Connie's Corner

Quick Trip to Ohio

2012-01-31T10:17:00.000-08:00

I flew to Ohio for five days (two of them travel days) to be with my mom for her 70th birthday. It was a lot of fun. Ate all the food we don't have out here like shredded chicken sandwiches, filled doughnut sticks, Cracker Barrel, Bob Evans... We also ate at The Cheesecake Factory for her birthday dinner. Yeah, my Weight Watcher points went out the window, but I'm back on track now.

It was COLD -- but not too much below freezing at least. School was delayed one day and cancelled the other school day, probably due to ice. Was glad to get back to the 70 and 80 degree weather we've been having here.

I went five days without a Starbucks... must be some kinda record. The nearest Starbucks to my mom is about 30 miles away I think. When I spied this sign in the Houston airport, it was like a light shone down from heaven once again.

Signed Ally up for college dorm room at GCU today. Can't believe she will be there in the fall! Nooooooo!

We are planning to meet up with my relatives in Phoenix in March for baseball spring training. I'm getting ready to buy tickets for four games including the Indians, Cubs, White Sox, and Padres. Fun!

I Fall to Pieces...

2012-01-09T16:10:00.000-08:00

New Year, New Problems. We have been dealing with heater and car issues for the last couple weeks. The engine and traction lights in my car have been on, even after supposedly being fixed by replacing all the sparkplugs. Of course, we have tried to take it back in to the auto repair shop, but the lights went off right before we were to take it in. They are back on now, so we will try again in the morning. On top of all that, I was feeling really ill on Friday, so when I went to start the car to go home and the warning lights were back on, I lost it. I drove to Walgreens and drowned my sorrows in a bottle of Peptobismol. Musta worked -- I felt fine the next day!

We did enjoy the holidays with friends visiting for a few of the days. Saw Lamb's Players perform, got massages, rode around in a limo... very fun. Ally and I played games half the night on New Year's and we got our favorite Deli Club Sub from Antonelli's!

We have been having a heat wave... it's been in the 80's for a couple weeks. Hope it's no indication that it's going to be 150 degrees out this summer.

It does get cool at nights though... the cats were finding ways to keep warm at night while our heater was out.

This is what I found staring up at me one night when putting groceries in the car. Amy graduates from cosmetology school in February. Don't know what will happen to "Rhonda" then!

Chris and I celebrated 27 years together on December 30. We ate our annual steak dinner at Ruth's Chris!

Sooo goooood!

Holiday Delights

2011-12-21T12:03:00.000-08:00

Two of my fave things... my girls and making chocolates!

Amy and Ally took a short trip and took some photos... I took a few off the computer for myself.

I've been baking and making up a storm the last week. I made at least 30 boxes of chocolates and I still have a little more to go... I told Ally that I have a sickness in that I can't stop making food. She said she has a sickness in that she can't stop eating food. Ha!

Our Christmas shopping is pretty much done except for the stocking stuffers. Ally is off school for two weeks, and I am off work for all of next week. I am so looking forward to being off work, but not traveling. My BFF is coming in to town for a two days and we already have plans for massages, a limo ride, and attending Lamb's Players. Can't wait!

Merry iMas

2011-12-07T12:46:00.000-08:00

We were horsing around while taking some photos for our annual Christmas letter...

Out of 30 photos, we came up with about 7 that we liked.

Our Christmas decorations are up and gift lists are being prepared. I am really looking forward to having a week off with no plans. Ally and I are in a skit on Christmas Eve at the church. We are having a full blown Christmas Eve service and then a scaled back one on Christmas Day. Since Christmas falls on a Sunday, I imagine many people have plans that don't include church. Sad, since it is CHRIST'S BIRTHDAY! Maybe the kids will actually get up to open presents before noon since they know we will have church. HA!

It's been C-O-L-D -- well, cold for here anyway. Chris got the frost off the car today and warmed it up for me today. Hooray! I can't complain since he's outside at the border all night, and he said it was 36 degrees the other night! I would just sit in the truck all night with the heater on and yell threats out my window to people trying to sneak across the border.

We are going to Del Mar today to the movies at the luxury cinema where they have recliners for seats and call buttons for service. Fun!

T-Day in Sedona

2011-11-30T14:46:00.000-08:00

We drove to Sedona to spend Thanksgiving with friends. We truly have much to be thankful for! Had a great time -- here is a photo of Chris (and his friend, Steve) on a hike. I am not a hiker, and that's definitely not my idea of a vacation.

Here we are at some shops in Sedona.

We stopped and watched six javelinas in a driveway at night. I spotted them lurking about. No one else saw any during our trip, even though we hunted for them!

Chris got an award for his four years working with Customs and the helicopter detail. Sorry to see that fun job end, but we got some gift certificates for a restaurant and the movies!

I saw the surgeon and now I have to force The Claw to move for the next six weeks or I will be sent to physical therapy, and we all know they make you howl. So I am trying to be diligent to get the movement back in my finger. I can type now, although the M and the N are a little difficult because my finger does not want to bend.

Goodbye November and hello Christmas season! This weekend we plan to put up our decorations.

Knott's Berry Farm

2011-11-11T16:50:00.000-08:00

We had a couple more passes to Knott's to use up by the end of this month, so I took a day off work and Chris and I went by ourselves. Turned out that Veteran's get in free this month, so we didn't even use the passes. We rode some rollercoasters, ate Mrs. Knott's famous fried chicken, and had a lot of fun. I drove back in a ton of traffic... people getting ready for the three day weekend I guess. We gave the passes to a friend who has never been there.

I screamed the entire time on this -- The X-celerator. Seventeen seconds of sheer panic.

The Boomerang... goes frontwards and backwards.

These swings were a lot of fun... 300 feet in the air!

Lots to get done for our trip to Arizona next weekend. Tonight I'm making a practice scallop corn casserole. It's supposed to rain again this weekend. Hope all the rain comes down before we travel.

I never get tired of looking at these -- this was taken at Knott's Berry Farm, also.

Boo to You!

2011-10-31T10:23:00.000-07:00

Had a quiet Halloween -- this is me on the step scaring people. The Charger game was on, and I was listening to it in the background. It was very scary! We lost in overtime. So many mistakes in that game... even the cats can't watch, they prefer to check out the treaters. We had about 80 treaters and gave out our usual full size candy bars -- Hershey's, Resees, and Kit-Kats. Yum!

Ally was a three hole punch. I don't know where she gets her crazy from!

Amy got her license back. She hasn't driven in six months. Finally she can drive herself to school and meetings. Which means less running around for me. Yes!

Here's the senior page I made for Ally to go in her yearbook. The parents of seniors can submit one (for a fee, of course!). Wow, she will graduate in about seven months.

Long Live The Claw!

2011-10-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

Finally got the pin out of my finger. It hurt when they pulled it out, contrary to what others had been telling me! I can barely bend the finger at all, and it is shriveled and useless. I go back in four weeks to see how much of a droop it will have and see how the movement is coming.

No wonder it hurt!

I took The Claw and rebandaged it... thinking about making a tree ornament out of it.

The surgeon said I can play volleyball right away as long as I splint it. I was so happy at first, but now I am thinking how in the world can I hit a ball with that finger. I am thinking I will stick to serves and bumps for awhile. I am grateful to finally have it off -- I can get it wet starting tomorrow and hopefully my little movement exercises will start helping. That finger still stands straight up while typing and driving! Good thing it's the pointer finger!

Got the Odyssey back with a new transmission. So nice, I can't even hear or feel the car shifting gears. Also got the Civic back from repairs from when the girls got backed into. I'm sick of dealing with cars and doctors...

We are in full swing with college paperwork and scholarship applications for Ally. Such an ordeal -- and all of this is just for one college.

Ally and I are off to get massages today -- using my Massage Envy membership. Mine is "free" (with monthly dues), and additional ones are $50. Just don't touch the claw finger!

'Lopes Up!

2011-10-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

We drove to Phoenix last week to visit Grand Canyon University where Ally is planning on getting her nursing education for nurse practitioner. It is a small, Christian college near downtown Phoenix. Ally spent one night in the dorms. We made fun of their mascot which is an antelope. The mascot is named Thunder, and you give the 'Lopes Up sign to show your spirit (see photo)...

We lost third gear coming back into San Diego. Didn't know what was going on at the time, but barely made made it over the mountains. The van is getting a new transmission... $3,400 -- the most we have ever paid for a car repair. However, I will say we have had the van for almost six years and never had to repair anything, besides the normal wear and tear. And it was two years old when we got it. Since it's a Honda, our mechanic says we should get at least another two hundred thousand miles on the engine. And well, I don't want any car payments, so we did it.

I had problems downloading the new operating system from Apple onto my iPad, so I was without it for two days. I almost died of withdrawal. Got it working again yesterday and almost took it to bed with me, I was so happy to have it working again.

The pin is coming out of the claw in seven days! It will have been six weeks, and I can't wait!

I need to get out my fall decorations... lagging behind -- as I seem to be doing in all areas of my life right now.

The Claw

2011-09-26T13:56:00.000-07:00

Well, my volleyball induced injury did not heal, so I had to have surgery to place a wire pin into my finger for five to six weeks. That is what I blame my lack of blog updates on. Kinda hard to type, but getting used to it now. The bone did not move back into place, so it is being forced back into place now. Hopefully the pin will help reduce the droop at the end of my finger as well. I wasn't totally under -- just a local and a sedative -- when the pin was put it, but I don't remember the surgery and, other than puking up the pain meds and having to switch to another, it hasn't been too bad. I still ice it every day, but I've only taken one pain pill in the last week. Ally came with me to have the bandage changed... I was surprised how big the pin was... EW! We call it "The Claw," and his life in photos has been being posted to Facebook.

Ally's summer lifeguard job at Knott's Soak City has ended. She is so glad, but I know she's going to miss that paycheck! Chris's job with the helicopter detail is ending at the end of this month. There are lots of areas he can get involved in with Homeland Security... ATV's, boats, even horses! Amy's "unfortunate incident" has been reduced to a Wet Reckless which means less fines, no jail time, no community service, and a three month class instead of nine. Something happened with the toxology report, and the toxologist was sick, so they offered her a deal. Her public defender said he had never seen this before, so we snatched it up.

Summer is over -- I am ready for some cooler weather!

Mr. D (but not Mrs.)

2011-08-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

I came to work in the office of Mr. D's almost five years ago. I was loving staying at home, but not loving the lack of extra cash! So I made a couple phone calls to friends I knew owned their own businesses and ended up running the office at Mr. D's. My friend Don owns this small business which does painting and general contracting. There are so many perks to working here. Just to list a few... Don is Christian, the office is ten minutes from my house, no traffic, work part time, wear jeans to work, so flexible (just make up the hours whenever I need time off), good pay, I am on my own a good part of each week, and the list goes on.

I do get asked about once a week if I am Mrs. D to which I answer emphatically, NO!
(I am Mrs. C people! Get with the program.)
Okay, I don't say the last part, but I think it.

We do some painting at Knott's Soak City here in San Diego, and every year we have our company picnic there for employees and their families. We had a about 80 attend this year. It's "free" food and fun for the families. Our kid's each bring a couple friends for free, too. It was about 100 degrees Saturday, but we didn't notice!

Good Sports, Bad Sports

2011-08-22T15:18:00.000-07:00

The bad sports news is that I broke another finger playing volleyball and am out for two months. Boo! I broke a piece off the top of my first knuckle of the pointer finger on my right hand. Splinted for now, but the finger end will probably droop a little forever.

The good sports news is that Chris and I went to see the Padres play the Mets. We had great seats, six rows behind the Mets dugout. The Padres lost -- it was a good game though! The game even went to extra innings. So weird -- we don't go to ball games that often, but when we do it seems like 90 percent of the time they go to extra innings.

The dreaded foam finger! We love them, Chris hates them. But I got on the big screen with them!

I actually took apart our dryer and put on a new upper felt seal, because clothes were getting caught due to a worn out seal. If you know us, you know we can rarely fix anything ourselves. Thanks to the internet -- ALL is possible! Here's a photo of my work drying -- see my professional clamps... ha ha! I probably saved $70 in labor costs.

Last week I had to take a trip to Coronado for work for just an afternoon... but what a view from the condo we were working in! Love Coronado:)

Kitty, Kitty!

2011-08-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

I love my kitties. People probably get tired of me posting pics of my cats on Facebook, but I swear I'm not a lonely cat lady.

We have two cats and they are about 12 years old. We got them from my friend, Lory, when her cat had a litter. They are brothers. Tigger is the striped tabby, and Cuddles is the gray one.

Cuddles is a fairly ordinary cat, no offense to Cuddles. He is a boy, but is so skinny, light on his feet, and always defers to Tigger. We have joked that he is gay. Once in awhile, when he's had enough, he will start a fight with Tigger, but most of the time he's mellow. He will also find bubble wrap and carry it out to the living room if there is any to be found.

But for the most part, Tigger is the one with all the personality. Our girls were young when we got the cats. The cats have no fear of people, because they have been played with, dressed up, pushed in strollers -- you name it -- since they were kittens. Tigger will still ride around in a laundry basket while being pushed around the floor. He will lay in Chris's arms, on his back, and let his tummy be rubbed. Tigger goes "hunting" everyday. He goes upstairs and brings down socks, pants, any clothing he can carry or drag, and leaves it as a gift on the floor downstairs. He especially does this if someone leaves the house. When Chris goes to work, Tigger has been known to go upstairs and bring down up to 15 pieces of clothing, one at a time. Clean laundry, dirty laundry -- it doesn't matter -- and Amy always has clothes all over her floor, so he has a constant supply. And he meows while bringing stuff down -- which sounds quite weird with a mouth full of clothes.

It's all nice and cute, unless we walk in the empty house with someone and there are dirty undies on the floor. Yes, he can open our sliding closet doors to get to the laundry. He has also been known to unzip my gym bag and get out my gym clothes and towels if he is desperate.

I also just found out he likes to eat ice cubes. He sleeps with his face in any stinky shoes that are lying about. He weighs about five pounds more than Cuddles, and He is so cute, I just keep taking pics! I took these this week.

Tigger on a hunting spree...

Cat fight... (this is only the middle part of the fight)

The Good Life

2011-07-18T14:37:00.000-07:00

Just hangin' out this summer -- commitments are down and relaxation is up... I think this photo of my kitties from the weekend just about says it all.

Not much happening... Chris continues to fly, Ally continues to guard life, Amy continues to learn about hair, I continue to manage.

A photographer came to Amy's cosmetology school and took some pics.

