Queen Bee

I'm early on this one

2008-08-23T16:09:00.003-07:00

It's not until October 15 but let's get the word out about Blog Action Day.

http://blogactionday.org/

There is no P in hamster

2008-08-06T16:55:00.003-07:00

Say it with me, people. Okay, we all know that there it isn't "lie-berry" and that February has an R after the B...and several of us get lazy about those and other words. But come on, it's HAMster, no P!!

Above rant brought on by a 4th grade math textbook :P

A rose by any other name

2008-08-05T16:38:00.002-07:00

I was thinking about names the other day and how much they've changed. My mom is one of 14 kids and when they set the table for dinner they set it by saying the names of each kid and laying a place as they did it. So if the table setter forgot your name, you didn't get dinner ;) So it was *deep breath* Karen, Susan, Allan, Betty, Janet...uh oh, that's where I get lost. I don't know the proper order of the rest until the end - Hellen, Helga, Marie. In between there are Margaret, Velma, Rob, Jerry, Brenda and Norma, in some order. Now, when was the last time that you met a baby named Velma? Helga or Norma? But those were normal names then. Now it's Torin and Galleria. And the spellings are enough to drive teachers crazy. Christa had two kids with the same name last year but it was "Kobe with a K" and "Coby with a C" all year. Those boys are not in her class this year, she has "Kassidy with a K" and "Cassady with a C" or something like that.

Disclaimer: I have an unusual name myself, yes. But if you realize that my given name is Cheryl, the spelling of Cherie isn't all that strange ;)

Trying to get in the groove

2008-08-01T10:12:00.002-07:00

These first couple weeks of a new school year are tough. Not on the kids, they're doing just fine and Christa thinks having lunch at school is the coolest thing ever ;) I'm talking about me, I have no routine at all. Quit laughing. Yeah, okay, I'll admit that I'm one of the least organized people ever but even *I* have a routine of sorts. I had to move my morning walk and now I'm out the door around 6am. Dang, it's chilly at 6am. Makes me walk faster though! I have this big chunk of time in my day now and I'm not so sure what to do with it. I can fill most of it with housework and all that fun stuff but who wants to do that all the time? And with the price of gas, I try to save up errands and only go when I must. And I must later today, it's rent day. Mental note, don't forget to pay the rent. Well, this was interesting, blogging about absolutely nothing with no point whatsoever. By the way, I still don't have any pics to share of Billy Ray from last week. Dh said his pics are in a format that I can't access and that he has to convert them. I'm waiting waiting waiting...

I think I'm going to change my name

2008-07-25T15:49:00.001-07:00

Just call me Cherie Ray. *LOL* We're off in a few minutes to see Billy Ray in concert, along with Collin Raye. He added the E just to be different ;)

It may be silly to some of you but this is my first real concert so I'm excited!

Now that was fast

2008-07-24T14:00:00.003-07:00

Summer is over. At least for my youngest two, it is. I think we just need to wrap our minds around the new reality that they go to school year round. Okay, it's still summer but they go to school in the summer. Hmmm. This is going to take some wrapping!

First day was Monday and both girls did great. Christa loves loves loves having lunch at school, thank the Lord. I was worried that she would up and leave at lunchtime and start walking home ;) Oh, that reminds me that Matt did that when he was in K, didn't want to do handprints with paint so he left. He loves to tell that story.

So here's my two cuties. Guess what grades they're in!

Okay, now it's REALLY summer

2008-07-02T07:31:00.002-07:00

Never mind that the temps have been in the 90s for a while now, never mind the smell of barbecues firing up daily all around the neighbourhood, never mind that the kids have been sleeping in every day. It's now summer because it's July. July was always the beginning for me, maybe because Canada Day is the first day of the month, I don't know. I just know that July and August are the two best months ever. Lots of sunny days, plenty of ice cream and burgers, fresh fruit and potato salad. Who could ask for more? Now this year I get to really celebrate the 4th, I'm looking forward to it. It's not the same watching fireworks on tv from the GWN, I'm sure. Hey, I even bought tshirts for all of us. Well, not for James as he refuses to wear one, says that the flag is not supposed to be on clothing. He's right but how do you stop it at this point? Let's just go with it :)

Happy Canada Day :)

2008-07-01T15:03:00.005-07:00

O Canada!

Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,

The True North strong and free!

From far and wide, O Canada,

We stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Mommy & baby

2008-06-25T09:34:00.002-07:00

I think she only has one this time :)

Birthday cake is the best kind of cake

2008-06-18T21:07:00.003-07:00

I don't know why birthday cake tastes better than regular cake, it just does. Our good friend Jeff loves lions so I made him this for his surprise party on Monday night. He knew about the barbecue but didn't realize that we planned to celebrate his birthday...I think he thought most of us forgot ;)

Just the six of us again

2008-06-18T09:31:00.003-07:00

Company is good. It's nice to see family and good to catch up. It's even better when the company is the kind who gets their own food when hungry, pitches in to clean up and doesn't need to be entertained. I like that kind of company. 10 days is enough though. There's a saying about fish and relatives stinking after a certain number of days, I think it's three. Ben Franklin, I believe. Anyway, I don't think three days is enough for most visitors but 10 is probably a good limit. I'm washing bedding, towels, etc., trying to get my house back to normal. That's a subjective term ;)

Hope Bob has a good trip home on his motorcycle!

K graduation

2008-06-06T12:57:00.004-07:00

It was cute. Thankfully Papa was there with his camera, this is one of the few I got that worked.

Couple funnies

2008-06-04T20:02:00.004-07:00

A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband. Suddenly, her husband burst into the kitchen. 'Careful,' he said, 'CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my gosh! You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter. Oh my gosh! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER? They're going to STICK! Careful. CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!' The wife stared at him. 'What in the world is wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?' The husband calmly replied, 'I just wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving.'

***********************************************

Fifty-one years ago, Herman James, a North Carolina mountain man, was drafted by the Army. On his first day in basic training, the Army issued him a comb. That afternoon the Army barber sheared off all his hair. On his second day, the Army issued Herman a toothbrush. That afternoon the Army dentist yanked seven of his teeth. On the third day, the Army issued him a jock strap. The Army has been looking for Herman for 51 years.

June? Are you sure?

2008-06-02T13:42:00.002-07:00

Wow, this year has been going by quickly for me. I am so happy to say that school is almost over. I know, I'm supposed to be excited for the beginning of school, not the end but man I'm tired. This getting up at 5am is getting really old. I won't have to get any kids up at 6:10 after Wednesday. Yep, that's right. I won't even have to leave the house before 8:35 or so. Well, except for special days like the day of my road test *gulp* which I am so not thrilled about. I'll let you know more about that when it's closer. I think I'm in denial though. So anyway, it's June and that is making me smile!

Good intentions

2008-05-31T18:37:00.003-07:00

I keep meaning to get back to regular blogging and before I can blink, there are a plethora of other things that I have to do "first", both online and off. Btw, do you like how I worked in plethora? That's a fun word too, I must add it to my list of words that are fun to say. I'm going to use boondoggle someday, but I need to figure out what it means before I do that.

Ooops, what was I saying? Oh yeah, other things keep cropping up. Facebook is a big one, I have a great group of friends over there and I just love to hang out and play scrabulous, scramble, word twist, etc., plus trying to keep up a little with what they're all up to, it's a big part of my computer time. And my moms, they are my computer priority numero uno. If you're one of them, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you are totally confused and have no clue who I mean, I must tell you that I sure hope you have a group of friends in your life that love you and support you no. matter. what. And they really do mean that, it's through thick and thin and thicker too ;) I also have to keep in touch with people on messenger and email...my family is far away from me now and I can't pick up the phone and chat with my mom about any and everything for an hour at a time. I miss that. So we send each other silly forwards and funny jokes and do our best to stay connected.

Ack, I am so bad at staying on track! The point I was going to make when I started this post was that I really really am going to try to blog more often, starting now. I won't promise it will be an every day thing because then the first time that I don't make it I will feel so guilty that I will stay away for a month and that's just not helpful when I'm trying to blog more, now is it? So I will just say that I'm going to try to do better. Feel free to email me if I seem to be falling away again, or contact me in whatever other way you have access to. Verizon calls are free minutes, ya know ;)

Mwah!!

A typical day...

