Offended

We were talking at work the other day about what people are offended by.  In my role, I often get people complaining that a coworker said something that they were offended by it.  More often then not, I don't see the issue.  That got me thinking, what would offend me?

You could call my dog dumb....but that would be true....so its not offensive.

You could call my children giants.....but that would be true....so its not offensive.

You could say I don't dress well...but that would be true....I have been known to have many fashion disasters....so its not offensive.

I netted out that I am pretty hard to offend.

TNDC - Free Dirt Bike Nite

Drew and his buddies showed up to TNDC with this beauty!  It is a free dirt bike from Kody's uncle.  It has not been ridden in awhile so it needed some work.  These guys were like ants at a picnic scurrying all over the place!  It was total glee and excitement!  They got it running pretty quick and rode it a few times up and down the street.

Generational Fishing

Jim, Drew, Gary, Karen and Rudy

Last weekend Jim, Drew and I went fishing on a remote creek with his 2nd cousins, Gary and Karen and Karen's husband Rudy.

Karen and Gary's father worked in the blister rust camps in the 40's and 50's in the Sierra Nevada mountains and the kids spent the summers in the camps while their dad worked.

The picture to the left shows 3 generations that have fished this creek but the secrets have been handed down 4 generations - which included Jim's Grandpa Tom.

We learned so much about the area, family history and fishing.  It was one of those gifts in life that are a total surprise and so valuable!

Camp 43 meadow

A tree grown completely around a rock

Snow flower

Cherry Lake Memorial Day Weekend 2013

Jim, Drew, me, Tina, Marty and the dogs all went to Cherry for Memorial Day weekend.  The weather was a little cool but the fishing was OFF THE HOOK!  We caught over 100 fish over the weekend. 

Grace stayed home to hang out with friends.

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Would You Rather II

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7th Grade Track Awards

Here are all the awards that G received during track in the 7th grade.  The trophy is for overall best track athlete for the season.  Her, and her two best buddies (K and Ry) each got one.  Apparently there is usually only one given each year but because they are such a trio of beasts, they each got one!

Charlie

A friend of mine has a dog named Charlie who is having some unexplained health issues.  He has a lot of back end pain and is having trouble getting around.  She is incredibly committed to him and has tried everything to identify what is wrong with him and what might help him  One of the things they are doing is water therapy.  Here is a video of him loving his water therapy even if he doesn't feel so good!

Ya gotta love those labs and their love of swimming!

And hugs to Shelly, Charlie's mamma, who is so good to him!

Fire!

Got a bunch of texts from Drew in the middle of the day about a fire behind the kid's school.  I quickly turned on the fire department scanner and sent him update on the fire.  Last I heard, no homes were involved.

Staying Alive

Jim, Drew and Grace took a CPR class for medical professionals last nite. 

Drew is interested in being a firefighter and this type of class starts getting him ready for some of the life saving requirements.  And Jim wanted to take it because its been about 20 years since he was certified in CPR and a lot has changed.  And like any event in our family, if something is going down, we all want to be involved, so Grace took it too!

There is a written at the end and Grace got the highest score -- 100% and finished right after the guy who has been working as an EMT for 15 years!  Grace and I did a whole lot of girl power knuckle bumping when the boys weren't looking!  So proud of that girl power.

And so proud that they all took it and are ready to save your life you need them!

DNA Results

And the results are in....

Ahi Wasabi is....

Part Minature Shorthaired Dashund Mix (the mix part could be:  Shiba Inu, Leonberger, Norwegian Lundehund, Norfolk Terrier or Entelbucher Mountain Dog)

AND

Part Miniature Poodle!!!!

She is pretty strongly miniature poodle, which I never would have thought.  They say half of her is that and the other half is 1/4 wiener and 1/4 mixed.  The mixed part is mixed into three generations so it is hard to determine what it is exactly.  

I have always suspected she had some terrier in her, but I never would have suspected Norfolk Terrier.

Now that I look at her, that could be a poodle snout and legs.  But the attitude is all wiener!   And what happened to the chihuahua part of her???

