Thankful Thoughts

I am going to use the month of Thanksgiving to try every day to take a minute and think of something I am thankful for in my life. Even more than just thinking about it, I want to consider why that particular thing is important to me and what I can do to pass forward that thankful feeling I get each day.

This might sound corny but in my very busy life, I often miss the little things, which are often so meaningful, because I am rushing from one task to another.

I am warming up today and have already thought of my first "Thankful Thought" -- I am so very thankful that every day when I get home from work, at least one of my kids meets me in the drive way with both of my dogs! They all welcome me home and help me carry in my stuff! No one ever asked them to to this. They do it because they are happy to see me. I have always sort of just taken this for granted. And it struck me on Wednesday that I am very lucky to have such a fantastic welcoming committee!

Losing Abraham

Last Friday nite after a loooooooong week, we were getting ready for bed when I heard a scream and Gracie yelling, “mommy, come quick, something is wrong with Abraham”! Abraham is a black gold fish that Gracie got for her 10th birthday about two weeks ago.


I run (ok I really just walked – I was beat from the week) into her room and see that Abraham is swimming on his side. Not good!


Gracie is usually a pretty tough and realistic kid, so I was not expecting any drama. Boy was I wrong!


She had just finished with a rough week and losing Abraham was the last straw.


She proceeded to sob and wails like a Southern Baptist woman who had just lost her whole family! She reached her hand in Abraham’s tank and tried to move him back and forth to get oxygen in his gills. She had seen us do this with our catch and release trout. She lay over her dresser and cried while watching him slowly get worse and worse. She would reach her hand in the tank and hold him upright hoping it would help.


I mustered all the empathy I could muster while trying to stifle an occasional giggle.


Finally, I got my Jim involved. Being a hunter and fisherman, he is the expert in the family. He came in and declared Abraham was dieing and there was nothing we could do. More wailing!


Finally after about 45 minutes, Gracie decides she has to sleep in our room with us because she is too distraught to sleep in the room where Abraham died. So she goes into my bedroom and lies across my bed, doing some more sobbing!


After a few minutes, she is ready to take the next necessary steps and instructs me to instruct Jim that she wants Abraham buried in the back yard but she doesn’t want to be there for the burial. BUT she needs to know where it is so she can add a memorial rock. And she wants Daddy to remove the tank from her room and clean it out really good for the next fish! So I pass on the instructions and go sit with Gracie for some quiet time. We both spend a little time reading and every few minutes she does those deep breaths that come with sobbing. After awhile she goes to sleep, completely spent from the drama of losing Abraham.


While all this was going on, she reported to me that there was no way she was going to play in her soccer tournament the next day – she just couldn’t do it!


So the next morning when she wakes up I am ready for more drama and have a strategy for talking her into playing soccer. The first thing she does is sit up in bed and say, “good morning mommy, I am feeling much better about Abraham today. Where is he?”


Whoa, whoa, whoa. I was not ready for calm and reasonableness. I didn’t quite no where to go with this or how to respond. So I quickly decide to do what I always do…..tell the truth.


So I say, “Daddy put him in a Ziploc bag and he is in the fridge in the garage awaiting burial”. And then I prepare myself for sobbing.... Nope. Nothing. She just says, “Oh ok.”


Then she heads downstairs and meets Jim in the garage and says to him, “Where’s Abraham?” He had not had the opportunity to see her complete 180 in attitude from the night before, so he was still thinking tears and drama and he wasn’t sure how to respond. While he was stalling and trying to think of what to say, she says, “I know he is in the fridge, but where in the fridge?” At this point, I walk in and see the total confusion on his face because he can not believe she is so reasonable! So my Jim points out where Abraham is being kept until his burial. And while he is doing so, Drew walks in and says, “Dad, did you filet him?”....


You will be happy to know that 5 days later, Abraham is still in the fridge in a Ziploc bag. We have not had time to bury the poor little guy. And last nite at dinner, Gracie reported, “Mom, did you see Abraham? The bag he is in is all cloudy.” And then she did a little pretend gag like she was throwing up!


I guess she is over it!

Ghost Cookies

Aren't these cute? The tournament this weekend was the Halloween Classic, so I made these for the girls to have after their 3rd game!