2008-05-16T11:27:00.007-07:00

First you had trouble getting out of bed

You had a stiff neck

You washed your hair and couldn't do a thing with it

You felt like you had a hangover and you weren't even drinking last night

Your new diet really doesn't seem to be working out

You pulled a muscle when you tried to exercise

Your new hat looked better on you at the store

You keep losing things

The boss chewed you out at work

You got caught in the rain at lunchtime

Then the lunch you had didn't seem to agree with you

You feel trapped

Uninvited guests showed up at dinnertime

On top of that you think you're coming down with the flu

And finally, you're alone in the house at night when you think you hear a noise in the basement

Tagged by Allyson (again)

2008-05-09T19:41:00.002-07:00

I almost missed this one, sorry Allyson!

What I was doing ten years ago: Ten years ago, early May of 1998, let's see...I was still a newlywed I guess, Matt and I had been married eight months and he'd been away for four months at this point. We've had rather an odd marriage ;) So I was single momming it with James who was 7 and Maya who was 4.

Five things on my To-Do list today:
The day is almost over but five things I was supposed to do - three loads of laundry (all washed and dried, just have to fold the last load and put it all away), grocery shopping (done), gas up the car (done), put the filter in the pump and the pump in the pond (not done, maybe tomorrow) and do the dishes (not done yet but will be).

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Pay immigration for all the ridiculous fees they keep throwing at us, buy a house, buy a car or two, pay for college for James and the girls, and go see my parents often.

Three of my bad habits/qualities:
I drink too much coke and then get irritated that I'm not losing those last pounds (duh), I get irritated with my kids too easily and I am not a very good housekeeper.

Five places I’ve lived:
Backwards from now - Sparks NV, Courtenay BC, Cumberland BC, Coal Harbour BC and Fanny Bay BC.

Five Jobs that I have had:
Backwards from now - mom, retail sales in a clothing store, cashier in a convenience store, cleaning houses and chambermaid.

Five books I’ve recently read (or partially read):
The first three books in Tim LaHaye's Babylon Rising series, the first two books in Tim LaHaye's The Jesus Chronicles.

Anyone else want to do this meme? Just let me know if you do so I can come and read your answers!!

The big question around these parts

2008-04-28T16:08:00.004-07:00

"So, did you feel the earth move?"

Get your minds out of the gutter, people! Yeah, I worded it that way just because I thought it was funny but tremors really are on people's minds right now in the Reno area. Seems we've had over a hundred seismic episodes over the past few weeks. The biggest was 4.7 on Friday night and I think I read right that it was the biggest to strike since 1953.

Now, I did feel it but honestly, it wasn't all that big of a deal to me. True, we're about 15 miles from the epicenter. My sister in law who's about four miles away from it was much more shaken up by it than we were. Haha, I made a funny. Sorry, got to take them where I can get them.

We're due for a bigger one, according to about half of the so called experts. The other half say the small ones are releasing the pressure and that's all we'll get.

We'll see. I'll keep y'all posted!

Whoo hoo!

2008-04-24T16:11:00.005-07:00

It's the little things, people :)

Well, the little big things in this case ;)

Maya's math teacher is Canadian too, he got a recent care package from home. He's going to give Maya a Mr. Big to bring home to me. Yay!!

Btw, I've mentioned Mr. Big before.

Blind or just oblivious

2008-04-19T13:48:00.004-07:00

My friends were talking about redbox recently. You know, the DVD rental kiosks that outnumber Blockbuster stores in the US. Anyway, I had never seen one and for some reason wasn't able to check for a location near me (javascript trouble, don't ask me, ask my techie dh who doesn't seem to care that I can't do everything I should be able to with my computer... ooops, 'nother post, sorry) so my buddy Traci looked it up for me and gave me a list of places that have them. Yay Traci! Well, duh me, I walked into Walmart, a place I go at least twice a week and what should be right inside the door but...

This thing is huge and is right inside the door, the door that I always use. Yeah, it's been there all along but lalala I just walk right by and never pay attention. Ugh. I feel so silly!

Yogurt, kisses and mini hot dogs

2008-04-18T17:28:00.003-07:00

Christa doesn't like the Trix yogurt she asked me to buy. Well, that is, until she wanted one for breakfast and sucked it back so fast I had to hold onto the furniture to be sure I didn't get inhaled along with it.

Christa doesn't like chocolate kisses anymore. They don't taste good. Yeah right.

Christa doesn't like mini hot dogs. Her comment after eating two of them, "Thank goodness that's the end of those!"

5 year old taste buds. It's always a new adventure.

So, I have this friend

2008-04-17T19:19:00.002-07:00

This friend of mine moved last year. She didn't just move a few blocks or across town, or even an hour or two away from home. She left her city, her country behind. It hasn't been easy for my friend. Many things are different in her new home, many things are the same. As "they" say, people are people anywhere you go. It has been tough for my friend to adjust to her new home and the hardest part is missing those she left behind. Thankfully, there are other friends that she brought along with her when she moved, those who are still a few clicks of the mouse away. My friend has really appreciated emails, instant messengers, message boards, blogs and sites like facebook.

Just thought you might like to know a little about my friend.

I got a chuckle from a couple of these

2008-04-15T16:35:00.004-07:00

1. My husband and I divorced over religious differences. He thought he was God and I didn't.
2. I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.
3. Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them.
4. I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.
5. Don' t take life too seriously; no one gets out alive.
6. You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me.
7. Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.
8. Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.
9. I'm not a complete idiot -- some parts are just missing.
10. Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.
11. NyQuil, the stuffy, sneezy, why-the-heck-is-the-room-spinning medicine.
12. God must love stupid people; He made so many.
13. The gene pool could use a little chlorine.
14. Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.
15. Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?
16. Being 'over the hill' is much better than being under it!
17. Wrinkled was not one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up.
18. Procrastinate now!
19. I have a degree in Liberal Arts; do you want fries with that?
20. A hangover is the wrath of grapes.
21. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance.
22. Stupidity is not a handicap. Park elsewhere!
23. They call it PMS because Mad Cow Disease was already taken.
24. He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless DEAD.
25. A picture is worth a thousand words, but it uses up three thousand times the memory.
26. Ham and eggs...a day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.
27. The trouble with life is there's no background music.
28. The original point and click interface was a Smith & Wesson.
29. I smile because I don't know what the heck is going on.

A Flat Stanley type adventure...

2008-03-26T16:33:00.002-07:00

Dear Dexter,

We have had so much fun having Flat Dexter visit us here in Nevada! Sparks is located in the northern part of the state, very close to the California border. The terrain here is called high desert which means that, though it is still very dry, we do get a fair amount of snow in the winter. We even got a little snow while Flat Dexter was here but it melted so quickly that we didn’t have time for pictures. Here is our house on a spring day.

And here is part of our back yard. We have many trees, more than most around here.

Here’s Becca and Flat Dexter outside our church, we spent a lot of time there recently with Palm Sunday and Easter weekend.

In the background of this picture you can see the Sierra Nevada mountain range which includes Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park as well as Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous United States (that means the 48 states that are joined together, not Hawaii or Alaska).

Becca is in third grade and Christa is in kindergarten. They are not in school right now as it’s an “off track” time for their year round school.

The playground at their school looks funny with so few people in it. Flat Dexter is already over on the play structure with Becca, he couldn’t wait for the time it took for me to take a picture!

Flat Dexter seemed to like this slide.

Sparks is a twin city to Reno. They are so close together that the line between them doesn’t really matter anymore. We took Flat Dexter into downtown Reno and took some pictures with him on a sunny but windy day recently. Here is one outside the Silver Legacy Resort.

This one has the famous sign behind Becca, Christa and Flat Dexter. “Reno: The Biggest Little City in the World”

Flat Dexter wanted to get a little closer to the sign!

Flat Dexter is waiting to see a show inside Circus Circus with Christa, Becca and Maya.

It was hard to take pictures during the show, those acrobats move too quickly! The Chinese yoyo that they were using is called a diabolo. It was really cool!!

Here is the outside of Circus Circus, that sign is really really tall. Can you see Christa, Becca, Maya and Flat Dexter?

This fountain is one of several inside the Eldorado Resort.

Here is Flat Dexter riding in the glass elevator to the parking garage at the Eldorado.

After a day of sightseeing, nothing hits the spot like Dairy Queen ice cream!

We are very glad that Flat Dexter came to visit us and hope that you learned a little about our area of the country!