Dinner on the PM

On Saturday nite, we got some dinner at Cochina Michocana and took it out on the boat.  We went out to the middle of the lake, turned off the boat and drifted.  There was a wine tour fundraiser going on and we watched boat loads of people scurrying from house to house having wine and appetizers.  Life is good.

If I were an old man....

If I were an old man, this is how I picture myself spending my golden years!  These guys were fishing right by us when we discovered the vandalism on the boat.  When I looked up and saw them sitting there, it totally tempered by anger.  There is no reason to let anger get the best of you.  Two old men sitting on a dock fishing is what life is about.  Take the happiness from that and leave the dumb ass hoodlum anger in the past - karma will get the dumb ass hoodlum in the end!

Hoodlum

This weekend we went to the cabin for a short visit so we could go sit on the boat in the sun.  Imagine our horror when we discovered that someone had been on the boat and a dumb ass vandal put his initials on the seat!  Luckily we were able to use magic erase and remove the initials.

There were chip crumbs, Cheetos and the items below scattered around the boat.  The marina has cameras and I need to call the Security Manager to see if they have any clues....but I am not holding my breath.  I do expect that the news of this vandalism will spread like wildfire thru the community because people are really interested in this boat.  So I hope that means that people will be keeping an eye on it.

Trapped

This is the door on the inside of the garage at the cabin.  Something must have gotten trapped in there without us knowing about it and spent some time trying to get out.  We don't know when it happened and we assume the critter got out eventually as there is no dead body laying around.  My guess is it was a raccoon.

Tag - you're it!

Ahi and Murray like to wrestle and chase each other.  Up at the cabin this weekend, I took them out for a morning romp and they spent 10 minutes doing this until I put a stop to it because I was worried someone might get hurt!

Sporty Girls

This is a great pic of Grace and her friends (and little Zack on the left) watching the Track Finals.  These are 4 strong, sporty, really nice girls.  When Grace was born and I thought of what she might be like when she grew up, this is not what I had in mind --- this is even better!

Sunscreen addiction

I think we are ready for the summer!  This is all the sunscreen that I found at the cabin - and it does not include the sunscreen that is in the boat!  This must be $150 in sunscreen!  I think we might need an intervention.  I must have been a dermatologist in a previous life.

Rock Star

This is Mimi dressed up for a rocker birthday party.  She looks pretty authentic!

Sectional Track Finals

Grace qualified for 4 events in the sectional track finals and here are the results:

High Jump:  11th
Hurdles:  3rd
4x100:  2nd
Triple Jump:  11th

She said she was having an off day and was not pleased with her performance.  But I think its a great honor to even make it to the event!  Getting a 2nd and 3rd placement is awesome!

Childhood Obesity

Jim's cousin is a doctor at Duke University and started a children's obesity clinic there.  Her and a colleague just secured 2nd place in a competition sponsored by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine for this program. The video describing the program and the kids she works with is so moving:

http://ajpmchallenge.calit2.net/submissions/entry/id/188

I am glad there are good people in the world, like Sarah, who care so much and make huge differences in the lives of these children and their whole families.

Congratulations!  

New Shoes

Check out my new purple Keens!  Love them!

Happy Mother's Day

My niece made me this card for mothers day and I LOVE it.  She drew all our dogs with Ahi jumping in the air!

Too Bizarre for a Title!

Drew ordered some new t-shirts online and they came in the mail today.  In the box was a girls shirt that he did not order nor did we pay for.  Look at this beauty...and I mean the shirt....not Kody - the model!  What is more hideous?  The shirt or Kody's modeling of it?

Hawk!

A hawk has taken up in the building next to ours at work.  We have been watching it build a nest, hunt and chase crows for months.  Now it has some babies!

The company where it lives has posted pics on its website!  Apparently they have a live webcam for their employees but not for us neighbors across the street.  We are asking them to open it up to us too.

Quinoa

I made quinoa for the first time last nite.  It was really yummy!   Here is what I did:

Cooked quinoa, as directed on the package, in vegetable broth.

While it cooked, I sauteed chopped onions and garlic until caramelized, then I added it to the quinoa while it finished cooking.

When the quinoa was done, I mixed in roasted pine nuts

YUM!

6 days and counting

6 more days until we get the results of Ahi's DNA test!  Can't wait!

