Halloween 2011

Cats, Jellyfish, sharks and something.

The knee story

Wed Sept 28th. Knee surgery #3. Allograft. Cadaver bone and cartilage replacement. Details upcoming but pictures speak a thousand words. Pain level once femoral block wore off was 9. Right now femoral drip and percocet has me at pain level 5.

Playing with actions

So Im trying to get my learn on.

Looks like I need it sized a bit bigger.

Squarefoot gardening

Squarefoot gardening, a photo by cv715 on Flickr.

Still testing out flickr aps.

Blog goes hamburger

Hmmm finally after 6mths I can post my iphone images to the blog. We are in trouble now.

Hamburger courtesy of Hamburger Habit

Steve Madden ankle booties

Steve Madden ankle booties (see more steve madden booties)

To knee or not to knee...

My knee. He is a curious little bugger. I am looking ahead to another surgery in hopes of relieving the chronic pain I am in. A little history. I believe my initial cartilage damage was due to over exertion during my younger years. Making some bad choices like “bad karate”. Never the less in Jan of 2005 I went in for arthroscopic surgery were they performed a microfracture surgery to try and repair the damaged cartilage. In microfracture the surgeon uses a small pointed tool called an awl to make very small holes called microfractures (tiny breaks) in the bone near the damaged cartilage. The holes the surgeon makes in your bone release the cells in your bones that build new cartilage. Your body then builds a new type of fake cartilage to replace the damaged cartilage. While in there my Dr. also biopsied chondrocytes cartilage in case I would need a further surgery.

Well the microfracture did not work so it was on to step 2. In Sept of 2005 I went into Surgery and had a Autologus chrondocyte implant. This was a new way to help restore the structural makeup of the articular cartilage My cells had already been growing in a lab so now it was just having them implanted. During this surgery the surgeon implants the newly grown cartilage into the lesion and covers it with a small flap of tissue taken from the shin bone. The cover holds the cells in place while they attach themselves to the surrounding cartilage and begin to heal.

So 6 years later .. epic fail. Third time is a charm. I am onto the next procedure. Osteochondral allograft transplantation. In this procedure, bone and the attached cartilage from an organ donor is transplanted to repair cartilage damage. The osteochondral allograft procedure is mostly used after other surgeries have failed. One of the problems with this kind of procedure is the limited supply of donor tissue. Even though there are technical difficulties with this type of surgery, the success rate is generally high. This procedure usually involves placing rather large pieces of cartilage and bone in the joint. The allograft is usually held in place with metal screws or pins.

Sounds like a good time! So now I wait. I wait for the call that they have found a donor for me. I then have ten days to have my surgery. Just doesn’t seem fair for the donor or for me.

Part Deux! New York or Bust!

We woke up on Sunday morning and checked our tickets for the 911 museum showing. Umm the tickets said our tour would begin at 11:00am on SATURDAY! We missed it. I was so bummed. I knew the company did not do exchanges and I was so upset. I decided to go ahead and make a call to the museum and see if by chance they could do anything. I got on the phone with a gentleman who went way out of his way to accommodate us on the 2:00pm tour and we only had to pay a $8 reschedule fee. I was relieved. As I was getting off the phone I asked the person who helped me for his name. He said "Gary Susson" I was shocked that I was speaking to the creator of the museum. The photographer who actually took all the photos and collected all the artifacts and remains that we would be seeing later that day.
 We decided to start our morning off looking for Strawberry Fields in Central Park. We walked and walked and walked some more and finally found it.

We stopped for a bit watching people lay on top of the circle and basically being asses. Then we went across the street to the Dakota where John Lennon was shot. It was pretty interesting to see a place of modern history. It hasn’t changed and I wonder what Oko thinks each time she leaves the hotel, walking through the same arch that her husband was shot in.

 We were tired of walking so we jumped in a cab and went on our way to Wall Street. We walked around a bit and checked out the NY stock exchange building. There was a photo shot of some sort happening so we got to see a real live NY model standing ontop of some historic building. Real NY models look just like real LA models.