Yeah, I'm a proud mom, deal with it ;)

2008-02-03T10:02:00.000-08:00

Worth the wait to see my Boo...and I love the song :) Btw, the "whoop" you hear during her baptism is the worship leader, he couldn't help himself!

That's 7 out of 8!!

2008-02-02T08:51:00.000-08:00

Balzac Billy, Sir Walter Wally, Wiarton Willie, General Beauregard Lee, Malverne Mel, Shubenacadie Sam AND Staten Island Chuck all failed to see their shadows. Punxsutawney Phil, I hope you're wrong this year!

And Happy Groundhog Day. Anyone know any good Groundhog Day games?

TGIF

2008-02-01T09:29:00.000-08:00

Thank God it's February! Not in a disrespectful way, either, I really am grateful to God :) I am not a winter person (duh) and January is only tolerable because it has my oldest's birthday in it. I would rather have to be in the Comox Valley in November than January anywhere. Whew! Anyone else who has a special day in January, that's a good reason for tolerating it too, no offense meant. February is just that much closer to summer. By the way, you have free reign to yell at me in caps and everything if I complain about the heat this summer, okay?

There were other good things this month, including Becca's baptism. Click to embiggen so you can see how cute she is!

Nothing can follow that :D

It's my own fault

2008-01-23T10:28:00.000-08:00

I never should have mentioned spring. I know it wouldn't have changed the fact that it's January or the fact that it is coooooold here but maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't be so upset by the whole thing. The weather changes faster here than at home, sunny one minute and the next it's snowing. And I am not kidding. In peeking at the forecast, each day is snow. Maybe. Blergh. I know I'll get used to it, I have lived in colder climates but I was spoiled by so many years in the banana belt of BC.

Misconceptions

2008-01-10T13:43:00.000-08:00

I am Canadian but that doesn't mean that I say "eh" or "aboot" or that I lived in snow year round.

I am short but that doesn't mean that I am going to laugh when I hear "how's the weather down there" for the thousandth time.

I am Christian but that doesn't mean that I feel I must spank my children to parent them properly.

I am a SAHM but that doesn't mean that I am lazy or don't have "a real job" to do.

I am female but that doesn't mean that I am less skilled as a driver than any male on the road.

I am a wife and a mom but that doesn't mean that I am defined by those people who mean so much to me, they are part of me but not all of me.

Back to normal...sort of

2008-01-07T16:46:00.000-08:00

Today the kids went back to school after their two weeks off for Christmas break (not gonna be "PC" and call it winter break :P), but it wasn't a normal day. Because of the snow and the ice that followed it, schools were on a delayed start of two hours. That also means that morning K was cancelled, so I had Christa with me all day. That's fun, really, but it makes it hard to get her enthused about going back tomorrow when she would rather be home with me anyway ;) But, we made it through, nobody was too tired this morning thanks to the late start. And tomorrow middle schools and high schools are on a 3 hour delay, for teacher training stuff. Thrills my teens!

So, it's January. There's James's birthday this month, his trip to LA to see Hairspray on stage, Becca's bingo night, Matt's on worship team one weekend and I need to figure out how to motivate Maya to stay up on her homework for a change. Funny, she gets exceeding expectations marks in four out of five classes and can't seem to get passing marks in English :P A post for another day I guess. The positive aspect of January is that it's already the 7th so we're almost a quarter of the way through it. Spring will be coming some day, I know it :D

The adventure and the verdict

2008-01-03T10:08:00.000-08:00

Lemon meringue tarts were on the menu, as I told you. All of the mixes that I saw here contain soy bean oil so I decided to embark on a grand adventure and make them from scratch. I did use ready-made pastry, some day I will feel brave enough for THAT adventure. Anyway, I've never made the lemon filling myself so I found a good-sounding recipe (grandma's recipe, not sure whose grandma *LOL*) and took a deep breath. That was followed by a coughing fit and subsequent re-washing of my hands, then I started. It wasn't so bad...I zested the lemons, squeezed them by hand, separated the eggs by straining them through my fingers (I find that's the best way, works better than the little "separators"), was sure to add a little of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks so they wouldn't cook when I added them to the pot...I even sealed the edges of the meringue to the tart shells. Those tarts are soooo yummy!! I was really happy, and the peanut butter tarts turned out extremely yummy as well. Matt's butter tarts, same. It was gooooooood.

By request! Edited to add the recipe for Grandma's Lemon Meringue Pie :) I used an extra lemon because the zest stuck a lot in my grater and I wasn't sure I could squeeze enough juice out of two lemons. Plus I added a pinch of cream of tartar to my meringue. Another important thing the recipe doesn't say is to put the meringue on while the filling is still hot, it helps to cook the meringue and keeps it fluffy.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
2 lemons, juiced and zested
2 tablespoons butter
4 egg yolks, beaten
1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
4 egg whites
6 tablespoons white sugar

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.
To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.

Good thing I didn't make any New Year's resolutions!

2008-01-01T15:24:00.000-08:00

Especially that most common of resolutions, you know the one ;)

We have a turkey cooking right now, it will be accompanied by mashed potatoes, carrots, peas, broccoli, stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy. Yummm!

We still have butter tarts and I've also made peanut butter tarts and lemon meringue tarts. We're going with a tart theme ;) For those not of the pastry persuasion, there is of course ice cream.

This is all for just the six of us, everyone else that we invited has someone sick in their family or had other plans already. Could be a while before we get through all the food!

I might need to make an Epiphany resolution ;)

In a slump

2007-12-28T15:50:00.000-08:00

It's been really hard to find time and motivation and ideas lately. I'm sorry about that, I do love to blog and I love to read them too. Hopefully I can find the things that I've been missing and get back in the swing of blogging. I still partially blame facebook!

Christmas was good, btw. And New Year's Eve will be too, we stay home with the kids and eat and drink and eat some more. It's been snowing today and a little last night so we're getting some white during the Christmas season which makes my kids happy. I don't mind if I don't have to drive on ice.

#22

2007-12-17T08:30:00.000-08:00

"Grouchy people" refers to those who are rude, arrogant and condescending to others this time of year. You know the ones, they act like the cashier is incompetent because it takes longer than 3.24 seconds to process their order at Walmart.

So, Michele, you're off the list as I don't think you're ever like that. Hugs!

A Christmas meme - from Heather

2007-12-16T16:11:00.000-08:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper unless it's big/bulky/oddly shapped, then it might be in a bag.
2. Real tree or artificial? Real for me, needles and all.
3. When do you put up the tree? I like to put it up about three weeks before Christmas but this year it went up on Nov. 24, way too early imo :P
4. When do you take the tree down? Usually New Year's Day.
5. Do you like eggnog? Nope.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I don't know, can't think of one in particular.
7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, it's glass.
8. Hardest person to buy for? James.
9. Easiest person to buy for? Christa/Becca/Maya.
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Probably something dumb from oh never mind I'd better not say ;)
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail! I love Christmas cards. I like receiving either kind though.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I don't have a fave.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? December?
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope, not yet anyway.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Butter tarts.
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Coloured. Either look pretty but I like coloured on my tree :)
17. Favorite Christmas song? Uhhh, I dunno. Silent Night maybe.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I would rather stay home.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Sure, but not without singing ;)
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? We have an angel, I prefer a star.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Mostly Christmas morning. The kids open one on Christmas Eve but I bet you can guess what that one is!
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Grouchy people.
23. What I love most about Christmas? Celebrating Jesus.

So, how's it going?

2007-12-16T15:46:00.000-08:00

I've been feeling way behind on all the stuff that has to be done before the BIG day, and in order to avoid doing some of it, I'm here checking in with you all. Let's see, the tree is up and fully decorated. There's even one present under it - something Christa made in kindergarten, my favourite kind of present. I have sent out all my cards (I think) and have a few up on my wall from friends and family - I think cards are the best part in many ways of my Christmas. I sent out over 100 this year, my family jokes that I send to everyone I've ever met. I'll just tell you now that if you don't get a card from me and you want one, just let me know, you'll be on my "list" forever, or until you get a restraining order ;) Presents are almost all bought, those that aren't are planned for. I haven't wrapped a thing though. Matt put up lights outside, most of them even work *LOL* The neighbour across the street brought us a bunch of cookies and fudge, that should hold us over for a few days...I hate to do any baking too early as my gang just eats it all and there's nothing left for actual Christmas. I have to go shopping for Christmas breakfast but that's a not yet thing as well. We will have our usual homemade (by Matt, of course) waffles with berries & whipped cream or syrup, depending on the age of the person eating. Kids just don't like berries, too many seeds they say. That's my kids, not normal kids! Oh, and turkey bacon, have to have that too. None of us really like regular bacon anymore. I'm sure there are other things I have to do in the next N I N E days, but I can't think of them right now. I'm still going with that conspiracy theory.

