I would like you to meet someone...

His name is Jake Olson. The girls and I met him last night on the ABC news. Tho, not in person, we did see him and his story on the television...

"When Jake was a year old, he was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a condition in which cancerous tumors develop in the retina, in both eyes. Doctors removed his left eye, but with chemotherapy and radiation, they were able to save his right.

That right eye has shown him his world -- the faces of his parents, his twin sister, Emma, the surf near his home in Huntington Beach, Calif., and the fairways and greens of nearby golf courses, where he and his father play as often as they can.

The cancer has returned eight times, and each time, Jake beat it. However, this past September, he learned it had come back again, and this time treatment didn't work. Doctors told him they would have to take his right eye, too.

With more than a month before his surgery, Jake told his parents that what he wanted to see most one last time was another USC Trojans game. His wish reached Trojan head coach, Pete Carroll.

"The first thing was let's make sure that he gets inside and gets to see everything that he wants to see," Carroll said. "God bless him, he deserves every bit of it."

The Trojans invited Jake to practice Oct. 14, where he was introduced to his favorite player, center Kris O'Dowd. It wasn't long before a bond was born between the fellow centers."







So he has surgery and USC players go to the hospital to be with the family and Jake and then after he recovers he gets to go back for a game and says that the game was EVEN BETTER without his sight because it made it so exciting in his head.

What the hell is wrong with me? I have my sight, my children are ultra healthy. I am pitiful in whining about my stupid life. I have many many blessings and will concentrate on those. I am making my New Year's resolution early. I will put it as eloquently as possible... Shut the hell up and be thankful and quit with the pity parties that you occasionally invite yourself to.

Friends

I finally forced myself to load my pictures from my Girls Gone Wild weekend, back in November. It seems like my friends were just here and it seems like years ago. The best part was being with them like no time had past at all... I guess I was a bit too sad to post them any earlier PLUS, I would love for them to send me the photos they took! Such a good time, good food, good wine, good chick flicks... What more could you ask for?



This is pretty much the weather pattern the whole time they were here! They got a good taste of Seattle weather!
I thought I had more but realized some were on my Blackberry and were not publish-blog-quality...



VERY important part of the visit... the pedicures! We felt ready to tackle anything once our toes were beeeeautifulllll!


One day of sunshine did make us so very happy!

Little Jobs

I am a little bit sad tonight. My four day job is over. I had the pleasure of taking care of my cousins two little girls. They are ages three and one. I felt so calm and peaceful when the three year old and I would sit and color. We would chat away, laugh and critique each other's coloring technique and choices. The one year old was another story all together. So funny, so active and so freakin' cute. The peaceful moments with her were when she slept for a long stretch while laying on me. She can be such a cuddle bug. It makes a mom of teenagers appreciate how challenging in other ways it is to be the mom of little ones.


While chilly, it was a sunny day. On my way home this afternoon, the moon was already in full view. Big, white and round. It was full as full could be and just got brighter and whiter as the sky grew darker. Picked Sid and her friend up from bowling, they had a match today and won as well.

Lots going on this week, can't believe it is December. The girls and I will be on a plane headed down to Arizona before we know it.

Sunny Seattle Shots

Here is a sampling of some of the pics I took on Friday...

