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Dirty Soda And A Free Cup At HuHot
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Showing posts with label Doug. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doug. Show all posts
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Designing New Promo Materials for Cut Shot
January 28, 2018
The boys are doing a lot more gigging these days, so I'm updating their social media, banners, and merchandise. I did the original banners and t-shirts, but it's been a long time and I think it's time for a refresh. I'm still pricing and looking at the design tools at a few sites, but this is the first look at a few designs we're kicking around for banners this time around.
Saturday, January 6, 2018
The Last Hurrah Before We Go Back to School
January 6, 2018
This weekend my sister and my niece came up for a quick visit. Lisa already had to head back to school last week, and most of the rest of us start up again on Monday, so it was nice to get a get-together in one more time before we hit the ground running with the new semester. Today was a whirlwind--we had brunch with Nicholas, Danielle, and Taylor, then drove Danielle to the airport so she could spend a couple of days with her dad. Then Lisa and I got together with Mo for a bit before heading to REI (for a couple of hours!) to pick up some much-needed gear for the trip we'll be taking in early spring. Naturally, we ended up at Me N Ed's (a Clovis must-have) in the evening and were joined by our friends Bill and Renee. Lisa then met up with an old friend in town while Doug, Taylor, and I hung out at home and watched a little Black Mirror. When Lisa got home we went out walking to make sure we got our 10,000 steps on our Fitbits (especially in light of all the eating we did today!) Lisa and Taylor will get up bright and early in the morning to head back to Fullerton, since Taylor has to work tomorrow. I will be getting back into school mode ahead of Monday's professional development day, but today was all about family and friends!
This weekend my sister and my niece came up for a quick visit. Lisa already had to head back to school last week, and most of the rest of us start up again on Monday, so it was nice to get a get-together in one more time before we hit the ground running with the new semester. Today was a whirlwind--we had brunch with Nicholas, Danielle, and Taylor, then drove Danielle to the airport so she could spend a couple of days with her dad. Then Lisa and I got together with Mo for a bit before heading to REI (for a couple of hours!) to pick up some much-needed gear for the trip we'll be taking in early spring. Naturally, we ended up at Me N Ed's (a Clovis must-have) in the evening and were joined by our friends Bill and Renee. Lisa then met up with an old friend in town while Doug, Taylor, and I hung out at home and watched a little Black Mirror. When Lisa got home we went out walking to make sure we got our 10,000 steps on our Fitbits (especially in light of all the eating we did today!) Lisa and Taylor will get up bright and early in the morning to head back to Fullerton, since Taylor has to work tomorrow. I will be getting back into school mode ahead of Monday's professional development day, but today was all about family and friends!
Monday, May 29, 2017
Last Friday
May 29th, 2017
On Friday night, we went out to
dinner. Folks who know me know what that
means: our regular Family Dinner Night tradition. Years ago, when the kids’ dad and I divorced,
I instituted Friday Family Dinner Nights for a couple of reasons. First of all, by Friday nights, this
then-single mama was TIRED. After taking
care of the kids all week, and running them to all of the various clubs,
lessons, and sports practices after school AND working full-time, by Friday
night I couldn’t wrap my brain around thinking of one more meal to plan, prep,
cook, and clean up after. I decided we’d
let restaurants take care of all that for us at the end of the week. The other reason—the more important reason,
actually, was that I really wanted to establish some new traditions for our new
household. We had some traditions and
rituals that we maintained from our previous life, but I felt it was important
to create some new ones as well—continuity plus transition. It’s a tricky balance, but one I felt was
important as we forged a new beginning.
Friday Family Dinner Night wasn’t
just for Friday nights though, contrary to the name. Each week, we would take turns picking out
the restaurant, in descending age order.
For the first couple of years, that meant that I would take us to a
family friendly sit-down restaurant as fancy as, say Applebee’s or Chili’s, and
Brianna was likely to choose one of those too.
On Nicholas’ nights we almost always went to Taco Bell, and Danielle’s
choice wavered between McDonald’s and Burger King. A couple of the rules were that no one was
allowed to complain about the restaurant when it was someone else’s choice, and
whoever got to choose that week was responsible for the “Question of the Day”
for each dinner that week, both at home and at the restaurant on Friday
night. The Question of the Day had to be
an open-ended one that invited story-telling or a conversation starter, and it
had to be a different question each night.
Whoever was responsible for the evening’s Question of the Day had to
answer first, and then each person in subsequent age order had to answer the
same question—no passing. We got to talk
about pretty regular events, such as explaining something we had learned that
day, and fantastical questions, like who would we cast to play ourselves in a
movie, or what super powers we wished we had and what we’d do with them. Danielle’s favorite kind of question early on
was “What’s your favorite…” (Carebear?, cartoon character?, fruit?, sport?). As the kids got older, the questions got
better, as did the restaurant choices.
