March is coming to a close already...

I just had six days off in a row and boy do I feel relaxed! So nice to just be able to get things done without worrying about getting off work in time to run here or go to that appointment. I got my teeth cleaned (a filling needs to be replaced), got some work done on the rupulsive rental, got my moles checked, met a friend for lunch, met mom-in-law another day for lunch, took Chelsie lunch at work, (lots of lunches)...

I also started trying to find a elder care person to help out when my mom comes to stay with us in May. I put an ad on Craig's List and got a lot of good responses. A couple of these ladies seem particularly good and I will start interviewing shortly. I hope to have it all set before she gets here so that we can get her familiar with the person.

Starting early on the yellowjacket traps to catch the queens this week...priorities you know. Already caught two! I won't put a picture up because it's gross...just take my word for it.

Also, watching the grandkitties for the week since Jasper and Polina are on a cruise! Yeah! They both needed a break. Mafia has totally ignored us since the cats came. He only has eyes for them. Sometimes they play a little rough and end up hissing at each other but for the most part, they are good buddies.

Pretty tame stuff but it's my life!

Whoa March!

Already the 11th and I haven't put any thoughts down here! Wow, time flies.

After our trip to Hawaii, we got back to a routine around here, working, eating, watching  A-MER-ican idol, sleeping, working, eating, watching A-MER-ican idol...well you get the picture. We are all caught up (thank you TIVO) and are going to run into the snag of having to wait a whole week before getting another hit.

Good news is that boring Ben, (the bachelor on this season's The Bachelor) is almost done choosing his pretend fiance' so they can be pretend engaged for three months before breaking up. And the new season of The Bachelorette will start :) The "bachelor blogs" have torn this season up because Ben is SUCH a dweeb...pretty funny stuff to read. That's pretty much the only reason I still watch this mind-numbing dribble. Gotta know what happens on the show in order to get the jokes on the blogs.

I'm also reading a new Anne Rice novel (of Interview With a Vampire fame) about a werewolf...I know...another werewolf story. But this is pretty good. It's called The Wolf Gift. I'm enjoying the unsettled weather because then I don't feel too guilty just hanging out reading and watching tv. I have worked a lot of overtime lately too because it's been busy at work and less staff right now.

Jasper is traveling for work these last two weeks...Japan, Taiwan, and India. He called me this morning from India and it sounded like he was next door...amazing! Polina is in the thick of it at school like usual. We went for a walk yesterday by the river to give her a break from the books.

Chelsie is tearing it up at work, giving presentations, teaching the new software that the whole hospital is switching over to in the next few months, and working tons of overtime. She's loving the new responsibilities but is tired. Michael is also making inroads at his new job. He's had to navigate some pretty tricky politics already in his small office. Why is there ALWAYS politics at work? I guess because we are all just people. Michael has been asked for advice by his boss and others since he's "the only neutral person" in the office! That's a fine line to stay on but so far he's managing it.

Kevin is in the middle of a couple of weeks where visitors from Italy and Singapor will be here. Lots of meetings and showing these people around Boise, eating dinners with them, etc. So busy time for him too.

Well, I''m done for now...got a post in...yes!

February 2.0

We left for a trip to Oahu on February 7 and got back on the 15th. While there, I attended a conference for anesthesia providers with a friend of mine from school. Kevin's mom and sis were with us in the same condo and we all had a great time! It was a very relaxing trip. Here's a few highlights:

Our condo was located in Waikiki at the "Wyndham on the Beach Walk". It's a time share complex so there was some "selling" that went on. But we didn't sit through the presentation. The condo was two bedroom two bath so it was perfect for the four of us. Very clean and decorated well. We all agreed that we would stay there again if given the choice.

We did have to pry ourselves away from this very persistent lady at the front desk who wanted to get us into their selling presentations...she wanted us to call her "Aunty Aloha"...should have taken a picture of her. Anyway, it was kind of a running joke with us after that meeting...we would pass her desk at a distance and say under our breaths "Hi, Aunty Aloha!" 