We had a pretzel, wasn’t that great actually. I loved the mustard more than the pretzel. We walked towards the twin towers location and stood across from the construction that is being done in the location of where the building fell. At that point we hailed a cab and headed up to the Meat packing district were the 911 museum was located.

We had about a hour to kill so we walked around an Apple store and had lunch at a bar/restaurant named Gaslight. The pasta was so good, a seafood pasta with red sauce. Chad ordered pizza, I thought it was ok but Chad seemed to enjoy it. We both had a bloody mary and it was very different, super thin tasting.. if thin tasted.

After lunch we met up with our 911 tour and were escorted in a very small room. I was surprised at how small the space was and sort of felt like we had been duped a bit. I was so wrong. We were given a set of headphones and a small audio device. As we walked around the room we were able to hear details and information on the artifacts and pictures in the museum. It was very moving. It felt like you really got a chance to see what it was like down at Ground Zero. Some amazing things do come in small packages. Gary Susson was the only photographer allowed at ground zero during the recovery process. He was able to collect items like shoes, pieces of window, steel and desk objects. It was a very moving display.
I have a few photos of the displays to share with you. Gary was able to collect the Calendar that was found in a subway control room. Left is his display: Right is the original location

Switched this time: Clock found in a breakroom I believe.

After we left the museum we stopped in at an Alexander McQueen store. I was not going to be able to get to the Museum to see his showing so this was as close as I could get. Lets just say the doorman was in the restroom because if he had been at the front he would not have let us in. The dresses were amazing with equally amazing price tags. I took a few pictures before I got my hand slapped for being a tourist.

 

We left the store and grabbed a taxi to go back to the hotel. We prepared for our last night eat fest. We started off with a walk to the Hala Hala cart and enjoyed a split of chicken and lamb over rice. Amazing!!! We stopped on a park bench and ate outside of Rockefeller Center were we would be going up to the Top of the Rock. Oh the food was good. Soooo good. We finished up going Hasselhoff all over the bench and took our trip to the top of the rock. Good times! It’s like a million stories high. Talk about a view. Chad saw the Statue of Liberty and all of the main big buildings. We stayed there for a bit and then decided to start our hunt for cupcakes.

On the hunt for cupcakes we headed back towards Time Square and found my cupcake store. We bought a 6 pack to go. Then we stopped off at the Stage deli and had a pastrami sandwich. It was pretty good. The heat tasted so fresh and it wasn’t greasy or oily. I guess I am so use to the Hat pastrami heart attack. I had been searching for Oyster Rockefeller the whole trip only to find out that they are served most famously in New Orleans, duh!!! We did see an Oyster Bar however and they had a version of Rockefeller so we stopped in and sat at the bar. One of the greatest experiences in New York. This place specialized in raw oyster with different varieties. I went for it. The hostess/bartender/server was hooking me up with different types of oysters and drinks and sauces. I was in heaven. We stumbled out of the Oyster bar so full and very satisfied and into a Pub. Had a drink and decided we needed to head home. 5:00am was going to come soon.

(Pictures eventually)

On our way back to the hotel we stopped in at a Bakery and picked up some cheesecake and canolis. Once we got back to the hotel and after Chad did some iron board vaulting we had a dessert feast and promptly passed out in our mess. Well almost in our mess.

The rest of the story is we went home the next morning.
So to wrap up. My last trip back in 2002 was sad and melancholy. 9/11 was still very fresh for a lot of people. I was toured around with a New York native and it seemed I got a different view of life in New York. This time I felt like visiting was so light and fun. Good weather, good people and good food. I also think having Chad as a traveling companion didn’t hurt. So all my pre-planning ended up working out and we have the memories to prove it. Thank you New York for giving us some great memories. We love you!

Feels like Home.

