Running Arends

Family time is good... MYTH PROOVED!

2012-01-23T19:23:00.002-08:00

Saturday morning Jack woke up, got his usual cup of coffee and sat down to the computer to see what was new in the world (since we had power and cable, which some people around here still don't have and it's MONDAY... but that is a whole different story). While zipping through facebook (MY facebook) he noticed a post from a friend with a picture of MYTHBUSTERS BEHIND THE MYTHS TOUR. Being the genius that he is, he looked the tour up and found out that low and behold, they were playing in Portland THAT VERY DAY!

Now, mind you, I was asleep while all this happened. I love to sleep in. Always have. Always will.

He came into our room, quietly telling me his internet find and also notifying me there are still tickets available for the 4PM show ... "Do you want to go?" he said with a grin. Well of course I want to go!!! Who doesn't want to see Jayme and Adam blow stuff up on stage?

We all got up, got fed, purchased the needed tickets and off we went. First a stop to everybody's favorite house of beverage...

This is what a tall drip with room, grande vanilla latte, chocolate chip mint frapuccino, steamed vanilla milk and a grande mocha look like

Just so you know, if you're ever relying on me for directions around Portland, get a different navigator. I'm horrible finding my way around that city. As much as I love being in Portland, I can never find anything there, including the way into the city. Once we actually did find Keller Auditorium, this is what it looked like inside:

SOOOO AWESOME!!!

Jayme and Adam

Audience participation demonstrating f=m(a) with a sledgehammer

Adam laying on a bed of nails while Jayme breaks a cinderblock with a sledgehammer on his stomach.

Photo Op where we were told to take pictures... I dunno. I just followed directions.

Final bows

If you ever get the chance to see this show, I think our whole family would recommend it. It was entertaining from beginning to end and was just what we needed as far as breaking out of all the snow and ice around here.

Dinner on the way home

SNOW-A-PALOOZA!!!

2012-01-16T20:23:00.000-08:00

It's only once every few years that we get a good snow around here, and this turns out to be one of them. We currently have about 4", but the forecast is calling for up to 12" by Wednesday.

In the meanwhile, we wait by the phone for a call from Jack's admin office to hear if tomorrow is canceled or two hours late. There's no doubt what we are hoping for with this much fun sitting in our yard.

Maddie. Amanda. Cute hats. Best friends.

The bummer is, I'm sick. Head cold. So, I'll just stay inside and get water ready for hot cocoa. Maybe I'll sip on a hot buttered rum... it's medicinal, you know. Sure to cure something.

Thomas invited the neighborhood boys over for a friendly round of "smash your friend into the snow" followed by a no mercy snowball fight.

Jack

Thomas

Ben

Duncan

Thomas and Justin

Such goofs...

Muscle pose... Thomas, Emily, Jake, Amanda and Annie the Wonder Dog

SNOW BLOG UPDATE...
One more picture which must be blogged.

My Emily. She, who wants to be an architect, took the pick-ax and dug a hole in the above gigantic snowball, creating a snow cave.

Behold. It is truly a marvel for the eyes...........

She cracks me up! I think she would have slept out there if I hadn't suggested to come in for cocoa.

The guy can sing!

2012-01-15T20:02:00.000-08:00

So proud of my husband singing at church today! I should have hit the video button on my camera and recorded it. Maybe next time I'll be smarter. The Three Tenors have nothing on these guys!

Mike, Jack and Steve

Driver's Ed... round two

2012-01-14T20:33:00.000-08:00

FIRST DRIVE!!!

Yesterday was like déjà vu as I took Emily to the DOL to get her Learner's Driver Permit. Was it really two years ago that I did that trip with Amanda? Our wait wasn't bad and the lady at the window was quite good humored. We answered a few questions, Emily looked into the little vision test thingie, we paid $20 and out the door we went with the crisp, new Learner's Permit in hand!

Today was the day of The First Drive! I backed the van out of the garage and driveway and Emily took it from there for a tour of our neighborhood. I would guess we went a total of 2 miles, winding around the neighborhoods adjacent to our street. Emily practiced stopping, starting, backing up and turning a corner (yes, slow down going into the corner and accelerate coming out of the turn).

After passing by this car, Emily said, "Well at least we didn't DIE!"

Come October 10, Emily will be good and ready for her license!

es muy tarde... our vacation to Mexico!

2012-01-08T19:09:00.000-08:00

It's long overdue, but here is a quick post on our recent trip to Mexico. We were in Nuevo Vallarta, just north of Puerto Vallarta. I booked through Costco travel and got a screaming deal. I highly recommend Costco travel to anybody looking for a well priced vacation.

Our resort was called Villa la Estancia. Lovely. Abslutely lovely.

The first night was actually spent in SeaTac at the Doubletree. Another screaming deal. Thank you priceline.com!

Landed in PV... walking to customs

This was what we saw upon entering our resort lobby. You went straight through the lobby to big glass doors and looked out onto this scene over the pool. Soooo beautiful!

This is taken from our balcony


Jack and Amanda. Aren't they looking relaxed?

Thomas and Emily

I went to the Mega store to buy a few things. In the bakery you shop by taking the big metal platter around to bins of yummies and load it up with tongs. When you're done, you pass your tray to this lady and she loads your things into a bag and writes the total price on the outside.

In the Mega there was a section of Costco food. $10 for this bag of tortilla chips. What a rip off!

Sitting at the pool and back to the beach, this is the view of the hotel.

Looking north to Bucerias. The beach was mostly empty the whole time we were there.

Warm water and smooth sand

It didn't take Emily long to learn to love a hammock

Super Emily

Mighty Amanda

Lots of boogie boarding!!!

My 3 amigos

Sunset while walking to Bucarias

Dinner on the beach. My shrimp diablo dinner. Spicy hot and yummy!

My mom's enchilada dinner. Ash trays on the tables!

My Dad and Amanda. I think she has him wrapped around her finger... still!

Swim up bar at our resort. Eating chips, salsa and guacamole. Rinsing it down with a variety of choices!

Thomas was buying bracelets from this sweet girl on the beach. 10 bracelets for 100 pesos.

Resort pool with lounges in the 4" deep section of the pool. It doesn't get any cooler than that!

Papa and Thomas flying a batman kite.

Dinner on our deck, fresh guacamole and pico de gallo and chips. It gets no better than that!

After the dinner. Some sunset behind us there!

Dinner out... as though they have never been in public.

A man selling fresh coconuts on the beach. He cut the coconut meat up and put it in a baggie, mixed with some sort of sweet syrup and a squeeze of lime.

The view from my lounge chair

Emily has popcorn in a martini glass.

Shopping in Bucerias.

3 for lunch, with Hugo the trusty bar tender making sure the kids got the right drinks (no alcohol, thanks Hugo).

If I had been organized enough to send out Christmas cards this year, I think it would have had this picture on it.

My view from my other lounge chair.

Classics.

Banana Boat ride. Ask Amanda if she likes to go fast.

Armando sold us the Banana Boat ride. Very nice man, with some pretty interesting stories.

The boogie boards were SO much fun!

Hugo, our bar tender

This is what happens when Hugo takes the camera off the bar and starts taking pictures in his bartending area.

My fish tacos. I have to learn how to make these.

There is nobody else like my Dad!

How can you not love these two?

The living area in our room.

Look closely. Find what's wrong.


In case you couldn't see it in the above picture. Thomas found this ON THE GROUND in the PV airport, peeled the back paper off and stuck it on his lip. He kept us entertained for a good long while walking around with his mustache on!

I can't decide if he looks like Jose Cuervo or Mario.

Sunset out the airplane window, somewhere over California.

Cancer sucks, but friendship rocks!

2012-01-04T20:43:00.000-08:00

I work with great people. Today we ditched the "rehab green" in favor of "breast cancer pink" in support of a colleague who was having a lumpectomy today. Many prayers said today for a sweet, dear PT friend!

Rumor has it Marc was wearing pink boxers...

Story Prompt

2011-12-11T22:43:00.000-08:00

Ok all you creative people out there... I was told on Facebook that this is one of those "Make a story to go with the picture" pictures. So, I want you to tell the story!

Here's the picture.....

For My Maddie... Fall 2011

2011-11-14T22:08:00.000-08:00

I promised Maddie that I would update my blog soon. For her. (It's really for everyone, mostly myself, but we'll just let her think I do this blog for her. Shhhh. It's our secret!)

So here you go Maddie... a wrap up of Fall 2011, JUST FOR YOU!

Topic #1: Marching Band

We are so proud of Emily this year, being one of just a few freshman in North Thurston's Symphonic Band! This band does some pretty amazing concert music in the winter, but in the fall, it's all about MARCHING! Our whole family had a ton of fun watching her band perform and improve as the season progressed.These pictures are from the Tumwater competition where they placed first in their division.

That's Emily in the middle

And here's My Maddie, right in the front, playing her clarinet, Doloris. They make lovely music together...

The music they played was a 4 movement piece called Medusa, hence the togas and the female lead in the middle with snake-like hair.

