Ramble on...

This promises to be another sunny and warm day. We hit 83 degrees yesterday. More of the same today. Yesterday truly was a made to order weather day. Had to drive over to Redmond for Sid's badminton match and it was such a beautiful drive. It is east of us and you go through a large valley and then back into the trees. Farms with horses grazing and cows. Many of the trees are starting to change into vivid oranges, golds and reds. Fall is the best... Sid's team did not win but she played well. Bob and I can see her improving every match. The other school's team had a disabled girl in a wheelchair on their team. She had her team shirt on and her racquet. She was up by the net and our girls made sure to hit that birdie to her and she hit some back. I was impressed with their team's encouragement to her and our team's taking the time to hit those shots for her. We saw her after the match and told her what a great job she did. When you have someone close to you in your own family that has disabilities, you really begin to watch for things like that and feel so comfortable approaching that. It made me realize that my little sweet cousin can and will be able to do so much! She is learning to communicate with her eyes and it is amazing. We all want her to do the alphabet for us when we are with her and she is probably like most six year olds and is thinking "I wish they would quit bugging me about this alphabet thing, I got it down and you dummies don't" It is just so cool tho. Today my cousin will have some hard moments and trying moments and I am just praying for a good outcome.
We are going to celebrate Sid's b-day this Sunday at the lake house with my family. Sid is excited. We are doing Mexican food. It may rain but we are going prepared with games and indoor activities.
Took Riley to school and Geoffery too. No one argued about getting a ride instead of walking, that is good since I have a killer headache and was in no mood to take on my very independent 10 year old and her sidekick.
I am going downstairs now to watch my TIVO shows while I do laundry. Who knows what is on there, a few Oprahs,Salon Takeover, Jon & Kate + 8.
Wow, it's TIVO smorgasbord!

Lack of Sleep

I could not sleep last night and finally faded around midnight. These pictures above are part of my lack of sleep. They were sent via text message on my cell phone and it rings. At about 2:00 A.M. they started coming, three of them. They were from my dad who is in Rome and isn't worried about sending texts as far as the time difference goes. Can't blame him! Even though these are from his cell phone camera they are still pretty dang cool. He says that he and my mom are having a great time.
Sid has another match today. It is an away game so I have to get directions to that school. I may have to nap so I can stay awake for it.
The girls have informed me that they are excited about Halloween. Sid isn't going to dress up but I told her she can go with Riley while she Trick or Treats. They haven't lived in a neighborhood since we lived in Chino so this is cool for them. Handing out candy is fun for me. I still haven't found all of my decorations. In case anyone ever wonders, moving does suck. Jill, this is not meant to discourage you, you have it all going on. But for me, not so lovely.
I am listening to Matt Damon bag on Sarah Palin and I want to scream at him to shut the hell up. We are all entitled to our opinion but if you are not a movie star, actor, singer, etc. no one give you airtime to speak out. Oh well, I don't know about the rest of you, but cannot wait for this election to be over. Not just the presidential campaign but our local politics as well. The ads, phone calls, mail, ugh!

I am going to shut the cell phone down to vibrate only and go take a power nap. Yawn.....

Blissful Day

When I took the girls to school this morning it was foggy. The tall pines were shrouded in mist. Awesome. As the fog and clouds wore off it was all sunshine and wispy high clouds. Perfect day for Bob and I to go out to lunch on the water. If we would have had the time, I would have loved to go up north to Mukilteo and eat at Ivars or Edmonds and eat at Anthony's. But we still have to remember that we are parents and the responsibility of picking them up from school. Luckily, we live in Kirkland and Lake Washington is a few minutes away and there are plenty of places to eat on the lake. We made it down to Carillon Point which is a marina and there are shops, restaurants, hotels, etc. It's lovely and today was lovely. I just wanted to have a mini celebration for Bob and I and his new job.
It was nice to not think about the economy, the state of our government, the election, the debate and foreign policy. It seems that is all we hear and that is completely understandable. The economy is kind of a big deal and all. My opinion is that if our economy is this bad then how can we be effective with other countries and our foreign policies? We gotta mow the grass in our own backyard before we tackle someone else's weeds. But that is just me...
Going to meet my cousin tonight and some friends for drinks. Casual. Jill deserves a big fat Margarita! She has sooooo much on her weekly plate. Hopefully my other cousin Nikki can join us. Her baby is still kind of young so it's not always easy.
So, poor me. A great lunch with my man and drinks with fun people tonight.

