Christmas Spirit

A friend gave an incredibly powerful talk in church on Sunday. She spoke about the spirit of Christmas. She talked about how on her mission she struggled to help people feel the Spirit, and realized recently that all she needed to tell them was that the Spirit is the same as the spirit of Christmas. She gave such a powerful testimony, my bones practically rang with it. The spirit of Christmas touches you in the oddest places. . .

This morning at the gym, I was on my usual machine, and I was trying to finish a book I had been reading. (I don't usually read while working out because I do cardio in intervals and watch the clock to do them. The book is a Steven King novel that I've discovered I CAN'T read at night, so I took it to the gym with me this morning.) The pages kept flipping around, and it was a bit of a struggle. Suddenly, a lady that I had never seen before, came up and put a hair clip on my book, pinching the pages down, so I could easily read. She simply explained, "I like to read too. You can just give it back when you're done." and she pointed over to the weight area. I was just starting my hour tho, so I figured, I'd give it back when she left. About a 30 minutes later, she comes back and says, "You know, between my daughter and I, we have tons of those things, you keep that one." I asked if she was sure, and, here's what did it for me, she said, "Merry Christmas," and she left. The value of what she gave me was probably nothing to her, but, to me was priceless. "Merry Christmas," not "happy holidays" or any of the other things people say to wash away the real meaning, the Spirit, of the season.

Merry Christmas!

Favorite Things

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. . ." No, although they're very nice. I thought I'd write a quick note on my favorite things.

1. Nexxus Therappe hair products. I've tried tons of the premiums shampoos (my sister is a cosmetologist extraordinaire and keeps me well supplied) and I keep coming back to this line. Nothing leaves my hair as manageable and frizz-free as these products. Word of warning for gals lucky enough to have naturally oily hair-stay far, far away. These products are great for people with naturally curly, naturally dry hair. You can and should get them from Costco.

2. Curel body lotion. Again, for those lucky enough to have oily skin, this is probably not necessary for you. But, the Intensive Moisture Therapy product (red label) is the only lotion that I can apply once, and not have to reapply--all day. Love, love, love this stuff--and it's unscented, so anybody with sensitive skin should be okay with it.

3. Costco generic loratadine--hmmm, 300 pills of loratadine for $12 or $35 for 80 Claritin pills. Same medicine, same amount of medicine--this is a no brainer. We were spending a lot on medication for my son who suffers from allergies pretty much year round. When we were on vacation this July at my sister-in-law's house, I forgot our Claritin, and my son had rubbed his face in their cat's bed. They offered the Costco stuff, it worked great on my son's allergy flare up, and I haven't made that mistake again. Bless you (and curse you) Costco for making the things I need (and don't need) in large quantities.

4. Trader Joe's. Okay, I'll be honest here. I used to roll my eyes at my friends at work who spoke with slavish fanaticism at the stuff they got from their local Trader Joe's. It was, and is, a supremely yuppie place to shop. That said, the prices on milk, sour cream, eggs and other dairy aisle items are lower than any of the larger grocery chains, and our local non-chain grocery store I frequent. Their convenience items are also not expensive--broccoli chopped and ready to steam 2 lb for $1.99 (to the chagrin of my kids)! The Joe Joes are better than Oreos, and right now they have some with real candy canes in the frosting goodness that is the filling. And, if you haven't tried the kettle corn--you are missing a real treat.

5. The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Myer. Stay-at-home-mom of three fits writing 600+ page best-selling novels in between potty-training and church callings and all the other stuff that moms do during the day. Inspirational! I was introduced to these by a good friend, and I in turn bought them for my very self, and loaned them to other friends--all of which at one point or another have called at odd hours of the day begging me to spoil the plot for them. Eng, no reading the last chapter, you'll only ruin for yourself!!!! I enjoy these so much, I re-read when I don't have anything new. It's a true guilty pleasure--one of many, but I'll leave those for another entry.

Procrastination!

Christmas cards, photos to be hung on a wall, paperwork for insurance next year, choir cantata programs to be printed, desserts for various parties, IRS forms (not scary ones), Christmas presents, job hunting, EDD paperwork, car registrations, household chores--the question for the day is how many things can one woman having looming over her before she cracks? The really big problem is the I have the attention span of a gnat at the moment. If I could just sit down and focus on one thing from start to finish--I'd be able to knock most of this stuff out. But focus has never been a strong point of mine. You need only to have a conversation with me for longer than 10 minutes to realize how tangential my thinking is.

