Happy New Year!

Here's to 2006. I wish you all health, happines and prosperity in the new year.

And To All A Good Night

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas:)

We did. Presents are all opened, trash is bagged up, dinner is now finished, and we are all relaxing.

Joseph was very surprised when *Santa* brought him a new bass guitar & amp. He had no idea. He really wanted an ipod but since they are sold out everywhere, and have been, we decided to get the bass. Now the child has two electric guitars, an acoustic, and acoustic 12 string and now a bass...not to mention 3 amps. My living room really looks like a studio. One of our goals this year is to turn one of the extra bedrooms into a music studio for him...and I will get my living room back, lol.

I really am glad he is a musician. It makes gift buying a lot easier. He also got a new case for one of his acoustics, a new pedal, music stand, and a mic and stand. He also got some clothes & DVDs (Live 8, Cream and Green Day) My sister got him an awesome world history book by National Geographic.

I got Chris a bunch of different tools, clothes and a new DVD player. He's fixing to put Radio on, since he got that in his stocking.

I was spoiled. I got a sewing machine, a cd player for my car, the new Beatles bigraphy, a new Tinkerbell watch, some jewelery and a couple of Nora Roberts books. I am also the owner of a diner. http://www.woodenduckshoppe.com/cart/images/items/ShellysDiner_55008.jpg
I have been wanting this ever since we first saw it at the Department 56 store at Downtown Disney. It is SO cool!

Tomorrow we are going up to Oregon to celebrate Christmas and Joseph's birthday (Tuesday) with the in laws. My baby boy is going to be 15 ! *Sniff*

Ho Ho Ho

Santa -- Santa is the symbol of the modern
Christmas celebration. A kindly old elf,
bringing gifts to children around the world on
one magical night. How he does it and who he is
remains a mystery, as well as fodder for old
and new tales alike. You hold onto the simple
childhood glee that comes from Christmas
traditions and reflect that delight with a
twinkle in your eye. Over the years, you've
never let those non-believers and


Which Christmas Icon Are You?
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Pie Time

2 down, three to go . I am doing my annual pie baking for Chris to take to work.
I love these things;-) I'll have to make another for us to have on Christmas. They are like a toll house cookie pie;)


Toll House Pie


2 eggs
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. light brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 c. walnuts, chopped
1 (6 oz.) pkg. (1 c.) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 (9-inch) pie shell (unbaked)
Whipped cream or ice cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In large mixer bowl, beat eggs at high speed until foamy, about 3 minutes. Beat in flour, sugar and brown sugar until well blended. Beat in softened butter. Stir in walnuts and semi- sweet chocolate morsels. Pour into pie shell.

Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean, and top is golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

I got to meet another online friend today:-)

L'Rae and her SO Dave are moving to Vancouver from Arizona, and we met in Old Sacramento when they drove through. L'Rae is just as wonderful in person as she is online...smart, articulate and funny. Dave is such a nice guy. You can see how much they love each other, and their son Tristan. What a cool kid! He came right up to me and introcuced homself. "I'm Tristan and I'm 4 years old"

L'Rae and I joke about being relatives (she calls me Aunt Shelly) and today when we met I got a surprise. She actually looks like one of my cousins! Joseph noticed it too. Too weird;-)

We ate at Joe's Crab Shack, which is right on the river. We were seated by the window, which thrilled Tristan no end. He loved looking out at the water and the boat docked below. We even saw a seal swimming in the middle of the river! It was so cool. It caught a fish and was throwing it up in the air. I wish I had thought to take a picture of it, but I (or Joseph, rather) did manage to get a few pictures. When I get the disc back I will post them:)

I am so glad we got to meet. I love meeting online friends:)

*Sniff*

My baby boy shaved for the first time today :*)

For those who don't have sons, its kind of like when your daughter starts her period.

He's becoming a man. He's growing up so fast...6 feet tall, curly hair and beautiful blue/gray eyes. *Sigh*

I am not ready for this.

Good news:)

Chris' eye is stable, and he didn't need any lasering today. He is to go back in 6 months.

Whew. He is so relieved, and so am I.

It's That Time of Year Again

It is getting busy around here. Two weeks ago we got Roy & Eleanor packed up and moved to Oregon, last week was our Disneyland trip, and Saturday was my birthday. We got our tree on Sunday, but I haven't even had a chance to decorate it! Whew;-)

I worked at Christmas Wish for a few hours today. Some of the wishes are just so sad. One little boy just wants clothes. I ended up taking his ornament and am going to go shopping for him tomorrow. He's 7 years old, and he wants clothes. Toys were way down on his list. I think I will go to Ross, and maybe I can get him a bunch of stuff:/

I ended up buying about 8 different Dora the Explorer dolls today too. Lots of girls have her on their wish list and so far there are very few donated.

The youth group performed for the women's club tonight for their Christmas dinner. They did a great job:) The mayor and his wife were there. They complimented the kids on their performance. Maybe the city will have them sing;-)

Tomorrow night Jo, Alicia and I are going to Chevy's to celebrate Jo and my birthdays.

Chris has an opthomologist appointment in the morning. I will take him because I'm sure he will have his eyes dilated, and most likely will need more lasering :(

And with that, I am going to pour a glass of chardonnay and relax for a bit before bed.

Oh, I almost forgot. I finally got my ornaments posted this morning. I 'm late! Don't kill me, Snapper;-)

Remember when I went to see Paul McCartney in Sacramento? I know you do;-) Remember when I said Joseph held up his sign and Paul agknowledged it? Anyway, this is from a review on maccareport.com (a McCartney website) "After "English Tea" Paul gave his "peradventure" word lesson. A fan held up a sign that said "Peradventure" to which Paul joked, "That is just one more example of how the word is sweeping the nation." " That has to be about Joseph's sign!

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. We got back from Oregon yesterday, after spending Thanksgiving with Chris' brother. It was the first time they had spent Thanksgivinng together since they were kids. I think they both enjoyed it. It was nice to relax after getting all Roy & Eleanor's stuff moved from Santa Cruz (with a stop home to drop off my 'new' china cabinet. Yay!)

We had to leave the Uhaul at bro's house for him to take over and unload tomorrow though:/ Someone at the title company screwed up and didn't transfer the funds Wednesday when they should have, so R&E couldn't move into their new house yet. *sigh*

Other than the moving snafu, it was a nice few days. I did a little Black Friday shopping there, and picked up a few of joseph's gifts, though not the big ones I wanted to. We brought nephew Charlie back down with us so he could drive back up in the Toyota Roy gave him. It has been at our house for a week or so...maybe 2. I can't remember anymore;-)

The kids at youth choir practiced this afternoon for a couple of hours. The women's club wants then to perform on December 7.

More photos:-) M i c k e y M o u s e
I *heart* Snow White

My baby is taller than I am! This was at Disneyland last month.
I hate how I photograph:/

Random Photos

Now that I have finally loaded some of our photo CDs onto the computer, and found out how easy posting them here, you may get sick of seeing pictures;) These are random photos from Joseph and my trip to Seattle this summer. Ballard Locks
Joseph "loitering" at Pikes Place Market

Paul...Finally

I know it's not a very good picture, but it was the best we could do with a smuggled camera/binocular set;) Joseph took it at Arco.


Both Paul shows were wonderful. Absolutely heavenly.

Last Monday (November 7) Casey and I went to San Jose to see him. Oh my God. It was the best.ever. We got there early, and found out where his hotel was (quite by accident, that.) We were driving back to the arena from having lunch downtown, and Casey looked over at this really quaint boutique hotel. Parked in front were 5 or 6 black Lexus SUVs, complete with drivers. Casey started screaming, "that's where he is f*cking staying, that's where he is f*cking staying!" We parked and walked back to the hotel, trying to act nonchalant. HA! We went inside and used the restroom (and scouted to make sure he wasn't just sitting there, LOL)

Outside, one of the drivers chatted me up a bit. he would walk by and say hello, etc. Finally he came over to me and told me Paul was late and they were waiting for his call. A few minutes after that, the fleet of Lexuses took off, so Casey and I went back to the arena. We stood by the entrance where we knew he would be driving in, and waited, sign in hand. As he came by, he rolled the window down, leaned out and gave us thumbs up, waved and said hi to us! I was like a little kid. I can believe Paul McCartney looked at ME and waved at ME. *Sigh*

The show itself was awesome. The price we paid for the scalper, er, "ticket broker" tickets was SO worth it. I felt like I could reach out and touch him. He could actually see us, and pointed out our sign:)

After having 2nd row tickets for San Jose, the tickets we had for Arco on Wednesday just wouldn't do;-) We managed to score floor tickets Wednesday night by walking up to the ticket window before the show. We were no where near as close as we were for san Jose, but it was still worth it! We made another sign, and he saw THAT one too, LOL. I had Joseph hold it, since he is taller;-) That sign said "Peradventure better seats for us?" Peradventure is a word he used in one of his new songs, and means maybe. Paul is very proud of that word, so we thought it would be worth a try. We didn't get any closer, but he did point at it and say "peradventure;-)" He also waved. Again, *sigh*

I felt like the 9 year old I was when I first was him on Ed Sullivan. I screamed, jumped up and down, and cried. When he sang Let It Be, I sobbed. when he sang Please, Please me, I cried and laughed. This past week or so has been incredible:)

Now, it's back to real life. *Sigh*

Thank goodness for wonderful memories:)

My father in law decided yesterday to drive from Medford, Oregon to Santa Cruz. It's normally about an 8 hour drive. Only problem is, he is 80 years old, has had multiple strokes and has memory loss. Oh, and he also has night blindness.