We ate a lot of our meals at the condo but did go out a few times. It was a pretty lively spot right where the condo was located, a lot going on on the street at night...fun to watch.

We were just a few blocks off the beach so the first morning we were there, I couldn't sleep past 6 am so I got up and walked down to the beach to get a picture of the full moon over the water...so beautiful!

I ended up painting the scene in watercolors later in the trip. I also met an artist while walking through a hotel lobby that was painting in watercolors but using a very unique technique. He was happy to tell me about it so I tried it while painting this scene. I was so excited to try it because I've always had frustrations with watercolor and his technique was something I recognized as a way to get around some of that.

Anyway, I think it turned out well but I still have some things I want to change.

Just more scenery of the beach that same morning...a shot of Diamond Head under a tree :)

 Every Friday night, there is a fireworks show on the beach. We all went and watched. It's a very popular thing. I'll bet most of the hotels on the beach are empty during it because the crowds were dense! But that made it more fun.

 Kevin and I met up with my friend Kathy and her husband Topher for a sunset cruise that takes off right at the beach. We all had a blast...weather was perfect. Kevin and I have taken this trip before a couple of times but have always had to bundle up due to the cooler temps on the water. But this time we didn't have to put on the jackets.

 Our traditional pose in front of Diamond Head! Three years in a row now.

 Kevin on the boat, wind in his hair (you can't tell from the pic).

 You can see my hair...all over the place!

 Kevin's sister Teresa, his Mom Cathy, and I went a lot of places together too. Spent some time on the beach, drove to the North Shore so I could visit my grandmother (98!)  and so that they could attend a temple session (temple closed on Mondays and we went on a Monday so, doh!) We also tried to go to Hanauma Bay on a Tuesday (the next day) and it's closed every Tuesday so we were really striking out! We'll know better next time I guess. 

I thought this was a funny shot...Mom on a beach with China man's hat in the distance...:) She knew I was taking it...

 So, a very fun trip, lots of relaxation time. Didn't do too much but had enough activity to keep us all happy and worn out.

Now it's back to work and the rental project...no pics yet and I forgot to take a before shot! Kevin has already ripped into the bathroom vanity and has it out. Oh well...

Early February

As per my New Year's resolution, I am posting at least twice every month. I didn't specify that I had to post a lot in those two postings...

Kevin and I decided to get some bookshelves for the livingroom in keeping with our plans to continually make our house a little slice of paradise. We found these at Costco. I had measured the wall (kind of) and told Kevin that these would fit side by side and it would be perfect! I went and got them in the truck while Kevin was at work. We put them together in our livingroom...(well ok, mostly Kevin) and stood them up against the wall, and guess what! They had not 1/2 an inch to spare (whew!). They went up so nice! I was lucky we didn't get all the way to installing these only to find out they were an inch too wide or something because we had granite on one side and the end of the wall on the other!

We put a string of rope lighting inside and on top of the bookcases (looks nice at night) and now we have room to display all kinds of cool stuff like my Jane Austen collection from Barnes and Noble, my copy of Lord of the Rings (hard bound, all three books in one ;)...ok I'm a Tolkien nerd), How to Win Friends and Influence People, and some pictures...oh and of course, the busts of my children that I made out of clay and that they would probably rather I didn't display...

Let's see, what else...We celebrated Polina's 25th birthday at PF Changs at the end of January as a family. That was really fun. She is neck-deep in school and loving it. She is also very busy so we don't see her enough to satisfy us.

Our rental is empty and we are in the middle of redoing one of the bathrooms so it will be a while before that project is done. I really don't even like to remember that we have to work on it. It's so pleasant to just forget all about it. Then we get back from vacation and, oh yeah...that freaking project is still waiting to be done! The next Feb post will be about our vacation to Hawaii along with some before pics of the stupid bathroom project. Stay tuned!

New year...new resolve!

Well, I guess this counts as a sort of new year's resolution...to blog a little more often. Let me quantify that, to blog at least twice a month!!! How's that for a commitment? If I slip and go back to my old habit of not blogging until I feel like it, I give you permission to guilt me into compliance.