I swear its not old age either--I have been this way since I was a child! I'll walk into a room with the intention of plugging my cell phone in--I go to plug it in, realize that the counter is dirty, start cleaning it off, as I'm putting something away, realize that I have laundry that needs to be changed out, get down to the laundry and realize that my garage needs cleaning, put something from my dirty car upstairs in my room, sit down and try to get bills paid, pay my cell phone bill, realize that it's not yet plugged in, go down and plug it in and realize that the counter is still dirty. . .and the entire cycle starts over again. And at the end of the day, I have a dirty counter, dirty laundry, dirty garage and an uncharged cell phone! Is this normal, or do I need some serious drugs?!

I'm posting a collage of Porter a friend of mine did. It's quite good. I have such talented friends around me--Eng is an amazing photographer, my sister does everything she puts her hands to well, my mother can prepare lessons for church that make everyone better people. Me, I can't even clean my house.

Twilight, The Movie

So, my sister called me early last week and said, "You and me, Twilight, next Saturday. Is it a date?" No hesitation on my part--of course. I've been anticipating this movie since I saw the trailer at the last movie I saw--which I can't even remember because it has been so long. I hadn't even read the books yet, but the movie looked intriguing.

Well, a dear friend of mine gave me the first 2 books, and told me to apologize to my family before I started to read them. I said okay a little skeptically, and took them home. I started to read the first Sunday. And bless her heart, my dear friend Susan was appallingly correct. I neglected everything and everyone in my life for the next week while I finished the first 2 books. She didn't have the 3rd or 4th, which had just come out, so I tried to settle into a long wait til I could get them. Let's just say, I held out for about a day. I bought books 3 and 4, then when I finished those, I went back and bought 1 & 2 so I could read them again. Which I have numerous times. I also loaned the books to a friend I thought would enjoy them. She's since called me and cursed me out a few times--her family has also been neglected thoroughly.

So, I was turned into one of those rabid fans that I roll my eyes at when I come across them.

When Saturday finally arrived, my sister, girlfriend and I met up at the movies (Mission Valley 20, Fashion 18 is always sold out). My girlfriend and I left our neglected families behind and drove in together. We had pre-purchased our tickets, so we grabbed take out to stand in line. We sat and waited for the movie to start--there are quite a few movies coming out that look really funny (Confessions of a Shopoholic may be another girl's night out). I was surprised at the number of men in line--I wouldn't want my hubby around--no harshing my mellow. . .

The men in the movie are exquisite--I think that the casting was about the best I've seen for a movie adaptation of a beloved book. My sister's friends warned her about the screaming--not from fright, but, when Edward first comes on screen. Robert Pattinson was exactly the Edward in my mind. I read later that a bunch of rabid fans had actually signed a petition for them NOT to cast him, and he received a bunch of hate mail. Those fans were dead wrong. Pattinson brought something to the role that wasn't in the book. He actually made me see Edward's point of view better--how tortuous it was to be around his own personal brand of heroin, and not partaking. He caught the awkwardness of a boy falling for a girl for the first time--and knowing that he could kill her if he lost control.

That said, I came out of the movie a little disappointed. I couldn't quite put my finger on why until I thought it over. I was disappointed that they had spent so little on special effects. Movie audiences have become very spoiled at the sophistication of special effects in movies these days--they are nearly seamless in most movies. But, you could practically see the wires for some of the effects. The one scene where they had to get it right, Edward showing Bella what he looked like in sunlight, was so hokey, people in the theater laughed. The movie did not spend enough time developing the relationship between Edward and Bella either. She figures out what he is, then suddenly, they're in love. People who've read the book could buy it, but, people who hadn't read the book would miss it entirely. I don't know if this was a script/screenwriter problem, or an editing problem.

The director, Catherine Hardwicke, captured exactly the moodiness of the scenery. She captured the awkwardness between teenager Bella and the father she hardly knows. The audience got started knowing the Cullen family, and Bella's friends from school and her relationship with Jacob Black was introduced. The cast was phenomenal. At the end of the movie, they showed Victoria, part of the evil coven hunting Bella, watching Edward and Bella at prom. This makes me wonder if the studio will somehow skip book 2 and go directly to book 3, or mix bits and pieces of the 2 books for the second movie. It will be interesting to see.

This movie made over $70 million in the opening, the highest opening weekend for any female director. Summit has announced plans to film the next book. I just hope that they'll invest a bit more money for special effects in the next film.

Playing Catch Up!

