Veronica

We're driving to piano and Wyatt asks, "Are we going to celebrate Veronica this year?"

"HUH?"

"Veronica. It's where you get Christmas presents for 9 whole days. My friend Lara celebrates Veronica and she knows every single word in Spanish."

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

Jake's what if

I had to pick Jake up from school early because he had an earache. We were driving home and he says, "Mom, wouldn't it be cool if Jesus came to Earth for Christmas... and he went to each person's house and talked to them for a little while?" And I say, "Yep, pretty sweet. What would you talk to him about?" In a Tommy Chong voice (either really thoughtful or a total stoner), he answers, "I'd be like, hey Jesus, Happy Birthday man."

Majestic

I went to the Vince Vaughn/Kevin James comedy show last night and was completely blown away. Yes, all the comedians were hilarious, but the Majestic theater was just incredible. We had good seats, but I can't imagine there being a bad one in the whole house. The place is beautiful and majestic, just as the name implies.

One of the comedians joked that he felt like he was in Narnia and was spot on - it is like a fantasyland. Staying true to its surroundings, it's like a Spanish mission on LSD. "Ornate" isn't fancy enough to describe  its luscious architecture and design. And to add to the awesomeness, they allow you to take your beverage to your seat to keep you company. Well done San Antonio!!! I will be back.

Oh, and by the way, Steve Byrne was one of the funniest shows I've ever seen. I was crying so hard I couldn't see and laughing so hard I missed half of what he said. NEVER pass up a chance to hang out with that dude.

what i learned at spec's today

first, they will be opening a spec's at the RIM!!! no date set, but that's better than trekking to the 1604 & 35. it's supposed to rival the houston spec's that has a deli, chocolate section, etc.

second, spain is your man if you like the affordable reds. you pick up a $12 bottle and it's likely aged 12 years, much of that time in oak. also, if you're thinking about trying the $9 bottle, splurge on his big brother for $3 more. it may be called the "reserve" or "gran reserve," but it's worth it in most cases.

and finally, the cheese at spec's rocks. i picked up a nice honey goat cheese and an incredible triple cream brie. CAN'T WAIT!!!

Laundry finds

The items I've found in the washer or dryer this week:

1. A blue car from the game of Life
2. $10.35 (only $4 was in actual dollars, the rest was change)
3. 19 silly bands
4. a green bakugan and a red bakugan
5. several unidentified wads of paper
6. 2 ShinerBock beer tops
7. 7 lego men
8. about a dozen legos
9. a key i've never seen before
10. 4 crazy bones
11. 1 marble
12. 2 fake mustaches

things i've recently caught myself saying

1. hurry up and get your waffle off the floor or the dogs are gonna eat it. then you'll have to go to school hungry.

2. yes, you have to take a shower. even if you did take one yesterday.

3. boys, i'm sorry, but the dogs ate some of your Captain Underpants book.

4. i had half a banana on the counter and it's gone. who ate it? (no one fesses up) open your mouthes - i want to smell your breath.

5. why are you wearing my underwear grayson?  and take the bra off right now. (after he got out of the shower)

6. who let the dogs out? who who who who who? (i can never help myself on that one)

7. if we don't clip your nails, your piano teacher is going to turn me in to CPS.

8.  who's been playing with my eyeliner?

9. no, i will not do sharpie sleeve tattoos. those are reserved for summertime.

10. we do not do "popcorn for dinner" on a school night!

10 reasons i love my pawpaw

 my grandparents came to visit this weekend (along with my dad and brother) and my grandpa makes me laugh so hard. here are 10 reasons i just love the heck outta him:

1. jake put some silly bands on his wrist and he acted like they were the best gift he ever received. he could tell you exactly what each shape was and was super proud to wear them. he's still wearing them now.
2. he calls all the boys "geronimo"
3. he calls the dogs "geronimo"
4.  he drank his first margarita with a quickness and then just kinda kept sucking on the straw like, "hey, i'm empty here." finished the second before i finished my first!
5. he calls merlot, "muuur-low" with major emphasis on the "muuuur."
6. he told me to "punch my dad in the kidney for him" when my dad was being a smart ass.
7. he has the same running shoes as jason and says he "wears them to the mailbox"
8.  he said the waiter was looking for a "swift knife to the throat" when he put the salsa in front of my dad instead of him.
9. he thought the tooth fairy gypped wyatt with the $2 bill she left, so he put $12 more under his pillow!
10. he adores me!