Does all Greek mythology end with the good guy holding the head of the recently-killed-one in the air?


Who is the jazzer?

Topic #2: Cal Ripken Fall Baseball


Griff, Thomas and Coach Pete

This was the second year of Fall Ball for Thomas. He LOVED it. Seriously, I've never seen him so happy playing baseball. And that makes me happy. The connection to Maddie? Coach Pete is her dad and assistant Griff is her brother.

I think the reason Thomas had so much fun was that he got to play so many different positions. And steal. He LOVES to steal bases. Probably because he usually gets the base!

A nice lead off from first base... ready to steal second.

Hitting improved. I think he only struck out twice!

Receiving a little coaching from Coach John Orem about getting from 3rd to home. Like the new batting helmet?

Stealing home!

If there's one thing I love most about Thomas, it's his tender heart towards others. Here, he is helping a team mate with getting the catching gear on.

Rallying the troops

Thomas is the catcher here who tagged the runner OUT!

At the end of the tournament, Thomas receiving congratulations and a medal from his coaches.


The hard work paid off with a 2nd place in the tourney!

Thomas pitching, and a flip to 1st to get the runner out.

I've got to get me one of these... a portable propane heater! Fall ball gets CHILLY.

A favorite shot, Thomas and his buddy, Duncan. Friends forever.

Topic #3: Halloween!

Thomas scoring candy at the Merritt's across the street.

Me on the left (I know, my disguise makes it hard to see me!) and my friend, Stephanie. She is mom to Duncan, Ben and Jack.

Thomas (Groucho Korean baseball player), Ben in front (gangster) and Jack in the back (hobo).

I LOVE these boys!

This is what Hobo Jack carried around. Funny, funny kid! (Out of work need CANDY, trick or treat!)

World series, pumpkins, knives and friends. Perfect fall stuff.

Thomas likes Jake more than it appears.

Emily always makes me laugh!

Aren't they cute punkins?

Guess who...???

2011-10-09T22:15:00.000-07:00

Guess who's facebook "relationship status" was recently updated?

Yup, Amanda's.

And Jake's.
And it's more than just Facebook, it's real life!

He's a little goofy, but we like him that way!
Congrats... this is a fun adventure!

Last Minute Plans

2011-07-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

For the past few years we have spent the 4th with the Carlson Clan, but this year vacation plans differed so we had to figure out "something fun and memorable" without them! No easy task, because the Carlsons are lots of fun wherever fireworks are involved.

Procrastination swept over me (again) and no plans were ever made, until Facebook came to the rescue (it's a long story). After a little bit of texting and a few phone calls, a last minute plan was in place involving 3 families, a boat and teriyaki chicken. Could it get any better? We were so excited!

At 11ish...(really? Who can be so prompt on a holiday?) ... we met at Black Lake in Tumwater to spend the day riding on the Behrens' boat. I have done a fair amount of water skiing in my teens and early 20s and always thought nothing could beat it, but I gotta tell ya, this tube riding thing is so AWESOME! No dragging your face through the lake with water shooting into your nose and out of your eyes, ears and mouth, no arms being yanked out place, no worrying about where the water might go if you fall wrong (I'll just leave it at that... some of you will know what I mean and will not require any explanation and if you don't know, then it's probably better not to ask lest you embarrass yourself and me!).

We thought we'd spend a few hours on the lake, but it was so much fun that we spent all DAY there. Afterwards we met up at our house for teriyaki chicken dinner (American, right?) and Jenny's amazing angel food cake dessert. So sad I don't have a picture of it!

It was a great day with great people and I want to do it again!

The first group out, Thomas, Emily and Cole.

Let the splashing begin!


Group #2; Emily, John and Garret. All three showed their inner dare-devil this day.

John, Steve, Emily and Jen... so much fun to spend a day together!


I love this picture because of my Emily on the far left; mouth open and screaming/laughing all the way!

Lunch at the dock.

The only thing better than one Emily is TWO!

Best buds, Emily and Becca

Our trusty (?) skipper. Thanks for the ride Mr. Behrens, even when I almost fell in.

My handsome guys

Jack and Amanda

Emily is such a goof

The MOMS. Doesn't our hair look nice? This must be a "before the ride" picture.

"HIT IT!"

This is when Mr. Trusty Skipper stopped the boat because Jen was inches from falling into the drink and we were laughing so hard we couldn't hang on any longer. You might think it was to our advantage to have a physician along (just in case) but as I recall, she was doing just as much screaming and white-knuckle clenching as the other moms.

The DADS! This makes me laugh because Jack's eyes are closed, Steve's feet look caught in the tow rope and John is happily waving because it's his first ride on his new toy.

A nice ride with Melinda driving the boat... watch out for the wakes, guys!

Weekends in May

2011-05-30T22:34:00.000-07:00

I'm catching up on the last TWO weekends.

(Yes, other stuff happened between the weekends, but that would require that I have memory cells dedicated to remembering those types of things.)

So, last weekend was baseball.

Baseball.

Baseball.

Oh, and some baseball.

Friday night started the Cal Ripken Minors Tournament. Thomas's team, the Angels, played one game and won. Saturday, they played again and lost, but it was double elimination so there were more games to be played. Sunday's games started at 9AM with a win. So on went the day with another game at 11AM (a win) and ANOTHER game at 1PM.

That one o'clock game was really a hoot because it was a team the Angel's had never beat and adrenaline was running high by this point in the day. (Good thing because the kids were starting to wear out after already playing 2 full games!) Parents paced while watching; partly because we were all nerves for the boys and partly because nobody could take sitting on those bleacher seats any longer! Well, the pacing, praying and cheering paid off with a third win that day, putting the boys in the final championship game at 3PM. Yes, games at 9, 11, 1 and 3. Exhausting! They didn't win the championship game, but they fought hard. It really was great fun to see them play so well.


This is Thomas, eating after the tournament. A double cheese burger and milkshake and fries at the Ram.

This weekend, Amanda was at her youth group's beach retreat, where it sounds like lots was learned and fun was plentiful. I'm so glad for her to have this time with a really solid youth group and those friends with whom she will stay connected with for life.

Amanda and her friend Maddie at Beach Retreat

Saturday I was home. Sick. With a stomach bug. Yuck. I haven't been that sick in I don't know how long. I hope it's that long before any virus hits me again like that. Sunday I was on the mend so we went to see the Mariners play in Seattle against the NY Yankees. Mariners had one the last 2 games against NY, so it seemed like a reasonable idea that they might win again, but no. Sigh.

I am a lucky girl to sit with these two fine people!

My good looking boy, Thomas. He takes after his Dad!

It would have been fun to see a win, but it's always fun just to be at Safeco and see the M's play. The field is so beautiful and there is no better people watching in the world than at a major league baseball game. It even beats airports and Walmart.

Fun at Safeco... got to see some of the usual characters, like Ichiro and Moose.

Today the clouds kept their moisture to themselves and I was able to spray weeds, pull weeds, and with the help of Thomas and Emily, get our garden planted. I've never started a garden with so many actual plant starts, but it's been so cold out I haven't wanted to get out and put any seeds in the ground. This year it's beans and beets from seeds, and starts of zucchini, butternut squash, cucumber, cantaloupe (we'll see how that one does!), little pumpkins, 2 kinds of tomatoes, and basil and cilantro.

So with all that, I think this last picture of Thomas sums up the past 2 weekends pretty well. I just took this about a half-hour ago, at 9:45. Zzzzzz. Blissful, hu?

Now, on with the week. Only about 3 more weeks of school for the kids. I'm ready for the school year to be done and greet the summer. I'm always excited to see what's next!

We interrupt this blogging silence to bring you a new post

2011-05-23T19:13:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't blogged for a while. Sorry. And just in case anybody actually DOES follow this blog, no, I'm not still in Korea. I didn't get stuck there. I made it back quite nicely, eating the Western Dinner Choice on the airplane ride home. A piece of roast beef and roasted potatoes never looked so good.

Anyhow, here I am, blogging again. Well, sort of. It's actually just sharing a very cute video that I found through my very cute daughter, Amanda. The little girl in the video reminds me SOOOO much of Amanda at that same age; little bobbed haircut, skinny legs sticking out of a leotard, and shoes that won't do what you want in dance class. Enjoy!

Just a couple of photos...

2011-04-22T01:54:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get a couple of pics up real quick. I'll write more later.

Dr. Bowen, Mr. Warren, myself, Mr. Jacobs... the three who interviewed me in 2002 for my board position at WIRB. I've wanted this picture for a long time!

Reverand Jun-Woo Kim, professor at Daegu Catholic University Medical Center, giving his opening remarks. All of the hosts have been fantastic, making sure our every need is met.

Dr. Bowen, giving her welcoming talk, and the media capturing it.

Dr. Brad Waite and myself, on a break. What I love most about this picture is the way Drs. Adele and Owen Reese are leaning in to get in the shot!

Dr. Bowen speaking. This shows the size of the stage.

Dr. Choi. He and his family attended my church when he was a WIRB fellow from Korea. It was so nice to see him again and chat a bit.