A little back story: The inlaws have found a place to live in Oregon, close to Steve and Roberta. Handy, since both of them are FNPs, and we live about 2-3 hours from Santa Cruz...too far in an emergency:/ Anyway, Steve had driven MIL down so she could get some things taken care of without FIL being underfoot. He was to stay with Steve & Roberta while she was gone. Saturday afternoon, he was 'supposedly' resting in his room, so Roberta went into her room to read a book, and fell asleep. When she woke up about 1:40, all she saw was a note from FIL that he was going home to Santa Cruz.

We all panicked. I am usually Pollyanna, but this time I was sure he had either taken a wrong turn and was headed off into god knows where, or had fallen asleep at the wheel & crashed, or, or, or....

This is a snippet of the email we got from MIL today: I thought that for my part I could check with the credit card companies and have some notion of where he was. NOTHING was charged. Today I asked him about it. He simply did not stop to eat or sleep. He stopped once at a gas station and got a cup of coffee and a candy bar. After that he simply peed on the car seat and kept driving. He did what we both thought was not possible - drive in the dark. He merged onto I-80 and kept going to the Bay Bridge and out to Highway 1, down the coast and home, all with only that one stop in Northern Cal. At 10:00 I was about to get into bed when I saw the light from a car coming into the park. I looked out the window and saw Roy parking the car perfectly between the lines out front. So I went out and gave him a warm welcome. We slept through the night, and today have alternated between forgetting about it and filling in the blanks. NEVER again!........

Roy's last prayer last night was: "Thank you, God, for saving me from myself." Amen to that.

His guardian angel HAD to be with him last night. I can think of no other explanation. There is so much that could have happened,especially with him driving down the coast. At night. That is a miserable road, and so many accidents happen at Devil's Slide, even during the day, but GOOD, ALERT drivers.

I don't know what we're going to do with him. He is so DAMN stubborn. He shoudn't be driving at ALL. That is what is so freakyabout the whole trip. He has been getting lost a few blocks from his house, and can't remember WHERE HE LIVES.

*sigh*

No wonder my hair is so fucking grey. If it weren't for Miss Clairol/L'Oreal, etc, I would be white haired:/

Speaking of.....the grey is gone, thanks to Revlon Medium Brown;) Can't have grey roots when I go see Paul McCartney tomorrow;-)

Happy Weekend:-)

We're outta here in a few.

It's a last minute weekend trip to Disneyland! We decided last night.
Joseph and I are on our way to pick Chris up at work, and off we go.

We'll be back Sunday.

I LOVE having annual passports, LOL.

Have a great weekend everyone!

As of yesterday, the US military death toll in the Iraqi war hit 2,000 :*( today it hit 2001. That doesn't even count the thousands of Iraqis killed...men, women and children.
2000 is a hell of a milestone, and one I'm afraid will go much higher.

There were candlelight vigils all across the country tonight http://www.afsc.org/default.htm

I was going to go, and found a couple within a half our or so of home ( although there were none here...) but by the time I got dinner finished and everything cleaned up, it was too late to go anywhere. So...Joseph and I held our own. We lit candles and stood in the front yard. Small and insignificant though it may have been, I felt we were lighting candles in the darkness...and it at least made me feel I was doing something. We had the boom box playing Imagine and Give Peace a Chance.


Smile for the day:
We went to Target today to get Halloween candy . Tonight when Chris got home, both Joseph and I were teasing him, so Chris asked if we had bought an attitude while we were shopping. Joseph said,"Yeah, Target had some on clearance, so we got a whole bunch"


My son the smart ass;-)

A party on Monday night? You bet;-)

I just got back from Karla's 50th birthday party. It was at Diana's house, and there were about 10 women there, plus Diana's husband Steve who did all the cooking and made pitchers of the best Cosmopolitans I have ever had;-)

It was so much fun. We all got dressed up. I don't dress up enough. I like feeling like a girl:) The food was wonderful, and the company was even better. There was a lot of girl power there;-) It is funny. I have known about half of these woman for a few years (some longer) but mostly through church related activites. Hoo boy.....I certainly saw a different side to some of them tonight, LOL.

Get a bunch of Catholic women together, serve them Cosmos and watch OUT, LOL. We even played party games. Now, I'm really not much for party games, but Diana is a great planner. We played a grown up version of pin the tail on the donkey....called pin the boobs on Karla;-) Diana WAS going to buy the long skinny balloons and play pin the dick on Clark, LOL. I learned a lot about her tonight;-) She may be a spiritual woman, but she has a wicked sence of humour. I like that;)

We all went together and got Karla a spa day. She has been though a lot in the past couple of years, with her husband doing what he did. She deserves a pampering:)

Happy Birthday to MIL Eleanor who is 74 today, to BIL Steve (aka Yehudi) who is 60 and to Paula who is 27;-) I was 27 once, about a hundred years ago, lol.

I got a phone call from D. Luckily she just got the voice mail...

*Sigh*

We were such good friends. She really is a kind soul, but she is so far out there that, well....I can't afford her, KWIM. Part of her phone call was griping about being dissed by some friends of mine, and why should they worry, after all, she is 'married' to two gorgeous men, and has a girlfriend. Hello? And holy crap. When she told me last year she was married, I thought she married the love bug, aka baby boy (young enough to be her son) Weeeeeel, apparently, she not only 'married' him, but also 'married' the kid who was renting a room from her. His name is Laci, but it sounds like Latte. I think he is Czech or Russian or something like that. I think he is about 23. The love bug is 29 or 30. She turned 50 in August. I wonder if she ever told them her age?

She told me that "Kimmy" is back in her life, and apparently they have a thing too. She also told me that one of her husbands is having a gallery show in January. She said it is too bad I'm not up there, because he id doing nudes and needs another model. I don't think so. Sorry.

Its all just to weird for me. When I met her, she was already a free spirit, but I think she has gone over the edge:( A mutual friend of ours told me in August that she has lost all her old friends....alienated them. I worry about her, but I have learned I can't take care of the world. I just hope she stays safe....

Youth group had the first donut sale of the year. We got to the church at 7 a.m., and had to wait almost 30 minutes for Jo to show up! I have a key to her office but couldn't get into the hall to get to her office:/ A couple of the kids showed up about 10 minutes after we did so we just waited. Joseph called Jo ( I was afraid she had forgotten!) and she said their gazebo blew over last night in the windstorm, and they had to put it back up.

Anyway, they all got there about 7:30, and Flo showed up with the donuts soon after. It was a busy morning. After paying for the donuts, we cleared almost $300, so it was a good day....and we ran out of donuts. That has never happened before. Those kids work their butts off. We got finished cleaning up about noon.

Joseph went over to Derek's afterwards, and Chris and I went out to lunch and to do a little shopping. We got Joseph a new pair of Vans (19.99), I got a pair of Emu boots (19.99) and Chris got some fake Birkenstoks for $8.00!

After we got home, I changed and left for youth group. we critiqued last weeks rally and talked about the LA trip, and another big rally we have in April. Chris did a little work around the house then he met me for Mass at 5:30. He left right after Mass to put the water on for tortellini. OMG, Costco has the BEST tortellini! Dinner was the aforementioned tortellini, a salad, garlic bread and black olives. It was oh so good;-)

That was my Sunday in a nutshell;-)

Back To Square One

Well, the in laws made an offer on a place in Oregon, near Steve and Roberta. It sounded perfect....in a Senior Park, only 5 minutes from Steve's house. What is it that is said about "too good to be true"? They got the inspection report back, and the place is a piece of shit. There is all kinds of stuff wrong, so they withdrew their offer:(

I don't know when the hell the move is going to happen now. There are a couple of other places they looked at, so their Oregon realtor is going to check them out. Will we have to take them back up for another look? Probably. Oh what fun. Not.

Chris has already told them that he will NOT drive a U Haul over the summit in the snow. *I* think they should just move up and find a place to rent, if they can't find the perfect place to buy yet. I am getting frustrated, and I know I shouldn't. BUT....we are basically putting all our plans (including a Disneyland trip) on hold until we find out when they are going to need us:/

HEALTH QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?

A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise.
Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.
___________________________

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.
___________________________________

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?

A: Well, hell NO, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine. That means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!
____________________________________

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?

A: Well, if you have a body and you have body fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc. ____________________________________ Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program? A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good

____________________________________

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?

A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!!. Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

____________________________________

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?

A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.
____________________________________

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?

A: Are you crazy? HELLO ..... Cocoa beans ... another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

____________________________________

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?

A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

____________________________________

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?

