We had a wild final weekend of summer. Friday night, John, Dylan, and I went down to Carson for the professional Lacrosse semi-final playoff games - Denver vs San Francisco, and Philadelphia vs Boston. Denver and Philadelphia each won, so they played the final today (I haven't checked who won yet). We had a lot of fun! Lacrosse can be so exhilarating to watch! I had printed out a primer of the rules before we went, and I referred to it often. I had some extra tickets (since Zack and the girls opted out), but I couldn't find any last-minute takers. We had a late dinner at a Jerry's Deli in the SF Valley on the way home. Yummy!
The girls had a slumber party at their friend Kayla's house on Saturday night. I picked them up Sunday morning and scooted them to Abby's birthday party at a park in Ventura. They had quite a whirlwind weekend. We missed the CMH NICU reunion this year. Every few years, they invite all the former preemie babies for a bbq. I hope we get invited next time.
So, lunches are packed, backpacks are freshly stocked, and new clothes are all laid out. John and I are going to meet the girls and Zack at school in the morning (let them ride the bus, just to get back into the swing of things), and meet the teachers. We also have a new principal to meet. Dylan also starts school in the morning, but wouldn't dream of us showing up on the first day with him. We'll meet his teachers at back-to-school night in the near future.
Today I realized that kids are very expensive. I spent so much money on new clothes and school supplies, and I know I will have all these other expenses crop up - - PE clothes, yearbooks, pictures, PFO membership, transportation fees, etc. etc. etc. I just keep reminding myself that someday they will be taking care of me when I am old and feeble. So I can't skimp too much! Ha!
It really was a good summer. But I'm ready for the Fall now...
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
A baseball confession
The other evening, Dylan was watching some sort of "Great Moments in Dodger History" show, and of course it got to the '88 World Series against the Oakland A's - - Orel Hershisher and the great Kirk Gibson moment, and I felt myself getting emotional about it because it really is such a great story. I remembered that John and I saw it together as it happened, in my parents' living room, the year before we were married. I didn't know a darn thing about baseball then, so I tried to remember if I even realized at the time what I was seeing. I don't think I could've comprehended the magnitude of the moment because I didn't have the appreciation of the game that I have now.
But then I saw Mickey Hatcher, and I remembered how much I adored watching him play, how his complete gung-ho spirit was so infectious that even a newbie like me could appreciate his obvious love of the game. So maybe I did get caught up in the moment.
Thank you, Johnny, for giving me baseball. I know we don't watch it as much as we should, and I miss those "gawd, I love THIS GAME" nail-biting moments. So maybe you should take me out to a ballgame...and buy me some peanuts and crackers, Jack! ;)
But then I saw Mickey Hatcher, and I remembered how much I adored watching him play, how his complete gung-ho spirit was so infectious that even a newbie like me could appreciate his obvious love of the game. So maybe I did get caught up in the moment.
Thank you, Johnny, for giving me baseball. I know we don't watch it as much as we should, and I miss those "gawd, I love THIS GAME" nail-biting moments. So maybe you should take me out to a ballgame...and buy me some peanuts and crackers, Jack! ;)
Monday, August 21, 2006
"I don't wanna work, I just wanna bang on the drum all day!"
Yech, back to work after a full week off. Plus, I have a class at VC starting tonight (Geography Info Systems - - i.e. mapping) which will be useful at work to map out all my collection systems (sewer lines). I miss John and the kids already. I thought school was supposed to start today for the younger ones, but for some reason I had my dates all messed up. So I have a full week to buy school clothes. You know, I never enjoyed that task as a child, and I still don't. I hate Back-to-School shopping! Actually, I'm not much of a shopper at all, I just hate wandering around looking at stuff. I like to know what I want, run in, and just buy it and leave. Which makes my whole "mystery shopping" hobby kind of ironic. For the record, mystery shopping is really about observing and reporting, rather than shopping. That's why I am so good at it, I don't get distracted by the shopping.
I hated to return the big van on Saturday. While the gas mileage sucked, it was a roomy and easy to drive! For my next road trip, I am mulling over the idea of driving to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore, then heading back through Montana and passing through the Grand Tetons. I'm pretty sure that will take more than a week, though.
