Potato Pancake

We had potato pancakes for breakfast today!

YUM!

Duck Update

Still only two eggs. 

Mama duck does not sit on them, nor does she spend much time even hanging out in our yard.  I have pretty much given up any hope of baby ducks.

Now I just need to decide when I toss the eggs.

Bunny on the move

Paula the bunny came to work with me this morning.  A friend of mine from work is going to keep her for the long weekend so we are doing the hand off today.  My friend has a 5 year old who is fired up to have the bunny over for a visit!

Bieb's is on the move...

Another one of Gracie's team mates had a birthday so Justin Bieber was on the move again.  This time the girls snuck up on the birthday girl while she was out front playing soccer and brought her mint chip ice cream!

Solar Eclipse

Tonite we were trying to figure out how to watch the solar eclipse when we read that you could use welding masks.




So Jim goes on the side of the house and gets 4 of them!

It was super cool to see!

Wingman

I got this in the mail today.  It is a "glassy baby".  You put a candle in it and it is beautiful when lit up.  They come in all different colors and each has a special name and meaning.  This is from my co-worker who was just laid off.

This is the note that came with it:

Christine,

Let the name of this glassy baby speak for itself.

You are the best friend a gal could ask for.

Love, 

Angie

The name of the glassy baby:  "Wingman"!

WOW!  I teared up for sure!  And Gracie responded, "ohhhhh that's perfect!"   A dear friend is a very special thing and I am happy to be her wingman!  And her, mine.....

Mother's Day 2012

We had our annual Mother's Day tea on Mother's Day this year.

It was Mimi's first time to tea.  She was all decked out for the event!

47!

Happy Birthday Uncle Brian!

Don't tell Mimi

My niece is turning 6 in June and she told me she wants shoes for her birthday.  So I got her these sparkly shoes and this cute dress.  You can't tell in the picture but the dress has gold threads running thru it to match the gold sparkly shoes!

She will be so happy!

Duck update

Still only 2 eggs.  I was sure we would have another one over the weekend.  Mom and Dad duck still come and go and move the eggs around the lawn.  Still no sitting on the eggs.

Stand by for more info....

Half in -- Half out

Sometimes Ahi gets REALLY tired!  And a little warm.....

So she hangs herself half in and half out of her bed and takes a long nap!

TNDC Does Hawaii

 TNDC Hawaii edition was hilarious!  Everyone brought out their best Hawaiian food, drink and attire.

We watched the Brady Bunch Hawaii Trip episodes and laughed at the 1970's styles and cinematography!

1 + 1

Mama duck laid another egg today.  I just don't know why she hasn't made a nest for them!  She pushed the first one all over the lawn, so it will be interesting to see what she does with the second one.

The research I did said that they will lay a clutch of eggs (8 to 15) before actually sitting on them.  BUT - they usually lay them in a nest that they built....not on someones front lawn!

TNDC - Hawaiian Edition

Tonite begins our month long celebration to prepare ourselves for our Hawaii trip.  


MENU:

• Hawaiian Pizza
• Kick ass chicken teriyaki
• Pineapple upside down cake
• Puupuu platter
• Hawaiian rice
• Fruit
• SURPRISE Hawaiian delicacy

ENTERTAINMENT:

• Brady Bunch goes to Hawaii - 3 episodes

DRINKS:

• Daiquiris, Kona beer, Wet Woodies - all with umbrellas

ATTIRE:

• Island casual

Dog Jail

Murray did not learn his lesson on Tuesday.  He chased the bunny again today and he got in BIG trouble this time.  Last time, I gave him the benefit of the doubt that he didn't know he shouldn't chase the bunny!  This time, he knew better and did it anyway.

I took him out to go to the bathroom and stood right next to him.  He was looking for the bunny and I told him to "leave it.".  THEN - all of a sudden - he takes off running.  Running like a wild animal!  He did two laps before he lost the bunny and stopped running.

He got a stern talking to and a smack on his giant snout!  And then he was so ashamed that he came in and laid on the stairs.  When I turned around to look at him, he looked like he had put himself in doggie jail!

Near Miss or The 3 Stooges in the Back Yard

Last nite, Tina and I were sitting at the counter in the kitchen while Drew decided to take Murray out to see the bunny.  I had already had Murray out in the yard with me and the bunny while I planted some flowers and although Murray was clearly interested, he left bunny alone.