Looking across the meeting room. Talks were in Korean and English, with translation available. Notice people holding the listening device so they could hear the translation.

Dorothy, we're not in Kansas anymore. Or Olympia, for that matter.

2011-04-19T01:17:00.000-07:00

Today was all about going to this crazy market district in Daegu. One taxi ride away that cost 7600 wan (about $7.50) sits this crowded, bustling, and at times smelly spectacle. It covers 9 square city blocks and has shops on streets, in buildings, and everywhere in between. Think Yardbirds, Yeagers, or a Farmer's Market. Now multiply it times, ohhhhh, I don't know. Maybe times 1000, and you'll start to get the feel for what this place is.

Fruits and veggies (Owen on the right)

This lady was pulling the frozen fish out of boxes. She was busy in the morning getting her display all set up.

And speaking of fish... these silvery packages are all dried fish of various sizes. Some were maybe an inch long and some were up to 2 or 3 inches. All dried. All silvery. All contained a smell I am not accustomed to smelling! I think there were no less than a dozen other shops all selling these fish.

This is one of the dozens and dozens of inside shops. It actually reminded me of how an antique mall works: many vendors renting space inside of one big room. Each floor covered one city block. It was mind numbing just how much stuff these people were selling. Dishes here, but there were clothes, costmetics, socks, etc. One entire floor was filled with bolts upon bolts of fabric where women could come pick the fabric and have a dress maker design them a traditional Korean gown.

This is the street scene from a skybridge.

The scene from ground level. On the left is a shirt vendor. On the right is a noodle counter. I'm learning these noodle places are everywhere.

Another scene from the street. Notice the pile of ??? on the blue platter. I consider myself a pretty adventerous eater, but this was too much for me!

I snuck a picture of this women. Yes, she's selling chickens. Live chickens. I think they will be somebody's dinner soon. I regret not getting a picture of the dead pheasants and rabbits hanging from a nearby pole, waiting to be purchased.

This lady was unloading her greens. So many beautiful types of produce.

Bag upon bag of nuts, grains and dried fish.

A place to purchase children's traditional clothing.

This is looking down onto one of these noodle bar places. Quite the kitchen set up. There were probably 20 or more places just like this one that sat one after the other, all down the center of the street.

Me, Owen and Adele. We are looking so happy because we found food we recognized (udon soup) and were ready for some lunch! We all managed to eat with chopsticks this time! See the lady to the right of Adele? I think she thought I was crazy for asking the noodle lady to take our picture.

The lady in the blue apron is making these FABULOUS pancake things. The dough cooks up chewy and the center is filled with a few bits of chopped nuts and honey/brown sugar all melted and gooey. She drops the dough onto the hot skilled and presses them flat so they don't puff up too much. After a few minutes and being flipped several times, they are ready to eat. They make an Elephant's Ear look like baby food. Sooo yummy! It's probably a good thing I don't know how to make these things.

안녕 (an informal hello in Korean, like "hi". Pronounced "an nyoung")

2011-04-18T06:31:00.000-07:00

a folk village structure... more on this below

Well here I am in Korea for a WIRB meeting called "IRB Summit 2011". It's being held in Daegu and the WIRB chairs were invited to attend. Exciting? Yes! I came a couple of days early so I could spend some time seeing a bit of the country before the meetings. So now, before I hit the sack, I'm determined to get a few pictures up on this blog!

I don't have time for the post I really want to do... it's 9:49 on Monday evening, April 18 and I'm beat. Between a little jeg lag and a full day of walking, I need to make this short and sweet. Besides, I'm using the hotel computer and it doesn't seem to upload my pictures very quickly.

Hot towels and a glass of water... the first of many on the flight. It was 11.5 hours from SeaTac to Incheon Airport (Seoul).

On the back of the seats were computer screens. They showed movies, but also had a selection to show the progress of the trip. This shows us before leaving Seattle.

And this is when we crossed the international date line!

Today went to the a Folk Village. It took a taxi and 2 busses to get there but it was so worth it. I'll post more later. I am here right now with Adele and Owen, two WIRB friends so we spent the day exploring together. Owen should get a reward for navigating us all the way there and back without any mistakes! We weren't sure how to get back at one point, but after a little problem solving, we did it! To be specific, we had to match up the Korean symbols for the name of the town we were headed for... from the map to the bus schedule. Tricky? Ya. A lot! So here are a few pictures of the folk village adventure.

This is a little food counter place in the bus stop at Guangu. Ever eat at a bus depot? I've always been afraid to, but this place had fabulous udon soup.

This is the folk village. It's basically a Korean "Jonestown" where people still live and preserve the orignal Korean way of life. Original as in mid 1500's before the Japanese invaded Korea. It was different than anything I've ever seen but so interesting to walk around and peek into the different little places it held.

Look at this cute Korean grandma... What you can't see is the funny little cart she was pushing. Not really even sure what she was moving, but she was chugging right along. I like the contrast of the traditional clothing and the car. Oh, and the port-a-potty for the workers at that house!

Many of the homes in the village were occupied by people who seemed to run a business of some sort out of their home. This one sold planter pots. Couldn't see if they actually made them here, or just sold them.

In other homes we saw a tea-house and a bonzai plant nursery. I'll post more on those later.

Ok, I'm off to bed. More later!

I love coffee, I love tea, I love the Bean Juice and it loves me

2011-02-18T15:17:00.000-08:00

I knew it. I love bean juice. And now I know that it loves me back.

If you want to read the report, you can do so by clicking this link: coffee goodness. It basically says that there are no bad health effects from coffee, even up to 6 cups a day!

SIX cups a day, people! I am waaaayyyy over the guilt I have carried about days when I drink 3 cups a day.

It even says that there was a trend towards a lower risk for heart disease in those who drank the most coffee. And even further, it says that other studies have found that coffee drinkers are:

less likely to become diabetic,
have higher levels of good (HDL) cholesterol and
lower blood markers of inflammation.

How's that for convincing?

Well, this is all really good news because TEA seems get all the publicity lately about good health effects and coffee has been treated like the ugly step-sister. And while I'll drink a cup of tea now and then, it's coffee I really crave at times.

I have to wonder though, are the positive health signs BECAUSE of the coffee, or actually due to the absence of other things... like sugared donuts, bacon, eggs and other junk we like to eat at breakfast. I probably don't really want to know. I'll just enjoy the bliss I'm feeling about me and the bean juice.

Fill it to the rim, with ~~Brim~~ french-roast-home-ground-brewed-on-strong-with-a-little-creamer.

My favorite, from Costco of course

We keep the beans in the canister that was my Grandma's. She loved coffee too!

What Saturday Looked Like

2011-02-13T14:23:00.000-08:00

So much going on this weekend, but it's all been doable.

Baseball ~~auditions~~ tryouts for Thomas (after years of thinking/talking about auditions, I'm trying to make the switch to sound less an "orch dork" and more like a "soccer mom".);
an overnighter for Emily;
babysitting extravaganza for Amanda;
a WIRB packet to be completed by me;
finishing season 2 of Prison Break for Jack and Emily...

Yes, lots of stuff. Here are a couple of other things we did yesterday... I actually have pictures of these.

BASKETBALL. The Ravens dominated in another nobody-keeps-score YMCA basketball game. Our team is coached by Coach Doug, who happens to be the (very active) grandfather of one of the boys on the team. The assistant is Doug's son-in-law Tim who also happens to be the NTHS Rams boy's varsity basketball coach. We have it made in the coaching department, for sure. We also have it made in the "tall girl" department in the form of one lovely named Helena. She is a sweetie. And tall. And we're really glad that she's on our team. Look...

This girl is really going to be an amazing player as the grades go by.

Some of the kids, Max, Raiden, Thomas, Haven, Helena; Coach Tim, Coach Doug

Here a few shots of the game on Saturday.

Thomas is #39 you see on the left. Our ref was Lawrence. We know him from the high school program at church where he is an intern.

Coaches talking to the kids at half-time.

Coach Doug is talking to Thomas and a couple of other players. Coach Tim is giddy with excitement as he day dreams about how close he is to the end of the high school boy's basketball season and how he can soon get onto better things, like coaching Lady Rams golf! (See Amanda's writing about golf here) Hey Tim, I think you better go get on the golf sweatshirt order, PRONTO.

Thomas, the Defender of The-Girl-in-Braids-Who-Keeps-Running-the-Stinkin'-Ball-Down-the-Court

There is the Braided Girl, at it again. No stealing of the ball in this league.

Thomas shoots, SWISH, and scores! Two points for the Ravens in the non-scored game.

Besides taking pictures at the game, I also was able to quickly browse through my newest Food Network magazine; The Italian Issue.

LOVING this subscription Jack gave me as a Christmas present!

In classic form, I looked through it, ooed and awed at several of the recipes inside, and cooked something for dinner that wasn't really a recipe. Well, part of it was. The pizza crust part. The rest I made up. And here it is... Chicken and Peppers Pizza with Pesto Cream Sauce. Yum!