We came home and our addition is nearly completed! The paint looks marvelous. The funny thing is, I originally intended to do one of those faux finishes, and glaze over the base coat with a color wash. So I never really saw the color of the base coat, I just chose it because it is what the card said to get. But now that I see it on the wall, it is so pretty, I am afraid to mess with it. Plus, with the soffet we have running around, and the angles over the fireplace, I'm not sure how I could do the colorwash without making it look disjointed. So I am keeping it just the way it is. The color is called Yellowstone, but it looks like dark honey. My neighbor says it looks like my tube of Burt's Bees lip balm, I think it kind of looks like an "Inter-Department Mail" envelope, like a golden manila. So now I have to really think about the dining room and kitchen colors, since the floorplan is so very open now, you can see all three rooms at once and I don't want them to clash (too much). the tile is being laid tomorrow, and the fireplace was mostly done this weekend. John met Justin at Lowe's today to pick up the final touches, like the baseboarding, the counter material, and lights.
Okay, enough gabbing, I have to wrap up some stuff here to stay on schedule. I am seriously considering sneaking a day off later this week to camp at the beach with the kids, one last hurrah before school starts. The motorhome looks so sad without a place to go...
~Lisa
I hated to return the big van on Saturday. While the gas mileage sucked, it was a roomy and easy to drive! For my next road trip, I am mulling over the idea of driving to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore, then heading back through Montana and passing through the Grand Tetons. I'm pretty sure that will take more than a week, though.
We came home and our addition is nearly completed! The paint looks marvelous. The funny thing is, I originally intended to do one of those faux finishes, and glaze over the base coat with a color wash. So I never really saw the color of the base coat, I just chose it because it is what the card said to get. But now that I see it on the wall, it is so pretty, I am afraid to mess with it. Plus, with the soffet we have running around, and the angles over the fireplace, I'm not sure how I could do the colorwash without making it look disjointed. So I am keeping it just the way it is. The color is called Yellowstone, but it looks like dark honey. My neighbor says it looks like my tube of Burt's Bees lip balm, I think it kind of looks like an "Inter-Department Mail" envelope, like a golden manila. So now I have to really think about the dining room and kitchen colors, since the floorplan is so very open now, you can see all three rooms at once and I don't want them to clash (too much). the tile is being laid tomorrow, and the fireplace was mostly done this weekend. John met Justin at Lowe's today to pick up the final touches, like the baseboarding, the counter material, and lights.
Okay, enough gabbing, I have to wrap up some stuff here to stay on schedule. I am seriously considering sneaking a day off later this week to camp at the beach with the kids, one last hurrah before school starts. The motorhome looks so sad without a place to go...
~Lisa
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Update from Arizona
Hello! We are still in Arizona having the most incredible time! I have logged over 1100 miles on the van so far, and the kids have not complained at all! No "are we there yet?" or "how much longer?" whining! It is unbelievable how well these kids travel!
I had a pretty thorough itinerary, but we have managed to mangle it up a bit. We drove over to Williams AZ on Saturday. We got a later start than we had planned, but with 10 people traveling together, that is to be expected. I just stressed the importance of flexibility under these conditions, so nobody seemed to get bent about it. I chose to stay in Williams versus Flagstaff for one main reason - - the trains! Williams is about 40 minutes west of Flagstaff. You can get a "cheap" motel and not have to hear a train every twenty minutes, like in Flagstaff. We drove into Flagstaff for breakfast, then we drove south through the center of Arizona via the scenic highway that takes you through Sedona. We detoured to a river area called Slide Rock park, or something like that. I let the kids get wet because I don't think there's anything as fun as swimming in a river. We drove through Sedona but didn't stop until we went to a pottery/gift shop just on the outskirts. It was huge. Viv chose a wooden snake, and Ivy fell in love with a dream catcher. We made it all the way to Tucson, passing several electrical storms in the Phoenix area. The weather has been great. Some rain and thunder, but not nearly as hot as we had anticipated. Very comfortable. Our hotel in Tucson was great. It was a Best Western Inn Suites, so the rooms were large, and the amenities were very nice. The kids loved the pool and we loved the free breakfast! $110 for two nights was a great deal! I would definitely stay there again the next time we come this way. Oh, funny thing - - I recognized one of my city council members (the vice mayor), and he's my new best friend. Just kidding! But he sure was very chatty!