We tried to branch out and check out new restaurants as they opened or
as we heard about them from friends. As
Doug came into our lives, he too became part of the Friday night ritual and
rotation. Also as the kids grew older,
it became harder to sit down every night during the week for a meal due to
increased demands of the kids’ activities, but that Friday night was sacred for
more than a dozen years. Even in lean
times, when money was scarce, I clung doggedly to that tradition.
So back to this past Friday night. Brianna still participates when she’s in town
visiting, and we automatically bump it up to her choice when she’s there. Both Nicholas and Danielle have had to miss
on occasion, and sometimes we move it to Thursday night to accommodate
schedules. It’s become trickier,
though. As a 20 year old, Nicholas has a
work schedule that often includes a Friday night shift, and that was true this
past week. He comes when he can, but he’s
growing up and moving on, and this last Friday found Danielle, Doug, and me at
Chili’s, just the three of us. It was a
bit of a nostalgic sort of evening, since we are nearing graduation for
Danielle. I don’t know really how it had
never occurred to me, but I suddenly realized that Family Dinner Nights, which
have been such an important part of our family traditions over the years, is nearing
its end. Nicholas will still be in
Fresno with us, and when we can we’ll still go out to dinner on Friday nights,
but Danielle is going away to school, as her sister did. She has two more months at home, and then
there will be no more regular dinners at home—or out. She’s branching out into a new beginning, as
we all did together more than a dozen years ago. She’ll be forming her own new traditions and
rituals as she traverses this new path, and I’m excited to see what those will
be. But for me, that truly does mean the
end of an era here. She is my last, and
there are things that I am just now realizing, truly, will ‘graduate’ with her
when she goes. There will be exciting
things about the ways in which our lives—all of our lives—will change moving
forward, but I am sure that this is only one of a great many things I haven’t
even realized yet how much I will miss when they’re gone. I have always known I would miss my kids when
they weren’t part of my every day routine; I am only just now beginning to
realize how much of my routine is about my kids. We’re going to have to figure out new
traditions to forge together, apart. I’m
going to have to find new beginnings out of my endings.
Monday, January 18, 2016
Glenn Frey
January 18, 2016
Another? So close? Glenn Frey died today. And again, this one seems hard not to take personally. It has been a very tough week for the entertainment industry. I am sure our parents and their parents before them hit a certain age and then suddenly they realized that the entertainers they had grown up with were beginning to lose the undeniable battle with age and mortality. We have clearly now hit that age in our generation.
Several years ago, after Doug and I had become reconnected, I invited him to attend an Eagles concert with me at the Savemart Center. Doug wasn't a fan of The Eagles, but I had been for many years. Lisa was originally going to come up and go to the concert with me, but those plans fell through and she wasn't able to make the trip up to Fresno. The kids were with their dad for the weekend, and Doug was going to have the weekend off from his truck driving travels, so even though he was reluctant, he agreed to accompany me.
They weren't great seats--directly on the side of the stage, and pretty high up. By the time we got there, the crowd was beginning to fill up the arena, so when we looked up to find our rows, we spotted two very large women sitting with one seat between them and one more empty seat on the aisle. We began to surmise--correctly so, it turned out, that because of their size, the women had spread out and were hoping no one had purchased the seats next to them. They couldn't possibly have sat comfortably next to each other. We made our way up to the row, and sure enough, we had the aisle seat and the one next to it, which one of the women was occupying. She apologized for being in our seat and moved to the seat adjacent, but she simply didn't fit all the way in the seat, and she couldn't help encroaching into my space. (We laughed about the circumstances later. Perhaps is was fate trying to literally push us into each others' proximity directly.) Determined to make the best of it, I spend a good deal of time sitting on Doug's lap.
The concert was fantastic despite the minor discomfort. Getting to hear the musicianship and the vocal talents (the harmonies!) live was exactly the kind of concert I had hoped for--The Eagles didn't need doctoring and effects in the studio to sound good. The just WERE good. Somewhere in that night, sitting on Doug's lap, Doug began the slow turn that made him really appreciate The Eagles as a talented group. Somewhere also in that night, I suddenly realized that this man, whom I had known for years and had become even better friends with as adults than we ever had as young sweethearts briefly in high school, was not going to be just a friend to me. Somewhere in that night, soaring among The Eagles soundtrack, I let myself begin to hope that real love and life was in our future.