Overheard and overboard

2007-12-05T18:53:00.000-08:00

I overheard a mom today talking about something her 5yo son wanted for Christmas. She apparently told him that it was not possible, that he wasn't going to get it, and he told her that he wanted it. She told him, "I want a Mercedes, it doesn't mean I'm going to get it" and he replied that he would just ask Santa then because Santa can do anything. So, she told her friend that she and her dh found "it" on ebay, thank goodness for ebay. Her hubby looked everywhere for it.

I was thinking, gee, why not just get him something else and not bother with whatever it was that was so out of line? I guess some people are too scared of disappointing their kids to remain reasonable. Ugh.

Three weeks

2007-12-04T10:02:00.000-08:00

I think it's a conspiracy.

In memory of Kim

2007-11-30T16:25:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Kim passed away yesterday morning. I hadn't been able to bring myself to post about her this week, she was in the hospital and that stinky breast cancer was just too much for her poor body to deal with anymore. Kim leaves behind a sweet husband, Anthony, and three beautiful kids - Giovanni (10), Anthony (8) and Samantha (4), a close-knit family on both her side and Anthony's and many many friends from different areas of her life. I have known Kim for 8.5 years and I miss her so much already. I am holding tight to the certainty that I will see her again. Kim, honey, keep a seat warm for me!

Tree wars

2007-11-19T11:43:00.000-08:00

The family tree-cutting day has come and gone. I didn't go, I sent Matt and the girls without us. James needed some time to recover from performance excitement and I was expecting the furnace guy to come and do a check up on the clunker for me. He didn't show, btw, he was sick :P Anyhow, I wasn't there to help choose a tree. So that's why we have a 14 foot tree outside right now. Okay, it might only be 12 feet, but it's still taller than the shed it's leaning against. Ugh. I don't like really tall trees, did I tell you that? I know I told Matt that. I even told him that on the cell phone while he was looking at trees. I'm a bit embarrassed at my juvenile attitude when he came home, I didn't say a word about the tree to him. I was actually trying to figure out how to get through a month or so with a tree in my house that was almost twice as tall as I would like. Well, Matt, bless his heart, said to me the next morning, "We can cut off as much of the tree as you like, you know. I know it's taller than you wanted and it's okay with me." Wow. I figured we were going to go have a disagreement like the great angel/star debate of years past. So we're going to compromise and have a medium height tree instead, put it in the medium height part of the room and hopefully we'll all be happy with our silver tip. For those wondering, we have an angel, I gave in :P

How was my week?

2007-11-16T08:29:00.000-08:00

Thanks for asking ;) It's been a busy one. Front and center on my list - James's play. This thing has consumed our lives, I tell ya. Opening night was last night and all the headaches and hassles were worth it - it was excellent! Accents were good, mannerisms just so and the comedic talents of the two fellows playing the butlers - perfect. Yes, there were glitches as there so often are on opening nights...mics that cut in and out, a few flubbed lines (but I figure we don't all speak perfectly in real life anyway) and even some missed dialogue. They kept going, covered up the little imperfections and it was a rousing success. I'm so proud of James :D I didn't take my camera with me last night as I wanted to be able to help wherever needed. I folded so many programs that I'm surprised I escaped without paper cuts. I'll have Matt take his tonight or I will take mine tomorrow night when I go see it again :)

Wednesday night Matt & I went to see Garth Brooks. We like to pay our rent and other bills so we didn't go see him in Kansas City at $300+ per seat, we went to a simulcast at a local theater. It was still incredible and so much more affordable at $10. Everyone sang along, including me ;) and we all had a great time seeing Garth Broooooooooooooooks (said like "Bruce" at a Springsteen concert, don't ya know?). What an awesome performer he is, and he looks good with white hair too.

Other than that, it's just been the usual along with getting ready for company coming next week and Thanksgiving and gearing up to go Christmas shopping and all that. How was your week??

(borrowed from Traci)

2007-11-13T15:45:00.000-08:00

Click the image to light a candle

(found out after I posted that the graphic was made by Heather...thanks Heather!!)

The Importance of Being Earnest

2007-11-13T11:40:00.000-08:00

It's play week, and I might be winning for the most excited person, James seems pretty laid back about the whole thing. Opening night is Thursday, then it runs Friday and Saturday as well. I told James I wanted to come to all of them but he nixed that. I might sneak in two though ;) I did sit in on part of a rehearsal, caught the third act only. I laughed at appropriate times, so that's a good thing. And I took James to get his costumes, fixed his hat so hopefully it won't fall down over his eyes.

Lest we forget

2007-11-11T16:51:00.000-08:00

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— John McCrae

'scuse me

2007-11-09T20:21:00.000-08:00

Sorry, guess I stepped on some toes with yesterday's post. I didn't mean to insult anyone and hey, if you want to wear makeup you go right ahead. I don't think I ever will again but I'm weird like that. According to my oldest daughter, anyway. But I might be speaking too soon, as it were, as I do have two more daughters growing up way too fast and I might have to do the mother-daughter makeover thing again one day a few years down the road. I will if they ask me to, and with only a slight amount of complaining, just like yesterday. I saved most of it for here but I guess it didn't go over so well here either. C'est la vie. I'll try harder next time to write something interesting enough to comment about ;)

Think pink (Cadillacs)

2007-11-08T22:22:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try not to name any names, but I'm sure that most of you know which name I am trying not to name in this post. I took Maya to a friend's house today, a friend of mine not hers. Well, she is a friend to Maya too in a sense, but I just meant to clarify that said friend was in my age range, not a classmate of Maya's or anything. Anyway, this friend sells skin care products (aka makeup but I guess that isn't as PC as skin care products). She had asked if she could please teach Maya how to enhance her features with said products. You know, how to wear makeup so that it looks like you aren't wearing any at all, that sort of thing. My personal philosophy is, if you want to look like you aren't wearing any makeup, just don't wear any! Ooops, I gave away the ending to my story. Sorry! So, she did the whole makeover type thing on Maya, complete with before and after pictures. Clarifying again...she took three pics of Maya - one when she got there with her own makeup on (the raccoon look, you know the one), one after she cleaned her face off and a third after putting on those skin care products. And yeah, I had to do it too. I hated it. I felt like an idiot, probably looked stupid and it didn't feel nice. Now my face is all dry and yucky feeling too. I imagine my friend would tell me that I need another product to put on my face after taking off the makeup so that my face would feel like it had never had the makeup on in the first place. Things that make you go hmmmm... Oh, and Matt didn't notice at all, when I told him he said I always look beautiful to him. Awww :)

Thank you Jen!!!!!!

2007-11-07T22:42:00.000-08:00

My hands thank you too! I *knew* that I should use better gloves than I had been but it had slipped my mind until I read your reply to my whiny tree post. Today was much much better - wearing my thicker "guy gloves" saved my delicate little paws.

34 bags and counting...

At a loss for words

2007-11-06T19:43:00.001-08:00

My dear friend Kim has had a very bad day. She was told by her doctor that they are discontinuing all of her current treatments. The cancer isn't cooperating :( Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

Blisters and slivers and scrapes - oh my!

2007-11-05T18:26:00.000-08:00

With a yard that has about 70 gazillion trees, you'd think I would have realized how much work fall would be. Fall, good word, that. I knew the leaves would come down, and I was prepared to deal with them. But nobody warned me about all the needles from the evergreens. Ack! I don't think the previous tenants bothered with raking, the needle beds under the branches were pretty thick. So, I've raked. There are piles of needles and/or leaves all over the yard. Thus the injuries to my hands and my arms, not to mention the mysterious pains in muscle groups that I obviously don't use very often. Last night we bought some "lawn and garden" trash bags, supposedly they're stronger. Yeah, sure. Anyway, I filled 15 of them today. I don't think I've made a very big dent either. That jumbo sized purchase of 48 bags might not be enough.