The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum was much better than I expected. I thought we could do it in two hours, but we ended up spending a good five hours there. The javelinas were so adorable. They had a hummingbird aviary, and the hummingbirds would fly right in front of your face and buzz all around you, so close you could feel the little breeze from their wings. It was so neat! We also saw a venomous reptile demonstration, with a live gila monster, a live rattlesnake, and a live western diamondback. So you can tell there was something for all of us! John wants to plant ocatillo in our yard.
We are in Sierra Vista now. We went to Kartchner Caverns today and I will tell everybody I know that they must see this place at least once in their lifetime. It was so beautiful, I nearly cried. I can't even describe it. Just trust me. Go!
Tomorrow, I plan on going to Bisbee and taking a mine tour. Then, Tombstone. We will start towards home on Thursday afternoon, spend the night somewhere off the I-10, and get home Friday evening. I can't wait to upload pictures. This has been a wonderful vacation so far. The only difficult part was putting my mom on a Greyhound bus in Tucson so she could get home in time for my cousin Yvonnne's memorial services. The services were moved up a day sooner than we had originally been told, so we had to scramble to get her out. I never realized how unreliable our bus transit it in the USA! Scotland has a very efficient bus system (we learned last year), but Greyhound sucks. They were so late, my mom ended up missing the services. So we miss her because she is home. But Pepito is very happy.
Okay, I'd better get to bed now. Big day tomorrow.
Hugs, y'all!
~Lisa
I had a pretty thorough itinerary, but we have managed to mangle it up a bit. We drove over to Williams AZ on Saturday. We got a later start than we had planned, but with 10 people traveling together, that is to be expected. I just stressed the importance of flexibility under these conditions, so nobody seemed to get bent about it. I chose to stay in Williams versus Flagstaff for one main reason - - the trains! Williams is about 40 minutes west of Flagstaff. You can get a "cheap" motel and not have to hear a train every twenty minutes, like in Flagstaff. We drove into Flagstaff for breakfast, then we drove south through the center of Arizona via the scenic highway that takes you through Sedona. We detoured to a river area called Slide Rock park, or something like that. I let the kids get wet because I don't think there's anything as fun as swimming in a river. We drove through Sedona but didn't stop until we went to a pottery/gift shop just on the outskirts. It was huge. Viv chose a wooden snake, and Ivy fell in love with a dream catcher. We made it all the way to Tucson, passing several electrical storms in the Phoenix area. The weather has been great. Some rain and thunder, but not nearly as hot as we had anticipated. Very comfortable. Our hotel in Tucson was great. It was a Best Western Inn Suites, so the rooms were large, and the amenities were very nice. The kids loved the pool and we loved the free breakfast! $110 for two nights was a great deal! I would definitely stay there again the next time we come this way. Oh, funny thing - - I recognized one of my city council members (the vice mayor), and he's my new best friend. Just kidding! But he sure was very chatty!
The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum was much better than I expected. I thought we could do it in two hours, but we ended up spending a good five hours there. The javelinas were so adorable. They had a hummingbird aviary, and the hummingbirds would fly right in front of your face and buzz all around you, so close you could feel the little breeze from their wings. It was so neat! We also saw a venomous reptile demonstration, with a live gila monster, a live rattlesnake, and a live western diamondback. So you can tell there was something for all of us! John wants to plant ocatillo in our yard.
We are in Sierra Vista now. We went to Kartchner Caverns today and I will tell everybody I know that they must see this place at least once in their lifetime. It was so beautiful, I nearly cried. I can't even describe it. Just trust me. Go!
Tomorrow, I plan on going to Bisbee and taking a mine tour. Then, Tombstone. We will start towards home on Thursday afternoon, spend the night somewhere off the I-10, and get home Friday evening. I can't wait to upload pictures. This has been a wonderful vacation so far. The only difficult part was putting my mom on a Greyhound bus in Tucson so she could get home in time for my cousin Yvonnne's memorial services. The services were moved up a day sooner than we had originally been told, so we had to scramble to get her out. I never realized how unreliable our bus transit it in the USA! Scotland has a very efficient bus system (we learned last year), but Greyhound sucks. They were so late, my mom ended up missing the services. So we miss her because she is home. But Pepito is very happy.