The finished pizza

The finished pizza, UP CLOSE AND YOU CAN PRACTICALLY TASTE IT HERE!

Here's the quick run down on the recipe:

Use your favorite pizza crust recipe. Or boboli. I used this one (click right here) which was similar to others I have used in the past. Once you have the dough done, put half in the freezer for another day. Roll out the other half using corn meal on a pizza stone or pan and bake at 400 for about 7 minutes. Pop any bubbles that try to sneak up on you. While the crust is cooking, cube 1 good sized chicken breast, season the meat with 2 cloves of fresh garlic (pressed or minced) and saute in a little olive oil until cooked through.

To make the sauce, first make a basic white sauce. Melt 1 T butter in a small sauce pan. Add 1 T flour to make a paste. All at once add 1 cup milk and wisk on medium high heat until mixture thickens. Then, add 1/4 cup pesto... I buy mine allready made at Costco. There- sauce is done.

Assemble the pizza: use most of the sauce and spread it onto the cooked crust. You can either use up the extra sauce on something else or save it for dipping your pizza in. Put the cooked chicken on, put on sliced bell peppers (I like red, yellow or orange) and top with grated mozarella. You can also add whatever else you like, because afterall, it is pizza. I think next time artichoke hearts would be pretty yummy on this.

Bake at 375 for another 8 minutes or so. Until it's done. TRUE CONFESSION... I don't really time these things so these times are just a guess. But it's pretty close. Just watch through the window and don't take it out until the cheese is melted and the pizza is hot enough to burn the roof of your mouth, the way pizza is supposed to do.

Let it sit out of the oven a few minutes, cut and serve. Afterwards, watch your family generously offer to clean up because you cooked such a fine meal.

See? Swarming to clean. I tell ya, it's the best. My family is the best.

So I've blogged and now I'm off to tackle another week. How about you?

Three Word Thursday - JACK'S NEW BOOK

2011-02-10T21:52:00.000-08:00

A great rambling

2011-02-07T22:14:00.000-08:00

Let's just start right off with that National Anthem. You know the one. The version presented to the entire United States and many other parts of the world by Christina Aguilera. The one where she was supposed to sing the line "O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming," and instead repeated an earlier line, with a slight variation. She sang, "What so proudly we watched at the twilight's last gleaming," repeating and mangling an earlier lyric. I read that she reported she was so caught up in the moment, she forgot her place in the music, and then we heard the result.

Even if she'd gotten the words right, Aguilera's rendition would still have been awful. It's the national anthem. It should have tempo. It should be respectful. It's not supposed to be a forum for Aguilera or anyone else to give us their vocal interpretation. To make up their own notes as they go along. And then say, "Thank you" when they are done singing. It's not about you when you sing the National Anthem.

Hmmm. I guess there's nothing much else to say, so instead I will just say, BRING BACK JENNIFER HUDSON! Now there's a performer. AND WHITNEY, but she's probably in rehab somewhere.

I had a few favorite Superbowl ads... Doritos that can bring fish, plants, and a sweet Grandpa back to life was my favorite. It didn't hurt me to see Roseann get beaned by a big log. Where has she been, anyway?

While I seem to be on the topic of things that bother me, let me just say right now that I find it completely irritating that in this last week... the week before my birthday... I am receiving SPAM email with titles like these:

Discover your AARP benefits
AARP and seniors
How AARP works for you

REALLY? Turning 46 means you get junk email from the American Association of Retired Persons? Maybe they figure that if I start thinking about it now, I'll be ready to join later. Much later. I know that in the eyes of some we had children late, but who joins AARP when they have an 8 year-old son? That's just silly.

How about we talk about happy things. Like the people we spent Superbowl Sunday with (we love the Josses and Carlsons!) And let's talk about what we ate while watching the Superbowl. Here's the quick run down:

jalapeno poppers (jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese, Parmesan and sausage)
chips and warm chili-cheese sauce
bacon and cheese stuffed potato skins
Superbowl buns (warm ham and cheese sandwiches on these yummy little buns)
homemade chicken noodle soup
fruit and dip
veggies and dip
a massive chocolate cake
a crazy good ice-cream sandwich cake

The flavors, calories and fat were enough to make me think it would be a good idea to learn who the good cardiologists are in town. Just to be prepared. Mercy, I don't think I will need to eat again until March. But it was soooo YUMMY! I'd do it all again, except I would eat more of the jalapenos.

And here is something fun; my new job starts tomorrow! It's actually an old job I've had for about 14 years, but with a new twist. I'm starting a regular position at Providence St. Peter Hospital, doing speech therapy for acute care patients. The job I've had in the past has been doing speech therapy at St. Pete's as a "per diem" therapist. That means covering vacations and weekends as my schedule has allowed. Now, my work time will be more regular. I will be doing a lot of speech, language, cognitive and dysphagia (swallowing) evaluations and treatment.


St Peter's Hospital, 1890; I believe this building sat on the capitol campus.


St Peter's, 1928; This building still exists on Olympia's westside. It's now senior housing. Maybe I could move there if I get that AARP membership?

The current Providence St. Peter Hospital on Lilly Road. This is where I work. The tall tower is 11 stories tall and is where the acute care patient rooms are. The views from the upper stories are phenominal. I could see Mt. St. Helens (120 miles away) spewing ash into the sky from the 10th floor several years back.

I like the setting of acute care and the other acute care therapists are great. The hours are perfect, allowing me to be home when the kids are and I can still chair my WIRB panel on Mondays! (What's a WIRB? That's a post for another day.) Because I even get benefits, we will get to save a good number of pesos by switching some of our insurance coverage around. (Don't worry Mr. Obama, we will all be purchasing health care insurance as you seem to think this is important.)

Speaking of old things that are new, HAVE YOU BEEN WATCHING AMERICAN IDOL? Who woulda thunk that Steven Tyler and J.Lo could resurrect that show? It's fun to see the judges actually respond to the people auditioning instead of to each other. The weekly Simon -vs- Paul thing got so old, I didn't even watch the last 3 seasons. I'd much rather watch Steven Tyler bliss out to a good song and I'm sure my husband isn't the only man in America who is happy just watching J.Lo sit there, smiling.

That's it. I need to go finish watching The Bachelor. Brad is in trouble and he needs me to shout through the TV to tell him of who is good and who is "that woman your mother warned you about".

Three Word Thursday - USE THE FORCE!

2011-02-03T13:14:00.000-08:00

USE THE FORCE!

Sweet 16 and the DOL

2011-02-02T10:12:00.000-08:00

It's been a whirlwind around here lately. Amanda turned 16. I remember 16, almost as though it were 29 years ago. (Cough, really?) What's especially fun about this Sweet birthday of hers is her driver's license. Yes, a real, legal driver's license. The kind with the picture and everything. The kind that allows your child to go drive off BY THEMSELVES and go somewhere. (Amanda doesn't really care where, she just wants to drive. By herself. Thank you very much. I think she takes after me, poor thing.)

So, here she is, up at the counter after we waited for approximately 127.495 hours at the DOL. Yes, I'm pretty sure the wait was that long.

Isn't she so cute?

After obtaining the paper-proof-of-independent-driving, she drove us home. We pulled into the driveway, and without even turning the engine off she yelled to Thomas, "Hey, get your shoes on, we're going to McDonald's!" The shoes went on quickly. Emily was gone for the weekend, so she miss the inaugural drive.

I told them to stick their heads out so I could get a quick picture before she rolled off on her first independent Licensed Driver drive, and here's what I got:

A picture is worth 1,000 words. I'll let you come up with the words, but a few of them might be, "Hey Thomas, buckle up!"

Amanda has more about her day on her blog, where she talks about the morning kidnapping and the evening party. You can read about it here.

This is the very sweet cross Jack and I gave her. Gold and diamonds to tell her how valuable she is, and a cross to remind her of whose she is. A child of God... nothing is more precious!

Emily and Thomas each got her a Costco package of gum. Oh mercy, that's a lot of gum.

Since her birthday on Saturday, she has had a few other times to drive herself to where she needs to be: dance, youth group, basketball game. OH, and let's not forget the best one... to THE STORE to get me a gallon of milk.

It's a strange feeling to have her out on her own, but I think we'll get used to it in short order. She texts us when she gets to her destination, and also again when she's coming home. She's a very good driver, but I worry about the other morons on the road who seem to like to hit my van (somebody please be honest with me and tell me if there is a target on my Swagger Wagon which compels stupid drivers to hit my Sienna). I have to admit though, it's pretty nice to not be the driver all the time. Especially when we're short on milk.

So, Happy Birthday Amanda! We love you!

"Drive careful... duh!

Drive fast and take chances!

Cut people off sweat pea!

Use your road rage if you have to!"

Three Word Thursday - SHE DID IT!

2011-01-27T21:44:00.000-08:00

SHE DID IT!!!

Cameras and Clubbers

2011-01-26T21:56:00.000-08:00

Tonight was AWANA. It's that event that comes in the middle of each and every week where beforehand I try to present a cheery face to the kids about going. Really, by Wednesday night, I just want to eat dinner, get the kitchen cleaned up, and sit down for a bit. And probably watch some dumb TV show. However, it's also that event that comes in the middle of each and every week where once I'm there, I LOVE IT! Do you know what I mean?

