Soccer Score

Drew's team lost one to four today. But I got these great pics.

It poured rain during the second half of the game. I had to watch the game from my truck because I was fearful for the safety of my umbrella!

Pie

Check out the apple blueberry pie I made this morning! Can't wait to eat it!

RFB&D

Gracie uses a specilized CD player purchased thru RFB&D that has books on CD. RFB&D stands for Reading for the Blind and Dyslexics and you can literally get thousands and thousands of books on CD's for free. Gracie had the CD player at school while doing research for a report on Thomas Edison. Listening to the CD vs only reading books can give her a greater degree of knowledge while decreasing the frustration of only being able to read books at a certain level.

The player created all kinds of interest in the classroom because it was unusual and cool! One of the kids, who has been in her class for 6 months, questioned her about it. The conversation went like this:

Boy: What is that?
Gracie: My RFB&D player?
Boy: What's RFB&D?
Gracie: Reading for the Blind and Dyslexic
Boy: Oh wow, are you blind?

I almost spit out my dinner when she told me this story last nite!

Poor Neuman

This is my friend, Angie's 6 month old black lab, Neuman. Not only did he suffer the injustice of getting neutered but now he has to wear a cone that is held together by duct tape!

Hiking in the Rain

This weekend we went hiking with my brothers family in the rain. It was great fun! We found a couple newts, got soaking wet and had a picnic from the back of the van.

Remember the bike crash...

Here is a pic of the outcome.

Bike Weekend

This was the weekend that I got the bike from work that has a camera, gps and satellite hooked to it. The bike takes pics every 60 seconds and then uploads them to a photo sharing site.

Because we are morons we had trouble with the technology of the "on and off" switch, so we did not get as many pics as we should have (read: we couldn't figure out which way was "on" and which way was "off"!). But these are some of the good pics. I went up on the hill with Drew and his buddies and road behind them. It was a nice afternoon and you could see way across the valley.

Raining and raining....

I am so tired of wiping 8 dog feet and 2 dog bellies after the dogs go out in our mud bog of a backyard or when we go for a walk! I need to hire a dog paw wiper because its a full time job.

Just when I am ready to give them away, I walk out of my office and see this pic.

Soccer Score

Drew's team won their second game - 3 to 1. He played goalie the whole game and did a great job -- except for when he watched the one score the other team got --- roll into the goal and did nothing! He had misjudged where he was standing and thought it was rolling towards the outside of the goal. Oh well.....live and learn!

Soccer Update

Drew palyed his first game of soccer on the school team yesterday. He did a great job as the goalie and played the whole game. But unfortunately they lost 4 to zero. It was a tough game as his team only had 3 shots on goal the whole game and Drew got peppered the whole time. The other team was fast, big and good. Although Drew's team looked good too.

It was great fun to watch and a good experience for Drew. Drew made a great diving save and one great big leap up save. A man even came up to us after the game to tell us what a great goal keeper he was.

Of course, Drew dissects the whole game play by play and thinks he did not play well. The good part of that is that he knows what he wants to change next time.

I just hope they win a game or this will be a long season.

Crazy Place to Work

I have mentioned the crazy email aliases at work before. This is latest item offered via email:

Hi,

I bought 10 small crickets and 50 wax worms yesterday, but don’t need them anymore. If anyone has any reptiles or amphibians they’d like to feed with these tasty snacks, you can have them for free. Let me know.

-Aurora

They were claimed in seconds!

Last week

I am not sure where last week or the weekend went. It is all a big blur. But here are some highlights:

* Drew did a tremendous crash on his bike and got road rash all over his elbow. I saw the whole think happen and as it was happening I was thinking to myself....that is really dumb! And it was! He was using a ramp set on top of the curb to ride down the grass and jump into the street. DUH?!?! I thought for sure it was a broken arm or collar bone. But NO! As Jim would say, "that boy is built like a brick shit house!"

* Gracie's hockey team won again! Gracie was awesome even though she took a puck and a stick to the knee causing a big bruise.

* We all went walking yesterday in the rain. Went up on the levee and got all muddy! Dogs needed a bath when we got home, but it was all great fun!