Supposed to be hot and humid this week, I will just continue to sip my fraps and stay in the A/C. We don't know what our vacation will be this year. Was thinking about a trip up north to Idaho and various places on the way back down, but with Ally working we might postpone vacation until the fall. Would love to see Ohio's leaves in the fall, but Ally wants to go there for snow. We might give it all up and do a staycation -- can you tell I'm unmotivated?

He's a What? He's a What?

2011-07-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

He's a Music Man! Love this musical and last week Frank and Thel visited from Sedona, and we saw Lamb's Players Theater put on their production of The Music Man. Brought back so many memories from when we put it on in high school. I was an usher for the play in high school, so I probably saw it 15 or more times, so I know all the songs.

We had a great time shopping, goofing off, eating, going to the movies... some places we only eat at when they are in town for some reason. One is City Deli -- a great Jewish deli up in Hillcrest, which is an interesting area of town to say the least. They have "erotic desserts" listed on their menu, but I'm too scared to ask. And vibrant? Definitely!

We also ate at our favorite Coronado restaurant, Peohe's. Not easy on the budget -- we usually try to go there for lunch. This time we ate later in the day -- $26.00 for ravioli? Okay, it was lobster ravioli and it was delish -- but still.

I made these chocolates, and we ate them all up at the table at Peohe's (there were eight of us).

Turleys Everywhere

2011-06-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

When Ally was little she called turtles, turleys. We have called them turleys ever since...

Turley Reef opened at Sea World recently. Ally had to work, Amy had school, and Chris was sleeping, so I went to Sea World by myself. Yeah, that's right -- got to go and see whatever I wanted to see -- nice! It was a member's only preview. Not too crowded and had a lot of fun. The exhibit is where the manatees were on exhibit long ago. Honestly, I expected more after all the hype. I thought it would be like the shark exhibit where you walk through and they swim over your head and so forth. It was pretty much just a big aquarium and a ride. I think there is also some interactive stuff for the kids, but I didn't check that out. The turtles were cool to look that though... here's some pics.

Much more exciting is this fabulous Italian place that just opened in Santee. Have eaten there twice, and also met the owner. This is the first one to open in San Diego... originally from back east, they have some in Los Angeles area, too. The pasta is great! The salad was delish -- mine had endive, raspberry vinaigrette, walnuts, goat cheese, and pears. And the garlic bread was to die for... the only down side is everything is a la carte... but Chris and I shared everything, so it's all good. Then we took Ally back later, and she loved it, too. Planning on taking some out of town friends there this weekend as well.

Looking forward to a new Beth Moore series in the fall. I will be leading this one on Sunday mornings. Can't wait!

Race to the Fair

2011-06-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

That's the theme for this year's San Diego County Fair. All four of us were able to go at the same time this year. I could have used a little more time to see exhibits and animals... but we ate (my favorite, Australian Battered Potatoes), rode rides, shopped, and had a great time.

Chris was "angry"...

Ally was "angry" ...

The kids were "high" ... (I did NOT go on this)

and I was very calm throughout the entire time... (Ally's hair was not).

Big Bear!

2011-06-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

Chris surprised me and took me away for a few days to Big Bear, which is a mountain, a lake, a resort, AND a town about three hours north of us. We had a cabin with a jacuzzi in it. Very nice! That's the first time in 27 years I haven't known where I was going. It's very hard to surprise me... so I helped a little by not looking in the bank account and not looking at the driving directions someone left printed out! It was a lot of fun. Chris wanted to go horseback riding, so we did. My idea of a getaway is a five star hotel with room service, a massage, eating out, shopping... yeah, I'm spoiled. Chris's idea is staying in a cabin, in the mountains, riding horses, and so on. I still had a lot of fun, and it was great to get away from all the stress for a few days.

Ally got hired as a lifeguard at Knott's Soak City for the summer. No one tried harder than her to pass the requirements. She had to take the weekend class (20 hours!) two times (she passed the second time). The first time she didn't pass, she was told she was a bit timid and seemed flustered at times. We told her to speak up and act like she knew what she was doing. There were written tests, CPR, and all kinds of rescue tests, etc. Of course, she passed the written tests with flying colors... third in the class. She was glad to finally make it through. There were 60 people in her first class and only half passed. She really wanted her first job to be as a lifeguard. No pics yet at her work... coming soon!

She got a speeding ticket on her first day going to work (Soak City is 30 miles from our house), so she can use her newfound wages to pay that ticket, which will probably be around $300 along with a day of traffic school.

Ally also received an award at school this week for a 3.75 GPA.

I finally got the van back from the body shop after 30 days! I love my Odyssey -- I didn't realize what a stress it was driving around the rental -- was glad to return it.

I got flowers delivered at work for the first time ever! I did go above and beyond for this customer, and they were glad of it. So nice to be appreciated!

Happy Mom's Day to Me -- Belated

2011-05-18T13:23:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Mother's Day a week late due to the aforementioned "unfortunate incident." And it was totally a great day. On Saturday, we ate at one of my favorite restaurants, Shogun, where they cook Japanese food at your table. I had steak and shrimp! (Photo includes our "adopted" daughter Bree.)

Then we (me plus girls) went to see the movie Water for Elephants. A good movie -- I give it an 8 out of 10. It seemed a little slow to me, however I have not read the book. One thing is for sure, Robert Pattinson is a 10 out of 10!

We then went shopping, and when we got home Amy gave me a hair trim and a pedicure. Ally knows me well -- this was my gift from her:)

Yesterday, Ally and I went to the rodeo grounds, which is very near our home, to see our friend show her pig named Skittles. Hilarious -- those pigs basically do what they want. One even charged the judge. It was fun, and made me miss the gool ol' country times before I became all citifed.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2011-05-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

What kind of blogger would I be if I only posted the good? Kinda like those Christmas letters we receive each year in which no one in the family has done anything wrong all year:)

This has been the worst week of my life. It's all relative of course, and I might have worse days in the future. My 21 year old got a DUI late on Saturday, early Sunday. This was Mother's Day. So I get woke up early, early Sunday morning and my hubby and I spent Mother's Day at the bondsman and the jail bailing her out. She, of course, is soooo sorry and is going to change her ways. Time will tell, time will tell. Next time, we leave her in jail, and she knows it.

The Good:

No one was injured.
The car turned out not to be totaled.
She kept her job after almost being suspended for not showing up (it was later made known that we had stopped by her job to inform them of the accident and that she had stopped by later that day).
At least she was 21.

The Bad:

DUI
Small amount of marijuana found in the car, which "of course" was not hers (not arrestable, but could be a charge later).
Wrecked my Honda Odyssey.
Hit a Jeep Patriot (no one was in it).
Will have a restricted license (to and from work and school only).
$320 to get my car out of impound.
$250 for bail.
iPhone stolen or lost somewhere along the way ($200 for insured replacement which is refurbished).
$500 insurance deductible (car had $5,000 in damage which I thought would total it since it's 8 years old).
Insurance rates will at least triple and she will have to be dropped from ours.
Fines from court, probably $2,000 (payments are available).
She will have to attend classes on top of her school and work (which is actually good).

The Ugly:

I am also thankful to my cop friend, sheriff friend, and insurance friend who helped guide us through what to expect and what will come. Also, I'm not as hard on myself as I once would have been. In the last 10 years, I have become much less judgmental of others than I once was. Having teenagers and friends with teenagers taught me that even when kids are raised "right" (another relative term), they utimately make their own choices. We can only pray the choices will be good ones. 'nuff said.

Tomorrow we celebrate our rescheduled Mother's Day! My kid's knew enough not to wish it to me that day.

Have Your Cake AND Eat It, Too!

2011-05-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

Cake pops seem to be all the rage these days -- Starbucks charges a $1.50 a pop (pun intended). But you can make 40 to 50 out of one box of cake mix! I have made cake pops several times and found what works best for me. My Facebook friends have been asking for details, so here they are. This link (click here) is a great one that shows how to make them on video. It's a little long, but a must see if you are serious about making cake pops. Please note that I was not able to duplicate the "wave" consistency she shows in her video while describing mixing the shortening with the chocolate, but I added the shortening anyway and it is a MUST!

Here are my tips...

You will need one box cake mix (plus the ingredients it calls for such as eggs, vegetable oil, water), one can frosting, white, milk, or dark chocolate wafer melts, Crisco vegetable shortening, wax paper, cookie sheet or similar surface, sucker sticks (paper works best instead of plastic), styrofoam (I find that florist foam works well with the plastic wrap still on). Optional: Sucker wrap bags, ribbon, and sprinkles. You can get all of these supplies (except the cake mix and frosting) at Michael's. I do not like the "waxiness" of Wilton's chocolate melt wafers, but unless you have dealt with chocolate a great deal, you will probably not notice a difference. I buy most of my products at Do It With Icing in the Kearny Mesa area of San Diego. Any chocolate or candy supply store (and possibly cake supply stores) should have Merckens or Guittard wafers (my fave).

Prepare a cake box mix according to package directions (you can make one cake, two smaller cakes, even cupcakes). This is important because to me it seems to take forever to make a full mix's worth of cake pops (unless you need a lot). So I bake the cake and only use a third to one-half of it. The rest I leave for the family to eat as a regular cake, or save it to make more pops later.

I bake my cake in foil, so it's easy to remove, cool, and I don't even need to wash the pan.

Cool completely (you can speed this up by sticking it the fridge for awhile, I usually bake the cake the day before or earlier in the day). Take however much of the cake you would like to use and crumble into a bowl. Add just enough frosting (room temp) to help it easily stick together. This is where a lot of first-timers make the mistake of adding too much frosting. My first batch I added 3/4 can of frosting to one cake as the recipe called for, and it was way too much. If I am making an entire cake, I will add a half can or even less. The best thing to do it just add a little, mix it in and repeat until you can shape the mix into balls without it coming apart. It's easiest to do this with your hands, and you are going to get your hands icky anyway when rolling it into balls. I crumble the cake with a fork, mix frosting in with a fork, and then switch to my hands to finish it off.

Roll the mix into balls and place on a small cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Do not make the balls too small or it will take forever to dip them. One inch in diameter is recommended. They will be even bigger when dipped. Place in fridge while preparing chocolate. DO NOT FREEZE THE CAKE BALLS for any length of time because the chocolate will crack when you coat them. I learned this the hard way, thinking if I only put them in for five or ten minutes it would be okay.

Melt wafers in your microwave. I use 50% power for two and half minutes. This knowledge comes from many, many days of melting chocolate. You will have to experiment if you've never melted chocolate in your microwave. The video comes in handy explaining this. If you are not experienced, I recommend melting the chocolate for one or one and half minutes, stir, melt in 20 second increments after that if it is still not melted. You need to be careful or you will scorch the chocolate. Use a bowl or cup that is not too wide so it's easier to dip into the chocolate. I use a small glass bowl and tip the bowl while twirling the cake pop to cover easily. But I am getting ahead...

The next step is essential, or it will take too long for your chocolate to set on the cake pops. Once the chocolate is melted add a little 100% vegetable shortening to the mix (again the video is great to show you this). Make sure it is the white, stiff shortening (Crisco is in a can with a blue label), as I made another mistake trying to use some shortening bars once. I would estimate for a cup of chocolate, add about one or one and a half tablespoons of shortening. Chop it with a untensil and keep stirring... it will take a little time to make sure it is fully melted and mixed in. This step thins the choclate a little, makes it easer to dip and will set faster. (One note, my pics are a red velvet cake mix and the cake was so dark that I dipped the white chocolate ones twice to cover.)

I take out five or six cake balls at a time from the fridge and coat them, so that the rest of them can stay cooling in the fridge and will hold their shape better. This also makes them firmer and easier to work with. Take a sucker stick and dip it one-fourth inch into the choclate, then push into the cake ball. Place on a paper plate or cookie sheet with wax paper with the sucker stick pointing up. This sets the stick into the cake ball.

After completing this step on the balls you have taken out of the fridge, reshape them a little if necessary, and roll them into the chocolate to coat them. You can use a spoon or knife to help in this area like in the video, but I find it easier just to tip the small bowl and roll on!

If you want to sprinkle something on top, hold the still wet ball over a paper plate and shake on sprinkles. You can also put chocolate or chocolate writing designs on them later, depending on how fancy you want to get.

Stick completed balls into the styrofoam and let them set for at least twenty minutes. I like to put sucker wrapper bags on mine and tie them off with ribbon for a finishing touch. No need to refrigerate after this point.

I have tried these with success...

Strawberry cake, strawberry icing, white chocolate. (A little too rich for me.)
Lemon cake, cream cheese frosting, white and milk chocolate.
Chocolate cake, vanilla frosting, white chocolate.
Red velvet cake, vanilla frosting, white and milk chocolate.
Basically mix and match to your hearts content. I'd like to try spice cake with vanilla frosting, dipped in white chocolate!

You can sprinkle with cake sprinkles, colored sugar, small nuts, cruched up toffee, graham cracker crumbs... whatever!

Hope this info helps. I recommend watching the video, reading this blog, and experimenting with what works best for you. Do not attempt to make cake pops for your friend's fancy birthday party on the first attempt! Make a trial batch to experiment with.

You can give as gifts by putting some styrofoam in a coffee mug and sticking suckers in, or I have used a Chinese food style box (they make holiday ones) by folding the flaps down into the box and sticking suckers into styrofoam that way (see photo). People freak out over these and LOVE them!

Enjoy!

Happy May Day!

2011-05-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

May is a great month! Not only is spring well under way and the weather warming up, but I also get to celebrate Mother's Day and my birthday. Woo hoo! And now we are kicking off the month celebrating liberty and the end of Osama bin Laden. Wow, did it really take ten years to get rid of him? I am sure there is lots more work to be done, but for now... "Let Freedom Ring!" Since I'm feeling so patriotic, here's a photo of me and my dad taken in 1988.

I actually have some mixed feelings about Osama's death (am I the only one?). Yes, he deserved it, and so much more. Yes, he led a terrorist group killing innocents all over the world. But it's my belief that he will burn in hell for eternity and a part of me feels bad for that. I mean, Jesus loved him too, and it's His desire that none should perish but all should come to eternal life.

Justice must be served, I'm just glad I'm not the one responsible for handing out justice. I deserve death also, but thank the Lord I know Him as my Savior!

Croppy Cat

2011-04-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I don't make up my own scrapbooking layouts for the most part, and I don't care who knows it. I do everything digital and on my computer, and I am totally caught up and have about 15 albums (actual albums, I print out 12 x 12 pages). I like the ease, the lack of mess, the low cost, and the great look of the pages. I am not big on journaling, but I do try to get the facts and dates in! Here's my latest two pages.

