A Birthday for Marissa and a COLD Swim Meet for the Rest

Marissa turned 3 today! Yeah! She was snoozing next to Juan this morning and kept rolling over to cuddle with him. He would move her and seconds later, she'd be right there on his shoulder. When she woke up slightly, he told her, "Happy Birthday, baby." She said, "Tank you." (without the "th" sound) and promptly started snoring on his shoulder. Too cute for words...

This morning was off. It was supposed to be raining all through the morning, but it was beautiful and sun shiny, but cold. Off to Redlands for a swim meet. Both Stacy and Rey were competing today. Rey shaved 10 seconds (that is a lot) off her 100 backstroke time, and Stacy forgot to check her time. Both girls appeared to do well their first race. Stacy was nervous, as since she just a birthday, as well, she "aged up" into another level (older girls). Rey will continue at the 13-14 level for another year.

It was a small group at the meet, only 4 families out of the whole team (another group of younger kids had already swam in the morning, but many other families forewent this meet). So, we stayed together and we all cheered on each kid during the events until...

The sky started darkening, the wind picked up, and it started to sprinkle. Then it started to pound. Like little nails, almost with the feel of hale; it was really cold! Finally, the sky poured out. It pelted the deck, and the swimming stopped. Did someone see lightening? I don't know. The referees blew their whistles, and the next heat mounted the blocks, ready to go. Stacy and Rey were going to swim one more event, but the rain started coming down even harder, and they changed their mind, as did almost everyone else. Two other families left at the same time as us, needing to get out of there. What can I say? We are all wimps. I can do a lot, but cold and wet is not one of them. (Well... maybe Marissa can... she loved it!)
So, we ran to my house, changed clothes, and went out to dinner. After all, it was Marissa's birthday, and she kept asking for a cake. Mimi's Cafe is a favorite place of ours, serving excellent food with excellent service. Marissa got her cake and a song, and we got to relax for a little bit. (By the way... I did get some more chicken soup there - Cream of Chicken Soup!)

The movies was next. We saw Enchanted again. Marissa asked for it, and it wouldn't hurt us to relax for another 2 hours. She still laughed and smiled for the movie, and wants to go see it again tomorrow. She came home singing the songs from the movie. She has only seen it twice, but has really picked up on the lyrics... Yikes! Help me... just kidding. It was a great movie, and we will probably buy it the day it comes out on DVD.

As for me... I'm feeling better today. We'll see how I feel after I sleep off the chill. Today was exhausting, and since I wasn't totally up to par, I'm not sure how much I drained out of me. It's time to hit the beddy-by... I have a lot to do tomorrow. Onward! (And thanks for all of your comments!) Toodles for now! lisa

Chicken Soup?

Forget my soul! I want it for my sanity and budget. Even though I wasn't feeling good yesterday, I made a pot of chicken soup. After I boiled the roasted chicken, I added a miracroix (combination of celery, carrots, and onions) to the broth, then divided it into two pots, dividing the de-boned chicken, as well.

In one pot, I finished the evening meal, making it a traditional chicken noodle soup. I had started soft rolls already... It was hearty and filling and made me feel a little better. The rolls were soft and buttery and didn't make me feel any worse, so all was well with the world.

This afternoon, I finished composing the broth in the other pot. I added a can of petite diced tomatoes, a can of corn (drained), garlic, cumin, oregano, and zucchini. We grated cheese, chopped avocado, put up some tortilla chips and sour cream, and ate the tortilla soup.

I am extremely defensive. All of the above sounded good, right? Well, this afternoon, when I was putting the meal together, hubby asked me, "Didn't we have soup last night?"

Ok, all... there is something I need when I am not feeling well. It is chicken soup. It does not matter if it is traditional chicken noodle, Mexican chicken tortilla, Thai Tom Yum, or hearty chicken and wild rice... as long as it is chicken soup! This is one of my comfort foods, and it makes me feel better, at least mentally...

