So here we are in a part of the world that people call paradise. Views and vistas everywhere. The speed limit reflects the 'hang loose' attitude of this state. By that I mean that even on the highways the speed limit is 45 mph, that's not to say that people go 45, they usually go much, much...slower. But that is because, even in paradise, traffic is an issue.
This is the view of Hanalei bay from our condo.
The boys hiked the Napali coast, 8 miles of hard hiking for unbelievable views and scenes.
I'll post more photos later, the internet connection here absolutely sucks.
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Finally, what is up with the chickens here. There are chickens everywhere, at the airport, in town, around the condos, even along the side of the road. When I saw the chickens at the side of the road I thought we'd finally get to answer the age old question of just why the chicken crosses the road. Alas, we witnessed why that question may never be answered...
When you open the door for 'Trick or Treaters' don't you expect the 'Tricksters' to be shorter than you. I mean, I know I'm short but even I expect them to be shorter than me. How old is too old to Trick or Treat? I mean, in your head aren't Trick or Treaters short kids in cute costumes?
Last night a 'gang' of about 10 teenagers knocked on my door (well, they actually pounded repeatedly - I answered the door with 911 keyed into the phone and my finger on the send button.) and in unison said 'Trick or Treat'. I looked in the vicinity of their knee caps for their younger siblings, but no, it was just them. I gave them two candy bars each and sent them on their way grumbling. (I was giving out mini chocolate bars, it would have taken 4 bars to make one regular sized bar.) Well, excuse me if my little chocolate tokens didn't fill up their PILLOWCASES!
Kids today!
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“Well, I’ve been watching the squirrels and they’re burying low this year, so you know what that means?”
The cashier is talking to the woman in front of me, who is, annoyingly enough, writing a check.
“Well, I’ve never heard that one.” Says the check writer, pausing, her pen hanging completely motionless over her check which she has so far only managed to date.
“Oh, yes, see if they hide their nuts (all sorts of quippy comments come to mind but I behave) higher up then it’s going to be a very cold and snowy winter, down low means it’ll be mild.”
I groan inwardly, Toto, I think we’re back in Kansas, ok, Illinois, but you see my point.
“Well, I always heard that about Wooly Bear caterpillars and their stripes." (Is there such a thing as a Wooly Bear caterpillar?) Says the check writer staring down at her check as if she’s forgotten what to do next. “See, if their stripes are thick then it’s going to be a long winter, and short if they’re thin…or the other way around…or is it the number of stripes?...Oh, I forget, but I think it’s in the farmer’s almanac.” She finishes lamely, while signing her name (at last) with a flourish.
I’m aging; I feel my bones becoming brittle as I turn 90 standing in this line.
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I was back in Illinois to visit with Jess. I was there for three weeks and thouroughly enjoyed my fall 'fix'. We went to the apple orchard and the leaves were turning and the weather was cold (after the first week, which was still summer.) I had a great time and miss everyone already.
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The infamous cooking class. The best way to bring family together is to make them all cook together. There were 12 of us, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives and cousins. We made up about 1/2 the class. It was really fun, more fun that I expected, but then they did serve wine.
Movie is courtesy of my brother-in-law Rich. Thanks Rich.
Did Jodi Foster have some work done? Becuase I'm telling you, every time I see the previews for her new movie it looks like Jodi, but it doesn't. She's also on the cover of 'More' magazine this month (the magazine for women over 40.) and I didn't recognize her there either. Her nose and chin look pointier, she lost some of the fullness in her face or something...
Do you remember the doctor you saw when you were a kid? Didn't it seem like you saw that doctor forever? Like he was a part of the family practically. Doctor's just don't have that level of commitment anymore.
Aidric's pediatrician is changing practices, we've known the man for a year and now he's starting up a practice for teens and young people. Concentrating on 12-26 year olds. Se we have to find a new pediatrician. I hate finding new doctors.
