyer in my box at work about a breakfast they were having at a local Country Club. I like breakfast and really any free meal, so I was all in. The flyer promised an "Extravaganza", said, "you don't want to miss this!" and that there was a "guest speaker" with "new marketing ideas."

I was looking forward to it! Even tho I'm not a big fan of this country club's food. Breakfast!

I was only 5 minutes late, but when I got there, everyone was already eating! But they brought mine out very quickly, and it was GREAT! That should have been my first clue that something was amiss. It was a delicious blend of spinach and eggs, served with bacon and potatoes. There were also baskets of toast and rolls and fresh orange juice.

After we ate, my boss talked a little bit and handed out a few awards, as I expected. Then she went on to say that many people have wanted to buy her business over the years, and finally the right company approached her at the right time, as she's getting older and it's a big responsibility, etc., etc.

She sold the company! To the company across the street that I decided against to work with her instead! One lady burst into tears. Many of those people have been with her 20 years or more.

Then she went on to say that the owner of THAT company was here and wanted to talk to us. This was our "guest speaker"! Well, he came in and opened up this bag, and said he had a bag for each of us that already included our business cards and name tag and tee shirts with the new logo on them, and all the info we'd need to make the transition.

He kept bringing things out of the bag, and the lady next to me kept exclaiming, "Holy Mother of God!"

Then, he went on to say that he'd brought people from the company to meet us and give us more things and answer our questions. With that, he opened the door to the room next door, where people from that company had tables set up with information and bags and other things on them. They handed us mimosas as we walked into the room. I took one even tho it was a weekday morning, because all of a sudden I NEEDED A DRINK!

No one really looked me in the eye and looked very welcoming, so I slipped out and went home. I took a few days just to let things kindof sink in, and then I did some checking around. Even tho they'd made it so easy to stay, I decided to take my marbles down the road and gamble on another company.

Some of you may remember that I just changed companies about 6 months ago. I finished notifying everyone, and now I have to start all over again! Hopefully this company will be stable for awhile.

Poly Sci 101

2008-09-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

I was surprised at this:

What's a Centrist?

Your true political self:

You are a
Social Liberal
(66% permissive)

and an...
Economic Moderate
(41% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Centrist

You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness. loc: (62, -32)
modscore: (25, 40)
W
w
Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

Leaving me angry and bleh

2008-09-15T12:06:00.000-07:00

The Boy has been off to the dorms for 2 weeks now. At first it bothered me more than I would have thought - there was an odd emptiness in my solar plexus and a lurching of my stomach. But he really is a considerate boy - before he left he did something that made me SO mad at him! I haven't told his father, because he was right and I was wrong, and I hate hearing that.

But K knows I am angry with the Boy, and that it helps me not miss him, but he never asks what I am angry about. On some deep intuitive level, he must know that he really, REALLY, doesn't want to know. So instead of asking, he just suggests something, like, "About what, his life?" and I say "Yes, that's it."

Right now I'm not feeling the love. I feel like "bleh."My immediate family is very nice, but the rest of my family kindof sucks. I called my three sisters yesterday, and only one called me back. I guess I should just be glad about that. I send people emails, and people don't bother to respond. People change their blogs and take me off their list. Bloggers I read are quitting or taking breaks.

So I'm admitting to myself that I waste far too much time on the internet, and I should focus my energies on projects that might somehow make me some money. Or some friends. I guess I just keep this blog for myself, but I'd save some time if I just wrote it and didn't post it. Someday I'll print it all out for myself.

Bleh.

Trip Highlights

2008-09-05T15:52:00.000-07:00

Summing up our 2-week trip to Colorado is not easy. We did many of the usual things - lunch at my favorite Vietnamese place, a party at our friend Sal's house. We visited more people than usual - a sister in law had moved to town, and my cousin had a baby girl I wanted to see.

In Estes Park - Olympics = food + TV! Opposite of the usual.We sortof hung out and were scared to go back to Denver. See below.

My sisters and I took out my parents for their 50th Anniversary dinner. We celebrated while we were in town, but technically their anniversary is this month. There was a lot of fighting surrounding the choice of restaurants, but the dinner itself came off without any drama.

Rage against the Machine Concert
My sister E got two tickets, and took another sister, M, to this free concert on Wednesday. The band got the Coliseum all riled up against the war, and wanted everyone to to follow them in a march to the DNC. My sisters didn't march the 3 miles down there - they said they didn't want to go to jail. I said, "You didn't want to go to jail WITH THE BAND?"

Thursday we dropped in at the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver, to get a glimpse of the political activities down there. It was good to see people expressing themselves. Also we found some cool t-shirts. The Girl declared herself to be tired of visiting people and started to have a meltdown until we distracted her with lunch. My sister M met us at Chili's for lunch - we shared a fajita dish.

Then we drove to Longmont and K tried to fix a few things at the duplex. We went to see our friend JD's boy Pete playing soccer. That boy is so good looking and just plain nice, and good at soccer too. We went to see our friends practicing with their band, and I was really glad I went. They were really good and we had a good time.

Football game
On our last day there, we went to Colorado Springs to see our friend's son, a Senior, play football. It was the first game of the year.

On the way there we stopped to visit my cousin, C, who is so cool and has the coolest family. It's the kind of house where friends and neighbors just walk in. While we were there an older (than me!) man came in with a teenage boy and girl. It turned out that his son, the boy, was playing for the other team in that same game! So we told them they should come to the game too.

Then we went over our friend's house, and our friend McNeal had come out too for the game. He just got a new job, so he was feeling good. We ate some pizza, drank a few beers, borrowed jackets, and loaded up for the game.

The game started badly, with other team scoring 3 touchdowns in the first quarter! At least our friend's son played really well.Then there was a fight and "our" team's best player was kicked out! Not anyone from the other team, tho not our friend's son either, and I think he was in the thick of it.

My cousin and her family showed up, so that was fun. Then the team started to come back after halftime. After their second touchdown, a player on the other team went down hurt. We waited and eventually they brought out a stretcher for him. Then we noticed it was starting to sprinkle, altho it looked like it was raining much harder on the other side of the field!