All whining aside, it does feel good to accomplish something for my family. Even if none of them really notice ;)

Misleading words

2007-11-02T12:23:00.001-07:00

It says over there on the right ------------> that I made it through the immigration maze but that's not really the whole story ;) Yes, I am in the US, really. But I'm not finished with immigration. We're still waiting to hear about our adjustment of status application which we sent in with requests for work permits. That was sent in September and received by their office on or about Christa's birthday (the 20th). It's a waiting game again. Looking back at some of my posts from last year about this time, that sounds all too familiar. Oh, and we're also dealing with the IRS right now. We sent in taxation number applications for James & Maya last month and for some reason they rejected the apps for insufficient proof of identity. Matt is getting their passport pages copied and notarized AGAIN and we'll see if that will pass the test. Isn't the government fun?

Sugar rush...sugar crash

2007-11-01T07:03:00.000-07:00

All that sugar. Oh my gosh. I can't believe how much sugar my kids got in those bags last night. I think I'm in trouble now, how am I going to get through the day without raiding their stashes?

The pumpkin patch

2007-10-12T13:13:00.000-07:00

I've often heard parents talking about taking their kids to the pumpkin patch, camera in hand, for many it's a seasonal tradition. But I'd never been to one myself, until today. Christa's K class and the other two K classes used their bingo money to pay for the busses and admission so we set out with two teachers, about 80 5 or so year old kids, about 25 parents and assorted younger siblings. I had a great time :) We helped the kids choose a pumpkin each, went on a hay ride and navigated our way through a corn maze. Then we sat down on some huge pumpkins for a teeny bottle of water and, if you wanted one, a bag of chips. What a fun time. There were also a few farm animals in a corner but not as part of a petting zoo, they mostly just tolerated being looked at ;)

So now I've been to the pumpkin patch and I can relate a bit better to Linus van Pelt.

*disclaimer - I know the orange font looks pretty terrible with this template but it's about pumpkins, for goodness sake!

I think I found a cure

2007-10-08T09:15:00.000-07:00

Turkey. Turkey and mashed potatoes. Oh, and pumpkin pie didn't hurt either.

I feel much much much better today. We had a delicious dinner with great friends. I've only known these people for a couple of months and it feels like I've known them for years, I hope you've been blessed with those kind of people in your life too. Anyway, dinner was awesome, the company was comfortable and family-like, it was a really good Thanksgiving for me. My mom emailed me in the morning, which made me cry. Surprise! Actually, it was a good tear or two, not the sobbing type. I know that technically Thanksgiving is today (in Canada of course) but we've always celebrated on the Sunday.

Btw, when I say "family-like" I meant without the squabbling and disagreements that way too many family functions seem to include these days.

Turkey sandwich for lunch definitely!!

Feelings...whoa whoa whoa...feelings

2007-10-06T17:32:00.001-07:00

It's like I'm at a 12-step meeting or something, I'm standing up and admitting something here - I am homesick. I miss my parents, I miss my friends, I miss my old churches, I miss my Valley. I miss KD (not that I ate it, but my kids did!). I miss Smarties. I miss Cadbury chocolate. I miss home.

This weekend is Thanksgiving "at home" and I am not there to have turkey with my parents. My mom cried and so did I when we talked about it on messenger. They are inviting friends so they won't be alone, but it sure won't be the same without us, she said. We are going to have a turkey dinner too, we've invited some friends and I hope that I can get through it without breaking down. I wasn't a crier until fairly recently :P

Re-reading this, I realize it might sound like I don't like it here. I do like it, it's a nice place with great people, plus that not so little fact that my husband is here *LOL* It's just been a hard couple weeks and I'm not over it yet. I'll get there.

Shameless plug for a friend

2007-09-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

A dear friend, SisterLisa, has an awesome blog that I'm proud to recommend. I'm doing her study of Proverbs 31 there, plus she has more posts and man, the girl can write!

Oh, and if you do check out her blog, be sure to look at her other one, lots of great photos because she's multi-talented :)

It's not my fault

2007-09-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

I didn't invent Facebook, so I can't be blamed for it. Why oh why did I sign up? One of my mom's sisters sent me an invitation and I could have just said no and continued to email back and forth with her. But I thought, "What's the harm? It's just a website." Oh ho ho, that's what *they* want you to think. Before I knew it, I was looking for old classmates all over the place, and people that I talk to every day even. Yeah, I talked Matt into signing up too, now we're both doomed.

So...anyone want to add me as their Facebook friend? Come on, you'll love it. Mwah hahaha!!

Hugs for everyone

2007-09-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

Apparently it's Free Hugs Day. I tried to give them out on facebook but it's having issues right now so for those who actually read my blog, consider yourself hugged!!

Bread clips and other observations

2007-09-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

They don't use bread clips here very often. Most bags of bread come with a twist tie instead. Just something different.

We don't have sidewalks in our neighbourhood. Well, there are occasional ones, for 30 feet or so. Street lights are very rare as well.

The mail is delivered six days a week and I can send mail from there too, no need to go to the PO. Cool.

5am wake up time doesn't get any easier.

September??

2007-09-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

Are you sure? Oh my, that went by quickly. September means fall is on its way. Or autumn, if that's your preference. Either way, it is amazing that August disappeared so quickly in my world. I'm so used to August being the last month of summer vacation for the kids, it creeps by steadily but with a nice lazy rhythm to the days. This year it was move move move and then jump right into school, plus all the unpacking and adjusting, poof it's gone.

10 years ago

2007-08-30T11:58:00.001-07:00

Forms to fall asleep by

2007-08-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

I warned you in my last post, so don't read if you're operating heavy machinery or anything like that ;)

Adjustment of status costs $1010 for me, $600 each for James & Maya. If I don't adjust theirs when I do mine, they are left with no status at all as K4 is derivative and depends on my K3 status. Theoretically, they could be deported if they aren't all done at the same time. I don't want to take any chances. The "good" news is that I can send in an application for a work permit with the adjustment paperwork at no cost. Separately it would cost $340.

Some of the things I need to send along with all the forms I've filled out: copies of our birth certificates, copies of our visas (those are in our passports), two passport photos each - taken within 30 days of filling out the applications, copies of our vaccination records, 4 copies each of G-325A (biographic information), a copy of the approval notice of my original immigrant application, and an affidavit of support. The affidavit is to be accompanied by a copy of Matt's latest tax return complete with copies of his W2s (and Canadian T4s in our case), the amount of total income from his previous two tax returns and evidence of how much he is being paid right now.

So, because of the cost of this, we're applying for a fee waiver. There is no way of knowing if that will be approved or not, depends on if we catch the right person in the right mood on the right day. We have to prove that Matt can support us AND prove that we don't have the money for the fees, at the same time.

I tell ya, life is never ever boring. Paperwork might be but life sure isn't.

How can supposedly grown up people do this?

2007-08-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

We've been in this house for what...22 or 23 days, something like that. So tell me how we have managed to misplace so many things. Among the missing: the receipt for the "guaranteed" pet smell product that Matt tried to get the cat pee smell out with, it didn't work so we wanted to get our money back (oh, the carpet has since been replaced, so don't worry as we aren't having to live with the smell) but can't find the receipt. Also: Matt's W2s for his regular job in 2006, can't file income tax without them and he did have them as he has filled out the forms themselves already with the correct numbers (he has an extension due to needing ITINs for the older kids, plus we're waiting for the SSNs for the younger ones to come in the mail), plus I need a copy for the adjustment of status paperwork. That's a whole 'nother nightmare, I'll explain that one sometime when you all need something to read to fall asleep by ;) And, the latest missing item: the repair book for Matt's car. He insists that he put it in a certain place but, as that place is empty, I think he's wrong. Of course, he thinks I absconded with it for some nefarious purpose. Marriage is so much fun! *LOL*

BUT!! Here's the funny thing about all these missing items...while searching for the latest, I found the case for our Fantastic 4 DVD. It's been MIA since last September. Guess that means those things I mentioned above may turn up next July ;)

A prayer request

2007-08-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

If you're not a praying person, at least think good thoughts, please. My dear friend Kim, one of the sweetest people EVER, is still battling breast cancer. It's not been an easy road for her and her wonderful family, they've been up and down more often than they can remember at this point. Today's news was not good, her doctor was pretty grim. The power of prayer is amazing, and I am believing that, if God wants to, He will heal her from this. Pray with me that it is in His will, please.