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Aidric thinks he's two now. He has learned to skillfully and willfully use the word 'No'. These days he uses it most at meal times. Not because he doesn't like the food, just because he realizes he can choose not to eat. When presented with a spoonful of food, no matter what it is, he turns his head away and says 'No'. When a plate full of food and an eating utensil are placed before him, he pushes them away and says 'No'.
'Aidric, come here'
'No'
'Want to go for a walk?'
'No'
'Do you want some juice?'
'No'
'Are you trying to drive mommy crazy?'
'No'
Well, at least that's comforting.
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We've been in CA for a almost a year and our insurance company has been more and more insistent on our acquiring a California Drivers License. So finally on Friday we made appointments at the DMV and went down to comply with the insurance who sent us some threat of cancellation or something if we did not comply within 30 days. Sheesh, take a breath or something we're working on it, I thought California was the layed back state or something. Doesn't it say it on the state crest?
Anyway, it turns out that we had to take the written test. With no prep other than we had taken the California written test when we got our first licenses, many, many, many years ago, we took our tests to a table and set to work.
Knowing what an overachiever I am I'm sure you're thinking 'Here goes Missy, shooting for a 100% without having studied - just like being back in high school'. Honestly, I was not shooting for 100%, I was shooting first of all to pass but most importantly, to not miss more questions than Sean. I know, real mature.
Well we both passed and we both missed 2. The first one I missed was just one of those over thinking mistakes. The second one was a trick question.
12. When driving on a multilane street with two-way traffic:
a.) Drive alongside the other vehicles so the drivers can see you.
b.) You should drive ahead of or behind the other vehicles.
c.) It is safest to drive in the lane next to the center line.
A video slideshow of our famly vacation. Get comfy though, it's 10 minutes long. It's a bit blurry in this format, sorry, but you get the idea. I can burn it to DVD from my computer and send it to you, it's way better quality.
Ok, funny joke, but who sent me 'Redbook' and 'ESPN' subscriptions? They are not magazines I ever would have ordered and they are coming to my house addressed to me. And ESPN is either weekly or bi-weekly, I lose track, but it's piling up. Anyone out there want them? I'll send them to you. ESPN!?? ME??!! Not funny people. Next time could you send me 'Real Simple' or 'Bon Appetite' or something. Thanks
Since I don't want to blog just to yell at you all....here are some pictures of my cute boys.
"Dolphins" the cry goes up and I turn to the water. Sure enough I turn just in time to see two graceful gray backs disappear in the waves and two more spring up just behind them.
"La!" I shout; you always shout at the beach because the sound of waves paired with a wind that whips your words away from you, makes it hard to be heard. "Look!"
As she turns to where I'm pointing we see the most fabulous sight ever. Inside a translucent green incoming wave we can see the shapes of six dolphins zigzagging over each, riding the wave towards the beach. As the wave crashes into the sand the dolphins disappear and seconds later reappear swimming parallel to the beach now. Diving in and out of the water looking like large gray stitches sewing the wave to the beach. There are six teenagers up the beach from us and two of the boys run for the water a dive in hoping to swim with the dolphins.
"Get the camera!" my sister shouts back. Holy crap, I forgot I had the camera. We see dolphins at this beach all the time and I never have, and always wish I had, the camera on hand, though the dolphins have never been this close to the beach before. Today I'd brought the camera just to get some shots of the boys in the water. I'd stashed it in it's case and then in a zippered compartment of the beach bag to keep it safe from wind, sand and spray. I fumble it out and finally get it turned on and pointed to the water, but most of the pod is gone, I manage to click the pictures below. As you can see Aidric was not exactly riveted by the sight as we were.
"Take a movie!" shouts my director. I flip the camera over to video mode but looking at the footage later, it's clear that only I would know what I was looking at.