Okay, I'd better get to bed now. Big day tomorrow.
Hugs, y'all!
~Lisa
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Too long, too late, too young
I went to the viewing/rosary services for Uncle Dickie tonight and saw so many of my cousins from my mom's side of the family. I don't see them very often. It was nice.
I was feeling really optimistic about my cousin Yvonne because I knew she had made it through the night, and they had been able to clear her lungs. I had heard that she was talking, and she insisted that she had no pain at all, so it sounded very encouraging. But the pneumonia kept wearing away at her fragile lungs. After I got home from the mortuary, my mom called to tell me Yvonne had just passed. This gal comes from a long line of strong women. She was quite the scrapper who never backed away from a good fight. We believe it was her strength and stubbornness that kept her around this long. I didn't want to give her the impression that I didn't think she was going to beat this. I didn't want to believe she would actually die. I thought it was better to keep things as "normal" as possible and not fawn all over her just because she was sick.
She would've been 41 in September.
I was feeling really optimistic about my cousin Yvonne because I knew she had made it through the night, and they had been able to clear her lungs. I had heard that she was talking, and she insisted that she had no pain at all, so it sounded very encouraging. But the pneumonia kept wearing away at her fragile lungs. After I got home from the mortuary, my mom called to tell me Yvonne had just passed. This gal comes from a long line of strong women. She was quite the scrapper who never backed away from a good fight. We believe it was her strength and stubbornness that kept her around this long. I didn't want to give her the impression that I didn't think she was going to beat this. I didn't want to believe she would actually die. I thought it was better to keep things as "normal" as possible and not fawn all over her just because she was sick.
She would've been 41 in September.
I just need to release some inner turmoil
I'm having one of those evenings, and I know I'm not going to be able to sleep a wink tonight if I don't just spill it all out right here. The 'blog is therapeutic, ya?
My mom's uncle passed last Friday. The wake is tomorrow evening, and the funeral is Friday morning. My grandmother is now in town (which means we are at level orange). Tonight we found out that my cousin, who is just a year older than I am, will probably not live through the night. She's been battling leukemia for about a year and a half. It had gone into remission (with some bone marrow from her sister), but then they discovered she had brain cancer. This was only two weeks ago, so I am kind of shocked at how quickly it has come to this. I guess I am just shocked by the whole situation. Here we are gathering for a funeral, and we have another one so soon. My cousin and I were quite close as children, but not so close past the age of 6. Nothing to do with animosity, just different life paths in general. She has a son in his early twenties, and a daughter who is probably 8 or 9. I feel so bad for her husband, her mother, her children.
It feels so extremely WRONG to verbalize the following: this is a hectic work week for me; I am wrapping up my month-end, and working the bugs out of my new budgets, and I'm leaving for week-long vacation Saturday. I still have activity reports to wrap up, vacation details to finalize, packing for the trip and getting the pets settled in their temporary digs, a theater board meeting tomorrow evening (and I need to squeeze out a financial report before then), and one more mystery shop to complete. Oh, I almost forgot, I also need to set up the theater box office procedures for the gal who is covering for me....
See, I told you it was wrong. It sounds so utterly shallow to be worrying about such things at a time like this. Initially, I was not conflicted. I figured I'd send flowers if her funeral was scheduled during our vacation. But I could tell that my mom is conflicted. And that got me to thinking. What kind of example am I setting for my kids if we continue with our vacation plans? I asked Dylan that question, and he wasn't sure what I meant. His view was that we weren't really close, so it wasn't mandatory. I told him I agreed on that level, since I really couldn't tell you much about her, her favorite things, her job, her hobbies. But what about my aunt? She does see my parents on a fairly regular basis - - I guess my mom talks to her (former sister-in-law) a few times a year - - I think I would feel guilty every time I saw her from now on, if I didn't attend the funeral. But do people really focus in on that? When you're surrounded by family, do you notice who is not at a funeral? And now, when I ask a question like that, I realize I am just rationalizing and grasping for selfish, self-serving excuses.