I'm going to play catch up here, since it has been so long since I've written. We had some really fun activities over the summer, including several trips to Sea World. They've updated the kids play area--can you believe it was "Captain Kidd's" world when I was a kid. I think they had better things to play on when I was a kid--but of course they'd be too dangerous for kids these days. Here's a picture or two of Jake and Porter enjoying themselves in the water.

We had some great days at the beach. Jake discovered Boogey boarding and has since taken up surfing. Dad is completely stoked about it. He finally has someone to go out with him. My mother is a little worried about starting him so early. But, I figure everyone needs a passion, and if surfing is his--that is great. There's no better way to stay in shape and find your center than surfing. I'm sure his Aunt Shannon would love to come down and take him out now and then too!

Jake got into GATE seminar--which is the Gifted and Talented Education class. He is loving his teachers--he has 2--and the projects they've done so far have really kept him interested in school. He's always been the "enthusiastic learner" a teacher euphemism for "loud" but he has always loved school. This class has just been icing on the cake for him. The first day of school they did an architecture project where they took tightly rolled up newspapers and made a structure. Jake's group did a very cool pyramid looking thing with a free swinging star floating from the top of the pyramid. One of his teachers plays guitar, and he came home completely enthused about singing in class--Blue Suede Shoes.

About half way into September, I decided I was going to replace the old yucky vinyl tiles in our kitchen. A lot of them were coming up off the floor, and most of them were cracked and damaged. I went and bought some new vinyl tiles, then started in on the removal process. To my dismay, most pulled easily from the floor because they were completely waterlogged. I had that horrible sinking feeling one gets before bad news hits. When Paul got home, he took one look at what I had started (and I'm sure got the sinking feeling as well) and said we'd need to replace the entire floor--possibly even the studs. The first layer was bad--the wood was completely rotten. The next layer, was the cheapest particle board on the market, was completely disintegrated. Luckily, the next layer wasn't too bad. We laid down the new subfloor, and decided to go with ceramic tile rather than vinyl tiles. Boy, that was a ton of work, but the results are phenomenal, and I can say that we did it ourselves. The best part of all, my husband is still talking to me after this project.

Aside from this 3 week project, Porter and I have been keeping busy. We're working on our letters, he's starting to try and write for himself--we've been sorting M&Ms and other candy to work on our math skills, and we make elaborate projects with construction paper. A few weeks ago it was a big hat from a Costco box. Two weeks ago it was a jack-o-lantern card for his best buddies Chase and Ashley, and last week it was a rocket--with a paper towel roll. He's very creative--this is all in between making clone trooper or stormtrooper helmets out of any and everything.

Well, my internet link keeps timing out, so my pictures are going to go missing for a little bit. I'll try again in the morning. . .

Marriage, addictions and other musings

Jake, Porter and I were driving home from Costco today when Jake commented that he had a lot of friends with parents divorcing. He actually had five. We talked a little about why. I told him that I figured a lot of people get disappointed with marriage--or with their partner. They didn't have their expectations met. Jake then asked what "expectations" were. To put it into terms he knows, I said something along the lines of wanting something really bad for Christmas. And in the case of a bad marriage, not getting that Christmas present. I believe it's never too early to start marriage education. I'll fill him with my ideas, hopefully his Dad will fill him with his ideas, and he'll start to have a little picture of what it takes to be married.

My theory on marriage? My spouse in not responsible for my happiness, I AM. My spouse provides a launching pad, a safe haven for me finding my own happiness. Parenting, I think, is rather the same, but with a lot more training up front. You can try and train your spouse, but I think that is a bit like banging your head against a wall repeatedly. Like it or not, spouses are already trained (?) when you get them--especially when you marry older as I did.

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The purpose of this Costco trip was to get Dad some Dr. Pepper (or as Porter has called it from the time he could speak--DADDY Pepper). Dad had been grouchy all weekend after not having any on Saturday or Sunday. Jake mused that Dad hadn't had Dr. Pepper yesterday, but he was fine when they went to work on their soapbox car for Scouts. Jake then said, "I think Dad just needs a hobby. . ."

Out of the mouths of babes.

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Finally, Paul sent me an article on food scientists.

http://www.slashfood.com/2008/08/04/food-scientists-on-the-decline-worldwide

I love product developing, and I love working for companies that do research to end world hunger. Figuring out how to make crops grow with not a lot of water, with out much pesticide and still produce nutritionally sound food that is where we need more research done.

