Happy One Year Anniversary to my Blog

June 1st of 2008 marks the first day of my "Under the Clouds" blog. Knowing that we had already secured a home in the Kirkland area and that our lives were going to change dramatically in the following year and that I might even have some friends and family that may be mildly interested in our lives, I thought I would start to blog about it all. I knew that I liked to write and that I could throw a pretty decent letter or report together so it seemed like a good fit. I now know that I love to write and that this has been the cheapest best kind of therapy I could get. I looked back over last year's posts just to re live and see where we were at this time and it seems like a million years ago. We have done so much in a year... so much has happened both good and bad to everyone in our lives as well. If you would have predicted my future or anyone else's a year ago I would have thrown that crystal ball out the window and cursed it till I was blue in the face. No way would "that" have happened or "this" could not be true. But, life has a way of living and things do happen and it all gets reflected on a year later. One year ago we were still in the High Desert of Southern California. I was still working and the girls were still in school. We were beginning to live amongst boxes (seems like a reoccurring theme with us lately) and we were having to prep ourselves for lots of goodbyes. Excited beyond belief, nervous, scared, too busy to worry about too much which was good. It will be one year ago on July 1st that we landed in Kirkland. I will save those thoughts and feelings for then. This is just to pay respect to the blog, it's about the blog, it's always been about the blog...

Busy Busy Busy

It is the end of another week and beginning of a new one here at the ol' homestead. I have been busy trying to re invent myself and get a jumpstart on a once thriving career as a stylist. We will be seeing some of Bob's family from the O.C. this week and they would like to come over to the house. Yikes... I have two very unwilling teenagers that I will have to motivate with threats of abuse and torture. Yesterday was not productive in the cleaning, laundry sense. Yesterday was productive in the relaxing enjoying the weather and family kind of day. Spent the day at the lake with family. Seadoos in and out of the dock, chatting, laughter, tears(small children only) and lots of sunshine. So today is payday for all the fun you have been having.
Bob is at the giant warehouse job and will work on the lawn, etc. when he gets home. I will force myself to stay indoors to work on things. I may even have to go down to the basement...yikes...

Think it, Act it, Become it

That is the new mantra I just made up for myself. I decided that in order to become a practicing hairstylist, you have to act and look like one. I have gotten a new shorter, trendier haircut, got my nails done and got some new clothes. Though my new nails are nothing even close to what Juli gave me every two weeks, they did what they were supposed to do for me... I felt kinda "hairstylistish"
I am going to do something tomorrow that will take me out of my comfort zone and put me into an interrogation of sorts. It isn't something that I am unfamiliar with but let's just say that I am out of practice. I have to blog about this using smoke and mirrors because I cannot say what I am really doing. Once it is over and the results are in, I promise to blog about it. So, don't call or email me and ask me cuz I can't tell you til later.
Had a meeting at Riley's new school this evening. It is just going to be the best thing. She didn't hang with us for the meeting because she had some assessment tests to take with all of the other incoming 6th graders. When we finally met up with her she said " I am so excited that I get to go here" That was music to our ears. We are going to try to get her interested in orienteering. "Orienteering is a family of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain. Participants are given a map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they use to find control points.Originally a training exercise in land navigation for military officers, orienteering has developed many variations." It is an actual sport and schools compete. Riley's new school is number one in the whole state for middle schools. Orienteering is learning to read a map and a compass. You are in a park or urban setting and compete with others to complete the course given on the map. I told Bob that was what GPS was for, he wasn't surprised by my comment. I also told him that I was damn good at orienteering at a large shopping mall. I can be in the middle of the food court, ordering a Hot Dog on a Stick and run to the Brass Plum shoe dept. in Nordstrom in 40 seconds flat. Now that is some orienteering.
We are back into some fabulous summer like weather. It is glorious. Some things that I have planted are starting to sprout and that is encouraging. The damn squirrels keep eating my impatien sprouts. I better go get some more corn for the squirrel bungee.
Bob is his usual sunny self as he has had to be at work at 2:00 am and 3:00 am the last two days. It just makes him so lovely. I am not sure how lovely I would be if I had to be at work that early. I gotta give him that.
Off to sleep land now. I will try to get caught up on all things bloggish this weekend.

Tuesday is Grumpy Day

I can't even stand to look back on the past weekend's entries. It makes me grumpy. Sleeping in, etc. Back to the normal week of getting up early, etc. Even though I was awake early, there is no hope of going back to bed... damn.
Girls up and getting ready for school, I haven't had to start my morning tirade yet. It includes all of my greatest hits... songs like "Don't forget to brush your teeth" and " where is your flute". Too many to list here.
Tried to give myself a highlight/weave yesterday and let's just say that it is still a work in progress. I will be in the basement today going through my boxes of haircolor to get it right. It's much easier to do it for someone else than on yourself.
Kinda cloudy, overcast but the word on the street is that it will not last long and will change into those glorious sun-shiny days that we have been experiencing and loving. Already wanting to make plans for the lake this weekend, A.D. beware!!!!
Lots to do so will stop the tap tap tapping of keys and get on with my life. Happy Tuesday y 'all!