A: Yes. And remember, 'Round' is a shape!

____________________________________

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.
And remember: Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Champagne in one hand - strawberries in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO! What a Ride"!

From The Inbox

Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity :

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses On, Point AHair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom, Don't Disguise Your Voice.

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want FriesWith That.

4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk, Label It "In".

5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone Has GottenOver Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch To Espresso.

6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Over Charges".

7. Finish All Your sentences With "In Accordance With The Prophecy".

8. Don't Use Any Punctuation

9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.

10. Order A Diet Water, Whenever You Go To Eat, With A Serious Face.

11. Specify That Your Drive-Through Order Is "To Go."

12. Sing Along At The Opera.

13. Go To A Poetry Recital, Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme.

14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area, Play Tropical Sounds AllDay.

15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friend You Can't Attend The PartyBecause You're Not In The Mood.

16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, RockBottom.

17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won!, I Won"!!

18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking Lot, Yelling"Run For Your Lives, They're Loose"!!

19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We're Going ToHave To Let One Of You Go."

20. And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity.......Send This E-mail To Someone To Make Them Smile.

Its Called therapy.

You are Psalms.


Which book of the Bible are you?
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I am ready for bed;-)

The youth rally really turned out well. I know I was bugged about it, but I should have known it would all be all right. Oh me of little faith;-) The kids didn't use the video skit they had filmed, instead they did an impromptu skit that turned out amazingly well.

The speakers and the music were awesome. Michael Pritchard http://www.michaelpritchard.com/ was the keynote speaker, plus he spoke a couple of other times during the day, plus he ran one of our workshops. The man is awesome. That's all I can say. He connected so well with the teens, and he made me cry;-)

Our other workshop was called "can God be a sweaty DJ?" That was put on by this guy: http://www.vincenims.com/ Vince also sang for us. I wish I could remember the words to his song, I Like Bananas;-) He also sang a song he wrote about the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. I ended up buying his CD. He's another one who the teens absolutely love. Not only is he a good speaker and singer, but he is also a Beatles fan. I know he is good people now;-)

I only hope that when we are in charge of the rally (in 2 years) we can get speakers half as awesome as those 2.

The kids all had a great time. A great time. I think (know) they were all touched, and that they all came away with something positive. What more can you ask? (And Alyssa was sweet....she even gave me a hug and thanked me)

I know it had to be a good day. I used the word awesome 3 times in this post, lol.

Grrr.

Well, I finally just took my video camera up to Jo's so she could review and edit the film the kids made the other day.

First, Alyssa called and told Joseph they couldn't edit it (WTF?) so they are going to have to do something else tomorrow. She had an idea of a skit similar to Punk'd, called blessed, or something like that. Only problem is....the rally starts at 8 AM tomorrow morning...and how the hell are they going to practice? Joseph suggested they just do a couple of the songs they do so well, and she poo pooed that idea, saying "all the kids that are going need to participate." Hello?!?! All the kids that are going are in choir, so it would be no problem. If John and Joeph took their guitars, they could play while the others sing...

But wait, there's more!

Jo called later. She said that she didn't see anything wrong with the video, and didn't know why we couldn't use it, but that Alyssa didn't like it, therefore it won't be used. Again, she is letting her daughter run the whole show. I wish Jo would be the mother,and quit letting Alyssa run over her and everyone else:/ There are going to be some pissed off people tomorrow if the only reason they don't use the video is that princess isn't happy with it:/

I will be glad when this rally is over with. I was really looking forward to it. Now, not so much.


And she wonders why we are havig a hard time keeping yg members?

I'm glad I'm not the leader.

Just Breathe

So the big youth rally is Saturday. We film the skit the kids decided on, but there is NO ONE to edit it, and no one who knows what the hell to do now:/ I get an email tonight from the youth minister asking if the tv plug on the video camera is compatible with an LCD projector, because she JUST called the rally organiser TONIGHT and found out there will most likely not be a television there. Great planning:/

Soooooo, tomorrow morning I have to take the camera with all the cords to Best Buy and ask them. If it will work, I drop the camera off at Jo's so she can edit the film. If it won't work...well, I asked her if there is a back up plan. I guess the kids could do a live version of the skit, or maybe just sing a couple of songs. either way, it looks like my Friday will be spent either helping edit, or being at a rehearsal for a skit/song.


Then there is the saga of moving the inlaws to Oregon. After too many phone calls, I think we have it figured out. Chris will go down early Saturday morning, pick Roy & Eleanor up and drive them to Willows (about half way between here and Oregon) Steve and Roberta will meet him there and take R&E the rest of the way. They will stay for a week, looking for a place, and buying it outright if they find one. Either we reverse the process next saturday, or they may possibly just stay then. In any case, soon after that (probably the week after) Joseph and I will go spend a week in Santa Cruz to get their house all packed up, packing what they have marked and getting rid of the rest. Then Chris will rent a U Haul and we move their stuff up to Oregon. Oh what fun. Not.

The only thing keeping me semi sane through all this is the promise of Paul next month. Twice.

The kids at youth group are working on a skit for the big rally on Saturday.

Yesterday we spent 3 hours at the hall filming. I took the new video camera and let Heidi use it. I figured, she knows more about filming than I do, lol. I stayed out of it because it is the kids thing, but oh boy;-) I was getting a giggle out of Alyssa taking over and giving direction. Quite a bit of , ahem, 'creative differences' going on. I think they spent half of the 3 hours arguing;-)

When Joseph and Derek were finished with their part, they went outside. After a while, they got bored (Derek especially....that kid gets bored so fast, lol) First, Derek called my cell to ask for Joseph (who was sitting next to him), then they decided to call Alyssa and ask when it would be over. She didn't like that, so she hung up on Derek. He called her back. She hung up, and so on. I don't know why she didn't turn her phone off, but that isn't the point, really.

~A little backstory on Miss Alyssa.....I love her dearly. She is a funny kid, but she does have a major "my mom is the youth leader, so I should be special and get more privileges" attitude. I know it pisses some of the kids off, because they come complain to me:/ She also can be rude. Very rude...both to kids and adults. I guess because she talks to her mom the way she does (like she is the adult and mom is the child) she thinks it is acceptable to speak to others that way.~

Anyway, back to yesterday. apparently, the last time the hang up happened, she had been yelling at the boys for calling and bugging her and Derek told her that she was being a bitch. (which was true, lol) Now, instead of telling Derek to STFU or whatever (she is 17....they are 14) She marches over to where the adults were, and tells John and me "You need to talk to those boys, they are being disrespectful and calling obscenities. You need to punish them" Excuse me? A 17 year old doesn't tell an adult what they 'need' to do, or how to (or whether to) punish their kid:/ John went out to talk to the boys. He told them it wasn't appropriate behaviour and left it at that. I don't think Miss Alyssa thought that was enough, so she became just what Derek called her;-)

When we were getting ready to go, after cleaning/sweeping the hall, she gave me a horrid , hard look and said "We have to get out of here now. We have to hurry up. NOW" Now remember, she is 17. I am...older than 17. Much older. I just raised my eyebrow at her and continued what I was doing. If the girl wants bitch lessons, I can give them to her, LOL. I have had much more practice than she has;-)

As we were leaving the building, she reaches over to take the camera. She said "I'll take this home and my cousin can come over and edit it" Excuse me?? Sorry, but I am not handing my brand spanking new video camera over to a 17 y/o. First off, Chris would kill me. Second, she didn't ask. She demanded. I held onto the camera and told her we could get together at her house this week with Heidi, who shot the video, to edit.
I think the princess is pissed at me because I didn't acquiesce immediately to her wishes;-P

oh well.

I'm going to hear the woman (Heidi Kuhn) who founded this organization: http://www.rootsofpeace.org/home.htm speak this afternoon. I can't wait. It should be interesting:-)

Today was the first day of CCD for the year. I'm teaching 6th grade again. At least I know what I'm in for. I am thrilled...I only have nine kids in the class this year. I love small classes. I think we can do so much more. It is a more intimate class. Only one girl seemed hesitant, but when she discovered we aren't going to read the whole bible (6th grade is Bible stories/study), she felt a lot better. This is a quiet class. Of course, its only the first week, so maybe they will come out of their shells as the year goes on. I hope so.

Did you all watch Dancing With The Stars dance off? Did you vote for John O'Hurley??

I have such a crush on him;-) I could have seen him in Tahoe that night, if only I had gone to eat with Steve and Casey:/ I voted on line, and then called. Joseph wanted me to vote for the girl (he doesn't even know her name). I vote for her for the least dressed;-)

I clicked back and forth between Dancing With The Stars and Big Brother....even though I never got into BB this season as much as I did before. I just didn't like anyone one there. (especially Janelle. Yuck)

Yeah Yeah Yeah

Friday night Joseph and I went to the Lodi Grape festival. No I didn't go to see the exhibits, lol. My boys were playing. Derek came with his mom and dad. They all liked it. Now John & Kathy have some idea of what I talk about, lol. I introduced them to the guys while they were signing autographs. John told Joey "we're kinda fond of your tee shirt girl", and Joey turned around and grinned at me and said, "Yeah, we are too".