 I am in love with my garden. Like in love. I care for it like a new baby. I feel pain for the plants that don’t make it. I feel joy for the ones that did. I literally run out to the garden to see if any new friends have arrived on the already heavy stems of my pepper trees. The spinach is just exploding and reminds me of clouds. I find so much peace in my garden. Just tending to it for 10mins calms and relaxes me. I really want gardening to provide a substantial amount of food for our family. I want to be able to go out my front door and provide a meal for my family. I wear a new nail polish color, “Garden Dirt” and since I garden in flip flops which eventually get left in one of the beds, I tend to have dirt feet. It reminds me of being a little girl. I am happiest in a summer dress with no shoes, dirty nails, big floppy hat and kneeling in my garden.  It feels like home for me, it feels like comfort.

Why sideways pictures?

Summer 2011

Summer 2011 by cv715 featuring a fedora hat

H m
£6.99 - hm.com

Chelsea Crew green heels
$66 - shopruche.com

Eugenia Kim fedora hat
$50 - target.com

Pour Little Owl Pitcher
$14 - modcloth.com

New York or bust!

This month literally flew right by. May seems to always kick my butt. Literally so much to do so little time. This month ended with a very important test for Chad (which he passed) and a trip to New York.
My last visit to New York was months after 9/11. The place was so different this time. It felt more alive and bright. Like the cloud of despair and sadness had been lifted. Chad had left the Sunday prior to my leaving on Wednesday. I caught a red-eye at 10:30pm from LAX and the turbulence was crazy bad. My hopes of sleeping through the flight were demolished. I finally got to JFK at 7:00am and was picked up by the Shuttle for a 2 hour trip to the hotel. I hate shuttles. I like the price of Shuttles but I hate riding in them. Once I got to the business hotel that Chad was at I rushed downstairs to find some food. I was starving. I wound up at Utopia a small restaurant for breakfast. I had the salmon and onion omelet and it was very good. I must have looked like the walking dead because each person I spoke too asked if I was ok. After my meal I stopped into a deli to grab some water and headed back to my room for a nap. I finally woke back up at around 1:00pm and decided to go ahead and research some Tattoo places for my possible inking. I found one that was about a 11 min Subway ride away so off I was. I purchased a $10 metro card and got on at 72nd street and took it downtown to Red Rocket Tattoo. After making a reservation for a Sat night tat and then walking around in that area and picking up some much needed face powder I got back on the subway and went uptown to Colombia University were Chad was taking his test. I love the Subway. This was my only time riding it and I wish we would have used it more often for Transportation. Something about the speed and the different people you see makes you feel like your on an adventure.

Columbia campus is wonderfully green. I knew I had a few hours to kill so I found a Japanese restaurant to sit at and enjoyed a glass of plum wine and very salty edamame while I waited. I also put on band aids because the blisters that were developing were making it impossible to walk. After about a hour of sidewalk banter with crazees I walked to the building that Chad was taking his test in. I waited by the entrance and after 30mins I saw him walking out. The news was not good. Apparently Chad felt that he had blown the test. Let's fast forward to the dinner that night at Le Monde when he finds out he passed. After the test there was a wine reception where everyone was discussing how badly they failed. We then joined the class for dinner were more discussion were had about how horrible the test was. Later that night for those that stayed till the end of dinner scores were given out. Dryden and Chad had passed. What a relief. For celebration Chad wanted a cigar bar. So we found the Carnegie club after a quick change at the Hotel.

What a great cigar bar and the drinks were so good that the rest of the evening gets a bit fuzzy. We did go to the Plaza and shut down The Rose Club. We had one more drink there and by the time we got home at about 3:00am... well lets just say we celebrated the passing of their test in New York style.

Friday morning included sleeping in for me and packing to move to the Parker Meridian hotel. I had all the bags ready to go and waited in Dryden's room for the boys to come back from their last day of classes. Around 3:00pm we headed to the next hotel, Le Parker Meridian. After Chad gashed his head on luggage and we made a cluster of the hotel lobby we finally got to our amazing room. Perfect view of Central Park. We left quickly to go find a replacement purse for my completely trashed one and then returned in time to get ready for our night out. Dinner at the Harvard Club with Dryden and his niece and then Spiderman. Dinner was very nice, not the best meal in NYC but I blame that on my bad ordering. I strayed a bit far from what I typically order. No drinks to speak of here other than a great cup of coffee at the end which ended up hurting my tummy later that night.