Long Weekends are Good Weekends

Lovely, long Memorial weekend. The unofficial start to summer. We western Washingtonians could not be happier with our entrance to summer. The best weather on record in quite a while for Memorial weekend. Riley and I were here for Memorial weekend last year and it was not nearly as nice. Because of the weather being so cooperative, we have enjoyed many things. The girls and I at the park(see photos), working in the yard, hanging with other adults on the patio with a lake view, spending the day at Lake Sammamish yesterday, Riley's first swim of the year, lots of BBQing and Memorial ceremonies at a cemetery.
Bob and his girls are off to Bellevue first. Beautiful cemetery there that has a ceremony. Once done there, they will head over to Seattle to the Museum of Flight and attend their Memorial Day program. They will have a Tuskegee airman there and retired Col.s from the USAF. Should be a pretty cool day for them. I know they are looking forward to seeing a B-17 as well that was built in Seattle.
I have lots of things to keep me occupied at home and it is a tradition of them going together that I like alot.
Busy weeks ahead as we look forward to having company coming in and out thru the month of June and July. Gotta make sure the house is a showplace... right...

Afternoon Break

I have been out in the yard all morning. Blackberry vines invading my space, not on my watch. They are the pokiest, stickery things, I thought tumbleweeds were bad. Well, tumbleweeds are bad but so are blackberries. We have plenty on our property for late summer consumption so the ones inching there way into my yard are not necessary or welcome. Bob is taking on the really big vines and almost poked an eye out. The girls are using the weed fork and getting busy on the lawn. We will get it kind of tuned up, it's hard when nearly an acre of property has not been properly maintained for many years. I am done with the work and have come inside for a quick lunch/internet break. Riley cracked open a can of Coke for us to share and it is cold, fizzy and sweet just like I like it.
I downloaded pics that I took at the park. It is about a mile from our house. The girls and I spent about an hour there yesterday, exploring. People had dogs there. The dogs would chase toys and balls out into the water and swim back. Very entertaining and making us wish we had a dog. It's hard to take a cat to the park, just not the same...
Am going to have some girl time tonight and looking so forward to it. I will get to act like a human for a few hours. Very needed and necessary. Beautiful day and night to be out on the patio or deck.
While I was outside I was being serenaded by the put put of float planes. They are out in full force today. Lots of motor boats and Sea Doos can be heard as well. Caught a few pics of a float plane yesterday. I have a weird fascination with them. I think it is the fact that something can fly and float and that the people flying around in them land them in their own dock/space at their home. Sheesh...

Small Town Shopping

I am a small town girl. The town I grew up in used to be a small town. When Bob was in college we lived in a small town(pop.1500). I am also a city girl. I love cities. I love that I live so close to such a cool city. Today I got to live the small town girl thing. Bob took me to a really cool hardware store. I presume that all of the people who read this from WA already know about Mc Lendon's Hardware. I had seen it lots of times on my way to Target but would not have gone on my own. Bob had to go there to get something for work and told me how much I would like it. He was right. It is not just about hardware, far from it. It is like the old time variety store mercantile place. I loved the fact that I could get 2" plastic tubing and a dog leash and an apple peeler and a garden hose and toilet gaskets and a six pak of geraniums all in one place. Very small small town.
It was one of those picture perfect postcard kind of days. Not a cloud in the sky, blue blue sky. To cap it off, we stopped by the liquor store(state owned in WA) and picked up tequila and mango margaritas.
No institution of higher learning for my offspring tomorrow. Sleepin' is on the agenda. Once that has been accomplished, I will issue chores to the offspring. Not too many, I want to go to a park by our house that is on the beach. I will take my camera. It's too beautiful to be in the house for too long. But, we are getting company from Calif. soon so I want to get the house really spiffy. I got a new area rug(new to me)on Craigslist today. I scored big time, it is perfect in our living room and the price was right.
We girls are watching "Ugly Betty" and the dad is in bed. He had to be at work so dang early today. We are trying to watch the show through the terrible reception. We are currently hooked up to an ancient antenna and are getting five really lousy channels. We ended up not being able to have satellite because we have too many trees. The cable company is coming a week from Monday to relieve us from our television hell. Until then, it is 1973 all over again. All we need for a clear picture is for Riley to stand next to the T.V. holding on to the rabbit ears and tin foil.

Memorial Day

I have blogged and written about things like Memorial Day before. I have blogged about Veteran's Day, Pearl Harbor, etc.
I feel such a responsibility in sending out this message. Yes, many people get the day off and it is a three day weekend. Yes, it is about lots of different types of getaways, celebrations, concerts, BBQ's and more. But here is the real deal about Memorial Day. I am stealing some of this from a great website that is all about Memorial Day.
"Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead".http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html
There you have it, honoring those that served and died doing so.
If you have an American flag, be sure to get it outside and flying high, remind your friends when you are together that you know what Memorial Day is.
If you are looking for something to do, check out some of your local cemeteries or museums to see if they are having any kind of remembrance. Often times they will have veterans there to speak or honor and your children can meet an actual WWII veteran, and they wont be around for much longer.
Have a fabulous and safe weekend and take some time to honor and remember the men and women who fought and died for this country called America.