Amy's knee is slowly getting better. She missed about two days of school and work. The x-rays showed nothing broken, but possible stretched or torn ligaments -- could take a couple months to feel normal again.

Ally's been swimming daily to get ready for her lifeguard training the first weekend in May.

Chris's helicopter detail is most likely coming to an end, and he will go back to "the line." That's good and bad. He would love the detail if it was ran properly, but he's been dealing with issues (especially with proper equipment) for over two years now and has talked every now and then about going back to the line. On the other hand, he loves flying, and it's a fairly cushy job. We will have to wait and see what's next. He could stay on the line, work other posts (travel), teach, or be on a squad... horses, ATV's, boats, etc.

He had a crown that turned into two crowns put on his teeth this week. Still one more to be done, too. He has temps on for now.

My work is pretty slow, but summer is our busiest time, so hopefully things will pick up soon.

He is Risen!

2011-04-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

He is risen, indeed!

Had a great Easter. Went to church. Ally worked at the coffee cart and in the nursery. I greeted and ushered. Chris was a Roman soldier in the crucifixion mini-drama on Good Friday. Here is my studly Roman soldier sipping a Starbucks:)

He had to wake up, go to the church, then on to work. So I went to Starbucks and got him a coffee while they were rehearsing. He ended up being so tired, he took the night off from work anyway, so we went out to eat after the Good Friday service. Good times!

I made some goodies to give away at the ministry booths on Easter. I made this basket, plus about six plates full of other goodies.

The Easter bunny came and brought Cadbury eggs and all kinds of yummy candy to my girls -- of course, I prefer my own (but I haven't mastered anything close to Cadbury eggs, yet!). I found these two stuffed Peeps at the store about a month ago and got them for the girls, because I knew I woudn't find them later.

Amy fell down some carpeted stairs, and injured her knee. It has three huge carpet burns on it and is swollen. That was last week. She is going to the doctor to have it looked at today. She can't stand for very long, which is all she does at school and her two jobs right now!

Jesus Christ, Peter Rabbit, or Mother Earth?

2011-04-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

I vote for Jesus! I wonder who scheduled Earth Day on Good Friday? Well, I say it IS "Happy Earth Day," because Jesus was put into the earth... but praise God He didn't stay there! Happy Earth Day, indeed!!!!

I can play volleyball again! I only have to tape the broken finger to the next one for a few more weeks. It hurt a little while playing, but feels fine now. The swelling has not gone down much, and the doc said I may never fit my twenty year anniversary ring on again. I will wait a year or so I guess and then have the ring resized if I need to. Or maybe I should get a twenty-five year ring. MWAH HAH HAH.

We had sushi yesterday at our favorite place, Arigato's, with some friends. Here's Ally and two of hers. They have the best shrimp tempura I have ever had, and their prices are reasonable, and their sushi delish! What more could you ask for?

I made some Easter candies this week. Didn't go hog wild like I did at Christmas. I like how the cake pops turned out. I tried to make them egg shaped. They looked better when they were finished... whew! These are strawberry cake and strawberry frosting dipped in white chocolate. VERY RICH! I only ate one.

Made some chocolate dipped Peeps, which I saw in the store this week that someone stole my idea. I made these last year, and now suddenly there are chocolate covered Peeps in the stores... interrrrresting!!!!!

These I call 100 Grand Eggs, they have crisped rice milk chocolate on the outside, and caramel on the inside. Got this idea from my sister... they taste just like a 100 Grand Bar, only better of course. The white ones are white chocolate with tangerine crunch mixed it. So good -- and they turned out like speckled eggs.. cool!

And the old standby favorite that everyone asks for... peanut butter filled. Like Reese's but way better!

Chris is a Roman Soldier in the Good Friday program tonight at church. He has had rehearsal twice. Good thing, no one wants Jesus falling off the cross in the middle of the crucifixion scene!

He is Risen!

How Much is Enough?

2011-04-13T13:29:00.000-07:00

Soapbox Alert: I can't believe Obama is saying that the reason we are so much in debt is because we aren't taxed enough. Heeeelllllooooooo?! Having been a taxpayer for many, many years and having worked for a small business for many years and seeing how much money small business pays the government, I have to say that I think the reason we are so much in debt is because we are spending too much. DURRRRRR. Okay, moving on...

We are paying $4.10 per gallon for gas here... $70 to fill-up my Odyssey and $40 for my Civic. Can I just say how glad I am that we traded in Chris's truck for the Civic the last time gas prices went over $4.00 per gallon????

We attended a birthday party and baby shower for some friends and was surprised to see Pastor Ed, our friend and pastor from Magnolia Wesleyan for many years, had come down from Camarillo. I worked on boards and staff with him for probably ten years. So good to see him and catch up. Here's Chris and me at the party.

The remodel is for the most part finished. Will try to post photos soon. Ally deleted all my "before" pics, so I am bummed about that, but at least it's finished. Still have some touch-ups and some crown moulding to go in... but I'm not holding my breath. At least there is no clutter anymore.

Ally is on a five day road trip with her friend's family visiting four colleges in Arizona and Colorado. I gave her my iPad to take to keep them entertained. Missing it! Especially at the gym on the treadmill. Had to watch Dr. Phil while at the gym yesterday and, of course, the earphone connection wasn't working so had to read the words on the screen. Blech.

Amy is working a second job for a month while still attending school as well. The job is to promote the new Nintendo 3DS with is their dual screen hand-held gaming system which is 3D without the need for glasses. Pretty cool. She works at Fashion Valley Mall and it pays $20 per hour! We went to visit, here's some pics. The game system is $250.00 so I think not. Although I am asking for a Wii for my birthday:)

Loved this photo of a "taco" -- it's really just a pizza with taco toppings. Looks good -- wonder how many points that baby is?

Down 'n Dirty

2011-03-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

My place may not be spic and span all the time, but one thing I can't abide is clutter and messes. Which is why I came very close to shedding tears yesterday. I am very excited about the remodeling going on at our place right now, but it does something inside my brain when there are messes everywhere. I know it will all be worth it, but seriously I think my brain short-circuits when I can't find things and there is disorganization. I felt better after a good night's rest. I have forced myself not to do too much at a time getting things back in order.

That said, the place is looking great. The laminate floors are in (which I didn't realize would make the place so cold!), baseboards pretty much in, ceilings scraped and retextured, painting is almost finished, area rug in, and new blinds installed. Lighting, fans, and rewiring are 90 percent finished. The crown moulding remains to be installed and a punch list about 20 items long including assembling two new bookcases and a chair. The sofa is still missing two legs -- picked up some at Home Depot as a temporary fix. I feel like I have been at Lowes and Home Depot every day for a month. I changed my mind on the blinds three times. Good thing it's easy to return stuff.

That's all work in the downstairs. Upstairs will have to be remodeled another year. I can't take it. Well, the ceilings are finished upstairs and girl's rooms are done except new flooring. The rest can wait. I still want to remodel the bathroom and fireplace downstairs, but I'm not crapping money, people.

This always makes me feel better...

Highway 52 is opening this weekend. We had a grand opening party on the freeway and had a lot of fun. Ally kissed the freeway, so she could say she did it. There was a three mile walk/run on the freeway. The new road will connect East County to the shore. We are very excited as we had to travel through Santee prior to this, which can add 10 to 20 minutes to your trip depending on how you hit the lights. Now we can skip Santee altogether!

Counting Our Blessings

2011-03-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

We have so much to be thankful for. The news is filled with the devastation in Japan. I was watching videos today of reunions of people who found their loved ones after thinking the worst. Brought tears to my eyes. It makes the headlines from the United States lately seem trivial -- almost shameful. One thing Ally pointed out to me was that you don't see headlines about looting going on all over in Japan. Maybe the devastation was too great, maybe they care too much about their fellow countrymen, or maybe it doesn't make the news.

Well, here's my trivial stuff that's been happening this week...

Broke my finger playing volleyball almost two weeks ago and didn't know it was broken until I finally went to the doctor. They would have cast it had I come right in, but since it's been almost two weeks, I have to use this splint for another week and then tape it for two more weeks after that. Typing is so fun!

Yesterday I was sitting at my fave place, Starbucks, and the ceiling decides at that moment to start leaking right on my head. After two drips I realized that no, someone is not spitting at me or shaking water on me. By the time we left it was dripping into a bucket from several spots. Hmmmmm... SAVE THE STARBUCKS!

Chris and I did finally make it to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for our anniversary dinner. Man, these are the biggest, best shrimp ever! They are big enough to be a tiny lobster! Chris' steak was the best, as usual. Of course, for $42 just for the steak and not even any sides, it better be. We eat here once a year and that's why! Totally worth it, though.

View from the restaurant -- I love living in San Diego!

On Sunday we went to The Yogurt Mill. Any local will tell you it's the best soft serve yogurt around. They don't skimp on the yorgurt or the toppings. Mine is the one in the middle -- it's the junior size. I forgot to order the child's size (see others) so I ate it for three days. Mine was vanilla with cookie dough bites, which they put on the bottom, middle, and top. Tasty! I don't know why we don't go there more often. Yeah I do... I'd weigh 50 pounds more.

One of my fave games -- this is the St. Pat's release:)

Wonders Never Cease

2011-03-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

When we first got iPods a few years ago (yes, it took us while to get onboard), my friend Thelma inadvertently called mine an iPad. We thought that was the funniest thing and started calling them iPads until... yes, until they actually came out with an iPad. We think she should get royalties for that name!

Well, I got a text from my mom the other day that would be the last text I'd ever expect to get from her. Just the fact that she's texting is amazing in itself. She will be 70 next year. I just stared at the text for a few minutes not fully comprehending... it read, "I just bought an iPad." So immediately all my iPad advice bubbles up, since I've had one for about a year now. One of the things I texted her was, "You might want to get the camera connection, it makes it easy to upload your photos directly, and you can insert your SD card directly into the connector." Her response was one word which pretty well sums up her computer savvy... "Huh?" ROFL -- I might need to take a quick weekend trip to Ohio to give iPad training.

My house is a mess right now. The ceilings are scraped and half the lighting is out. Next is rewiring the lighting, texturing the ceilings, install crown moulding, paint computer room, install blinds, install flooring, install base moulding, replace outlets and switches. Can't wait -- but how long I ask, how long?

We finally went out for Amy's 21st birthday celebration at The Melting Pot in La Jolla. Very fun, very good, and very expensive. Probably the most we have ever paid for dinner for the four of us. It is a fondue restaurant, and you cook all the food at your table. There are cheeses to dip, pots to boil, and for dessert -- goodies and different chocolate fondues. Will definitely go back -- I think they have early bird specials and $20 days on Thursday evenings.

This is what happens when you throw cinnamon in a fire?

I made these S'mores tarts this weekend. A take on a Pampered Chef recipe. Tasty!

Chris and I are going to Ruth's Chris Steak House tomorrow to celebrate our December anniversary. We are a little behind the times... we were so busy with the holidays, we didn't go out for our usual celebration. I better start perusing the menu online...

My Uncle sent me this photo from Ohio. I guess he left the whirly-gig up through the winter... thought it looked pretty cool. I'm surprised it didn't fall down.

The Chill Factor

2011-02-28T14:05:00.000-08:00

Forgot to take into consideration the chill factor for my short trip to Sedona. Actually, it wasn't the chill I didn't plan for, but the snow. I didn't bring boots, but my shoes did okay. We got about five inches one night, the most snow they have gotten all winter. Lots was melted by noon though, since it was warming up fast. The red rocks were gorgeous with and without the snow, the trees magnificent. Had a great weekend -- it was over too fast! Got to see lots of friends and eat lots of food!

Me and My BFF

My BDF (Best Dog Friend) Kiwi

Floor Plans

2011-02-23T13:44:00.000-08:00

Yes, we have plans for our floor! Yes, our carpet is 30 years old. Yes, we haven't done much to our place since we moved in 10 years ago. That is slowly changing and has for the past year or so (it helps that I work for a general contractor now).

A long time ago... 21 years ago... we made a commitment to sacrifice our want of house so we could send our two girls to Christian school for their entire schooling. We rented apartments for the first 15 years of our marriage. Ten years ago, by God's blessing, we were able to pay outright through an inheritance for the condo we now live in. Our girls have (or are close to) graduating, and we are starting to improve little by little our condo. Someday we may own a house -- but I love too much that I don't have a mortgage. I don't even know how we would live in San Diego, let alone have sent our kids to private school, if we had a huge house payment. Besides, the less area I have to clean the better! I am just as content to die in our condo (although Chris might have something to say about that).

My kitchen is finished and half the flooring downstairs. Now it's finally time to replace the old carpeting, finish scraping off the acoustic ceilings, and replace fans and lighting with some new fans and maybe some can lights. This flooring was on sale at Costco this month. It will go in in a few weeks. There are many more things needed, like remodeling bathrooms, replacing our patio door, the ceilings and floors upstairs, etc., but one step at a time!

Amy and I went shopping at Armstrongs, a beauty supply store where you can only shop with a cosmotology license. She bought this cool nail polish called "Black Shatter." It's very popular right now, and you put in on over another color. It separates and makes kind of a leopard look. She did one of my nails just so I could see it. Pretty cool, but I think I'm a little too old for this look... ha ha!

A friend sent me this pic as I am always raving about Starbucks and my addiction to it. I told her, "It's like someone took a picture of my brain!"

I am headed to Sedona for the weekend. Leaving tomorrow (Thursday) and returning Monday morning and going straight from the airport back to work. My BFF's brother-in-law is getting married, although the wedding is really just an excuse for me to hang out with her all weekend. Looking forward to it -- got my tickets on Southwest for $49 each way. It's supposed to rain and maybe snow there all weekend, but it's supposed to rain here all weekend, too. Really looking forward to getting away...

Furever Friends

2011-02-15T14:08:00.000-08:00

We love animals, and we have been members of the zoo for years. Ally took these shots this weekend.

Rolling around on the warm cement I guess...

Ally touched the bear!

There is a new baby hippo, but we didn't get to see it... well, you can barely see its back near the mama's head. We waited for awhile, but he wouldn't come out.

We had two girls from the Philippines stay with us this weekend. They sang at our church on Sunday. We took lots of photos, but for privacy issues they ask that you not post them on the web or social media sites. Ally gave up her room for the weekend. It's nice to see her enjoying helping others. One thing we learned is that we use more water to flush a toilet one time than people in some countries get all day. Our girls have sponsors, so they do okay in the Philippines, but they told us their neighbors do not get to take showers because they do not have a sponsor. We have sponsored several children over the years -- hope you'll consider it, too!