After dinner at the Harvard Club we walked to Spiderman and made it just in time. It was an amazing show. Not the typical Broadway show, a stunt show mixed with crazy good music and so much action. You can tell it was still in preview because there were a few hiccups but overall most things went well. The stunt work was just amazing. I had to hold my breath a few times during the aerial work. I am excited to to get the soundtrack when it comes out. After the show we walked around Time Square for a bit and took some shots by the ticker. Dryden was an amazing host and knew so much about NYC. Dryden wanted to treat us to a drink at the Peninsula rooftop bar. Salon De Ning is located on the 23rd floor of the Peninsula Hotel. Very trendy and crowded. I ordered a Cucumber Martini and was floored at the $23 price tag. Chad had a Makers Mark. Lets just say they pour them deep at this place. There was an aged women DJing outside and I couldn't help but laugh at her lack of skills. This was the type of "to be seen at " bar that New York is well know for. We had a Raspberry Mousse for dessert that was to die for. Amazing!! The view was wonderful and the weather was perfect. It was the perfect way to end the evening.It was about 1:00am so we cabbed it home and fell right to sleep.

Saturday morning we woke up and met Dryden for breakfast in Central Park. It was as if we were exactly were we should be our whole trip. Sitting in Central Park and just watching life move around us was nice. Then we decided to go check out some stores and Dryden wanted to share with us the Plaza Grand Ballroom. Now there are not many times in life when I can go speechless but this was one of them. When we excited the plaza elevator that placed us into the lobby of the Ballroom we were greeted by the most beautiful pieces of floral artwork that I have ever seen in my life. Chad and I literally stood with mouths wide open in awe. I couldn't move or talk. I actually started crying because I had never seen something so beautiful in my life. I decided to not take a picture, one because it just didn't seem right and two, it would have not done the work justice. The Grand Ball room was very nice but having spent my fair share of hours in ballrooms decorating and so forth it didn't really have that much of a wow factor for me. Those flowers however. They will remain in my mind for the rest of my life. A room so full of floral pieces that it literally moved me.

We checked out FAQ Schwatrz were Chad was able to see the Big Piano and walked over to Grand Central station. I wanted to jump on a Subway so bad but Dryden explained that Times Square was only a few short blocks from us. It was time for our amazing tour guide and Chad's boss to leave. With a mighty handshake and warnings of taking cabs he was gone.

After our Saturday tour with Dryden Chad and I walked towards Time Square to pu tickets for the Harry Potter exhibit at the Discovery Museum. We stopped for a break and bloody marys at a small tavern. Happy Sat mid morning prices were refreshing. 2 drinks for less than $20.00. AMAZING! We finished up and literally walked right into Harry P. No line, no issues. The exhibit was very cool. Tons of props, costumes and various movie decor were setup in a walk around style tour. My favorite finds were the wands and how individual each was. I also liked the costumes and seemed to be transfixed by the shoes of each character.

We left the exhibit after more than a hour of wandering and found a BBQ place called Virgils. We had TRAIN WRECK FRIES-fresh cut fries, covered with melted cheddar cheese, smoked bacon, scallions, pickled jalapenos and topped with ranch dressing, BBQ riblets and Biscuits and Gravy. While we were being served a Navy Dr. that had been sitting next to us offered up 2 free Matinee passes to Catch Me if You Can. We were in shock. Another show! We hurried through our meal and ran to the Neil Simon Theatre just in time. The show was great! The typical musical of Broadway, different than Spiderman but a great contrast for Chad to experience.

After the performance we headed home to change before my tat apt. Chad bought a touch of liquid courage for me and a few cigars for himself. While in the shop he saw Rev. Al Sharpton. Hmmm interesting. We decided to cab it to the shop.

I had already picked out the artist had a drawing done and was ready for my 6:00pm apt. When we arrived at Red Rocket Tattoo my artist had called in sick that day. I was heartbroken. We did however have another option and after reviewing Marcus's work I ended up going through with it. 11 years in the making and I finally got my 3 little birds. Amazingly detailed and just so cute, each bird was colored with the corresponding child's birthstone color. Jackson on top with Julia in the middle and James floating by on the bottom. It hurt, the color mostly. The fine line wasn't too horribly painful.