Blasphemeese

i know maltese are supposed to have long, beautiful white hair, but it just didn't seem to fit ben. plus, he kept rolling around in the grass getting shi-poo nuggets stuck in, so, i shaved him. hey, it's hot right now. plus, he looks like his girlfriend zoey now! here are the before and afters!

oh wyatt

i had already gotten into my jammies when i realized we had to return a movie to redbox.  jake said, "mom, we'll put the movie in, you don't even have to get out of the car!" so, i lazily decided to stay in my jammies. you think you know the ending to this. but you don't.

so we arrive, and the boys hop out. there is a man renting a video, so they have to wait. it's taking a while and i see that wyatt says something to the man. he smiles and then full out laughs. he says something to them as he's leaving and smiles again. i thought i knew what wyatt said, but i guess i didn't.

so the boys get back into the car and i ask what they said to the man at the station. wyatt apparently asked the man, "is the machine out of WAX or something?" i laughed so hard i was crying. i'll admit i was still a little emotional from seeing the movie Adam (a very cute movie), but he repeated it about 3 times. "mom, it's like the machine wouldn't give him his movie. it was just out of WAX!"

i've already decided that wyatt's first band will need a name some day and i'll save the day by recommending that they call themselves "out of wax."

Things my kids said today

Wyatt: Mom, my nails are all dry because I know a trick. I whistle on them. (Yes, we had manicures and pedicures today. Our colors? Black, green, cammo, and blue. Wyatt wanted black and blue in honor of the miike snow song)

Me: Jake, maybe you should be a magazine model so you can pay for college.
Jake: Maybe. But I don't want to wear dresses.

Grayson: Mom, stop kissing me for like 50 minutes. I want to play without you putting slobber all over me.

Wyatt: Any time you want to go somewhere, it shouldn't be because you want the toy they have there. It should be because you like the food there.

At piano lessons, their teacher has a 6 month old. She has an open floor plan and has a high chair, play pen, bouncy chair, swing, and play mat in the big room. Sooo...
Jake: Whoa, this lady must have a ton of babies!

Grayson: Mom, when Zoey poops, where is her toilet paster? (toilet paper)

Wyatt: When we go to Austin tomorrow, will we still be in Texas or Boston? Is it near Boston?

Wyatt: I think I saw dad's car. Nope, it was a squirrel.

10 most biz-arrrrgh (weirdest) movies of all time (or at least the movies I've seen)

Jason came home from work with a movie "suggestion" for me, meaning it was one of "my type" of movies, meaning "weird." Enough quotations? Yeah, I'm sick of them to so let's get to it. These are in no particular "order  :" (had to do it one last time, sorry)

1. TITUS (it gets caps because I'm currently trying to get it)
2. Mullholand Drive (not bad weird, just weird)
3. The Box (stupid weird)
4. District 9 (whaaaa? )
5. A Clockwork Orange (notably weird, but smart weird)
6. Barton Fink (i get it, but still just weird)
7. Elevator Movie (awfullllly weird)
8. Cold Souls (soul-fully weird)
9. Ink (beautifully and deeply weird)
1o. The Cremaster Cyle (if I missed that one, I'd be remiss)

f-ing white iphone

yeah i said the f word. that shows you how mad i am. about a week ago, my ORIGINAL (not 3g not 3gs) quit working. ok ok, it was my own fault. i happened to introduce it to a little more H2O than cellular telephones allow for and have, thus, been without cellular technology for that time period.

i had ordered the 4 and then cancelled the order. not for the "antenna" problems but because i thought i was in for a wild ride on my monthly bill. i smile that i am grandfathered in by the old iphone policy, but the new one, frankly, sucks and i wonder why anyone would pay such a high monthly bill. to be honest, i'm not really taking advantage of AT&T by any means, myself.

i digress. the elusive white iphone. the moby dick of the cellulars. are you a myth? do you really exist? we heard you were going to be available in the second half of july. then the end of july. if you DO exist, call me.-- Ishmael.

fredericksburg, tx

we took the 45 minute drive up to frederickburg, tx to try out the "napa" of texas. i don't know what i was expecting, but the first stop (the Fredericksburg Winery) wasn't quite it. it was a storefront in the middle of town, the wine was incredibly sweet, and our "guide" was hilarious -- he named his daughter Chardonnay after all. the first thing he did was insult california wine makers, so he didn't start off well.  choose 6 wines to taste for free and $5 for their "premiums..." which were no better than the others. i didn't care for any of the wines they offer, but the crew that works there is very nice and the winemaker talks faster than any human being i've met.

we did enjoy d'vine wine. maybe it was just a nice change of pace, but we took several bottles home as gifts. the pourer recommended a sandwich shop across the street called Rather Sweet: Bakery and Cafe. boy, i could have kissed her. i've dreamed about going back since we left (and we're going there this weekend)!

i had a tomato, basil, and mozzarella sandwich (on fresh, homemade bread) that was just incredible, with a side of tomato basil soup. overkill? no WAY. the sandwich dipped into the soup was pure heaven. i can still taste it right now as i'm writing this. i had a glass of Becker's Iconoclast to compliment my lunch and could have repeated the whole meal for dinner. jason had the BLAT and said it was delicious, but i'll have to take his word for it, because he didn't offer me a bite!

there are several neat stores in town. i came away with a very cute amber butterfly ring and we were most impressed by the granite furniture store.

we ended the trip with Becker Vineyards. this was a little more of what i was expecting. the lavender smelled wonderful and the wine was good. I am a fan of the Iconoclast for a great, under $10 bottle. in all, it was a fantastic day and i can't wait to go back.