The Definition of Thanks

GRATITUDE: be grateful; thank; give thanks, render thanks, return thanks, offer thanks, tender thanks; acknowledge, requite, not look a gift horse in the mouth; never forget, overflow with gratitude; thank one's stars, bless one's stars; fall on one's knees.
It's all there, it's all true and right. Too bad it's today or maybe even the last few days or this past week that we tend to linger on the things that we are truly grateful for. It used to be that Thanksgiving was about being thankful for the pilgrims and the bounty shared with, exchanged with the Native Americans. Well, the reality of what really was changed all that. We white settlers came barging in on our fancy ship and bestowed disease and pestilence upon the Native Americans who now have to survive on there income from casinos. Now Thanksgiving is more about our immediate gratitude. What we are thankful for in our lives. Things that we should take notice of and thank God for everyday but life gets in the way and we don't. For whatever reason, we don't. I have noticed though, as I get older and perhaps wiser, I am grateful more often during different parts of the day than I used to be. A wise person once told me "you don't have to do it, you get to do it. Whether it be go to work, go to the dentist, go get your taxes done. You get to do those things. That means you have a job, hopefully dental insurance or money to pay the dentist from your job and taxes to pay because you have a job. You don't have to take your child to school, you get to take your child to school. See? It's all in how you look at it or how you say it. So, you don't have that lovely, dreamy fairytale of pilgrims and indians dining together happily sharing food not diseases. BUT, you get the contentment of knowing that you don't HAVE to live your life, you GET to live your life. So take the gratitude and run with it, don't wait for that day in November to reflect, try to take the time every day.

Twice in One Day!

Yes, I am posting again. I was in a headache fog earlier and feeling better now. More Motrin and some strong black tea as per my sister's instructions. She is my drug counseler and has been with me for many of my headache episodes. I am feeling better. Bob was gone longer than I thought. He was at the Surgery Center for about five hours. The surgeon told him that most people(including Bob) think it is like an intense biopsy. It's not, I am here to tell you. I am looking at a lopsided chipmunk with one eye almost shut and large bandages. He tells me that there is a large "Z" shaped scar that measures almost six inches and that the hole left by the removal of cancer cells is large enough for the top of his thumb to fit into. He has about forty inner stitches and forty outer stiches. He will go back in two weeks for the removal of the outside stitches and a check up. He has pain meds and will use those tonight. He said he was extremely satisfied with the surgeon, P.A., office staff and the office in general. He and the girls and Sid's friend Steph are all in the living room watching Transformers II on the big T.V. I am so very grateful that he came through this okay and is doing all right. Got my things done ( I think I did, I lose track when I have a migraine), Riley to the tutor, dressing started and all that jazz. House looks picked up so I must have done something today.

pain in the brain

I was going to go with Bob this morning for his MOHS surgery. He came in to wake me up this morning and we started going over the day, he let me off the hook and told me it was understandable that I don't go with him. I am needed here at the house for about 50 different things. Sid and her Spanish film making project, Riley to the tutor, a house that has been neglected for three days and cooking my part of Thanksgiving. The final reason is that I have a RAGING headache. Woke up with it. Bob doesn't know about my headache, he just worries and I didn't want to use that as an excuse to not go. He called and said he has a great view from the 14th floor of the medical building downtown. The sun came out and the Space Needle is illuminated. It was recommended that you limit bringing anyone with you and that if you did to have them bring a book and pack a lunch or bring lunch money. It could be a long day or not depending on the depth of the cancer cells. It looked pretty small to me so I am thinking it wont take long at all. In my moments of non pain, I feel guilty for not going, he said that he would miss chatting with me. I told him I am just a cell phone call away. Not sure that I would have been the greatest of company.

Turkey in your future

It's approaching so quickly, this Thanksgiving thing. I am really looking forward to spending time with my Seattle family. I will miss my Arizona family a whole lot but knowing that our two week vacay will be here soon helps A LOT.
It has been dreary to say the least. Rainy, drizzle, dark and chilly. Lucky for me, I have been staying busy. I have spent the past two days with my cousin's two daughters. They are three and one. It takes me back to when my girls were little. Life was so much simpler then, PBS channel with Elmo and Clifford, pre school and little crackers for snacks. It did require planning and strategies when they were little but it requires a lot more now that they are older. A client once told me "small kids small problems, big kids big problems" I get it and can't imagine what lots of parents go through with their children. My two are fairly drama free, so it's not so bad.
Gotta get up early again in the morning. Bob is having surgery at 8:00 am on his face. He has skin cancer on his cheek and has to have it removed. I am going with him. They recommend that you bring a book cuz it can take quite a while.