The Eagles, and Glenn Frey, are a piece of the fabric of the us we are today.
Some Glenn Frey greats: "Take it Easy", "One of These Nights", "Tequila Sunrise", "New Kid in Town", "Heartache Tonight", and "Hotel California".
Another? So close? Glenn Frey died today. And again, this one seems hard not to take personally. It has been a very tough week for the entertainment industry. I am sure our parents and their parents before them hit a certain age and then suddenly they realized that the entertainers they had grown up with were beginning to lose the undeniable battle with age and mortality. We have clearly now hit that age in our generation.
Several years ago, after Doug and I had become reconnected, I invited him to attend an Eagles concert with me at the Savemart Center. Doug wasn't a fan of The Eagles, but I had been for many years. Lisa was originally going to come up and go to the concert with me, but those plans fell through and she wasn't able to make the trip up to Fresno. The kids were with their dad for the weekend, and Doug was going to have the weekend off from his truck driving travels, so even though he was reluctant, he agreed to accompany me.
They weren't great seats--directly on the side of the stage, and pretty high up. By the time we got there, the crowd was beginning to fill up the arena, so when we looked up to find our rows, we spotted two very large women sitting with one seat between them and one more empty seat on the aisle. We began to surmise--correctly so, it turned out, that because of their size, the women had spread out and were hoping no one had purchased the seats next to them. They couldn't possibly have sat comfortably next to each other. We made our way up to the row, and sure enough, we had the aisle seat and the one next to it, which one of the women was occupying. She apologized for being in our seat and moved to the seat adjacent, but she simply didn't fit all the way in the seat, and she couldn't help encroaching into my space. (We laughed about the circumstances later. Perhaps is was fate trying to literally push us into each others' proximity directly.) Determined to make the best of it, I spend a good deal of time sitting on Doug's lap.
The concert was fantastic despite the minor discomfort. Getting to hear the musicianship and the vocal talents (the harmonies!) live was exactly the kind of concert I had hoped for--The Eagles didn't need doctoring and effects in the studio to sound good. The just WERE good. Somewhere in that night, sitting on Doug's lap, Doug began the slow turn that made him really appreciate The Eagles as a talented group. Somewhere also in that night, I suddenly realized that this man, whom I had known for years and had become even better friends with as adults than we ever had as young sweethearts briefly in high school, was not going to be just a friend to me. Somewhere in that night, soaring among The Eagles soundtrack, I let myself begin to hope that real love and life was in our future.
The Eagles, and Glenn Frey, are a piece of the fabric of the us we are today.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
One More New Piece
September 27, 2015
Doug and I have been searching for a new coffee table for the living room for a little while now, especially since we got new furniture for the study. Today, I think we found the perfect piece! I can't wait to see how it changes the look in the front room. Our house is small and often messy, but little by little, we're making improvements here and there.
Doug and I have been searching for a new coffee table for the living room for a little while now, especially since we got new furniture for the study. Today, I think we found the perfect piece! I can't wait to see how it changes the look in the front room. Our house is small and often messy, but little by little, we're making improvements here and there.
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Sadie's 2015
September 26, 2015
Today was Teamsters' Day at the Battle of the Bay: San Francisco Giants vs. Oakland A's in Oakland. Doug's union hall offered a little day trip to its stewards and their wives, so we were up bright and early to catch the chartered bus they provided for us. Once there, we attended a fantastic barbque put on by the Teamsters (my very first proper tailgate!) before heading into the ballpark. We had seats directly in the sun--a drawback, to be sure--but had the opportunity to see a rookie Giant hit a pretty impressive Grand Slam that all but sealed the deal for an eventual Giants win. This was Doug's first major league baseball game, so it was pretty cool to get to see that live.
The only tough part of being gone all day was the realization I had a few days before that we would be gone on the day of the Sadie's dance. Nicholas got to go even though he's a graduate, since Treasa is still at Buchanan, and Danielle asked her good friend Nathan to go with her--her first high school dance. I told Nicholas, Treasa, and Danielle that since I was going to be gone and wouldn't be there to take my traditional 'before the dance' pictures, they had to make sure to send me pictures via text. Treasa's dad did the photography duties at her house, since Treasa's mom was also at another event. It was a blurry shot, but I'm glad they sent it anyway. I'm not even sure who shot Danielle's picture, but I think it's pretty cute too. It's Danielle, Megan, Nathan, and Megan's date Garrett. I checked in with both the kids at the end of the night once they got back safely to their dad's house, and they all said they had a great evening!