Natasha Leggero

I think Natasha Leggero is really funny. She's one of the judges of this season's Last Comic Standing -- if you don't watch it, it's exactly what it's title implies, a reality show for stand up comedians whereby the least funny are voted off each week. I have to say that this is one of my favorite shows, minus the host every year (Craig Robinson you fail me over and over). It's one of my favorites because I love comedy and love to laugh. Usually the contestants have had years of experience, so they know what they're doing and their sets are short, so you get the cream of their crop.

But back to my opening statement, Natasha is funny. However, on this show, it's not coming through. She seems to be a little whacked out and hardly ever even gives good observations. Is she supposed to be the "Paula Abdul" of LCS? If so, she's doing her job, but I prefer funny Natasha.

PS - Go MyQ!!! You're smart and funny as heck.

Natasha in action

Rockport

8 Simple Rules of Redbox etiquette

Yes, anyone with a credit card can use Redbox. But for those of us in the civilized world, there is an etiquette to follow that I'm quite sure some folk are not aware of. For that reason only, I am posting some rules. Feel free to pass them along.

1. Have some idea of what a movie is. Don't read every single description like you've never heard these "motion picture" things. Yes, they're fascinating.

2. Don't sit on the phone with your 6 year old reading every story line, asking if they think it's a good choice.  Just pick something for them. In fact, kids should never come 10 ft. from a station unless the planet is in danger.

3. If a line forms behind you, just roll the dice. If you're a girl, go for something with Amy Adams or Zooey Deschanel. If a boy, Jason Statham. It's a buck, so don't act like it's the last movie you'll ever see.

4. If there's some one waiting with a movie in hand, ask if they're just there for a return. If so, let them. Then you can precede to read the synopsis of Inglorious Bastards.

5. NEVER ask the person behind you if they want you to return their movie for them. How uncomfortable is that.

6. Reserve online if possible.

7. Don't make out in front of the Redbox when you're a teenager and suddenly discover how "in-sync" you are with your fellow teenager. Gross.

8. Don't complain about the lack of diverse content. It's freakin Redbox and it's brilliant. Get Netflix to supplement like the rest of us.

Blindside movie review : via some old lady at the cracker barrel in arizona

 we are making our way across the country from northern california to san antonio, tx and have come across quite a few neat places and odd characters. we're not quite "home" yet, but i think this lady at the cracker barrel in casa grande, arizona takes the cake for most memorable conversation overheard. it goes a little something like this:

old bag: i don't think my tv set is working because i just watched that movie The Blindside and it was in black and white. that movie's in color, isn't it?

old man: don't know. never heard of it.

old bag: sure you have. it's the one with sandy duncan. you know, the picture about michael orr who plays for the rams.

old man: never heard of him, never seen the picture.

old bag: sure you have. michael orr is that big colored fella. he plays for the rams now. in the movie sandy duncan's character adopts him... i'm sure you've heard of it. i just want to know if it was in color because i watched it in black and white.


YEP. that was the conversation. see if you can guess how MANY things are wrong here.

go fish

yesterday, we headed to napa. went to pine ridge to pick up our wine (did a little tasting) and then went to franciscan. it was a beautiful afternoon on the patio with great friends. they did a wine pairing with sliders and skewers of lamb and eggplant. afterwards, we went to downtown st. helena for margaritas at ana's cantina and FINALLY to dinner at go fish!

the sushi was fantastic. i highly recommend the lobster roll, rainbow roll, and ken's roll -- if you're in to sushi. for main courses, kathy's miso bass took the cake. it was the best thing at the table, and there was a LOT of food. so 6 girls at one end of the table, 6 boys at the other, at the the end of the night our waitress asks if we'd like dessert. girls say no. all of the boys say yes. where did all the boys' plates end up??? that's right... at the girl's table!!! and somehow those pine ridge bottle never made it home...