Winners

This is what a team full of girls who played their hearts out looks like! They came in second place in their first tournament ever. And they lost the last game 3 to 2....so it was close! I was so proud of all of them. I was especially proud of Grace when she made a save in the third game while in the goal. The save kept the score at zero - zero. No one could believe she made the save. But she did it because it was a hockey save and she used her leg! Truly impressive!

What a weekend!

Sitting back at my desk on Monday morning, I can not believe what a whirlwind the weekend was.

It all started early Friday afternoon when Jim called and reported he truck had broken down. Jim had afternoon duty with the kids. With the most critical item being the need to get Drew a haircut or he was going to be thrown out of school! So I leaped from my desk and went running out to take over while Jim tried to get his truck towed to Palo Alto by 5:30.

The towing part should have been easy....but it wasn't. The first guy got his truck halfway up on his flatbed and then declared that it was too heavy. He back in off and left Jim there to call another tow truck. By the time the second tow truck got there, it was 5:30 and the shop was closed. So it got towed to our house. Then, on Sunday morning it got towed to the shop where his "worth his weight in gold" friend, Pablo met him and helped replace his fuel filter and do a 100 thousand mile service.

While Jim was doing the truck stuff, I managed to get the kids to their haircut appt.

Saturday morning started at the crack of dawn to get the dogs out and exercised before the Halloween Classic Soccer Tournament started. We left for soccer at 7:45 loaded up with chairs, coolers and team gear! We didn't get home til 4:30 pm. Sunday was the same way!

I guess I will put it in a nutshell. This weekend we managed to:

* Get the kids haircuts
* Fix the broken down truck
* Watch/play 7 soccer games
* Win second place in the tournament for the girls - YEA!
* Make ghost shaped cookies with the girls jersey numbers on them
* Take the dogs for 2 walks
* Get groceries
* Order a new washer and a new dryer

Oh, and we managed the death of Abraham, Gracie's gold fish! Friday nite, she let out a cry for help when she saw poor Abraham swimming sideways. We called our local animal coroner to help....that would be Jim! There was about 1 hour of sobbing before she calmed down.

And you wonder why I love to work! My office is calm and quiet and my desk hold a nice warm cup of tea. I need a day of work after that crazy weekend!

Crab Factory

Jim is getting ready for crab season. He has been spending endless hours on the side of the house in his crab pot factory. He has manufactured 30 crab pots and is now painting the buoys. The buoys are color coded depending on where they go in the line of the pots. Remember, this is the same guy who can't remember to get everything on the list at the grocery store!

Road Work?

Gracie and I came home from ed therapy this morning and our street was closed. As the day went on, it became apparent why we couldn't drive down it and park in our driveway! The dogs had a great time barking at the whole event....for a little while....but then it was nap time!

Lima Beans!

Remember Gracie's science experiment involving lima bean sprouting? Well the lima beans sprouted in 4 days (not the 36 she thought it would take!) and are now growing in the back yard.

Time for some competition

Last nite while driving home from work, I decided it was time for a wii bowling tournament! After dinner the competition began. First Jim and I played and the winner played against who won between Drew and Grace. I beat Jim by one point! Then Drew beat Gracie. So Drew and I went head to head. Yea.....right! I didn't have a chance!

Drew was the big winner!

Happy Halloween

This link is a halloween video of my brother and his family. It is super cute and worth a look:

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/WrM39MC3QbalLrOU

Soccer Pics

Here are a couple recent soccer pics of Drew. Feels good to be in first place!

Napoleon Grace

We went hiking this weekend and Gracie found a rock fort. This is her posing at the fort, looking like Napoleon. And what do you think about that outfit??? To get the full picture, I have to point out that the shorts are mine and are stained with old paint. The socks are her Sharks socks that she normally wears while playing hockey. The bandana is from our trip to Arizona and is the Arizona flag! And underneath the red fleece shirt is a Chico State t-shirt! She is nuts!

New Shampoo

Last week, I ran out of shampoo in my gym bag so went out and bought some new shampoo and conditioner and threw the new shampoo in my bag. On Weds I used it for the first time at the gym. I was surprised at how soft my hair was and wondered if they changed the formula of the shampoo.

On Friday I did the same routine, workout, shower, wash hair, etc. Imagine my surprise when I realized I had TWO bottles of conditioner in my bag and NO shampoo! So on Weds I had conditioned my hair twice - no wonder it was so soft!