Ralpho was in rare form. He had me laughing all night.

Saturday night they did a benefit at Feather Falls Casino in Oroville. That was really nice. OMG, the spread of food backstage was yummy. Lots of Mexican food. Mmm Mmm good;-)
Every time I walked in, Ralph was telling me to eat. What is it with Italians and food anyway? "Eat something". Holy crap, I don't need to "eat something". My ass is big enough;-) Then there was the too. die. for. carrot cake that Joey decided he would share with me. It was so. damn. good.


Can I be jealous for just a minute? Please?
Steve and Casey are flying out Wednesday night to Philly. They are going to see Paul McCartney.....2 nights in a row. The first night they sit in the 17th row....and the second night in the SECOND ROW. Of course, they are paying a pretty penny for it. Second row to see Paul. OMFG. I don't know if I could handle being that close, seriously. He will make eye contact with them. Casey is going to wear one of her 'vegeterian' shirts. Maybe she'll get noticed, lol. She jokingly told me that if they get to meet him, she will call me and have him say hello. I think if my cell phone rings at all on Thursday or Friday, I will freak ;P Why yes, I am pathetic. I have had a thing for Paul McCartney since I was 9 years old. Do you have any idea how long that is???

She is trying to talk me into checking out ebay for tickets in the first few rows when he plays Seattle. I am so tempted.....after all, its only money, right?

MIL has congestive heart failure.

She has been taking care of FIL the past couple of years, since he had his first stroke, and hasn't been taking care of herself.

Her condition has deteriorated to the point that she is not strong enough for needed valve surgery. So...Chris will soon be driving them both up to Oregon where BIL and his wife live. They have a house directly round the corner from theirs, so they will be able to take care of both MIL & FIL (Both BIL and SIL are family nurse practitioners) We have been trying for more than a year to get them to move up there, but Eleanor has been resistant so far. She changed her mind last week while BIL was down to visit.

We think she is doing it now so Steve and Roberta will be there to take care of Roy when she dies. Right now, the house Steve & Roberta owns is occupied, so until the tenant moves out, R&E will be staying either with Steve & Roberta, or in a small apt.

MIL is not strong enough to pack much of anything (she gets winded walking across the room now...)

When we find out when Chris will be taking them, MIL will just pack some of their clothes and meds. Joseph and I will go down then and pack the rest of their house up. Chris will come back, get a U Haul and take what they need/want back up, and we will either donate the rest or have a yard sale.

*Sigh* Sometimes being a grown up is hard.

Wednesday Already?

And why is it called hump day? Do people have more sex on Wednesdays? (Ok, I really do know why its called that)

I am suffering from forum frustration. What used to be my home forum has become some alien place. There is a moratorium on any political talk....or anything that might become political. Seems some people can't take it. I guess there are too many F bombs (not MY word) being dropped for the more prudent among us. It sure isn't me. I swear like a sailor;-) Besides that, people are being meen. Sorry, but grow the fuck up already. (OMG I JUST DROPPED AN F BOMB) I say, if you don't like to debate, then don't by all means. If you don't want to get involved in a political discussion, then don't.

Luckily, I can say whatever I want here. My blog, my rules. I can say I think GWB is the biggest failure we have ever had as a president. I can say I hate him and I think he (along with Cheney) are 2 of the biggest evil assholes around. I can say I think he has fucked up beyond repair. I can also say that I can't believe there is still anyone around who honestly can still support him. I know there are...I see them every day here in vodkaville. I can also say I don't know how they can see with their head so far up their ass.

I wonder how long the fucked up rule will be in effect at that forum. *Sigh*


Poor Chris. Its almost 10 pm and he is still at work. He left at 6 this morning. No telling when he will get home. Apparently there is some kind of emergency. I haven't talked to him...Joseph did. I hope he gets home soon, so he can get some rest.

I saw a mountain lion on Friday. News at 11;-)


Chris and Joseph left Tuesday morning for Burney Falls, while I went to Tahoe for the last 2 nights of the Harrahs gig. Tuesday night was the party. It was lots of fun, and nice to relax. Wednesday I did nothing during the day. well, I did have to run to KMart (the only shopping in Tahoe:/) to buy a pillow for camping, because I forgot mine. After that though, I just vegged. It was so bloody nice. I sat by the pool with my book, read for a bit, then took a nap. After my nap, I showered, and went over to Harrahs for dinner, then into the showroom for closing night.

It was nice to get hugs from the Harrahs people. Donna and Anna are two of the nicest people I know. I have them to thank for always being in the front row;-)

Thursday morning I got up and drove to Burney. The weather was beautiful.

Now....onto the mountain lion sighting. Friday morning Chris and I went on a hike. There is a sign at the trail head warning about mountain lions. (We found out latrer they are a rarity to really be seen....) Anyway....we walk about a mile to the old cemetery. I hear a sound, and look across the trail. There, about 20 yards or so from me, is this mountain lion, climbing a tree. While it was beautiful to see, I told Chris "let's get the hell out of here". I think we made it back to the campground in about half the time it took us to walk out. I wish I had taken the camera though. It would have been so cool to get a photo.

We did tell the ranger about the sighting though.

Oops....time for Family Guy! Have a good week, everyone:-)

My name is Ivana B. Laid

http://www.blogthings.com/outrageousnamegenerator


I like that better than Allota Fagina;-)



School starts tomorrow. I now have a 9th grader. Joseph will be starting school under the trees as usual. He and Chris are going up to Burney Falls http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=455 . I am going to meet them on Thursday. They are doing a father/son thing for the first couple of days....kind of a rite of passage going into high school. Its a bonding thing. Swimming, fishing and hiking are on the agenda, along with math, language arts, social studies, science, Spanish and music. He has his schoolwork and lesson plan packed. I firmly believe it is much easier to get back into the swing of school days whilst sitting at a table under tall trees:) I also figure that Chris can handle the first 2 days of ninth grade, lol.

I have 2 days to myself before I go meet them...so I am going to Tahoe (surprise surprise) for closing night at Harrahs. Tomorrow night is the big closing party. It should be fun. I plan on sitting by the pool all day Wednesday and reading, then a light dinner and more reading, lol.

Have a good week everyone....and Denine, I'm praying for good results for you:)

We have a new associate pastor. I was EM tonight, so I was in the sacristy when he came in. He is a baby! I am officially old....when the priest is young enough to be my child, LOL. Fr. Humberto is from Puerto Rico, and is a very nice boy. He messed up a couple of times during mass....this was his first mass in English, and he would blush and smile. He is going to be popular with the girls, I can tell.

He wants to get involved with the youth group...which is good, since he looks like he belongs in the youth group;-)

We spoke after mass, and I introduced him to Joseph. He said he plays guitar too. He asked Joseph if he plays any Metallica songs....that is what HE plays. LOL....we now have a young, Metallica playing priest;-)

I Don't Know

About Venezuela right now, but it looks like Chris will be going down to Louisiana soon to help restart the refinery there that was damaged from the hurricane. I guess all they have to do is find out how to get them there and how to sustain them while they are there. I do know they want it back up and running ASAP.

*Sigh*

Sometimes I wish he wasn't as good at what he does.

Who knows how long that assignment might be.

On the upside, maybe Joseph and I will be able to go to Houston while he is there....and I can meet some forum friends from that area.


I'm so proud...

Joseph had a really good idea tonight. He is going to talk to Jo (the youth group leader) about replaying the concert they did, as a benefit for victims of Katrina. He thinks if they charge 5 or 10 dollars, people would be glad to go, and all the money would be sent for the hurricane victims.

Sometimes that kid amazes me :*)

From what Chris told me the other night, Venezuela might not be off the table after all.

There was a conference call with different refineries, and he got a call back after the conference call was over. It was from a guy he knows....who is in Venezuela now. Shane said they "really need him" down there right now. If he goes, it won't be for three years (thank God). It would be for 6 months. I still don't want him to go. Shane said he feels safe, but I wouldn't feel safe having Chris down there. *Sigh*

Now we wait. Again. I hope he hears soon whether or not he goes. I can't tell him not to go, either:/

Goodbye Miranda

There was a girl named Miranda, who had the sunniest smile......

http://forums.delphiforums.com/Boardersandmore/messages?msg=528.1

I never got to meet this wonderful young lady , but I followed her illness nonetheless. She was such a brave young girl. My heart is broken for her family.

I have gone through this loss before. My friend Jim was diagnosed with glioblastoma in March of 1997. He died that September. 5 months. I think it has been 5 months since Miranda was diagnosed. I could be wrong. Whatever the dates, glioblastoma is evil.

I pray for Miranda's family. I cannot fathom what incredible pain they are going through. If I could send them a cyber hug and it would help..... I am praying for them now. Miranda is in a better place....free of pain. Maybe she has already met Jim. He will take care of her. That's the kind of guy he was.


"Life is very short, and there’s no time
For fussing and fighting, my friend."

All the bullshit going on in my life doesn't mean so much right now... Maybe I will blog about it later....