So, we took the girls to the zoo, the beach, our lake, and our hot tub all in one day. We were exhausted. They were very polite, neat, and thankful. Ally said her room was cleaner than when they came! I know her bed was made better.

Amy sent me these pics while she was at school the other night.

She turns 21 on Friday! We are going to go to The Melting Pot in La Jolla, which is fondue entrees and chocolate fondue desserts. Haven't been there before, but looking forward to it.

I finally got my Christmas present from my BFF! She has started making stained glass pieces. This one is about a foot in diameter. Love it! Now just gotta figure out how to hang it in my window. I'm scared!

Today, we are off to the DMV since Ally's driver's license hasn't come yet, and her temporary one is about to expire. I brought my iPad to keep us entertained while we are there. You never know, could be there 30 minutes, or 3 hours!

Sweet Treats!

2011-02-09T11:41:00.000-08:00

Started out making just a couple candies this week, but in my true fashion, overdid with dishes and chocolate flying everywhere. Was totally exhausted (and doing laundry at the same time), but was glad I broke out my Valentine's molds and made some cute treats.

Peanut butter filled lips...

Raspberry cream filled hearts...

Dark chocolate with pecans and caramel filling...

Chocolate transfer molds (kinda like edible tattoos) ...

The final product!

Last week was able to scrapbook these two Christmas pages...

On a totally random note -- if you don't have one of these -- get one!

They are at Wal-Mart for only a few bucks and are the best thing ever for computer screens, specifically my iPad which has a coating that can never get wet, not even with a damp cloth. This swipes the fingerprints right off, and the dust, etc. on our laptop and desktop screens. We have a bigger one we use for the flat screen TV. One more thing, just to make my life a little easier:)

We are having two underprivileged young girls from another country stay with us this weekend. They are singing in a group at the church on Sunday. I think we will take them to the zoo on Saturday. I usually avoid that place on the weekends, but they will only be here over the weekend. Ally is really looking forward to it and was even excited to give up her room for the weekend. We aren't allowed to post their pics on any social media, but we are allowed to make them a scrapbook page of their visit to send with them for their "tour book." So I might have Ally work on that.

Paying it Forward

2011-01-31T16:44:00.000-08:00

I don't participate in a lot of stuff on Facebook -- but this I thought was cool. You post that you are going to Pay It Forward by sending something homemade to the first five people to comment on your post. They in turn must do the same. So, of course, my five people are getting these... two boxes are ready to ship, and the other three are local and I will work on them this week. I got to comment on several posts myself, so I will be getting a few freebies also... looking forward to one in particular from a friend who makes pottery.

We are enjoying our PS3, especially the sports. I have played volleyball, table tennis, bocce ball, and archery. Very fun. Haven't played any shoot 'em up games yet myself, but Chris, Amy, and Ally are learning Call of Duty (Black Ops). I downloaded pac-man, played karaoke, and Ally and I have been playing a game together called Little Big Planet. I'm sure there is much more to do, but I haven't figured out the on-line stuff yet. One thing is for sure -- our ceiling fan has to go. We move around way too much with the PS Move and that thing is going to go flying. Let's see -- who do I know who can take out a ceiling fan and put in can lights for me? Oh yeah, my work guys! Mwah ha ha.

It's nice that Ally has been able to drive herself lots of places lately. She drove to Alpine in the dark over the weekend -- freaked me out, but she did fine (as far as I know). Tonight there is a concert in La Mesa. It's at a church, so I told her she could drive. I'm just glad we have a GPS, so I don't have to worry too much about her getting lost. We have had talks about not looking at the GPS while driving, just look at it ahead of time to see where you are going, listen to it, and look at it while stopped if necessary. One of her friends already totalled her mother's car while looking at a GPS while driving and hit a parked car.

She's saving up for a car and has $700.00, which is pretty good considering she doesn't have a regular job. She does babysitting here and there and is hoping for a summer job.

Hair to Dye For

2011-01-21T16:30:00.000-08:00

Amy is the middle of training for her cosmetology license. She is learning hair, nails, skin, feet, and so on... I took her the last time I got a haircut so she could watch. My hair is not fancy, and I haven't changed it in years, but I am particular. I don't want any hair on my neck or touching my neck. I don't want it touching my ears. I want short sideburns, but not thick. Nothing tapered and fluffly bothering my neck or ears. Short, short all around and in the back -- top not so much -- so that I don't have to get it cut in two more weeks. It takes me about one or two minutes to do my hair in the morning.

Amy cut my hair for the first time this weekend -- a great job. She put some highlights in again, so now I have even more. I had her make a couple minor adjustments when she was done, and I was happy. Which is saying a lot, considering if I lose a hairdresser, it takes me awhile to find one I like. I don't have a photo, might post one when it grows out a bit in a couple weeks. Amy introduced me to some hair wax, which I really like -- rub a little in and fluff and go!

I asked her if cutting hair was anything like she thought it would be. She said no, it is so much interpretation and artistry. People don't normally tell you exactly what they want, and if they do you may have to guess at how to get that result with that person's hair. She really likes it!

We've been having warm, warm weather. In the 80's. I made this fave drink with fat free frozen cool whip and diet orange soda. I tried to drink and drive, but the whip creme melted enough to make a seal, so had to wait until I got to work and eat it with a spoon... yum!

A recent photo of my girls...

Ally has been released from the boot! No more cast, walking boot, walking shoe, etc. She is still supposed to take it easy for a few weeks, but she played volleyball last night for the first time in nine weeks, so I guess she's better.

I took a notary class to renew my commission. Wow, it's been four years since I took the first one. Here's me at the class, exhausted from all the learning at the DoubleTree that day.

We are all four going to breakfast in the morning then off to find a PS3 gaming system for our new TV. We will start at Costco. The kids are so excited. I don't know much about the Wii, the X-Box, or the PS3 so I am paranoid. But Amy did the research, tried her friends' systems, and picked the PS3. Fine with me, I don't plan to be on it too much (unless they come out with a Harvest Moon game for it)... or unless I get sucked into some bottomless pit of addicition to some time management game which I am known to do...

Out With the Old... In With the New

2011-01-03T10:45:00.000-08:00

2011 is here... and we finally brought our TV up to date! The TV we had was one that was passed on from Chris's mom. I don't think we have ever bought a TV in our lives, except one for our bedroom. They have always been given to us, even both of the TV's for our kids were given to us.

This is our old TV (probably 15 to 20 years old):

This is our new TV (with the entertainment cabinet Chris put together!):

And the best part -- we still didn't buy one! We received it as a Christmas gift from a boss! Now we have high def and are beside ourselves with the difference.

We had a great Christmas and holiday break. So many blessings. We also celebrated our 26th anniversary on the 30th. Went to see Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 3D and ate at the Cheesecake Factory.

Some of my goals for 2011: Finish reading through the Bible (I only made it about 2/3 of the way in 2010 -- however I was reading all of the notes in my study Bible at the same time) and lose my last 10 pounds (which goes along with eating healthier and going to the gym). That's it for me -- I actually hate making New Year's resolutions and especially writing them down. My mantra is -- don't make 'em, can't break 'em!

The Weather Outside is Frightful...

2010-12-22T10:30:00.000-08:00

Good news -- Ally passed her driver's license test! Bad news... the rains have been so heavy for a week that police are telling people to stay off the roads unless unavoidable. Where are you sunshine? Why can't I find you?! I guess it's better than a blizzard, though. Sea World is closed today, and there are floods and mudslides everywhere. The freeways are very hazardous. Of course, I still have a little shopping to do for Christmas, so I will venture to the mall today. Fortunately it's very close to work and, besides, it is unavoidable... I MUST SHOP!

Ally had to take her test in the rain as well. She said it only rains two days a year, and it had to rain during her test! I said, well maybe they will be more lenient with you...

Our roof is also leaking. Fortunately that's the HOA's responsibility. It is not too bad yet, a couple water stains on our master bedroom ceiling. Same thing that happened in Ally's room last year. The HOA fixed the roof that time, but fiddled around so long with the inside ceiling repair, we finally had it done when we remodeled her room. We were scraping the acoustic texture off anyway.

Just a couple days until Christmas. This has been such a nice Christmas season. Since the kids are older, there is no much less to do for Christmas. We still have our traditions, but there is not the school Christmas programs, the church Christmas programs, and so on. I miss it a little, but not that much! I am sick with a cold, but hoping it will be gone by Christmas. Dayquil has been perking me up a little. That and shopping...

Just For Me

2010-12-17T15:12:00.000-08:00

There are two sacred things to me on this earth that have nothing to do with my work, church, or family -- it's just for me. If you know me at all I am sure you already guessed the one -- Starbucks! It's not just their delish drinks and the fact that they make lots of them "light" or "skinny" -- it's the whole atmosphere of the Starbucks store... kinda like a get-away or a sanctuary to me. Somewhere I can read, catch up on email and Facebook, study, play games on my iPad... whatever I want!

The other is playing volleyball. I'm no professional, but I can hold my own and have a blast. It's a bonus that Ally loves it too -- but I'd do it without her too, and she knows it:) Don't mess with my Thursday nights. We had a great player and friend from Brazil join us this past year while he (Israel) was working in the US. He flies back on Saturday -- we will miss those good times.

Israel and Ally

Some of the peeps I play volleyball with each week

I finally had enough pics to finish this scrapbooking page

We have lots of packages around the house this time of year... which the cats love. They also love eating the icicle tinsle thingies off the tree, so we had to pull those off the bottom two feet of the tree.

Made up about 15 boxes of my home made candies this week and shipped 8 boxes. My friend Lory in Pennsylvania said she got hers today... and they arrived in good shape. I have about 10 more boxes to make up before Christmas... good thing I love doing it! And good thing I love making them more than I love eating them!

Dreaming of a White Christmas

2010-12-14T11:32:00.000-08:00

Which is all we can do in this heat. Actually it has cooled off to the 70's and is supposed to stay cooler for the rest of the week. We went to see Christmas lights and visit the local tree farm -- with the windows rolled down! That's a first. What's not a first is me falling flat on my back. Yep, stepped in a hole (more like a trench) at the tree farm and fell down. Wasn't injured and laughing so hard I could barely get up. I was holding Ally's nice camera at the time. I didn't drop it, but it did get a lens error and quit working. But later at home I was able to fix it by getting tips online.

Chris and Connie at the tree farm

Amy and Ally

We watched Christmas Vacation this weekend, too. A classic -- doesn't everyone have a Cousin Eddie?

Felt a couple earthquakes this week. One was a 4.9 in Baja that woke me up at 5 a.m. I was making the bed when I got up and found a bullet and full cartridge in the bed with me. Guess that's better than rolling over on a gun in the middle of the night. I guess Chris was protecting me even while at work. Although I don't know what I would do -- throw the cartridge at a robber's eye?

We saw Red at the movies last week. Very fun movie. There was only one other couple in the theater... we (Chris, Ally, and I) almost had it to ourselves! We will probably see a couple more movies over the holidays... Narnia and Harry Potter is on my list.

Got my Christmas cards mailed out, and tonight I will box up candies to send out.

Ally went to the doctor again last night. This is the fourth set of xrays. Her bone is healing, but since it was so many fractures, and because it is the big toe, they said we have to be extra careful. They gave her a wooden walking shoe and she is to alternate between that and the boot however she wants for another MONTH! Back in two weeks for more xrays. Ugh -- when will it be over? But we must focus on the good -- no surgery needed, no more crutches unless she feels she needs them, and no cast.

Got some shopping finished up this week... not buying much since we all agreed to get a big screen TV. Will most likely get that at Costco next week. Can't wait!

C's Candy

2010-12-13T16:49:00.000-08:00

I've been making tons of goodies over the last week... bonbons, cookies, biscotti, chocolates and more! Some of these I will ship (though I must wait until the temp drops about ten degrees to at least 70!) and some I will give away to friends here at Christmas...

Cinnamon hard tack candies

White chocolate rice crisp snowmen

Sugar cookies

White chocolate peanut butter filled bonbons

Chocolate presents with orange creme filling

YUMMY!

Cause for Celebration!

2010-12-06T15:03:00.000-08:00

We are celebrating for several reasons... other than Christmas!

It was looking like Ally was going to have surgery after all on her foot, but when they removed the cast to take a third and final set of unobstucted x-rays, it turned out the reason it looked like her bones had moved was because of the angle the second set of x-rays was taken at. So no surgery after all -- and she now has a walking boot (and crutches if she needs them) for another 4 weeks or so. We were very happy about that!

I am also celebrating because, after all my doctor appointments, sleep class, and monitoring, I was diagnosed as apnea-free! Which means, I do not stop breathing in my sleep, and I do not need a machine to assist me breathing at night. WOO HOO! My nasal spray is helping with my snoring, but if it doesn't clear up to suit Chris, I will go back to the doctor to have a camera inserted, I guess into my nasal passages, to see what is going on.

I started making all kinds of Christmas goodies... loving it! We made sugar cookies, dipped in chocolate, and then used what are called chocolate transfer sheets to add the designs to the cookes. So fun and cute!

We got the tree up and decorated yesterday... that's it, I will have to finish putting up the other Christmas things during this week. This is the last year for a pre-lit tree. We have had too many issues with the lights shorting out. There is a trick branch this year -- if the lights go out in a certain section, I have to wiggle the branch. HA HA. Two other sections are out, and we haven't been able to replace bulbs with any results. I strung an extra set of lights on to get us through this year -- shopping for a new tree on December 26, for half off!

Rodney Reindeer has been in our family for many, many years. Amy cried when we put him away with the Christmas stuff when she was little. He is the last thing to go in the tree each year.

Amy practiced some highlights on my hair. I really like them, I think I look younger... maybe even in my thirties... ha!

I did a couple scrapbook pages recently also.

The kitties waiting for breakfast.

I am sure we will be busier and busier in the next few weeks, but will try to find time to post. I am off the week between Christmas and New Year's... yippee!

'Tis the Season (to be Freezin')

2010-11-30T10:33:00.000-08:00

Hello Winter!

Yes, it's been below freezing at night here... some people think San Diego is tropical all year, well we live far enough inland that it gets cooooold at night! Better than 100 degrees though!

We did make it to Sedona for the Thanksgiving holiday. We stayed in my friend Thelma's new house. Gorgeous two story house with great views, a wrap around deck, and we had the entire downstairs as living quarters. Ally got a walking shoe on her cast, so she still had to use crutches for things like shopping, but was able to hobble around the house with the cast and shoe on. Tonight she goes to the doctor again, hopefully to get a full-on walking cast.