Sip some wine and blog

It has been a busy day. Up early and took the car in for an oil change. The oil change turned into something bigger to the tune of $250.00. Sheesh. Early pick up for both girls and then to the doctor for me. Just updating stuff and getting prescriptions taken care of from Calif. to Wash. Basic stuff. Little bit of Trader Joe's therapy and home. When I got home, Bob was playing volleyball with the girls in the front yard. He then proceeded to air up their bike tires so they could cruise around the property. This means that it is a beautiful sunny afternoon. Completely opposite from yesterday. It rained so hard, so fast and furious that I thought we were gonna float away. The downpour was accompanied by lots of thunder and lightning, which I love. You haven't lived until you have been in a summer thunderstorm in the midwest. There is nothing like it. This was pretty exciting in it's own right.
Sid got the Trader Joe's put away, I got dinner started and have poured myself a glass of red wine. I am blogging, watching/listening to the news and helping Riley with her spelling sentences. Not as easy as it sounds, she has to use two specific words in each sentence. How do you use grass and smoke in a sentence suitable for
5th grade language arts. I have a hunch that Riley's teacher might object but her co-teacher would get a laugh outta some of my suggestions.
No more appointments this week, so will get some more things done around here. It is looking to be a fabulous weekend as far as weather goes. Will probably go to Costco and get some food fit for the BBQ. It is so nice to have a large yard and patio. Loving that.
Bob and I are going to a cool hardware store tomorrow. About every other day, Costco sends him to Home Depot for things. They didn't have what he needed and suggested this hardware store. He called me and swore that he would never set foot in Home Depot again. He thinks I will love it and they had some great Rhody's too. We have some empty spots in both the front and back yard where they would look great. He brought me home a flat of Gerber daisies yesterday from work and they are gorgeous. Bright reds, yellows and oranges. Now we just have to find the right spot for them to live.
Okay, Riley is on to math homework and I gotta admit that I am stumped, not because I don't know how to do it, it's just that Riley had only half of the information. Ugh... my child...
Where's that wine bottle?

Oh Deer

No, it is not a typo, I know the difference between deer and dear. I just wanted a play on words to get my subject out there. Monday morning I took the girls to school as usual. Back home to shower and ready to go and get my haircut. Sitting in my car, getting my phone plugged into the charger, Ipod plugged in, lipgloss applied and then I noticed something. In a split second, I thought maybe dog or coyote(being used to that in the desert) but no, this was bigger, taller. Oh my goodness! It's a deer walking across my driveway! She continued her cautious walk into our woods. It began as one deer(doe) and ended up being three of them. They saw me and heard my car and decided that was not for them and scampered into the woods so I could not get a good picture with my trusty Blackberry. I have lived in areas where there has been lots of wildlife. Mostly in the high desert. Hawks, snakes, lizards, coyotes, jackrabbits, squirrels, roadrunners, etc. but never deer. The picture above is not my doe but a reasonable likeness. I am pretty sure they are the black tail deer which are closely related to the mule deer.
That was the beginning of my busy day. Went and got my haircut and got to spend time with my cousin and her adorable baby. Our hairdresser has beautiful lilacs in her yard and cut bunches for us. They are sitting on my kitchen counter looking ever so lilacy and smell awesome. After the hair cut did the Target thing and went and bought some more flowers. I had a hanging basket and a table top pot from last year that needed to be replanted. Bob will bring me home some more plants today as Costco has tons right now. They look like they are in the nursery business over there. I have a running list for Bob now as far as Costco goes. It is really convenient.
Today my car gets an oil change and then back home to get some house chores done, there are still some things that need to be done and fine tuned, etc. I did neglect the inside of the house this weekend because it was so beautiful out. It rained quite a bit last night and looks kinda cloudy now so hopefully I can stay inside and get things done. I hear that we are in for more good weather soon though... Memorial weekend is coming up and I promised Bob and the girls I would look into the ceremonies, etc. around here. It was always something that the three of them did together every year in the desert. Will plan to do some more grilling and chilling as well. The girls have a four day weekend and they are kind of glad.

Bird Life

Living in the high desert of So. Cal meant that we had ravens. They were a pain. You had to keep the lids on your trash cans because they were worse than coyotes. They would pick on a small animal, terrorize the Red hawks that we loved and were just a nuisance. Actually, they were alot like the coyotes that we had around so often. Flying Coyotes. Anyway, moving here, there are lots of Crows. The American Black crow. I pretty much thought of them as equal to the ravens in Calif. I hadn't thought much more about them until Bob mentioned some things about the crow. He is outside alot and has begun to observe the crows. They are very smart and funny. Bob likes to leave bread or stale crackers out for them on the lawn. He has them to the point where the pair that live in our yard are getting closer and closer to the house. The cats love to watch them. We found that if we feed them some bread or whatever they leave our bird feeder that we set up for small birds alone. The same goes for the squirrels. This varied wildlife invasion is only here to serve one purpose, entertainment for us and the cats. Now we are waiting for our bungee corn squirrel feeder. That promises to give us hours of redneck entertainment. I will post some video of that when it happens. We think the cats are gonna love that.

This was on my phone as it was sitting close by and I wanted to catch the crow eating the blueberry muffin.
Cut girls hair outside in the sunshine and mine is coloring away the gray as I type. Got some ribs and chicken breasts marinating in the fridge and will throw them on the grill later. Bob should be home in about an hour and half. I have watered all of my new plantings and seedlings as well. Now on to many more fabulous chores. Warmed up some lunch so thought I would take that time to blog a little...

The Right Kind of Weather

The right kind of weather can make all of the difference. It was a sunny warm day. One of those "Chamber of Commerce" kind of days. The temperature was perfect and the sun shone bright all day. Bob and I got some things planted, I did some weeding and cleaning up the patio. We did this in preparation for a nice BBQ. It was nice indeed. Good food, good music and good wine. Bob will be at work tomorrow and I will be a hairdresser tomorrow as well. Sid, Ri, Bob and I are all in need of something. It could be color or cut, but we are all rag-a-muffins. I am getting my haircut on Monday so I gotta get some color on the gray.
Days like today are a great diversion. Making you only concentrate on all that it good. Sure, annoying little things come up and reality will rear it's ugly head occasionally but how you handle it is different on a day like today.
I think I will finish this day off with some ice cream and my wonderful Tempurpedic.