This is my favorite Beatles song. I dedicate it to Miranda and her family right now.

In My Life

There are places I’ll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I’ve loved them all
But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I’ll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more
Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I’ll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more
In my life I love you more

Dear Letter to the Editor Writer

Who in response to my letter stating my opinion about Cindy Sheehan, said in part:


"If a person does not have the luxury of having advisors and intelligence analysts and collectors, as the president does, then that person should take time to think critically about how and when to voice opinions"



Get your head out of your ass. Seriously.

I may not have the luxury of 'advisors and intelligence collectors', but I do have a brain. I use said brain. I can think for myself. I also have eyes and ears. I use said eyes (without blinders) and I certainly use my ears. Last time I looked, I was free to voice my opinion any time (as are you)....most especially in a letter to the editor.




Huh?

Why do you capitalize the word terrorists?



Signed,
A woman, wife, mother and citizen of the world, who is still offended by this war, and who stands by my opinion.

Presenting..St Marys Youth Group

The concert /dinner tonight was a raging success. First...the dinner part. Outback Steakhouse catered for us. All you can eat chicken, steak, rice, marinated mushrooms and salad, plus yummy bread.

The concert was wonderful. I am so proud of every one of the kids (and adults) involved. When Derek's dad John sings I Can Only Imagine, or Breathe, it brings tears to my eyes. Of course, Joseph was incredible. I am so proud of my baby boy. He performed an acoustic instrumental he wrote; he, Derek, Roxana and Matt did "Ball & Chain" by Social Distortion; and when they did Let it Be at the end, he played the guitar solo. They got a standing ovation for Let It Be:-) I am a proud mom. I had lots of people come up to me at the end to compliment him.

The rest of the concert was really good as well. Roxana, along with playing bass on Ball & Chain (she picked up the bass on Wednesday...) sang The Prayer (Celine Dion I think??) and Ave Maria. She is incredible. What talent. She gives me goose bumps. I had to tease her at the end though. "From Ave Maria to punk rock".

Everyone else was also good. Nicole did a ballet to Beauty and the Beast, some of the girls did hula to a song from Lilo and Stitch. We really have a talented bunch:-)

We also made a couple of hundred dollars from the silent auctions of the gift baskets, and did a 50/50 raffle, and made about $150 on that, after splitting it with the winner.

All in all, it was a really good night, and we made a significant amount towards our trip to L.A. next march. Now we won't have to have quite so many early Sunday morning donut sales!

Will I ever.....

Reach the bottom of my laundry hamper? I seriously doubt it:/ Where does it all come from? I swear Joseph puts clean clothes back in the hamper rather than put them away >:/


I got the stuff from Bath & Body Works for the other basket I have to put together for Saturday. They are having a buy 3 get one free sale so I got myself a sweet pea body spray. I got Vanilla Sugar as the scent for the bath basket. Body wash, bubble bath, body lotion and hand soap, along with a bath puff and a rubber duckie. I hope these baskets make some money for the YG. I hope lots of people buy raffle tickets.

I found out tonight that besides the basket raffle, I am also in charge of the 50/50 raffle....the winning ticket gets half of what is collected. I am so glad I was informed of this 2 days before the event. / end sarcasm

I will be so glad when Saturday night is over.

I hope it will be a success.

Happy Birthday You Old Fart

Today is Chris' birthday. We went to Best Buy and got a new camcorder. Dang...it is so much tinier than the other one we have, and it makes the first one we ever got look like a friggin motion picture camera, lol. I almost crapped when I got the total and wrote out the check for $500 though. Yeah, Happy Birthday Chris:)

We just went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner, because we didn't want Joseph to miss his rehearsal tonight. I felt bad having Chris sit there for his 50th birthday though, so Kathy and I snuck out and got a cake and some champagne (and sparkling cider for the kids)

He said he wasn't surprised...that when I told him I had to go get some stuff for Josephine he knew I was up to something. I think he was surprised though. Heh. I have the hardest time trying to surprise him. He knows me too well:/

In an hour or so, I will be married to a 50 year old. He'll finally be as old as I am again;-)

Right now, I am feeling a bit frustrated with the 'powers that be' at YG. Saturday is the big concert/dinner the youth group is putting on. We had been told that Thursday would be the dress rehearsal. We were told that 2 weeks ago, with continued reminders. That was fine, even though Chris had to change his plans. He was going to take the rest of the week off and he & Joseph were going to go to the redwoods for a father/son campout. They were going to leave today and come back Friday.

Today (this evening actually) we get an email that the rehearsal has been changed to tomorrow evening, and attendance is 'mandatory' WTF? No reason was given either....just that someone changed their mind:/

I'm sorry, but Joseph will just have to be late. His dad's birthday is important...as important as the rehearsal:/

Cindy Sheehan is the person who got me started teaching CCD. When I took Joseph to register when he was little (either 1st or 2nd grade....can't remember which) Cindy was the youth minister at St Marys. She was so quiet and sweet.....and persuasive. What started out to be a simple sign up for CCD ended with me taking home the teacher's book and a roster of kids names;-)

I have been teaching CCD ever since.

Cindy is my hero. Unless you have been hibernating, you have probably at least heard her name. More likely, you have either read about her or seen her on television. She lost her son last year in Bush's folly. Now she is losing her husband as well...to divorce.
http://cindysheehan.dailykos.com/user/CindySheehan

I admire her so much. No matter what, she is doing what she feels she has to.

I wish I could go to Crawford and be there with her.

I Need A Nap

It has been a busy couple of weeks here.

First, there was the Seattle/Vancouver trip, which was way too much fun. The boy had a blast. He loved the EMP ( www.emplive.org) I think he could have spent days there. *Sigh* A boy and his guitar fixation. The Paramount shows were terrific. I got to see Linda and Joanne again. It has been a year since I saw them. We got to hang out with the KSBG crew. What funny people they are. We didn't really go out after getting back from the shows. One night, we all got pizza delivered to S & C's room and we watched Help.

The absolute best thing about the Seattle part of the trip was finally getting to meet Denine and Jojo from the forum. They are both just as sweet, funny and real in person as they are on line. I could definitely be real life friends with both of them:-) Once I gete some pictures developed, I'll post a couple. Denine's boys are all adorable (and have THE most gorgeous eyes ever) and Jojo's daughter is just precious. We met at the Seattle locks, which is a very cool place. Denine and Jojo provided a picnic lunch for all of us (thanks, ladies!) When we left the locks, we all ended up at Archie McPhee......a store that should be illegal, it is so much fun. I won't say how much I spent there........but I really did need the Devil Duckies;-)

We drove up to Vancouver after that. I think Vancouver was having its hottest days of the year. It was in the 80s....perfect weather. The hotel Joseph and I stayed in was small and quaint. It was a block or so from the hotel C and the boys stayed in. I wish I could have afforded that one, but close to $200/night American was a bit steep, especially after the $$$ I had already spent on this trip! Thank goodness Chris is ok with it, and we can afford it.

The shows at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre were good as well. What a beautiful theater! Wow. It was nice seeing the Canadian crew again. What nice guys! I think Canadian men are real gentlemen. We did go out one night there. After aone show, I took Joseph back to our hotel and went to meet C & S, and we then went to a little pub to meet the rest. After a couple of glasses of wine, and a few pints of Kilkenny for the guys, J decided that he was hungry and needed pizza, so off we all went to find pizza.

Joseph and I explored Vancouver during the day. Forget anything historic, or any of the beautiful parks...his favorite place there was Tom Lee Music....all 6 floors. Remember what I said about a boy and his guitar fixation?

We got back last Saturday (Aug. 6)

Sunday I had to serve at Mass, then Joseph had practice afterwards for the upcoming dinner/concert.

Wednesday it was back to Tahoe for a couple of days. I got home late last night, and today we all went to the Oakland A's game. Field Level seats too. Too bad none of us remembered our camera:/ Today the As retired Dennis Eckersley's number, so there was a presentation and speeches before the game. It was very cool...something we will always remember. We had to leave before the end of the game though. Joseph had practice again tonight.

This next week is going to be busy as well. More practices, guitar lessons, mass, and Chris' 50th birthday is on Wednesday. Plus, I have to make 2 gift baskets for a raffle at next Saturday's concert, and get the house (which is a pit right now) cleaned for a visit from the inlaws.


See why I need a nap?

We bought a new computer the other day. Chris is going to set it up while Joseph and I are gone. We're also going to get cable. OMG, I won't know what to do, after having dial up all these years;-)


The boy and I leave in the morning for our Seattle/Vancouver adventure. I am so excited! I should be in bed already, since we're getting up at 5 am, but here I sit. I finally finished packing an hour ago. I am always afraid I will forget something. As it is, I can NOT find my cell phone charger....only the one for the car. If I need to charge it, I guess I will take a ride around until it charges, LOL.

