Monday, March 31, 2008

Three Baseball Fanz

My mom made a blog. It's all about baseball. It's very cool. I plan on jazzing it up a bit tomorrow with a cool new banner. Anyway, check it out, leave her comments. Talk about baseball. It will be cool.

Three Baseball Fanz

Friday, March 28, 2008

Another One!


I finished Black Beauty on the 27th but I'm writing about it today. It's about a horse who first is in one house and then is sold to another. In that house he met Ginger another horse and Merrylegs. The saddest part was when he found out that Ginger had died because the people didn't feed her. anther sad moment is when the barn burned to the ground and Ginger almost didn't make it out. Or when Beauty broke his knees. The good parts where when Beauty ran out to save a lady and he almost got sick but he made it and at the the new owner said that they would never sell him away so he had no worries so all he did was think about Ginger and Merrylegs.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Iggie's House


I finished Iggie's House today its about a girl named Winnie and her best friend Iggie moved to Tokyo and black people moved in her house. Mrs. Landon hated the Garbers (the people who moved in) and she said she didn't want black people taking over. But in the end Mrs. Landon moves she wanted to move out because nobody was on her side and she wanted to leave any way before blacks took over and Winnie and the Garbers where best friends. The saddest thing when Mrs.Landon put a sigh in the Garbers front yard saying "Go back back were you belong. We don't want your kind around here!!!!!!" I feel like the book left me hanging throw. Next I'm reading Black Beauty.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

A Slightly Larger Small Assistant

You should have guessed if Catherine came to work with me yesterday, Carolynn would be joining me today.

Carolynn thought ahead and brought a book and my laptop with her. She helped around the office with filing and stapling. She played online. She read her book. I think she is almost done with Iggy’s House. She ordered pizza for lunch. She too was ready to go home by the end of the day. Needless to say, I don’t think they will want to do that again.

Another day, another birthday greeting... This time to Carolynn and Catherine's great-aunt Sherri! Have a great day!

Monday, March 24, 2008

My Little Assistant

Catherine came to work with me today. She is on Spring Break. She brought crayons and colored a bunch of pictures. I found some stuff about California Missions for her to work on; coloring pages, a word search, other activity pages. She ordered lunch from the deli. She had a tuna sandwich. She played with her Webkinz. She brought them all with her. She stole all the office supplies off of my desk and sold them back to me from “Catherine’s Office Supply Store”. When it was time to go, she was very ready. She is funny.

Jo Anna, my friend and co-worker, brought me a birthday gift today. She brought me a nice teas set for one and some really cool teas. They have a neat tea shop in Leucadia near her house. I will have to check it out one of these days.

Also, a Happy Birthday to my friend Heather's little boy Joey!

I Finished Another Book


Guess what people’s I finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory already! It was good, it’s about a boy named Charlie who lives in this tiny little shack and they barely get anything to eat. He lives with his two grandmas, two grandpas, and his mother and father. Then he found out well he was walking home from school there had tickets, 5 golden tickets, if you got a ticket you got to go inside the factory. Then when Charlie’s grandpa tells him about Willie Wonka and when he reopened his factory no one got there job back, but there are little people in the windows of the factory as tall as your knee. Also, a boy named Augustus Gloop, a big fat kid that loves chocolate, found one ticket. Every year Charlie would get a chocolate bar on his birthday and he got his candy bar early gut when he opened it there was no golden ticket. Then Charlie’s grandpa gave him a gold coin t by another candy bar but when they opened it together still no golden ticket. Then one day well he found the golden ticket and he ended up with the chocolate factory.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Happy Easter To You… Happy Birthday To Me!

Happy Easter! Today the kids got up early to hunt down plastic eggs hidden around my house. They got their baskets of goodies. We had a nice breakfast of Cinnabons and a fruit salad. We watched Enchanted. Carolynn got that in her basket. We just hung out all day. We made ham for dinner. It was delicious. Carolynn baked me a devil’s food cake for my birthday. It was good too. No candles though, we wouldn’t want to set off the smoke detectors. I don’t feel any older. I got this little thing off of the blog of a woman I know. I guess this explains why I still feel the same.