Duh!

A man needs meat

Last nite, we had what Jim calls "a man's meal" for dinner. It was a giant pot roast in the crock pot. The amount of meat eaten was horrifying! I made a brown rice casserole for me...but they managed to mow thru that too!

Ready??? I got a tattoo!

It is on my hand! Can you believe it?

OK - Here is the truth....it is a henna tattoo and will only last 10 days.

Two Big Wins!

Gracie's team won today - 3 to zero. Drew's team won 4 to 1.

pig comment

Who cares about swine flu, isn't anyone worried about the pig getting principal flu?

Book Club

After I was done locating a pig last nite, it was time to go to book club (I live a very rich and full life!). Our book club is very loose...out of 7 of us, only 3 had read the book! I read half of it but disliked it so much I stopped. It was called "Love the One You're With". I don't recommend it. But if you are interested in checking it out here is the authors website: http://www.emilygiffin.com/lovetheone.html

The book is described as a powerful story about one woman at the crossroads of true love and real life. I describe it as a story about an indecisive woman who has the "grass in greener on the other side of the road" mentality.

More pig comments....

i am surprised no one offered their spouses yet :) for a day at the school.
tied to a trailer and all :) :) sounds so tempting!

was it because of the principal kiss?

More pig comments...

Have you tried eHarmony?


Sorry – I know it was terrible… I just couldn’t let it slide…



*Disclaimer - The above comment was completely in jest. No offense intended to any who have used or will use eHarmony. I didn’t even write the above statement, it was written by some random passerby who held a gun to my head while they typed it. Any similarity between my post and any persons, living or dead, is unintentional and purely coincidental. The views expressed by this email are not shared nor endorsed by my comapny, any of its management, staff, or users. The above message is rude, crude, and unnecessary, and should not be read by anyone.

Pig Response

I put my pig request on an alias at work that is know for its quirkiness and here is a response I got:


I have a problem with the pig needing to be willing to kiss the school principal.

Is that ethical? Can the pig first meet the principal and decide then weather to kiss them?

Will the principal first talk nice to the pig or just go at it

And if this does happen be sure to get pictures …

Pig anyone?

I have a friend who is looking for a pig. Here are the requirements:

* A pig of any size or type
* Must be alive (dead or stuffed animal pigs will not work)
* Needs to be at an elementary school in Mt View, CA for a few hours for one day at the end of the month
* Pig must be willing to be kissed by a school principal
* The persons needing the pig have a tow hitch and are willing to haul the pig, if necessary
* It is for a public school event, so a free or very low cost pig is best

If you have any leads on a pig, let me know and I can hook you up with my friend who needs the pig.

PS - I think the best part of this story is that this friend actually thought I might be able to find a lead on a pig. What, about me, makes him think that I can find a pig?

Time to go out....

When I left for work this morning, I wanted to take the dogs pillow and out it in the garage because it is wet outside. I wanted them to have a nice dry spot to lay down. Everytime I would go to pick it up, they would both run over and lay on it!

They must have known what I was doing and that they would be going outside. I would then shoo them off and try to pick up the pillow only to have them jump back on again. It was a total crack up.

I took a pic of them acting like they didn't know what I was trying to do.

It's Raining; It's Pouring

Yesterday's rainstorm was a big one. We live close to a drainage canal and when it over flows, our streets flood. This is what it looked like in front of our house, but some places were worse. The kids went out and rode their bikes around thru the water. Jim and I went out a drove around a bit. And we drove by the kids really fast and drenched them with a wave!

We saw lots of downed trees and even saw a lady kayaking down the middle of the street. Luckily it subsided pretty fast.

It was all a huge adventure!

I am back!

You probably didn't even miss me but I was locked out of my blog! My password would not work since Monday. Not sure what was going on but I have it all worked out and am up and running.

Stay tuned!

A last minute run to the cabin

Jim had to shoot up to the cabin yesterday to prepare the pontoon boat for a big rainstorm that is coming in tonite. We had it ready for hot weather and had never changed it over for rain. I was feeling bad for him because he got up at 4 am to go up there. But then he came back with these pics and I didn't feel bad anymore! I was jealous. It was a beautiful day up there! And he even managed to get a few hours of hunting in!