Potstickers and Pledge

Clean, clean, clean. The girls and I did that today. They were both lots of help. I have two clients coming to the house tomorrow so the house/salon has to be a showpiece...
Sid and I went to a new Trader Joe's the other day. It was huge. Trader Joe's are not known for their hugeness. This new one was delightful. Close to the orthodontist too. We got potstickers and Mandarin chicken. That is the Chinese food feast we are having for dinner tonight. Rice too.
Busy week ahead, many apologies if you don't read some fresh postings this week. Get to spend two days with two cute lil baby angels. My cousin's cute and funny little girls. It takes me back to about 11 years ago.

Typical Day in the Life

I would have liked to blog last night but we were without power for three hours. It went out just as I was cooking dinner. Everyone was excited about my menu and really looking forward to it. We did the usual candles, flashlights and a fire in the fireplace. The girls finished their homework and Bob finally gave up and went to bed. Once the power came back on, I finished dinner. The delicious aroma woke Bob from his slumber and he shuffled out to the kitchen. The girls finished their homework with an exciting game of Battleship.
I had volunteered to work in the office at Riley's school today. The school secretary thing must run in my blood. My grandma would have been proud. The woman whose position I was taking didn't have anything for me to do. I assumed that the phone would ring off of the hook, tardy kids would come running in for passes, parents with problems bigger than anyone else's would expect me to fix it for them. Nope, not a drop of excitement. The phone rang once, two parents dropped stuff off for their forgetful children and I collected attendance folders. I played a few games of solitaire, read e-mails and Twittered on my Blackberry. Don't get me wrong, the wonderful woman that works in the office is always busy. One of Riley's teachers told me that all of the other schools have three women that do her job. Wow...
Home after lots of errands and appointments. Good dinner and family time that was not interrupted by a power outage. It's okay. It's fun to play pioneer family once in a while. Sid could have gotten out her violin and played the "fiddle" for us.
Last night and today were so so so rainy. It was a drippy soaking rainy day. I even used my umbrella. It is very fall November weather from what people are saying.
Sid is going on a field trip tomorrow. It's the body exhibit and it's for her athletic injury class. I am looking forward to hearing about it and seeing some pictures.

Boring Blog

I need to unload the pictures I took from my girls weekend and want to add some to my blog, haven't made the time yet. Woke up with a sore throat and kind of achy. I am feeling better and realize that some of the soreness was due to bowling on Sunday. What a dimwit I am sometimes. I'm in bed, flexing my fingers on my right hand and thinking that my career in hair is all washed up. I must have arthritis and will need a hand transplant and will have knuckles bigger than golf balls, blah blah blah. It finally dawns on me that I was holding a 12 pound ball with my fingers for two hours on Sunday. Duh...
Speaking of bowling, Sid did very well today, bowling her highest average so far. I think Sunday's practice session did help.
It has been quite the weather event around here. Lots of wind and rain. I went over to the lake house today and the dock is completely submerged and the skyline was covered in fog. The lake can go from glass to choppy white caps in no time at all. It amazes me how quickly the scenery changes there. Bob had to go up on our roof today to clean out the drains for the gutters. This house has hidden or built in gutters so you can't see them hanging on the fascia or eves. The roof is fairly flat and has holes with debris guards on them. They had gotten covered over with leaves and pine needles so all of the water was coming down in places it didn't need to be.

I am watching Dancing with the Stars while I blog tonight. I hate even mentioning it. I have never watched it before and have seen about 10 minutes of this season. There's nothing else on til 10 so it was just background noise. What a weird concept.