You Act Like You Are 27 Years Old



You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel like an adult, and you're optimistic about life.

You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.



You're still figuring out your place in the world and how you want your life to shape up.

The world is full of possibilities, and you can't wait to explore many of them.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Iron Chef America- Battle Guacamole

When Trish was here, we bought avocados from a guy in a stand near Pala. The plan was we were each going to make some guacamole and see the difference. However, the avocados took too long to ripen so I made both guacamoles today. Here are my results:

-Catherine liked Trisha’s version better.
-Carolynn liked mine better.
-Trish’s had better consistency. She uses tomatillos for hers. I never used those before.
-Mine was spicier than hers.

Both were tasty and neither was wasted. I declare a tie.

Friday, March 21, 2008

It's All Greek To Me

We finally got to try our Greek food. We got it from Daphne's Greek Cafe. We got Falafel (a deep fried veggie patty), Tzatziki, (a Greek yogurt and cucumber sauce), pita bread, rice, a Greek salad, Gyros,(sort of like a meatloaf, made of beef and lamb, roasted on a spit and sliced really thin) spanakopita, (filo dough filled with spinach and cheese), a fire roasted pepper feta cheese spread, hummus, and bakalava (a pastry with nuts and cinnamon). We liked most of it. The Falafel was okay. We give it a 3 out of 5. The Tzatziki gets a 3 also. The pita bread got a 5, as did the rice and the salad. The Gyros got a 4. I was the only one who liked the spanakopita. The feta spread was too spicy and no one wanted any hummus. The bakalava got a 3 too. It certainly was different.

We will have ham for Easter. I already know I like that.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

The Swallows Have Returned

Today I took Trisha to the airport so she could return to North Carolina. I had a fabulous time. I hope she did too. Tomorrow I have to go back to work.

On the way home from the airport, Catherine was complaining that it was a boring drive and it wasn’t fair that Carolynn got to go on field trips and she didn’t. So I took her on one. We went to the Mission at San Juan Capistrano. Signs say that this is the week the swallows return. I did not see any swallows. Catherine was sooooo mad. She said it was boring and like school. I made her write about it for her website. She said it was like homework.



Last night Trisha took me to this really cool restaurant called Forever Fondue. It was so cool. The food was fabulous. We had a great time.

Look for a video of our adventure this weekend. I have to gather all the pictures first.

Our Day At The Mission

Today we went to the Historic Mission San Juan Capistrano. First we saw the founding document. It was about how they founded it. Next we saw the olive millstone. It was about smashing olives and trading them for other goods. In the middle of our adventure we saw the central courtyard. I learned about Friar O'Sullivan and how he built the Moorish style fountain. Then at the end of our adventure we saw a wishing well. It was about... well, I forgot what that was, but I saw a lot of stuff in it. I also got a smashed penny with a swallow on it.

The End



Me Being Weird


A Gold Wall Inside A Church


A Fountain


Old Walls

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

California Cruising

I know I haven't updated in a few days but we have been busy. Today is our last day of vacation. Tomorrow Trisha goes back to North Carolina and Thursday I will return to work.

Sunday we didn't do much. We went to Jack In The Box for an early lunch. They do not have Jack In The Box in North Carolina. We got groceries at the Stater Bros. and we played video games in the night. (Just FYI, her Pogo is better than my Pogo.) We also had Pat and Oscar's for dinner. They don't have those in North Carolina either.

Yesterday we went to Balboa Park and walked around and went to the Botanical Gardens. Catherine took some pictures. Carolynn was also at Balboa Park on a field trip with her school learning about Shakespeare. We didn't see her.





After Balboa Park, we went and cruised around downtown and stopped by Petco Park so Trish could check it out. We went to a Padre's Store there to get Padre's gear and we took some pictures.