Anyhow, tonight I was tipped off by Thomas's leader (the amazing Mr. Quentin) that Thomas would receive the prestigeous award of "3rd GRADE BOYS CLUBBER OF THE MONTH". And, he wanted to know, did I have a camera ready?

Yes. And no. I had a camera in my phone, but it takes THE WORST pictures. I really mean it. The. Worst. Here's the proof:

I clicked the stupid phone camera a good 2 seconds before this image. All I got was this delayed reaction to Thomas receiving his award. It was a gigantic pixi stick AND I MISSED IT. Lordy. I wanted to see him receiving said pixi stick and shaking Mr. Hallman's hand and smiling widely with pride. It wasn't meant to be. If it was "Three Word Thursday" I think I'd use this with Phone Cameras Suck as the title. The green AWANA shirt looks teal blue, the award is a blur and Thomas's face looks like that face you try to see when you look at the moon on a clear night.

After laughing a bit at myself and the really horrible picture I got of the exciting moment, the Blessed Nora Fuller exclaims, "Why, I have my camera, right here in my purse!" and she proceeds to whip out the cuttest little camera you ever did see and snaps pictures RIGHT THERE like it's no big deal. Wow. I guess that's what happens when you've raised your children and become a grandparent. You are always prepared with a good camera that fits in your purse.

Lookie...

Me and my proud Thomas. Oh, and the Pixi Stick.

Nick and Thomas... buddies who received the same award on the same evening. They even got the same awesome reward of a Pixi Stick. Does life get any better?

What do you think? Do you have a phone with a camera that actually takes decent pictures indoors? I get a new phone this summer, so tell me about yours!

Three Word Thursday... Trio of Fun

2011-01-21T16:18:00.000-08:00

Trio of Fun!

(This "Three Word Thursday" is a day late. It's Friday. I know. That's why I'm also allowed to write a little bit more since it's not officially a Thursday post. Check out the eye colors in these kids, brown, green and blue. I love it! Also, this was taken in the fall, just before Thomas got his braces on. I'll have to post another photo soon to show off his progress. No more gappy front teeth.)

Peace in the midst of anguish

2011-01-19T11:01:00.000-08:00

I don't usually go into much personal stuff on this blog, but today I can't refuse. Yesterday I learned that my friend's husband left this earth for heaven. Long story short, he had side effects from cancer treatment that he couldn't survive. He beat the cancer, but not the side effects of treatment. Go google "bleomycin side effects" and you'll see "lung toxicity" show up again and again. The severity of this side effect is wide ranging and sadly, Tom had the extreme bad end of it.

His wife was faced with an agonizing decision each day for these past 3 weeks: continue the life support or... not. My prayer was that this decision be made abundantly clear to her. God is good how he pulled the details and events together. After 3 weeks of ups and downs, of hope vs reality, the decision was clear and life support was removed.

Through the process, it was amazing to see the Body of Christ in action. Praying. Ministering. Loving on each other. It was God at work, to be sure, at a time when we really needed to see and feel His presence. To know that the promise is true that He will never leave us.

I've had the Chris Tomlin song "I Will Rise" running through my mind as I think about how it is to leave this life for an eternal one in heaven. Specifically, I think of how this must have been for Tom. These are the words that have been stuck in my mind and heart:

There's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say "It is well"

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

There's a day that's drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes

And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"

And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

Yes, I think of Tom, rising as his name was called. Feeling no more sorry, no more pain. Worshipping God in a way so pure we can't imagine it on this side of heaven. Angels rejoiced as they saw that the price Jesus paid long ago, bought Tom's entrance into heaven.

I know Tom is now with Jesus, breathing EASY! I know Tom was received into the arms of Jesus. That said, I also know that cancer really sucks. And this whole thing sucks. My heart is sad and I ache for his family and those who will miss him deeply. But on we go, moving forward. God will provide grace and mercy and blessings as needed, because he is faithful.

Three Word Thursday... Now We're Talking!

2011-01-13T15:53:00.000-08:00

NOW WE'RE TALKING!

Picture this...

2011-01-12T09:12:00.000-08:00

After a night of snow (which somewhere in the dark hours turned to rain), our schools were 2 hours late start today. Yippie! This is what it looked like at our house:

(imagine a picture here of Amanda sleeping in her bed, arm wrapped around her body pillow)

(imagine a picture here of Emily curled into a ball, sleeping soundly, cat firmly planted at her feet)

(imagine a picture here of Thomas up and dressed, scrambling his own eggs for breakfast. That's my boy!)

As you can see, I didn't have the forethought to actually break out the camera and take pictures of our sloth-like morning. But I think you get the idea anyway.

And just so you DO have a fun picture to look at, here is a little something to remind you that rainy, cloudy skies WILL go away, summer is coming, and you WILL need sunglasses once again.

Annie and shades

Picasso in Seattle

2011-01-08T22:14:00.000-08:00

Tickets to the Picasso at the Seattle Art Museum. They were a present for Jack from SANTA. I'm not sure if Mr. Picasso would have been on the naughty or nice list though, because he was quite the Lady's Man, flitting from one woman to another. Often, he didn't bother ending one relationship before starting the next. What a winner.

In spite of his less-than-admirable ways in romance, he lived an amazing life. His paintings reflected his own life experiences including street scenes, carnivals, and of course, women. A few of my favorites from the exhibit are below.

Portrait of Dora Maar, 1937
I like this painting because of how it shows Dora in profile and front face at the same time. So cleverly done and breaking all the "rules" of how portraits are done.

Dora was a real-life beauty.

Portrait of Olga in an Armchair, Fall 1918
It was interesting to see Picasso's classical style paintings. Absolutely beautiful.

Sacré-Coeur, Winter 1909–10

The Acrobat, January 30, 1918
This piece was HUGE, taking up the whole wall. Wouldn't you like a print of this in your living room?

The Matador, 1970

Death of Casagemas 1901
Strangly, this was one of my favorites. It is an oil painting of his friend who had commited suicide over the grief of his lover declining a marriage proposal. It was smaller than I expected, maybe 15x12" and the oil was very thickly applied. In classic Picasso fashion, soon after his friend's death he started a romance with the woman who had rejected Casagemas.

Of course, no cameras are allowed in the exhibit, so these are the only pictures of us at the museum.

This is the kids, all making their faces look "Picasso-ish"

A little Picasso trivia for you, just in case you ever need it for playing Jeopardy or Wits and Wagers.

Full Name

Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Maria de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santisima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso

Birth Date
October 25, 1881

Birth Place
Malaga, Spain

Age at Death
91 (died April 8, 1973)

Number of artworks created
Estimated up to 50,000 (yup, he could crank it out!)

Three Word Thursday... Alissa and Emily

2010-12-24T21:33:00.000-08:00

Alissa and Emily!!!

Three Word Thursday... Unpacking the angels

2010-12-16T12:12:00.000-08:00

Unpacking the Angels...

Chicken Tuscany... grown-up food at its finest

2010-12-10T21:29:00.000-08:00

WARNING: This recipe is only for those who like "grown up food". The two children at my dinner table tonight (whose shall remain nameless but their initials are Emily and Thomas) requested chicken nuggets after one bite. Go figure. They did like the pasta, but with butter, not sauce thank you very much.

I snagged this recipe off of boomama's blog ...a very fun blog to read if you're into sitting down to read blogs of people you don't know.

The recipe is a tad long, so instead of typing the whole thing out, I'm linking you right here where you can click and print to your little heart's desire.

Boomama makes the suggestion to have everything chopped in advance, which I found to be marvelous advice. The recipe has several componants so having all the ingredients ready is pretty handy.

chopped romas, mushrooms, sage, basil and green onions... beautiful, hu?

Not much to look at, but it's the beginning of the sauce; beef stock, chianti (I actually used whatever red wine I had open) and a roux to thicken it a bit

Start cooking the chicken breasts after they have had their beauty bath in marinade

Are these lovely or what?

Saute the mushrooms in... BUTTER!

Like you've never seen mushrooms, but I think they make a dandy subject for a macro shot.

Mushrooms with the other chopped yummies, all ready for the sauce.

(chicken is coming along nicely)

Now the sauce is on the sauteed veggies and is becoming incredibly yummy.

Serve sauce on chicken and angel hair pasta.

So what would I do differently next time? Pound the chicken. A lot. As with any other chicken breast, they like to cook up thick and it's hard to get the center done. The other way to do it would be to cut the breasts down to half their thickenss. Either way, I would then decrease the marinating time to about 30-45 minutes. I think I would also try adding a bit of capers to the sauce.

If you're having company, ADULT company, this is your dish. For the kids, load up on chicken nuggets and everybody will be happy!

Three Word Thursday

2010-12-09T10:56:00.000-08:00

GUESS WHO HELPED?

Thanksgiving, a la Grandma Vi

2010-12-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

My Grandma Vi would have been proud of me at Thanksgiving!