I found these glass candies for my collection at an antique shop in Cottonwood.

We ate twice at Cracker Barrel while in Arizona. We don't have those in California -- they are a MUST VISIT while out of state. Had chicken friend steak (shared with Ally) once and the french toast (shared with Chris) in Yuma on the way back. I picked up a big jar candle in their shop and went to put it back while holding onto the lid (not advisable), and the whole thing shattered on the floor just missing Ally's toe in her cast! She would only let me hold the sock monkey after that. I love these from their candy shop. I ate these all the time when I was little, but can rarely find them now. I haven't mastered the marshmallow filling technique yet, so I can't make these myself... but someday! They have a little coconut on the top mixed in with the chocolate, so Chris won't eat them. MWAH HA HA!

Weight Watcher's has revamped their entire program. More points are allowed, more activity points are earned, but some foods (less healthy) have more points that before. However, all fruit is now zero points, so I am loading up!

Looking forward to decorating this weekend for Christmas!

On the Mend...

2010-11-18T11:40:00.000-08:00

At least I hope we are on the mend. Amy is doing much better, she is planning to go back to work and school after Friday. She has heard a few comments about taking two weeks off just because of her throat. Yeah, those are from people who have not had their tonsils out when they are an adult. It was worse than we ever expected. I did tell Amy that we would have probably said the same thing before we went through it.

Unfortunately, Ally fell down a half flight of stairs at her school with her cast and crutches. Her other ankle is swollen, and she had to CRAWL to the bathroom yesterday. But it looks a little better today. We have been icing it and got an Ace bandage to give it some support. The bad thing is that all of her weight has to be on that ankle, because she is not to put any weight on the cast. We are hoping she will be well enough to travel to Arizona for Thanksgiving next week. She said sadly, "You can go without me." I said, "Ally, we can't leave you if you can't walk on either leg!"

On Tuesday, while we were in the exam room waiting for the doctor to discuss the original injury on the other foot, we pulled up these x-rays of the shattered bone in her toe. I was surprised our cell phones took such good photos. As long as these bones don't move, surgery won't be necessary. That's what we are counting on. Of course, falling down stairs does not bode well for the bones. Ha ha!

I never tire of our cats or taking pics of them. Here's one more of fat Tigger -- he is fat, but not as fat as this angle makes him out to be...

I might not get a chance to post again until after Thanksgiving. Looking forward to the break.

Tough Break

2010-11-15T16:10:00.000-08:00

Aaaaahhhhh... good news, Amy is on the mend. Bad news, Ally has broken her left big toe in at least three places. It's pretty much shattered, and we meet with orthopedics in the morning to determine if it will be casted or needs surgery. The pieces are pretty much in place, so the general practioner who looked at it says it might not need surgery, so we are praying for that!

Tigger is happy that Amy lays around all day...

So far, we are still planning to be in Sedona for T-Day. We got two new tires on the Civic and will have the oil and transmission fluid changed this week. Ally will come along on crutches -- that is the plan so far.

Amy was able to come with me to Wal-Mart just to get out of the house. It was her first time out in eight days. We also went to Bob's Big Boy for soup and ice cream, but the soup was too spicy, and she ended up getting salmon instead. I expect she will be back at work and school by the end of the week.

I scanned some pics for posting on Facebook for Veteran's Day. Good memories!

1987/88 just after I got out of the Navy, I was still in the Reserves...

I think 1984, I was 18 or just turned 19 at the time. This is my farewell, leaving Norfolk to join my new hubby in San Diego.

Me and my dad, 1988

1988 Wharton, Ohio -- big time Memorial Day parade.

And I made these candies which had cranberries and crisped rice in them.

I made my first attempt at biscotti also and was it fabulous!

After waiting eight months trying to find just the right corner cabinet with just the right measurements (or close to it), I finally found one on Craig's List. This now sits at the bottom of my stairway. Hurray!

Chris was able to come play volleyball with us for a couple hours on Thursday, and some of us went out to Coco's after... a great time! I am probably best at setting. I rarely miss a serve (underhand), but hitting and spiking, yeah, not my forte -- I usually just bump it over if it's third hit and try for the back lines...

A crazy week and each week gets crazier than the one before!

Time Heals All Wounds...

2010-11-09T12:06:00.000-08:00

But how MUCH time? Amy had her tonsils out, the surgery went fine, but the recovery is a pain in the neck:P She did fine the first day and a half, then couldn't keep anything down for about a day and a half. No pain meds or food. We were one vomit away from going to the ER, when she started keeping things down. We had been in touch with the advice nurses, and we had to stop the Vicodin. I don't think her stomach could take it. So she has been on just liquid extra-strength Tylenol which isn't helping the pain totally, but she is struggling through. They said she should feel a bit better each day, but Amy says she's feels as bad as she did the first day (five days ago) and every time the Tylenol wears off, she has a bad headache in addition to the throat pain. I think throwing everything up set her back. Hopefully she will start feeling better soon. Don't read this next line if you don't like gross things: Her throat and uvula are totally swollen, covered with a thick milky substance and scabs. Yeah, it's gross, I will barely look at it, but I have to to make sure it doesn't get worse. Oh, and it was only after the prayers of family and my Facebook friends that she started keeping anything down. PTL! I waited on Amy hand and foot for three days, went searching for liquid Tylenol at 4 a.m., etc. and was sooo tired, missed some work, but finally got a good night's sleep last night. Ah, the joy! She has actually kept down some mashed potatoes and soup.

Before surgery

After (she posed for this)

On the way out (all dugged up on Morphine, Vicodin, and Percoset)

There are SOME benefits!

The weather here was so hot, over 100 for three days straight, in NOVEMBER! We set some records, but thankfully it is cool now, I even wore a jacket today. Woo hoo!

We voted last week, but is California ever going to be anything but a debt-ridden liberal hell hole? One of the few good results is that everyone in charge can't smoke pot legally. This is MY blog, and I can rant here if I want to!

Ally and I were in Petco the other day when it got robbed. Okay, well not at gun-point, but some guy tried to sneak out a backpack full of stuff, and one of the female employees, who looked like a bailiff from an Amazon prison was yelling at him, and when he denied taking anything, she grabbed his backpack and ripped the top off, and merchandise went flying. All this happened right in front of me, but I am so oblivious that Ally had to fill me in on what exactly happened. All I wanted to know was why weren't there any cashiers up front to check me out... ha ha! As I walked by the lady on the way out, I said "I paid for these worms." Hee hee. (Live wax worms for our fire belly toad, by the way.)

Ally was driving on our street and said, "Something isn't right." Yeah, we had a flat tire. I mean totally flat as in driving on the rim. We switched drivers, and I pulled into a parking lot near our house. I walked home and woke Chris up. In the meantime some lady had come over and started going to town on our car... turns out she was really nice and trying help, which was good, since for some reason our lug nut wrench and crow bar were missing. All we had were the tire and the jack (with no handle). What a hoot. I guess it's because I never pay any attention to what's in the trunk and just call AAA, but since it was right by the house, and I didn't want to be too late to Bible study, I got Chris. We tried to show Ally how to change a tire, but seriously, it took all of Chris' strength to get those lugnuts to turn... how could we poor young ladies even think of doing such a thing?!?!?!?! This is our third flat recently on our cars, we keep picking up nails and screws, not sure if it's the highway being built close to our house, or if it's from Chris driving down the God-forsaken roads at the airport he flies out of near the border. Discount Tire repairs them all for free since we paid $5 on each tire for road protection.

All we could find in the way of tire changing tools besides the partial jack was this little tiny hammer in with the tire. What in the world?! We laughed our heads off at that.

So, of course, the spare tire was barely inflated, so we took Chris with us to show Ally how to check tire pressure and put air in the tire, and she did great. I, of course, didn't realize how low the tire was and scraped the car a couple times going over dips. Oh, and to top off the comedy session, I washed my hands in Propel (yeah, the drink) and then hand sanitizer. Fortunately I had a plate of chocolates I had made for Bible study, so I gave them to the nice lady and her boyfriend who helped us. He even told us we could keep the lug nut wrench since we didn't have one. Is that even what it's called? Well, that's what I named it.

Anyway, in regard to Amy's health, I am encouraged by these words... "This, too, shall pass."

So Cute It's Scary...

2010-11-01T15:06:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'm scared to let my girls out of the house... why can't they dress up like ugly, scary monsters or something!

Allison Wonderland

Pirate Amy

Ally and Bree

My kitchen window, love my little veggie houses that hold candles...

Ally's cat pumpkin...

Amy's pumpkin and more Party Lite!

Yeah, we give out the good stuff... only because we usually have around 60 treaters.

Some goodies I made this week...

Heard a rumor that a Facebook App might be ready to come out for the iPad... so READY for that... will make it much easier to use the site. Will know later this week.

Amy's surgery is Friday, will post after that...

Allison Wonderland

2010-10-28T11:41:00.000-07:00

Ally told me not to post this pic on Facebook until after Halloween, so I'll sneak it in here for now... shhhhh. When she was little, she thought the name of the book/movie was "Allison Wonderland." Like her name, Allison. We still laugh about that. My cell doesn't take the best pics in low light, better pics will come after Halloween.

Amy is having surgery to remove her tonsils on Friday, November 5. We meet with the surgeon for a pre-op appointment tomorrow morning. We had an option of trying a low dose antibiotic for two months to see if that would finally kick out whatever she's been dealing with for the last couple months. Since she's already missed so much work and school, and who knows if that would even work, we opted for the surgery. Well, I should say I opted for the surgery. She's not too keen on it -- I told her to quit looking at stuff on the internet about it, it will just freak her out more. The doctor said the germs are hiding in her tonsils, and everytime she goes off antibiotics they take over again. I think that the longer she waits, it will be even more traumatic to have the surgery as she gets older. Better just to get it all over with. We will see if I feel the same way next weekend. Plus whenever she gets sick, which is more and more lately, her tonsils are so huge they close up her entire throat. Glad the surgery is on a Friday, though, so I can spend the whole weekend waiting on her hand and foot. Oh boy! In the meantime, though, she is back at work and school while on antibiotics, so that's good.

We are planning to go to Sedona for Thanksgiving. We wanted her to come, but she said, "Mom I can't miss a month of work and school and then be like, oh yeah, I need Thanksgiving weekend off, too." Well, I didn't think of that... so Chris, Ally, and I will be off to Arizona for that weekend. Looking forward to it!

I made caramel apples this week. Tried to make a batch of home made caramel that turned into a mini-disaster... happy I had some store bought stuff in the cupboard. I made 15 of these! I thought, wow if I sold these gourmet apples for $5 each like in the stores... woot! But, no, I gave them away at work, to friends, and at women's Bible study. Oh yeah, I ate almost two whole ones over two days. I mostly don't each much of the candies I make, but these... oh my goodness, are they good! Granny Smith apples, dipped in caramel, then in white chocolate, then add graham cracker crumbs on the outside. Mmm... could go for one right now!

This Too Shall Pass...

2010-10-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

What a week! Ally was sick and missed school. Amy is still not better... it's been over a month with pneumonia, tonsillitis, and who knows what. My back went out for a few days. Chris had to get a crown for his tooth and couldn't drive because he has to take valium before dental appointments (long, drawn out history there... but suffice it to say he and dentists do not get along, and it's better for them both if Chris is on something...). All of these things were going on at the same time. However, Ally is doing much better, my back is at 98%, Chris has his temporary crown, and Amy (poor thing) is just going to have to have her tonsils out. We met with the surgeon today and after discussing several options, one of which was to stay on a low-dose antibiotic for another two months to see what happens, we decided to just get it over with. Amy is not happy with that, but I think she will be once it's done. The longer it goes on and the older she gets, the more traumatic the surgery will be. We are waiting now for the surgery to be scheduled.

We did make it to the pumpkin farm over the weekend with Ally's friend Bree.

And I made these rice crisp white chocolate candies.

Finally, here's a couple pics from Ally's birthday dinner we had earlier this month. Amy wasn't feeling well even then.

Cool Cat

2010-10-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

Love this photo of Tigger taken in Amy's room. Her "Tart Apple" paint brings out his eyes. I'm sure he appreciates the angle this was taken, as the camera takes off five pounds... ha!

Amy was diagnosed with pneumonia (finally) and has been on four different types of antibiotics at the same time. She is feeling better and is back at work and school. We think she had it for a month before being diagnosed (or it turned into pneumonia in that timeframe).

Ally turned 16 -- I don't have the photos from our dinner yet (they are on her camera). She got a new cell phone from us and splatter painted her room with five of her friends. It turned out good... but what a chore. I was exhausted and AM NEVER DOING THAT AGAIN! It was basically an excuse for six teenagers to get together and throw paint. I felt like such a nag, I was so worried about my other walls and carpet, etc. But it's finished now and no damage done. We remodeled a few things in her room -- took out the acoustic ceiling, had a ceiling fan installed, put in new base moulding, and got all new sheets, curtains, etc. But she has to make do with her furniture -- that's just not in the budget right now. She loves the new look!

Before...

After...

Just the Two of Us...

2010-10-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

While Ally was away at her school retreat this past week, Chris and I ventured over to our old stomping grounds in Coronado. This city (island) holds tons of good memories for us from back in our Navy days. You can't beat the tons of white sand and clean beaches. There are always military aircraft in the sky and gorgeous views everywhere. Back in the day, we both were stationed on North Island Naval Air Station (Chris on a ship) on the island. We remember how expensive the houses were there... $200,000 -- HA HA -- why didn't we buy one then?!!!! We also ate at our fave Mexican place over there, Miguels. Tasty!

The famous Hotel Del Coronado...

Okay this next pic was taken in La Jolla, but couldn't resist this cute baby sea lion.

I made these tartlets over the weekend. So tasty -- and this version is low cal and low fat! You could make it using real eggs, cheese, cream cheese, etc. if you want it richer.

Scrapping Memories One Page at a Time

2010-09-29T11:30:00.001-07:00

Here's the rest of my summer scrapbooking... all caught up again! I still need to print these and get them in my scrapbooks, a couple of them are two-page spreads. Of course, I still have a giant box of photos to go through that were passed on from Chris' mom... I think that's a job for when we retire.

Endless Summer...

2010-09-27T13:20:00.001-07:00

... 'nuff said!