After that we took a cruise through East County. We went through El Cajon, Lakeside and Santee. Then we went to Miramar and got gas. We saved about $0.30 per gallon by filling up on base. I miss that. Then we checked out the Exchange there and headed toward home. We stopped at another California only eatery, Carls Jr., for lunch. That was it for us.

Today we did a whole lot of nothing. We went to Wal-Mart for cold medicine. We picked Carolynn up from her field trip. (Today she went to the Birch Aquarium.) Then we got a taco from one of those real Mexican taco shops. Now I am making spaghetti for dinner for everyone but Trisha and me. She and I are going out to dinner. She is taking me out for my birthday, which is on Sunday, but she won't be here. Tomorrow we are off to drop her off at the airport and the vacation will be over. How sad.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Colder Than A Witch's You-Know-What

Today Trisha, Carolynn and I took a trip to the mountains. Before we headed up the mountains, we stopped at a roadside stand on an Indian reservation and purchased some avocados to make guacamole. We got some lemons and oranges too. Then we headed up to Palomar Mountain. On the way, we stopped at a scenic overlook. Here is Carolynn on the overlook. It was damn cold out there.



We went to Palomar Mountain and we stopped at the tiny little town and bought some organic soap from a lady I know who owns a place called Palomar Mountain Soap Company. Sadly, her factory burned in the fires and she was clearing out what was left. Her soaps are really nice and smell really good. Trish bought a bar and Carolynn bought a bag of soaps that I am hoping she shares. We would have bought more, but we were low on cash and credit was not accepted. After that we drove up to the Palomar Mountain Observatory. That was pretty neat too, but it was even colder. I hadn't been that cold since Wisconsin.



After that we drove to Julian and went to the Julian Pie Company. I had a slice of apple pie and we bought a couple of whole pies to bring home. They have fabulous pies there. When we were getting in the car with our pies, it was starting to snow. SNOW!!

We made it home before it really started to fall and then we went to Wienerschnitzel for dinner. They don't have those in North Carolina.

Tomorrow, no plans. We need to recuperate.

My Really Boring Book


I finished my boring book, The Witch of Blackbird Pond. It is about a girl named Kit who moved from a big city to a little city. She moves in to her aunt’s house by surprise, she does not even ask. Then when she has to work in the fields, she meets this woman named Hannah. Hannah lives down at blackbird pond and everyone thinks she is the witch because when the river flooded and when it dried up her house was still there. Then this person named William wanted to marry her. Suddenly all the kids get sick and everyone thinks its Hannah who put a spell on them. Hannah escapes and since kit was her friend, she was arrested for witchcraft. Then they realized that she was just teaching another girl to read so then she is let go. And William ends up marring the girl in the house who wanted to marry him any way and everyone else gets married but her then she marries the captain of the boat the dolphin and live happily ever after.

Friday, March 14, 2008

The Land Of Fruit, Nuts, And Flakes

Today Trisha and I embarked on the first real day of vacation. Yesterday we were too lazy to go anywhere. She had been up for like 25 hours before that and so we got some tacos in Encinitas for lunch and stayed home and made egg rolls for dinner.

Today we went and did all of Los Angeles in one day. We started at the Santa Monica Pier. We walked out to the end and back. Then we had lemonade at the original Hot Dog On A Stick. Here are a couple of photos.




After that we decided to take the advice of Rachel Ray on the Food Network. She showed Tito's Tacos on her show Tasty Travels and said they had the best tacos in the country. They certainly we tasty and the burritos were good too. They came with chips and salsa that were also yummy. We brought them home for Carolynn. Here is a picture of me at Tito's Tacos.



After that we went to the La Brea Tar Pits. We threw a little educational fun into the mix. It was fun too.



Next on the tour of Los Angeles, we went to the Farmers Market. We got some tea from the tea shop. I had some Thai Tea and it was yummy. It had some milk in it and it was a little sweet. Trish had some kind of blood orange tea. It was good too. Sweet like a juice. We shopped a bit in there and headed off to China Town. We bought some junk in there too, then we checked out Olvera Street.