This year has started off rather uneventfully. We are not party people so we didn't go out on New Years Eve. We just watched Breaking Bad (wild show on HBO) and went to bed. Sometime around midnight we heard some neighbors yelling and a few fireworks but we couldn't be bothered to get up and look outside. The next morning, there were like ten cars parked around our neighbor's house. Looks like they had a huge party and we mostly slept through it.

Anyway, We got the Christmas stuff put away again, in record time, I might add. Last year I don't think all the boxes were back on the shelf in the garage until February. So I feel pretty good about that. I also cleaned out our spare bedrooms of all the stuff that I couldn't find a home for over the previous few months and just stuck in those rooms...letting it all accumulate as though I wouldn't have to deal with it some time or another. So that's done. Now I am looking at my house (as I do every year around this time) with a jaundiced eye...not liking stuff...wanting to change things...good thing I have to work or I would be tearing into it!

Two weeks from now, I go to Arizona to visit Mom and Jeri. I will also see Laura, a friend from school during that weekend. I will be glad to get out of the cold and see some blue sky. Then in February, we go to Hawaii as I think I mentioned in my last post...oops. Can't help it, very excited. I ordered a swimsuit online...which is a huge gamble because I normally try on AT LEAST 20 suits whenever I go suit shopping...never quite happy though even if I end up buying something. I estimate that I have probably bought, worn once or twice, maybe three times...20 or 30 suits over the years and then just given them away to goodwill. Anyway, I ordered THIS suit...

And the verdict is in...I LOVE it! I got it the other day and I quickly tried it on thinking, well, if it doesn't work, I will return it but will be SO disappointed! Of course, I look slightly different (not saying better or worse...wouldn't want to make the model feel bad) in my suit than the model in the picture but for me, it's probably the best suit I've tried on. The skirt is attached and can be worn higher or lower on the hips depending on how you tie it.  I'm set.    

Polina is back from Russia and we are looking forward to visiting with her and hearing about her visit home. Michael's birthday is tomorrow and we will have dinner here with the family. He just started his job at St Luke's. He works for a pediatric cardiologist as a scheduler/front office. He is very excited to be employed in his chosen field before he even graduates! We are so happy for him. Jobs are not easy to come by for new graduates and he still has a couple of semesters to go for his bachelors in Health Studies.

OK, my day is complete! I shopped at Costco (major rat race...don't go at 10:45 on a Saturday thinking you will just get in before the crowds...EVERYONE has that idea!), washed the dog, and blogged! So the rest of the day is MINE to do with as I please! Oh, and I cleaned the kitchen really well :) Not that I wasn't happy to blog...but I get a little writer's block sometimes...

So much for trying to outsmart blogspot!

I was going to be so smart and add the last pictures first so that they would appear in the order I wanted them to...namely chronologically. But the blog software must have changed such that now, the pictures appear as you add them in that order. Oh well, you will just have to hear all this in reverse chronology (?). what ev...

Christmas day, 2011...set the table for a relaxing dinner with Kevin and the kids (sans Polina, who is in Russia right now, visiting her parents). Jasper couldn't join her this time, hence the five place settings. We ate and played poker...Jasper won. But then he was the guy who brought the poker cards and chips...hmmm. Bet they were rigged somehow... I like to take a picture of the table each year to maybe get ideas for next year.

This is what I made for dinner on Christmas. I'm kind of proud of it because I made it up myself. It's basically whole wheat pizza dough with a cheesy tasting sauce (no dairy) topped with herbs, spices, and a potato/onion mixture. You put all that down the middle of the rolled out crust and then fold the dough over it and top it with prepared honey mustard and more spices...baked. Viola! It turned out really well and I will make it again for sure.