Then it moved over to us, and everyone ran for cover. It was raining HARD! I kept thinking it would move off as quickly as it came, and my cousin threw her blanket over me, and I held my plastic seat cover over that! Her husband and son had run under a tree, but that didn't seem to help at all.

After awhile I looked out and we decided to run for the car. We felt much better in the car, but our clothes were soaked! My cousin left with her family, and the Girl and I waited for K to get back. The Girl was cold and soaked and wanted badly to leave. Finally we got enough people to leave, but the guys wanted to stay and see what happened in the game. It turned out they let them play one more play, where our team tied the score, and then they called the game because of lightening.

That's one thing I remember most about Colorado Springs. The sudden cloudbursts, flash flooding, and lightening.

And although I've always loved the mountains, I'm now developing a new love of the soft colors of the plain and fields around Longmont.

I wish I could post pictures, but my photo card has gone kaput. Now I need a way to "rescue" about 300 pictures off that card!

Wish me luck...

DNC

2008-08-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

We just happen to be in Denver during the "DNC" as it's being called locally. I told my Mom I wanted to protest, and she said they had a special place for protesters. I told my friends in California, and they said, "Yeah, it's called JAIL!" Ha. They've actually cleared out a large warehouse to use as a large temporary jail. Expecting trouble, anyone?

This trip, we spent only a day in Denver before driving into the mountains for a few days. I had a lot of trouble with headaches from the altitude there. Usually I get used to it in Denver before I head to the mountains, so I had more migrains than usual. Luckily I have medicine that works.

So, back in Denver, I was talking to my sister, and she mentioned that she heard that 40,000 hookers were coming to town for the convention. There are 50,000 politicians, and there are groups of hookers that evidently follow conventions around.

I was telling them about my problems with the altitude, and then it occured to me - There are going to be a lot of hookers with headaches in Denver this month!

Ha.

Drama for your Mama

2008-08-11T17:04:00.000-07:00

The day before the soccer tournament this weekend, K asked The Girl to get her soccer uniform together. She looked in her room and announced it wasn't there.

What???

When K gets frustrated, becomes sort of like a whirling dirvish, and the whole house heard about it while he searched in various places. It seemed to me that it should have been clean by now, as she'd last played a game around 4 weeks ago, but she claimed to have put it into the laundry, and never seen it again.

I'm in charge of washing the laundry, so I was feeling a little blame and pressure. K, who folds the laundry, claimed to not have seen it come through the laundry either. So we searched the entire laundry room several times, but couldn't find it!

Meanwhile K kept walking around, saying, "Where is it? Where is it?" He was really getting frustrated. I kept saying that the house just isn't that big - there aren't that many places it could be!

The girl looked at me with big brown eyes and asked in all innocence, "Mom, why does he keep asking ME? Why does he automatically blame ME?"

I finally replied, "Because it's YOUR uniform! You are in charge of it! Because it was probably you that had it last."

No, no, she swore she didn't have it. I was trying to diffuse the situation and calm everyone down, and not feed into K's upset, or my perception of blame. K went into her room, and found the shorts to her uniform.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I thought you only meant the shirt!"

ALL of it! We need ALL of the uniform! Together!

We sent the Girl to the van, which had a bag of clothes for Goodwill that the Girl keeps bringing out of her room. She came back with her old jerseys, which we now would need. K was a little mad that she had been getting rid of those.

We searched everywhere. I even looked in The Boy's room, in case it had accidently gotten in with his clothes. Nope. Finally I sent K to the van again, thinking maybe she took it off in the van on her way back from her last game, and stuffed it somewhere in the van. I couldn't understand how it hadn't made it into the laundry toom!

K came back with the red jersey, which he found in the Goodwill bag! Of all places! Usually I go through her things before I get rid of them, but K had grabbed this bag and had nearly taken it to Goodwill the day before!

K was SO mad. The Girl came to me for protection, and I took the opportunity to remind everyone that the uniform was CLEAN!! It had indeed gone through the laundry and come out the other side, so everyone was a little wrong.

I couldn't understand why she hadn't found it in the bag the first time she looked, though, so I asked her, "Are you color blind?" and she answered, after a pause, "I love you!"

I told her, "Honey, if you want to quit soccer you can just TELL us! You don't have to give away your uniforms and sprain your ankle!" But she claims I'm taking her actions too literally.

I know exactly how it happened, too. She was so excited about getting new clothes for school, that she probably took an entire drawer and just dumped it into the bag. She can't have looked at the clothes at all, or she would have noticed the uniforms.

After she went to bed I told K, "Why does he think I know where it is? Why would anyone think that I would know where it is?" And finally we could laugh about it. We laughed until we cried. That was a classic.

But we still haven't found the white uniform.

-----------------------------
Then we went to a soccer tournament in Irvine.

Saturday we played a team from Las Vegas, who were the champions last year. They were really tough, and finally beat us 2-1. I think we only scored because we got a penalty kick right in front of the goal.

The second team we played was from Carona. We beat them pretty easily 2-0, but their coach was really mad and complained to the ref for awhile after the game. They were saying bad things to our girls, so I didn't like them too much. They ended up not winning any games.

Sunday played a team from Santa Clarita, and lost 3-1. One of their goals was just a mistake by our Goalie we'd had to borrow from another team because our substitute goalie had gotten sick. So basically she was doing us a favor. We felt a little badly about that, and tried to make the girl feel OK about it. And again, we only scored because of a penalty kick right in front of their goal, but I thought the game was closer than the score would suggest.

So we were out and didn't get to play the Las Vegas team again, like I had hoped. I stayed to watch a little of the next game, and a team called Madrid started setting up in front of us. The coach looked at me, and I saw him get a look in his eye like he recognized me or remembered something, and then he looked at The Girl. He knew her name, and called her over.

She went over and talked with him for a few minutes, and I could feel a few of the parents from that team looking at me. When she came back, she said that he'd told her that she looked like a good player, and was impressed that she was a leftie. He asked where she would go to high school (in 4 years!), and told her if she still played in high school, that she'd probably play his team in Sherman Oaks.

Hmmm. Then that team ended up winning the tournament! I was really surprised.