Then we drove to Beverly Hills. We drove down Rodeo Drive and passed billion dollar homes. It was cool. We didn't get out of the car there though because they would have told us to get back in.

Finally, we went to Hollywood and went to Graumann's Chinese Theater and checked out the weirdos. Then we headed home. To top off our day we ended with a California staple... In N Out. It was an excellent, yet long today. Tomorrow more adventures.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Embarrassing Pictures Discovered

HA! My mom sent me some excellent embarrassing pictures of Alyssa. So here they are. Happy 15th Birthday Alyssa!



March 12, 2008- Day Three

I wasn't home yesterday so here is Catherine's list.

Good Things Catherine Did-
-Cleaned The Dining Room
-Cleaned the cat boxes and took out the trash.
-She may have cleaned her room, but then she messed it up.
-Made her bed.
-Did homework.

There are no bad things to report.

Happy Birthday Alyssa!

I tried to find an embarrassing picture of her, but she would never let anyone own an embarrassing picture of her. Teenagers.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Good Morning America



Yep, it is on and I am awake and not at work. There is a plus for you. Now the down side… Trish missed her flight. It was not her fault and she intends to raise hell with the airline. They booked her on another flight, but it will not get here until tonight and she was supposed be arriving this morning.

However, this gives me more time to clean and stuff. Not exactly a stellar start to my vacation, but it’s not as if it has been totally ruined.

Oh, and for the record, as far as morning news shows go, I actually prefer The Today Show. Sorry Good Morning America. But Good Morning America made a better post title.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was my last day of work for eight whole days! YEA!

Tomorrow I pick up Trisha from the airport and the fun shall begin. Today, boring.

I got a key for my mail box today. Good thing too because the junk was really piling up. Carolynn was invited to join the GATE program at her school. Now both of my children are gifted and talented. Swell. For her GATE, they are taking a series of field trips over Spring Break, which starts next week. They are going to learn about Shakespeare at the Old Globe Theater in Balboa park, they are going to Birch Aquarium, they are going to go to the Maritime museum and learn to sail a tall sailing ship and then sail the Californian out on the harbor, and finally they are going to learn about opera and then go see a real dress rehearsal at the San Diego Civic Theater. It's going to be a lot of fun. I am sure there will be pictures of her many adventures to share.

Catherine was pretty good today. She was very concerned about what I might write about her today so she worked extra hard. He teacher even sent home a note with a smiley face.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008- Day 2

Good things Catherine Did Today-
-Catherine cleaned her room.
-Catherine made her bed.
-Catherine cleaned the cat boxes.
-Catherine took out the trash.
-Catherine did most of her homework.
-Catherine may have picked up the living room, but it got messed up again so I can't tell.
-Catherine cleaned out the car.

Not So Good Things Catherine Did Today-
-Catherine did not finish her homework. She eventually finished it but I had to remind her.

What Won't People Do To Get Noticed In L.A?



You have to see this.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Catherine's Terrible List

I am at my wits end. I am trying a new tactic. See Catherine's website for a list of stuff Catherine did today. I figure maybe if I embarrass her, maybe I can get some where. She is having issues with responsibility and temper. We are giving it a try anyway. We'll see how it works. I plan on posting everyday as long as necessary. To be fair, I am posting the good things she did as well as the bad.

Monday, March 10, 2007- Day 1

Good Things Catherine Did Today-

-Catherine got good grades on her report card in reading, writing, listening, speaking, number sense, algebra, statistics, data analysis, probability, problem solving, social studies and science. She also got good grades in effort, competes class work, works independently, and demonstrating organizational skills.

Not So Good Things Catherine Did Today-

-Catherine ate 20 bags of fruit snacks.
-Catherine got bad grades in following rules and directions, avoiding needless talking, working well with others, doing neat and careful work,demonstrating self control, and taking responsibility for her own actions.
-Catherine got a failing grade in completing her homework on time.
-Catherine did not do her homework.
-Catherine did not do her chores; pick up her room, make her bed, and take out the trash.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Times Change

Did everyone remember to set their clocks ahead one hour? I hope so.