I was sick this week with some sort of 24 hours virus with chills, fever, and aches. Just thankful it wasn't worse. Amy is sick now and threw up last night, hopefully it ends just as quickly for her. Something is going around here -- lots of people are sick.

There is a flock of wild parrots that zip around East County squawking their heads off. We hear them every now and then from our house. I heard they started from a couple pet parrots that got loose. There must be over 100 of them now. The other day they landed right in our tree, and Ally's camera happened to be nearby.

Ally and I had dentist appointments in La Jolla. We visited La Jolla Cove and ate Thai food, then I took this pic of the full moon on the way home.

My sister sent me this pic -- it's in her work parking lot. Seriously? With my digital speedometer, I couldn't tell how I would figure that out, but she said it's to get your attention... guess it worked.

Ally leaves tomorrow for her school retreat for a few days. Chris and I plan to spend the afternoon and evening together tomorrow. We might head to Coronado or near the beach to try and cool off a little. It's supposed to be H-O-T through next weekend. Guess it's payback for that nice, cool summer.

Cruisin' into Fall

2010-09-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

The cruise was phenomenal! I would do it again in a minute... and that's saying a lot... once I've been somewhere I'd rather use my time and resources to visit somewhere new. The scenery was the most gorgeous I've ever seen, and we've traveled to about 40 states, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Israel, Honduras...

The balcony on our ship was the best. We sat out there sipping lattes and watching scenery and wildlife go by. We saw whales, bears, mountain goats, seals, sea lions, dolphins, starfish, bald eagles and other birds, and even jellyfish (didn't know there were jellyfish in cold water). Chris got to see killer whales that were breaching, but Ally and I weren't with him at the time. I intend to put a slideshow together for the end of this blog page eventually. The sunsets from the balcony were awesome, too. Here's a few of the best photos for now (we flew to Seattle the day before and ate at the top of the Space Needle, then cruised Alaska's Inside Passage for a week).

Boarding the Norwegian Star...

Mt. Robert's Tram, Juneau...

Mendenhall Glacier...

Anchors Aweigh!

2010-08-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

Wanted to post one last time before we head to our Alaskan cruise. I won't be posting here during the cruise, but will try to post pics and status on Facebook when we are in ports. We have a few days before we head up, so trying to keep up on work and get to packing. We spend one night in Seattle and have reservations to eat atop the Space Needle in the SkyHigh restaurant there. The temps here have been over 100 for about a week now, and continuing until this weekend, so we are also looking forward to some cooler temps. Lots of rain up there in the forecast too, but we are prepared.

Had a craving for these last night, so Ally drove me to one of the two remaining Krispy Kreme stores still in San Diego.

Tigger is just so adorable I can't stand it.

I found an old photo of my kitchen... wow what a difference a year makes. Ha ha, it took at least that long to get all this done. Since I work for a general contractor, I really had to only pay for the appliances, counter, floor, sink, etc. Most of the labor was done for free. I spent about $4,000 on this remodel and usually it's two to three thousand just for the cabinet work. They practiced a new staining technique on my cabinets, so that was at no cost to me. I still plan to have my light box taken out and can lights put in. LOVE IT! It's a rather small kitchen, but the way I look at it is -- LESS TO CLEAN!

While Ally was away at camp I actually spent almost three whole days doing absolutely nothing. Slept in, read about four books, watched TV. WOW -- it was great, hadn't done that in a long time. See ya in a few weeks:)

Slip Slidin' Away...

2010-08-17T11:25:00.001-07:00

Summer's slippin' away, and I haven't even made it to the beach once! Of course, it hasn't been that hot here, so I haven't been tempted to head west to cool off. Some schools have started already here, but Ally doesn't go back until after Labor Day.

Frank and Thel were in town for a week while Frank did his church plant thing. So we hung out with them off and on all week. A great time. We had brunch at the Brigantine, and I didn't notice for a week that I left my credit card there. Wasn't even for sure that's where it was. I don't use it often, so was happy to notice it missing before we needed it for our cruise. We have to give a credit card for "incidentals." Yeah, I know about those incidentals --they can add up fast! Thelma bought me my first pedicure when she was here... check it out! Oh, and Tigger liked it, too.

We watched their dog, Kiwi, while they were in town. Kiwi would bring over each peice of food to the couch and then eat it. Tigger just tolerates her... notice the laid back ears.

Chris and I headed east away from the city to watch the meteor shower last week. We watched from midnight to 2 a.m. Now he's usually up anyway during that timeframe. Yeah, me -- I was tired at work the next day. But saw lots of meteors, especially through his night vision goggles. I saw the biggest meteor I had ever seen! Lit up all around, and the tail stayed visible for about 15 seconds. Really cool!

Had my vision exam this week. It had been two years. My left eye got a little worse, so new prescriptions, and now I have to be careful which contact goes into which eye, because they don't match anymore. No bifocals or reading glasses necessary yet. Although I do wear reading glasses occasionally when reading my Bible, which has pretty small print.

I made homemade spaghetti sauce in my Vitamix blender. It was just okay. It called for 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and two tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Seemed to be tart to me, with too much vinegar. Added a stick of butter and zillion calories and it tasted much better. I have another recipe to try that has a lot more tomato and a lot less weird stuff. I'll try that next. I also found out that Starbucks uses Vitamix brand blenders. I am going to have to try to concoct a caffee vanilla light frap in my blender. Maybe I can find some starting recipes online.

Ally had a great time at camp. She went horseback riding, and they had a lot of God moments. She was sharing stories with me last night as we went through her photos and had me in tears laughing. Youth camp is so important to me. That's where I accepted Christ as a teenager, and I know God does wonderful things at these camps.

Had dinner with Amy at her cosmetology school last week. She keeps a head in a locker... ha ha. I am going to try to get over there for her break once a week and eat with her. I rarely see her these days.

Started a packing list for the upcoming cruise, and have read so much online, I should know everything there is to know about cruising to Alaska. Looking forward to eating some crab, shrimp, and salmon right out of the ocean. Well, okay not crab because crabbing season is in the winter, so the crab might be thawed from frozen... but who am I to complain, besides I'll be eating the shrimp!

Oh and one last post... love this pic of a painting one of my friends shared... can't believe it is a PAINTING!

A Step Back in Time

2010-08-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo from 1913 of school students from my hometown of Wharton, Ohio -- Big Oak School. The interesting thing about this is pic is that I have a grandfather and great grandfather in this photo -- from different sides of my family. The man just to the left of the Z is my great grandfather, John Searfoss, on my mother's side. Just under the X is my grandfather Vernon Fulk (my dad's dad). Try to figure this out: John Searfoss's granddaughter Rose Maree Bell (who was my mom's sister) married Vernon Fulk's son Charlie (who was my dad's brother). HA HA -- basically my mom's sister married my dad's brother and somehow I got ripped off an extra aunt and uncle by that happening, and no that's not illegal... LOL! Anyway, I thought it was interesting to see two different ancestors unrelated in the same photo.

Summer's going great -- the comedian was great, we laughed and laughed. Last weekend I attended a Beth Moore retreat on Loving Well. Am I loving people better than I was five years ago? I think so! And I intend to keep at it. We learned in order to love others, we have to accept and refresh ourselves with God's love. We had pointers in loving four types of people... Joy, Testy, Foe, and Far (strangers). A great seminar.

I tried to make rhubarb strawberry jam in my Vitamix, but it turned out more like a spread. Still, it was tasty. Gave a jar to my neighbor, and he hasn't died yet.

My best friend, Thelma, is in town with her hubby, my former boss and pastor, Frank. He is in town on business. They attended church with me on Sunday and Pastor Frank and Pastor Steve (my current pastor) led the church in singing Victory in Jesus impromptu at the end of the service. A great time, a great service, a great day! We are hanging out off and on all week. They leave on Friday. Oh and the best quote I've heard in a long time came out of the sermon Sunday: "If you are a Christian, this earth is the closest you'll ever get to hell. If you are not a Christian, this earth is the closest you'll ever get to heaven." Love that saying.

I am still reading through the Bible this year for the second time, although I am about a week behind... maybe I'll catch up on the cruise. HA HA HA HA HA! Well, I can dream. I took this pic to prove to a friend that I was not just goofing off at Starbucks!

Took a couple of Ally's friends to Bob's Big Boy. I think this pic says it all.

Ally will head to camp for a few days on Thursday. Thelma and I plan to have lunch with Amy on her school break tomorrow evening. Amy will be "out on the floor" starting September 17, which means the book part of her cosmetology school will be over for the most part and the next year will be spent "hands-on." I am looking forward to getting some special treatment from her.

Forget Me Not

2010-08-02T13:46:00.001-07:00

I just need a minute here to harp about trying to remember so many user names and passwords it's ridiculous. I understand the need for security, but is it really necessary to make so many restrictions? At first I tried to keep all my user names and passwords for the most part alike. While I understand that may not be in my best interest should some evil person gain my info, I have a hard time using at least one uppercase letter, one lower case letter, no two letters the same in a row, at least one number, at least one symbol... sometimes I can make up a user name, sometimes my email must be used. And to top that off, if I haven't used a password in six months, I have to make up a new one. IF THAT ISN'T BAD ENOUGH I am instructed not to write down my passwords, because that would be unsafe. HA HA HA HA... now THAT'S A GOOD ONE!

Okay, moving on... we are having a great summer. Right now we are gearing up and getting excited about cruising to Alaska at the end of August. That will be the end of our summer as school starts again right after Labor Day. Ally said she's looking forward to the cruise in one way, but not in another -- since school starts after we get back. Wow, only two more years and she'll be finished with high school.

We are going to see comedian Tim Hawkins tomorrow night with some friends. Good, clean comedy:) I bought Chris two tickets to see BB King and Buddy Guy on August 14. He is taking his friend Steve, which I totally encourage, since that is not my thing. I told him I'd come and bring my iPad. He really didn't think that was funny.

Now Chris is a great hubby and wonderful father, but I must post these pics for my friend. She posted a pic of a cupboard door that was left open, and this is what I wake up to about every morning... how can someone not see these? I know, I know... if that's the worst thing he does...

10 Things I Love About Summer

2010-07-16T14:54:00.001-07:00

There are SOME things I don't like about the hot summer... but today I choose to focus on what I love...

1) Sleeping in later because no rides or breakfasts needed for school.

2) More free time because there's a break from homework, weekday Bible study, ice skating lessons, etc. etc.

3) No need to grab a jacket every day and make sure I have it at all times (I get cold easily).

4) More reason to visit Starbucks!

5) Busy season at work (I like being busy at work, it makes time fly).

6) No payments for Christian school. WOOT!

7) We have time to use our passes, this year to Sea World, San Diego Zoo, and San Diego Wild Animal Park.

8) Looking forward to good times visiting Coronado and the beaches. Although I don't really like swimming in the ocean, I like visiting the coast, where the temps are up to 20 degrees cooler.

9) Vacation time! Like our upcoming Alaskan Cruise next month!

10) And finally, getting to see friends and family who visit from out of state during their vacations.

I was right in my last post -- the hot weather was a'comin... and now it's here. It's been over 100 degrees for the last few days. I thank God for air conditioning, ice cubes, and my new refrigerator! I finally broke out the shorts for the summer. Another nice thing is I can wear shorts to work if I want. I only wear them when the temp is getting up near 100. Don't judge me, I self-tan my legs. Trust me, no one would be seeing them if I didn't. LOL!

Not only did we have hot temps yesterday, but had some crazy thunderstorms lurking around and about. Rain, lightning, and thunder! Didn't cool anything off, though -- but the evening ended with this glorious sunset.

Hello, Sunshine!

2010-07-12T11:47:00.000-07:00

Summer was off to a slow start weather wise... below normal temperatures and cloudy about every morning until at least noon -- sometimes all day. I love it though -- I know the hot days are a comin'! Today it's sunny and 80 degrees, so I think we're on our way.

I have been too busy (or lazy) to post lately... we had a fun 4th of July. We went to church where I was honored to say a prayer for our nation (Lord knows, we need it). Here's a photo of us on the 4th.

Ally has been asking to drive every time we get in the car... most of the time, we let her. She doesn't understand it's not as fun for us as it is for her. A couple people have already pulled out in front of her or cut her off. She got all feisty -- we say, get used to it, it's going to happen your whole life. I told her it's not her driving I'm worried about, it's everyone else on the road.

Got to see lots of my Wesleyan peeps at our ordination service and district conference. An Iraqi pastor, Pastor Floreed, was ordained -- he has a ministry through our home church.

Ally took some great shots at Sea World... here are some of them.

This weekend is my company picnic at Soak City -- looking forward to that. Hope it's at least sunny that day!

Fun at the Fair

2010-06-21T14:59:00.000-07:00

Went to the San Diego County Fair this week. Had a great time, it wasn't busy at all during the week. Had awesome Aussie Chips...

Ally and I rode the Tilt-a-Whirl...

We bought Chris a Vitamix blender at the fair at a big discount... he'd been saving for awhile and the family pitched in the last $100 for Father's Day. We've been cooking up smoothies, soups, and even ice cream. The blender is great because the friction heats the soup without a heating element. So easy to make healthy meals. Here's Chris and Ally at Red Lobster where we ate for Father's Day. Amy had to work until 5 p.m. so she missed out -- couldn't go later because Chris needs sleep before going in to work.

Ally got a purse and jewelry at the fair. Somehow all I got was a stuffed banana. HA HA HA -- I probably had to the most fun though, I love all the animal exhibits, the flower exhibit, and the photography exhibits.

Amy's enjoying cosmetology school, Ally's out for the summer and just got her driving permit. Jesus take the wheel!

Summertime!

2010-06-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

Really looking forward to the summer and school being out, warm weather, and our cruise in August. Ally is winding up for finals next week, then she's out for the summer. The weather was in the high 80's this past weekend. Loved it. Also got our tickets package from Costco for the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar. One of my favorite things to do! I love the animals and exhibits. Can't wait!

I've been going to the gym every day for an hour, except Fridays when I recover from my three hour volleyball stints on Thursday nights. Been eating well also. Losing a few extra pounds and feeling good.

We honored vets and active military in our church service over Memorial Day. Here's me, Chris and our long-time friend, Dave. Had to squeak a little to fit in the old uniform! Wow, I enlisted in the Navy 27 years ago! Now, that's scary.

My birthday weekend was so fun -- Ally was away for the weekend camping and it was a three day weekend, so I just did whatever I wanted and played with my favorite birthday present of all time -- an iPad. Love it! I can play games, read books, use the internet, listen to music. Best of all, it fits on the tiny shelf on the treadmills at the gym. Tonight I am attending an "iPad Class" at the Apple store to learn more about my new gadget.