Kim, I love you and Anthony and you are never far from my thoughts. Keep believing, honey!

The kind of pet I could love

2007-08-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

http://www.idodogtricks.com/index_flash.html

Don't get me wrong, I love dogs and cats. But my hubby and my son are allergic to cats and I'm not so fond of cleaning up heaping mounds of doggie doo-doo so we remain pet-less for now.

Try the link, tell him what to do (sit, shake, beg, roll over, standard doggie commands) and prepare to say "awwww" - and don't forget to ask him for a kiss!

Dave and Jeff and Michelle and Julie and Judy...

2007-08-13T09:32:00.001-07:00

Ahhhhhhhhhh!! How am I going to keep them all straight? The guys are tough enough, they're either Jeff or Dave or Rick for the most part, with a few Steves thrown in, but then there's the women too. I think I'll just take a page from my good friend Clair's book and call them all sweetie and darlin'. On second thought I don't think Matt would like that very much if he heard me.

I met a bunch of people this weekend. I think I'll ask them to wear name tags next time ;)

The way back machine

2007-08-09T15:48:00.000-07:00

I've gone back to my childhood :) Matt brought me home a couple of bottles of Coke. Glass bottles. Tall skinny glass bottles. The Coke is made in Mexico, and my gosh, it tastes just like it did when I was a kid. I think I might like another bottle. Can one be termed a lush for drinking too much Mexican coke? For those who think I'm nuts and should just buy a regular coke at my local convenience store, let me just say that US coke and Canadian coke are so totally different that I can't drink the American stuff. I'm spoiled.

Ohhhh!! I just finished that first bottle and realized that it's tinted green. I think I'm in love :D

There are still lots of boxes

2007-08-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

Even more, actually. I firmly believe they are multiplying. Oh well, no big deal, I can unpack them now. We're here!! The house is beautiful, our family is whole again and to top it all off I'm back online again. Life is good.

And...

2007-07-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

I'll be packing up the computer very soon, so it's au revoir for a little while. I'll do my best to be back online in about a week. Mwah!

It's a new day

2007-07-29T07:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the mini freak-out yesterday about the boxes. They're closing in on me, yes, but it's not like this is the first time I've ever moved. And it's not like my bedroom hasn't had one wall covered by a row of boxes ever since I moved in to this apartment :P It was mostly that, after packing soooooo many of them lately, I made a list of each and every one of them for that CBP form that I have to fill out. Then I started thinking about all the other boxes in storage and I started having a little meltdown. But it's probably not a big deal, I don't think anyone read my post yesterday anyway ;) Whew!

Gack

2007-07-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

Boxes.

Lots of boxes.

Lots and lots of boxes.

Why are there so many boxes?

Sisterly love

2007-07-27T12:49:00.000-07:00

Maya did Becca's hair.

She offered!

Wow :)

And here's the stylist ;)

Can I just label them all "miscellaneous"?

2007-07-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease!

*sigh*

I know the theory behind a successful move is to label each box meticulously but that's just not working for me. If I have a box of kitchen type stuff and it's almost full but there's a space at the top where one of Christa's stuffed bears will fit perfectly, I'm gonna throw that sucker in there. And I am still going to write "kitchen type stuff" on the outside.

I need to have a list of everything ready for the CBP people. Every box must be counted and accounted for and the value of everything is needed as well. I did this in September, so you'd think it would be easy to redo, right? Hahaha, you're not really going to agree with that, are you? Okay, we've established that it's a mess and I am doing my best to amend the old list to accurately reflect what I have now. Fun fun fun.

I love moving, once it's over.

Oh, and I must specify about the Shreddies from my last post, I bought the "mega" size boxes, the biggest I could find, 1.6 kg (whatever that translates to in real numbers) each. They should last me for a good amount of time, then I'll be bugging my parents and all my Canadian contacts for more.

No fanfare

2007-07-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

Just sneaking back in for a long overdue post. Man, time slips by quickly. It's been a busy month and some, just haven't had time for the fun stuff in life. Well, this fun stuff in particular was one thing that kept getting put off. I've still managed to have fun with my kids. Priorites ;)

Moving day is almost here, we pack up the truck on Monday the 30th and leave town the next day. Matt will meet us in Vancouver so we can brave the border together. Praying that whatever CBP personnel are on that day are in a good mood! We really don't want to be told to unload the entire uhaul and open every box for inspection!!

So I'll be in the US soon. It's going to be strange, and I will miss Shreddies. I have 7 boxes, thinking maybe I should be okay for a little while.

AND...

2007-06-15T09:34:00.001-07:00

James was given a plaque last night at the school's "Celebration of Excellence" for being on the principal's list all year.

Okay, mommy brag done. For now.

This is a test

2007-06-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

James was in his first play last night. Lead role for him and I am not just being a proud mom when I say he was really good. There's a snippet of it available here if you would like to read a bit of the script. He was Alan :) I know this isn't the last time I will be watching him perform, he was a natural and I'm sure he will be in many more productions, if he continues to enjoy it as he has this year. I know I'm repeating myself, but I am still amazed by my kids at times. How did they get to be such talented people?

Be thankful I haven't been blogging

2007-06-08T11:09:00.000-07:00

You'd have to read about such scintillating things, I don't think you could stand it. What, you don't believe me? Here's a sample of some things that have entered my blog thoughts, only to wind up not making it to final drafts:

What happens when you use "anti-frizz" shampoo with "add-more-body" conditioner...

How to get a 13 yo to tell the truth about whether she has homework or not...

Being *mature* and delaying our move date by a month...

Making yet another trip to Vancouver, only to find out that we have to go back AGAIN in three more weeks...

What to do about a 4 yo who has such a fit that she throws up. On the only blanket big enough for my bed...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aren't you glad you've been spared those topics?

Craigslist, Rentclicks and the local newspaper

2007-05-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

My latest haunts. We need to find a place to rent in Reno/Sparks. Anyone have one? Cheap? We aren't terribly fussy. I should say, I'm not terribly fussy. Maya insists she must have her own room as she can't possibly continue to share with her sisters any longer. Sisters should be said with the appropriate amount of distaste. Matt wants the best of everything. One place we saw online he rejected because it didn't look like a nice enough fridge. He wants a lush green yard "for the girls" but, well, it's the desert and most places are xeriscaped. Oh, and for Matt, it has to have a patio for barbecuing. We don't have a barbecue and I don't think it's high on the priority list. I would prefer a washer & dryer but it's not a deal breaker for me if the price is right. Almost forgot, we have to be in the zoning area for one of the "good" high schools. Apparently there are some that are just downright scary. Matt knows the areas better than I do so I'm deferring on that point. My mom is concerned that we will be living in a place that I won't see in advance but I am trusting that I will be fine with whatever we finally decide on...as long as it has at least two bathrooms, I'm good.

Catching up

2007-05-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

So yeah, I haven't been here in way too long. Life getting in the way of fun again. So, let me do one of those catch up posts and then hopefully I can get back to normal. As normal as *I* get, anyway ;)

Christa - my gosh, good thing she's the youngest or we wouldn't have four kids, let me tell you. This kid has more energy than I've ever seen before and I am hard pressed to keep up with her. "Why?" and "Right, Mom?" are her most frequent utterances. Nothing really new with her, just more of it.

Becca - her teacher told me the other day that Becca is quite likely the most brilliant child she has ever taught. Wow. And, figures, my mind soon wondered what she was talking about since she also taught Maya and James :P Along with that, she feels things very intensely. Funny thing about Becca is that she seems oblivious most of the time, just floating along and going with the flow. Still waters run deep, anyone? Thankfully, she didn't seem too distressed by the sudden death of one of her heroes, it was part of his job and she has accepted that better than I thought she would.

Maya - we're on boyfriend #2 now. He seems like a better fit for her, not that she expects that this is the guy for the rest of her life, but she's happy, so that's what matters. She's a good kid, even if she tries to hide it by being cool ;)

James - drama has become a really big thing in his world. He was on crew for a play that went to the provincial festival and that was just a blast. The festival isn't competitive, it's fun instead. They had workshops and a panel of student judges. As his school's rep to that panel, he wasn't allowed to help with the actual production at all, but they still won best backstage etiquette, best ensemble and best kiss. Pretty interesting for a play with three actors. Not being PC there, they were three guys. *LOL* The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) for those who are wondering.

