more water polo...

doing this again.

 actually love going to hunter's games.

this time in the lovely city of norco.

santa barbara one week, norco the next.

opposites indeed.

sorry if i sound like an orange county snob,

but norco is a dive.

and did you know that "norco"

is short for "north corona"?

who knew?

once in a lifetime

been waiting for a very long time...

thank you doc nak.

simply smart

so i helped my friend, renee (who is the inventor of this ingenious little thing that holds all your craft junk), at the cha (craft and hobby association) convention in anaheim. her nifty organizer thing
(aka clip it up...her company name is "simply renee") will hold paper, and fabric, anything you want
(she has seen it used even to store/display baby shoes)...and she even invented these sturdy plastic bags with a really cool zipper which hold all the little stuff. she invented a ribbon organizer, and these little swing arm things which again, hold all your stuff.

so smart she is. the organizing queen. so roll organized, kind and considerate and successful all into one, and you have renee. her products are all over the world, and every scrapbooker/quilter in america wants one. such a package she is.

so i ventured to anaheim, helped her put up and take down her booth, made an ikea run, brought extensions cords and a bowl full of candy...helped out a bit here and there...in reality i did very little.

but, so fun to rub shoulders with such a magnificent lady.

thank you renee (and cute sister carolyn) for accepting my meager contribution.

i thoroughly enjoyed my time with you!

and more eye candy to look at from other vendors...

crafters heaven for sure.

wishful thinking...

im starting to miss this...

and this...

and this...

and this...

sigh...

machine love

found my soulmate again...

Y E S

it arrived.
everyone was smiling.
only michael munton would respond in legos.

blank head

today i have an empty head.

vacant.

silent.

i will call it blank brain syndrome.

its ok, its a good thing.

{brain=jello}

the only thing i have really thought

about this morning is flipping the

heater switch to the on position,

sliding into my snuggly uggs

{oo, maybe thats why they named them uggs?}

and emma.

so glad she has met good people.

so glad she is in a good place.

just glad about the whole thing.

{and to be honest, i am a little bit jealous}

period.

holy hail

{oops, just a little windy too}

{yes, that would be hail on my hood}

{mission accomplished, saggy balloons and all}

i never thought i would be writing about hail, twice in one week, but here it is.

not a very good time to have anything falling from the sky for that matter when

youre trying to decorate a car.

geez.

eden wanted to ask michael munton, her childhood friend, and cutest boy ever, to winter formal.

but it had to be done in a creative way.

we had this great idea to fill up his car with balloons, pieces of

a puzzle inside of them, which when put together would explain who was asking him.

in order to do this though, we had to have his keys.

good thing i had an in.

his mom is my dear friend, so we had the getting in the car problem covered.

michael attends tesoros rival school, mission, so we thought it only appropriate

to decorate his car in tesoro colors (since its a tesoro dance),

and have numerous pictures of the tesoro titan santa claus strewn all over the interior.

such a good idea, until we arrived at

the party store to pick up the balloons, and it is hailing like no ones business.

way to knock the air out of our ingenious idea.

we followed through, got very wet in the process,

and in the end, neither the balloons or the tape were cooperating.

but...
we got er done.

now we are just waiting for his creative response...

the suspense is killing me.

five senses friday again

the feel of the warm summer sun on your skin...

the smell of cinnamon rolls from kneaders...

the taste of fresh, well made sushi...

the little chirp of a hungry hummingbird...

and the beauty of aging gracefully...

yes, that is hail

so while the dogs and i were frantically running from one window to another,

watching the hail crash into the house, and worried the flimsy front

door may actually blow down...my thoughts were on dane.

let me tell you about him.

he is a worry wart.

probably has an anxiety disorder which i havent come to grips with yet.

so all the while i was at home, relatively safe and warm, my mind was on him.

i envisioned him sitting in his classroom, the fierce wind blowing,

the hail pounding on the skylight...and him in tears.

and thats exactly what happened. when i picked him up,

after the storm had passed, where actually a little blue sky

was peeking through the clouds...he told me he cried.

his teacher was out with the children on the sidewalk,

and she looked at me and smiled.

we spoke to each other without having to say a word.

she took care of him, told him it was going to be alright.

and it was.

so glad you are mine

{aenon on her 17th birthday...she is now 22}

simply put, i am glad this girl is in my life. 