After the tat we walked back to the hotel with a few store stops. We decided to eat at the Hamburger spot located in our hotel. It had rave reviews from yelp. We ordered 2 huge Hamburgers and fries and went upstairs and ate and ate and ate. It was pretty good. That night we fell asleep in a food coma.

Part 2 to follow

I have to post!!

I need to get in gear and start posting more often. I thought I would post a little wrap up of New York then move onto some summer fun. I also need to add a Polyvore board for Summer!!

So here we go.. let's post. (Random Bloody Mary picture)

A letter to you...

Here is a excerpt of a letter that I wrote to Chad's uncle.

Having an active 2 ½ year old can be interesting at times and I think Marilyn is enjoying the experience, 2nd time around. I also think she has forgotten some of the not so great trials of children like tantrums, potty training, excessive whining and the endless guilt trips they give you if you don’t give them what they want. Our other two keep us on our toes in different ways.

Our 11yr old Julia is in 6th grade and is struggling with growing up, school, her middle younger brother and life in general.. all the dramatics an 11 year old could have. However she does love to pick up her flute and play a bit, train the dogs (we have 3), draw, sing, run in track, play soccer and loves her baby brother to bits and pieces. She is definitely the mini mom and a great daily help to me. She does everything except change diapers.

Jackson is 8 and in 2nd grade and reading at a 5th grade level. He is astonishingly smart, grasping concepts that even full grown adults cannot. I know, I work with those adults. He asks all the right questions and is curious about all the right things. He seems to fancy natural disasters in that he becomes fixated on how they happen and how they can be prevented. We have had some interesting talks about mother nature. He is a great baseball player. We spend three nights a week watching him play and it really brings our family together. Jack does struggle with his ADHD and we have had to play a bit of medication roulette this year. He is currently in a good place but meds don’t entirely handle the effects of ADHD. It is a condition that needs daily attention. We spend a lot of time re-directing his behavior and protecting the other kids from feeling a lack of attention when we have to focus on Jacksons needs. Because he is such a smart kid he understands his condition and that in itself can be heartbreaking. Sometimes I wish I could live in his brain for one day and see what he is feeling. I get a glimpse of it by looking in his eyes but he never stands still long enough for me to really understand. There are mornings, before I wake him up that I will just sit and stare at him because I know as soon as his feet hit the floor he will be like one of those tornadoes that he is so curious about.

I read these quick summaries of my children and I feel like I am not capturing the real essence of them. I need to do that. I need to focus more on what their spirits look and feel like. The way James skin crinkles around the eyes when he laughs that big open, belly laugh and the sound of his bare feet slapping, it is so much heavier than Julia or Jacks. Julias glorious curls that bounce as she walks. I can tell what kind of mood she is in by that bounce. Jackson dirty fingernails, hiding all the secrets of his day. Thats the good stuff, the neat stuff, the warm stuff.

Nothing much has changed.. has it?

I took a few days to let the news of Osama’s death sink in. It brings back the tragic memories of 9/11 and reminds me that everyday could be our last. We don’t know when our Lord will bring us home. I don’t think any of the victims of 9/11 thought that it was going to be their last day on earth. If we knew when we were going to die would we live any better? Would we be better people? I wonder if Osama lived everyday as if it was his last, knowing that he was the most wanted man on the planet? I was sadden when I heard his 13yr old daughter saw him shot. Even more so when I read that Osama was raising her to kill as well. I feel for her, she had no choice who in the world would be her father. She didn’t ask for it. I don’t really speak much about terrorism or politics, I tend to sort of keep my opinions to myself.

In my lifetime Obama will be the first real president that I ever listened too. I mean I really wanted to sit and watch or wanted to hear what he had to say. He did something that not many people would do. I applaud him for his bravery and his trust that his choice was right. I wonder if he prayed about his decision before he made it.