Apples Apples Everywhere

I should have taken a pic of all the apples! We had 215 caramel apples for a fundraiser at our house. And we needed to sort them into the individual orders (between 10 and 40 in an order). It was crazy! Then all the people had to come and get their orders. And then.....we had to go deliver all our orders.

Wheew am I glad that is over. But it was worth it. It raised about $400 for Gracie's soccer team.

Check out the apples: http://www.debritochocolate.com/apples.php

And let me know if you want one next time we do a fundraiser. They are $10 each and WELL worth the money.

Science

Gracie came home from school one day this week wanting to do an experiment. She is hanging lima beans in the window in three different bags:

1. Wet paper towel
2. Soil
3. Soil and water

She has made a guess as to which one will sprout first. She thinks the one in soil and water will sprout in 36 days and the one in the wet paper towel will sprout in 41days. She is not sure the plain soil one will sprout at all.

Should be interesting.

Stay tuned.

Fall Cleaning

Lately I have been irritated because our life seems to be a mess. We are not as organized as normal and I feel a little out of control. So this weekend, I have been cleaning and organizing....and throwing out a bunch of CRAP! Here are pics of the pantry, the cabinets under the stairs and my CLEAN fridge! I took EVERYTHING out of the fridge and cleaned it all. It is so much better. Then I went and bought $300 worth of groceries and filled up the pantry and the fridge. I feel much better about things.

And....I found the moths! They were in a new bag of brown rice.

Only in the Silcon Valley.....

Yesterday I saw a homeless guy with a blue tooth hands free cellphone device! He was hanging out with a bunch of other homeless folks with all their stuff in shopping carts and there he was with a blue tooth in his ear!

I totally did a triple take!

How to....

How do you get your hunterman, rugged husband to love your little dog?

You dress your doggie in camo!

Here is Ahi in her new winter coat. Don't laugh, its all about utility - she needs it in the snow!

A day off...

I am taking Friday off because I am just beat and overwhelmed. I have to do a bunch or work for the girls soccer team on that day and then I thought I might spend some time just on ME! Maybe a pedicure, maybe a massage..... But then last nite, I opened my pantry and a bunch of moths flew out at me!

I guess I am spending my day off cleaning the pantry and ridding it of pests!

New Haircut

This is one of Drew's best buddies and my "adopted nephew", Jeremy. He gets his hair cut by Stylist Extrainaiire, Kim, the same gal who does our whole family's hair (and a lot of our friends). This morning, Kim sent me this pic of Jeremy's new haircut on my phone! It is the same hair cut that Drew used to have....before he got the "teen idol" floppy hair style.

Jeremey looks totally handsome....and older!

Mom update

My mom and dad are trying to get home today. Right now they are stuck in the DFW airport because their plane had a mechanical problem.

She is in a lot of pain and totally doped up on vicodin. She sees her shoulder doc tomorrow to get an assessment of how bad it really is.

The good news....it has not effected her appetite...she is eating Mexican food, while waiting for their airplane!

yum!

We had a great dinner last nite - I wish I had taken a pic.

We had open faced grilled cheese on herbed cibatta bread with sauteed mushrooms over the top. I used one slice of havarti and one slice of munster on each sandwich!

Sandwiches were served with tomato and roasted pepper soup!

YUM!

Tonite is tacos and it will be a disappointment compared to yesterday.

Tomorrow is tortilla soup which could be another big winner!

She is down again....

If you are a loyal reader of my blog, you will remember the picture of my mom around xmas time with her really bruised shoulder. That bruise was caused by a fall and eventually led to surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. She is still going to rehab trying to recover.

I just got a call from my mom who is vacationing in Branson, MO and she has taken another spill and this time she has broken that same shoulder! She was just leaving the hospital and will be coming home to see her shoulder doc - who happens to be the same one that I saw.

My poor mom!

EDH

Spent part of the weekend in El Dorado Hills at my brother's new house. He and his family moved up there in June and I am embarrassed to say that this was our first trip up there to visit. And the sad thing is, we couldn't all make it because Drew had a soccer tournament. So Gracie and I went alone.

We had a fun time watching my nephews play soccer, picking apples and hanging out.

EDH is beautiful and the weather was perfect fall weather.

Made it home by Sunday afternoon to see Drew's last game for the weekend (they won after losing the first two games).

Now its back to work!