The things you learn

We have the coolest house next door. You can tell these things about it just by looking. It has a fabulous view of Lake Washington, it is old, the owners loved Rhododendrons, no one lives there now. We have been like cats. Slowly, every day or so, we step in a little closer to that house. Sometimes there is lots of activity over there, so you never know. We have been watching for a few days now for signs of life and saw none. Bob, Sid and I finally got brave enough and walked over there yesterday. We looked in the windows even. Aren't we brave? I kept thinking some old scary looking person would be peering back at me when I looked inside. Here are the facts that I have learned from being online. The house is old. It was built in 1954. It was owned by a couple that were born around 1913. She is or was until recently still alive. She fell in 2006 at the house and went to a group home after that. She was VERY into Rhodys. There are two large green houses on the property. I learned that she invented a new hybrid rhododendron and it was named after her and you can buy it at a nursery. She has a daughter who I think I have seen over there. The house is like looking into a time capsule. Nothing has been changed since the 50's. It is so very retro and so very very charming. Do I feel guilty looking in it or at it? No. I will tell you why. It is more than likely going to be sold soon. If we hadn't looked at it now we would never have known the charm as it stands. Most likely it will get either torn down or "re-muddled" and lose it's perfect 50's charm. I felt privileged to walk around the grounds and admire Rhody's that I have never ever seen before and probably never will unless I go to the Rhododendron Gardens down south. It was a treat to see the view that they enjoyed for so many years. I had or have nothing but respect for the beauty of the house and the park like grounds. This women belonged to several Rhody clubs and there are people that come over and look at them in her yard, that is pretty neat in my book. The picture above is her special namesake Rhody. I have some pics of the house on my slideshow and a lot of the Rhody's are hers that I have on there as well.
It is amazing what you can find out by doing a little research. I hope the house stays the way it is, but if it doesn't, at least I got to see it before it changed...

Have tried like 15 times to log onto the blogger website. The diagnostic tool on my computer tells me that it is the blogger’s website that is having the issues and not something on my end. Relieved to hear that but they better get their crap together so I can post today or I might get all ape shit on them.
So… I am posting to my Word program and will cut and paste it all later in some form or fashion.
“Drippy” would be the adjective I would use to describe the weather today. Very fine mist that is quite wet and makes you use you windshield wipers even more than normal as the fine mist accumulates quickly and you are blinded.
Hoping that Riley is not having a “drippy” time at camp. I am thinking that she is having a terrific time and that she slept well last night, remembers to brush her teeth and is getting along with her cabin mates. As I was doing my nighttime routine before bed last night, I looked in at her made up bed and it shocked me that she wasn’t in it. Just one of those half second jolts and then quickly recover when you remember where they are. Tomorrow should be full of tales and observations from her.
Sid and I did some retail damage or “economy boosting” yesterday after school.
Her 9th grade cruise is quickly approaching and we needed to shop for it. Ordered three different dresses from Macy’s, bought shoes, undergarments and a pashmina wrap thing. She has the jewelry already and I think that between the two of us we can manage to get her hair done in a reasonable and fashionable way. Lucky for me, wearing hair down is back in style for formal dances. My “updo” skills are quite limited to say the very least.
Bob is well, Costco keeps him moving. We girls made him wear a pedometer to work the other day to see how many steps he took in one day of work. Over 18,000! I am not sure how that translates into actual mileage or caloric burning but an article I read says that anything over 12,500 steps per day is classified as “highly active”.
Well, between the swine flu scare (or hamthrax) and the new Norovirus outbreak up here, I am thinking about never leaving the house again and that includes my family. Sheesh.
It’s one pandemic after another. My little baby cousin, Kate is still dealing with some health issues and it has been a good two weeks. She appears fine, happy and healthy but has had the “D” word for two weeks. So off to the doctor she goes today and hopefully gets better quick!
Even though she claims to not read my blog (not hurtful or anything) I wanted to give a quick shout out to my lovely, sweet friend, Miss Karen. She has persevered and called me again last night. We were able to have a long and lively conversation and for that I am so glad! So, Desiree and Beth, it is your job and friendly duty to make her feel about one inch tall for not reading the blog!
Okay, cool, I just checked and the blogger site is up and runnin’
Gotta stop typin’ and start workin’.

The Baby Takes Steps in Growing Up

Well... she did it. She helped her father and I get her packed and ready to go. Now she is on a very large, nice chartered bus and on her way to outdoor education camp until Friday. Riley is our baby but not in size or age any longer only in birth order. We are those parents that tell her "you will always be our baby no matter how old you are". We may be creating future problems for her but she can work that out in therapy someday. We stopped and got some snacks for the bus ride, got to school in plenty of time and unloaded the car. She was one of the prepared ones, camping expert that she is. Lots of kids had weird and unusual luggage, bags, etc. I am not judging, some of these kids have probably never been camping let alone away from home. There were some tears from some of the girls saying goodbye to their parents. Not Riley, I became invisible once she got with her friends and in front of those giant blue buses. She took her camera so I borrowed it to shoot some pre-camp photos. Riley was mortified. She DID NOT want me to take pictures. She was embarrassed. I really didn't care. I took some anyway. I also pointed out to her that there were lots of parents taking photos. Man, she is in the 5th grade and acts like she is older and soooo mortified that she has parents. Poor thing...
I am home now, sitting on my cool barstool, laptop on the counter, listening to Miss California talk about her nude photos. Oh brother... Who the hell really cares? Is the whole pageant thing really relevant any more in our society? I know, they give out scholarships and do charity work, blah blah blah, I ain't buyin' it. It sets women back a few hundred years in my opinion. The answers they give to the important questions asked of them during the pageant are ridiculous. I know some of these women are intelligent but is it smart to prance around in an evening gown and play the flute in a sailor costume? Well, they couldn't have made "Miss Congeniality" without them so there is a plus.
Today is early release today so will pick Sid up and go run some errands, groceries, etc. Fun to have one on one time with each of your children. I still remember when I got to go to lunch and shopping with my mom alone and that was a very long time ago. I think I was nine or ten years old.
Cloudy but no rain, could see some sunshine eventually but am holding on to the weekend forecast of sunshine.