Still Not All Here

Was supposed to go over to the lake house today and get my stuff, do some picking up but never made it. I ended up on the phone with family. Had to give the details to everyone my fun filled girls weekend. I am still recovering. It was a dark gloomy windy day today and I did a few things around the house and cleaned out the DVR. It missed me while I was away. Top Chef and others were waiting for me to watch so they could make room for House and Medium. Bob was going to go with me over there but ended up staying late at work to do some things. He and I ended up picking up Sid and friends from bowling practice. I will miss having Papa there tomorrow to watch her match. Much more fun when he was there.
Girls are getting geared up for the new Twilight movie. Sid is going with a big group from school and then again with Riley later. Not sure if Riley will go with friends first or her sister. I remember when Star Wars came out and we stood in line at our local theater. We only had one theater and it had only one screen. Eventually they just built a wall down the middle and put in two smaller screens and we thought that was great. Two movies to choose from. If it were a big deal and we didn't want to wait for the movie to come to our dippy little town, we could drive about 35 minutes "down the hill" to a larger theater. I had to see lots of first run movies "down the hill". Hits like "Grease", "Towering Inferno" and "Ode to Billy Joe"
The photo above is the actual theater after is glorious transformation into a two screen extravaganza. It is still standing and is a mission that has held revivals and such in a very seedy part of town.

Key Elements

When getting together with good friends you must always remember to implement the key elements that are a vital component in enjoying that togetherness to its fullest.
First off, you gotta have some friends. Check. I have three that are so important to me. Next, a rockin' good venue. Check. Family loaning you their lake house. Great city or cities to shop and eat in. Check check. We never left the eastside and didn't lack for good food. I must admit I did cook one of the meals and it was tasty. Snacks, chick flicks and laughter. That pretty much sums it up. The photo above was my lunch on one of our outings. We did pedicures, we ate chips and homemade onion dip and consumed lots of good coffee drinks. We talked about kids, husbands, parents and Harry Connick Jr.
We shopped, cried, and teased one another. It had all of the makings of a great weekend that did not disappoint. There was one element missing and it has yet to be invented. That machine that can turn back time or just stop time until you are ready for it to start up again. Time with loved ones always goes too fast... way too fast.

Busy Getting Ready

Bob and the girls didn't do anything Veteran's Day related today. Bob did put up our American flag though. It was illuminated by some sunshine today. Beautiful. The three of them ended up busy with other things so opted to not look for a Veteran's type thing.
I went and did grocery shopping for this weekend with my friends and also to supply my family with some food while I am gone. I know Bob will supplement with a Costco pizza or two. They wont be with out me too much. I am only about 20 minutes away if they have to see me. Riley wont miss me, she will be thrilled to have no one nagging her about her messy room. Her dad will nag her enough about her homework. I use the term "nag" and that may be what Ri thinks of it as. I would like to use "gently remind" or "ask politely" but that just doesn't work in the real world. The weather man tells me that tomorrow will end up with some sun. Fabulous. I wont be greedy and ask for more than I need, I just want my fair share of the glowing yellowness. It was so beautiful today driving over to my aunt's house, the tree's vibrancy just amazes me. I never grow tired of the fall season and miss it when winter comes sneaking in and takes over. When you have out of town company, it would be nice to be able to order what type of weather you would like. A weather "Menu" would be cool. The nicer weather choices would of course be the more expensive while the rainy, dark colder type days or the 109 degree days would be less expensive. Maybe an ala carte area of the menu would be good. You could get a side of light breeze, a side of rainbow, mostly sunny with a side of light showers. I like it, I am going to make an appointment with a patent lawyer and get busy on this invention. Can't believe no one's thought of it yet...
Soooo... you may not hear from me for a few days. I am going to be so busy with having fun with my buddies. We have so much to catch up on. Many things have gone on in the 16 months that I have been away from California. So many life changes, so much sorrow, so much to laugh and cry about. The biggest problem that I see is this... There just wont be enough time to spend together, it will go too fast.