Dodger game

2008-08-04T18:38:00.000-07:00

The Girl got to go to camp as planned, and she had a really good time there. While she was gone, K's cousin came to visit. We hadn't seen her in about 4 years, so it was great to see her.

We picked her up at the Burbank airport and took her to a Dodger game. Manny Ramirezz had just been added to the team, so the game was sold out and excited. He had two hits, but no home runs and the Dodgers lost 1-2. Very low scoring game. He had home runs on Sat and Sunday, but not on Friday night.

You can see the crowd standing up in excitement and support when Manny came to bat.

We had a great visit with her, and hopefully we'll be able to go see her during the glass pumpkin festival in Half Moon Bay in October.....

Last nite the Boy dropped orange juice into the keyboard, so now it sticks. The space bar and 000000000000000000 seem to be the worst.....

In TV news, Sherri Shepard wasn't' on the View theother day, and Whoppi announced that she was out for personal business, which I already thought was weird. Those girls are out all the time and it's no big deal. Then Joy and Elizabeth added that they like Sherri and she'sfunny.. I thought that was odd.

Then K told me he was listening to Rick Dees and they said Whoopi hates Sherri andthat she's a worse problem than Star or Rosie ever was. I can see why Whoopi might not like her, but Sherri brings anice balance to the show. She gets along w/Elizabeth and has become somewhat of an ally even tho she doesn't necessarily agree with her politics. She isn't the most intellectual, and not always funny, but she lightens themoodthere....

Oh, forget it.............

Last Week

2008-07-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

Weekend before last we attended a soccer tourney in Irvine - spent Friday nite as the game on Sat was a record 7am! Yikes! K wasn't sure about spending the money, but it was really nice. Like a very little vacation.

There was a mixup with the Marriott reservations, but we ended up liking our location by Avenue of the Arts. Nice suite, big bed, two TV's. We ate at Macaroni Grill, where K shared a Penne Rustica with me. It was just the right amount of food for me. I think K got soup too.

The first game on Sat we played a team that supposedly consisted of half of J's stolen team - we barely won with The Girl's left hook shot into top corner of goal! won 1-0.At 10:15 we played a black-uniformed team, they scored first (from midfield!) and I was scared. But then we were able to score 3 times. We went to the hotel again to hang out, check out. Then to Mac Grill again for lunch. (Love that place! Good lunch special.)

Sunday's game was at 10 - we played a Gold level team, and lost 1-3. After their first score it took a long time, but finally we scored! But then they scored 2wice more, so we lost. We took some good shots on goal, tho, so the game was actually closer than the score reflects. The coach on the other team got a yellow card!

The Boy went with us for a nice change, so we went out to lunch again at the Mac Grill, where we found we still had a gift card from Christmas for $25! Yay! We took the dog that day too, and he LOVES to go "bye bye" with us. He was able to sit with us outside at the restaurant.

Monday - The Girl went to yoga class with me. She liked it. We're trying to make it a routine now - Yoga on Mondays, Pho on Wednesdays. Finished reading "Easter Island." I thought it was very, very good.

Tuesday - sore from yoga! Swam with The Girl. The Boy went to CSULB for overnight orientation. Stayed up too late. Said it was a lot like day camp.

Found out a friend who had been very sick died Monday.

Wed - The Girl invited to museum. Forgot I was supposed to work. Pho for dinner instead of lunch.

Thurs -Met my friend R for lunch at New Moon Cafe. That evening went with The Girl to orientation for her first week-long sleepover summer camp. I'm jealous! Sounds like so much fun.

Fri - Found out our mechanic Ken died last week - he's fixed our car for years & K says he's the reason we can afford to help The Boy with school. It's shocking to think how one little mistake can cost a person their whole life! Seems like if you're not truly appreciating your life (i.e. drinking too much), it's easy to lose it. We really miss him already. It was just a few weeks ago he was smiling at me, helping me with the car.

The Boy stayed up to see Dark Knight at IMAX at 3am! Went an hour early and thought there'd be no one there. Instead there was a long line! He loved it so much he went to see it again on a regular screen the next day.

Sat - work. Forgot phone.

Sun - went thru stuff from garage.

Mon - Service for our friend who died. We had to stay outside because chapel was too full - there were easily 200 people outside, standing in shade. So many people whose lives she touched. Playing songs she loved, the service took a pretty long time. But it was celebrating her happy life, so they played some songs she loved. The minister mainly talked to her twin girls who are The Girl's age (11). About how their Mom is in a better place and now they have to go forward.

The day was a lot like her - sunny, warm, with a soft and gentle breeze.

No yoga today.

Tues - Soccer practice, the Girl twisted her ankle! She's in tears at the mere IDEA that she might have to wear a cast in camp, or possibly not go at all. As of now, she can't put any weight on it.

Let's all hope she gets MUCH better by Saturday.

Complaints

2008-07-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

about Chase Bank have inspired me to relate a financial glitch of my own.

I seem to keep having problems with my Verizon cell phone bill. I try to pick a plan that will fit our needs, only to find we're 500 text messages over our limit (damn kids!) or have used too many minutes. At one point I thought I might have to declare bankruptcy over my cell phone bill! JK, but still.

So I finally got a plan that seems manageable, but every nearly every month the bill is more than I think it should be. I then have to delve into the cryptic details of my phone bill. I've had to call to find out what a mysterious "data" charge of $9.99 is 3 or 4 times now, it's been a cell phone subscription to some "service" that none of us ever knowingly signed up for! Like a horoscope or weather report, but we don't actually receive any service. And every time I have to dispute this charge and send a STOP message to a certain number.

So I'm alerting anybody who reads this blog, that apparently there is a way for these services to force through a subscription to a phone number, and get that "service" onto your phone bill!

------------

Then, the other day I noticed that our Charter bill was too high. It suddenly jumped $60 higher, and I called to see if we had exhausted our previous contract with them. I got someone who sounded like she was in India, and she kept asking me security questions and repeating everything I said. This drove me crazy!

In the end, I found out that our contract did indeed run out, and the price for our current services jumped $60. I asked her if there were any new contract specials that would be more affordable. She came back and said all she could find was that if we upgraded our internet service, we could have it for the same price of $60 higher.