* My company has a bike that has a camera and satellite hooked up to it so that the camera takes a picture every minute and then uploads it to a photo sharing site! Next weekend, I am going to bring the bike home to play with! We are thinking up some good places to take it. Any suggestions?

* I am reading this ridiculous book called Ice Hunt. It was really good at first. Lots of action. It is set in the arctic circle in an underground ice mountain. It was a Russian sub and research station that the US found. And there was great mystery surrounding the work that was done there. The Russians did not want the Americans there so they started attacking. All that was fine.....but then they introduced monsters into the story line!!! They are part whale, part shark, land dwelling monsters that come alive when they thawed from the ice. What??? Are you serious!? The monsters chase after and eat people. The problem is, I want to see what happens in the end, so I keep reading!

Boots!

I have not posted a pair of shoes on my blog in a long time. The reason is: I have been a cheapskate lately and have not gotten cute shoes in a long time.

So...here is a cute pair of cowboy boots! But, the funny thing is they are not mine! A gal in our corporate communications group showed up to a meeting today wearing them and I thought they were so cute....and inspirational....that I took a pic of them!

I really need a pair of red cowboy boots! And I didn't even know it until today.

Snow Play Day

I took the day off yesterday and we stayed at the cabin for an extra day over the long weekend. Yesterday, we spent 6 hours just playing in the snow. And it pretty much snowed the whole time.

We snow shooed thru feet of powder. When you took a step, you sunk up to your knees -even with snow shoes on! Ahi had a hard time, even when following in our trail. So we had to stuff her in our coats part of the time. Daisy loved it!

The kids built a cool snow fort that they then used in our snowball fight as their base. Jim and I built a crummy little base using a snow wall and a sled. It was Jim, me and Daisy against Drew and Gracie. (Ahi was in the truck trying to get warm -see pic) It was a riot to watch Daisy mosey over and mow thru the walls of their fort, like she knew what she was doing. Then she would walk back to us and hide behind our fort! Needless to say, we lost when Gracie came running over and heaved her body thru the wall of our base! And then I ended up in a snow bank when Drew hip checked me!

We also met up with a man out walking his 2 chocolate labs. The dogs played together chasing a frisbee in the snow for about an hour! That was what finally did in the Chiweenie!

Snow Structure - 2 days later

We went back to check out our snow structure two days later and it faired pretty well. It had snowed about 6 inches so you couldn't see where we had walked all around it and stomped down the snow. There was a little melting occuring in the roof that gave it some sun/moon roofs!

Snow Structure

We went to the snow today and built a snow structure. It was snowing mildly when we got there and then started dumping as we were leaving. The inside of the structure was surprisingly warm.

We also saw a cow when we were out there!

Tree Down!

We were out looking for downed trees today on the way to the snow. We found this one over by Jim's folks cabin on the lot they own next door. The whole tree went over.

Snow!

There is 10 inches of snow at the cabin!

Mud Puddle?

Last nite I met Jim and the kids for dinner before hockey. I went straight from work and then Drew and I headed home while Jim and Gracie went to hockey practice. Because the dogs had been inside all day and it looked like we had a clearing from the rain, Jim left them both out back.

But while heading to dinner it started raining. And it poured for the next 2 hours while we ate and drove home.

When Drew and I were on the way home we were joking about how Ahi must be freaking out in the rain and be all curled up on the pillow next to Daisy under the over hang.

We came in the house and snuck to the back slider to see where they were. Imagine our surprise when they were NOT at the back door and did not come with we called them! IT WAS POURING RAIN!!! Where were they???

Just then, Drew heard a little yip from the side of the house where Betty's hen house is. We ran out there to discover them locked in the side yard with no cover from the rain.

The were soaked to the bone and COVERED with mud! We did not know how bad it was until we got them into the laundry room and it looked like there was a mud massacre!

Ahi went straight into the sink for a bath. Daisy went into the bathtub for a bath!