Today was Teamsters' Day at the Battle of the Bay: San Francisco Giants vs. Oakland A's in Oakland. Doug's union hall offered a little day trip to its stewards and their wives, so we were up bright and early to catch the chartered bus they provided for us. Once there, we attended a fantastic barbque put on by the Teamsters (my very first proper tailgate!) before heading into the ballpark. We had seats directly in the sun--a drawback, to be sure--but had the opportunity to see a rookie Giant hit a pretty impressive Grand Slam that all but sealed the deal for an eventual Giants win. This was Doug's first major league baseball game, so it was pretty cool to get to see that live.
The only tough part of being gone all day was the realization I had a few days before that we would be gone on the day of the Sadie's dance. Nicholas got to go even though he's a graduate, since Treasa is still at Buchanan, and Danielle asked her good friend Nathan to go with her--her first high school dance. I told Nicholas, Treasa, and Danielle that since I was going to be gone and wouldn't be there to take my traditional 'before the dance' pictures, they had to make sure to send me pictures via text. Treasa's dad did the photography duties at her house, since Treasa's mom was also at another event. It was a blurry shot, but I'm glad they sent it anyway. I'm not even sure who shot Danielle's picture, but I think it's pretty cute too. It's Danielle, Megan, Nathan, and Megan's date Garrett. I checked in with both the kids at the end of the night once they got back safely to their dad's house, and they all said they had a great evening!
Friday, September 4, 2015
Cut Shot Plays Capo's
September 4, 2015
Such a fun night listening to Cut Shot play out at Capo's again tonight. Unfortunately, the lights over the band's set up weren't working, so they were essentially playing in the dark. This accounts for the poor quality of the photos, but we all had a great time anyway!
Such a fun night listening to Cut Shot play out at Capo's again tonight. Unfortunately, the lights over the band's set up weren't working, so they were essentially playing in the dark. This accounts for the poor quality of the photos, but we all had a great time anyway!
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Awards Season Kick-Off
January 11, 2015
It's that time of year again--Awards Season! This is the time of year Doug and I love, being pop culture junkies that we are. Tonight the Golden Globes were on, hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (who did a fabulous job, as they have done in previous years). You know what my biggest take-away on the night was? There were an awful lot of movies up for awards this year that we definitely haven't seen, which means we've got some movies to watch before our upcoming Oscar Party!
It's that time of year again--Awards Season! This is the time of year Doug and I love, being pop culture junkies that we are. Tonight the Golden Globes were on, hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (who did a fabulous job, as they have done in previous years). You know what my biggest take-away on the night was? There were an awful lot of movies up for awards this year that we definitely haven't seen, which means we've got some movies to watch before our upcoming Oscar Party!
Monday, January 5, 2015
Getting the Lame Days Out of the Way Early in 2015, Apparently
January 5, 2015
I went back to work today, after a lovely Christmas and New Year's break. The kids didn't have school, but I had an inservice to attend at the district office right up the road from my house. I walked out of the house with my computer bag slung over my shoulder. Somewhere in my brain I was thinking it was my purse--you know, the place where I keep my car keys and house keys--which I realized when I got to my locked car and couldn't get in. And then couldn't get back into my house to get the keys, because I had locked the front door. Grrr!
Doug also went back to work today. He was already at his site about an hour away. And wouldn't you know it, Nicholas and Danielle (who were both at their dad's house this morning) have both misplaced their house keys. As I said, the district office is only a couple of blocks away, so I decided my best bet was to hoof it there and rely on one of my friends to get me to lunch and back home at the end of the day, where I figured I'd just wait it out til Doug got home.
I called my good friend Mo, who was also on her way to the inservice, and she was able to swing by and pick me up so I didn't have to walk all the way. Later when I texted Doug to let him know how my day had started, he was able to go on a work errand that brought him back to Clovis and he was able to stop by the house and bring me my purse and keys. He's awesome!
Even though it all worked out and it wasn't a huge inconvenience, it was a harbinger of the lameness that followed me through the rest of the day: I knocked things over, I tripped, I dropped things--all day long. I have no explanation for this. I mean, I'm no paragon of grace, but I'm not generally this ridiculously klutzy. I'm hoping I just sort of concentrated all that nonsense into one day so that the next several will be awesome.
I went back to work today, after a lovely Christmas and New Year's break. The kids didn't have school, but I had an inservice to attend at the district office right up the road from my house. I walked out of the house with my computer bag slung over my shoulder. Somewhere in my brain I was thinking it was my purse--you know, the place where I keep my car keys and house keys--which I realized when I got to my locked car and couldn't get in. And then couldn't get back into my house to get the keys, because I had locked the front door. Grrr!