glad she exists.

glad she walks the earth.

glad she was born to me on january 19, 1988.
at st johns hospital in santa monica.

what a beautiful day that was.
it was raining. like today.

we must have chosen each other long ago. 

glad her spirit embraced mine.

glad she loves and appreciates me.
glad we share that bond.

when she was born she was a bundle of energy,

complete with the same flaming hair piled 

on top of her sweet little crooked head.
the nurses raved.
and grandma was smitten.

she grew into a curious, strong little girl.

then a beautiful, driven young person,

who i love more and more every day she is alive.

she illuminates her space simply with her presence.

her smile brightens a room.

she is animated.

she is fun.

she speaks her mind.

is not timid by any means.

and it will always be that way.

forever and ever.

her energy is contagious.

her intellect unique.

her person special beyond belief.

this girl is something else.

and so glad she is mine.

and i will love her.

till the end of time.




{and for the life of me, i could not find a photo of her as a newborn. i know they are there somewhere in that photo mess!}

whirlwind of a day

i havent seen rain like this in a very long time-maybe ever in southern california...and we have 4 more days of it. staying home, getting some sewing done, scouring my crock pot recipe book and even had the task of clearing some drains outside to divert water from threatening the house. maybe this is what you call "nesting". although i have no little chick coming...just a bunch of yearlings who leave the nest every day now, all bundled up. love this change of weather...although it cant last for long,

deprivation of sunshine gives me anxiety.

and heaven knows, we cant have any of that around here.

time to turn the light on

Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. 

Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. 

Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.  

Martin Luther King Jr.

here we go again

need to find a good book to read. so bored in between games. however, it was entertaining to witness hunter give a swift kick to an opposing players jaw. even an audible sound was heard on impact. why did this make me feel so good? maybe because i have watched him get beat up, kicked and scratched continually. finally some payback. thank you for making your mother proud.

and did i mention santa barbara is beautiful?

wouldnt mind making that place my home.

five senses friday

i am following along...for five senses friday.

you can read about the origins of it here. 

absolutely love this shade of pink...especially if its mixed with red or orange...

love the feel of fresh hydrangeas...

love love love this scent...

and the strong smell of chlorine on this boys skin...

and the beauty of the silver lining of a storm cloud...

new splurge

this is my new special breakfast food.
i love morning, and everything about it, including breakfast.
and dont even think about looking at the carb count.
i did say splurge.
i promise im on a diet the rest of the day.
it does have raisins (fruit) in it, you know.

just love trader joes.
and did you see the new and improved tj's?

wow.

red sky at night

saw this the other night.

took my breath away...and the colors were this vibrant.

really.

didnt touch it with photo shop.

too bad it lasted only a minute or two.

quick fix

dane's third grade teacher (bless her heart) is the best.

she is a perfect match for him.

love her. love her. love her.

did i tell you i love HER?

anyway, this poster was part of a mini study of an orange county city.

we were supposed to visit the city, then make a poster about it.

however, he couldnt be bothered with this mundane activity.

the quicker we got it over with, the better.

he was a good listener though, and took

instruction from me as to where to write this,

where to write that.

and he was the designated cutter outer.

also did a fine job on the giant header written in orange.
and he also knew what the angels logo looked like.
has never been to an angels game-ever.
i think he saw it while passing the stadium on the freeway,
and remembered what it looked like.
his photographic memory alive and well.

then it was time to write his name at the bottom.

he wanted to do it with two colors.

d was red, a was green and so on.

he got a little mixed up in the process and misspelled his name.

the perfect fix, just cross it out and start over.

classic.

in the end, i did get a little piece of paper to cover his mistake.

did i tell you i love HIM?

my orange sheep

this is aenons room as she left it yesterday.

and she forgot her quilt.

it is wrapped up in all of that bedding, hiding.

she is on to bigger and better things.

school starts today for her, and she is in a good place.

left with a smile on her face, and ready to get back to work.

this break she wasnt pacing, wasnt bored.

usually she cant stand being idle.

this time off was a little different for some reason.

she enjoyed the couch.

happy first day of school, darling.

back to real life.

we like geeks

nerd dance at the stake center.

my kids had no problem gettin an outfit together.

love how hunter went straight for the scout shirt...

and i was always tellin him scouts was cool.

who knew?