Just another day in Paradise

The sun is out. It sometimes will peek in and out from behind the clouds but today it is more out than in. I like when the sun is out as I have expressed you patient readers many many times. Bob will not come directly home today. He will go to get our new lawn mower. We will be having a nice yard soon I am sure. I have a list of must haves for my yard. Rosemary(can't grill Salmon without it) Lavender, Hydrangeas, mint(can't have ice tea without it) and that is my must have list so far. I am reserving the rest for when I get to the nursery and see what I like. I do want some jasmine and other sweet smelling things so we shall see.
I have just done the usual today except for the phone. I spent a lovely looooong time on the phone with my favorite sister. LOVED chatting with her. Called my grandparents in So. Cal and had a nice long chat with them until the battery in their phone started to chirp at us. Talked with my cousin and my husband. It's all good. Of course I am doing laundry, it just would not be right if I didn't! I really have to work on getting Ri ready for camp. She leaves tomorrow and comes home Friday afternoon. She is getting quite excited. Her dad and I will help her get it all together this afternoon. She will be ready to go by 8:00 am tomorrow!
She will take her camera and I will post some shots when she gets home. She is a really great photographer.
We will get the backyard spiffed up and the BBQ ready and have some steaks this weekend. Our official first BBQ of the year. Bob will get the fire pit cleaned out and we will all sit outside till the stars are out. In the NW it could be really late if you wait for the stars to come out. Fun anyhow...
Off to pick up the oldest daughter and then the youngest. Back home to sort, pack and label. Happy Tuesday, for my friends at the salon, Tuesday is the busy day, phone calls especially. The beginning of the work week if you are a hairstylist. The phones go crazy cuz you haven't been in the salon for three days.
For me, the days all run together only punctuated by what time my children get out school or start school or have to be somewhere.

A lovely day with some distractions

It was lovely to go to the lake house of my aunt and uncle's. Much to chat and get caught up about. I admired my aunt's new Fiesta ware. It makes me proud... sniff sniff... Bob joined us later after his stint at the big warehouse job. It was so nice to have him there as he has not been able to participate much lately due to work.
Had great Ribs hot off my uncle's new barbecue. Delish... Some good red wine too.
Lovely flowers, gifts, cards, all things Mothers Day. My two were busy little crafters and made me some beautiful things.
Had a lovely day overall even when my cousin's little boy fell into the lake. The little kids HAVE to wear their life vests when ever they are out of the yard and near the lake. There was and adult with him as were my two girls. He just kinda stepped off in his exuberance is how it went. He was shaken up and startled and scared and probably chilled. He wanted to know if he had swallowed a fish. We could not help ourselves and cracked up at his innocent question. Other than getting stirred up, he was fine.
Hoping you all had a non eventful and lovely day.
It is Monday and the week is off to a busy start. Sid is having a classmate over after school to work on a science project. They have to build a simple machine. Ri has volley ball and then we must start getting her packed for outdoor education camp. She will leave Wed. morning and be back Friday afternoon. She is very excited and will show off her extensive camping knowledge with her peers. She is an old pro at the camping thing thanks to her years of Indian Princesses and Girl Scouts and she has a dad who is master camper. Mama don't camp, not unless there is a Marriot or Hyatt on the campground site. I could do a really nice motor home if necessary but leave me out of the tent, sleeping on a half full air mattress. Oh the thought of it makes me feel pukey. Ugh.

Happy Mother's Day

I had a friend that owned a flower shop. I did her hair every once in a while. We were talking about her busiest times and she said this..."Valentines Day is busy but Mother's Day is a lot busier. Not everyone has a Valentine but every one's got a Mother". I never had thought of it that way. How ironic that the same woman who said that is no longer here to celebrate Mother's Day. She passed away this past winter from bone cancer. Her son just buried his wife this past week as she had passed away from lung cancer. He nor his sons will have their Moms around for tomorrow. It makes me sad for them but it also is one of those lessons in life. Enjoy every minute you can with your loved ones.
Moms are interesting creatures. Lots of us have kids with every intention of doing what is best for them. Many times throughout their childhood you have to teach, scold, yell and scream at your children. All out of love of course. As they get older the only way they remember it is that you were an old gross witch that came out from under a bridge where you resided with odd trolls and such. When you made your appearance all you did was belittle and treat them horribly. I have found myself correcting the 14 year old many times about how an incident really occurred. I know that this scenario holds true for my own mom as well. As I have gotten older and my children have gotten older, I realize that it was at times a thankless job and and a rewarding job and all at the same time.
So if you get to crawl out from under your rock or bridge or wherever you reside and your children take pity on you and treat you well today, remember to treasure every minute of it.