I said no, we didn't need better internet service, what we need is a lower bill! She advised me to try again later in the month, when more promotions might be available. I told her I was disappointed, and would have to check with AT&T now.

So I got onto the computer, and checked out AT&T's specials. The only problem is that they only offer DirectTV, and K doesn't trust satellites. The only other option in our area seemed to be Charter.

Then I checked out Charter's web site, and found that they had plenty of packages that were more affordable than our current $60-inflated rate. So K called Charter back, and asked if we could get that rate instead. The agent said she had to check and see if we were eligible, and luckily she found that we were.

She checked on some specials, and it seems that if we were to upgrade to DVR, our rate would go down to the previous affordable rate! Also, we were able to add a set of channels we were supposed to have LAST time, for $10 more a month.

So somehow we ended up much better off than before, for only $10 more a month! I finally get DIY and BBC back! Now I can watch crafting shows and Footballers Wives again!

The Girl keeps saying, "I haven't seen this show in a year!" Plus now we can record things to watch later, just like 80% of the rest of the country.

Yay for the internet, and perseverance.

Garden stories

2008-07-09T16:28:00.000-07:00

from our yard. These stories are somewhat amusing and sometimes scary, but are ultimately not very exciting. I've just been having issues with Mother Nature lately. Read at your own risk.

Red Poppies
When we chose this house to buy, I agreed with the stipulation that K clear ivy from the little hillside in back of our house. So it's been cleared off, but grass and weeds still grow there, until we rip that out too. So for the past few years, I've thrown poppy seeds out onto the hillside, and cover them up with some pretty bark mulch. And we usually get some nice orange flowers until the weather turns too hot and burns everything up.

This year, I found some seed packets from last year, and one had Red Poppy seeds in it. So even 'tho they were old seeds, I was hoping to jazz things up a bit with some spicy red color. I was soon disappointed, tho, because days and then weeks later, I was getting NOTHING!! No little sprouts, nada. Sigh.

Then, a few weeks ago, I was surprised to see a delicate red poppy amongst the orange flowers and grass. A red poppy!!! So pretty and delicate, very different from the orange poppies. I looked closer, and noticed that this red poppy's leaves were completely different from the orange poppy's leaves. In fact the leaves on the red poppy looked a lot like dandelion leaves!

I think everyone who works in their yard knows what must immediately be done when one spots a few dandelion leaves - yank them up! So who knows how many pretty little poppies I accidentally pulled up? Poor little babies.

On the flip side of this, I'm now letting everything that looks like a dandelion grow. I don't know what else to do, but if I see any signs of dandelion flowers, that sucker's coming out!

Meanwhile, new poppies have sprung up, that are very yellow! Where did those come from?

Mysterious Tomato Eater
The other day, I was looking at my few tomato plants, wondering why they weren't as big and prolific as the plants in my neighbor's garden next door. As I looked at the biggest plant, I noticed that the top branches were stripped of all their leaves! It was completely eaten, leaving just the stumps of the vine. What the heck was happening here?

The next day I looked at it again, and noted that the plant next to it looked fine. I theorized that perhaps the trellis I'd winded the bigger plant into was some sort of access to the plant for some small tomato-plant-eating animal. So I moved to pull the plant out of the trellis.... and stopped, inches away from the plant.

Because. there. was. a. HUGE!!!! caterpillar. sitting. on. the. vine. Green. Just like the vine. Hard to notice, except it was about 2 inches thick!!! OK, maybe just an inch, but still. It was at least 3 inches long. That's a very big caterpillar!

He'd seen me coming, too, and pulled up his head and sort of tucked his chin, holding on for dear life to that vine. I called for K, who luckily is brave in all things insect related. He pulled it off my plant (he said that sucker was really holding on) and tossed it into the compost pile where hopefully it will lead a long caterpillar life and not get hit on the head by a shovel!

I hate to imagine how big a moth (butterfly) that huge caterpillar is going to turn into someday.

Fish Folly
OK, this isn't really about my yard, but it's wildlife related. It started when The Girl wanted a hamster and we told her no, so she talked us into a fish instead. She got a pretty Beta, and she named him "Jaws."

We have a great two-bowl system for changing the fishes water, and yesterday set about preparing the new water for the changeover. When it was time, I took the little net and tried to scoop him into it. Over time, however, it seems that Jaws has come to appreciate the changeover less and less, and has taken to trying to escape the net.

After a few tries, I successfully landed him in the net, and moved to put him into the new bowl. I was halfway there when he suddenly flipped himself free and landed on the bathroom counter! The Girl started screaming and ran out of the room, while the fish flipped again, and momentarily disappeared. I pulled the other bowl out of the sink, and found him in the sink bowl with the drain wide open! I moved quickly to scoop him up, but even then it took a few tries.

Finally I was able to hold onto him somehow, and toss him into the new bowl. The Girl came back in just in time to see the conclusion of this fiasco.

Who knew having a fish would be this scary?

Graduation

2008-07-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

The Boy's High-School graduation was really nice. I'd been a bit worried, as our parents haven't really talked to each other in over 10 years, and both sets came to town for the occasion. But everything went surprisingly well, and our parents even seemed to get along. The Boy was nice to everyone and even stuck around to visit a little bit.

At the last minute I went out and bought a new dress for the ceremony, and I was lucky to find one that was really cute. I splurged on a pair of sunglasses that matched.

There were some nice speeches, and they kept the proceedings pretty short because of the heat. I recognized the Boy pretty easily, as he had worn his colorful shoes with his gown. We cheered at the names we knew, and at the end they threw their hats into the air.

It was really moving. I hadn't made the Girl go, as it was her last day of school and her friends were having parties. Plus we were short a ticket. But when it was over I wished she had been there to see it. It was a nice experience.

We went out to eat that night. The next day we toured CSULB, where the Boy will attend school next fall. It looks like a nice school, and he should do well if he applies himself.

We went out to eat that night too (PF Chang's) to celebrate our anniversary (22 years) and the in-laws anniversary (49 years). Theirs was that day, Friday, and ours was the next day, Saturday. We celebrated a night early, as we were having the grad party on Saturday.