How the MAD Scientist became a sahm

Why mad scientist you ask? Well, I'm a little angry right now. I was laid off at the end of March 2008--the very last day of the month, and at the very end of the workday. I was in the lunchroom when my smarmy smiling boss came in and told me to come up around 3 to hear about some changes to R&D--and to send up everyone in 15 minute increments. He walked off, and I promptly threw my lunch away, as all appetite had fled. I was hurrying to get a particularly large order out, and when I looked up at three--I noticed all my coworkers had vacated the lab. Apparently they had been given different orders than I. I walked upstairs--knowing what was coming. Smarmy boss-man told there wasn't enough work to justify my existence and then told me to give back my cell phone and laptop--neither of which had ever been granted to me, and to clear out my desk by the end of the day. It was 3 and, as I arrived at work at 7, was fairly close to the end of my work day. I went back to my desk to clear off a few photos I had stored on the computer, I got up to trash some files I didn't think they'd need, and by the time I got back to my desk, I had been locked out of my computer.

I went back downstairs to finish that order, and clean up my bench--then I trashed my notebook--a no-no in the science world, and left. As I was leaving, one of my coworkers had returned, and I explained what was going on. She was one of my favorites, and I actually felt more sorry for her for having to stay. As I drove off, I flipped that company the biggest mental bird I could. They have done through 4, count 'em, 4 R&D directors in about 3 years. I managed to hang on the longest. What really makes me mad about the entire thing was that I found out about their track record a few hours after giving my notice at my old job. It was truly unfortunate timing.

So, after giving them the mental bird, and driving off, I phoned my husband, promptly burst into tears and started shaking. I have not been unemployed in over 16 years--especially not with 2 children and a mortgage. I'm still feeling rudderless--and stressed with the economy tanking the way it is. But, I remember part way through the long drive (did I mention I drove 45 miles each way) feeling elated, and freed from the crappiest employer EVER. My kids reactions were priceless when I told them about the job. Jake said "YESSSS!" and Porter just hugged me tight. Here we are 3 months later, and I love the stay-at-home scene. I just don't know if we can make it work. We love San Diego, but, affordable it isn't.

"Luckily" a week after I lost my job, some drunk driver took out my husband's (paid for) Chevy Silverado when it was parked on the street. We were paid fairly generously for the loss. This means that we no longer have a gas guzzler and are down to one pretty old car. My husband is getting in great shape riding his bike to work, and we are learning to walk and ride bikes for our outings as well. I heard some movie director say that getting fired was "God's way of telling you to do something else." I'm looking into it--but I sure haven't been inspired by the prospects at the moment. It's a scary world out there, I just hope I can find a place in it.

Say What?!

What do you tell your 7 and 4 year old about bad language? A few days ago, luckily out of earshot of dad (who would immediately blame me), Porter asked, "Mom, what does sombitch mean?" Just like that. My immediate reaction was to have to stifle a very loud chortle--something that foul coming from such a sweet, innocent face. Then, bafflement as I struggled to think when I last said that (I blame myself for their foul language too). But that particular word is not in my repertoire of things to say when stubbing a toe, or dropping a hot pan of pasta sauce on my clean kitchen floor. So, I'm completely baffled as to where he got that one.

I've found that I have to separate what words can be said in what location. I don't want to invest importance into silly words--crap, fart, poop are not a bad words, especially when only said in the bathroom. Likewise, dipstick is fine in the garage. But when you use these words to make someone feel bad, that is bad. I'm trying to teach them that the words themselves are not bad, but the intention behind the use of the word is.

So imagine my horror when my 7 year old asked (after playing with Tigger at his cousin's house), "Mom, what does n----r mean?" This did not make me laugh at all--where on earth did he hear this one?! To me, that word is the ultimate in mean words--the intention of that word is to demean. I tried calmly to explain that to my son--we don't ever use that word, it is only a mean word. He said it a few more times, rephrasing the original question, I think to just get it out of his system.

I read a story in the Redding paper last week when we were visiting. The story talks about two moms taking their 3 early readers to the playground. The slide made a great microphone so the moms could hear everything their kids were saying. They were laughing at some of the fun comments they were making up until the 2 boys started swearing like sailors. The girls mom looked at the boy's mother accusingly, and she could not figure out where they'd heard these words. Then, the girl said, "Mother-father. . .ha! they spelled father wrong!" The moms realized that the kids were reading the graffiti off the inside of the slide.

Home from Vacation!

My car is currently a pungent potpouri of Ranch Pringles, McDonalds French Fries, Tropical Skittles, bbq pistachios, Dr. Pepper with a little 2% milk thrown in. Yes, we defied current wisdom and took a driving vacation this year. With gas prices as high as $4.75 in Bishop, CA and as low as $4.05 in Carson City, NV this may not have been as wise as the trendy "staycation," but we sure had a blast.