So, I say this: Let me eat my chicken soup in any way, shape or form, whenever I want, and live with it. Do not question me. I need it, I want it. It comforts me and keeps me sane, at least for the time being. Toodles for now! lisa

This is HELP?

Last night, I laid my head down on my pillow (after eating homemade chicken noodle soup) and went into dreamland. When I awoke, I thought I was in a fairly tale... the family room was cleaned up! Thoughtful hubby!

Imagine the world of Enchanted... I was Giselle (singing... I've Been Dreaming of Love's First Kiss...) in awe, thinking little critters were going to smile upon me (at least my husband) and be happy they helped... SCREEECHHHHH!!!! Halt! The needle ripped across the vinyl......

The dream ended when I saw that everything had been piled up in different places everywhere else! No, items were not put away where they should have been, but crammed into other spots, away from the room that was cleaned. This is NOT help!

This type of action just makes the room appear cleaner. And others much worse off than what they were. Even more, he moved stuff from my desk area and put it elsewhere! He put kid things on my sewing table. He shoved stuff on the kitchen counter that doesn't belong in the kitchen! This is NOT help. This is a lot more work for me.

And so... I have a dilemma... Do I clean it up now? Or go back to bed and hope this was all a bad dream? Toodles for now! lisa

The Blues and the Princess Ghost

I cannot seem to get rid of this horrible headache or fluttery/cramping stomach. Yuck! I've tried taking a nap, but Marissa insists I "watch" her.

That means I watch her do EVERYTHING! From Play-doh to playing with her friends (she has every single stuffed animal lined up on the couch), she is non-stop. She keeps coming and asking, "Are you happy?" If I say anything about a headache or hurting, that is how she responds, by asking those 3 words, and running over to lift my chin up in her hands, while looking into my eyes. How precious that a child this size (she'll be 3 on Sunday...) can have so much compassion and caring, although she might not understand things, is beyond me.

She thinks that if I go to sleep or bury my head, that I'm not happy and she does everything in her power to make me feel alright. So I have the sickie blues...

She comes to me with her Disney Princess blanket draped over her, saying, "Boo... Boo..." Isn't Halloween long over? Well, she seems to think she can scare these blues out of me. Of course, I never tell her that I'm not happy. I am happy; I just don't feel good. But, alas, she is not understanding of this, and so... I have the Princess Ghost trying to scare the bejeezes out of me. It is funny, though. I see all of these princesses, Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), and Belle (Beauty and the Beast) with a splendid castle hanging down to the ground. She cannot see out of the blanket and puts her hands in front of her trying to feel her way. She trips unexpectedly (to her) on the dragging blanket and giggles. "Boo... Boo..."

No, I'm not unhappy. I'm very happy. My child is glowing with love, and it makes me smile... even though I don't really feel like doing it. I just want to take a nap... But instead, I think I'll finish making my chicken soup... Toodles for now! lisa

Everybody Has a Bug!

Yikes! I didn't feel well last night and didn't sleep well at all... didn't get anything done, either. What a way to spend the night. I couldn't sleep, just tossed and turned, and got up, paid my respects to the throne room, came back and went through the whole routine again.

I know friends of mine have been ill, and I know I was ill (and still partially feeling it this morning), but... did you guys have to pass it on to my computer?

I think it's sick, too! Yesterday, items weren't going to the printer. It (the printer) kept "refreshing" itself. I mean, come on! How much does the printer have to primp to make things come out pretty? Pretty much, it took forever to print something, then took forever to cancel it.

Then, I tried to "crop" a photo. I had accidentally left Rey's full name in the photo (see Wednesday's entry) and had to take that out. Silly me. I know better than to put that kind of information in a post, don't I? And I preach so much to my girls about internet safety... You would think I would've thought of that before I posted the picture... Nevertheless, it is fixed, now. However, it wouldn't "fix" at first. The ill thing (the computer) kept telling me I did not have enough memory, and shut down the program. "You've got to be kidding!" ran through my mind. So, I did a system clean out and freed up enough space to fix the photo. Posted it (everything ran extremely slow), and moved on to more tasks.