Bodega Bay/Russian River

bee-lieve it!

we stopped and got icees on the way to pick jake up from school today, and i think we actually started attracting bees! i had to take this picture of the bee that looked like he was trying to send my cherry icee mental love notes and it looks like he's gi-normous. funny picture. he's really just a regular-sized bee.

build-a-kid

we told the boys to go put their jammies on and G came down in his build-a-bear's soccer outfit. WOW.

super funny

i dropped my car off at the dealership for an oil change and decided to walk down to the outlets. as i passed the honda dealership, there was a guy out there talking to a lady. he was SO excited to tell her that there must a bird laying eggs in the bushes out in front of the store. she followed him out to where he'd found them and said, "those aren't bird eggs. they're golf balls!!!"

the golf course is RIGHT across the street. hahahahahaha!!!

boys in the new hood

when i show the boys pictures of the new house, they think the people who live there now are leaving their furniture. they keep saying things like, "is that going to be our couch? wow your new bed is nice! jake has a tv in his room? no fair!"

matter

dealing with 3 small boys, i try to teach them so many things: to be honest, to be fair, to form their own opinions about books, movies, songs, etc, to be happy and that their happiness shouldn't come at another's expense. the high school girls i "hang with" i've begged them not to make the same mistakes i've made, like letting a boy come between them and their dreams and their friendships and doing stupid things for no reason at all. my early 20 girlfriends ask me how i got married so young and if i would do it all over again. and my friends who are my age, seemingly, are trying to secure our places in life and to live with all the choices we've made and stand by them and be happy with them. a few of my friends are making huge changes in their lives reinventing who they are and what they want. i've been fortunate to be surrounded by all of these people. and i'm so thankful for every person who has been in my life.

i think about the world now, the world in 30 years, and the world without me one day. i think about how important every single person on this earth has been. the ones who were dishonest, unfair, judgmental, sad, and abusive have been just as instrumental in molding people as the ones who were their opposite. without the struggle, would we be complacent with freedom and without hatred, would we take love for granted? would our lives be different shades of apathy? without abuse and violence, would we really ever recognize how strong we are? without disease and death and cancer, would we realize how precious our season in this place has been?  and really, what makes one thing a weed, and another a beautiful flower?

despite religious promises of heaven, nirvana etc, i think that somewhere in all of us there is a question of why we're here and if we made a difference. would the world be the same had we not existed. i believe the answers are: i don't know, yes, and no. i truly believe we are all special. and we are all necessary and all part of one another. and when some one is gone, they're never really gone. and it would be good for all of us to appreciate one another and tell people how important they are to us. because we're all important. we all matter.

wine tasting!

my friend genevieve had a GREAT idea yesterday -- to take a trip to Bogle and Peirano. Bogle has been a family favorite around here (it's good and very affordable) and she recently turned me on to Peirano. our first stop was Bogle and it was really fun. nothing new, but the grounds were very nice. they had a huge picnic area with a redwood full of kids. all the boys had so much climbing the tree that the tree was literally the babysitter! i had no idea that Bogle also made a sparkling wine, so we picked a bottle up to remind us of the fun day we were having.

we got a little lost on 99 going to Peirano, but BOY was it worth it. we got there at 4:50 and they close at 5. luckily, gen's smile got us in because they were having a fantastic sale to make some room in their stockroom. the shiraz, blush, and... something else were all $24 a case. and believe it or not, we love the shiraz. their other wines were also on sale for $72 a case (normally all their wine is around $15 per bottle). the Red Shorts Red, cab, and The Other are all excellent. they have The Other red and The Other white -- both are pretty good. we tried all their wines and weren't really disappointed with any of them.

between gen, her parents, and us, i think they were pretty happy they let us in at 4:50! we all left with a backseat full of cases! if you get a chance, head out and try their wine. it's a free tasting. you can also pick them up at nugget, but you'll pay a lot more.

what i learned in wine class : )

I'm writing down my tasting notes from wine class this month. That way, when I'm out, I'll know what to pick up and what to avoid! I loved this class because I was able to taste great wine without committing to them (in case they were awful). With George teaching the class, I knew they'd all be great, but who wants to buy an $85 bottle on a chance? I missed the first week because Gray was in the hospital. Guess I'll have to do some HOMEwork.

(These were all CA wines)

Tolosa 07 Chardonnay - NO
Tolosa 05 Chardonnay - Pretty good
MUMM 07 Still wine (who knew Mumm made still wine?) - YES $26
Cuvaison? 08 Chardonnay - NO
Morhgan 07 - YES $40
Beringer 05 - Yes $48

Barbera 07 S. Harvey Amador - NO
Sanford (St. Rita) 06 Pinot Noir - Pretty good $34
Rosenblum (lodi) 05 Syrah - Good
Stags Leap 06 Petit Syrah (Napa) - Yes! $40
Frank Family 07 Zin (Napa) - Good $34
Nickel & Nickel 04 Merlot (Napa) - Great! $55

Caymus 07 Cab (Napa) - Outstanding! $73
Simi 06 Cab (Healdsburg) - NO
Hess 06 Cab (Napa) - Just OK $61
Etude 05 Cab (Napa) - Beautiful! $85
Used Automobile Parts 04 "Meritage" ha ha - Good but not Great $50
Silver Stag 03 (Napa) - Good $75

photo class

Local photographer Ryan Bates had a workshop Sunday that was great. Taught us soccer moms how to use those big expensive cameras the right way. He showed us how to get out of the auto mode so we can really get the shots we want! Hopefully he'll do more of these in the future.