Drew was out there for about 30 seconds when all of a sudden:

*  We hear screaming
*  We see bunny running by at 100 MPH and crashing into a chair
*  We see Murray chasing bunny at 50 MPH
*  We see Drew chasing Murray at 25 MPH with arms flailing!
*  We see bunny run back across the yard
*  We see Murray turn and chase bunny
*  We see Drew turn and chase Murray

By the time they made their next lap around the yard, I made it outside and stopped Murray and gave him a stern talking to!  By this time EVERYONE was panting or sweating.

I wish we had it on video - it was HILARIOUS!

Quack!

Grace came home from school today and found this on the front lawn.  We are pretty sure it belongs to the duck couple who has been hanging out here!

Basket

Check out my new succulent basket.  It is hanging on my fence in the backyard.  I love it!

Tomato Time

Here are my tomato plants for this year. 

Last year I had a bumper crop in the front yard with two plants, so this year I doubled it. 

The little plant is from my brother.  He grew a whole bunch from seed and brought be some.  This is the only one of the three that survived. 

Will be interesting to see how it does compared to the others. 

I have 1 big red tomato, 1 red cherry tomato, 1 yellow cherry tomato and my brothers plant - which is a little bit of a mystery because his plants got all mixd up in the shuffle.  I think my brother's plant might be an Abe Lincoln - and if it is, it's a large heirloom tomato. 

YUM!

Inquiring Minds

Our friends in Cabo saw the post regarding the Chieko flower and reported that this is a very special plant to Catholics - it is called Pacion de Cristo in Spanish (Christ passion) and is suppose to be the color of the robe that Christ wore on his last day. 

They have been looking for this plant in Cabo and have not been able to find it.

You learn something everyday!

The other thing I learned today is that when you have ducks living in your front yard, your stupid labrador thinks its great fun to roll in duck poop!  Damn dog us banished to the backyard until I can wash her tonite!

Chang Family KICK ASS Teriyaki Chicken

From my Hawaiian friend, Allison:

For about 40 – 50 pieces of chicken (dark meat tastes better)

Mix this in a big pot (my mom uses a 2 gallon ziplock bag but I’m always afraid it’ll explode and my fridge will be a chicken soy sauce mess) and marinate the chicken pieces for at least 24 hours in the fridge.  My mom says 2 days is better. 

*2-3 cups soy sauce

2 cups water

1 cup of sake or beer (or you can do 2 cups of sake/beer and then only do 1 cup of water or omit the water altogether if you are soaking it for 2 days)

*3-4 cups sugar, brown sugar, honey – whatever you have (some brown sugar taste better, make sure it is packed when you measure it) – but when you taste the sauce it has to be sweet.  If it’s salty, the chicken will be like eating a salt lick.

*1 bunch of green onions rough chopped

*1 bunch of cilantro rough chopped

*About 1 cup of ginger julienned (about 7-8 inches of ginger julienned)

*7-8 cloves of garlic minced

Pepper to taste (about half a teaspoon – I use white pepper or black pepper)

4 tablespoons of sesame oil (optional)

2 tablespoons of sesame seeds (optional)

1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper (optional but it gives the chicken a nice kick)

*ingredients are absolutely necessary. 

Mix all the ingredients in a big pot until the sugar has dissolved.  Taste it.  Add extra stuff if it’s not sweet enough.  After you get the taste right, throw in the chicken.  When you grill it, grill it over medium to medium low heat.  Watch it because the sugar in the marinade will burn if you leave the skin on the chicken.  If you are doing drumsticks, score the thick part so that the marinade gets into the meat.

For vegetarians (ahem, Chris), you can take some of the marinade before you put in the chicken and marinate some FIRM tofu.  It has to be the firm tofu or else the tofu falls apart.  The tofu doesn’t need a 24 hour soak – probably half a day or a few hours is enough.  You can grill the tofu too.

Peace and Harmony....

The dogs are now able to be in the backyard with the bunny - living in peace and harmony.  Well....I guess we should ask the bunny about that.  The dogs are super interested in her and always want her to play with them!  That leads to the dogs nosing her and hitting her with their paws!  Daisy noses so hard, that she moves poor bunny around.  And Ahi is so persistent that the bunny bit her leg!  Jim saw it all go down and I heard Ahi squeal and come running out of the bushes.

So maybe peace and harmony are not the right words.

Action Shot

Check out this action sequence.  Player takes a penalty kick.  Drew is on the left side of the field starting to run into the play.

You can see him more clearly in this shot.   He is heading towards the ball.