She would have loved the awesome food...

I can hear Grandma now, "Everything is just so DE-LISH!"

...and desserts!

She would have stopped to admire the table setting and food on the plates.

Silver and crystal was Grandma Vi's. She loved a beautiful table!

She would have enjoyed the gathering with those who you love...

Here are some of those people, playing "cookie face" (set the cookie on your forehead and without touching it, get it to land in your mouth). YOU try it, it's harder than you would think!

and the trip out to Christmas Forest!

This was the tree my team designed this year.

I thought often about my Grandma Vi on Thanksgiving, probably because of pulling out her crystal and polishing up her silver so it could make an appearance on a Holiday table. I think it's been at least 17 years since the silver was last used! It's just too pretty to keep in a box. Grandma had the gift of hospitality and loved anything to do with design, be it lighting, decorations or a table. She also loved to cook really great food.

I think I see a little of my Grandma in myself. Thanks Grandma!

A tribute to Grover

2010-11-20T10:34:00.000-08:00

I think Grover is my favorite. He's a straight forward kind of guy who gets down to the business of things without messing around.

For instance, his lessons on "NEAR" and "FAR" quickly teach children the difference between the two perspectives. Looking out into my backyard today, I thought I'd channel a little Grover as I took some pictures. Keep in mind, the windstorm was Monday. Today is Saturday.

Ready?

Near...

FAR!

That was really fun! Let's do it again! Nearrrrrr....

FAR!

Now, how about we learn some colors. That sounds like fun too!

Orange...

Smokebush "Grace"... isn't that great fall color?

Red...

More of the Grace smokebush

Green...

Grey!!!

I'd like to add "before" and "after" but the concrete has to set for 6 hours before the panels can be re-attached. Oh well. You all know what a finished fence looks like and if you don't, then can just do like Grover and use your imagination!

Way overdue blog post

2010-11-19T23:22:00.000-08:00

Seriously, 3 weeks? It's been 3 weeks since I blogged. I promised myself I would blog more often than that. So much for promises to one's self!

There is lots to catch up on.

First up... Halloween

Thomas's teacher this year is the marvelous Mr. Kiekhaefer. I can hear you asking, "Oh Brenda, what makes the man so marvelous?" Well, he is brave. Brave enough to greet a room full of 8-turning-9-year-olds every day. Brave enough to BBQ a hot dog lunch as a class reward. Brave enough to have a pumpkin carving party IN his classroom. Yes, with sharp objects and parents and everything.

"No Dad, I can carry it myself"

Get the guts out

Principal Mrs. Cook (who is not really at all like a witch), Mr. Pumpkin, Thomas

Some nice (and really talented) mom baked these little darlings up for the party. She wins the "Creative Cookie Award" for sure. Who knew Martha Stewart was a class parent?

Mr. Kiekhaefer on lead guitar and vocals

Can you see Thomas, right in the center. Dang, he's cute!

Now for Halloween itself... Gangster, OB1 and SomeOtherGuyFromAnotherCloneWarsStory (aka: Thomas, Garret and Justin). Can you say, "LOTSA CANDY"?

Stay tuned, there's more blogging to be done over the weekend!

Fall ball, 2010

2010-10-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

South Sound Broncos, 10U 1st PLACE CHAMPS!
Back row: Mike, Riley, Cody, Wes, Kyle, Shae, Jesse
Front Row: Jack, Thomas, Cade, Kye, Devon, Justin (Dillon missing)

We have been eating, living and breathing baseball for what seems like forever in this house! In the spring it was South Sound Spring Baseball. Summer included 7 weeks of summer league and a 4 week skills camp. This fall, we made it through 2 months of fall ball... whew! It's been fantastic to see Thomas's skills improve so much since the spring, but we are ALL really ready for a break from strikes, runs, hits, cold bleacher seats and bad ballpark coffee.

Sunflower seeds in the dugout are mandatory

A parent's view

Justin, Kyle and Thomas

Thomas just coming off home plate for a much needed tournament-play RUN!

coach Jesse and boys between innings

Thomas receiving his medal from coaches Jesse and Mike

Boys will be boys

Thanks Coaches Mike and Jesse. You are the type men we want our boys modeling after.

10-10-10

2010-10-09T21:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is a great day! It's Emily's birthday and she's turning 14. She is excited that this is her "golden" birthday with the date being 10-10-10. If only she was turning 10 on this day it would be even more perfect... according to her. Me- I'm glad she's turning 14. I loved her at 10, but I love her even more now at the crazy age of 14. She is goofy and spunky and full of energetic life! Her friends adore her and she adores them right back. She's smart and funny and is always on the hunt for fun!

Happy Birthday Em, Dad and I (and probably Amanda and Thomas) love you tons and tons.

Her party was last night. A few pics below...

cupcakes made by Emily

Emily, that present is a blanket, not a wig. You have plenty of time for blue hair later.

Shirts: BEFORE

Shirts: DURING

Shirts: after... they have yet to come out of the wash, but I'm sure they are beautiful

After a movie, pizza, chips, pop, tie dye, and opening presents, I asked if the girls would like to hit the neighborhood for a quick round of "Bigger or Better". This game is great for a group of kids who are up for innocent fun involving confronting others with a strange request. Can you see why it's perfect for a group of 14 year old girls? The rules are simple: start out with something simple. Like a balloon.

the starter balloon

You then go to a neighbor and ask if they have anything bigger or better than the balloon. Trade up for bigger or better at each house you go to. The last time Emily played this was about a year ago when the kids left with a pen and came back with a child's bike. You never know what you'll have in the end!

About the time I had asked them to be home, I heard a dull rolling type of sound coming down the street and LOTS of giggles. I couldn't imagine what they had obtained in the last hour. When I opened the front door I was met with this sight:

They had actually landed an office chair AND a bundt pan! How do you leave with one thing and come back with two... I'm not too sure. But to come home with a functional piece of furniture was really funny! The kicker is that we NEED an office chair! This one wasn't too bad either; a little worn on the arms, but nothing a little duct tape won't take care of if the thin spots become actual holes. Nice work girls. Keep it up and when you're 16 maybe you can "bigger or better" yourselves a car!

Thanks Jena, Brenna, Audrey, Abby, Cleo and Megan for making the night a fun one for Emily! You are all great kids!

It's not just about breakfast

2010-10-03T00:15:00.000-07:00

Tonight I watched The Breakfast Club on netflix. Do you use the "instant play" feature on netflix? If not, you should. It is probably the best use for an internet connection that I have found! Click. Watch. Love it!

I couldn't believe that the last time I saw this film was probably when it came out in 1985! Wow. I have to admit though that the only scene I vividly remembered was the Ally Sheedy character making "snow" on the winter scene drawing with her dandruff. So gross.

In one synopsis I was looking at tonight, it summed up The Breakfast Club this way: Five high school students, all different stereotypes, meet in detention, where they pour their hearts out to each other, and discover how they have a lot more in common than they thought.

Watching this film quickly took me back in time to my own teen years. Remember the teenager feelings of trying to figure out who you are and who you want to be? And what's crazy is that now I look at my own kids who are in that crazy time of life called adolescence! I can tell you that it's a lot easier watching the teen than it was for me being the teen. Maybe that's just me, but I prefer adulthood!

In some ways, a lot has changed in the world since 1985. In other ways, nothing has changed. People are still people and growing up is still growing up. And spending time together always helps people get along.

PS: OK girls, weren't we all just a little jealous of Molly when she got to plant one on Judd Nelson at the end of a hard day in detention?

A-choo

2010-09-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

I think I may blog again. Soon. If for no other reason than to tell you that Leanne was the winner of the BBQ book contest! Yea Leanne! Oh, but wait... now I've already told you. I'll have to blog about something else. There are plenty of good stories to tell!

So, yup, I think the blog writing is coming back. The feeling is like a sneeze that's coming, but isn't quite there yet. Stay tuned, and please pass the tissues.

A kindler, gentler blog contest

2010-06-08T09:49:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: I've re-done the contest to make it lots easier on you! Sorry if you had something for the old version all ready to go, but I think you'll like this better! If you had a good recipe for me, you can still send it to me!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Blog contest... here we go! This one is REALLY easy. I promise. (Scouts' honor)

Complete the following:

"Summer always makes me think of __________________."
You can fill in the blank with a single word or an entire essay, it's up to you! It can be funny, heartfelt, or whatever comes to mind for you. This one won't take much brain effort or time... both are at a premium for me these days so maybe you are feeling the same.

Let me get you started: Summer always makes me think of camping with my family when I was a kid. If you have more than one answer, you're in luck because you can enter as many times as you like!

Winner will receive this really nice, high end, guaranteed-to-make-you-think-about-summer book:

Raichlen has written several of these BBQ recipe books and they are fantastic! This one is jam packed with recipes like pizza, side dishes, roasted veggies... it goes on and on for 774 pages! Of course it also has basics like chicken, burgers and the like.

I wish I could tell you the author signed it, but he didn't. Maybe I'll sign it instead?