On a side note, his pictures are out of this world. He has a great eye and the photos in his shop are quite impressive. So, if you're looking for a great photographer, he's your guy.

Recommended Reading

My friend Kathy lent me a book called Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys, and it is a pretty great book to read if you have boys or want to understand boys. 


It's not just a self-help kind of book, but rather it takes movie and book scenarios and explains how they give insight to boys' minds and why they operate the way they do. From there, as professionals and fathers themselves, the authors give advice on how relate to boys.


Many of the stories the co-authors tell have actually happened in our house - it's like reading a book based on my own life! Anyway, if you have boys, give it a shot.

Fingers crossed!

Looks like the house is going through! It's off Bitters Rd and Blanco in San Antonio. 

Here are some pictures...

3/3/10

gray and i slept in his little adjustable bed last night (jason was on the pull out chair) in the pediatric oncology wing of Sutter hospital. most of the kids here are being treated with chemo and the kindergardener sharing gray's room has been in this room for three weeks.

i can't imagine what these parents are feeling - going through this every day and night. it was so inconvenient being here just one night (the smells, the thick air, the tiny space you have to occupy, the food, the little sink you have to brush your teeth in, the pee you have to catch in a jug, the hourly temperature-taking, etc). i realize i have NOTHING to complain about because most of the kids here have been living this way daily. the sad part is that there was a shortage of beds when we got here, meaning all the beds in this area were occupied with kids battling cancer.

this morning, gray woke up at 6am, like usual, and was a total ball of fire, like usual. they took his labs at 6:30 and hopefully we'll hear good news and be able to go home. he headed to the play room with his "wolverine" hand, so i think he's feeling just fine.

my heart goes out to all of the families here who will not be going home today or any time soon. i was crazy concerned about gray yesterday and couldn't even organize my thoughts (and probably still can't). i'm not sure this makes sense, but, man... no one should have to go through cancer. surely not kids.

interesting side note: jason and i are supposed to be catching a flight at 5pm to san antonio to look for a place to live! ha! we'll just have to see. probably not in the cards.

ITP

soooo.... grayson has a ton of bruises from head to toe. i thought it was just (boys being boys) battle scars from wrestling. he acts completely fine and no one would have guessed that anything was wrong with him. maybe out of paranoia that people thought i was beating him, i decided to take him in to the doctor today to make sure everything was on the up and up.

after some blood work, the doc determined that his platelet count was dangerously low (15K when 150K is the norm) and had us go immediately to the hospital in SAC. he is there overnight getting IVIG -- platelets through IV -- and they will retest his blood tomorrow. hopefully he will be able to come home in the morning!

we're pretty sure we've ruled out anything more serious, such as leukemia, and we will have to continue to check his blood for the next 3-6 months.

THANK YOU all who called, texted, brought food, offered to bring food, came to the hospital, prayed for us, facebooked, offered to watch jake and wyatt... etc. you are all amazing and i am thankful to have you in our lives.

weeelllll...

why are some days so good and other days:

grayson pees in the car for no reason

the fridge/freezer goes out COMPLETELY

jake goes in to the doctor for a rash and comes out with 2 prescriptions and asthma

all the blueberries fall out of the 5 lb. container

you forget not to use the creamer (because the fridge went out) and end up with yucky coffe

you can't find your ipod

you find your ipod and it's dead

you're with friends, look down and have a huge hole in your pants

15 people ask you if you're sick or just tired

you realize that what's been clogging the toilet is your favorite bra that your 3 yr old was teaching to swim

you go to pull out your wallet to put $$ on your kid's lunch card and your wallet isn't there

you get lost in berkley and end up going the wrong way on a one way street

did i leave anything out?

Pine Ridge

we went to napa this weekend with my brother in law and sarah and had soooo much fun! we stuck to the main road this time, visiting Pine Ridge, Balducci, V. Sattui, and Silver Oak. was there another one?

the weather was really nice and the scenery was perfection. it's rained so much this year that everything was green and wild. i couldn't believe all the yellow!

it's funny because i tend to stick towards my favorites, so i really enjoy trying something new (in very small and expensive doses). i'm no expert, but i have really narrowed down what i like and what i don't.

next week we start our wine appreciation class and i'm super excited. the guy who teaches the class is one of my favorite people in the world, so i'm pretty sure my tuesday nights are gonna be fantastic. hey, i have to go back to texas with something!

actually, we have a place in vacaville called WineStyles. it's a little spot to sample wine or buy a bottle or two and share with friends. they have a good selection and live music on saturday nights. there's kind of a wild older crowd that goes on saturday nights though... yikes. i'll just warn against bringing two handsome 30 yr old men to cougar-ville!

but back to the point, maybe they're wanting to expand to san antonio, tx and want a spunky little 30 yr old girl to head up the operation. i think that i'd have just the girl for them. talk about a dream job.