So, yes, the ecomony sucks, we have a giant noose around our neck in Calif. (our house) that we can't unload, job situation was iffy, etc. BUT we feel so very lucky.
We are living exactly where we want to and feel BLESSED beyond belief for that. Our girls are adapting so well and are happy, healthy kids. I got no complaints and if I did, I would hope that everyone would be ashamed of me.
Hope that all who read this has a great weekend, watch the debate and hope that the candidate of your choice does well and comes out of this not too beat up, put your life savings in a jar and bury it in your back yard cuz it may not be safe at the bank.

In the Morning my Mind Wanders

Well, going to the b-school went just fine. I may not have to actually attend. The instructor was kind enough to give me study materials and let me decide if I wanted to go further with the school or do it on my own. It's not as daunting as I first believed or it is and I am just kidding myself! I will go through the stuff this week and see.
I am going for my second professional haircut since living here. I may have mentioned that I cut it myself. Not good.
Sid has a badminton match at her school today so we will be there for that. Riley asked if she had to go. What a supportive sister. She has a new gang of friends in da hood and that is all she can think about. Coming home from school and playing. There is a large ravine across the street from our house and there is a swing and playhouse built in there and that is where they play. Tom Sawyer comes to Kirkland. The picture above is of across the street. I think with the ferns and stuff it looks like dinosaurs are gonna come out of there any second.
Bob will report to his new job October 6 at 8:00 a.m. We got the official e mail last night. Yay! A week of training in Seattle and then work starts.
It is early and the oldest daughter just came shuffling out of her room, I heard her alarm go off. Riley will sleep in a bit as she has a regular morning, no band today. She reported yesterday that band at the Jr High went fine and that they just did notes and scales. Or just notes or something. I am so not the musician, just the appreciation part for me. The cats are very vocal this a.m. so that must mean they are hungry and the coffee maker just finished making my morning salvation brew so I will be off on my busy day and here's hoping you are all safe in your busy travels today too.

Make up your own title

With a picture like this, do I need a title? Really...
I am going to the Kirkland Beauty School today to meet with an instructor about a refresher course. Am I looking forward to it? Nope... Am I glad that I am getting started on my career? Yes. Sooo... I will try to go to beauty school with a comedic perspective and share it with you. Hopefully I can find that comedy. There may be some 2008 versions of Frenchy, you never know.
Took Riley up to the Jr. High for band this morning. The only problem with this is at home. Sid hasn't had to share a bathroom for two years. They didn't do well in there this morning. I may have to move one to the downstairs bathroom. Other than that, we are excited that she is doing the flute thing again.
Okay, so I colored my regrowth, painted my toenails and fingernails and am going to get the flesh colored spackel and putty knife out. Gotta put on the hairdresser hat and hit the road.
The sun is just starting to peek out and my cat is laying in the middle of it on the carpet. The term "kitty sun" was coined in the northwest I bet.
Tomorrow I am going to go get another haircut. This will be my second time. Last month I cut it off myself. Like over an inch. Sid said it looked fine in the back so I took her word for it. I warned the hairdresser that it could be ugly. She laughed...

Today is Tuesday

A picture I shot yesterday in my front yard.

Woke up this morning to some frosty windows. Chilly. Turned the heater on. Goodness... I will keep it quick as I actually have to go warm up the car. Finally got the confirmation that we have been waiting for. The new job will start for Bob in two weeks. They told him that he can give official notice to his current job. He will kinda miss that big warehouse job. So, last night was good, we felt a little more secure, happy that we are getting our footing here. Relief would be a good word to throw in there as well.
My parents are having a splendid time in Spain. We finally got their international cell phone calling figured out. Their friends that are meeting them in Barcelona had a big shake up yesterday. They were supposed to fly from Seattle to N.Y. but had landing gear failure and had to do an emergency landing in Chicago and ran the plane off of the runway. It was all over our local news and my parents even saw it on Fox news in Barcelona. But they were fine just shaken up and managed to get another flight to N.Y. yikes...
So, I am going to work on my career today, stay tuned for that excitement.
Riley will let me drive her to school today. She starts band tomorrow. It is at the Junior High that Sid attends so I will take them both there. It's three days a week for Riley. She also wants to do Volleyball at her school so we shall see how that goes. I may not have time to get a job. My daughters seem to be filling up my schedule pretty well.