I can't wait to meet Denine:-) We are supposed to meet on Monday. She is one of my favorite 'forum friends'. Hopefully I will be able to meet Jojo as well. I also may be able to meet a friend who lives near Vancouver while I'm up there:)

I'll be back in a week or so...with lots to say, probably :D

Road Trip

Ok, plane then road trip;-) I've made reservations for Joseph and me. We're flying up to Seattle the 29th for either 3 or 4 days (haven't decided that extra day yet) then driving up to Vancouver until August 6. My "boys" are playing the Paramount in Seattle then the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver. The boy is excited.....its his first time in either place. I have promised him a trip to the EMP while we are in Seattle, so he is truly in heaven. I am hoping I will be able to meet at least one forum friend while I am there!



When it was the dead of winter,and I was complainig about being cold.....did I say I wouldn't complain about the heat this summer? If I did, I lied:/ It has been over 100 degrees every day for the past 7 days. The other day it was 107. I'm sorry, but that is too damn hot, and for too long. It is so hot, it doesn't cool down at night. It is 85 now....at 10:30. Sleeping is miserable.

Chris is waiting to hear when he will go for his interview. Part of me hopes he blows it.....then I don't have to think about the possible job in Venezuela. He has been freaked for the past few days....and not only about the job offer. A friend of his from work was found dead the other day. He was a diabetic, and he fell into a coma. His girlfriend found him the next day.....he had been dead for at least 12 hours. His services are tomorrow.....

Random Thoughts

.....on our weekend trip to Las Vegas.


109 degrees is hot.

Cosmetic surgeons must do a booming business in Vegas. I have never seen so many tiny women with huge boobs. In. My. Life.

I have also never seen so many obvious face lifts.

109 degrees is hot.

9 1/2 hours in the car is a long time.

Breaking the trip down into 2 days was a much better idea. Even if we had to stay in Barstow.

Why would anyone voluntarily live in Barstow?

Kamikazes are good.

The Suncoast Hotel Casino has very comfy beds.

Did I mention 109 degrees is hot?

Sunday, Sunday

I have NO idea why there was so much friggin blank space in my last post.

My mood is better today. I guess Chris felt bad for being an ass yesterday, because he took me out to breakfast this morning, then we went to IKEA. I only spent $70 on stuff that I really *didn't* need, but it was such a good price........

Tomorrow is the startof Vacation Bible School. I went and set up my room.....I am the Critter Craft lady;-) Joseph was hoping to just be a crew leader but Karla decided she needs him in the Bible Story room. He is dramatic, after all;P

The youth group kids pretty much finalized what they will be singing/playing for the dinner/concert in August. They are doing Let It Be........Joseph is jazzed about that, cause he gets to do the guitar solo. Besides.....Fr. Mike loves the Beatles, and especially likes Let It Be, so it will be a good thing to perform. Gotta keep the priest happy....especially when he is normally a grump;) Whoever speaks about happy go lucky Irish priests has never met Fr. Mike.

With that said.....I have to get up early, and I really should be in bed.....

Joseph and I got home this afternoon from Tahoe. Chris got home last night from Illinois. He called me this morning bitching because the old washer is still out by the garage. No one has come and hauled it away yet. And that, of course, is my fault:/ I should magically have someone appear and haul it away. No matter that I called the freaking guy and he was supposed to come yesterday. The frikkin check is still in the envelope taped to the washer. But its my fault:/

Its amazing. I spend a few days in Tahoe.....busy days too. (Casey took photos of the guys for Canada, and I was the wrangler...running back and forth) Friday was Casey's graduation from community college too....90 minutes before the show started. I got no rest....woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep for hours....but I was fine. No palpitation episodes at all. I get home , and within 2 hours, the old ticker is jumping all over the place. Why is that?? Could it be because Chris is jumping all over me, not to mention crabbing at Joseph. Yeah, hon, I missed you too. Its so good to be home:/

I had better stop before I say anything more.

Chris is in Illinois this week on a business trip....and Joseph & I are heading back up to Tahoe. The boys playing mostly during the week is pretty convenient;-)

I was a little ticked yesterday. Jesse (Joseph's guitar teacher) called him and said he had another lesson yesterday at 2:30, and could they reschedule. Joseph told him we would be out of town the rest of this week, so he said he would call him back with another time (which he didn't do) Excuse me? Joseph has been taking lessons every Tuesday at 2:30 since February. That is the time on the contract. Why would he have another lesson at that time? (I heard a lady last week bitching about wanting Jesse to teach her kid Tuesday at 2:30) We pay $90 a month for the 4 lessons/month. Why should we be the ones to have to reschedule?? I hope this isn't going to be a frequent thing. I am always the one who accomodates every one else, and I am getting tired of it.

Not Guilty

So, Michael Jackson is free to molest as many boys as he wants now. After all, he isn't guilty of anything. I'm sure, in his sick twisted mind, he will feel vindicated now....and know he 'didn't do anything wrong'.

What a sick fuck.

WHY doesn't one of his people have the balls to say "Michael, sleeping with children is wrong, wrong, wrong!"

Its too bad the parents that pimp their kids out to him can't be arrested and procecuted:/

Ok, rant over.



Joseph and I are headed back to Tahoe tomorrow for a couple of days. I actually like the weekday shows.....the hotels are a hell of a lot cheaper during the week too. I am going to try and rmember my swim suit this time....the pool at the Horizon was just refurbished and it looks great.

Chris is in the middle of working on next year's budget at work, so his mind is totally on work. (Like it isn't usually??) Its a good thing I won't be here;-) It does make me feel better about our budget when he talks about the hundreds of thousands of dollars he has to shave from different places.

It smelled so good this morning when I went outside. I love the smell after a rain. When Joseph was little, he would say it smelled like Oregon outside;-)

Summer rain.....good for the garden, not so good for the clothes I forgot to take off the line last night. Oh well, I'll just consider that an extra rinse, lol

Joseph is finishing up schoolwork today. Tonight we're taking him out for pizza to celebrate the end of 8th grade. He gets his choice of pizza, so it will be pepperoni:/ At least I can have a salad tocut someof the grease from the pepperoni, lol. We asked him what he wanted for 8th grade 'graduation'. He wants a gift card from Tower records........so we got him a $100 gift card, and a $100 gift card from Guitar Center. He will be thrilled! For the rest of his present, he gets to to to Seattle with me then end of July, then up to Vancouver:)

I can't believe my baby is going to be a high schooler in the fall. Even a homeschooling high schooler is in high school :*(

Its A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhod

The weather was almost perfect today.......mid 80s with a slight breeze.

We went over to Petaluma. We hadn't been there in a couple of months. Joseph got to go to Tall Toad Music & then we went to a couple of thrift stores. My deals of the day: a Liz Claiborne skirt w/tags still on for $2.99, and a Brighton purse for $3.99. I also got a very cool dashiki (or is it a kaftan......) to wear to Vacation Bible School. Our theme this year is Serengeti Trek, so I was looking for African inspired things. Anyway, it is very cool.....and it still had original tags on. The Petaluma Goodwill rocks.

After we left there we went to Corte Madera to the Restoration Hardware. Unfortunately, they didn't have what Chris wanted. We hit the Discovery Channel Store and I picked up these Pilates ring thingys for my arms. I looked in the mirror the other day, and I have my mothers upper arms. AAARRRGGGHHH. How the hell did that happen??? Those rings are going to get a workout. My mother's arms will go away:/

I just finished 2 good books. One is Queen Noor's autobiography. I really enjoyed it. She has always facinated me....an American marrying the King of Jordan and becoming Queen.

The other one I finished last night is Nosy Neighbor, by Fern Michaels. It is a good summer read.
Now I need to find something to read tonight.......

We went to Mels Diner for dinner tonight (our Friday night out) then to the Creekwalk to listen to some music. The band was a jazz band......not too bad. It was pretty mellow jazz. We visited with John & Kathy, and Joseph & Derek hung out for a couple of hours. I don't think they appreciated the music as much as the adults;-) Joseph thought it was going to be more like Brian Setzer swing type music, but it wasn't.



Tomorrow is my little brother's birthday. Poor guy.........Kelly is one who 'fell through the cracks' in life:( He was 16 when my mom died......and he needed her then. He really needed my Dad when she died, but he wasn't available....he was having a hard time dealing with her death himself. Kel has always been *slow*. (When he was little, they didn't know about learning disabilities or anything) I think he probably had multiple LDs, knowing what I know now. In school in the late 60s/early 70s however, they didn't really do or know much. He was promoted from grade to grade.....never really learning much. He could barely read, but he kept getting promoted.

When Mom died, my dad just was in no shape to deal with a teenager. He already had brother Geoff who was 20 then and still a no good lazy PITA....and he didn't have the energy for Kelly. Chris and I tried to do what we could, but after a few years, nothing really helped. He ended up dropping out of school, after getting rolled and robbed at school multiple times.

He is and has always been such a kind, vulnerable soul. He has been taken advantage of too much, and, like I said, has fallen through the cracks. I felt guilty for a long time, but I know we did all we could. When Kelly moved in with (crazy PITA) brother Geoff, he was turned on to drugs. Pot would be ok, but not the other shit he started using. Meth is some BAD shit.

Sad thing is.....he was an artist. He could draw/paint anything. If we could have gotten him into some kind of program.......but we didn't.