Beautiful and Busy

Beautiful day, busy day. Did get a little tiny bit of sleeping in as Bob and Sid left for Home Depot and a driving lesson for Sid. Bob says she is a natural. I am not ready for that.
Riley is on the second of the four "Twilight" books. She was reading in bed when I awoke. She finished the first in record time.
I chatted and got caught up with my sister, she had been gone and is so busy as always. SO looking forward to their visit in July.
Bob and Sid made it home in one piece and the work began. I had to help him take two very large, very heavy shelf units down 15 steps to the basement. We had a dolly and cardboard to aid in our moving but lots of lifting. Hopefully I didn't damage anything. I was trying to be helpful so that I could be that much closer to getting my car into the garage. I want to have it in there very badly.
Got a great chuckle from my Calif. friends. They gave me a quick call. Was glad to hear them both laughing and made me laugh.
Girls got lots of room organization and laundry done.
Beautiful weather all day. Bob and I spent over an hour just exploring our yard and a little trespassing into the neighbors yard. They must have over 100 different varieties of rhododendron and at least 200 different colors. They have two greenhouses on their property so it seems to have been a lifelong hobby. We have never met them, thinking they are elderly. We have seen people over there and have had lots of discussions overheard in regards to their rhody garden. The house was built in the mid 1950's and sits up enough for them to have an awesome view of the lake and the Olympic mountain range. Of course I took lots of photos and am working on a slide show for the blog as I type.
Tomorrow is Mother's Day and even though I sent a card and have some presents for my mom, I want to wish her a happy happy day tomorrow. We are going over to my aunt and uncles at the lake for a BBQ. I am excited to start taking new pics of everyone for this new season of summer. Can't wait to share with all of you. Bob will have to put in his time at Costco and then he will join us at the lake.
Happy Mother's day to all and hope you have a lovely time in whatever it is that you do.

Pray today

I have a lot to pray about today. If you pray regularly, you probably always have a lot to pray about. Today I am adding on two special prayers. The big one that I am pulling out for today is for Natalie. She is going to perform all of her new skills today. Today is when they will assess her need for her eye controlled computer. This wonderous piece of technology is very expensive and the hope is that the insurance will see the need and pick up the tab. The other prayers are for Nat's mom Jill. Lots irritation that snipes at her from the sidelines in her life. She is the mom of a disabled child and could really use a break from the "habits" of someone who used to be in her life. This person just can't seem to leave it be and wants to do the "dance" of courts and lawyers every other month or so. So much wasted time and energy for nothing. So much time and effort that could go to so many better places. It makes no sense. Jill is so deserving of all the prayer she can get today as is that precious smiley girl, Natalie.
I am sitting here, in the gray colored morning of cloudy rainy day. I am waiting for the tech to come and hook me up to the world. The television. I finally got desperate and hooked one of them up to the antenna and now we have snow in N.Y. and snow in Seattle and last night was snow in Wales and in Oregon. (PBS show on both).
The tech can make the snow go away as it is hard to watch and takes away from the overall T.V. watching experience. The sound quality is great so I can listen to the T.V. much better than watch it.
The weather people of WA are telling us not to fear, the weather will get better. It is supposed to give way to sunshine eventually. I hope Mother's Day is bright and beautiful as we head over to my aunt and uncle's at the lake. BBQ weather will be the request! Hopefully it will be about celebrating more than just moms. Hopefully it will be about all of the positive outcomes of today and tonight.
I am off to work on more unpacking, putting away and organizing...

Sleep, Coffee, and Other Forms of Therapy

After my long and winding deep post of yesterday, I did the right thing. I went and visited with my cousins. A big dose of Natalie and Sam was all that I needed to get my head on straight. Took the girls to Old Navy first, got some spring items. Is it just me or is Old Navy getting really crappy? I am afraid for their future... Anyhow, we wanted to see this awesome computer in action that Natalie is using. She was pretty pooped out by the time we got there. School all day and then therapy. When she saw us, she rallied. She did really well. She even beat Sid at Tic Tac Toe. Jill and Sam had gone on a field trip and it was on a train. Sam was still in train mode. He was the conductor and took us to many far away and exotic lands. He even helped us out the door when it was time to leave. I didn't know train conductors in the U.S. wore British police helmets, but you just never know...
If you are feeling down, sorry for yourself, whatever, go visit my cousin. She will humble you to your knees and you will beg God to forgive you for being a selfish poop face.

Examine Your Own Motives

I struggle with this theory, as does Bob. Too many good things happen to you in one dose so something bad is bound to happen. Wait for the other shoe to drop. Lots of bad things happen in one fat dose so you should expect or deserve to have something good happen. Does it really work that way or is that another form of distorted thinking? Distorted thinking is when you think something that is not reality. For example an anorexic has distorted thinking. The fact that they think they are fat and are topping the scales at 80 pounds on a good day is clearly distorted thinking. Everyone does it. The voice in your head is prone to distorted thinking. " I am ugly, fat, stupid, they must be talking about me, they must hate me, they must think I am dumb" those are things that run through your head however fleeting. No one will ever talk as mean and hateful to you as you will to yourself. I learned much of this from therapy and from the Melody Beattie books dealing with co-dependency. I recommend her work to anyone, whether you have an addiction or someone close to you does or no one you know does(which is hard to imagine).
Back to my unanswered question about good things coming to an end and bad things happening. You receive so many blessings, some you acknowledge and some go without notice. I try not to be selfish or blind to my many many blessings. I am however prone to lamenting over my bad list. This I realize is not going to get me anywhere. Not productive. If you wallow in what you perceive as bad, you do yourself a giant disservice. Maybe it is not a bad thing that happened but a good one, you just don't see it or know it yet. Only God really knows for sure. I have plenty of questions for him on a daily if not hourly basis.
So where did these thoughts come from and why the hell am I going on and on about it?
The second person to interview me about three weeks ago just called. She said that they have decided to go with someone else for the position. This is the second time in less than a week that I have been told this. Now mind you, I know that jobs are hard to come by and that lots of really talented deserving people have lost jobs and are having a hard time. I had really convinced myself and everyone around me that this job was a walk in the park, an easy in. I am sooooo qualified and perfect and of course the interview process was just a formality, once they saw the talent oooozing out of my resume they knew they just had to have me on board with their company. Guess what? That was distorted thinking... Not just one no but two no's. Kinda of a big blow to the ego. I have been off of the phone for just the amount of time that it has taken me to type this and I have not cried yet but can feel it beginning to well up in me. I want to go to my bed and close the world out and have a good cry. The radio playing is annoying, the sound of the washing machine is pissing me off, it's all no good.
I asked this person in charge of my fate if there was some constructive advice she had for me or why they went with someone else, I think I caught her off guard and she stumbled a bit. She said that they went with someone that had their application in longer and that she had a more flexible schedule than me. Whatever... all I hear coming from her mouth is blah blah blah blah. Kind of like all of the adult voices in a Charlie Brown television cartoon. Wha wha wha wha.... thru a long tunnel...
So now what? I don't know. I do not want to go back to being a stylist. A small part of me misses it but I do not want to start all over again for thousands of reasons. I know I have options but am not in the mood to review them at the moment. I will have to give myself a few hours or days. I like being home but that does not pay well and there are bills to be dealt with. So this is my rant, my disappointment. Excuse me while I re evaluate who and what I really am to the outside world. I have lots of distorted thinking to deal with and it may take a while.