Doug also went back to work today. He was already at his site about an hour away. And wouldn't you know it, Nicholas and Danielle (who were both at their dad's house this morning) have both misplaced their house keys. As I said, the district office is only a couple of blocks away, so I decided my best bet was to hoof it there and rely on one of my friends to get me to lunch and back home at the end of the day, where I figured I'd just wait it out til Doug got home.
I called my good friend Mo, who was also on her way to the inservice, and she was able to swing by and pick me up so I didn't have to walk all the way. Later when I texted Doug to let him know how my day had started, he was able to go on a work errand that brought him back to Clovis and he was able to stop by the house and bring me my purse and keys. He's awesome!
Even though it all worked out and it wasn't a huge inconvenience, it was a harbinger of the lameness that followed me through the rest of the day: I knocked things over, I tripped, I dropped things--all day long. I have no explanation for this. I mean, I'm no paragon of grace, but I'm not generally this ridiculously klutzy. I'm hoping I just sort of concentrated all that nonsense into one day so that the next several will be awesome.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Fun With Backdrops
January 4, 2015
Last November Doug and I went to our friend Rick's wedding. One of Rick's good friends is a photographer, and she did not only his pictures, but offered fun sittings for the guests as well. Last night we finally got to see the end result:
Last November Doug and I went to our friend Rick's wedding. One of Rick's good friends is a photographer, and she did not only his pictures, but offered fun sittings for the guests as well. Last night we finally got to see the end result:
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Welcome to 2015!
January 1, 2015
2014 was a pretty good year for me personally and professionally, and it's been a great year for Doug and all the kids, too. This coming year, with a couple of graduations on the horizon, we are looking forward to even more celebrations. Doug and I spent our New Year's Eve at Capo's with friends, having great conversation over dinner and then listening to Max Headroom play 80's music until midnight ushered in 2015. It was a beautiful night!
2014 was a pretty good year for me personally and professionally, and it's been a great year for Doug and all the kids, too. This coming year, with a couple of graduations on the horizon, we are looking forward to even more celebrations. Doug and I spent our New Year's Eve at Capo's with friends, having great conversation over dinner and then listening to Max Headroom play 80's music until midnight ushered in 2015. It was a beautiful night!
Saturday, August 23, 2014
The Calm Before the Storm
August 23, 2014
It's the last Saturday night before the kids show up in my classroom on Monday morning. Dinner at home, swimming and then hot tub, and a quiet comedy movie to round out our night. The calm before the storm...
It's the last Saturday night before the kids show up in my classroom on Monday morning. Dinner at home, swimming and then hot tub, and a quiet comedy movie to round out our night. The calm before the storm...
Friday, August 22, 2014
Family Dinner Night
August 22, 2014
It's Friday night--the last Friday night before school starts up again. As usual, we did Family Dinner Night. It was my choice tonight, and I decided I was feeling hungry for Wingstop. We're really loving that this place has opened up so close to our house. Nicholas asked to invite his girlfriend Treassa to join us tonight, and it was a lot of fun having her along. She was a good sport about our Family Dinner Night question tradition, and even offered up a question of her own for all of us to answer. (My question to everyone, since it was my choice tonight, was "What will you do this school year that you didn't do last year that will make this a better year for you?" My answer was that I was going to implement some of the strategies I learned about this summer at my workshop into my classes this year.) We then invited Treassa to give us all a question, so she wanted to know what each of us considered our favorite memory. It was a lot of fun to hear everyone's responses to that one! After our dinner at Wingstop, we popped in next door for frozen yogurt for dessert. Despite the goofy looks on their faces, we had a good time!
It's Friday night--the last Friday night before school starts up again. As usual, we did Family Dinner Night. It was my choice tonight, and I decided I was feeling hungry for Wingstop. We're really loving that this place has opened up so close to our house. Nicholas asked to invite his girlfriend Treassa to join us tonight, and it was a lot of fun having her along. She was a good sport about our Family Dinner Night question tradition, and even offered up a question of her own for all of us to answer. (My question to everyone, since it was my choice tonight, was "What will you do this school year that you didn't do last year that will make this a better year for you?" My answer was that I was going to implement some of the strategies I learned about this summer at my workshop into my classes this year.) We then invited Treassa to give us all a question, so she wanted to know what each of us considered our favorite memory. It was a lot of fun to hear everyone's responses to that one! After our dinner at Wingstop, we popped in next door for frozen yogurt for dessert. Despite the goofy looks on their faces, we had a good time!