On Saturday we had our long-anticipated Graduation Party. It was very nice, in spite of the power going off. It was really, really hot, so it was a bad time for the electricity to shut off! Just as the neighborhood band plugged in their amp, the whole block went out.

I think the band was more disappointed than anyone, as they'd really wanted to play.

Thank God we had the pool, as it was really hot for a few hours. Then a breeze picked up and it was nicer. The electric company came out and said we needed a new transformer, so he requested one. All together it took about 6 hours to get the electricity fixed. Half of our party was intrigued with the whole process however, and stood transfixed in the yard as they watched the guy in the cherry=picker replace this transformer.

Not as many people came to the party as I'd feared, so we had lots of food left over. It's hard to gauge when you invite nearly everyone you know and don't ask for RSVPs. The Boy had a nice time I think, and cleanup wasn't bad at all. We saw some good friends and had a great time visiting with everyone.

It was kindof nice that it was our anniversary too. In the middle of the party, we'd pass each other and remember, and take a moment to kiss each other and appreciate all that got us to this moment. It seemed right that we were marking this passage on our anniversary.

The next day my parents treated us all to brunch at Whole Foods, which was near their hotel in Pasadena (on Arroyo). They were really excited about it,but I was skeptical. Brunch at Whole Foods? But it turned out to be really nice, and we could special order lots of things, like omelets and pancakes. I ended up liking it a lot.

All in all we had a surprisingly good time. I think the Boy is just starting to realize that he accomplished something. Granted, all he had to do is stay in school, but not everyone can do that.

I feel we've given him a decent start in life. I'm glad about that.

The rest is up to him.

Jazz Festival

2008-06-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I had to work and K was home working on the yard. The Girl had been invited to go to Palm Springs with a friend, and had left on Friday. Suddenly we were childless again!

While I was at work, K called to say that our friend McNeal had called and said he had 2 extra tickets to the Playboy Jazz Festival. Did I want to go? For free?

Hell yes I want to go! I've never been to the Jazz Festival because it's always seemed too expensive or too hard to get tickets. But then I've never really tried. I love going to the Bowl, tho.

It was the best day. After I got home we went for a swim, and then got ready to go. We took something to drink and bought a Subway footlong on the way. We decided to drive to the LA Zoo shuttle, as parking would probably be jammed at the Bowl. It was surprisingly easy to find, and only cost $3 round trip.

The bus started to load up, and I was surprised at the amount of stuff people were lugging. The guy sitting in front of us had a big suitcase made of wicker, many people had big coolers, and lots of people were wheeling backpacks and suitcases - I guess filled with food. It's like they were taking enough food and drink for a week! Also, one lady had a big comforter, still in it's store packaging.

Another thing I noticed is that most people were very well dressed and looked affluent. The bus loaded up, and pretty soon it drove us to the Bowl. We got our tickets and went to find our seats. Luckily, the K section was first to get shade, and by the time we got there (it started at 2pm I think) we were comfortable in a nice shade.

Everybody there had lots of good drinks already mixed, and had also brought food. We had food too, but felt a little bad as a sub is kindof hard to share. We didn't plan ahead like everyone else, who seem to come every year. They had jello shots and fried chicken and a vegetable platter and everything. Two girls were drinking pomagranite juice with Cristal.

The jazz was really great to listen to. The back section started a few waves of beach balls bouncing through the air, but Security intercepted them by the time they got to the bottom. Some people were into it, but some seemed annoyed by a ball suddenly dropping on them, or worse, their drink! Some thought it was disrespectful to the musicians.

We especially enjoyed R&R, Poncho Sanchez, Dr. John and the Lower 911, Al Jarreau, and Tower of Power. I didn't think Tower of Power had that many songs, but they went last and the place was really jamming at the end. Everyone was up and dancing.

I figured the busses back would be mobbed, but they were really close, easy to find, and fast! Not mobbed at all.

We'd been working really hard getting the house (and yard!) ready for our Boy's Graduation Party, so it was really nice to take the afternoon off and have a really enjoyable time with our friends. For free!

I think I want to go again next year.

I'm glad The Girl was invited somewhere else for the weekend, so that we could go...

Dear Mr. D

2008-06-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling nostolgic about my kids lately. It seems like they grow up so fast. This year was a really good year for The Girl. This is a letter she wrote her teacher at the end of the school year. Next year, 6th grade!!!

---------------------------------------------

Mr. D,

I‘m XOXOXO, one of your 5th grade students from the year 2008.In the year 2008 I learned so much because you were my teacher. You always fit learning into everything we did and always challenge me. Everyday I learned something new things and I thank you so much for that.

I remember the time you took the time to tell the whole class two stories about when you use to play football in high school and college. You put so much enthusiasm into your stories, you’re a great story teller. I really enjoyed hearing how far your team got to the champion in high school and how hard your team worked to get there. Your other story about wrestling that really tough guy in a football boot camp was also very entertaining.

I’m really going to miss learning form you. I’ve learned more this year then I’ve ever learned in one school year. You never took a day sick from school and you never said it was too much gas wasted to get to school every day from where you lived. Thank you so much for this wonderful year, too bad it had to go by so fast.

High School Drama

2008-06-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

Someone else recently brought up the term "Helicopter Mom." I'd never heard that term before, but it refers to a parent who tends to hover over their child I think.

Well, I have run into one of these parents lately, and a lot of drama surrounding prom ensued. Actually, I've never met this mom, and it's probably a good thing.

It all started a year ago. The Boy's friend B was going out with a girl, R. Then he decided he'd rather go out the the Boy's Girlfriend's Sister, Melinda. But when B broke up with R, R confronted Melinda about the timing, etc. Then the Boy's Girlfriend told R to leave her sister alone.

Then the Boy wrote about it on Myspace, and R's parents came over to confront us about it. Luckily I wasn't home, but K got to meet them all. They were brandishing papers printed off Myspace, and insisting that K read it. He declined. When they weren't satisfied with K's response, they took it to the Principle's office, where all the kids had to sign a document promising not to fight with each other any more.

That was a year ago.