Cinco de Mayo

Hola,
Como esta? Bien, e tu? Well, I know you are all impressed with my habla el espanol. I know, look what living in So. Cal and two years of high school Spanish did for me. I am frickin' bi lingual. I speak my second language to you tonight in honor or the 5th of May, also known as Cinco de Mayo. It really is just an excuse for everyone to drink cervesas, tequila eat Mexican food. Like St. Patrick's day in March. National "Excuse to get hammered" day. I myself enjoyed a glass of red wine. Oh well, never one to follow the pack.
Tomorrow we are going over to see my cousin and her adorable children. Natalie has a computer that is allowing her to communicate. I could not give you as great of a scenario in regards to Nat and her computer as a dear friend of the family has. So here is the link to her blog so that you can read about my sweet little cousin and this amazing technology.

http://writemyselfahappyending.blogspot.com/2009/05/finding-her-voice.html

Bob got all four of our barstools put together, now we can all sit and eat together at the counter. He got lots done today around here and it is all greatly appreciated. I actually got to put the food stuffs away in the wonderful pantry today. Ran lots of errands today... all day... in the torrential downpour. It RAINED like crazy and now the sun is shining... Go figure. Off to nitey nite land soon... See ya tomorrow.

Not much to report since this morning. The T.V. people called and cancelled. The HD TIVO had not shown up yet so they couldn't install today. They were to come between 8-12 and called around 10:00. Needless to say, I was not amused and let my satellite dish provider know about it. My cousin and her babies were going to stop by today too, but she ended up with car trouble. I did get the old TIVO, surround sound and DVD players hooked up to all of their respective t.v.'s tho. I told Bob that I should work for a cable or dish company. We did also get to do something fabulous, hook up the new dryer. It is wonderful. I never thought I could be so happy about doing laundry. It is the best 50.00 dollars we have spent in a long time. Ahhhh... clean clothes with no diesel fume aroma. Lovely.
Laundry room is getting spiffed up and will pick a new area to work on tomorrow when I finish running a few errands. I simply must get to Target. It has been about 3 weeks since I was there and I don't want them forgetting about me. The Cost Plus just happens to be next door and I got a gift card from my aunt and uncle burning a hole in my wallet. That will be a great way to finish off my office, as I got most of it at Cost Plus.
Started out lovely today but ended up with lots of wind and rain. My clean walk way will need another dose of the broom, but probably not until the end of the week. They are predicting rain til at least Friday. It is okay, we have had some awesome weather lately and could even have taken it for granted.

Playing the Waiting Game and Other Ramblings

Waiting for the T.V. installation guy. Took girls to school. Swept the outside entry and walk, installed some solar lights along the walk, loaded the dishwasher and now am having another cup of coffee. Checking my mail and bloggin' a bit. Haven't heard from the husband yet this morning. When he was at the RR he called every morning around 7:00. The conversation usually consisted of what was on my to do list that day, checking on the girls and checking on his cat. We are not sure how his morning phone call ritual will go now that he is in the giant warehouse.
Hopefully he makes some kind of decision and makes peace with it. I can only be a listener and add my two cents here and there. Yes, his employment does affect both of us and yes, I am an active participant in those decisions. These two jobs are his choice and they are neck in neck. One is not way out there in front of the other and really he is the one that has to be there everyday. I am just saying that whatever he decides is fine with me. I don't even have an opinion or a strong feeling toward one or the other. Sometimes that happens!
My dear sweet wonderful beautiful friend, Beth had a birthday this past weekend. She is a May Day girl. I am glad her mom didn't name her May. I do know why she is named Elizabeth but I wont go there. I am hoping she had a fabulous b-day. She is moving to a new home soon and that is exciting. She has had some serious emotional
tidal waves in her life this year and she deserves lots of happiness. I send her all of my best wishes and lots of hugs. I hope she got my message too...
I have some funny b-day cards but can't find them in this mess... hmmmm... I bet I could find a cheesy flower print free card from the meth addicted children of the Appalachians card around here somewhere. You know the ones I am talking about, they come with matching address labels that are never correct and they are "free" but want you to donate money to their charity and if you take those cards or notepads or magnets or whatever and use them without sending a donation you feel like a selfish rat every time you use one.
Well, on to the next chore, still taking a room at a time. When Bob gets home this afternoon he will caulk the pantry and then it's paint time. When that is complete, I will be able to move the food stuffs into it and all will be well in the kitchen. In moving 4,000 times in my life I have learned to make every effort humanly possible to get the kitchen and my bathroom done first. Take note Beth! Also, for any tips of moving let me know Beth, I got a million of em swirling around in my head and nowhere for them to land...