Quote of the Day

I was cleaning and doing some hard-core cleaning while Justin was wrestling with the boys. As I was vacuuming, Wyatt says, "Mom, it makes me sad when you clean so much because we're just going to mess everything up again."

Do bath tub shots ever get old?

valentine's day delivery

jake's school decided to make valentines for a local nursing home today and i totally enjoyed working in the school. they were so excited about making cards and gluing on heart and applying stickers. it's funny because some one donated kinda inappropriate stickers for a nursing home -- stickers that said, "super sexy," "call me," "gonna get it," and so on. so the 6th graders and i got it and thought it was hilarious, the 3rd graders on down just had fun putting pretty stickers on.

we went to the senior center after school to deliver the valentines and BOY was it a roller coaster of emotions. we started off with the memory care center. the first couple wyatt approached politely declined getting a card. when our staff rep told tried to explain that kids had decorated these cards for them, the wife got irate. she started loudly saying, "I DON'T WANT A VALENTINE. I KNOW MY RIGHTS. IT'S STILL A FREE COUNTRY." it was tough. i wanted to break down. i almost turned around to leave.

but, we trudged on and thankfully, that was the only negative encounter. every other person was so excited to see kids and get handed a card. we started going door to door and i was surprised that the staff was able to just walk right into the rooms at their leisure -- i mean, what if the resident was naked or using the restroom???

so grayson was the hit because he was the youngest and was completely uninhibited. his first question was always, "what are you watching?" or "why does this room smell like mints?" that got a laugh.

i think it was wonderful for all the kids -- from the 6th graders who thought it would be like a sorority for the elderly to the 1st grader who was thrilled that they were bowling on the wii -- i wouldn't take that hour back for anything.

idol

i like ellen. i think she's funny and i would hang out with her all day long. that being said, i'm just not sure about her being an idol judge. i think it's going to be okay, but time will tell. i watched a few seconds here and there of the "first" episodes, but what's the point really? it's almost too pathetic to be real and i feel bad feeling bad for people, so it's just a little uncomfortable.

so, for me, tonight was the first episode of idol. there is some REAL talent on this year. i'm excited!!! i didn't catch all the names, but the two that impressed me the most were Janelle Wheeler and Andrew Garcia. they knocked it out! there were a couple of people who made me want to stick around another year. so come on ellen -- make us proud.

my new fav kid's book

i checked this book out from the library and totally fell in love. the boys and i laughed at every poem. they're well written and illustrated. i can't imagine any human being NOT being in love with CALEF BROWN!!!

check out my fav -- the egret
jake's fav -- tongue tester
wyatt's fav -- donuts
gray's fav -- grandpa's mustache

but honestly, they're all fantastic!

oh no he di-int

i took wyatt to get his hair cut today at fantastic sams (he likes their lollipops) and afterwards, we went to starbucks with ms. katie. the lady who'd cut his hair was also getting a refreshing beverage and announces to the very uninterested employees, "isn't wyatt's hair shiny and new?" they all mumble.


the man taking our order was not so blessed by the pantene hair fairy and wyatt says, "that guy's hair isn't shiny, but his head is - he's like, almost bald."


and, oh yes, the man heard.


minutes later, grayson is wandering around to all the cooler than cool starbucks cats with a nickel asking, "heads or tails?"


we are class-E.

etsy grocery bags

i always feel guilty when i have the "wrong" reusable grocery bags for the store i am shopping at (trader's bag at the nugget, nugget bag at raley's...) so i found these bags that are really cute on etsy!

i like the produce bags too, but i'm not sure they'll hold the big stuff. i'll have to try them out soon.

by the way, the butternut squash lasagna was pretty GOOD!!! the "fake" cheese melted just fine and the flavor of the squash made it really sweet.

possible disaster dinner party

i tried to make a vegan butternut squash lasagna but i'm not so sure. so far, i'm about 1 for 20 on this sort of cooking... most things just taste like bland, old lady food and the ginger + carrot soup was so foul that the only thing that was in our bellies was a good chuckle when we decided not to eat it.

this one at least smells good, but isn't lasagna supposed to be thick? and is this fake mozzarella gonna make it? looks a little suspect. at least the home made peanut butter cups should be nice and disgusting. i used carob chips and made the mistake of tasting one while i was melting them - foul.

tune in to see if any one survived and when your dinner invite comes in the mail, pretend it did not.

comando BS

so, i'm sitting in Bible study today at my house and grayson comes downstairs with three costumes. he strips down to his birfday suit, and proceeds to ask mrs. sarah to put his buzz lightyear costume on.


two minutes later, he realizes he wants to be a power ranger, so he's naked again and after wearing the power ranger one for all of ten minutes, he's naked again, and waiting for some one to help him with the batman costume.


i'm so glad i have such good friends... i don't even think any one noticed!