Time warp...Christmas celebrated 1 week earlier...still with me? We went up to a cabin (not THE cabin) in Tamarack, which is about a two hour drive from Boise. Polina was leaving to go to Russia on Dec 20th so we wanted to have an early Christmas with her. We tossed around some ideas and came up with renting one of the many wonderful cabins in Tamarack (a defunct ski resort development that still rents out vacation homes) for the weekend. We got up there and were blown away by how beautiful this cabin was...so comfortable and so nice! Four bedrooms, three baths, hot tub, fireplace, etc. We had every intention of cross country skiing like Polina wanted to do, but there wasn't much snow yet. We ended up taking some walks and spending time in the hot tub.

We set up a Christmas tree and everything! Here is Kevin in front of the beautiful fireplace (he built the fire, of course). We didn't have real ornaments for the tree so we tied a bunch of gift tags on it. It turned out cute.

Here is Polina hanging out in the kitchen area helping with dinner.

Jasper brought his computer so here are Kevin, Polina, and Jasper looking at something in the dining area. I think they were trying to find a movie to watch later on...

Chelsie and Michael helped with dinner that first night (and other nights too!) In fact Michael and Kevin made our dinner the second night by themselves because I had a slight headache (wink wink...) no I really didn't feel well. They did a great job :)

We stayed for two nights and then had to get home. It was a really relaxing way to spend Christmas...first of all...a week early so we didn't have to mingle with all the last minute craziness we saw all around us this past week. Secondly, a nice get away not too far from home but with the things we love like cabins and fireplaces and fresh mountain air. I'm thinking this could turn into a nice tradition! Next time there may be enough snow to ski or snowboard.

Time warp again! I threw my annual Ladies Brunch on December 4th this year and we made cupcakes! it was so fun. There were about 10 of us this time just eating and decorating and getting little candy sprinkles all over. Here is the finished product. Everyone got to take a box home to give as a gift or just to eat. I totally fell in love with these little silver boxes from Michaels Craft. It's the only thing that could make transporting cupcakes even possible.

Here is Chelsie with her 1950's housewife impression of domestic skill. She is such a pill! We had a blast!

My friend Nettie with her box of cupcakes...so cute! Everyone's turned out really great.

Kind of a funny story though. At the end of the party, Chelsie's sis-in-law Makinzee was leaving and had to put on her coat so she asked Chelsie to hold her cupcake box. There were a couple of extras on top in a plate made of foil. Chelsie held the box for her and when she went to hand it back, it tipped and Chelsie tried to catch it. The momentum from trying to catch it sent the loose cupcakes right down the front of Makinzee's white coat! Oh my gosh...should have seen the look on Chelsie's face! No harm was done to the coat though! I think I laughed for five minutes...

Well, that's my December! Backwards but still understandable I think. I am pretty sure I was able to come up with at least a post a month this year. I do regret not posting more but I at least can feel good about the ones I got written.

Next year we already have some exciting plans. I will be visiting my mom and Jeri down in Arizona in January. Our mom has parkinson's and has gone to stay with Jeri for the time being. I will get to help her for a little bit of time and see how she is settling in there.

February takes Kevin and me to Hawaii again! Kevin's mom, Cathy, and his sister Teresa will be going with us again and that always makes for a great trip. This will be the third time the four of us have gone together. We will be staying in a condo right off Waikiki beach. I will post from there once we get settled. My friend Kathy and her husband Topher will be there at the same time. We will both be attending a conference there for continuing education credits for anesthesia.

January and February might see some significant changes to the cabin up in Island Park since we will have a young married couple living in it and working on it. That is the plan so we hope it works out. That would mean that we will almost have the whole inside done!!!!!

June or maybe September Kevin may have to travel to Italy for work again and I may have to go with him this time! Lots of trips to Island Park (every chance we get, of course)...hoping to catch the huckleberry harvest this time...missed it last year..

And then it will be the holidays again...cross that bridge later.



11/11/11

Well, tomorrow is a date that is unique as far as numerology is concerned...very special and will never happen again in our lifetime! I heard on the radio that if you cast your wish or "intention" into the universe at exactly 11:11am tomorrow, your wish or intention will have a better chance because of all the positive energy in the universe at that time! So if you want to change course, beat a bad habit, attract certain influences, people, situations...into your life...do it tomorrow at 11:11am.