Then....boom....heads the ball out of the way!  BEAST!

Monty

You will remember that about a month ago, little Vadar went to doggy heaven.

Shortly after his passing, the Walker's got a new dog, Monty.  He is a feisty little terrier, chihuahua mix.  And he almost followed Vadar to doggy heaven today.....he ate a bag of raisinets and had an emergency trip to the vet! After making him throw up, he was sent home with a diet of pedialite for the rest of the day.

Good thing Auntie Debbie was not working today  or she would not have noticed he had gotten into the raisinets until it was too late.  The vet said he would have been dead by tonite.

Remember....no chocolate or raisins for doggies.....

 Monty Walker

Chieko Flower

Our former cleaning lady, Chieko, who worked for us for 15 years, gave us this plant and every time it flowers, I think of her and miss her!  I have no idea what the plant is so I call it the Chieko flower.

New hood for Bunny

We spiffed up the bunny hutch so that Paula/Olive/Choch lives in a good bunny neighborhood!

Poetry Jam

Last nite at TNDC was the "Ode to Bug" Poetry Jam.  And as suspected, it was hilarious and so very silly!  And Mrs Screwtop was so inspired, she came up with another poem today....



Ode to TNDC.....

"Thanks for the laughs,
Thanks for the fun,
Thanks for the friendships when all is said and done.

Thanks for the yummy dinner and cheesecake and all the rest,
Thank you TNDC,
You guys are the best!"  
-Mrs.Screwtop

High Praise

Just got this from Gracie's teacher: 

Grace is..."Probably one of the best students in terms of perseverance, attitude and resilience that I have ever had."

That kid is AWESOME!

Duck Couple

We have a lovely duck couple living at our house.  They have been here for about 5 weeks.  They hang around the front yard and then go swim in our neighbors pool.  I love to watch them waddle around.  Between the ducks in the front yard and the rabbit in the back yard, Ahi's head is about to explode.

Ode to Bug

Bug's birthday is the week and at the TNDC birthday celebration, we are all writing poems for her.  This is ours:

Ode to Bug

 

There once was a girl named Bug.

She is always so nice to hug.

She is tremendously kind.

Has a little behind.

And likes to play in the mud

There is a reason I am not a poet....

Smooches

Drew is doing a project for school that tells his life story.  Last nite when we were looking for pictures, we found this one of him and my college room mates daughter, Abby.  They must have been about 2.

Every Child Suceeding

Remember when Grace won the award at school a couple months ago?

One of the kids who also won an award was totally inspiring to me.  She had bounced around foster homes and had spent the 6th grade at the school where she won this award.  The staff at the school was super impressed with how well she has done with the adversity that she has faced.

Her story made me think about how fortunate Grace is to have the incredible support from her teacher, her parents, her educational therapist, her grandparents and her friends.  About how we are so lucky to have the money to get her the extra help that she needs and how she doesn't have any worries other than school.

It also made me reflect on random acts of kindness and how I could make a difference in this girl's life.

So I decided to find a way to give her a gift to celebrate her hard work.  I worked with the principal of her school to give her $100 and the following note:

Serena,

Our family was at the "Every Child Succeeding" award ceremony and your story of success inspired all of us.

Although you don't know us, we wanted you to know that we are wishing you success and happiness in life.  And we wanted to share with you our favorite quotes that we use to keep us focused on what is important:

"Only compare yourself to yourself."

and

"Never, never, never give up."

Whenever things get tough, remember these sayings.  And remember that people you don't even know are rooting for you!

Please use this money to get yourself something to celebrate your success!

All the best!

The second part of this story is that I mentioned Serena to a friend at work and she wanted in on the random act of kindess too.

So she put together a note, $50 and a gold bracelet for Serena!

I am taking the package to Serena's school today.  I told the principal that the only think I wanted it return was for her to let me know about Serena's reaction.  So stay tuned! 

And....practice random acts of kindness....big or small....it's good for the world!

Bunny Drama

 

Jim called me on my way home last nite and reported that he had LOST the bunny!  He said she was in the backyard and he went back to check on her and she was gone.  I stayed on the phone with him for awhile while he looked:

*  Behind the bbq
*  In the garage
*  On the side yard

Nothing!  Then he told the dogs to "find the bunny" and they couldn't find her.

When I got home about 20 mins later, Jim was out front looking up and down the street, thinking maybe she got out of the yard.

Nothing!

So I start looking too.  She was no where in the backyard.