Monday, August 18, 2014
Time Well Spent
August 18, 2014
More than any summer in recent past, I feel this summer has been full of exciting and interesting adventures for us. We went to my niece's wedding, I did two separate week-long curriculum development/work-enhancing sessions, took a photography excursion to Morro Bay with a fellow photographer and another friend, went to a couple of out of town soccer tournaments with Danielle, and went to a couple of different big gigs for Doug's band. In addition, Nicholas completed summer school so that he wouldn't have to take P.E. this year (yay!) and got his driver's license (yay again!), and he and I got to take a mother-son trip to Monterey Bay, just the two of us, to visit the aquarium. Danielle and Bree went on vacation with Bill in Oregon for a week, went to a weekend beach retreat with her church youth group, and then went on a week long summer camp for church as well. Bree got a second job and moved into her new place, as well as continuing her work with the Associated Student Body and the Ambassadors at San Diego State. Doug and I got to spend quite a bit of time together this summer, as we were both off work, and amid all of the flurry of activity with the kids, we managed to get away to Cayucos for a weekend with our friends Joe and Wendy. And then, of course, there was Costa Rica! Lisa and I spent five wonderful days in Costa Rica for a long-awaited, very overdue sister bonding excursion. From start to finish the vacation was beautiful, and just made us vow to make these kinds of trips--checking places off our Life Lists--a priority again for us.
More than any summer in recent past, I feel fully rejuvenated and refreshed. I don't feel like I wasted away my days sitting idly in front of the TV wondering what happened to my vacation. And now, although I'm already planning some pretty exciting things to look forward to the next time summer rolls around, I am also more than ready to step back into school and kick off another fantastic year! Today was my first day back--planning and prepping and getting back in touch with my work friends and my teacher-self. We've got four more days of meetings and lesson designs and making the room welcoming and homey, and then the kids come bright and early next Monday. I'll be ready!
More than any summer in recent past, I feel this summer has been full of exciting and interesting adventures for us. We went to my niece's wedding, I did two separate week-long curriculum development/work-enhancing sessions, took a photography excursion to Morro Bay with a fellow photographer and another friend, went to a couple of out of town soccer tournaments with Danielle, and went to a couple of different big gigs for Doug's band. In addition, Nicholas completed summer school so that he wouldn't have to take P.E. this year (yay!) and got his driver's license (yay again!), and he and I got to take a mother-son trip to Monterey Bay, just the two of us, to visit the aquarium. Danielle and Bree went on vacation with Bill in Oregon for a week, went to a weekend beach retreat with her church youth group, and then went on a week long summer camp for church as well. Bree got a second job and moved into her new place, as well as continuing her work with the Associated Student Body and the Ambassadors at San Diego State. Doug and I got to spend quite a bit of time together this summer, as we were both off work, and amid all of the flurry of activity with the kids, we managed to get away to Cayucos for a weekend with our friends Joe and Wendy. And then, of course, there was Costa Rica! Lisa and I spent five wonderful days in Costa Rica for a long-awaited, very overdue sister bonding excursion. From start to finish the vacation was beautiful, and just made us vow to make these kinds of trips--checking places off our Life Lists--a priority again for us.
More than any summer in recent past, I feel fully rejuvenated and refreshed. I don't feel like I wasted away my days sitting idly in front of the TV wondering what happened to my vacation. And now, although I'm already planning some pretty exciting things to look forward to the next time summer rolls around, I am also more than ready to step back into school and kick off another fantastic year! Today was my first day back--planning and prepping and getting back in touch with my work friends and my teacher-self. We've got four more days of meetings and lesson designs and making the room welcoming and homey, and then the kids come bright and early next Monday. I'll be ready!
Friday, February 28, 2014
Hittin' The Road
February 28, 2014
I finally felt up to taking myself and my FitBit out for a walk tonight (after being out of commission due to a very painful dental emergency for three days)---and promptly fell flat on my face. I mean, literally. I stepped weirdly on a rock on the sidewalk, lost my balance and suddenly pitched forward. In order to avoid landing on my surgically 'enhanced' knee, I landed instead totally flat-out on my face and hands--like I had suddenly decided to do push-ups on the sidewalk at 11:00 at night. Three days without taking my FitBit out and about, and suddenly it's like I've completely forgotten how to walk. On the bright side, my cartoon pratfall offered a little humor break to my hubby (before he so kindly checked to see if I was okay and then helped me up).
I finally felt up to taking myself and my FitBit out for a walk tonight (after being out of commission due to a very painful dental emergency for three days)---and promptly fell flat on my face. I mean, literally. I stepped weirdly on a rock on the sidewalk, lost my balance and suddenly pitched forward. In order to avoid landing on my surgically 'enhanced' knee, I landed instead totally flat-out on my face and hands--like I had suddenly decided to do push-ups on the sidewalk at 11:00 at night. Three days without taking my FitBit out and about, and suddenly it's like I've completely forgotten how to walk. On the bright side, my cartoon pratfall offered a little humor break to my hubby (before he so kindly checked to see if I was okay and then helped me up).