I have thought about it ever since and I think I just want more confidence. That's it. Just more confidence. I think I come off as confident but it's not really felt all the time, ya know? I always thought confidence comes as you gain experience in something. And I believe that's true. But also, there are those people that just HAVE IT already...just natural. I want natural confidence. That's my intention for tomorrow...what's yours?

September/October 2011

Fall is in the air, can't you just live in this time of year forever? Kevin and I took a trip to the cabin to winterize and the following photos relfect the crazy  world we lived in for four days up there in Island Park. This first photo was taken on a drive near our cabin...so beautiful. I'm using this as my desktop wallpaper for now.

 

This picture was taken a few days before...It had snowed 6 inches but melted off quickly. We took a walk around the property to enjoy the views and the fact that the snow wasn't so deep that we would need snowshoes to do this.

 Here's Kevin in the thick of some pine trees. He was really good too..didn't shake the branches as I passed underneath, didn't throw snowballs, though I'm sure he was tempted...
We got the cabins winterized (ours and mom's) and left for the winter. I hear it's still gorgeous up there but we won't be back until Spring.

On a different note, in September, my grandmother, who is 97 was visiting Escondido for a month so my sister Annette, my neice Natalie, my mom and I all went down to visit for a long weekend. During that time, two of my brothers, Mike and Richard, and my other sister Jeri came and we all got together along with many other relatives for a small party. It was great to be there and enjoy each other. It's very rare to see that many of us in one location!

We took this family photo. All of the siblings are here except for Bob, who couldn't make it down. Also pictured is Richard's two daughters Piliki and Kaala. They are beautiful little girls who are growing up so fast!

 On our way from the airport to Escondido, we had to stop and find a beach and put our toes in the sand. These photos were taken at Laguna Beach. It was the perfect day for this, warm breeze but not too hot. We had a lot of fun just doing goofy things and going into the water too far with rolled up jeans and getting the bottoms wet.

I sent this photo to the kids while I was standing there in the water...they were all excited for me. I wish they could have come down too.

Life is back to normal now, back to work and all that. I see Christmas decorations in all the stores and am starting to think in that direction.

We have a pile of wood in our driveway that we need to stack. There are other chores around the house that we are putting off until the yellowjackets die off (they have taken over the back yard to the point that we can't go out there during the day). We will have to approach them more aggressively next year before they get this bad...

I have ideas for the house that we may be able to get done this winter. For instance, I want to put built in bookshelves/cabinets in the livingroom on one wall. I would also like to take one of the bedrooms and turn it into an art studio. I'm not sure how to do that and still use it as a guest room...but I will think about it some more.

Ok, better quit for now. That wood won't stack itself!

August

Gonna go all out and post twice in one day! Hope you can handle the excitement!

After my lip fiasco, I am very cautious about going into our planter bed...we have TONS of strawberries in there now and they need to be picked every few days or they rot on the vine. I make Kevin do it!

I could just see me tripping again and having to explain a black eye or another cut lip. Besides, the wasps and yellow jackets are gearing up for Fall and they will GET me if I go out there (I even had a dream about these huge wasp/yellow jacket hybrids that had built a nest in our garage!)

I'm all freaked out about the economy. I mean really FREAKED out. I was reading some stuff on the internet and it has me very worried. I hope all of you faithful readers (all three of you) are storing food and getting your bills paid off. I have posted a web site before for anyone who wants to know more about our impending disaster but I'll post it again in case you didn't get a chance to go to it:

http://www.chrismartenson.com/ Start with The Crash Course and then read from there. I don't pay to belong to the higher access stuff that he posts on there. I just look at the Daily Digest.

Kevin and my 30th wedding anniversary is coming up on the 22nd. We are going out of town the weekend before to Bend, Oregon. http://www.oxfordhotelbend.com/ Check it out. Gonna play some golf (I CALL it playing golf but it's somewhat short of that description for me), eat at a nice restaurant and  just relax. I need a break from all the bad news! Kevin says we still have to live life despite all the crap that's happening. I know he's right and really, I do manage to get through every day without falling apart. You wouldn't know it to look at me that I am this ramped up about things.