25 Random Things

1. I had guinea pigs named Laverne and Shirley when I was in elementary school.

2. The show Scrubs makes me laugh out loud. Sasha the scooter, The Todd, Rowdy the stuffed dog....all brilliant!

3. I owe Tina and Marty more than I can ever repay them for helping raise my kids.

4. I am blessed that I married a handsome, kind hearted, honest man. And that he is the father of my children.

5. I only drink alcohol about once a year. I prefer to eat my calories.

6. I count my mom as one of my best friends.

7. I think girls are more powerful than boys.

8. Pineapple upside down cake rocks!

9. I think I am a dog whisperer.

10. I count Daisy Mae as one of my best friends.

11. Cherry Lake is the best place on earth.

12. I have never gotten a moving violation ticket. (Knock wood)

13. I am proud of Drew for being such a kind kid and not realizing that there are different color people in this world.

14. I am proud of Gracie because she is the most tenacious person I know.

15. Who knew a Chiweenie could bring such happiness.

16. Most of the time, I love to work.

17. Most of the time, I love to work out.

18. I wake up everyday at 5:30 am or earlier.

19. I have owned four cars in my life: an 85 mustang, a 93 Honda Accord, a 99 Chevy Tahoe and a 2007 Chevy Tahoe.

20. Keith Urban is my back up husband.

21. My motto is "you always need a back up plan" - see number 20

22. I have been a vegetarian for almost 30 years!

23. I have been a runner for almost 25 years!

24. I went to college to be an elementary school teacher....what was I thinking!?

25. I believe in karma and bad mojo.

Drew made the team!

Drew made the junior high school soccer team! He will be playing goalie. Come out and see a game if you can. It should be great fun. Especially the first one when he plays against his friend Nick! Nick plays goalie for the comp team that Drew is on....so they will be playing goalie against each other!

It's that time of week!

Have I ever told you I LOVE "Bagel Wednesdays"! Today I am having a sesame bagel with sun dried tomato schmear! And I am not feeling a bit of guilt because I rode 20 miles this morning!

New Blog?

I am working on a new blog and will be giving you all the link as soon as I feel like its got some good content. So stay tuned.

New Teeth!

Gracie got her braces off today! And in celebration, she has her cheeks stuffed with candy!

My...that's a big pillow you have...

I walked out of my office this morning and found Ahi in the front window with just her head on the pillow.

Crazy dog!

Friends

We are known in the neighborhood as the house where there are always dogs in the window. Here they are this morning on the same pillow!

Daisy is a saint!

My Big Bro

My brother is a really smart guy but in this situation, I have to question his intellect.

He wants to take all 5 kids to the cabin - his three and my two. I told him that it was way to many kids and that he was crazy! To which he replied he is not crazy because:

It's the theory of extra children, which states: "the more kids you have to watch, the more likely they will be able to entertain themselves with each other's company."

I am not sure I believe this theory of his! But he is still SUPER smart!

Weird Dreams

Over the weekend I had two very odd dreams:

1. The first was very vivid. I dreamed I had 6 foster children, plus Gracie and Drew and had just gotten Ahi. All the foster kids were the same age as Gracie and had to go on a 3 day field trip that day and we had not filled out all the paperwork or packed them up. Plus I was sick and Jim had some type of medical problem that required medical tests. It was totally overwhelming and I kept asking myself - "how did I get involved in all this?" In retrospect, maybe it was some type of message to slow down....or just be thankful I don't have 8 children!

2. Last nite I dreamed that Ahi got closed up in the back seat chair in my truck. It automatically closes up when you push a button and I dreamed she pushed the button and got closed in it with her little chiweenie head sticking out! In my dream she was fine. In reality, she would have had some broken bones and internal injuries. I have no idea what this dream meant.

Go Girlies!

Just looked and Gracie's hockey team is in first place by TWO points!!!! Such a boost for the girls and devastating to all the boys!

SHUT OUT!

Gracie had a shut out this weekend - score was 5 to zero. A boy on the other team came to play even though he was sick because, as his dad said, "he knew they were playing the girls team and his team needed him!" When those boys play the girls team, they need Joe Thorton and Cheechoo to help out!

Gracie has come such a long way. She is using her blocker and is so confident. It is great to see.

Sporty Day

Today Gracie and I did a girls day where we went out with all Gracie's sporty girlfriends to lunch and ice skating. It was great fun.