You must live within the continental US to win, only because this book is too heavy to ship to anywhere outside those borders. (You can enter if you live outside the continental us, you just won't win the book.)

Deadline is Tuesday, June 15 at straight-up noon.

GOOD LUCK!

Oh wow!

2010-06-02T12:57:00.000-07:00

I can feel a blog contest coming on!

Can you feel it too?

Maybe YOU will be the winner!

Derek and Nicole were winners this year. You can be one too! Stay tuned for details...

Thank you for serving...

2010-06-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

This comes a day late, but shouldn't we be giving honor to our fallen all days of the year? This Military Tribute rocks! God bless the USA!

Procrastination Perfected

2010-05-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

I've been working on my procrastination skills for many years now. In fact, in my "senior quote" of my 1983 Bellingham High yearbook, I listed (among other things): procrastination grades 9-12. So with that, let me now post pictures of our Spring Break trip to Oakland. Sure, the trip was about 7 weeks ago. That's where the procrastination part comes in. I was putting this post off because I needed to organize my pictures. And, I was putting that off because, well, because... I just didn't really want to sit that long at the computer. I had baseball, birthday, spring break, Itsuka's visit, irish dance, and assorted other stuff all still in my camera card and I just didn't want to sit down to the task of making individual files and sorting. Until today.

So now, without further procrastinating, are my favorite pictures of the trip to Oakland.

It's a Loooooong drive to Oakland. 12 hours to be exact. It gets even longer when the passes are full of snow!

Chapel of the chimes is amazing and beautiful. It's a mausoleum, filled wall to wall with shelves of containers of ash remains of many, many people. Sounds so creepy, but this place was so beautiful. Peaceful. Pictures don't give you the feel of how the building is like a maze; one hall leading to another, room after room of shelves.

Ok, now you're wondering why on earth we visited a mausoleum! Our friend, Michael, upon visiting this place was inspired to write a novel; Julia Milan and the Chapel of the Chimes. It's like Twilight Zone meets Nancy Drew, written for kids probably 4th through 8th grade, although older kids would enjoy it too. We are excited to hear news of the publication of this book!

One of the many courtyards within the building. A glass ceiling lets in lots of light, keeping the feeling of the rooms from being dreary.

Amazing architectural details throughout the building.

Behind this pillar you can see a wall of shelves filled with urns.

Flowers placed next to a loved one's remains.

See how the shelves appear to be lined in books? The "books" are actually book shaped urns. There are also the traditional vase shaped urns peppered throughout the mausoleum.

The actual chapel part of the building. If not for being connected to a mausoleum, it would be a beautiful place for a wedding!

These two always crack me up!

After visiting the Chapel, we walked the Berkeley campus and took a stroll down Telegraph Avenue. Amazing to think of how different this place is now compared to 40 years ago!

This place (below) was crazy! Full of old and then really old games. Pin ball, Ms. PacMan and Asteroids, to name a few. It was fun to place some of my old favorites again.

Centipede! I'm just as bad now as I was back in the 80's.

Waiting for lunch; Emily, Amanda and Michael.

Approaching the Golden Gate Bridge in the mighty Sienna

We parked, then walked across the bridge. Thomas and I walked about 1/3 of the way, about where this picture was taken. Then he decided the height was more than he needed for the day, and he and I walked back...

...where we met this bridge worker. His job was to monitor the air hose which was connected to painting equipment at the top of the bridge. People were up there, painting the cables. He said it's a great job. "Sunshine, working outside, meeting people all the time..." I believe he had most of his teeth.

Painting equipment and a rinsing bucket. Not really "golden" but more of a red.

Once back to the park where the car was, Thomas and I enjoyed the sunshine and took pictures.

A trip to Alcatraz was probably the highlight of the trip for me. If you go to the Bay Area, Alcatraz is a MUST SEE!

I'm thinking about initiating some new rules around our home. Maybe we'll start with these...

My three and Michael, all locked up in D block... extreme isolation!

The gardens were a beautiful surprise on the island.

And now, for the food report. Eating is reason enough to visit the Bay Area.

Nanking... best food in China town

Thomas eating sesame chicken... delicious!

Bakery items... chocolate thing (seriously, that's what it's called), cherry/oat scone and a "sweet sally" shortbread

Up close of the chocolate things. A yeast roll full of chunks of chocolate. Hellllooooo lover!

In N Out Burgers. Another new love I discovered on vacation. How do I love thee? Let me count the calories. 1, 2, 3, ... 850. Gulp.

We went to the Mariner's season opener in Oakland. A horrible stadium, but we won the game. Had to enjoy the winning record while we had it. *sigh*

Amanda's view of the game

Amanda, Emily and Michael

I don't know these people.

Ok, There. That's it. I blogged about spring break. Thanks Michael, for being such a great host!

Eight is GREAT!

2010-05-03T17:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we celebrated the fact that the youngest of us is now EIGHT! And, what a weekend it was!

Highlights (in no particular order... I've always wanted to say that. Reminds me of the Academy Awards):

1. Thomas had a baseball game on Saturday. His team, the Rainiers, triumphed over their opposition; 7-0. Seriously, I don't think his team has ever actually won before! In the days of T-ball, we never kept track, but it always seemed that the other team got many more to home plate than we did. Last year was the first year of kid-pitched baseball, and again, although we never kept score, I don't think Thomas's team ever won. This was a glorious and long overdue win!

Check out Thomas's pitching... he had a no hitter game. Sweetness.

2. Dinner with Carlsons on Friday. It had been tooooo-oo-oo long since we had spent any time with them.

By request: Safeway bakery sugar cookies, shared with the Carlsons

By accident: One big candle because I forgot to buy the cute little birthday type

3. Birthday party Saturday at Laser Fun Zone. WHAT A BLAST! If you haven't been there, you need to go. Coming out of the game, we all commented that we felt a little like Jack Bauer as we rounded the corners, ready to shoot whoever stood in our way!

Ryan, Forrest, Joseph, Kyle, Thomas Justin and Garrett

Laser tag hostiles!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY THOMAS! WE LOVE YOU!!!

The new bike!

They are coming soon...

2010-04-29T09:55:00.000-07:00

... the new chairs, that is.

We want 2 chairs for our living room. We have been looking for these for um... probably 14 months. I guess I'm having a hard time deciding.

Looking at http://www.target.com/, I spied not just one, but TWO chairs that I really really like. Still couldn't decide, so I ordered 2 of each. I'll only keep one pair of chairs and return the other two to Target. Oh, the beauty of shopping on the internet knowing you can return to the store in town!

So here they are:

Wow, doesn't the one on the top look like the background on my blog? Cra-zy-ness. Maybe I could start a trend... furniture to match your blog. Hmmmm.

I like them both in different ways. Sort of like children. But, I'm not returning the children any time soon. Shoot, they are beginning to pick up their clothes without being told and even put themselves to bed at a decent time!

I'll keep you posted on them. The chairs, that is.

Jack's winning morning

2010-04-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

UPDATE (4-21-10): I found a recording of this very winning on Spirit's web site. Listen for yourself! Click here. Look for the "Related Audio" box and click the 4-20-10 button. Now, back to the previously posted blog entry...

My hubby is so smart. Today he won "Gender Game Without a Name" on Spirit 105.3. The topic was MUSICALS... piece of cake for a guy who:

used to direct high school choir
has a crazy talent for remembering details of musicals, and
never seems to forget people's names

The question was this: What is the name of the lead female character in My Fair Lady?

Without a moment's hesitation, Jack answered, "Eliza Doodlittle". No stalls, no guessing, no clues needed. He made the guys proud and also won himself 3 CDs! Wonder if one is the soundtrack to My Fair Lady?

Now, let's see if I can find an image from Google to help out this blog post. Searching "Eliza Doolittle"...

Oh, here's one:

Nope, that's not it. Somebody named their 4H goat after the cockney country girl. Isn't google amazing?

Nope, not this one either. This is the pop singer of the same name.

Ah, that's it. Eliza, in all her glory.

"Come on, Dover! Come on, Dover! Move your bloomin' arse!"

Way to go Jack! You never fail to surprise or amaze me!

Reality check

2010-04-13T11:11:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago, I signed up to receive emails from http://www.allrecipies.com/. It's a great little website for people like me who need some cooking inspiration. Every few days, they send an email with a link to a recipe. It's a great way to think about cooking up some different items to add to our dinner menus.

Yesterday, I was just starting to think about dinner. I had decided on split pea soup. YUM! Now, I know that doesn't spin everyone's beannie, but I grew up loving this and my family likes it too. Ham chunks, pieces of carrot, a small squirt of fresh garlic; what's not to love about a hearty soup? Before heading to the store for the needed ham hocks, I quickly checked my email, and was greeted by a new recipe idea from allrecipies! YEA! Maybe I would find fresh inspiration and cook something new. I mean, I love pea soup, but something new is always exciting.

I opened the email to find this darling of a recipe waiting for me:

Southwestern Chicken Lasagna

Here's the description: "A spicy, cheesy, Mexican flavored dish assembled and baked much like lasagna."