We started out Tuesday, July 2, leaving San Diego at Paul's predicted 2 pm. I guess I'm more of an optimist than I thought, I predicted 12. We drove to Livermore, CA and stayed with Paul's wonderful and very hospitable sister Pat. We love staying with her because she has a beautiful house, with a terrific garden. And, if we time it right, her fab husband will cook for us. Alas, we did not time this one right. We decided, belatedly, to hit Yosemite on Wednesday. Of course, we were tired from the journey the day before, so we didn't leave Livermore until 11:30. The last time Paul and I made this trip, we left from Ripon (an hour closer) and we had my cute little Miata. Needless to say, we didn't arrive in Yosemite Valley until 3, a good hour and a half later than we'd hoped. Yosemite was beautiful though, and worth the time. We hiked to lower Yosemite Falls, then decided to hike to the top of Vernal Falls. Porter stayed on Paul's shoulders for most of the hike, but Jake, courageous adventurer he is, did it on his own. We couldn't be more proud! We didn't leave Yosemite until 8 that night, so we completely missed out on dinner with the Bayons.

We left Livermore the following day, after a fun lunch with Pat and Brent. The journey to Redding was uneventful (did we mention we have a portable DVD system that makes travelling with kids a breeze?). We stayed with Tim and Kathleen this time around. Mom Z has not been feeling all that well, and relinquished her exclusive rights to host us. Unfortunately, there were no fireworks in Redding due to that half of the state being ON FIRE! The day we arrived was the first day the people of Redding could see the surrounding mountains. We decided to do the Redding Aquatic Center which was an absolute blast. They have 2 enormous pools split into separate sections. A diving section with a high dive and standard diving board. Jake DOVE from the high dive for me--he's incredibly intrepid! They have a great water slide, and in the other pool, a very shallow area with a play structure for toddlers--with 3 small water slides. All this for the bargain price of $3.50 for adults and $3.00 for kids. If you're in the area, I highly recommend this place. http://reddingrecreation.org/

The 5th of July, we went to Brandycreek. It was beautiful and clear when we arrived, but got smokier and smokier as the day progressed. Jake and Paul had a great time swimming to the raft in the middle of the swimming area. There is a shallow sand bar on the other side of the raft that you can stand on and walk. It was a great day all around.

We left the following day for Alturas. We passed through a bunch of very small towns on our way there, as well as some incredibly picturesque country. When we arrived, we were instructed to hit the Holiday Market and get directions from the cute tall blonde checker there. Boy, was she cute, and tall and blonde!!! Our niece, Danielle, was working that day. She gave us directions to her mother's after taking our money for the ice cream we couldn't resist. We polished off our cold treats and took off for Ann's house. We spent a few days visiting them--swimming in the community pool and taking in the sights. That is gorgeous country. I wish we had more time to do the camping and fishing the area is so rich in.

From there, it was on to Lori's in Reno, NV. I went to high school in the area, so I was somewhat familiar with the territory. But boy has Reno grown. I scarcely recognized South Reno at all. Lori's girls had just had to switch to year-round school, and had started school two days before. But, as we don't get to see them that often, she pulled them out of school the next day so we could play. We decided to do Lake Tahoe. We chose Sand Harbor which was absolutely stunning that day. It was clear and wonderful when we arrived, but as the day progressed the smoke we were trying to escape in Redding made it's appearance. By the end of the day, we could no longer see the mountains surrounding the lake and ash covered our cars. The kids love looking for crawdads on the rocks, and they even managed to catch a big one. We managed to have a wonderful day, and got only slightly sunburned.

All to soon, we had to bid the Strang's goodbye, and get home. Porter had woken up the night before wondering where he was at. Who could blame him? We have been in no less than 4 different beds--all terrific, but confusing for a 4 year old. Paul pulled Porter into bed with us and we slept well for the rest of the night. We passed through my old stomping grounds on the way home--stopping in at Russel's Mercantile in Minden, NV. My former next-door-neighbors run the place--if you have a chance to stop in, I highly recommend them. They have fantastic sandwiches and salads--not to mention the baked goodies. It was great to catch up with the Russel and Denna families and see how great they are doing. http://nevadamagazine.com/index.php/issues/read/nevada_gift_ideas/

From there, it was back home to San Diego. The weather is perfect and my kids get to sleep in their own beds. I think it's likely Porter will still crawl in bed with us--I bet the confusion won't wear off for a while, but I think this was a vacation they will never forget.