The guys did not want to be left out so they went on their own sporty day....they went pig hunting! They didn't get any but they went to look around. And the scary thing is - they went about 1 mile from our house. We saw the pigs on the hill while walking this morning. I swear that one was as big as a Cadillac Escalade! Next time they will take their bow and arrow and hope for a squeeler. ICK!

Was I alone on that walk?

On the days that I work from home, I take the dogs for a walk at lunchtime. I took them for a 3 mile walk this morning, so I was not going to take them at lunch.

It appears they have short attention spans because they had no recollection at lunchtime that they had already walked today. Daisy got up and started milling about at about 11:50. Then at noon, Ahi came in and stood on her hind legs, scratching me with her front legs and showing me all her teeth!

How do you say no to that. So I leashed them up and we went for a 20 minute walk. Now everyone is happy and in their places - Daisy in Gracie's window and Ahi in the front window....barking at the mailman!

Soccer tryouts

Drew is trying out for his schools soccer team. Yesterday was the first tryout. He goes again today, Monday and Tuesday. The begin cutting players on Monday. There are at least 60 kids trying out and they only need a max of 20.

Drew's strategy is good - he is trying out for goalie. He said there is no one with goalie experience, so he thought he would try out for that position. He has played goalie on a comp team so he has the most experience (that we know of).

The only thing is he has spent the last year playing mid field and back up goalie - so he may be a little rusty.

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed. There looked to be a bunch of good players out there.

Also, when he had his sports physical he weighed in at 140 and was 5 feet 6 1/2 inches tall. And the doc said he has not yet started his growth spurt where boys grow 4 inches in a year! My thought was that he grows 4 inches in a regular year - what is the growth spurt year going to be like! And he thinks his size 11 feet will get bigger! I need a part time job in order to afford to feed him.

My new office

I have been having internet connection issues this week. On tuesday, I could only get a connection if I hooked directly into the modem, which is housed in the hallway closet. Unfortunately for me, the cord was VERY short. So I had to work in the hallway.

After 10 minuntes on the floor, I decided that I needed a better work station. So I went up and got Gracie's little table from her room. It is hard to get the full feeling, but it is a kids chair and table, painted white and lavender.

The bonus - I was right next to the bathroom so it shortened the time spent on bathroom breaks!! (see in the pic - to the right - yep - that's the toilet!).

The dogs were wondering what the heck was going on. Daisy was nervous that I was doing something out of character, so she stood next to me for 30 minutes panting right in my face! We were face to face when I was sitting in the mini chair!

Luckily we have the problem fixed and I am in an adult chair today! And my back and neck feel much better!

Yoga Man

My boss took his first yoga class last nite. So this morning I sent him the picture above asking if this is what he looked like.

And he responded "no" - he looked more like the picture below.


I cracked up!

Cool Kid

Here is a reason why I think Gracie is a really cool kid:

She is doing a report in school and decided to do it on Thomas Edison because: "He invented the lightbulb and changed our world!".

Other girls in her class are doing reports on kittens and dolphins but Gracie is thinking much deeper and wants to learn about a great inventor.

Peace

We all live in peace at our house. This is a pic of Daisy Mae, Ahi and Betty all together in the front yard. Each doing what they do best.

Daisy Mae is standing guard.

Ahi is sunning herself.

Betty is eating bugs.

They are all happy to hang out together.

Super Bowl Sunday

Here is Ahi wearing her 3-D glasses while watching the Super Bowl. She was waiting for the new Monster vs Aliens 3D commercial!

She was s bit tired because she went to the beach and had a doggie play date with a basset houng this weekend.

Daisy Mae spent the game staring at all the appetizers on the table....and drooling BIG LONG drools!

Girl Power!

Gracie's all girls hockey team is in first place! They are beating all the other teams which are made up of boys only. As Jim says...."stupid boys"!

Hillbilly Weather

My favorite Aunt and Uncle Hillbillies live in Kentucky. We sent a "may day" out to them this morning because they have been having terrible weather and we needed to know if we needed to send in some support (ie Jim flying in for fun and adventure!).

