Wednesday, August 30, 2006

life is fragile

First the whole mess with Jenny/Ana...then Walt's cancer diagnosis, now this.

One of our neighbors and friends is in the hospital in a coma. Scott was riding his dirt bike on Saturday and had a bad crash. One of his daughters, Theresa, is Joseph's age, and they have known each other their whole lives. His wife and I have actually joked about Theresa and Joseph ending up married .

Anyway, he has been in a coma since Saturday. Teresa sent Joseph a message on myspace telling him about it. She said her mom wanted me to know in case something happened while she was at the hospital with Scott. I feel so bad for Theresa. She is a strong girl who pretty much takes everything in stride (There are 7 kids in the family....taking things in stride is the way to remain sane), but one of the messages she sent broke my heart. She told Joseph it was a bad accident, he is in a deep coma,and she 'doesn't know if he will be coming home'. I can't imagine how scared they all are.

I told them that if there is ANYTHING we can do to give us a yell.

Right now, I guess all we can do is pray.

Monday, August 28, 2006

damn it

I heard from Sue today. Walt has just been diagnosed with Mesothelioma, cancer of the pleura (lining of the chest cavity), which is asbestos related, fast growing and incureable.

Per Sue: "The tumor is too large to operate on or to radiate so his only options are chemotherapy or no treatment. He has opted to at least try chemotherapy which he will begin this week. They will give him 2 rounds of treatment and then take a ct scan to see if the tumor has stopped growing, and hopefully, shrunk. If the chemotherapy works to shrink the tumor his prognosis is maybe 18 months, maybe more or maybe less. If the chemotherapy doesn't work or if Walt decides the chemo isn't worth it than the prognosis is 12 months if we're lucky."

Cancer sucks:(

Thursday, August 24, 2006

t.g.i.(almost)f.

It has been a busy week. Last Saturday was the dinner concert at church (I took a different purse and kept it locked in my trunk...no worries about it getting stolen)

The show was great. The kids did such a good job. Of course, I think Joseph and his friends were the best. They sang a couple of Social Distortion songs. There was lots of singing and dancing. The girls did a couple of hulas, and 2 of the girls did a dance to Moulin Rouge and one to We Are Siamese (very cute!) Joseph also did an acoustic solo. He sang Redemption Song. Yep. My son sang Bob Marley;-)

Chris left Sunday morning, and Joseph & I went to Jo's for a pool party in the afternoon. Church that evening was um, different. Two drunks came to church. I guess it was a good thing they wanted to come, but I had a hard time with it (then I felt guilty) They sat directly in front of me....and they smelled horrid. They were REALLY drunk too. They talked through the whole service, with #1 guy explaining to #2 guy what was happening. #2 guy was wasted. He kept swearing.

John came over to them and asked if they really wanted to be there. During the Our Father, when everyone joins hands, they walked across the aisle to take the hand of the person there. I was thrilled...until drunk #2 reached back and grabbed my hand:/ I wish I had thought to fold my hands in prayer and bow my head, but I don't think it would have mattered. I was really nervous about what they would do. I wasn't the only one. Everyone around me was keeping an eye on them, and the kids in the choir were ready to leap to my defense if there was a need;-) Even Fr. Innocent was aware of it. He told me after Mass he was watching, and debating whether to say anything.

Joseph stayed the night at Derek's that night, so I had some alone time. I went to bed early. Woo hoo;-)

Monday we went up to Sheri's for the day. It was good to see them all. Lexie is getting to be a real cutie. I can't believe she's almost 3.

Tuesday Joseph spent the day at Derek's, while Jo, Alicia and I went over to Napa for the day. We went to 2 wineries, http://www.sterlingvineyards.com/ and http://www.vsattui.com/
It was so cool! Sterling has a gondola you ride up to the tasting room/gift shop, etc., and V. Sattui is a really old winery. Their wines are only sold there. No restaurant or store sells V Sattui wines. I bought enough to last me until my next trip;-) After the wineries, we went to the Rutherford Grill for a late lunch. The food was incredibly delicious, and the waiter was even more delicious, lol. Holy guacamole, was he cute. If you ever got to the Rutherford Grill, look for a waiter named Justin...he with the great smile, dimples and pretty eyes.

Friday, August 18, 2006

close call

I think I was almost robbed tonight...at church:/

We were in the parish hall, decorating for the youth group's dinner concert tomorrow night (while the kids practiced)
A few of us women left our purses on one of the tables. We were in and out, and there was always someone sitting at the table.

The Hispanic ministry had some sort of meeting in the room next to where we were, and there were quite a few teenagers there. While we were standing around the table, a particular group of young men came over and started asking questions aout my purse. I have a vintage Louis Vuitton handbag....one I found for $6 at the Goodwill, LOL. (Best thrift shop score ever)
Anyway, these guys were asking all kinds of questions...whose bag was it, and then they kept asking me how much I paid for it. Finally one of my friends asked them whay they wanted to know, and that it is rude to ask that question. They went outside then. A few minutes later, one of our girls came in from outside and came over to me, telling me to pick up my purse now.

She said she heard them speaking Spanish, saying that maybe they should either come back in and steal the purse, or wait until I left and rob me.

When we finally left, about an hour later....there were the 4 guys who had been asking all the questions, and one of their girlfriends, just standing around outside the door. Thank God Joseph was with me (and that he is a BIG kid), not to mention our youth minister and her kids. They stared me down all the way to my car. I looked them all in the eye, like I was memorizing their faces. I don't know what stopped them, but apparently they decided against robbing me. Joseph and I got in the car and I locked all my doors before we left.

I feel like I dodged a bullet. I am a little shaky, but thankful to God that they didn't try and rob me.

I am also extremely sad that this happened on church property:(

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

tuesday

Ana had another hearing this morning....to postpone the readiness hearing to September 26. Hopefully THAT day they will set the date for the preliminary hearing. Her defense lawyers still don't have all the discovery yet:/

It's been 2 months since this whole mess started.

Monday, August 07, 2006

Joseph and I are going down to Pismo tomorrow afternoon for a few days. Chris has moved into the rental.

This is really weird.


We're leaving in the afternoon because, not only does Joseph have guitar lessons tomorrow, but Ana has a court date in the morning. It is a readiness/preliminary hearing. *Sigh*

Chris keeps talking about the cool deck this house has. I think I need to take a book or two along. Sitting on a deck reading sounds like bliss.

johari

http://kevan.org/johari?view=raingyrl


It's nice to see how people view you:)

Thursday, August 03, 2006

sweet relief

The mondo heat wave has broken. **Cue choirs of angels singing hallelujah** When Joseph and I left for Pismo last week, it was still well over 100d. By the time we got home Saturday, it was only in the 90s. Now ordinarily, 90 something would be hot, but after 114, 95 is relatively cool;-)

This week we have been in the hi 80s/low 90s. Much better. I can at least function. Now, as soon as my Loratidine kicks in and my eyes lose the swelling, all will be good;-) It has been really hazy/smoky for the past couple of days, and it makes my eyes itch. And....when my eyes itch, I rub them (bad me). Rubbing my eyes makes my bags underneath look like I could pack them for the weekend:/ Duh. Allergies, dummy. Take your Claritin. *sigh*


Chris left Monday. He is at the hotel til tomorrow, then he moves into the rental. I am taking advantage of his absence to declutter the house. Luckily, I can take my time and not try and get it all done in 2 days. Goodwill is going to LOVE me. I amgoing to have a ton of stuff for them. Now, if I can only keep myself from browsing when I drop the donations off. HA.