As for immigration, things are moving along. After being told that the process for affirming the US citizenship for our youngest two would take several more months just for the appointment at the consulate, we decided to put them through on the K3/K4 visa application, so we've gone back to the doctor in Van for their physicals. Police certificates and all other documents are ready to go. Apparently our interview is scheduled for June 6, so it looks as if we will make our moving date of the end of June - yay! Now Matt needs to find us a place to live, I need to find some willing people to load the moving truck, and we need to get through the next month. Oh. My. Gosh. It's a month away!! Ahhhhhhhhhh!! So much to do, so many Smartie blizzards to eat before then!!

Interviewed by Traci

2007-05-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

A real life reporter, our Traci. How cool is that!

1. You're going to be stranded on a deserted island for 1 year. Food and fresh water are not at issue. What 3 items do you bring with you? Toilet paper, a deck of cards and my bible.

2. You are required to change your first name. What new name do you pick? If I had been asked this when I was a kid, my answer would have been Fiona. I soooooo wanted to change my name to Fiona, and go live with my aunt and uncle because their last name went better with Fiona than my last name *LOL* I guess it wouldn't be fair to say I'd change my first name from Cheryl to Cherie, would it? *sigh* How about Morgan? Do I seem like a Morgan to you? Why is this question so hard???

3. Describe your wildest night ever. (Stolen from Sharon, but it's a fun one. lol) Pathetic as it sounds, I don't know if I've ever had a wild night. Maybe my wedding night, I think both Matt and I were pretty exhausted the next day ;) And that's all I've got to say about THAT.

4. What was the single biggest factor that attracted you to your husband? Since we met online, there is no physical answer for this one, it was all mental/emotional. Matt is caring and funny and intelligent. He's corny, but I love him anyway.

5. What's your quirkiest quirk? What's quirky to others is probably normal to me, this is a hard one too. I like to play solitaire on my PDA before I go to sleep, is that quirky?

Vancouver thoughts

2007-05-05T21:26:00.000-07:00

It's big. And tall. And busy. We stayed in a hotel downtown, that was interesting. Saw a lot of people that we just don't see in our small town - the way they dress, the way they walk even. Lots of people sleeping on the sidewalks and on the steps of a church, right across the street from a $500 a night ritzy hotel. Some unconventional couples too, not sure what gender! And what's with "Blenz"? Never heard of it and oh my gosh there were SO many of them in the area, they outnumbered the Starbucks outlets probably 4 to 1.

The doctor was fine, nice guy even if he does charge way too much. Have to take Maya to our own family doctor to get her heart murmur checked out before he will sign off on her chart, but that shouldn't be a big deal. I didn't even know she still had it, bad mommy.

Ate way too much junk food, got sore backs from lugging around our backpacks, spent a pile of money we don't have and enjoyed my time with my oldest two. The only downside was not getting to meet Hillary. All my fault, I didn't plan it well enough. We must do it next time, I won't leave Vancouver before seeing her!

Hoppity hoppity hop

2007-04-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

That's the sound of me jumping through hoops. It's almost showtime, ladies & gents! Immigration finally sent me "the packet" and I have a list of stuff to photocopy, track down, pay for, etc. The big one on my list is the physicals. We have to go to Vancouver for them - the oldest two need them as well as me. Well, hopefully. We're counting on getting Becca & Christa their US citizenship, just not sure if we can hold off on that until we are settled in Reno which would save us a bit of money in travel for Matt. Anyway, back to the physicals. As James is 16 and considered an "adult", he and I each have to pay $275 for our exams, xrays & blood tests. Maya gets off with just an exam at a paltry $125. The silver lining is that it's Canadian funds. Haha. The trip to Van will cost us in travel and hotel and such, oh about another $300. And we haven't even paid the processing fee to the consulate yet, that's $100 x 3 (and that one is US). Oh, and did I mention that the doctor wants cash or a money order? As if I would carry that kind of cash around the downtown area of Vancouver. I'm not that naive. So big adventure next week when I leave the youngest two with the grandparents and take off to the big city! After all the months and months of waiting, it's all happening way fast now.

I was so traumatized

2007-04-23T18:33:00.000-07:00

Obviously that party took a lot out of me, I haven't been back since. Seriously, it was intense. Never again, remind me next year, never again. My gosh, can teenage girls eat! And scream! And they are sooooo messy! Maya didn't have as much fun as she hoped to either, it was pretty difficult to have 9 girls want to do the same thing at the same time so they kept splitting up into two happy groups with a bewildered Maya not sure which group she should be with at any one time. Poor thing spent some time hiding under the covers in her bed. We lived through it though and I officially have two teens now. Oh! Almost forgot that I wanted to share this - Maya is already liable to kill me for saying what I already have so I'm going to jump right in and tell you about what a couple of the other girls did. Maya didn't, and I'm not just saying that because she's my sweet daughter and might read this, she really didn't take part, she just stood and watched them in amazement. Ready? Two of the girls weighed their boobs. Yep, they did. Laid down on the floor, propping said parts on the scale and yelling, how much do they weigh? It was so hilariously dumb, I just had to tell you ;)

Happy Birthday Maya!

2007-04-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

My oldest daughter is now officially a teenager. She's certainly acted like one for quite some time ;) I'd like to take this opportunity to get all mushy and reminisce about her birth and all that but I won't, that would just bore everyone. I'd rather just say that Maya is a happy, healthy, beautiful young lady and I hope that she has the best birthday ever :)

8 additional 12/13 year old girls are descending on our home in less than four hours. I need to brace myself!

Nuts :P

2007-04-11T09:49:00.000-07:00

James reacted to his breakfast cereal yesterday. He was down to the last couple bites when I glanced at him and something about his face made me ask if he was having a reaction - yep. Grabbed his ventolin, gave him an antihistamine and waited. Whew, the swelling in his throat went down, his breathing stabilized and he was okay the rest of the day. Man, that's scary. Not quite as scary at 16 as it was in past years but that's because he can tell me how he's feeling now, unlike when he was a baby struggling to breathe. Btw, I'm not a terrible mom, he insisted that he has had Honey Nut Cheerios before at his dad's and that almonds are not one of the nuts he is allergic to. Wrong.

The "big eight" are: Milk allergy, Egg allergy, Peanut allergy, Tree nut allergy, Seafood allergy, Shellfish allergy, Soy allergy, and Wheat allergy. Of those, James is allergic to peanuts (all legumes actually), tree nuts (confirmed even in his mind now), seafood, shellfish & soy. He had a reaction to eggs as a toddler, almost all of the boys in my family do when they're younger but they grow out of it. So, he's got five out of the eight. Lucky guy, huh? Ugh.

This was love

2007-04-06T19:04:00.000-07:00

There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

Life lesson # 784

2007-04-04T12:58:00.000-07:00

That'll teach me. I was cheating. I admit it.

Mr. Big is one of my favourites, I couldn't help it. I even shared with Christa, she had almost half.

Last bite, it happened. A "musty" peanut. Yuck!! I had to go brush my teeth. Now hopefully I won't have to burp *blush*

I will never cheat again.

With a Mr. Big anyway...next time I'll go for Mars or Twix or Bounty or...

Just curious - what's your favourite chocolate bar?

I blame it on the rain

2007-03-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

No, not the Milli Vanilli song :P Although that dumb tune has been running around in my head way too often lately. It's spring break here and today is windy and rainy and chilly - blech. True spring weather in this neck of the woods unfortunately. The kids are stuck in the house while their jackets are hanging to dry (grandma tried her best to get the mud stains out and they can't go in the dryer), Becca only has one real jacket that could withstand more than a light drizzle. And it's sure no light drizzle outside! Anyway, back to the mood. I woke up this morning with a blinding pain in my neck. Go ahead, laugh, I'll wait. Done? Okay. At the very tippy-top of my neck, right where it meets my skull, just a horrid pain. It's finally gone now but for a while it was all I could do to keep my eyes open. But I'm tough, I went ahead with the plan for the day. Cleaning. Not cleaning cleaning, the junking out of great masses of papers cleaning. Took a bunch of recycling to one of our local sites, a bag of clothes nobody wears to the Sally Ann and a couple bags of just plain garbage to the dumpster. The girls even cleaned their room! James is on the honour system with me, he said he would get his done today. I may have to give him a gentle reminder soon. In other words, threaten to withhold dinner until it's done ;) Hey, now that I've typed all that, I feel less glum. I did get something accomplished today! It's still raining and that song is still in my head but I'll work on that one and I won't look out the window for a while *LOL*

Blogger blog

2007-03-17T20:33:00.000-07:00

Yep, a blog about blogger. Surprised it took me this long! Yeah, I've mentioned blogger a time or two, but a whole post about it? Shocking ;)

Why oh why does blogger make me log in all the time? The little "remember me" check box is there purely for window decoration I suppose. Kind of annoying if you ask me.