They are doing ok but have great stories to tell. Including ice covering all the trees, losing there power for days at a time, cooking over their wood stove, etc.

This is a cool pic that my Uncle Dave sent.

Book Review

I told you a little while back that I was going to read "The Middle Place" by Kelly Corrigan. It is about a gal in her mid 30's who has breast cancer at the same time her dad is fighting his third bout of cancer.

It talks about being in the middle between your parents and your kids. And how you swing back and forth between being a parent and being child.

Great development of characters (who are all real people) and candid discussion of feelings and how crazy those feelings and reactions can be.

It is a quick read and well worth the time investment. The relationship between her and her dad is especially inspiring.

Fungus Lips Chiweenie Butt

My little niece is a pistol. And we got a taste of this weekend when she stayed with us overnite. It started last week, when my sis in law said she was ready to give her to the gypsies because she was in Starbucks saying "Dr M, Fungus Lips" at the top of her lungs. At first it was funny but then they had to leave when she didn't stop. The saying is a long story but it involved a trip to the doctor for really chapped lips!

At our house yesterday we had a similar experience. I called Ahi, "Chiweenie butt", which is a term of endearment at our house. Amelia heard me, so she started saying "Chiweenie butt" in a VERY loud sing song voice while dancing around the front yard!

The whole gang

The real cousins (Jack, Mimi, Sam) and the pretend cousins (Maddie, Kayla) were over last nite and they did a fair amount of gathering around the computer to watch Youtube. I thought this pic was funny....the kids ranged in age from 2 (Mimi) to 42 (Marty).

Robbery!

All the kids were over last nite and they were playing "robbery" ( I think there are too many real life crime shows on tv)! A bunch of the kids went up stairs and put on disguises (see pic of Gracie and Mimi) and two of the kids were downstairs in the family room with the cash register. The bad guys came downstairs and robbed the people with the cash register. The best part was when Mimi was holding onto the cash register and trying to pull it away from the bad guys.

In the pic Mimi seems to be playing the role.....she looks like a bad guy with her "just try to get me" experession! Gracie looks like a sweet little girl!

Aruba

My Grandma went to Aruba and all she got me was this t-shirt! It makes me look buffed.

Don't tell anyone but she did not get Daisy Mae ANYTHING! OHHHH! I am the favorite!

Dead dogs?

Were the dogs poisoned and died on the bed?

Nope - this is what happens when they play all day in the snow.

We were out in the kitchen cooking and eating and they both quietly slinked off. When we went to see where they went, this is what we found.

Chiweenie Love

How could you not love that face! The Chiweenie is turning out to be a pretty good dog. The only thing is I need is to get an electric collar for recall. She seems to like to chase runners, walkers, other dogs, etc.

The Girls

A couple years ago we took a pic of me, Gracie and Daisy in the snow and it is one of my favorite pics. This weekend we did an updated pic with my newest girlie - Ahi. Me and all my girls!

Kingof Dorkland

The Loyal Subjects

The King digging for a mine while the Loyal Subjects watch.

Once upon a time there was a King. His name was Doug and he was the King of Dorkland. And he had four loyal subjects:

* Princess Gracie
* Prince Tyler
* Prince Drew
* Prince Jeremy

The King was always getting himself and his loyal subjects into trouble. One day while wandering in the forest, they searched for dead bodies or gold in old mines. They really wanted to find gold but had been watching too much NCIS on tv so they were thinking of dead bodies.

Lucky for them, they did not find any dead bodies. But sadly....they did not find any gold either.

Not to worry, the King of Dorkland is probably sitting in his throne right now thinking up more adventures.

Sledding!

The day we went to play in the snow was unbelievable - it was about 65 degrees. I was in a sweatshirt and jeans. You can see that we found a big patch of snow but all around us was bare.

Jim and Doug got on sleds and locked legs like they did as kids on skateboards.

Snow shelter

While playing in the snow, the boys and Gracie built a snow shelter. They made snow blocks for the walls and sticks covered with snow for a roof. We are going to wait for a big snow storm (if it ever comes) and then go back to find it. It would be super cool if it snowed 5 feet and we needed to dig to it!