So I will have a heart-to-heart talk with my mom tomorrow. And I will be totally open to my familial responsibilities. Funerals are, after all, for the living.
Thanks for listening. I was going to try to get some work done in the wee hours, but now I think I can just get some sleep and hit the work hard in the morning.
~Lisa
My mom's uncle passed last Friday. The wake is tomorrow evening, and the funeral is Friday morning. My grandmother is now in town (which means we are at level orange). Tonight we found out that my cousin, who is just a year older than I am, will probably not live through the night. She's been battling leukemia for about a year and a half. It had gone into remission (with some bone marrow from her sister), but then they discovered she had brain cancer. This was only two weeks ago, so I am kind of shocked at how quickly it has come to this. I guess I am just shocked by the whole situation. Here we are gathering for a funeral, and we have another one so soon. My cousin and I were quite close as children, but not so close past the age of 6. Nothing to do with animosity, just different life paths in general. She has a son in his early twenties, and a daughter who is probably 8 or 9. I feel so bad for her husband, her mother, her children.
It feels so extremely WRONG to verbalize the following: this is a hectic work week for me; I am wrapping up my month-end, and working the bugs out of my new budgets, and I'm leaving for week-long vacation Saturday. I still have activity reports to wrap up, vacation details to finalize, packing for the trip and getting the pets settled in their temporary digs, a theater board meeting tomorrow evening (and I need to squeeze out a financial report before then), and one more mystery shop to complete. Oh, I almost forgot, I also need to set up the theater box office procedures for the gal who is covering for me....
See, I told you it was wrong. It sounds so utterly shallow to be worrying about such things at a time like this. Initially, I was not conflicted. I figured I'd send flowers if her funeral was scheduled during our vacation. But I could tell that my mom is conflicted. And that got me to thinking. What kind of example am I setting for my kids if we continue with our vacation plans? I asked Dylan that question, and he wasn't sure what I meant. His view was that we weren't really close, so it wasn't mandatory. I told him I agreed on that level, since I really couldn't tell you much about her, her favorite things, her job, her hobbies. But what about my aunt? She does see my parents on a fairly regular basis - - I guess my mom talks to her (former sister-in-law) a few times a year - - I think I would feel guilty every time I saw her from now on, if I didn't attend the funeral. But do people really focus in on that? When you're surrounded by family, do you notice who is not at a funeral? And now, when I ask a question like that, I realize I am just rationalizing and grasping for selfish, self-serving excuses.
So I will have a heart-to-heart talk with my mom tomorrow. And I will be totally open to my familial responsibilities. Funerals are, after all, for the living.
Thanks for listening. I was going to try to get some work done in the wee hours, but now I think I can just get some sleep and hit the work hard in the morning.
~Lisa
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Wowza weekend at the X Games
We had an excellent extreme weekend! Great seats, great games, great accommodations. I highly recommend the Quality Inn & Suites in Hermosa Beach...especially since I got two $120 rooms for just $16.66 each. I thought it was an Orbitz error, but it was the hotel manager's error. The gals at check-in told me I was "verrrrry lucky!". We had free breakfast, too!
We got a lot of sun, but it wasn't unbearable. A bit expensive to park, and eat, but still a highly entertaining excursion. This was the first time for my dad, Ellie, and Jesus, but I think they really enjoyed it. Dylan and I had a fantastic time, although he wouldn't admit it until just before he went to bed tonight. Thank you to John for giving up an overtime shift on Sunday to stay home with the other three kids so Dylan and I could play!
Oh, I saw Brian Deegan without his shirt - - he is cut! And Travis Pastrana is always worth the price of admission. Here are some pics - - you can click on them to make them bigger:
We got a lot of sun, but it wasn't unbearable. A bit expensive to park, and eat, but still a highly entertaining excursion. This was the first time for my dad, Ellie, and Jesus, but I think they really enjoyed it. Dylan and I had a fantastic time, although he wouldn't admit it until just before he went to bed tonight. Thank you to John for giving up an overtime shift on Sunday to stay home with the other three kids so Dylan and I could play!
Oh, I saw Brian Deegan without his shirt - - he is cut! And Travis Pastrana is always worth the price of admission. Here are some pics - - you can click on them to make them bigger:
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