Fall... Is it here already?

When you live in the Mojave Desert of Southern California, the coming of fall can be a welcome respite. It will have been over 100 degrees for about 980 days and everyone is sick of the heat and paying billions of dollars to cool their homes. Welllll... let me tell ya about fall in Kirkland. The leaves turning from green to orange, yellow and red is stunning. But the weather is cloudy and drizzly. You find yourself mourning the loss of summer aka sunshine. Bob and Riley love the rain. They do not seem to be influenced by the lack of vitamin D. Sid and I seem to be more sensitive to the cloudy, sunless skies. We will hold the weatherman accountable at this point because he has dangled the carrot in front of us. Sunshine, although not too warm, but sunshine and some clouds by the end of this week.
I did celebrate the end of summer by putting up some of my fall/Halloween decor. At least the stuff I could find. Somewhere there are Halloween decorations buried in my garage. Maybe by Easter I will have unearthed the fall things. I did however find the Halloween cookie cutters and even bought a tombstone cookie cutter at Sir La Table a few weeks back. I LOVE doing sugar cookies and decorating them. I am sure that they will be worthy of picture taking and of course I will post them and be waiting for tons of compliments from my thousands of loyal fans.
The pictures above are of my tree in the front yard. This was taken a while back so in reality the tree is even more orange and yellow now and the leaves are falling. I will shoot some more fall pics soon. Our neighborhood looks to be quite colorful in the tree department.
I have Court T.V. on in the background and it is the O.J. Simpson trial in Vegas. What a bunch of crap that is. I could blog a few hundred words about how I feel about O.J. My sister and I have seen Ron Goldman's dad several times when we have been shopping at Nordstrom's in Scottsdale. He works there. He looks so nice and I feel so sad for him. I have never had the courage to say anything to him. My sister has talked to him but it was just about a shirt for her husband.

Riley did not walk to school today. Geoffrey didn't show up this morning. He may have been sick today. He has a scooter(skateboard with a handle) so now Riley wants one. He rides it and she runs along side. She wanted to ride her bike to school today. Lord, the child is trying to put me in an early grave.
Have a blissful, fall feeling Monday everyone. I am calling the Kirkland beauty school tomorrow to sign up for my refresher course. Wish me luck...

Badminton

Here are some shots of Sid yesterday. She did really well, she didn't feel real great but managed to do just fine. Her team tie-dyed shirts and they turned out really cool. Don't ask me if they won, I have no idea. I don't get this sport at all and will try to grasp it as we go along. But Sid did remind me that it is an "etiquette" sport and there is no yelling. Crap. You clap and act dignified...
Dad, could you imagine if girl's basketball was an etiquette sport back in 1983? You would have imploded.

Pulling on Those Apron Strings

My stomach is in knots. My heart is beating at an unhealthy rate. My youngest darling daughter informed me yesterday that she wanted to "walk to school with her friend Geoffrey". Could you just imagine the high pitched screaming, wailing, keening that went off inside my brain??? I stumbled, stuttered and mumbled some inane words like we'll see, are you sure, blah blah blah. Luckily, last night was "curriculum night" at her school and we got to meet the Geoffrey parents. They are not thrilled with their precious 5th grader walking either but employment prohibits them from taking him and picking him up from school. Bob was my mirror image when Riley told him she wanted to walk to school. He muttered and stumbled around just as artfully as I had. So what did we end up letting her do this morning? Walk with Geoffrey. But... don't be too alarmed... I secretly followed them the whole way.
Riley didn't spot me until the last 2 minutes of her journey. There was no way in hell I was gonna let her walk to school with out adult supervision! Bob and I did take her on the route and explained about cross walks, signals, not stopping at Starbucks on the way(there is one on the way, big surprise) and getting there in a timely fashion. Besides, Geoffrey is a seasoned pro.
I am exhausted mentally. My baby... walking to school... it's more than I can bear.
Bob should be calling me any minute to find out what happened. So... I am going to go throw up now, shower and go to Costco for some retail therapy. Luckily Geoffrey is not walking home, his parents are picking him up and they are gone for the weekend so I get to pick her up, in my car, in my care, safe with her mom for a few more days...