We found this little beach just on the south end of Pt. Mugu, completely by accident one day. We were headed south toward Malibu when we saw it and decided to stop. We've been coming here ever since. It's about a half mile long bordered on one side by a fence that runs from Hwy 1 (PCH) into the water, this marks the southern edge of the Navy base, and on the other end by a mountainous hunk of rock that reaches into the water effectively closing off this little section of beach. It's never crowded and I'm not sure why. Maybe because it really is in the middle of nowhere. I mean 10 minutes north on the highway is Oxnard and 20 minutes south is Malibu and behind it to the east, just across the highway, is the Santa Monica Mountain nature preserve. Yet there are two, always manned, lifeguard towers here. There are never more than 20 or so groups here which is great because you can keep plenty of distance between you and your neighbors. This aids in not having to eat your northerly neighbors sand every time they move.
We leave the beach happy and toasted and with sand in places we didn't know sand could go. Sand is a fact of life at the beach, heck I'm just writing about the beach and I can feel grit in my sandals.
If you click on the photos they'll open in a seperate window and be a bit bigger.
I am constantly surprised when I go out these days and find that the stores, malls, banks and other businesses in general are empty. I am now able to get things done more quickly while everyone else is at work.
I’ve never been a stay at home mom before. I have always worked. I liked working, it gave structure to my day, and it gave me something to bitch about. So now Aidric and I have to make our own structure and I find new things to bitch about.
Like grocery shopping for instance. I now shop with the senior brigade and I'm not talking your average retirees, no sir, these are honest to goodness octogenarians, or older. Yup, I hit the grocery store right after our morning visit to the YMCA. Which puts us inside Vons right around 11-ish, me sweaty and smelly and Aidric crabby and ready for his nap. It seems that the only other customers in the store at that time of day are the old people and sometimes they are also smelly and cranky and ready for their nap. I think that the local assisted living place must drop the lot of them off by the bus full at the same time every day.
I love the old people as much as the next person, but sometimes they work my last nerve. They double park their carts in the middle of an aisle while they chat about the fiber content of peaches. They berate the butcher because the price of the beef is too high and the labels are lettered too small to read. They harass the guy stocking shelves because the bran cereals are on the top shelf and they can’t reach them and the sugary cereals are on the bottom shelf and they can’t bend down to reach them either. They park their carts in the middle of the aisle while they read labels with a magnifying glass and are annoyed if you move their cart aside for them.
I, being young and of able body, have been enlisted to help reach things on the high shelves and the low shelves. I have been pressed into to service to read the sodium content of a can of sardines (just put them back on the shelf lady, you don’t want to know.) I have been roped in to interpret what the produce manager has just said to them, i.e. I speak louder and point. And on more than one occasion I’ve stepped in to help them with the new technology of card readers at the checkout, all the while listening to a ‘in my day’ rant.
On the other hand, they love Aidric and pat him and talk to him and tell me how handsome he is. They pat me and thank me and tell me I’m pretty. One old guy made Aidric laugh by speaking to him ‘in his own language’. Aidric and the old guy spoke gibberish back and forth to each other the whole time we waited at the checkout, Aidric loved it.
I could shop later, like after Aidric’s nap, but then I’d miss the old people and I’d have to shop with the soccer moms and they REALLY irritate me.
When I go to the grocery store I always look for a female checker. Even if the male checker has a shorter line I almost always go to the woman. I’ll only go to the guy if there is no one in his line, I only have a few items and the customer ahead of me in the woman’s line is a man (male customers are just as bad as male checkers – run away. And a male customer in a male checkers line…egads!).