Various Random Ramblings

Sid had another bowling match today. She is on the varsity girls team. She likes it and is improving every match. I told her that we would go and practice together again. Not that I have any significant bowling skills but I think I can help her practice the things she is supposed to do. She had an extra fan in the audience today. Her Papa was here from Phoenix. He was up here on business. After bowling we went to dinner. Fun times!
My swell friends are going to be here on Thursday! Of course it is going to rain the whole time they are here. Bummer... I was hoping for a little sunshine to illuminate the beauty of this wonderful place. Oh well, I am so excited that I refuse to let the weather get to me.
Bob and girls are off tomorrow. Veteran's day. Bob was hoping to take the girls to something like a memorial or something. I am going to finish up the things I need to before Thursday.
Got my cute little niece all lined up for her b-day gift. I just cannot believe that it has been five years since she came into this world. I will always feel so blessed to have been right there when she was born. My sister got to be there with Bob and I when our girls were born. I do think it creates a great bond between them and us. The daughters and I will miss being there for her birthday celebration but we will be there soon and she can help Ri celebrate her birthday in style. Kenzie loves birthday parties and is always ready to party hardy.

Comfort Food

Things that are comforting...
Our cat sleeps with us every night and into the morning. If I take a nap, he curls up with me.
The large warm crackly fires my husband builds in the fireplace.
Hot coffee with flavored creamer in the cold morning.
The squeals and laughter of my daughters.
Dinner tonight.
Riley chose the menu for tonight and then accompanied me to the store to insure that I did purchase all of the correct ingredients. Chicken, mashed potatoes and corn. I made the potatoes from scratch and even added the cream cheese. I opted for the creamed corn, that it the comfort food of corn. Lucky for me, no one else in this house likes the creamed variety. Lucky me!

All kinds of things

So many thoughts and things, so little time. Today I did some things that needed to get done around here, the t.v. playing in the background. It took on a different tone as the day progressed. The news was on pretty much all day, the local news. On Halloween a Seattle police officer was gunned down while on duty, training another officer. He lost his life but his partner was spared. She returned fire but was unable to stop the lowlife and they escaped. The memorial was today and was huge. It was held at a large venue downtown. Bob watched with me when he got home and we were both emotional wrecks. It's just so hard to see the loved ones that he leaves behind. Minutes after the memorial service ended, the news broke that they think they caught the scum of the earth. Again we were glued to the television. While this was on today, I was thinking about and praying for my little cousin, Nat. She got her large highly decorated casts off today. It seemed to have gone well and then a setback. It was a day of highs and lows for sure. The weather followed in that roller coaster pattern. Ri and I went to pick up Sid from bowling practice and it began to thunder, lightning and hail in the parking lot. It had done the same last night as well and we lost power. We were trying to watch the terrible news from Ft. Hood, TX. Man, that is a sad story as well.
Yes, Sid had bowling practice and then was shuttled over to the football game. It was POURING so Bob and I sat in the car. We parked just outside the stadium so we could watch from a dry warm car. Should have thought of this a few weeks back! It was the last game and Sid was emotional when it was over. She will miss her weekly obligation to the team. It has been so good for her in so many ways.
Going to hit the hay. The sound of rain is lulling me to sleep, it is really comin' down out there.

Sid had her first bowling match today. They won and she made 100 for the first time.
It was fun, don't know how many I can actually attend, they are fun for a while but it does have the potential to get a bit dull. Fortunately, there is another mom and there is also the husband that can go/take to these matches. I was happy for her, she did great and is enjoying it.
The other girls on her team are all really nice. Thank goodness...
Will have another client over to the house on Sunday mid morning. So that is a step in the right direction. I will get to spend time with the cutest one year old tomorrow. My cousin's little cutie pie. She is cute and hilarious. Looking forward to it. Had to run to the store after bowling to get guacamole ingredients. Riley's Spanish teacher is having a Dia de los Muertos party tomorrow. (Day of the Dead). Which is a Mexican holiday/tradition that is celebrated once a year. It's got really cool artwork associated with it.

Riley let me know that if she took in homemade salsa or guacamole that she would get extra credit as well. I had to do my part. Gotta help the kid out wherever I can.
That's about all of the action to report around this place.