I would like to thank all the people who sent me their moving advice and suggestions. I really appreciate it. Now, if any one knows or is a person good at writing résumé’s, I could use some help there. I can write just about anything but a résumé that looks good.

Today we are finishing our house cleaning. I am making cranberry orange muffins. I want to make sure my house is good and clean when Trisha arrives in just three short days.

My mailbox broke on Thursday. The key broke off in the lock. I went to the office to have them fix it, (where I found out I’d have to move). I went over there on Friday to get the new key (I saw it had been fixed.) and no one was there. I called over there yesterday and left a message, I went over there yesterday, and no one was there. The office is closed on Sunday and Monday. It is supposed to be open from nine to six Tuesday through Saturday. All of my bills and junk come to my e-mail and people do not generally send me stuff, but it still annoys me that I might have mail in my box and I cannot get it.

Later I will be performing surgery on Cow and Cow Jr. Anyone who knows Catherine will know exactly what that means. Cow and Cow Jr. are her oldest two cows and they are looking ragged. I hope that they can be saved.

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Moving and Other Middle School Drama

We are moving On June 30. We did not get a choice; they are not renewing our lease here. Let us just say some people really want to get every penny out of people. Oh well, it is not as if we are living in some palace or anything and I was thinking of moving anyway, so all is well.

Carolynn had to go to the school counseling office yesterday because some girl said she was going to beat her up after school. So rather than getting beat up, she told a teacher, went to the counselor, and got a ride home. I asked her why some girl wanted to beat her up, she said she did not know. She said the girl thought Carolynn called her bad names. She assures me she did not. The school counselor thinks the girl in question has some home problems she is having a hard time dealing with. I saw her mom on the news. She was running an unlicensed day care and some how she managed to accidentally leave a three year old in front of an elementary school while dropping off the other kids. Moreover, she did not notice she was missing all day.

Today we are cleaning, taking the recycling and donating to the Goodwill. I know. We are exciting.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Indoor Nature

Just over a month ago, I wrote about a nice lady who brought me a plant my first week at my job and how she had recently passed away. Today her son came in to pay a bill and he brought me a new plant.



He brought Jo Anna this one.



Aren’t they beautiful? It just goes to show, there are some nice people out there.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

When Life Hands You Lemons, You Make Lemonade. When Life Hands You Drama, You Make A Soap Opera And Sell It To Fox.

I really do not think I am filled with a bunch of my own drama. I have not been hauled off to the pokey. I have not got my boobs posted on the interweb. I do not think people in New England drive on the other side of the road. I have not been going around insulting people for no reason.

Sure does seem like I have a lot of drama in my life though. Besides the drama, I have work (which has drama all its own), school, kids, bills and chores. All this stuff happens to me everyday leaving me very few minutes to think and then stuff starts getting left behind or goes un-noticed.

Some things are small, some things are huge and I need a dump truck to hit me in the head before I remember to notice them. Maybe I am just getting old. Maybe I am just that busy. Or maybe…

What’s the name again of that huge river that runs through Egypt?

Oh yes, that’s right…

Saturday, March 01, 2008

India In The Kitchen

Well, we just finished our Indian/Mediterranean dinner. It was not exactly the best food ever. Nevertheless, we had an adventure and we all tried something new. Hummus is gross. Just so you know. The curry-creamed chicken was good. I was going to make curried chicken tenders, but we tried this instead. Couscous is okay, but it was a little bland. I never thought Indian food would be bland. Catherine made pita chips that are good too. David would not try the Hummus. We could not blame him. Catherine tried a red bell pepper. She made an awful face. Carolynn somehow ended up wearing her chicken. It was an adventurous dinner. Next week we are trying Greek food from a near by diner. It will be another adventure.