This year, the Boy's Girlfriend is no longer in High School (having graduated), so she applied for a Guest Pass to go with the Boy. The Friday before the week before Prom, the Principle tells Boy that her application for a Guest Pass was denied. Why? Because she's on a "List" of people who were mean to this girl R, and R has said she doesn't "feel safe" with her at the Prom. The Principle said she couldn't discuss it with him, nor should he try to contact R about it.

So he called to see if we could help him. So K called the Principle, who repeated that she couldn't discuss it, and we weren't to talk to R's family about it either. After pressing her for SOMETHING that could be done, she gave him of someone he could call - Dick. So K called Dick and left a message. Being that it was Friday afternoon, he never called back.

So K tried again on Monday, calling Dick and getting no response. By now the kids had resigned themselves to going somewhere else, and meeting up with their friends later.

On Tuesday I asked the Boy if he even wanted to go anymore, and he said it was too late now, because tickets weren't available anymore. Well! I didn't like the sound of that at all! So I fired off a scathing email to the Superintendent of the School District, copying Dick and the Principle. I told them I didn't think it was fair, and various reasons why it was unfair, and pointed out that the Boy was up for Prom King and how would it look if he couldn't show up because his date was not approved? Plus I pointed out that the Boy was now being damaged by their actions, and I was disappointed in all of them.

Well, Dick called that same morning, and said that the Guest Pass had been granted! "What? Really?" I exclaimed in surprise. Yes, he said, they didn't want anyone else to be penalized because of this.

This situation, I guess he means. Where R's family is trying to sue the school district, has restraining orders out on two other girls, and is accusing every boy she ever dated of sexual harassment. I think the mother can't stand the thought that anyone doesn't like her daughter, and in the process is alienating everyone against her daughter! Better that she should teach her daughter to roll with the punches or work things out for herself.

Anyway, the Boy was SO glad to get to go after all, and I got lots and lots of credit. They had a great time, and all was well until the next drama got ready to unfold.

So much fun.

Just media notes

2008-06-09T15:53:00.000-07:00

There have been a few things lately that I've felt like commenting on, but I keep forgetting.

For one thing, at the end of the last post I forgot I'd stayed up to watch SNL the night before Mother's Day. They featured a band with a strange name - "My Morning Jacket", but their song was SO good! They started with a great guitar hook and then really jammed out a song called, "I'm amazed." I'd been recording it since it was late and I was likely to fall asleep, and the next day I played it over and over for K and The Girl. Both agreed it was a jamming song.

Next, have you ever heard of the "Big Head" theory in Hollywood? They say it's better to have a big head because it looks better on the big screen. And if you notice, most "Stars" have big heads!

So on American Idol, when I saw the size of David Cook's head compared to Ryan Seacrest's head, it was clear to me that he was going to win. His head was way bigger than David Archuleta's head. I thought it was a great finale. I loved how ex-contestants sang songs from famous people (Donna Summer, George Michaels), then the artists came out themselves and sang a new song. I loved DC singing with ZZ Top. The decision announcement was also entertaining, with the winner crying, the loser looking grateful, and lots of fireworks.

Great!

I think David Archuleta would be good in a Disney TV show, like High School Musical.
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A video that really bothers me is Madonna's "Four Minutes to Save the World." She skips around looking fierce and walking on people's tables while they're trying to eat. Justin Timberlake does a few spins and adjusts his scarf, but neither one of them is doing anything about saving the world!

Huh. That's not very productive. With 4 minutes to save the world we should all grab a boy or a girl?
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Recently I saw that one of my favorite authors, Michael Connelly, had a new book out, "The Overlook". I bought it and took it home to read, but it kept referring to the previous book, "Echo Park." I couldn't remember the story or the outcomes the Overlook was referring to, so I went and checked "Echo Park" out of the library.

Turns out, I hadn't read it! So, joy of joys, I got to read TWO Harry Bosch books back to back! Days of fun, I tell you what. There's nothing like finding out you're backed up on reading one of your favorite authors.

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Yesterday on Oprah, Reba was on, singing duets with people who were with her on her new album of duets. It may have been an old show, I don't know. Anyway, she sang "Because of you" with Kelly Clarkson. First Reba took the high harmony and Kelly sang the chorus. Then they switched and Kelly sang the high part and Reba sang the chorus. It was beautiful.

That's a really sad song, though. I like to believe that a person can try to make their own life in spite of what they experienced as a child.

Anyway, Oprah brought up that Kelly had been having a problem with her producers not wanting some of her songs. Kelly downplayed it, saying it was normal, and Oprah said that Kelly writes about her life, and that was her message to the producers.

Actually I agree with her producers. I'm tired of songs about breaking up from Kelly. She's made at least two albums about that topic by now, and I'd like to hear something from her other than anger.

How, 'bout it Kelly?

Mother's Day 08

2008-05-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit sour on parenthood lately. I see people with young children at Disneyland and I want to say, "Don't waste your time/money bringing your kids here so young. In 3 years they won't even remember it!"

Or watching "Jon and Kate plus 8", I want to weep for them in about 10 years. Having a teenager in the house is like living with the enemy. They've turned against you (as is their job to become independent), yet you're destined to live with them for a few more years.

I have to talk myself down from times like these, because I don't want to take it out on The Girl, who is still sweet, helpful and pleasant. I'm trying not to let my apathy take over. After all, maybe she will be nicer to us in her teen years than her brother.

Actually, I had a nice Mother's Day. Actually, it kindof started on Saturday, when I called my mom to make sure she'd gotten my present in the mail. That night I tried my hand at tortillas, and they turned out almost as good as Mom's. But the way they made the house smell transported me back in time, when I was a kid and our house often smelled that way. It smelled warm, like home.

I appreciate my Mom.

The Boy was nice enough to buy me a present, altho he declined to make me breakfast with his sister, as he had bought me a present, after all, and that should be enough. And I guess it was.

The Boy had to go to work early that day (9:30 am), so K and The Girl took me out for brunch to one of my favorite places. It wasn't as busy as I had feared, and we got there close enough to lunch to get my favorite combo (Jackie O salad and Portabella mini pizza). Yum!