I know there are gidgets and gadgets and thingamajigs that I can add but I really don't know how to work most of them so I'm pretty much a simple blogger. I did upgrade to the "new" blogger before they forced me to, but that's been about it.

Some day I might figure out how to make my header not be partially obscured by the nav bar across the top...

Global outlook

2007-03-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

If I use the global rich meter - http://www.globalrichlist.com/ I come up as in the top 8%. Amazing. Now, this was supposed to make me feel good about myself or so I was told on another website. "A boost for the ego" was the phrase used. It doesn't, it makes me feel guilty instead. If I am that high up on the global list, there are 92% below me, and that doesn't make me feel good at all.

Bloom where you are planted

2007-03-15T17:21:00.000-07:00

I was told that by a wise friend when I was preparing to move back in September. I pictured myself in a new city, a new country...kind of a clean slate and it was so exciting to think that I could bloom in the desert ;) Well, here I am, still. I'm ashamed to say that I haven't been blooming, I've been stagnant. Just feeling sorry for myself rather than taking this opportunity to do something for my family. I'm going to make an effort to bloom, so stand back and watch me!

The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything

2007-03-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

42.

It's also a primary pseudoperfect number, is bracketed by twin primes and is part of the value of pi (the eight digits after the first 242,422 are 42424242). The atomic number of molybdenum is 42 and that's a really fun word to say - molybdenum. Wolves have 42 teeth! Io's orbit around Jupiter is 42 days. The beast will hold dominion over the world for 42 months. Nemo was taken to 42 Wallaby Way. Jackie Robinson wore the number 42, the first and only number retired by every MLB team.

I'm in good company today.

Ahhh, spring at last!

2007-03-11T12:32:00.000-07:00

No, it's not the flowers poking their heads above ground, or the buds on all the trees. Not the weather either that tells me it is spring. It's all those people walking around saying, "What time is it REALLY?" Saying that it's 10:30 *old* time but 11:30 *new* time and acting like a bunch of zombies. Gaggle of zombies? Clutch? Passel? Yep, the time change strikes and the majority of people whine and complain for a few days, that's when I know spring is really here. Must admit, it's a good excuse for some of us to explain why we're late for things for the next few days. Just mutter something about inner clocks and GWB and you're good.

Sorry for the whine

2007-03-08T16:48:00.000-08:00

I wasn't myself yesterday, didn't mean to be such a downer. Thanks so much to Michele for her generous offer, she's the best! Helped cheer up my oldest too. In other news, Christa is down with this icky bug. She's had a cough for a couple days, mostly first thing in the morning. Now she replaced that with a fever and lack of appetite. Fun stuff. At least she's drinking and mostly happy. Maya has her sax back, finally. Took two weeks and a phone call before the rental company thought to send it back to us :P Had all the various dents and bends taken out of it and the wayward piece soldered back on. She's trying to make up for lost time as I write this (hence my typos!). Becca's gem - it's a card she made for me for International Women's Day that tells me why I am the most important woman in her life - I took her to the hospital when she almost broke her finger AND I am polite when we eat at the table.

Sometimes you just want to scream/yell/cry

2007-03-07T16:31:00.000-08:00

Whatever your mode of dealing with a really frustrating situation, I suppose. No, it's not immigration and their plodding pace this time. Nor is it lack of money. Well, not directly. James had his ipod stolen today. During gym, out of his jacket pocket in the change room. Whoever helped himself unplugged his earbuds from it first. So kind of him to leave those for James. Ugh. He will make sure his teacher hears about it, put it on the announcements, all that stuff, but it's extremely unlikely that he will ever see it again. It was a gift from a friend of his, she upgraded and sent her mini to him, he in turn sent his mp3 player to another friend, all in the spirit of friendship. James needs new glasses, Maya's camera has a broken LCD screen and we're trying desperately to save enough money to move when immigration does approve us. Ugh. Oh, I said that already, didn't I? Anyone have an old ipod lying around that they would like to see go to a good home? Thanks for listening, he is even more bummed than me :(

Guess I need a netiquette course

2007-03-06T11:17:00.000-08:00

I got one of those mass emails this morning, from someone I don't even know. My name is in her address book because we have a friend in common but that's okay, I don't mind getting the occasional joke or cute kid/puppy picture from her. Back to the point, though. As I almost always do, I checked snopes for confirmation of the story shared in the email before replying. Sure enough, it was there, and the info in the email was partially false, so I hit "reply all" and passed along a brief comment along the lines of "this story isn't totally true, please check this link for more details" and didn't think any more of it. A few minutes ago I got a snippy email from someone else on my friend's friend's list - "from now on, please reply to sender, not reply all". Well! I almost hit delete but then thought, nope, not this time. I wrote back to this person I don't know at all and told her that I thought everyone would rather know that it was partially false before they passed it on. Me and my big mouth, huh? I really think if more people checked things out and passed along their findings, we would have less of these emails circulating around for YEARS. Of course, that would negate the need for snopes, and I don't want that.

Monday Monday

2007-03-05T11:45:00.000-08:00

Monday Monday, so good to me,
Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be
Oh Monday morning, Monday morning couldn't guarantee
That Monday evening you would still be here with me.

Monday Monday, can't trust that day,
Monday Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way
Oh Monday morning, you gave me no warning of what was to be
Oh Monday Monday, how could you leave and not take me.

Every other day, every other day,
Every other day of the week is fine, yeah
But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes
You can find me cryin' all of the time

~~Glad to say that I am having a good Monday, how about you?

March? Really??

2007-03-02T13:26:00.000-08:00

Wow, February just started and it's March already. The 2nd, even. Spring is soon, right?

I've been neglectful at keeping up here and I apologize to those who still check in on me. I'll try really hard to be better at remembering those nuggets when I get to the computer.

Update type stuff: The immigration paperwork is en route to Vancouver, I should be hearing from the consulate soon-ish about the next step (an in person interview for all of us at the US consulate). I'll let you know what hoops they want me to jump through before that :P Did I remember to blog about Matt's job? Not sure...he was let go from the place in Carson City on Friday the 16th and had a new job on Saturday morning. One of his bible study leaders set him up on an interview with his boss and that was that. Thank you, Lord. He wasn't looking forward to the land of unemployment again. So, he's liking his new job a lot. Kids are all good, made it through various viruses and relationship struggles and are keeping me on my toes as usual.

The end of an era

2007-02-26T10:53:00.000-08:00

Just feeling a bit sad and nostalgic, there is no more breastfeeding for me. Yeah, I know she's a lot older than most, but that's what EBF families are like. Christa forgot how to nurse, she's done. Bedtimes are not fun around here now as I wrestle with the best way to convince her that it's time to sleep. She'll get it, I know, but I miss my reading time ;) Four kids, two rounds of tandem nursing and a combined total of 13 years, 9 months of breastfeeding. Oh. my. gosh. THIRTEEN years, NINE months. I guess I can see why I am a bit sad, that's a big chunk of my life. Good memories :) No, I'm not going to say it, the joke is way too old!

Blog worthy

2007-02-23T12:30:00.000-08:00

Took James out to dinner last night. Since it was just the two of us, we decided to skip the fast food and go to a "real" restaurant for a change. Costs about the same as taking all the kids to DQ or McDs, so why not once in a while. Anyway, to the point. Sorry, got sidetracked.

Our server approached our table, smiling at me and said, "How are you two ladies tonight?" Flummoxed, I stuttered and then replied, "Well, I'm fine, but he's not a lady." She was soooo embarrassed! James, being the dramatic type, said in a high pitched and strangely accented voice, "I'm just fine, thank you!"

We figured we would get really good service after that but alas, I think she was too embarrassed to come near our table more than she absolutely had to ;)

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2007-02-16T14:44:00.000-08:00

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