Mother's Day - 2013

Jim's folks came over for dinner last nite for mother's day.  We had a really nice time.

Dinner was amazing:

• Salmon with Dijon dill sauce
• Roasted broccoli and cauliflower with feta
• Cole slaw
• Quinoa with pine nuts
• Strawberry shortcake

Then we sat around and talked about when Grandma Anna was a little girl in Hawthorne Nevada and when she moved to Los Gatos while in High School.  Both Jim and I were surprised to learn that Anna's mother had owned 8 acres in Monte Sereno/Saratoga.  We looked up the house that Anna used to live in in Los Gatos on Google earth.  We were able to see a giant redwood tree in the front yard that her and her mother transplanted as a tiny sapling when she was in high school.

Anna's mother was a business woman who started selling fine women's clothing door to door in Nevada as a single mother to Anna.  She eventually opened a dress shop in Hawthorne and was very successful before moving to Los Gatos.

It was a really enjoyable evening.

Coming to you from TNDC headquarters

I have been wanting to post a picture of this plate that Marty made for TNDC headquarters.  He made it a couple of months ago at Petroglyph and we happily server snacks on it every Thursday!

Pres Prom - May 2013

Drew and his friend Kayla went to her Senior Prom today.  They have been friends since Drew was 4 months old and Kayla was 1 year old.

We took pics at the Rose Garden and then they headed to get a snack and then go to a pre-party.

And the barge drama continues

My folks boat had a little electrical fire.  They used two fire extinguishers to put it out.  Some guy needs to come fix it.

Track Finals....coming up

Grace qualified for the Track Finals in all 4 events she is in:  65 Hurdles, Triple Jump, High Jump and the 4x4!  That is what you call general beastliness!

Meet is this Thursday.  Stay tuned for results.

Pedicure

Ahi got a pedicure yesterday.  And it was not the same enjoyable experience that I have when I get a pedicure.

This is how it went down....

Murray was getting a bath and haircut from a mobile groomer.  And since the groomer was there, I asked if Tina would see if the guy would cut Ahi's nails.  We have never had them professionally done before.  I have occasionally cut them with a nail clipper but its a big wresltling match and not very effective.

So the guy said "yes" he would do them....sucker!

So Tina came over to our house and picked up both dogs.  They were so excited thinking they were going over for a play date.

Then...the groomer took Ahi into his trailer.  By the time Tina got to her front door, she could hear Ahi screeching!

After a little while the groomer brought Ahi back to Tina and said "you are right, she is a bit of a monster!  She peed and pooped all over herself"!

When Grace and I showed up a little while later, Ahi was so excited.  I think she was happy she was still alive because she thought that groomer was trying to kill her!

Line up

Being a big fan of chickens, I thought this was HILARIOUS!

Snuggly

Sometimes Ahi acts like we are trying to kill her when we want her to go outside.  I don't get it....she loves it!  I am working in the back yard today (trying to get warm in the sun) and she is happy as a clam on her pillow!  One ear at a time acts as a satellite dish moving to catch the sounds.

Daisy and Murray are inside acting like privileged dogs!

All better

My mini is all fixed up.  The part cost $137 and is a known issue.  It took Jim about 5 minutes to fix it and they were going to charge $275 in labor costs to fix it for us!  He is AMAZING....and worth his weight in gold!

Sabbatical

I hate to even report this for fear that it will fall apart, but I am scheduled to take an 8 week sabbatical from July1 to Aug 23! 

We are planning to hang around the cabin and make use of our new boat and do some road trips.  We have some early ideas including:

Mammoth Mountain 
Devil's Postpile
Beardsley Lake

Stay tuned!

Broken Mini

A few weeks ago, Drew was driving the mini down the freeway when he heard a loud sound and saw this piece of the mini fly off!  The only thing we can think is a rock hit it because it was securely attached!  Now Jim is hunting around for a replacement.  I swear....if its not one thing, its another!

France

My folks are in France on a month long adventure piloting their own boat along the canals in southern France.  Here are some pics from a blog that their friend is keeping.

My mom said she will either come back dead or skinny -- because its hard work!  We are hoping for skinny!