My family in Ohio was very close to the destructive tornado that ripped through there this past weekend. They are all safe -- PTL!

Friends are the Family We Choose

2010-05-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

My bestie -- we can harp to each other, tell secrets, laugh our heads off, cry together, and just plain be stupid.

Got to spend time with friends up near Los Angeles this week. Got in some shopping, eating, and went to the Padre game at Dodger Stadium, which the Padres won 10 - 5. Woo hoo! Had me my first Dodger Dog!

Don't forget the foam finger!

Kiwi is here for a week. God love her little tiny furry body!

Had a couple more aftershocks this week. I guess they will never end. Next weekend is my 45th! I know what I am getting... so excited!

This I Believe...

2010-05-16T22:06:00.000-07:00

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I scrapbooked some of the photos this weekend from the Good Friday art exhibit at church. The Cross Project displayed art entries along with short personal essays of what the cross means to each artist. I was going to blog about my activities this weekend, but I looked at all the crosses again, I couldn't help but focus on the hope we have, because of that empty cross. He lives, and so can we! This is what I believe, and I won't be ashamed of it.

Mom's the Word!

2010-05-11T13:42:00.000-07:00

Had a great Mother's Day. Went to church, had a family photo taken, then went out to eat at BJ's restaurant. Had a fun time. Ally gave me this framed 8 x 10 photo of herself. Really nice. Amy gave me free haircuts for life... lol. She starts school for 15 months at the California Hair Design Academy beginning tonight.

The van is costing upwards of $4,000 for repairs. Thank God for insurance which also rented us a car for a few weeks. It's a PT Cruiser. Ally loves it -- it's okay, the main things I don't like are the tiny front windshield and the lack of cruise control and electronic seats, mirrors, etc. But it will do, and it's kinda fun for awhile I guess.

Ally, Bree, and I went to the Mother's Tea at church on Saturday. Had a good time.

Finally got my baseboards and walls painted. We are putting a new handrail around the corner and up the stairs, but are going to have to knock a hole in the upstairs bedroom wall after bringing the rail in through the window. It's nice working for a general contractor, ain't so?

Jesus, Take the Wheel!

2010-05-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

Well, He must've on this one.

A truck with a trailer pulled off the shoulder onto the freeway right on top of Amy while she was driving our Honda Odyssey. He scraped the whole side and took off the mirror. Then drove off... nice! Amy tried to brake, but couldn't in time and couldn't move to the next lane because there was another car there. She pulled off to the shoulder, but no witnesses stopped either, and she decided it wasn't a good idea to sit there with cars whizzing by, so she got off the freeway and called me crying. I left work, and we got everything taken care of. She didn't hit any other cars, and there were no injuries, so for that we are thankful. The car is in the shop, and our insurance rented us a PT Cruiser in the meantime. Ally loves the PT. I thought I would, but the front window is very small, and it lacks some of the nice things I'm used to having in the Civic. Like cruise control, electronic mirrors, electronic seats... and so on. I guess we've moved up in the world when our own cars are better than the rentals... I remember back in the day I would've been happy to drive anything newer than 10 years old!

Looking forward to going out for Mother's Day. Haven't been too good in keeping up the old blog -- thinking I'll post less and maybe that will encourage more often?!

In the Word

2010-04-26T15:18:00.000-07:00

Ally has joined me in reading through the Bible... I am on my second time through, and I think she got jealous of all my Starbucks trips which is where I do the majority of my reading and study for my ladies' group. Here's a pic of her with her studious glasses taking a break at Starbucks. We're having a lot of fun and good discussions.

I tried candy apples again, much better, but I need to look for a candy apple flavoring... these were cinnamon. Good, but a bit hot, even though this time I only used a fourth of the bottle instead of the entire bottle.

I'm helping our youth group make these chocolate gifts for a Mother's Day fundraiser...

I'm Baaaaaaaaaack

2010-04-16T18:21:00.000-07:00

Yeah, got caught up in spring break and been super busy... almost everyone I created this blog for is on Facebook now, so I don't know how long I will keep this blog going...

Had the largest earthquake we have ever felt... a 7.2 about 100 miles away. We were all freaked out, and I've felt at least six pretty large aftershocks. Several things fell off shelves, but nothing broke and no major damage. It lasted about 40 seconds -- time enough to run around freaking out. I could only get on Facebook to post to the fam that all was fine... my phone wouldn't send calls or texts for awhile due to overload.

Had a nice two week break from the usual routine and school. Ally and I went camping for two nights with friends out at Squaw Lake/Senator's Wash area. Had fun, but my back didn't take the drive well. I am just not a roughin' in kinda girl... give me a hotel, a Starbucks, and a massage any day!

Amy fractured her elbow skateboarding, in fact the first day she got her new skateboard. She's been in a sling for a couple weeks, but heads back to light duty at work next week.

Ally and I went to the Wild Animal Park, she got some awesome photos and posted them on Facebook.

Here's our family at Easter!

I Would Give Up Chocolate... but I'm No Quitter!

2010-03-22T16:27:00.001-07:00

Only two weeks to make Easter candy!

I also tried these candies... strawberries and grapes with a hard tack raspberry candy covering... so good!

My new floor went in... yippee! Will post kitchen pics once my moulding is in!

Ally, Bree, and I went to Mt. Helix so Ally could get some cross photos. We acted crazy and took a lot of weird pics!

Sunday at church, Carrie Prejean visited (her aunt sings on our worship team), so I had my pic taken with her!

Yeah, a swarm of bees surrounded my car, and I had to wait to get in. They went into the tree above my car finally, so I snapped this photo. A bee was in my car, in my hair, and I never did find it! Hope it flew out the window.

SOAPBOX: Can't believe congress passed the health care bill -- against the will of the people. So government run health care will be forced on people, less choices for people, more control for the government, and gee -- I wonder where all the billions of dollars are going to come from... This isn't the end of this, believe me!

Out with Old, in With the New... Eventually!

2010-03-16T10:16:00.001-07:00

The old floor is out, but I'm still waiting on the new! It's supposed to be here today and installed tomorrow. Maybe it will happen, maybe not. They also ripped out my base moulding, fortunately the guys at my work can install new. What can I say about what was under the 25 year old carpet... except that it makes me want to rip out the rest of the carpet in the house. But my floor installer said he's seen much worse. It makes me wonder if a vacuum cleaner even does anything. The good news is my new stove and micro are installed, and we love them. I've been cooking just to be cooking!

Had a little time to do some scrapbooking...

When I'm on the computer, sometimes Cuddles visits me and sits just like this...

We made an appointment at the post office and got Ally's passport ordered for the cruise. Now if airline tickets will just come down in price.

Made some goodies for St. Patrick's Day...

Saw the trailer for Eclipse, and we're already making plans to hit the midnight show. It comes out June 30, which is good since it would have been a school night, but no -- it will be summer!

The weather here has been heaven... it's supposed to be 85 today and no rain in sight.

With all the remodel, I threw my back out again on Saturday. I have to make myself not lift or pull anything heavy. I keep thinking I will be fine if I'm careful... but no. Today I am almost back to normal. Spent almost two days in bed.

Got a ticket on my way to work last week. He didn't run my tags, so I didn't get the law enforcement pass. I found out from my CHP friend that I'm supposed to say, "Yeah, my husband's in law enforcement, and he always warns me about stopping completely (or whatever)." That's the hint I needed. Well my friend told me to do a trial by declaration, which is where you send in a written statement, and if the CHP officer doesn't do it, you get off the hook. Another friend and I were thinking of all these things I could have said or did... and then I said, or we could just stop breaking the law, maybe that'd be easier. HA! The cop said I didn't stop completely before the white line at the stop sign. Please, if I didn't stop completely I was pretty close... even my kids said I always stop at stop signs. Either he just wanted to write a ticket, or he saw the latte in my hand and got jealous.

In closing I just want to harp that I am sick and tired of voting for people in elections just because there is no one better to vote for. I need some candidates I can get onboard with! Come on, is it too much to ask to have conservative, Christians run for office who won't compromise? Someone told me that even if that is what they are, once in office, things change and politics take over. Lord help us!

Believe in the Bunny!

2010-03-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

I've started practicing making Easter candy... lots of ideas in my little brain... and a few St. Pat's candies thrown in also (hazelnut chocolate filling).

Making bon bons...

Fill mold

Set briefly, drain mold

Scrape

Fill shells

Top with chocolate then freeze briefly

Wah-lah!

Making a large hollow easter egg...

Pour

Clip and turn

Freeze briefly

Unmold

Trim

Box

Also made some pecan turtles...

Chris and I had a date dinner at On the Border then hung out at Borders bookstore for awhile after. Very fun, hadn't been out in awhile.

Ally and I made time for some sushi. Two of my faves, California Roll and Shrimp Tempura Roll. Ally also had soft shell crab and shrimp tempura. Tasty!

I am back in ice skating classes again. Ally is going to take a couple videos of me doing my thing (which isn't much), and I will post them when I get a chance.

It's raining again. It's rained six out of the last eight weekends. Don't really mind though. Kinda like it.

My Bible print has been shrinking lately, especially if I don't have a bright light beaming down on it, so I purchased a pair of magnifying reading glasses and a book light and that has helped.

My floor won't be in now for ANOTHER week. The guys from work are installing my new stove and micro tomorrow. I can't wait any longer, I've been without a stove for three weeks. Will post pics of that soon hopefully.

Also in preparation for Easter our church is hosting an art exhibit called The Cross Project http://www.ecwesleyan.com/images/stories/pdf/cross_project_flyer_website_tag.pdf. Mom is sending an entry from Ohio and Ally is going to do a photography exhibit. Should be fun.

Drivers Beware

2010-03-01T16:22:00.000-08:00

Watch out... it won't be long now until Ally is out zipping around on the roads! My little baby's enrolled in Driver's Ed. She will be able to get her permit next month... help us all!

I still have no floor and no stove... I've been creative (as in eating out mostly... ha!). The two things I miss the most are pasta and frying an egg! But we've been using the microwave, toaster oven, and crockpot. However, I fixed two meals to take to two different families after surgeries, and Chris cried because he could smell the great meals all day long only to be told, hands off -- those are for someone else. So today I will get the stuff to make him a pot roast and veggies and will cook it tomorrow while I'm at work.

It rained like nothing I've seen here on Saturday. My raised patio was flooding and my sidewalks out front. Even had some thunder and lightning. I turned off the computers just in case, and it soon let up some. Sunday the sun was beaming down like nothing had happened. I'm just glad it's liquid and not snow!

I only gained a couple pounds while mom was out -- this week it's back to the gym. I've been eating good -- of course, I can't cook so that figures... While mom was out we watched a lot of the Olympics. After she left I watched a few more nights and then last night the closing ceremonies. I even watched the gold medal hockey game on Sunday. Too bad the USA lost, but I was happy that Canada won since they were the host. Here's a pic of Amy and her friend Gabe at Peohe's restaurant in Coronado. One good thing is -- I never have to worry about what I look like when Gabe's with us. No one's going to be looking at me anyway. It's hilarious to see people nudging each other and looking and judging us... I would never do that (wink).

I didn't feel good Saturday at all and I had so much to do! I think the Lord gave me a window of three hours where I felt pretty good -- I was able to come into work for an hour and to run the most important errands I had to do. My opinion is that it's all the iron I've been taking causing disruptions in my system! I stopped taking iron pills for a few days.

Chris left for work the other night and I was sitting on the couch watching the Olympics and using the laptop. Tigger brought down at least a dozen pieces of clothing from upstairs and laid them in the living room for me. I left them there all night so Chris could see. Maybe Tigger missed Gramsy and then when Chris left for work he couldn't take it anymore... maybe next time I post, I'll have a photo of my completed kitchen! One can hope.

Mom's Visit

2010-02-23T11:32:00.000-08:00

I dropped off the face(book) of the earth for the last few weeks while mom visited from Ohio. She escaped some serious weather back there and was super-happy to be visiting. I have a feeling her winter visits will become longer and longer in the future.

We had a great time -- went to the zoo...

Made candies...

And went on an awesome nature cruise to the Coronado Islands. I will post a slideshow at the bottom of this page when I get a chance, and here's a cool video we shot of some of the dolphins swimming along side the ship. We saw three different types of dolphins... very cool!

We ate so unhealthy -- I'm back on track now. There are just too many good places to eat out here! I am still waiting on my kitchen floor to arrive, but my stove/micro combo is going in in the next couple days. Will post pics when it's all finished.

The most important news -- we booked a mini-suite on an Alaskan cruise at the end of August. Soooo excited. By going that last week in August while most kids are back in school, we saved a ton of money and were able to get the mini-suite... which means more room, which is Chris' main complaint. He's a bathroom man (don't tell him I posted that here) and can't handle a tiny little toilet/room.

Gramsy Visits

2010-02-05T23:29:00.000-08:00

Trying to get a few minutes to post... it's 11:30 p.m. and we've been so busy with my mom visiting, I don't have much time for computers these days.

Here's a photo of some help Chris had at the border the other night...

We had an earthquake a few days ago, and it woke me up. It was around a 5.0 down in Baja. Amy came in my room a few minutes later to ask me if I felt it. She said she thought about jumping out the window... I thought, good grief, what's she gonna do when a big one comes.

The roof hasn't leaked since they temporarily repaired it, but I still need to talk to the HOA about repair of my ceiling inside, and now I noticed some stains on the carpet. Looks like it went down the inside of the wall somewhat.

Frank and Thelma came into town for a couple days. We spent the day running Thelma around to shop. She is so deprived in Sedona... of shopping anyway!

Ohio's getting snow right now. We saw pics of it on Facebook -- made mom glad she's out here for awhile. We saw Blind Side -- I had already seen it, but Mom and Ally hadn't. Loved it again.

Made some more candies with some new cool molds I got. Having fun trying out some new things.

Also tried our hand at glass etching -- not bad for a first piece.

I went to an Apple store for the first time (or a Mac store, or I-Store?). It was so crowded in the middle of the day on a Thursday -- what's that all about? The only Apple thing I have right now is my Ipod... but maybe the Ipad someday!

I Can See Clearly Now...

2010-01-29T23:12:00.000-08:00

... the rain has gone! B-E-A-UTIFUL out now... the crazy weather has lifted and we are back in the high 60's, just in time for mom to come visit and warm up for a few weeks.

Ally's back in iceskating... I am going to try to post a few very short videos here of her jumps and spins that she is learning. Haven't posted videos before, so we will see how that works out. They were taken in pretty low resolution from my cell phone, so the quality is not great.