It sounded like it should definitely trump the split pea soup idea. Now to make a new shopping list.

chicken: have it, check

cheese: check

olives: add those to the list

spaghetti sauce: check

corn tortillas: need those

all of the other ingredients: check

All I needed were the olives and corn tortillas. This was going to be great! I would surprise my family with a delicious, new, yummy thing for dinner. Perfect on a night when we are coming and going with golf, track and dance all in one night.

Then came a pivotal moment. I clicked the nutritional content link. Let me just say this: If I ate stuff like this all the time, I would need new pants with a big elastic waist band.

Here's what it said:

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 902

Total Fat: 47.4g
Cholesterol: 194mg

HOLY CROW!!! That's a lot of calories for one entree! Never mind the salad and some bread or something to accompany the dish. And a glass of milk. I could eat my entire day's worth of calories in one sitting. Bad. I think it may have had something to do with all of the cheese. It did call for 4 cups of shredded cheese. That's probably also what got it the 4.5 star rating and rave reviews from 46 subscribers.

If I was going to eat that many calories at one meal, I would just eat ice-cream instead. It's a lot quicker to prepare. And probably a lot tastier, too.

So, in the end, it was split pea soup for dinner, at a mere 200 calories. Fat grams were only .7 and there were 5 miligrams of cholesterol.

Good thing I really like the soup!

Just a quickie post

2010-04-01T22:45:00.000-07:00

I want to get more pictures posted on Itsuka's visit before she leaves us on Saturday. Hello to people in Oito, Japan (Itsuka's home town)!

Playing Twister gives good practice on colors, body parts and left/right!

This little treasure has been invaluable

This is a trip to Cabela's (http://www.cabelas.com/)

Emily and Itsuka in coon-skip caps, so American!

My four children for the week. Back from a hunt.

Back at home, Itsuka taught us origami

The next day, we taught her how to dye Easter eggs

It's hard to see here, but the egg has her name written in Japanese with crayon

This morning, Thomas was sad at breakfast, saying, "I wish Itsuka could stay. I will miss her and I wish she was my real sister!" Tears, sobs... yes, the whole thing. He has really taken to his Japanese sister. With all the fun we've been having around here, who can blame him?

Something got lost in translation...

2010-03-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

What a treat we had last night! Itsuka cooked teriyaki chicken for us! I had emailed her mom to tell her Itsuka was cooking for us, and she wanted to make sure her daughter had the recipe so she sent a link to one. Below is what the top of the website looks like. Notice it's in Japanese!

If you want to see the whole thing, it's at: http://cookpad.com/recipe/131380

What I learned is that if you right click the link, a choice to use Google Translator comes up. So, not speaking any Japanese, I clicked it. Here are some of the directions that gave in English...

Put all seasonings in a pan, then "low heat" and then burn.
Shake occasionally, please burn the sauce on both sides to take the inside out.
In the list of ingredients, it calls for "2 photos of chicken peaches"

The whole translation thing can be a tricky adventure! Good thing we had Itsuka there to actually demonstrate how to make the dish.

Assembling the ingredients for dinner

Her mom would have been proud! The dinner was delicious! She taught Amanda how to use chopsticks, which we have been working on since Amanda's first trip to Happy Teriyaki (13 years ago?). We all tried the miso soup she brought and had green tea. Itsuka obviously enjoyed the taste of home and I have to say that I will never make teriyaki chicken any other way. It was so yummy! Good bye Yoshida's sauce!

Making the teriyaki sauce

Here is the recipe, translated by me:

Itsuka's Teriyaki Chicken

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons white sugar

1 Tablespoon maple syrup

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Mix the first 3 ingredients in a cup. In a fry pan, heat 2-3T vegetable oil. Brown the chicken on medium heat, turning as needed, until chicken is almost cooked through- about 8 minutes. Pour sauce on the chicken, turn heat to medium low and cover. Turn chicken after a few minutes. Cook until chicken is done and sauce is reduced to a glaze.

If you have a large family, you will want to double the recipe as those thighs cook down pretty tiny. I think you could also use white meat instead if you prefer and it would be just as delicious. Also, it didn't need any other flavor, but ginger or garlic would add a nice taste to the sauce.

Itsuka brought instant miso soup that came in brightly colored foil packets

From the Land of the Rising Sun

2010-03-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

Emily and Itsuka, shortly after meeting

This week we have a young student from Japan staying with us. Her name is Itsuka and can I just tell you what a doll she is? She is 14, polite, kind, fun... everything you would want in a guest! She is here through Emily's school, Chinook Middle School. There are about 33 students total coming from her town in Japan and they are all 12 to 16 years old.

We greeted the students Saturday at a potluck lunch, complete with clowns for entertainment. Can you imagine? You travel many hours on a plane, feel the effects of having been up all night yet it is only 2PM, and you sit down with complete strangers to eat an American potluck... with clowns there to entertain? I wasn't sure how that would all go over with the Japanese students. My own children all expressed their distrust of anything "clown" and wondered if the Japanese kids wouldn't leave America terrorized by the experience.

The potluck spread

Despite our wonderings, the potluck lunch was pretty tasty and gave us a good chance to become acquainted with our new little friend.

Us with Itsuka on the left, the "J" family and their student on the right

After the lunch, we were amazed to see the Japanese students were actually interested in the clowns, who, it turns out, weren't so scarey after all! They made balloon sculptures for the kids and pretty soon kids were showing off their newly obtained balloon-flower or animal. Some of the boys were having balloon-sword fights. Everyone was smiling, and that was the goal. I guess the organizers of the event really did know what they were doing!

waiting a turn for the clowns

Thomas and his balloon-sword, Clown, and Itsuka with her balloon-flower

The students all came with brightly colored, hard, suit cases. When all 33 were lined up, it was quite a site. Almost pretty, as far as a bunch of suitcases go.

We drove home, pointed out a "very American farm" along the way. Cows, red barn, farm house. It brought a clear and loud, "Oh! Yes!" from our shy and quiet Itsuka.

Once home, Itsuka got the tour of the house and was introduced to the cats. She quickly presented us with gifts from Japan; me- a beautiful scarf, Jack- a bank in the shape of a Japanese good-luck posed cat, Thomas- a wind sock on a stick with cool Japanese writing on it, Amanda and Emily- each received a little make-up type of bag. Very sweet gifts and she was so cute giving them to us.

About this time, we looked up the time difference between Olympia and her town, Oita. They are 15 hours ahead, so it was 9AM Sunday in her poor, jet-lagged body. It was only Saturday afternoon in Olympia. Poor thing, she had a whole evening to go before she could go to bed! Her eyes were beginning to really droop, so off we went to Tolmie State park to get some fresh air. It was just the ticket!

The forest part of Tolmie

Throwing rocks at Tolmie beach

A pretty cute bunch, don't you think?

We came home and I made hamburgers and fries. She ate like a champ, took a shower and went to bed. I forgot to show her how to open the sheets to get into the bed, so she slept on top of the cover and used an extra blanket to cover herself. I don't think it mattered, because she slept for 12 hours!

Sunday she was spunky and awake. In the morning she at Rice Krispies (they have those in Japan, we were told) and she played Wii Sports with my kids. That afternoon, we drove to Seattle and took her up the Space Needle. It was Thomas's dream come true. He has wanted to go up there for a couple of years now! Itsuka recognized Mt. Rainier as "Mt. Tacoma" from Japanese TV shows. Of course she understood about the Mariners (and Ichiro!) and was interested in seeing Safeco Field.

Introducing Itsuka to some of the fine snacking done in America

Today, she and Emily are at school together. I can't wait to hear how the day went! The two girls get along nicely and I am impressed at Emily's way of speaking simply to Itsuka in a way that is understandable to her. I'm sure they will have a fun day!

the Wii has been a great way to start a friendship!

A new kind of recipe

2010-03-18T10:26:00.000-07:00

Recipe for a happy boy:

1 hammer
1 towel
1 standard screwdriver
1 phillips screwdriver
1 wire cutter
1 rachet and socket set

Gather the above ingredients together. To them add:

1 old computer

Lay the towel out flat. Put computer on towel. Point out to the boy how the screws can be turned to the left to open the computer up. Leave the mixture alone for 1 hour.

Return to see a beat computer and a happy boy!

Need your computer worked on? I have just the boy to do it!

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig

2010-03-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

From the red headband, going clockwise: Megan, Amanda, Lauren, Emily, Linnea

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig is the Gaelic way of expressing a wish that you have all the blessings of St Patrick's Day and the "luck of the Irish" to go with it. What did St. Patrick want to bless you with? Why, the love and peace of Jesus, of course! He was, afterall, a missionary sent from England to teach the Irish about the Christian (Catholic) faith. It's true, he used the 3-leafed clover as a visual when talking about the trinity of God.

In Ireland, many go to mass today, offering up prayers for missionaries around the world. So, take a moment and pray for any missionary you may know before you get on with whatever other celebrations you have planned for the day.

Happy St Patty's Day!