I consider myself fairly computer savvy. Mind you, I'm no tech-y, just a normal average "joe-ette", who can do a lot, but not everything. So, I thought I'd clean out my system even more and ran some bot checks. Something that usually only takes a half hour to an hour took over four! Since this binds up the system a lot, needless to say, I didn't get much done on the computer yesterday. The bot checks got done, and I restarted the computer, only to have...

THE PRINTER GO BERSERK AGAIN! Hey! I just deleted and cancelled every pending document in that thing. It just started doing what I call "the slug." It prints out a little bit on one page, pauses (for a long time), then prints out a little, and on and on. And the stupid thing keeps blinking, like it's actually working! P-shaw! Ugh!

So... I shut everything down. Then I felt ill.

This morning, I try a different tactic. I am (tired and grumpy) but trying to "act" like I'm calm and serene. It's really easy when you are very tired... So I calmly walk to the computer and turn it on. "There, now, baby... you've had a long night's rest..." (Sigh...) It decides to wake up slowly and takes its time to boot. (Sigh...) Log in... (Sigh...) "My this is taking a long time!" The hour glass (cursor) seems to be in that position for much longer than normal, and most of the Desktop icons are still in their larval state.

Some things just never started. Skype didn't start up automatically, neither did Yahoo Messenger, or the WeatherChannel (but hey! I already know it's cold outside!), or Smilebox... then what happens?

THE PRINTER WENT BERSERK AGAIN! What the heck? It starts spitting out stuff I could swear (but I won't) that I deleted yesterday. And guess what... I had even turned off the printer to clean out the cache. Yikes!

Hmm... let's review the symptoms. When did they start? My computer is old in comparison with a lot of others. Put it this way... there is no USB port on the outside of my tower. Uh, I had to add a card to get a USB connection to hook up the printer, when we got that. My memory is almost full... too full to do a defrag... Ok, so I have not exactly contributed to the health of my computer. However, all systems were go until I added Skype the other day.

No, don't get the wrong idea, it is not Skype's fault. I noticed that my headphones didn't work, so I can only "chat" through the keyboard and not actually talk aurally to someone. The sound would not register, and my computer did not pick up audio hardware. Could this be the beginning of something serious?

I will have to take it for a check up, especially since more things happened yesterday and today. For now, I will just have to baby my computer, and take it slowly. I think I'll let the two of us "sickies" take a little nap. After all, they are such children, and growing so quickly!

Toodles for now! lisa

Here Comes the Rain Again...

That may be so, but it is sunny inside! I feel great. I feel wonderful. I'm probably annoying you. Oh well, such is life!

Tuesday's water polo game was a gripper! It was actually the most exciting game I've been to all season. The other team was extremely aggressive and totally tried to overpower our players. However, our girls took it in stride! It was a hairy game, with lots of "dirty" things being done by the opposite team (like face slaps), but our girls lost. They did play an awesome game, though!

Monday night was an all-nighter. I have a "bug." In the scrapbooking world, that's what it is called. In the general public's world, it is called a "personal die cutter." It is way too cool! Anyway, I used my bug (called a bug because of its name -Cricut [pronounced like cricket]) to create lettering for one of Rey's book reports that was due. It turned out fairly cute. The book was about hockey, so I input letters and numbers for section titles, her name, date & the period into a "ticket" form. Cute, if I don't say so myself. She said everybody liked it, but she had not yet received a grade on it. She doesn't strive for perfectionism, but at least she did a better job than last time. (I had a cow last time! It was handwritten and SLOPPY!... not a good thing for a child with crafts in her genes!)

I made a new friend yesterday. We met online via a job center and have much of the same likes, even the same television shows! This will be a good relationship, both business and personal. Please wish us well together, as I will be writing for her about something I love to do... SCRAP! My kids are excited for me, as well.

Yeah! I am finally beginning work as a freelancer! How can it be "working" when it is so much fun! I am doing what I love to do... writing, researching, etc. and about topics that are near and dear to my heart! Hopefully, we will get my name out there and all will be well with the world, at least in our part of it!