Plus, Sunday is Farmer's Market day there, and I got to wander around and look at produce and other stuff to my heart's content. I saw an ex-coworker from Disney, and finally bought a copy of one of his watercolors.

Then we went home and I mostly got my way for most of the day. A few times I had to invoke the MOTHER'S DAY RULE, but mostly it was relaxing and a fun day. I recycled more pill boxes into art, but have no idea what I'm going to do with them yet. I found a good book in the library called Doodle Stitching, and I think I'm going to buy a copy to keep. It's got a good description of all the embroidery stitches in the beginning, which is a good reference.

For dinner, I asked K to make his best dish for me - chicken wings. We'd picked up some asparagus at the Farmers Market, and he sauted those in a little butter and olive oil. I've been reading the latest Barbara Kingsolver book, and had just read a chapter on asparagus. So far it seems like a good book, when it's not trying to make me feel guilty (tap water kills fish!)

K also bought two avacados on sale, so we had guacamole for an appetizer.

It was one of the most delicious meals ever. The wings were crispy and hot, the asparagus tender and nutty.

Yum!

Gas Miser

2008-05-08T12:36:00.000-07:00

In the last few weeks, the price of gas lept up to over $4/gallon! Since then they've hovered around the high $3's, but the writing is on the wall. It now costs over $50 to fill my gas tank.

So lately I've become very stingy about using my car. I'm now cursing that my Girl has TWO soccer practices a week, which are only about 20 miles away. But hey, that's 40 miles round trip!

I went through a drive-through line the other day, and got really impatient that the service wasn't faster. Partly because I could see my order was ready on the counter when I pulled up, but the guy poured some drinks before getting to me. Don't they know that we're burning away money, waiting there in line?

Last weekend K wanted to take his car to the shop, to get his taillights fixed. He wanted me to drive with him, so I could bring him back. Then I'd have to drive him there again, to pick it up. Again, Burbank is only 15-20 miles away, but I told him that was too much gas. So he agreed to take it early on Monday, and just wait until it's finished.

Last week we took our dog to get groomed. Every year this time he seems to get a really itchy butt, so I was hoping a flea bath and a grooming procedure would help him out.
When I dropped him off, they said it would be 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. Wow! But I didn't want to drive the 10 miles home, only to turn around and come back, so we puttered around and looked at some of the shops in the area. After about an hour, we were done, so I went back to check on the dog.

The dog was alone in a cage when we got back, looking utterly dejected. His head was down on his paws, and he looked sure we were never coming back. Then he heard the Girl and my voices, and he perked up and squinted at us. (I don't think he sees very well.) Then he recognized us, and barked at us to get him out of there.

So I went to the register to see if they knew where all the grooming people were. I guess they were on break, because soon the girl showed up (looking flustered) and said she still needed to clip his nails. After this we took him home.

But his butt still seems as itchy as ever, so I wonder if I didn't hurry the girl so much that she forgot some of the services I'd requested.

So already this gas saving kick is already causing a few problems.

Do you think it will be the end of drive-throughs?

Hats for the Homeless

2008-04-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

I discovered a pattern for crocheting hats, and it's just something to do while I watch TV or whatever. But I can crank one out in a couple of nights. Next thing I knew, I was accumulating too many hats!

So I had the idea, what if every time I see a homeless person asking for money, I gave them a hat? "I don't have any spare money," I'd say, "but here, have a hat!" I had a vision of homeless people all over LA wearing my little hats.

But then I got to thinking that if I DID give someone a hat when they were asking for money, they might get angry instead! "What do I need a hat for, lady? It's summertime!"

And one time, when I actually had a hat in the car, I drove by a homeless person asking for money, but he already HAD a hat on. And it was a much nicer hat than mine! (I think it was Nike) Plus he had some really spiffy glasses on, too.

So I don't know. I like the name, I like the idea. But I think it needs a little work.

Birthday at Disneyland

2008-04-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

For her birthday, the Girl asked if she could take one friend to Disneyland. She chose a friend who goes to another school, which I thought was a good choice because no one at her school would be jealous about it.

We picked her friend up around 9 or 9:30, and were on our way. We'd brought along a sweater and a change of clothes in case we got as wet as we did at Sea World. The girls put sun block on during the ride up there, and I played a new CD I'd made for them, with Pocket Full of Sunshine and other new songs. We'd gotten a good deal on park-hoppers thru Cal Tech, which seemed like a good deal. I was afraid Dland alone wouldn't be a full day, but I didn't want to get the Vons 2fer ticket, as you could only come to the second park on a different day, but within one month. That just seemed too hard, as it's a long way to drive.

Well, I was wrong in that Dland alone really can be a full day! I was glad to have the ability to go to the other park, tho, because we also had fun there.

I was surprised how crowded the park was, but I guess Spring Break is a different week for lots and lots of schools! It was a nice warm day, and when we first walked in I kept smelling the faint scent of pee as the sidewalk heated up. I kept thinking, "Who would be peeing out here on main street? And when?" Also, every now and then a whiff from the sewers would waft up for a nice P U. It just reminds me not to EVER try to go there during the heat of summer when the park is running anywhere near capacity! Whew!

I'm just saying.

Anyway, we went on 11 attractions in about 12 hours, and were exhausted by the end. We ate at our favorite restaurants - Pizza Port in Tomorrowland, and the soup-in-a-bread-bowl place in DCA's pier restaurants. At all times we were either on a ride, standing in line, walking to the next place, or eating. I don't think we could have fit in one more thing!

We got lucky at Space Mountain. I'd forgotten that a guy was telling everyone on the way in that this ride was down, and I was looking for the place to get a Fastpass to it. As I looked around, suddenly the ride opened up, and everyone started rushing inside! That was one of our fastest lines all day! Also, at DCA there were not as many people, so lines were shorter there for many things. Not California Soarin'. That line was as long as ever.

We got much wetter than we thought we'd really get, but luckily all of us (except K) had brought something to change into. I changed my pants, but since my hear was soaked, it kept my shirt wet in the back for most of the day.