Polina and Jasper are back from Russia now. Polina is getting ready to start PA school this next week. She is SO EXCITED! And we are thrilled for her. She has wanted this for a long time. She will do great, I know. Jasper is working hard and enjoying his job at Micron in the marketing department. He has travelled a lot for work this year, going to Japan and Taiwan. I think he's content to stay home for a while. His trip to Russia followed on the heels of his Asia trip so he is pretty sick of planes right now.

Chelsie and Michael are awesome too. Michael starts into his final year in school in a few weeks. He's doing really well and we are so proud of him. Chelsie has moved up a level at work and has her eye on some further opportunities within her department. They have attended a few weddings of friends (4) this year and are wedding'd out. I don't think I mentioned it before but Chelsie wrote a novel and it's been published! It's a download only and it's available at Amazon.com. Here's the link to her book:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_31?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+pull+by+chelsie+shakespeare&sprefix=the+pull+by+chelsie+shakespeare
She is currently busy writing her second novel!
We watched their dogs over the weekend while they attended a wedding and they were good for us. Their mini-shnauzer (sp) is pretty funny. She likes to stand up on her hind legs and Chelsie has taught her to sit on her haunches with her front paws in the air for a treat. Well one day, Kevin came down the hall and she stood up on her hind legs. Kevin thought she was going to jump up on him so he said "down". She didn't do anything so he said "sit". So she sat on her haunches with her front paws still up in air. He didn't know about the thing Chelsie had taught her so he told her "sit" again. She started kind of waving her paws in the air. He just rolled his eyes and walked away! Awwww...I told her she was a good girl ;)

Well, that's all I can think of for now. Going to go buy some more canned goods! See you later ;)

July post a little late...;)

I'm trying to get under the wire on a post for July...it's technically still July so I'm good right? (not July anymore!)

We started out the month with a trip to the cabin where we did this project...it took a lot of work and some cussing but we finally knocked it out sometime around July 10th (and we left on the 11th!) So I can't say that the trip was "fun" in the classic sense but it was rewarding! The slate turned out great and we have had nothing but rave reviews. If it looks familiar, it's because we copied the design from the tile backsplash we had recently installed in our kitchen at home (not cheating since we picked the design in our house also).

There was some funky weather but that's par for the course up there and we were used to the weather changing every five minutes...makes it interesting and cool because you can get outdoors when it's nice, and snuggle in when it's horrid. It hailed and rained and then it would clear out and be beautiful and warm. This is the view from our front windows during the biggest hail storm we had that week.

Chelsie and Michael came up for a brief weekend but we packed it in with some fishing for Michael with Kevin and some hanging out time with Mom. We also cooked our dinner of fresh bull trout with potatoes and berry cobbler over a fire out by "the bend" which is a large curve in the creek that runs through the family property up there. It makes for great memories to share that with your kids! Love having the kids up there because they are so enthusiastic about everything there and make it all fun for us...gets us away from the working aspect a little bit more.

Meanwhile, back at home, we have gone golfing a few times. Polina and Jasper even went with us a couple of times and it's been really fun to see Polina take to golf like a fish to water. Jasper is doing great too and they both seem to enjoy it a lot.

Later on in the month, I had a mishap. I was out trimming a shrub and I thought I saw some wasps or something flying out of it...needless to say, I panicked big time and ended up tripping over a tree stake line and running lip-first into a rock we had put in our planter bed earlier (remember the photos of a while back?   yeah, those rocks!) Ended up infected...triggered a cold sore in the same spot...got on antibiotics and antivirals, fielded jokes and inquiries from co-workers...lots of fun was had by all I can tell you! (sorry no photos!) What a lousy way to wrap up July!

Hopefully, August ends better since Kevin and my 30th wedding anniversary happens on the 22nd of August! We are planning something special but I don't know what exactly just yet...better get it arranged though since it's less than a month away!