Updates from the Evergreen State

I must get myself together and pick up Riley from school. She felt well enough to go today. Sid and I feel fine too. Yesterday just kicked our behinds. I will pick up Ri and go to Sid's badminton match. Pics to follow...Bob was off today and we got lots of junk done. I had more clerical items to attend to and he gets the burly stuff like getting the girls badminton birdy off of the roof.
I called WA state board, got a very helpful young lady to give me info. At the end of the conversation I asked her if people like me who have had their license for 100 years ever just beg to get the WA license without testing. She replied with "all of the time"...So there you have it, I will have to test in practical and written if I want to do hair in this state. I called a beauty school and they will give me a refresher course for 2-3 days. At a lovely cost as well. But, if I want to pass and have some type of dignity I think it may be money well spent. I just can't put myself out there for another profession! I want to go back to school for some graphic design classes but I also want to pay my rent, utilities and be able to buy groceries as well. So I guess I gotta go with what I know.
Had the nicest phone call from a friend/client in Calif. Of course she misses me! It does and doesn't make me feel good... I do miss my job and my moola. So, it looks like I might be a beauty school student for a brief time, WEIRD.
Bob is still filling his time up with his large warehouse job. They love him. He will have his 30 day review this week sometime. If only he could be full time and make MORE dollars at this job. His commute is so rockin'.
Also, on the advice of my sister, I am going to put some cute things together and sell them. I will be sure to let you know and will post some pics of the stuff I do. Just some notecards and albums. I might go up to Lynwood and take a class at a scrapbook store and learn some new techniques. I wish I lived by my sister's friend and neighbor! She is sooooo talented.
I really like being a stay at home mom/wife, but the pay ain't to great. It's really too bad...
Okay, on to other things. As many of you may have noticed that since my blogs birth back in June, I think I have changed my background about 4-5 times. My oldest, dearest, bestest friend told me that she likes this current one the best and not to change it. I have to agree. I will try really hard not to change it. My inner nature is to change things around a lot and redecorate things a lot so this will take some willpower on my part! Jill, I will try until at least November, that's as good as I can do.
Hope you all got a kick out of my niece's princess picture. I am on a "pesterfest" to get me some more pics to post. I get tired of seeing those other two kids all of the freakin' time, I need new faces... I am off to the showers. Cloudy, overcast, gray, drizzle today. Kind of nice change. A little chilly. Ciao for now.

Being a Princess

I got this photo emailed to me yesterday. I am predjudice because she is my niece but dang she is the cutest little bug I have ever seen. She got her dress up outfit from "Lolo" in Ohio. My sister had to go to OH on business and then got to have some fun with her best friend Lolo.

I Got Nothin'

Sid and I really did not feel well either. We decided to postpone our trip downtown for a bit. Went to Michael's instead. I am gonna start making some notecards. If they turn out adequate enough I may just sell them. We will see. So, I have no pictures of Pike Place Market. I will soon tho... Weather should start changing soon according to the news. Still will not be too cold yet. Riley's "Curriculum Night" is tomorrow night and Sid's first badminton match. I will report on that later. It has been known as "Back to School" night as well. I am not connecting my thoughts or making any sense. I better go lay down for a while and tell myself that I am not getting sick.

Gotta Seize the Day

A quick post, gotta hurry along. I told the girls if the weather was still nice today that we would go downtown. Riley is home sick so she has to stay home with dad. I am sure Sid and I will manage to still have fun.
Will post some pix later too. Hopefully I don't freak out driving over the floating bridge and pass out from anxiety! I think I will make it okay. Minimum day at school today so got lots more time to do things...
Chat with y'all later!
I took this picture yesterday at my aunt's house at the lake...