Then Drew came home and he started looking too.

Finally, I went and looked in the garage.  I took Ahi with me and started asking her "where's the bunny?" And then......she started looking too.  After about 30 seconds, she spotted her under a table in the garage!

And boy.....was she fired up about being a bunny hunter!!!  She ran around all proud of her self for about 30 minutes!

These pics are from this morning.  She seems to have adjusted to her new home!

Sushi Nite

We had homemade sushi for Sunday Nite Dinner!  We are getting better and better at it.

And I made a delicious salad with butter lettuce, Asian pears and home made wasabi dressing.  YUM!

Bunny Hutch

Our new "used" bunny needed a new hutch!  So off we went today to get her one. She seems to like it, but really likes running around the yard! 

More Mud Run Pics

 Here are some more mud run pics.  These give you some ideas of the obstacles.

Couples that play in the mud together, stay together!

Mr Screwtop trying to push me down in the mud!

 Mud Warrior!

Mikey, caught in the net!

Slip and Slide!

Used Pet

We have another used pet.  And does this one look familiar?  It should....it's the bunny that we rescued from the streets about a year ago.  When we rescued her last time, it took us a week to find her owners.  Turned out that she lived down the street.  So she went home to her owners.

This week her family moved to Canada so they were looking for a new home for her.  Since we were so good to her when we rescued her, they asked if we wanted to take her.  I said we would take her if there was no one else who they could find....

So she showed up yesterday afternoon.  Her name is Paul Anka....don't know the whole story....but we call her "Bunny Bunny".

She is a sweet bunny with a bad hairdo and a mustache!  She is also old - about 7.  And my research says that the lifespan is 8 to 12 years.

Daisy is so good - you tell her to "leave it" and she does.  Murray noses her with his giant nose and Ahi wants to chase her!  The bunny is running around the backyard and Murray and Ahi keep running back and forth from door to door to watch her.  The excitement is almost unbearable!

Happy Birthday

I have a big birthday coming up....the BIG 45!  And I want a roomba for my birthday.  You know those remote vacuums that turn themselves on and vacuum the house?  I REALLY want one!

Yipee

I was playing "words with friends" yesterday and played the word:

YIPEE

And was totally disturbed when the game said it was not a word.  I immediately thought...."this is what is wrong with the world....the word yipee is not a word!"   I was thinking....how could it not be a word....if it were a word, we would live in a better world....how do we go about getting it recognized as a word?!?!?!

After I calmed down and looked back at the game, I realized I misspelled it --- YIPPEE is, in fact, a word!

So carry on....the world is A-OK!  I was just short a "P".

YIKES!

Our friends who live in Cabo had this in their yard this morning!  HOLY CRAP!

They killed it with a shovel and no one (except the snake) was harmed!  If I were there, I would have wet my pants!

Cow Bells

I am very excited - I got THREE purple cow bells at our "free is good fair" at work.  The "free is good fair" is just what it sounds like:  people bring in things they no longer want and other people can take it if they are interested.

I brought in a kids rolling suitcase and a bunch of kids books.  There were all kinds of things:  electronics, clothes, kids stuff, appliances, etc.  There was a big crowd of people hauling away all kinds of treasures.

I didn't get to go when it first started because I was in a meeting, so my coworker actually picked me up the cow bells.

Survivor Mud Run - April 2012

 BEFORE

AFTER

FAMILY PHOTO

On Saturday, we did the Survivor Mud Run in Lathrop:  http://www.survivormudrun.com/locations/locations_nor_cal.htm.  We are lucky to have a bunch of crazy friends who can be talked into doing just about anything.  We also have friend who is a professional photographer who took 1600 pics of the event - so you should be seeing more shortly.

The run was super fun, very well organized and super festive.  But it was HOT!  Luckily we had a 9 am start time, so we were finished by about 9:45 am.  There were 4 mud pits, 1 long mud trough, monkey bars, a balance beam, cargo nets and flights of stairs.....all interspersed in 3.5 miles!  It took us around 45 minutes to finish but we were not pushing super hard - it is not as competitive as it is fun!  The winners finished in about 24 minutes!

Soccer Update

Grace's soccer team is playing in two leagues this season and so far have won all their games except one.  And that one they tied!  They are playing a lot of soccer and playing very well.  It is good as it will get them ready for Regionals in June.

We had a rummage sale last weekend to raise money for Regionals and made almost $2000!  It was a long day but worth it for what we made.