For the first time I started to feel sick on Space Mountain. Space Mountain! My favorite ride! The easiest of roller coasters. The visuals in the beginning got to my stomach, and it took awhile for me to recover from that. K too! He says we're officially too old for roller coasters now. Sad.

He stood in line with the girls nearly 2 hours for their second ride on Space Mountain. This was their last ride, and I was exhausted, so I sat near the exit and waited for them. I could see into the arcade, and was watching an elderly woman kick everyone's butt at "Dance, Dance Revolution."

That was funny.

On the way out, the fireworks show had started, and the ushers were routing the walkers into certain pathways, then shouting at us to "keep moving!" That struck me as being not very nice, and I hate it when Disney is not very nice. I also hate it that they encourage people to waste!

I have mixed feelings about Disney, but all in all we had a fun day.

Now The Girl is 11 years old. On her actual birthday, she got her ears pierced to celebrate. We ate at Olive Garden (her favorite) and I made chocolate cupcakes.

Fear of crocodiles

2008-04-19T16:38:00.000-07:00

Last night (or this morning) I had an interesting dream. I was probably on vacation, staying at a hotel (a place with rooms). I was having a discussion or possibly date with one guy, but he said he had to do something else that night.

Then I must have been at the beach with my friends because I had on a swimming suit, and they wanted to go to a bar. I wrapped a towel around my top, and that seemed to be fine, because it never came up again.

Next I was in the bar with my friends, and in the dream there were a couple of other guys who liked me, but they weren't there. Then I saw the guy who was supposed to be busy that night. I backed up around the corner where he couldn't see me, and just waited there with my drink talking to my friend. After awhile everyone moved out of that area, and he came walking by.

I said, "Why, what are you doing here?", smiling really nice, like I hadn't just busted him in a lie. He sat down by me and I sat down too, and then he said that there were about 40 people in this group. What group, I asked. The group therapy that he had to take over that night for someone else, which is why he was busy that night. He said it was a group for people with a fear of crocodiles.

Then someone walked by and said "bye, Joe B." and I asked, "Joe B,?"

He said, "Joey!" Like I was busted for not even knowing his name.

Then he said, "I'm still in the running, right?"

And I said, "For America's Next Top Model?"

Well, at least most of it made pretty good sense.

Funny.

Atho, really.

Can there be THAT many people with a fear of crocodiles?

Mini Vacation

2008-04-06T18:59:00.001-07:00

I guess I haven't updated in awhile. A few weeks ago, we went to Las Vegas for a short little vacation. It was partly to celebrate all our birthdays, partly planned a few months ago when K was working so hard that I almost never saw him! A little family together time, minus our teenager.

We decided to take Monday off instead of Friday, so on Sat we went to the Girl's soccer game, then off to Vegas. I was collecting money for the team, and joked with the Coach that I was taking the cash to Vegas to try to double it!

It was somewhat overcast, but we had a nice drive out there. There were some pretty pink trees flowering (apple or cherry blossoms?). It's strange how a desert can still be so pretty.

We stopped in Victorville, as we always like to stop at Long John Silver's. It's like a family tradition. Last time we tried to stop there, it looked like it had burned down! We tried again this time, thinking that maybe they'd rebuilt it. Nope. Now it's a very nice Starbucks. Next door, Taco Bell was having major construction. Did they let this stop them from selling at the drive-thru window? No, they did not! The building looked very bad, but the food tasted much the same as always.

We decided to stay at Excalibur. This was The Girl's choice, but also it had a heated pool (we checked.) They didn't have any view rooms available (extra charge? No way!), but they said it was a nice room. We found it completely remodeled - granite countertops in the room and bathroom, and a big-screen TV! Yay vacation!

We headed Downtown that first night, for a cheap buffet (Lucky 777) and the ABC Store (the Girl loves it!) We enjoyed the light show and I even liked the food this time. A nearby store advertised 10 postcards for $1. What a deal! So I went over and picked out around 5, but they insisted I pick out 10. I offered to pay the same price for the 5 cards, but they said no. If I wanted to buy fewer cards, they were $.25 each. Huh? Ok. Same with the 2 for $1 bottled water. So we stocked up on water and souvenirs, and headed back to the room. K wanted to drive the Strip, but I quickly became impatient with our lack of progress back to the room.

Sunday the Girl indulged her addiction to "America's Top Dance Crew" to the point where K and I actually became interested. We hit the Paris buffet again, barely making the cheaper "breakfast" price changeover at 11am, barely escaping the "brunch" astronomical pricing! But being the right time, we got mimosas and crab claws and many other wonderful treats. K was getting the Girl to taste crab, and I dipped a piece in a container of what I thought was butter, but turned out to be orange juice. Later, draining the remains of my mimosa, I was rewarded with a small piece of crab at the bottom.

Next we went shopping at Caeser's Forum, which the Girl also loves because of the huge FAO Schwartz store there. We don't usually buy that much, but we love looking at the huge stuffed animals and other cool toys (rug skateboard?) The main thing was that we did a LOT of walking and tried to walk off our huge breakfast. Then we went back to the hotel and found the pool. They had a cool coach near the pool, so I stretched out to read. It was a little cold for swimming, but I love reading by the pool.

Later, when we got hungry again, we went in search of more food. K wanted to eat at Planet Hollywood, and wanted to try the new Planet Hollywood hotel we'd seen. Surely they had a restaurant there. Well, they had restaurants, but no Planet Hollywood restaurant. They had a PF Chang's, but the wait was 45 min. We were hungry, but took the pager just in case, and went walking around. Around the corner we found a mall we'd never seen before - The Miracle Mile I think it was called.

The stores there were much more reasonable than those at the Forum, and we found a few shirts and gifts to buy. Soon we were paged, and were off to eat at PF Chang's. Another wonderful meal, the place was great, and we had a great booth seat upstairs.

Afterwards, we waddled off to the car, and went back to our room. More reading and TV and drinks in the room.

The next day we kept the room even tho we weren't spending the night. K has done this before, and likes having the room all day. We hung out at the pool and read. When it was around 5, we packed up and headed out to our last buffet before leaving Las Vegas.

It was nice to get home.

Love

2008-02-14T17:04:00.000-08:00

Love to you.