a few badminton at the park pics

Sunny Day

Bought the girls a couple of badminton racquets and birdies the other day. They have been playing quite a bit and it is good practice for Sid. Her first match is Thursday. After Bob got home from work we went over to Riley's school to use their large grass area. When the girls play in our backyard they tend to lose the birdies in the ivy or up on the roof. Beautiful weather again yesterday and the rest of this week. I am trying to enjoy it as much as possible. I think I might try to take the girls down to Pike's Market in Seattle. That is the go to when people think of Seattle or visit Seattle, you know the fish throwing and all. The girls haven't been there since they were little.
I am listening to Mark & Brian right now and they are listing the best things to do in U.S. cities. Seattle got mentioned twice. Best cafes and best summer vacation. I have felt like I was on a glorious summer vacation since being here.
Weekend was hard. I wanted so bad to be down in Calif. My friend has been on my mind constantly.
Worked on the girl's rooms all weekend. Bob put their Ikea shelf units together so we stomped out the mess. They were still living with some boxes and general crap all around. Now, they are P.B. Teen front page. Wow.
Still waiting for news on Bob's new job, should be anytime now.
I am not looking too hard for a job yet, I will soon...
My parents leave for their cruise soon. Europe. Cool. They better bring me something cool, that's all I gotta say.

Do You Remember

When I was younger, I would hear people older than myself talk about things like Pearl Harbor (my great aunt was an officer in the Army Nurse Corp and at Pearl Harbor) and President Kennedy's assassination. They always would say that they could remember exactly what they were doing when they heard the news. I never thought much of it, being a child and not paying much attention to those stories. Then something really unthinkable happened and it occured when I was an adult. My very own country was attacked by terrorists. I will always remember waking up and turning on the "Today Show". It was still early and the first plane had already hit and the second just hit. Speculation only on the "accident" at that point. No one knowing much at that time except for gripping fear.
I know that I will never forget that day. I hope my two daughters listen better than I did when we talk about remembering. Bob says that we don't pay enough attention to history. History does repeat itself.
I know that tomorrow everyone will stop for a second and remember exactly what they were doing when they heard the news.

Lucky, Lucky, We're So Lucky

Wednesdays are minimum days at school. I picked up the girls and took them downtown. We got some refreshment from a favorite local coffee house and headed to the park. I decided on the Marina Park. It is right on Lake Washington. Lots of places to sit in the sun or shade. The girls pulled out some homework and I stuck my nose into my book. "The Birth of Venus" it's okay... It seems to have been a trend for a while to take a famous "real" work of art like a painting or sculpture and write a fictional story around it and its inception. So I am plugging along with it and then I have two more from the library that I will review. Last week it was the "Syringa Tree". Can't remember if I mentioned it so will bring it up again. Good read.
Sunny, perfect day in the park kind of day. Kinda warm, like 77 degrees. Riley had to take a break from her spelling words and go for a dip in the lake. We felt pretty lucky today that we live here. How often do you get to do your homework with your toes in the lake? Lucky fish we are...

Kids and Cousins

A gaggle of geese, a prickle of porcupines and an army of caterpillars. What do you call a bunch of kids who happen to be cousins? Yesterday was a day of church in the morning and an afternoon of sunshine, sparkling water, Seadoos,jumping off the dock and into the water, playing on the lawn, swings, snacks, BBQ, family and friendship. A good way to refresh the spirit and reconnect with everyone. Our littlest cousin, Kate is growing like a little weed. I tried and tried to figure out how I could stuff her into my beach bag and bring her home without anyone noticing...

Dang

I had such a nice day yesterday as I told everyone in my last post. When I got home I had a letter from the WA State Board of Cosmetology. They verified what I already knew. I would have to take written and practical exams. I guess I was hoping that when Washington received the license verification from the state of Calif. they would also see that I have had my license for 340 years and "grandfather" me in.
I always hope that maybe somehow I will be granted special treatment but that is just my desire to be treated like the queen that I think I am. A slice of entitlement pie anyone??? So, I let that get to me a bit, even though I wasn't surprised, I still let it get to me. This has been a tragic week and I am really making an effort to be strong, unselfish and have a good attitude. When someone you care deeply for is hurting, you try to remember that you don't have anything to complain about. So I am mentally slapping myself around and telling myself that the pity train left town weeks ago...
Am looking forward to Sunday. Spending some time at the lake with family and the girls deserve some fun after the week they had. They should be rewarded for being so brave. Meteorologists are using the Doppler radar to predict that we will have sunny days for a bit longer. When the sun is out in Seattle you better get your buns out there to soak up that Vitamin D. It could be a long, dark, wet, dreary winter...

Sailing Video- With Music