Today is a Sylvan day with practice for both girls. So... while I have lots of spare time sitting in the car, I will be reading and learning knew info. It is always fun! Toodles for now! lisa

Ugliness, but Beauty (too) Rains Outside

It has sprinkled off and on here for most of the morning... Juan turned the sprinklers off this morning when he got home. The sky ranges from a dull grey to a brilliant blackish-silver with puffs of smokiness in it. The cold air chills me when I walk outside, so I do absolutely everything I have to do (outside) quickly. I don't do cold well... It is ugly when I look south, but looking to the north, I see the beauty I described above. We need the rain. My plants need it, and the whole city needs to be washed, fresh and clean again. The wind and the rain clear the air, leaving it crisp and cold, but invigorating, ready for something better.

I look at the new pink blossoms on my peach tree (there's finally more than one, with many blossoms ready to burst open). They are so pretty, such a light pink color... so new, so young... Hopefully, this year, the peaches will reach maturity. The squirrels have been my enemy for the past two years, letting nothing on this precious little tree survive. I'm sure it's the squirrels and not the birds, as when I lost all of the new fruits, the branches were broken from the weight of them climbing the wood, not yet strong enough to hold something so large and heavy.

The grapevine is finally dry, waiting for me to cut it down. I don't want to throw it away, once cut. I read somewhere the wood from the vine lends a different flavor when smoking meats. I think I might give it a try. Either way, I hate to see such an effort of nature go to waste. I hate to waste, yet sometimes I have no choice...

Cilantro is now abundant, growing tender and young, ready with pungent fresh flavor and aroma. This crisp greens are tasteful, even while only smelling them. Yum... now if only I had some tomatoes... Unfortunately, the squirrels destroyed those fruits as well, and they hang half-eaten on the vines. The cold has not killed them off yet. Hopefully, this will be another year where they can over-winter, as they are really good plants. The squirrel problem should hopefully be resolved by spring when the tomatoes will blossom once more. I hope that I will not have to pull them all out again; I hope they stay green and continue to thrive.

I realize some of you may be thinking I'm crazy, that your fruits and vegetables are long dead, due to the weather... But, that is (used to be, at least) one of the benefits of living in Southern California - the weather is fairly nice to us here. We can enjoy the cold (snow) when we want to "visit" the mountains. We don't have to endure the more harsh winters that some of you do. Like I said, I don't do cold well...

Happy birthday to MLK! He was a man with a dream... this year's presidential election sure does look like his dream coming to life... I guess dreams really do (and can) come true...

As the schools were closed today (and so was the library - so no "Storytime" for Marissa), I managed to get Stacy to practice and the rest of us to my friend's house. So, it was a different friend, as the original plans got put to rest. Poor Karen got sick... I wish you better! But, after Marissa cried that she wasn't going to see her little friend, Margaret came through and said we could visit with her. Marissa was instantly joyous once more. Isn't it amazing how resilient a child can be? I wish it was that easy for the rest of us.

I'm sure Stacy was quite frozen, but they needed the practice. They have a big game tomorrow against a team they had previously beaten. The "other" high school claims our team only beat them because they "hadn't practiced that day." Yeah, right! Their team has been practicing together since the summer. Our girls only started right before the official season started! You go, girls! Stacy's unsure if she wants to play again next year. I think she should. It really suits her, and she's good at it.

Rey, on the other hand, simply states she is not going to play water polo, at all. "I don't want to get hit in the face!" is her response. I think she would enjoy it, as well. She doesn't realize that so far, the only person she has seen get "hit in the face" is the goalie. That comes with the territory of the position. It is a very aggressive game, much more so than I originally speculated, but extremely fun to watch! It would be good to see the girls together again on a team, playing at the same time, and not running back and forth between swim heats.

Don't get me wrong... I love to watch them swim, but that is more of an individual effort, not a team effort. Team work is very important to me. I believe it involves more than the sporting issue, but prepares our youth to work together to build better futures, as well.

Time to kick them into "teamwork" gear and get their room finished... Toodles for now! lisa