A Happy Halloween it was

Pumpkin carving at our house last night. Riley drew hers out and I finished it for her. She was being picked up a bit earlier than we had planned so time was a factor. I executed her design pretty well! Hers is the smiley tongue sticking out long eyelash pumpkin at the top. Sid did "Hello Kitty" and Bob's was a scary ghoul. I think these are the best ever.
Bob put a roaring blaze in the fireplace(of course this surprises no one) I made a new recipe for dinner, had great music playing like "Evil Ways, "Black Magic Woman" and "Werewolves of London" and opened a bottle of Syrah. Sid had a friend come over later and we watched some shows about the paranormal. They even made my heart beat a little fast. The two teenagers got spooked and closed all of the blinds in the house. I gave up early and went to bed. Just as I suspected no reasonable parent or child made any attmept to navigate our long dark scary driveway to obtain a KitKat or Three Musketeer bar. My new recipe for dinner consisted of a baguette cut up and place over butter in a casserole. Sliced onion, sliced hame and guyure cheese with a healthy cup of white wine poured over the whole thing and baked for twenty minutes. It tasted like a giant drunken grilled ham & cheese sandwich and it was delicous. Bob said he wouldn't order it again but then did help himself to seconds, Sid and I both loved it and can't wait to have it again. We think Riley will like it too.
Riley is still gone and Bob is still at work. He will pick her up on his way home. Sid is doing homework. She and I roasted pumpkin seeds (I roasted, she taste tested) did some laundry and watched two episodes of "House" on the DVR. We LOVE that show and watch every one of them.
No rain today, the sun is out and bright. It looks like a mixed bag of weather all week, typical for this time of year. The fall has been so beautiful this year and I have enjoyed it so much.
Busy weeks ahead, take time to stop and notice the falling leaves....

A Tree Falls in Kirkland

Sid's second to last game was last night. We all assumed it was the last game and technically it was. They are playing again next week at home and it's kind of a "we didn't get to playoffs so let's play one more for fun" game.
We did win last night like everyone figured. The school we played doesn't have a winning record. What they do have is an incredible band program. One out of every three students plays an instrument. They had grades 5,6 and 7 along with the high school band last night and that was the half time show. It was really really good. The band dressed in Halloween costumes and they were VERY good and some were truly hilarious. They played Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and then set their instruments down and did the Zombie dance from the video. It was great. There were about 800 band members on the field at one time. I am happy to report that it didn't start raining until the 3rd quarter. We were so far ahead in the score that Bob and I packed it up and sat in the car for the last 10 minutes of the 4th quarter.
Just before the game started we got a text from Riley. She had decided to not go to the game and was staying home. She informed us that a tree had fallen over in the back yard. It's funny because the wind had been blowing pretty good all day. When we were leaving for the game I commented to Bob about how much those large trees sway in the wind. I had never really paid much attention before. He just kind of smiled and looked at me like I was a 4 year old child who had lived in a barrel in back woods of Kentucky my whole life. I told him that I knew the fragility of the trees was obvious when you watch the evening news and see how many trees fall on houses, cars and electrical lines all over western Washington. I punctuated my response with a look that said "you are a bigger dumb ass than I gave you credit for."
So guess who is in the back yard with his chainsaw cutting apart a tree that fell in our backyard an hour after our conversation? HA! I hate to brag about being right but...
Lucky for all involved that it wasn't a large evergreen, it was a fairly decent sized Dogwood. Bob had mentioned a few days ago that it might in fact be dead because the leaves were all dead and shriveled and the tree had not dropped them. Well, I guess we figured it was dead. Hopefully it didn't do much damage to the small evergreen that it landed on but other than that it didn't do any harm. Riley handled it well and sent us some pictures via text message. She told us that she didn't need us to come home. When I called her later to check on her, she said that the leaves blowing around outside made it seem kind of creepy out but that she was fine.



Today is Halloween, pumpkin carving, etc. I am going to motivate myself now and head to the grocery store. I don't have any candy because I don't think anyone in their right mind would venture down our very long, dark driveway for a few Smarties and a Tootsie Pop. I will get some candy just in case but will make sure it is something we like. Riley will be with her BFF and I think Sid is staying home with us unless she and Bob decide to brave it out at the "Haunted Trails" a few miles away.