Hills and Valleys

This was a morning of non interruptions. I did sleep in. I feel guilty sleeping in on Sunday. I believe that comes from years of church and Sunday school attendance.
I got around and got myself to Costco. I had to get a new T.V. for the living room since we sold ours on Craigslist a couple of weeks ago. I got a 42" LCD flat screen. We had a 36" non-HD that was about 4 years old and like brand new. It was to0 huge and too heavy for it's placement in our living room. The new one is HD and all that stuff. I got it at Costco where the husband was working. He got to hang with me for a while to help with the T.V. decision and again when it was being loaded into my car. I got home and got to work. The girls and I got quite alot done in the house today and it is shaping up. My cousin and her little girly girls are coming by tomorrow and wont she be impressed with my progress. Of course I will show her around and preface everything with "I haven't gotten to this yet or this will look like this when I unpack it or finish it" but it will all be okay.
Bob came home in a funk. The hourly money he was told would be his pay is not to be. It will be better initially but not as high as quickly as he was told. He of course has given notice to the RR and then bumped. He was smart enough to not quit the railroad but to take a 30 day furlough. So, needless to say, he was not the happiest of humans this afternoon. The stress of the move, building a pantry, loads of trash, mountains of laundry and no dryer hooked up yet, living in and out of boxes, etc. makes for a crabby man. Let's just say it got colorful down in the basement as he was hanging his clothes to dry on the line and I was glad I was upstairs doing my own thing. He has some decisions to make in his job situation as well...
The good thing was that I was able to make a reasonable dinner and we haven't had fast food for over 3 days now. We are all just sick of it and don't care to eat it for a very very long time. Even if Del Taco were to open up down the street, I think it would take us about a month to finally go there.
Well, the weekend ends and another week begins. I will work on my job stuff this week, I have made enough phone calls to consider myself a stalker. That is okay, this way they know that I am serious about working there. They are supposed to get back to me by Wednesday. Of course I will keep you all posted...

Pictures to Share

Our office is almost done.

It was just a closet and now...

It is a pantry!

Pantry, Shelves, Home Improvement Stores

Remember when I posted the other day about sleeping in on Saturday? Well, the phone rang before 10:00 am... oh bother... I needed to get up and around anyway. We have very little cupboard space and no pantry. We have a closet with no shelving, so guess what Bob is doing today? Building me a pantry in that closet. Gotta love a handy husband... He is also going to put some shelves up in the office for me. When they built the house, they built the hardware into the walls for shelf brackets, so all we need are brackets and shelves to complete the job. Riley has gone with him, she must really want to get out of working on her room... I am going to plan to do one room at a time instead of running around doing 300 different things. Had a lovely evening of sitting out on the patio, music and a margarita. Sid went to a school carnival with a big group of friends. Riley and I went to fetch her about 11:00. Spoke with a friend from high school that I have not seen or spoken to in over 23 years. In the last two years he has lost his dad, mom and wife. His mom passed away this winter and his wife died this week. She had been battling cancer for four years. They have two sons, 11 and 6 years old. Heartbreaking...Even tho it had been a very long time since we had spoken to him, Sheri and I wanted to call and offer our condolences. Many of us from AVHS are still in touch and now with the invention of Facebook, we are in contact every day or so and the word gets out quick. I found myself in an unusual situation when I was talking to him on the phone. I was at a loss for words more than once. That is so not me. But honestly, what do you say to someone who has suffered so much loss lately? I'm sorry only worked for the first three minutes. On a really positive note, it was so good to hear that he has found the strength in having faith. He is involved in his church and accepts Christ into his life. I could tell that he has become a much greater guy because of that and I am sure that his wife played a huge part in that transformation. I did not know her but she sounds like she was a great person and you just can't help but feel so sad for those little boys. Sheri and I can certainly relate to that.
It has been an exhausting week both physically and emotionally. I am going to try to keep my cool all weekend and just work on the house. It is a good thing as I make progress from turning a house into a home...

New Kind of Morning

Given that we have been in the moving mode for an entire month now, this is a welcome delight. A new kind of morning for me. I am in our new house(and I mean new to us), sitting in the family room/kitchen area, seated on my beautiful red leather couch. I have the curtains wide open to the outside back yard. The sun is out and shining on different parts of trees and flowers. I am sipping my second cup of salvation brew and listening to Frank Sinatra. He sets the mood. I occasionally take a look through my peek a boo view of the lake. If you look through certain trees you can see the Seattle skyline as well. Heaven. I feel like a dream has come true.
The last couple of days have been very busy. Painting, cleaning, packing, unpacking, loading, unloading, children, school, more packing, more loading and unloading. It is all over now. Bob is over at the old house right now. He is working on the garage and loading up a few bags of charity items, tying up loose ends. I am supposed to meet him over there in a bit. I don't want to. It has been really nice to have him off of work for the last three days. He has been great, pep talks for me and my job scenario, keeping me motivated to clean and paint. We get to chat while we work and that is nice. I like it much better when we get to chat and give each other equal time instead of him talking at me. The kind of conversation where I don't get a word in edgewise.
Frank is singing "Fly me to the Moon". It doesn't get any better than that, his magical smooth voice, the powerful horn section and piano cuttin' it up.
Lots going on, company coming from Calif. in early June, my little cousin Natalie getting her computer, etc. I am dying to get over to her house and view this cool computer that will allow her to communicate. I will blog a whole post devoted to her soon. I will finish my cup o' joe and get my work clothes on. I will trudge over to the old house. I will have the attitude that "it will be the LAST time I have to do this trip ever again" oh yeah....