I saw that second plane crash into the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11th and I was in bed Sunday night on May 1st when I saw President Obama announce Bin Ladens death. Everyone talked about closure and there doesn’t seem to be any closure for me. In fact it wakes up the old feelings a bit. Why would I want closure really? I mean I lost some tint on my rose colored glasses that day but physically I was ok, my family and friends were ok. Mentally I took some blows. I guess thats what makes the difference. And how do you feel closure on history. Do we have closure on JFK or MLK Jr. Those people who stood on the street while our president was assassinated, did they find closure when suspected shooter Oswald was killed? I am just processing all of this, more so for my children really. The questions will come… this time I won’t have one little 2 yr old baby girl. This time I have 3 sets of eyes and ears and mouths. Mouths that will start asking questions that I just don’t know the answers too.

That Mouth!

While looking through old pictures of myself I noticed one thing over and over again. My mouth. It was always open, like someone was catching me mid-sentence. This idea of self importance started floating through my head. What was I saying that was so important that I couldn't stop for 5 sec and smile. Or maybe I was singing? No I know I was chatting. I use to get notes sent home from school about my constant chattering. I was a good student but I just would not stop talking. I started going through images of 2010 for printing and what did I notice? James's mouth is always open. Poor kid.

Crock the Pot

Crockpot is our newest addition to this crajeeee household!! He is super cute, cuddly and we all love him very much. His paws are huge, his poop is to. Just keeping it real. He has melted into the rhythm of the pack and after a few days of growl fests it seems as if he has been here all along.

Hurry.. quick.. faster..

I always feel like I am rushing from one place to another, constantly moving. My hand always on someones back tapping them out the door or one hand tugging on another to move. One of my "quotes" is "get ta movin" What the heck does that mean.. Get ta movin, redneck anyone? This morning it was just me and the tiniest bird of course running late. I gently tugged, pulled and encouraged him out the garage door. Does .. "you better hurry or else I am leaving without you" count as gentle? Here I was three bags in my hand, clutching a snack in the other and struggling with the keys to get the mini van door to open. I saw James head disappear and I hear his tiny little voice squeak out, "come here mama, look at the snails, there are lots". I rush over to the other side, 1. to make sure he wasn't going towards the street and 2. to tell him to leave the snails alone and get in the car. This is what I saw..

How was I supposed to drag him away from one of the wonders of every small child's life. The travels of snails. How excited he was, "look at the big eyes mama, ewww gross". I dropped the bags and crouched next to him and we hung out for a bit looking at all the snails and how they were moving really fast ..... for snails that is. He was thrilled and I was sad. Sad that me hurrying could have made him miss such a simple but amazing adventure. I have to stop and slow down. I forget that this little sponge needs some water to soak up. He walks plenty but only to get to places. Does he really stop and inspect like I use to when I was a child. Monday- Thursday just feels like this circus and I am the clown juggling all the balls. Then Friday - Sunday we all recharge and try and slow it down but why does it only happen on the weekend? Why can't every day be treated like a weekend? What did I lose, a few minutes late to work. Hmm late for a job that while I am grateful to have is not very rewarding, doesn't make me so happy and fulfills maybe my pinkie finger full of satisfaction in my life.

By coincidence I read a blog post this afternoon that touched on this same topic. www.huffordhouse.blogspot.com. It seems like I am not alone in this challenge of life. So I ordered a patio set. You know because thats how you slow things down. You sit your butt down. No but really, I need to make these nests around the house. I need places for each of us to get comfortable and rest our weary heads. Less running around and more experiencing. It's a good thing.