1/23/10

danielle parts ways with the air force (at least as far as working for them) AND we reap the benefits at her fabulous dinner! the everyone-bring-a-bottle-of-wine was a nice touch and we got to sample a little bit of everything - hence, the dudes singing karaoke. pour some sugar on me. fab.

What's that behind your ear?

Wyatt got into magic sets this year and my stepdad had fun at Christmas pulling quarters from behind his ears. So last week we were at a store that had a gumball machine and I told the boys I didn't have any quarters, so Wyatt told me to check behind his ear. I almost laughed, but he was serious, so I went through the motions. Obviously there was nothing there, so he told me to check the other one!


This morning, Wyatt asked me why I couldn't pull $5 from behind his ears instead of quarters because that would be "awesome."

UNstressin me OUT

So the Yahoo article today was about reducing stress, which we all know by now will let us live longer and prevent us from looking like dried up, wrinkled, gray prunes. The list was good: carry a bandaid in your wallet, buy stamps in bulk, yadda yadda... so I got the idea on how to keep others stress free. Some of these are real, and some are just a laugh. Either way, you're reducing stress just by reading this. 


1. Make a friend dinner for no reason.
2. Don't take your children grocery shopping (this helps you and others)
3. Take a friend to a dance class.
4. Make love (again, this is good for you and your partner)
5. Never call people after 9pm or before 8am if you don't know their sleep schedule
6. If you know a friend has a large To Do list, take something off of it if you can
7. Find a neat coloring book and color
8. Never ask a good friend to babysit the Boeker boys -- that's a job for healthy teenagers
9. Don't let a friend be bored. Boredom is worse than stress.
10. Clean your house with a friend. Some times it's fun to clean together, so do their house first and then yours!




These comments are not approved by the FDA.

LOTR -- The VERY extended version

What a gloomy day! Ugh, it hasn't stopped raining since yesterday and the boys don't have school since it's MLK day. Right or wrong, we've decided to let the boys watch Lord of the Rings with us. I'm SO glad we've seen it so many times that we're not really trying to watch it because I don't think I've talked or explained so much in a movie. Ever.


For the first hour, it was, "What's his name again?" Why does he wear that hat? Grayson says, "Why's his name Candle? That's silly." Gandalf. "Do they have to take a bath?" "Why don't they use their swords more?" "Where did they get those horses all of the sudden?" AND over and over, "Is he a good guy or a bad guy? I want to be on his team."


And the Orcs don't scare them. But Gollum took about 15 minutes to get used to.


So that's what the Boekers are doing on a cold, rainy holiday.

The Vita MIX

Yes, I got sucked in at Costco, but... This thing is fantastic! So the ingredients for my breakfast drink this morning:


grapes
kale
spinach
banana
frozen rasperies
1/2 apple
1/2 lemon
soy protein
goodbelly (juice)


Talk about FANTASTIC. Even if I won't ever get a new car, I'm pretty happy!!!

Wine Journal!

Being so close to Napa and Sonoma, I've really developed a taste for wine. I prefer it to beer by far, which I never thought I'd say. I guess the relationship started when I lived in Texas and my dad would take me to wine tastings occasionally. He'd buy a bottle or two and I'd drink it out of "free"ness, and never thought I'd develop a true appreciation for it.


SO in the 7 years we've been in California, I've been pregnant off and on for most of those years, but the past three years, there have been no buns in this oven - but plenty of wine. The first party we were invited to upon moving to Vacaville was Shaleen's wine party. There, Jason stuck with beer mostly, but I thought I'd put on a little class and at least try a variety of the wine. I immediately LOVED it. Well, some of it.


And so the story goes with dinner parties and gatherings... I'd try a little something out of my price range now and then. Try some that I otherwise would have written off as goofy. But over and over, I'd forget what I liked and what I would be happy to never have to choke down again. I'd stick with my two favorites most of the time - Bogle (old vine is my fav) and Mondavi. For Chardonnay, it was ALWAYS Kendall Jackson.


Recently, I've decided to branch out again, and rather than waste money over and over on the same junk, I've started to keep a detailed journal. I don't just record the name, but the year and vintage. For example, Rodney Strong Sonoma Valley is a much different flavor than the Alexander Valley. This way, I know what's worth buying again and what I've tried and it didn't make the cut. When my favorites are reduced in price, I can stock up -- much better than stocking up on something you despise!