I haven't even seen him in a few years........he got erratic and I couldn't have that around my family. Like I said, guilt and I got well aquainted.

:*(

Happy birthday, baby brother.

The family reunion turned out to be lots of fun. It was great to reconnect with cousins I haven't seen in a couple of years.......and Dick wasn't one;-) In fact, he was very sweet. I even got a compliment.

It was bittersweet in a way.....remembering all those who used to come, but are no longer with us. .....and knowing that some most likely won't be at the next one.

Rich and Shelley's place is awesome. They moved up a few years ago from Martinez to Penn Valley.....quite a change! They bought a ranch house on about 5 acres.....complete with a barn and swimming pond. It would really be an idyllic place to raise kids. Such freedom those girls have! The house is one with a wraparound porch. That alone made me fall in love with it. He has added to the pond area since we were there last. Now, besides the sand beach he has on one end (he trucks in sand) and the zip line from up the hill (you can either ride the zip line down & land in the water, or land on the other side), he has added a fire pit, with benches all 'round. I think I would live out there during the summer evenings.

Joseph had a good time....either playing with the younger cousins, or hanging out with the early 20 set, playing fusbol and badminton. I am lucky....he relates to all ages.

We didn't spend the night though, like we were going to. Chris ended up getting called out to work, and I didn't want to stay without him. Really, I didn't want to set up the tent/lug everything back and forth from the car;-)

Yesterday we went to the factory outlets here in town. We hardly ever go over there, but they were having a big sidewalk sale. We went to the Haggar store, and Chris ended up getting 2 polos, 2 pair of pants and a pair of shorts. After that we went to the VF outlet, and Chris got a pair of jeans,and 2 more polos, I got a pair of rolled jeans and Joseph got 2 pair of shorts and a pair of jeans.....then I got 2 (mens) tee shirts at Polo Ralph Lauren. (Mens shirts are SO much cheaper than womens) and a pair of baby blue pants and 2 shirts at Ann Taylor. Chris and Joseph really needed what they got....Chris more so. Me, not so much, but I can't pass up a sale;-)

Today, I took Joseph up to Dixon to "jam" with a couple of guys, and Chris did some yard work, then we bbqed a roast and had pasta salad and corn. Yummy:-)

And so, another Memorial weekend draws to a close......

I can't believe how fast this week has gone! It seems I have done nothing but run all week....to and fro, hither and yon. Yon was pretty fun, as was hither;-)

Joseph and I went up to the Scholastic Warehouse Book sale on Tuesday. $50 for $140 worth of books. Not too shabby. I picked up a few books for him to read next fall (holy crap, my baby is going to be a NINTH grader!) along with some for me to read, and a few he wanted for the summer. I took the 9th grade reading list along, but they didn't have any of the listed books. That's ok, I think I probably already have most of them. Black Like Me, The Good Earth and All Quiet On The Western Front are 3 of the listed books. I know I have The Good Earth....I read it again last summer.

I hit both Kohls and Old Navy for clearance sales this week. Lots of adorable tee shirts at Kohls....and I picked Joseph up a pair of jeans for $10 at Old Navy.....along with some track pants for both Chris and me, and a very cute blue floral skirt for me. I think I will wear skirts instead of shorts this summer. They look a lot better on me:/ With the skirts, you can't see that damn cellulite. ICK.

Chris went to the Giants game with Kevin last night.....and got sick on the way home. He tested when he got home, and he wasn't that low......I think it was something he ate. We just don't eat so much junk as we did before, and I don't think his tummy can handle it anymore.

Saturday is the big family reunion........I look forward to seeing most everyone.....but if Dick makes another comment about 'chubby cousin Shelly' I will tell him to go to hell. Back story......I am about 5'7" or so.....and when I was a teenager and a young married, I wore a size 3. I looked anorexic. Now that I am a more normal 10/12......he has the balls to call me chubby? I don't think so:/

Anyway, I am going to Costco tomorrow to pick up some goodies to take along.....and I have to remember to buy more film.

The MRI was clear........so Chris still has no idea why the optic nerve is pale. God, it is so frustrating:/ On top of that, he had 500 laser blasts to his eye today. His frustration level is on red. Not good for him.....or anyone else in the house:(


We did have a nice visit with family (even Holly the perfect) Joseph took his guitar along to Oregon, and he and Roberta entertained us on Thursday night. The boy continues to amaze me....he is really good!

Friday we drove from Oregon to Tahoe.......and I managed to have a good time. My buddies realized what day it was (Peanuts birthday) and kept me laughing all night. I love those guys.

I found out they are going to be at Harrah's almost the whole month of June. Woo hoo! I also found out I will be doing some travelling this summer;-) They will be back at the Paramount in Seattle, and also in Vancouver. YAY!! Road trip!!! (AND.....maybe I will finally be able to meet Denine and Jo Jo!)

Well, the MRI is over......now he waits for the results. He seems a wee bit calmer this evening.

I've been going through pictures this week. Jason emailed and asked for some of his baby pictures and some pictures of Kaya. I don't know if he has any of her......and he damn well should. He is her father:/ Looking through the pictures has brought to the surface lots of feelings and memories. I SO regret believing that bitch over my own son. I know we were going through a rough patch then anyway, but finding out what a liar Kezia is makes me regret believing anything she ever said.

I hadn't looked at Jason's baby pictures in a long time. They are getting faded.....I need to have them restored. I realized lots of things while I was going through them, too. One being that Kaya Michelle is her dad's clone. She looks JUST like Jason did when he was little....only with less hair.

The Peanut has been on my mind more than usual. Her 6th birthday is Friday. Another birthday without the family that adores her. I am thinking of putting a personal ad in the SF paper....just in case any of her mother's friends/family read the paper. Maybe it will piss her off enough to get in touch with us and let us know Kaya is ok. I can't imagine what Kaya thinks......her mother promised to bring her back "in a few days". That was 18 months ago :*(

God, I miss that little girl so damn much, my heart hurts. I still have her Christmas gifts wrapped and waiting for her.......

I'm glad we are going to be gone and busy this weekend....maybe I won't cry so much on Friday.....

Its About Time!

For my throngs of adoring fans.......what you have been clamoring for! A blog update from ME!

I can't believe it has almost been 2 months since I last updated. Why so long? Hell, don't ask me. Just lazy I guess. I *think* about blogging, then get sidetracked. I finally made myself sit down;-)

Let's see........news? I got my tickets for Joseph and me to see Paul McCartney in November. *sigh* Paul.......

I have had the cold from hell......now the cold is almost gone (except for nagging cough) and the oh so loverly allergies have kicked in. My nose is running like a faucet. I should buy stock in Kleenex.

We went and picked up Chris' sister Holly on Saturday and took her down to Santa Cruz to Roy & Eleanors. She told Chris "oh please take me to your house.....don't make me stay with them' Luckily for Chris, she was just kidding.....and even if she weren't, he got out of that. He knows better. Lets just say I am ever so grateful my dear SIL lives ACROSS THE COUNTRY from me. I don't know if our marriage would have survived if she lived closer:/

We're all heading up to Oregon on Wednesday to BIL's house. Thursday is Roy's 80th birthday, and all the kids are going to help celebrate. I still haven't got a gift for him. I have NO clue what to buy.

Tomorrow Chris goes for an MRI. The last visit to the opthamologist wasn't great. He had to have more laser treatment, and his optic nerve in both eyes is pale. I don't know what that means, but it has nothing to do with the diabetes. Doc suspects MS. Chris is scared to death and trying to hide it. I told him that if it is MS.....at least he will know and can begin some treatment. Maybe there is even something they can do about the eyesight. I know THAT scares him...as his mom became blind in the last years of her life....but hers was completely due to diabetes.

I just got back from the doctor.

How can this happen? At my age, and menopausal??????

I'm pregnant.

I am in shock.


I am heading up to Tahoe to see the boys for the weekend.

I really need this now.

*Sigh*














I am kidding.


Not pregnant;-)

April Fools:-)


Ok, I know that was lame, but its the only thing I could think of;-)

Have a great weekend, all.

I will:)

Eyes Wide Open

Is the third time a charm? (I have tried posting twice before....)


The whole title is EYES WIDE OPEN ...The Human Costs of the Iraq War

http://www.afsc.org/eyes


If this exhibit comes anywhere near you....GO SEE IT. I can't stress it enough. See it.


Joseph and I went to Sacramento yesterday to see it. It was the most powerful thing I have ever seen.....even more than the travelling Viet Nam Wall. I am so greatful to the nice man there who supplied tissues......I most definitely needed them. It made my 14 year old son cry too.

It was like a punch in the gut when I first walked up to the display...


There are rows upon rows of combat boots....each representing a man or woman who has been killed in Iraq. Too many boots...and more to come:-(


There are also civilian shoes of all kinds....representing some of the Iraqis who have been killed. There are everything from baby booties to work boots.....and everything in between. It was the one pair of tiny baby booties with a tag attached that said *Newborn baby....no name* that did me in.

I ran into Cindy Sheehan. Her son Casey, was killed a year ago Monday......