Women checkers are just better, because women know how to multitask. A woman checker can zip your items through with both hands moving quickly in a steady rhythm while at the same time sorting things out that need to be bagged separately. (Because the bagger is usually a clueless high school boy who WILL put your bread at the bottom of a bag of cans.) All the while noticing your lasagna noodles and giving you her special recipe for vegetarian lasagna, and still stopping to notice that you’ve purchased two bags of Pepperidge Farm cookies and did you know that you were entitled to a third bag free. She sends the bag boy off for your third bag while placing your tomatoes on the scale and bagging some of the smaller stuff herself, being careful to bag the cleaning supplies separately from the food. Then keying in the weight of the bagged tomatoes and placing the oranges on the scale, while continuing to bag and NEVER missing a beat on the recipe she’s giving you complete with precise ingredient measurements. Then when I ask if the grape juice rang up at the sale price she continues to zip things through with her left hand while her right hand scrolls through the receipt to see about the price of the juice and answering my question and still expounding on that recipe.
Doing my part to keep things moving I’ve scanned my store card through the reader and then my debit card so that she and I will complete my transaction at the same time (male customers wait until everything has been rung up before they even begin LOOKING for their store card or money.) and 5 full minutes ahead of the guy checker next to us whose merchandise ringing came to a screeching halt when the customer asked if her toothpaste was on sale.
If I’d gone to him I’d have been out of there 10 minutes later, sans extra free bag of cookies, still not knowing if my juice had been on sale and without a delightful recipe for vegetarian lasagna.
And don’t even get me started on the stock help which is almost always male. You ask a guy, who happens to be stocking an aisle near you, where the raisins are and he’ll lead you around a half dozen aisles and then proudly say ‘here they are’. Heck I could have done that, thanks. But ask a woman and she’ll say ‘Aisle 12, ‘bout three quarters of the way down on your left as you face the front of the store, second shelf from the top’.
And on that note I share the following from this mornings comics. It's small on this page but if you click on it it'll open in a separate page bigger.
I'll be the first to admit it, I'm a little bit of a neat freak. Ok. Yes, I'm a bit anal at times about cleanliness, I've said it, I take full ownership of my obsesive compulsive need for tidiness. As soon as there's a 12 step program for this I'll join it.
So, anyway, it turns out that the thing I love the most about my new granite countertop is the very thing I hate the most about it. See, it really hides the dirt, crumbs, smudges, spills, dribbles, sticky messes, germ traps, evil bits of food that mock me as wipe and wipe and wipe...
Ummmm, what was I....?
Oh, the countertop, right. Yes. So it seems that the only way to be sure that I won't miss any spots and later set my hand down on some hidden mess is to view it from the side and under a bright enough light so that crumbs and even glass rings cast a shadow or show up as dullness on my shiny clean counter top. It's the only way to be absolutely certain that I haven't missed anything.....Hey! Is that some salt there by the salt shaker....@(#)*@)#^%*....Gotta go,.... umm that is all....
My brother Ardo invited me to attend a Wine Dinner on Friday night at the Faculty Club where he works. It was to be accompanied by a talk from Rex Pickett, the guy who wrote 'Sideways'. Did you see the movie 'Sideways'? The evening was billed as "Merlot Fights Back!" because in the movie Merlot is seriously trashed. This led us all to believe that perhaps Mr. Pickett was going to speak on the virtues of Merlot and since each course was to be accompanied by a different Merlot we thought that he'd describe each Merlot served as we ate. Boy were we wrong!
I went to this event with my lovely sister-in-law, Kay Marie. The food was really great and by the time dessert was served everyone was quite happy, including our speaker, who by the way did not speak to us during the dinner.
The mistress of ceremonies stood to introduce him and started her introduction by saying "Our guest speaker has asked if we could get this over with..." not a statement that portends an excellent speech.
Then Mr. Pickett stood to speak, a relatively good looking man probably in his mid 50's. His first statement was that he had awakened at 3 a.m. having a panic attack and had decided at that point that he was not going to attend the dinner.
That was enough to make the rest of us wish we hadn't. The rest of the speech can only be described as a total and complete train wreck. The man was drunk and unprepared, he rambled and swore and most of his comments centered around 'getting laid'. It was sad and I'd like to think that if the man saw himself on tape later he'd be embarrassed, but I think somehow that he's way beyond that.