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
And It's Only Tuesday
February 18, 2014
It's been an eventful few days.
--Traveled to San Diego for the CATE conference with my friend Julie
--Met a vibrant and energetic new friend at CATE
--Met several authors and got signed copies of several novels
--Met an author/artist who designed some of the computer graphics on blockbuster movies who is interested in coming to talk to our robotics team
--Got to visit with Bree twice while I was down in San Diego
--Got pulled over by the police who let me know that unbeknownst to me, I was driving around with both taillights out. (He was kind and didn't give me a ticket, thank goodness.)
--Went to my fourth Rick Springfield concert with my friend Francine
--Had a beautiful belated Valentine's dinner at Capo's with Doug
--Woke up this morning to discover that my debit card had been hacked and frozen
--Got a letter from the school acknowledging Nicholas' Honor Roll from 1st semester
--Found out that as a freshman, Danielle beat out several upperclassmen to fall in the top five discus throwers who qualify to throw at the upcoming track meet
--Got a little bit of a family bombshell revealed this evening
All that and it's only Tuesday.
It's been an eventful few days.
--Traveled to San Diego for the CATE conference with my friend Julie
--Met a vibrant and energetic new friend at CATE
--Met several authors and got signed copies of several novels
--Met an author/artist who designed some of the computer graphics on blockbuster movies who is interested in coming to talk to our robotics team
--Got to visit with Bree twice while I was down in San Diego
--Got pulled over by the police who let me know that unbeknownst to me, I was driving around with both taillights out. (He was kind and didn't give me a ticket, thank goodness.)
--Went to my fourth Rick Springfield concert with my friend Francine
--Had a beautiful belated Valentine's dinner at Capo's with Doug
--Woke up this morning to discover that my debit card had been hacked and frozen
--Got a letter from the school acknowledging Nicholas' Honor Roll from 1st semester
--Found out that as a freshman, Danielle beat out several upperclassmen to fall in the top five discus throwers who qualify to throw at the upcoming track meet
--Got a little bit of a family bombshell revealed this evening
All that and it's only Tuesday.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Now We're a Matched Set--Or Maybe Tomorrow We Will Be
January 13, 2014
We got Doug a FitBit today. He's been walking with me to help me meet my daily 'steps' goals, so he figured he might as well be logging his steps, too. We've been really good about working toward our walking goals since Lisa got me my FitBit for Christmas. Sadly, the one we got for him appears to have a previous owner, because he'd burned over 2,000 calories before he even got the thing out of the box. Then, while trying to set it up and sync it to the computer, he kept hitting a brick wall--a non-functioning piece of technology. Or at the very least, a piece of technology with its own agenda. We just couldn't get the device to communicate with his computer correctly, although his phone showed some indication of stats logged in the device's previous life. It looks like we're going to have to take it back and see if we can get one that doesn't have a past. Maybe tomorrow we'll be a matching set.
We got Doug a FitBit today. He's been walking with me to help me meet my daily 'steps' goals, so he figured he might as well be logging his steps, too. We've been really good about working toward our walking goals since Lisa got me my FitBit for Christmas. Sadly, the one we got for him appears to have a previous owner, because he'd burned over 2,000 calories before he even got the thing out of the box. Then, while trying to set it up and sync it to the computer, he kept hitting a brick wall--a non-functioning piece of technology. Or at the very least, a piece of technology with its own agenda. We just couldn't get the device to communicate with his computer correctly, although his phone showed some indication of stats logged in the device's previous life. It looks like we're going to have to take it back and see if we can get one that doesn't have a past. Maybe tomorrow we'll be a matching set.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Comfort Food
January 10, 2014
I don't like the cold in general, but one of the things I really like about winter season is that Doug makes homemade soup. Tonight's dinner: chicken noodle soup. Delicious!
I don't like the cold in general, but one of the things I really like about winter season is that Doug makes homemade soup. Tonight's dinner: chicken noodle soup. Delicious!
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Time Flies
January 5, 2014
Two weeks always seems like such a blink of an eye on the evening before we have to go back to work after Christmas vacation. Seriously, I am not ready for this. I want to keep staying up until 4 a.m. and sleep until 10. At least Doug and I got a nice quiet date night tonight before the hustle and bustle of the school schedule kicks back into gear. We walked downtown and had a lovely dinner at DiCicco's. We figure walking there helps to mitigate the calories of the meal we ate. That's what we're telling ourselves, anyway.