Next step? Remember to bring the journal when I go shopping!

The WASTE NOT WANT NOT series

If you watch HGTV at all, you’ll notice that so many houses built before 1990 have smaller closets and kitchens and space for stuff in general. Have you ever wondered why the closets were so tiny?  I mean, those closets not only held the little wife’s clothes, but the husbands as well! 

I’m 30 years old. And while I haven’t amassed a fortune, made my footprint (other than carbon) on the world, or even done anything worth bragging about at my next high school reunion, I have amassed a wealth of knowledge on what NOT to do, buy, and spend my time and money on.

My New Years resolution this year was to waste less and to follow a kinder lifestyle. To my amazement, these things have easily fit hand-in-hand. By trying to eat  only fresh, organic, locally grown food and spirits (ok this is cheating because I’m 20 minutes from Napa), I have learned not only where and how my food was produced, but what food really does cost. And the lives that are effected in the production of that sustenance.

I am kind of ashamed when I think of all the “stuff” I’ve bought and a year later thrown in the donation pile. Think about something you bought just because it was on sale. Do you ever find the price tag is still attached to the things you’ve already grown tired of? Yeah, some things we buy with the intention of being our salute to the national trend, but for the most part, shouldn't those things just accent our wardrobes and houses?

Wouldn't it be great to just LOVE our furniture, kitchenware, clothes etc. years after we bought them? To buy things that we feel good about tomorrow and next year? To fix the things we have that are broken -- maybe recover that chair or swap clothes with friends?

What advice would you give a young friend, maybe getting married and starting a new life or starting to build a family? What can you do to start wasting less, buying less, and being happier with what you have?

left over red sauce?

so, tonight is the big texas/alabama game and i had some leftover sauce from last night. i wanted to make something "fun" ish, so i took the sauce and made calzones for the adults, cheese pizza for the kiddos. i modified a bread recipe from a friend. turned out GREAT!!! here you go...

crust:

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 1/2 cups regular flour

2 scoops cold milled flax

2 tbsp. yeast

1 1/2 c warm water (combine the water and yeast first, let sit a while and combine with the other)

tbsp. salt

a "drizzle" of olive oil

-- mix all of that in a mix with the dough attachment for about 5 minutes

STUFF:

roll a little over half that dough you just made into a pizza shape and on 1/2, use the leftover sauce. on the other half, use pesto

on half, put the following:

sliced mushrooms (i used cremini)

black olives

mozzarella

red onion

artichokes (quartered)

whatever else you like on your pizza

fold in half and pinch the sides. bake on 425 for about 17 minutes. the rest of the dough, i made a cheese pizza. i used the rest of the red sauce, mozzarella, colby jack, and a little parmesan. the boys have no idea how healthy dinner was!

yummy red sauce

i actually made my own (healthy) red sauce last night and poured it over fusilli and they boys loved it. here's what i did:

sautee garlic and onion in a skillet

add:

kale

zucchini

2 can of diced tomato

1 can tomato paste

2 carrots

sprinkle in:

parsley

salt

pepper

basil

oregano

cinnamon

while the fussili is cooking, blend all of that in a blender. toss into the fussili and if you want, sprinkle parmesan on top. i served it with raley's dutch crunch bread sliced & broiled with pesto.

TOP 10 THINGS I DON'T WANT TO HEAR WHILE TAKING MY SHOWER

aka - why I didn't rinse the conditioner out of my hair...

1. Mom, Grayson pushed the screen out of your window. Seriously, it's on the roof and he's trying to get it.

2. Mom, Grayson put Iron Man in the toilet and it won't let the poop flush down.

3. Mom, there's some one waiting downstairs to sell you a vacuum cleaner.

4. Mom, Grayson's eating oreos/marshmellows/butter

5. (sobbing) Mom, Wyatt punched me in the back because I punched him in the face.

6. Mom, can you get out of the shower because I want to use your potty and I don't want you in here. (we have 3 restrooms)

7. Mom, Grayson's calling some one. Really, he's talking to a real person.

8. Mom, when you get out, can we go swimming?

9. Mom, Grayson's putting toothpaste in his hair. I think he thinks it's gel.

10. Mom, Grayson ran out the front door and I couldn't stop him. He says he's going to check the mail and it's not even 3:00 yet.

Happy Birthday Dad/Happy New Year!

So, my dad is hecka hard to shop for because he likes what he likes and most of what he likes involves Best Buy. A girl can only buy so many gift cards without being painfully predictable. So this year, I remembered my dad's favorite cake -- red velvet and I found out that Shari's Berries makes one and delivers. VIOLA!!! Looks good, eh?