Update on 33 before 34

1. Mail out 33 postcards or hand written letters, and no Christmas does not count Not even close. I have to get on this! 2. Find 10 new places to eat Santa Barbara - Jeannies Baker, Santa Cruz - Tacos Moreno, San Fransisco- Louies, Blue Mermaid, Fisherman wharf, 3. Try 33 new recipes Ok this is still a work in progress. Enchilada bake- :(, everything else has been good, turkey meatballs, turkey chilli, all sorts of veggie soups and cream style soups. 4. Learn how to sew on paper and in journals nope 5. Spend 33 minutes outside on the sidewalk with chalk nope, coming up 6. Take 33 self portraits working on it, thanks iphone!! 7. Walk 33 minutes or more 2 times a week HAHAHAHA Haaaaaaaaaa NOT winning on this one. 8. Scrap 33 pages I suck. 9. Journal 33 prompts Coming up! 10. Photo shoot with mom and dad YES Done! Oak Glen and it was Fab! 11. Do a week cleanse at least twice Once only, I didn't really like it, Ok actually twice if you count the unfortunate Ikea food poisoning. 12. 33 random acts of kindness 13. Craft a lot of my Christmas presents nope 14. Buy more Etsy and less Target I have been frequently using Etsy for buys, Julia's b-day was one occasion! 15. Build a nest Yes for Julia's birthday decor 16. Wear more vintage house dresses 17. Wear my fun extensions more often Photo shot! 18. Spend 33 minutes a day working on crafty goodness HAHAHAHA haaaaaaaaaaaaa 19. Photograph 33 new subjects in Macro 20. Eat 33% less taco bell Yes, thanks to Weight Watchers I have eaten less Taco Bell. Which means less of me! 21. Plant 10 new things in the garden, starting with lettuce 22. Blog 33 times 23. Spend 33 dollars in a candy store (that one is going to be hard) 24. Find 33 different ways to tell the kids how much I love them Ok doesn't making dinner and washing clothes count as ways to tell them I love them? 25. Take a 33 day challenge of some sort, maybe walk 33 minutes a day for 33 days? 26. Watch 33 movies, thanks Netflix We got rid of netflix so this one doesn't count! But we have gone to the movie theatre more than ever. That means 2 so far. 27. Once a month craft days 28. Once a month purge days How about once a week purge days!! 29. Host a girls only camping retreat in the cabin Must plan! 30. Take a online class on a new crafting concept Of course, Brave Girls counts right? 31. Pick a subject to photograph and start a collage 32. Host a Porch Wine Night 33. Live in the moment and recognize it, journal it, craft it, express it, share it

Crockpot and stuff

So I am going to just come out and say it. No more babies, which meant all the clean non-broken baby gear from Baby James went to the great yard sale in the sky. I was sad. So then I bought a puppy, because you know puppies are so sweet and cute and hardly ever need anything like to be feed more than once a day. Puppies don't need diaper changes either. They need whole kitchen tile floor changes. The are so quite as well, not once single yelp or cry or protest .. on the first night. Night number 2 was a whole different story. No but really. We have been thinking about a new pup for awhile and when I came across the Olde English Bulldog I was in LOVE!! He had a name before he had a home. He smells like puppy and he is HUGE! His poops are super size already so we know this guy is going to be big. I love him and his rolls...and his droppy eyes and his muzzle. His pink lips with littke black dots.. I want to eat that puppy. Hmm that doesn't sound quite right.

So Charlie is less than thrilled. He growls and what not. He has the stink eye perfected. Piddles.. hmm she thinks she is hot stuff. She's not. Oh piddler on the roof, you are such a muttzuuu. Charlie Babbit, your a young ole man. Welcome home Crockpot. We love you!

Oh and something new this Spring. Sunday Bloody Mary/Mimosa brunches with Joan and Scott. Soon will be the Friday night porch drunk extravaganza's. With boxes and all. I look forward to spring for more than one reason now.

No news is good news....

It has started. I can tell by the lack of blogging that spring has in fact sprung. Baseball, spring break, summer plans being made, track for Julia, soccer sign ups, random storms and gardening. Lots and lots of gardening. So some interesting things. In the past 10 weeks I have lost 14 lbs. I was hoping for 20 banished by now but I will take 14. Chad and I had a mini vacation up North and enjoyed lots and lots and lots of wine and food. See why I am still happy with 14. Jackson is starting baseball again and is proving to be quite the 2nd baser. I mean 2nd baseman... Julia is still struggling in school. We have tried everything except private tutoring. It has been rough and I really feel like I am pounding my head against the wall. She did join track at the encouragement of her PE teacher. The practices do not interfere with her homework so it has worked out ok. Baby James is .. being a baby. We have started to try and potty train. I chuckle as I type that because really he is only interested because we are interested. I doubt he will be going in for the diaper ditch long haul anytime soon. I'm not pushing it since I am pretty darn sure this is the last little one for us. Thinking long and hard about that. What better way to show off the past month than with pictures!!

good day sunshine!!!