I've been cleaning like a mad woman getting ready for the visit. Have the girl's rooms to finish up this weekend then I'm finished. Even had the sofa steam cleaned -- here's Tigger and Cuddles enjoying the freshness!

I watched Jumping Jack Flash today on TV. I laughed so hard I was crying. Hadn't seen it in years, and I forgot how funny that scene is when she comes into the office high on truth serum. Now I wish I would've put it on the DVR for awhile.

This is my new WANT -- the up and coming IPad. But first I need a new stove and kitchen floor, Chris needs dental work, the car needs a timing belt... so maybe in May for my birthday, but I would have to save up at least half by then. Everyone who reads this, send $50 please:P

I was driving down our street, came to a stopsign, and the guy in front of me sailed a CD out the window of his car like a frisbee. He was the only one in there... maybe it was Lady Ga Ga.

Well I read in the news this week that Arnold is proposing to PAY Mexico to build prisons to house their own illegal immigrant criminals who are over here in our jails -- it would be cheaper, he said. Can you say WHAT?! Are you kidding me? I can't even start to comment on the things wrong with this picture or this blog would be a novel!

Fortunately our HOA is responsible for our roof -- with all the weather we had, Ally's ceiling is showing signs of a leak. They temporarily patched it until they find out if it's under warranty. There is a big stain kinda in the shape of a cross on her ceiling. Hopefully they will fix that, too. Otherwise, we will paint Jesus on it and it can be a reminder to us all.

I taught the ladies Bible study this week as our usual teacher's hubby had knee surgery. It went good -- don't even really have to teach... the ladies have so much good input, I always learn more than them! We are studying another Cynthia Heald book, Becoming a Woman of Freedom.

Well, it's hard to believe my dad and brother both died two years ago... my dad within just a few months of being diagnosed with ALS and my brother very unexpectedly. It seems like just last month... can we not slow down the time?! Ally will be starting driver's ed next month... that's another daughter on the road... SCARY! For me AND the other drivers! Amy's good though -- she hasn't had any accidents to speak of in the four years she's been driving out here on these crazy roads. A couple of minor dings, nothing even to go through insurance... whew!

Okay, well time to see if I can post videos in here... if you can't find them you'll know I was not successful:)

Wacky Weather!

2010-01-22T14:52:00.000-08:00

Crazy is all I can say... this week we've had rain, floods, lightning, thunder, trees down, cars crashed all over the place, power outages, tornado warnings, an earthquake and today -- a hail storm! Is this San Diego?! I don't think so! Here's me after I ran outside at work to snap a couple pics of the hail. Last time I remember it hailing here was about 15 years ago. Amy was little, and I remember us scooping it up and throwing it all over. Then to boot, the sun came out -- although it's gone again. The rains are supposed to let up after today... we're ready! The gazebo across the street is still above water, but the water has already crept up a few feet at least.

I lost another pound... finally! Only eight more to go to goal. I have actually lost five since the first of the year, but four of those don't count to me because that's holiday weight I gained. Here's one of my favorite low cal, low point snacks. Diet orange soda and fat free cool whip... two points and delish!

I picked this up for Ally in a discount after-Christmas bin for a buck or two. I love Larry. We used to go around singing... "I have to tell you something... I have no belly button." From one of the Veggie Tales videos I think.

Tigger cracked me up again. I was home alone, and he did not like that, so he started bringing me gifts to make up for it I guess. I told him if he kept it up, I wouldn't have to bring down the laundry. Crazy cat!

I made a calendar for my friend, Thelma, in Arizona... sort of a late Christmas present with all the pics we took while we were there. Some amazing pics!

It's the end of the year at work, so I'm finalizing the books and tax things. I issued the W-2's for all the employees this week, glad to have that finished. We will file our own taxes by the end of the month hopefully!

I've had time to actually read a couple books this week. My pile by my bed is slowly shrinking! We were happy to hear about the republican win in Mass. this week -- AWESOME... now to work on California!

Nothin' But Blue Skies...

2010-01-15T22:14:00.000-08:00

... it's been beautiful here, but rain is on the way! Supposed to be a lot of rain coming in for the weekend... just in time for the Charger's play off game. Should be interesting!

Ally's at her friends for the night, Chris is at work, Amy's out with friends and I have the night to myself. What have I done? Watched a movie, did the dishes, played on the computer, and had an awesome time of prayer and Bible reading! Even caught up a couple days of reading -- since I was a week behind with all the delays getting my new Bible.

My mom's coming in February, this weekend will be spent cleaning the downstairs. I took Monday off and plan to clean more then. Even though it's a holiday for the kids and government, I have to take it as an unpaid holiday. I get Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, 4th of July, Memorial Day, and Labor Day paid, so I'm not complaining -- especially with all the other perks I have at my job. I could even work Monday and get paid if I wanted. I do work Veteran's Day and Columbus Day, oh and Ground Hog Day -- ha, just kidding there -- that's a paid holiday -- kidding again!

My back is doing fine. I played volleyball Thursday. Felt a couple twitches, but tried to take it easy. I haven't been to the gym since before Christmas! Ally's schedule now gets her out of school the same time I get off work, so I can't go to the gym before getting her. Then I run her home, and boy am I not motivated after being at home! Gotta figure something out soon though.

Today at work I had an $18,000 depost in my hot little hand. I was preparing to go to the bank, cleaning up my desk, shredding some trash, yaddah yaddah. Then I can't find the deposit. Talk about my heart stopping. As I head back to the shredder all I can do is pray "Oh, God." "Oh, God." I look through the shredder, and I see some yellow paper, which is what part of the deposit slip looks like. But then I realize it's not the deposit slip -- took awhile to see since it was cross-shredded. Anyway I retrace my steps for the last five minutes and I found the deposit in the trash can. My boss didn't really think it was funny -- go figure. HA HA. Of course, I didn't think it was funny until I found it. I could just see myself calling those customers and telling them I needed new checks because I shredded them.

So, as I was having my prayer time today, of course, I am praying for Haiti and I am praying out loud since I am by myself and I just start crying and praying that if there are people who can't be reached by the rescuers that God would reveal Himself to them somehow, so they can know Him. And if they are rescued that He would receive the glory and that others would come to know Him through this tragedy. I also realize daily just how blessed we are in this country and just how personally blessed my family is and I am. How God has placed his protection around my family and we haven't dealt with serious illness, job losses, financial strains... and the list goes on. I never want to take that for granted and I realize it could be gone in an instant... I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that I am reading in Job right now:) I love a blog where I can post whatever I want and not care what anyone thinks, because you know what, you don't HAVE to read it! Okay, back to reality -- wait, that was reality...

I'm all caught up on my scrapbooking -- did all these this week! Just have to print them and get them into my latest book. I counted my photo albums and I have 14!

Out With the Old, In With the New

2010-01-12T11:41:00.000-08:00

All the Christmas decorations have been put away. I tweaked my back moving the last box and was out of commission for a few days. Fortunately it was the weekend. I stayed half reclined on the couch for two days. I felt good while bowling, ATVing, riding in the car for hours on end, and playing volleyball, but I guess the old muscles just couldn't take anything else. That was last weekend though, and I'm better now.

My Bible finally came in, 33 days after I ordered it. I went to pick it up and couldn't believe it, but the engraving was missing the upper part of the "C" in my name. She fixed it -- it's still not perfect, but I couldn't put up with it anymore. It's going to be in a cover anyway.

Ally had her friend Bree over for New Years and we stayed up, making all kinds of noise and playing games. Having Chris there was fun. He got up at 10 p.m. to celebrate with us.

Amy left her phone on top of the car and it's gone. That's three in a year. She has to pay for this replacement. Verizon was able to extend her contract by one year and give her a phone for about $120. I'm thinking of just giving it to her for her birthday, so she won't have to pay me back. Amy's ipod touch she got from Gabe for Christmas wouldn't work with our router. It was too old. So got a new router and spent three hours installing that. Major issues and a couple hours on the phone with Linksys then Cox. Turns out the "auto detect" for the router was turned off, Cox fixed the issue within two minutes of me calling them. Grrrrrr. Anyway the router is much better, and everyone is happy now.

Mom's coming to visit and soak in the warmer weather at the beginning of February. We are looking forward to that, she'll be here for Amy's birthday and is staying for three weeks.

I got all my photos for 2009 organized, the best ones on my digital frame, and even got some scrapbooking done in the last few days!

Does It Get Any Better Than This?!

2010-01-04T19:29:00.000-08:00

Finally getting a chance to post post-Christmas! The kids were excited about Christmas morning. I said no getting up until after 7 a.m. I had visions of them getting up at 4 a.m. Turns out, they finally rolled out of bed about 10:30 a.m., and I was up at 6:45 a.m. to finish things up! I cooked prime rib steaks, scalloped corn, rolls, potatoes and gravy -- Ally said she thinks it was the best meal I ever made. I do better when I don't try to make 10 things! Santa was good to everyone. My Bible still hasn't arrived yet, got half my money refunded, and it should be there this week.

We went on vacation to Sedona, Arizona to visit friends Frank and Thelma. Chris and I celebrated our 25 year anniversary while we were there, and renewed our vows. I forgot how beautiful it is there... we went ATV'ing, bowling, and toured Antelope Canyon in Page. It was pretty cold, especially at the canyon, but we survived. So many pics, I tried to just select a few. Glad Ally had her new camera, most of my pics blurred in the low light at the canyon. The canyon is called a slot canyon and it started out as a crack in petrified sand. It floods and the rushing water carves the walls. It is one of the most amazing things in nature I have ever seen.

Of course, had to eat at Cracker Barrel in Yuma on the way back. Loved using our GPS to get around. I dropped my phone and busted the front screen. It still works and and the inside screen is okay, but I'll have to get it replaced. I have insurance on it.

After all those activities, plus volleyball, I injured my back lifting the last box of Christmas decorations. Well, at least they are done. Have been taking pain killers and using my hot rice bag... a lifesaver! Missed church on Sunday and stayed on the couch for the better part of two days -- I think I'm on the mend now. We were glad to get back to warmer weather, it's been almost 80 degrees for the last couple days.

Finished reading through the Bible on December 31 -- now just waiting for my new one to start again! Ally's friend Bree came over on New Year's, we played games, popped balloons, made noise, and drank Martinelli's.

The Reason for the Season

2009-12-24T16:21:00.000-08:00

We are preparing to head to church Christmas Eve service soon... wanted to post once more before the big day -- who knows how busy we'll be the next few days. Tonight we read the Nativity story from Luke 2 and then "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." We open one gift each on Christmas Eve and the rest in the morning. Ally usually has us sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. A small reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. How awesome that a Savior was sent into the world just for us! And what a shame not to recognize that fact!

The girls got robes to open Christmas Eve.

Saw this truck at church last weekend... so cute!

I worked today finishing up payroll, paying bills, backing up the computer and so on, and I won't be back until next year... I can hear the angels singing Alleluia now! Then I met Amy over at Parkway Plaza at the new Bob's Big Boy that just opened. The mall traffic was bad, but I've seen worse. I grabbed the first parking space I saw! It's been a little hectic the last few days, I actually ran a load of laundry and forgot to put the clothes in... ha! Shopping is finished, the last two packages we were expecting arrived yesterday, wrapping is finished... now Santa just needs to come.

Oh and my Bible will not be here in time for Christmas. Family Bible Bookstore forgot to order it, then a storm delay, then realized they had it the entire time but was engraved with the wrong name, then realized it had thumb indents in it and mine wasn't supposed to... anyway, it's being re-ordered and I am asking for half off.

My candy thermometer broke -- at least I had made several batches of toffee lately so I knew what toffee looks like just after it reaches hard crack temperature, so I did okay. Did not know not to eat it if you have crowns... later my tooth started bothering me and my friend told me I should not be eating it. It's actually okay if the toffee is crunchy, but I undercooked one batch slighty and it was really chewy after the crunch... a big no, no. Gave candy away left and right from my work neighbors, to the Starbucks workers, to the mail man. God Bless Us, Everyone! I tried snickers bars for the first time, they turned out really good, or so I heard... I'm not a big fan. Made white rice crunch candies, some were tree shaped with peppermint crunchies, several batches of toffee, caramel peanut clusters, peanut butter filled cups and bon-bons, and chocolate covered pretzels. We have been getting candy and food for gifts too, and I think I gained five pounds this week.

We're off to Sedona early Saturday morning as long as there is not ice in the mountains... if there is, we'll leave a little later after it melts. Chris is off work on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve... that hasn't happened in 10 years! He always works at least Christmas or New Year's.

Happy Holidays!

Holiday Hustle... and Bustle

2009-12-18T21:46:00.000-08:00

Been awhile since my last post... soooo busy! I've made lots of candy and even shipped two boxes... one to Illinois and one to Colorado. I lucked out and hit the post office when there was no line. The postal worker told me the line had been out both doors earlier that day. Don't know how the shipped candies will fare, but figured we are past the melting season. However it was in the 80's here today... so nice! I made toffee for the first time... was crunchy at first but later was a little chewy, think I need to heat it to 305 or 310 degrees next time. It was soooo good though, I think I ate half a plate! Made lime and raspberry hard candies. Even made Ally some chocolate covered chocolate chip cookie dough bites. They were so rich, though... couldn't eat too many of them at once. Also made some peanut butter and peppermint fillings.

Almost finished shopping, just have a couple stocking stuffers left to get. Got a handy dandy bonus at work today and already spent it. Will post more on the gifts after Christmas! Also found out my new Bible was never even ordered... so it's on rush order now at the Family Bible Bookstore. Hope it makes it for Christmas.

We held Bethlehem Boulevard at our church. It rained though, so we had to move everything inside. No bounce house, so Ally and I worked at the make-a-craft tables... the one thing Ally said she didn't want to do! There was music, smores, hot drinks, photos with a camel, sleigh and santa photos, and all kinds of food. Very fun.

Went to see the Christmas lights... wanted to do that before the weekend. Love that tradition.

We all four went to see New Moon. The girls for the second time. Had to see it again since we missed parts of the movie at the opening midnight showing due to loud teenage girls... fun! Then Chris and I went to see Blind Side and loved that... it's about time Hollywood portrays Christianity in a positive light. Heard Sandra Bullock was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance. Definitely recommend this movie!

Chris has been using up leave left and right since he had about two week of "use it or lose it" leave left. Ally's off school until next year. I am super busy at work... but not too busy to take off here and there to shop! Oh, and $200.00 arrived in the mail today from Santa... how thoughtful.