Cindy was the one who requited me to teach CCD all those years ago when Joseph was a "curly haired little boy" (her words). Listening to her talk about her son...and to see her straightening his boots so lovingly......broke my heart. She introduced Joseph and me to a woman named Karen...a woman who lost her only child in Iraq. Her. Only. Child. I cannot begin to imagine. Karen told me she is going to be an honorary grandma to any Sheehan babies, since she won't ever have grandbabies of her own:*(

It was a hard day...but one I am so glad Joseph and I went to together.

Like I said before.....go see this if you can. No matter who you feel about this f*cking war, it will affect you. (And I think you know how I feel about the war...)

Tuesday, Tuesday

Its Tuesday, but it feels like a Monday. It is also day 51 of non stop work for Chris. 51 days without a day off. Damn, I didn't realise it was that long already:/ He is just exausted. He still has no idea when he will get the unit back either. Our Disneyland trip may have to be postponed. We were going the week after Easter, but may have to put it off for another week or two. Good thing Ihaven't made reservations yet.

Today was the day for errand running. I ran to Dollar Tree to pick up some stuff for CCD, then to Target to buy The Incredibles, and a refill card for the Tracfone. How then did I manage to spend almost $70? Damn Target sales anyway;)

Joseph had guitar lessons at 2:30, then I taught CCD at 3:30. It was our last class before Easter, so we had sweets for the kiddoes and I had a bunch of projects for them to choose from.


The Weekend

This weekend, while Chris was busting his ass at work, Joseph and I went up to Tahoe for opening weekend for the boys at Harrahs. It was all around a great weekend. I got some news from Casey that warmed my heart:-)

I also got hit on. In front of my son. The guy was an idiot. ...with a capital I. He and his friend were backstage....he is a friend of JB.....although when JB heard what he did, he said the guy will not be back. Casey, Joseph and I were standing in the hall outside the green room, and he walks over, stands in front of me (too close in front....) and says, "let me guess...(pointing at me, then Casey, then Joseph) sister, sister, brother" Um, no. I toldh im, mother, son, friend, then he says (OK, hold the laughter please) "Well, you don't look a day over 24" ROFLMAO ( I can laugh) I just smiled and thanked him. 24??? Puhleeze. I know I don't look my age, but I sure as hell don't look more than HALF my age.

He said some other crap that I tried to ignore, and kept touching my arm. *shudder* He also was hitting on Casey, which is much more understandable. We finally went and 'hid' in Steve's dressing room. We kind of told Steve what was going on, but not detailed until we all left. Joey already didn't like the guy and was pretty much hiding out in his dressing room. El creepo and his friend left a few minutes before we all did.....most likely to the bar upstairs (like he needed another drink) I was glad he wasn't in the parking lot. I would have made someone walk Joseph and me to my car......

When Joey heard what creepo had been doing, he was livid. I think he would have kicked some ass if he had seen the guy.


Anyway,hopefully creep won't be back....at least backstage. Booboo and I are going back up on Friday.........and I may be able to meet a forum friend:-) Denise and her hubby are going to Reno.......I am trying to talk her into driving over for the show.

Miranda Update

I mentioned Miranda the other day......the young daughter of an online friend of mine. The one with a brain tumor.....an inoperable one

Her mom updated today.

Miranda has a glioblastoma. Glioblastoma is what Jimmy R died from a few years ago. I have been sitting here sobbing. I can't imagine what it is like to know just how sick your child is. There is only a 15-20% chance she will make it a year. She said Miranda already is getting wheelchair, and is telling her what kind of wig she wants.


This girl needs a miracle, everyone.

Miranda Update

I mentioned Miranda the other day......the young daughter of an online friend of mine. The one with a brain tumor.....an inoperable one

Her mom updated today.

Miranda has a glioblastoma. Glioblastoma is what Jimmy R died from a few years ago. I have been sitting here sobbing. I can't imagine what it is like to know just how sick your child is. There is only a 15-20% chance she will make it a year. She said Miranda already is getting wheelchair, and is telling her what kind of wig she wants.


This girl needs a miracle, everyone.

Joseph won 4 tickets to this weekend's boat show in Sacramento.

He was listening to the radio while he did his school work, and there was a trivia question. "What was the name of the guitar Eric Clapton used on the song Layla" I guess they meant what he called it. *Shrug* Anyway, this guy calls in and said it was Blackie. They told him he was right, and he won. My son looks at me and says, "MOM THAT IS WRONG!" I laughed and asked him what the correct answer is. Brownie. That is the correct answer;-)

Anyway, I told him to email the station and let them know, so he did;) The DJ emailed him back, told him he was right and that there will be 4 tickets at the ticket booth for the boat show. Pretty cool, lol. I hope we can leave early enough to go before we head up to Tahoe.


My son, the music trivia freak;-)

I love Kohls. (Not as much as I love my new Dyson, but close, lol) I especially love their clearance sales. Especially when the sale is 80-90% off regular price. I love great deals.

I went into Kohls on Friday morning to get a new griddle. I didn't get the griddle, but only because I couldn't carry it alng with the other great deals I got.

Here are the great deals:)

black leather knee high boots
black dress heels
1 wool newsboy cap that either Joseph or I can wear
pair of socks
khaki pants for me
pair of jeans for Joseph
blue pullover sweater
red cardigan
black cashmere sweater (pullover)
2 pair of knit gloves (red and black)
2 pair of earrings
set of nail polish/lip gloss

Grand total: $44.61

The boots alone were reguarly $99, and the cashmere was $78. Dayum.

There were so many great deals, I had to go back last night to pick up the griddle.....along with 2 more pair of shoes for $3.oo each. Did I mention I am a shoe whore? Imelda Marcos has nothin on my shoe closet

Sadness......

An online friend of mine lost her Dad yesterday. Cancer, that evil awful thing. He was diagnosed only a few weeks ago. Thank God she was able to be with him the few days before he passed. I'm so sorry Tiff. I have been where you are now, and it sucks. I send you hugs.

Another online friend is in need of prayers too. Actually, her daughter is the one in need. Her name is Miranda.....and she was just diagnosed with a large mass in her brain. She is only a teenager. She will undergo a biopsy on Monday to see just what is going on..........

If you are a praying person, then pray. Pray for Miranda, and pray for her family. I can't begin to imagine how scary this is for her and her family.

Hug your kids and tell them how much you love them. Call your parents (if they are still here) and tell them you love them. Thank them for all they have done for you.

Don't let another day pass without telling you friends and family how much they mean to you:)

Yes, I am feeling very melancholy after all this. I wish I could just make it all better for my friends. But. I. Can't.

Would you let your 17 year old daughter go (alone) to India? Danielle Rose's (www.daniellerose.com) parents did. We saw her at Youth Day in LA last week. She is about 23 or 24 now. (or she looks it anyway...) When she was 17 she told her parents she felt called to go to India and help at the orphanage Mother Teresa worked at. She really wanted to meet Mother Teresa and be blessed by her. Her parents let her go. To make a long story short, she never did get to meet her, but she was blessed by her. Apparently, on Mother Teresa's last birthday, Mother took a rose from her birthday cake and told one of the nuns there to give it to the girl from America named Danielle who gave so much of herself and to tell her she was blessed. Cool, huh.

Anyway, we listened to her speak (I cried) and sing (she has a magnificent, pure voice.......sounds kind of like Judy Collins)

Another group we saw there is called ApeX (www.apexministries.com) These guys are great! They are like an old time vaudeville act.....but with a message. They do juggling and magic (very well, might I add) The kids loved them. I'm sure it helped that the girls thought they were cute;) They are also very sweet. Jo and I spoke with them in the late afternoon, and they really live what they believe:)


The whole trip was fun. (Even waiting at John Wayne airport for over 2 hours waiting for our delayed flight home)

Youth Day was fun, exciting, touching and loud;) That night we piled into our bus and went to Hometown Buffet for dinner. Thank goodness we had a private room, lol. We were going to go to Huntington Beach for a bonfire, but it was raining, so we went to the mall instead;-) There, the boys went with John and Tony, and the girls with Alicia, Kathy, Jo, Charmaine and me. We did some power shopping, lol.

When we got back from the mall, we all went up to Jo's room for a retreat. She was on the excutive floor.....with a humongous 2 room suite. We had a beautiful candle ceremony, and the kids did some journaling. I also learned a fun icebreaker. You have a big bag of Skittles...and you have everyone take a handful. When everyone has a handful, you tell them what is going to happen. For each Skittle they hold, they have to give one fact about themselves. Seeing the looks on some of the faces was priceless, LOL. Some of the kids took 25-30 candies. They had to really think then;-)

After the kids finished, they decided that we parents had to tell 10 facts about ourselves as well. It was really interesting. I learned a lot about everyone else:)

Friday was a free day before we flew out. We met Deacon Ernesto for lunch (he used to be at St Mary's) then we went to Downtown Disney. Kathy and I bought crowns at the World of Disney and wore them for the rest of the day.......even on the plane home. (like the royalty we really are.....ROFLOL)