This was an image of Paps Blue Ribbion on sale. My blogger app does not work!
PBR

I swear I saw a pig fly!

Very rarely.. like once a year…mornings run so smoothly that it almost makes me cry. This was one of those mornings. I woke before the alarm and was able to start my morning feeling refreshed. I had a good nights sleep. I woke up the kids at their usual times and no one tried to kick me or started crying because they wanted to stay under the covers. My 2 biggest birds were dressed quickly and downstairs packing lunches and organizing their breakfast. No dramatic outbursts about lost socks or no clothes to wear. I did not hear a sound. The typical screams and yells and doors slamming was non-existent. I was downstairs a few minutes early than usual to find backpacks ready and by the door. What?? I didn’t have to yell numerous times for them to pack bags and be prepared?? Two kids quietly milling around the kitchen with shoes and coats on. I almost died, right there, in the kitchen. Typically shoes are lost and coats have disappeared.
I loaded the car up and asked Julia to get the baby bird for me, she did and remembered to turn off all the lights on her way down. Even the baby got the memo! He was all smiles and happy to be awake. No poop diaper (saves at least 5 mins). Jack had already prepared a car snack for him. Not once did James run around the kitchen screaming SNAAACCKKKK and then crying when he didn’t get what he wanted. Into the car and everyone was freezing but no tears and outbursts, no demands of .. please go get me a blanket….. We were off and lo and behold the singing started. The kids were singing nursery rhymes with James. Using the right words.. no one replaced spider with poop or star with poop. I had to pinch myself. I couldn’t stop smiling. Drop offs at all locations went well and I ended up at work 10mins early. If every morning was like this I think my forehead wrinkles would disappear.

I wish blogger had an app

I also wish I could lay in bed all day eating chocolate covered pretzels and watching Beverly Hills 90210 re-runs. This weekend was CRAZY!!! Saturday felt like 5 days long. We did taxes, we shopped, we ate Costco hot dogs, we did cartwheels, and we partied. A lot was done and we were so tired as 10:00pm rolled around.
After waking up from a busy Saturday we rolled into Sunday and Chad called the campground for an update on snow. Uhhh yes they said, 2 1/2 feet and it was sticking. There went the laundry and room cleaning and organizing planned for the day. Insert rushing around, layers of clothes, laughing, yelling, crying baby, DVDs for the car trip, laundry baskets used to hold food, snacks and more clothes. Mittens, jackets, scarves, hats, sleds, make shift sleds, shoes, tons of shoes, blankets, water, camera and the kitchen sink. We made it out in under 50min. I think it was a record. 3 children and 2 adults layered up and ready for the snow. And boy did it not disappoint. Our camp ground was covered with snow. This post is useless without pics and I have to post some but even without the pictures, the memories of this trip will last. Julia made the first hill to sled down. Jackson added a bump to it so that everyone could break there butt on it. James was thrilled with all the snow but not so thrilled with his gloves that would not stay on. Poor baby had frozen hands. After sledding Julia's hill and having a snowball fight with mama getting the baby in the side of the head, we ventured over to another part of the campgrounds that had a very steep hill. This is were we had the daddy snow hill. It was the longest run all day and it was awesome! Again pictures would be good here. So some lessons learned. Layers are good. When you build a snowman do not leave it unprotected because some punk kids will ruin it. Make sure your 2 1/2 year olds gloves fit. Bring pillows and blankets for the ride home because everyone passed out.

I kept saying to Chad how happy I was that we bailed on our "stay at home and work" plans to take this opportunity for a snow day. We don't typically get this opportunity so it was a blessing. Another blessing was the fact that we had the whole place to ourselves. The campgrounds were empty so it made it easy to maneuver around. Our little secret hideaway.

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testing a iphone app

playing around with a new app.