Senior faculty members began to leave discreetly at first and then later, in not so discreet groups.We began plotting our own escape. It seemed that every once in a while he'd say something semi lucid and people would clap, these would seem to have been good opportunities for him to sit down and stop talking, but he didn't, he just rambled on. Finally, after our escape through the kitchen had been planned out, he stopped talking and sat down, there were applause at this though I'm not sure if they were in gratitude that he finally shut up or if there were those out there who truly enjoyed the 'speech'.
Thank goodness the food was great and the company even better.
From the inside back cover photo of the Joe Hill book, let me say that that boy inherited the best features from his parents, because where he definitely resembles his father, he is far far better looking. So judging a book by its cover (literally) this one's a winner!
So, Stephen King's sons are writing books. Or is it Stephen King's son? There's a book out "We're All In This Together" (in 2005) by Owen King, some short stories, and on February 13th, 2006, a brand new book out by Joe Hill. Is 'Joe Hill' Owen's pen name or another of Mr. King's boys? Does anyone know? Has anyone read the short stories of Owen King?
I'm going to get 'The Heart Shaped Box' by Joe Hill and see if writing talent is in the genes.
Let me know what you know of these boys and I'll let you know about the book.
Well, as you can see there's a new look to the old Blog. Blogger changed some formatting stuff and it was giving me a hell of a time with some of my add-ins. Soo... a new look, not exactly what I would have wanted, but the blogger pool of templates is shallow indeed. So, if I use one of their templates, it makes life easier if not prettier.
Anyway, obviously the name of the blog should change, but I don't know what to change it to. Any ideas?
A couple of birthday photos for you. Aidy discovered that he liked birthday cake. Not having had that much sugar before in his life, it made quite an impact. So as mom stood by with wet wipes at the ready, Aidy enjoyed his cake. If you know me at all you know that watching this was just killing me.
The mess got worse...
Clean up was really fun, and yes I did manage to get the red frosting out of his shirt and out of his nose.
Aidric received his first haircut the day before his first birthday. It was time, he was getting a bit shaggy, but when it was all over it was like he was a new boy. He wasn't a baby anymore; he was a boy. Take a look.
There's something to be said for the monosyllabic answer......
Oh, not by me, I was just trying to use the word 'monosyllabic' in a sentence and marvel that it takes a five syllable word to describe a one syllable word....
Aidric's first Christmas, and his first of many Christmas gifts. His cousins Dani and Michael helped him open his first gift. He received a Magnadoodle and he loves it, a memorable first gift. He also received some nice big Duplo blocks in a helicopter, a cool play yard from his sister and brother, clothes, more blocks and lots of books. The boy loves books, he loves turning pages. Must be hereditary.
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On new years eve, La and I celebrated the 15th anniversary of our 29th birthday. We went out for a nice family dinner and would have been in bed by 8:30 if not for the guys shed project. Yes all the men went out into the garage and constructed two large Rubbermaid sheds. Then we went to bed, it was 10:30. We are a bunch of party animals.
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We met S's brother and family at Universal Studios for a day of fun. It was the coldest day of the year and so few people were there. I met this guy and got him to take a picture with me.
We barely survived an earthquake and flood.
Then I barely escaped being eaten by a shark...
But S and Aidy took care of the situation.
Aidy and his cousin Mason took on the mummy and came out victorious.
Here is a shot of the kids in front of an unbelievable clear LA view. Mason, Sophie, Rachel, Jenna, Caroline and Aidy.
So, that's all of I've got for now. I have a few pictures of the homes on Wisteria Lane, though I'v never watched that show. I also have some shots of the crashed airplane from War of the Worlds. But maybe another day. What's going on in your life?
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Still not completely unpacked. Most of the rooms are in order but there are still about 50 boxes left to unpack.
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There are a couple of birthdays coming up, Aidric's first and S's 44th. So celebrations are planned!??!