Two weeks always seems like such a blink of an eye on the evening before we have to go back to work after Christmas vacation. Seriously, I am not ready for this. I want to keep staying up until 4 a.m. and sleep until 10. At least Doug and I got a nice quiet date night tonight before the hustle and bustle of the school schedule kicks back into gear. We walked downtown and had a lovely dinner at DiCicco's. We figure walking there helps to mitigate the calories of the meal we ate. That's what we're telling ourselves, anyway.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Happy 2014!
January 1, 2014
The New Year--January 1st, specifically--is the time of year we all tend to make promises to ourselves that we ultimately fail to keep. So why do we keep doing it? Why set ourselves up to fail? Well, because it's hard to get somewhere if you don't have an idea of where you want to go. Now, if I don't make it all the way to my goal, or even if my goal changes in the course of the next year, that's okay. I can't beat myself up about it if I don't reach the end of the line, so to speak, or if my road takes me down a different path. As long as I get started in the right direction, I can feel good about the progress I've made.
So here we go.
Yes, I'm going to make the obligatory resolution to lose weight/eat better/become more fit. I've got some tools in place to help me track what I'm doing via Fitbit, and some plans in place for Lisa and me to encourage each other on this path.
I've used this blog in the past as a means to express my philosophies and observations, but also as a place where I can record family events and memories for posterity, including photos of family and friends. I've gotten away from that purpose somewhat, so I not only want to keep up with that here for this year, but I want to back up and post previous events and photos that I've missed this year. Every six months prior to this year I have had Blog2Print create a hardback copy of all of my entries as a permanent record--I want to update and then have those published from 2013.
I want to continue to pursue photography in new ways, as well as explore other artistic formats. In 2013, I did some photography work for a friend of mine, and I dabbled in painting (in oil and acrylics) and even sold my first painting. There's definitely more in those fields I want to explore.
I intend to continue to be mindful in how and why I teach, so that I can continue to grow and guide my students to the best of my ability.
Most importantly, I want to continue to work at being fully present with my family and friends, and be the best wife, mom, sister, and friend I know how to be. The traditions and memories we are building now are the times my kids will look back on in their future, and I hope they are memories of love that they cherish.
To that end, our first pictures in the new year are of our traditional pizza night with my family, Lisa's family, and some good friends. We've also got pictures from the Lutjens-Smith/Gaetje family Christmas gift exchange. I'm so thankful Lisa was able to bring her kids (and a couple of their friends--Tia and Kimberly) up on the train today to spend the first few days of the new year with us.
The New Year--January 1st, specifically--is the time of year we all tend to make promises to ourselves that we ultimately fail to keep. So why do we keep doing it? Why set ourselves up to fail? Well, because it's hard to get somewhere if you don't have an idea of where you want to go. Now, if I don't make it all the way to my goal, or even if my goal changes in the course of the next year, that's okay. I can't beat myself up about it if I don't reach the end of the line, so to speak, or if my road takes me down a different path. As long as I get started in the right direction, I can feel good about the progress I've made.
So here we go.
Yes, I'm going to make the obligatory resolution to lose weight/eat better/become more fit. I've got some tools in place to help me track what I'm doing via Fitbit, and some plans in place for Lisa and me to encourage each other on this path.
I've used this blog in the past as a means to express my philosophies and observations, but also as a place where I can record family events and memories for posterity, including photos of family and friends. I've gotten away from that purpose somewhat, so I not only want to keep up with that here for this year, but I want to back up and post previous events and photos that I've missed this year. Every six months prior to this year I have had Blog2Print create a hardback copy of all of my entries as a permanent record--I want to update and then have those published from 2013.
I want to continue to pursue photography in new ways, as well as explore other artistic formats. In 2013, I did some photography work for a friend of mine, and I dabbled in painting (in oil and acrylics) and even sold my first painting. There's definitely more in those fields I want to explore.
I intend to continue to be mindful in how and why I teach, so that I can continue to grow and guide my students to the best of my ability.
Most importantly, I want to continue to work at being fully present with my family and friends, and be the best wife, mom, sister, and friend I know how to be. The traditions and memories we are building now are the times my kids will look back on in their future, and I hope they are memories of love that they cherish.
To that end, our first pictures in the new year are of our traditional pizza night with my family, Lisa's family, and some good friends. We've also got pictures from the Lutjens-Smith/Gaetje family Christmas gift exchange. I'm so thankful Lisa was able to bring her kids (and a couple of their friends--Tia and Kimberly) up on the train today to spend the first few days of the new year with us.
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