Last Cake Standing

Only fellow cake enthusisasts will care about this little tidbit, but I was thrilled to find out that the Food Network is taking extreme cake decorating to the next level with their competition...Last Cake Standing. I am an avid watcher of Food Network Challenge and Ace of Cakes, so you can imagine my excitement. They take traditional cakes and pump their imaginations into it until they have created a masterpiece, often under pressure and time crunches. It has the charm and intensity of Iron Chef, but not near as much melodrama.

I love baking to a certain extent, but am in no way on the level of these hardcore pastry chefs and cake designers. Nope, I am simply a spectator. Though I have a flair for artistic endeavors and would love to shadow a pastry chef for a day. Who knows? If this teaching thing ever goes sour, maybe I can go to culinary school for a second career in pastry design. To get a better idea of why I get a kick out of these amazing cakes, check out some of these links.

http://www.swankcakedesign.com/

http://www.charmcitycakes.com/

http://www.thecakegirls.com/

http://www.frostedart.com/

Glassblowing

So thanks to my the man in my life, DH, I got to make another dream come true this past week. I have fulfilled many ambitions thus far, such as becoming a mother and a teacher. However, I have trying to complete as many items on my life wish list as possible (a 'bucket list' if you will). I'm not just talking about traveling to exotic locales, but actually doing all kinds of stuff. Back in college, I went white water rafting, rock climbing, and even conquered my fear of karaoke (now I love it). Last summer, my best friend helped me cross off one at the top by swimming with dolphins. Now I'm slowing working my way through this list and am so grateful to DH for this granting this wish.

I have always been fascinated by the art of blowing glass. I love to watch the whole process from start to finish. That's one of my favorite parts of the movie Sweet Home Alabama, the fact that the romantic leads are drawn together by glass art (by lighting too I suppose)...but I digress. Anyway, we discovered this little place at the coast called The Glass Foundry that does demos and even lets everday joes blow their own glass with the guidance of an instructor.

The hardest part for me was trying to decide what to make and which colors to use. Since I like clean lines and simple colors, I opted for the glass float with aquatic swirls to represent our love of the Oregon Coast. For the fashionistas out there, you also get to wear nifty shop glasses. I lucked out with clear-colored ones, so I didn't look too goofy.

The whole experience was awesome, but really hard work. I have nothing but respect for the artists who create this stuff everyday. They certainly make it look effortless. The trick is to learn how to tolerate the heat of the furnace and develop the stamina and strength to keep your glass turning. If you stop turning your piece for even a moment when it's hot, it will drip down like thick honey and come out looking wierd. Think of a pottery wheel, if you don't keep a smooth action going while it's spinning, it will look sloppy and uneven. The coolest part of the whole process was watching the colored glass meld together into a swirl. At times, I did all the work as my instructor coached me and sometimes I just listened and learned as he made sure the piece all the little details were attended to. My instructor was very easygoing and fun to work with too.

When all was said and done, my float came out really nice. I was impressed that I didn't screw it up and the colors complimented each other. It kind of reminded me of a crystal ball. Here are some pictures that DH took and even a video to see the actual blowing of the glass. If you enjoy art at all, I highly recommend giving this a try! You'll have a lot of fun.

Trying to figure out what to make



Preparing the colored glass pieces

Getting a chunk of molten glass

Churning the glass like butter - hot stuff!

Shearing the glass

Rounding out the glass

Back and forth to the furnace

Voila!

Sideview of my glass float

Topview of my glass float

Just like blowing up a balloon

Heart of the Ocean

Okay, so I'm a little late in posting a recap of our weekend getaway. However, I was enjoying my spring break unplugged (from the internet). I am proud of myself for lasting as long I did. Hubby actually went the weekend without getting online (helped that there was no wireless at our hotel). It was a wonderful weekend and we made a lot of memories.


So anyway, we left midafternoon on Friday for the Oregon coast and beat much of the traffic. We checked into our hotel in Lincoln City and were immediately impressed with the view. What a picturesque scene to wake up to every morning! It made our hotel choice well worth it just to see that view.

After settling in, we were very hungry and headed over to the buffet. The food overall wasn't quite worth the cost, but the Indian Flatbread (tastes like a beignet) was phenomenal and prepared right in front of you. It was getting dark, but the kids and I decided to check out the beach. DH was tired from the drive, so he hung out in our room, but watched us from the window above. The kids had fun making footprints in the wet sand and looking for interesting rocks and seashells. It didn't take long for the sun to set and the wind off the Pacific to turn chilly, driving us back inside for warmth. Our first night of spring break and you'd have thought we stayed up til all hours. Instead, we were asleep by 8:30...yes we like to walk on the wild side!


By early morning, we were sick of sleeping and wanted to get going. We ate way too much breakfast at the Pig 'n Pancake. The name is so very hick, but the food is delicious. We stopped in at The Glass Foundry to make an appointment for me to make blown glass. Then we headed down the coast to Waldport to see my brother, who owns a little knife shop. We don't get to see each very often anymore, so it was good to see him. It had been two years since our last visit, so his hair had grown a bit. I told him he reminded me of Grizzly Adams, which he took as a compliment and said it was better than Charles Manson. I think we kinda made his day with our purchases. I got my first Swiss Army Knife and a compass. DH got himself a few goodies too (a hunting knife, a belt knife, and a dagger-for show).


After hanging out with my brother for a bit, we met my parents for lunch at a little retro diner. They happened to be visiting the coast that same weekend down in Yachats, so it worked out well. It was great for the kids to see their Grandma and Grandpa. After lunch, we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It was the first time for DH and the kids, so it was fun experiencing it through their eyes. I hadn't been there since Keiko was housed there years earlier, so it was amazing how much it has changed since then. They put in these awesome underwater passages, complete with sharks swimming all around you. The kids enjoyed seeing all the aquatic animals and touching different the sea stars in the hands-on tidepool. They each also got a little souvenir out of it...N got a shark puppet and K wanted stuffed baby harbor seal.

Next, we drove back up the coast a bit and did a little shopping in Depoe Bay. Since it was getting a little late in the afternoon, we breezed in and out of just a few stores. We made sure we got some requisite salt water taffy and white chedder popcorn. I wish we had had more time to spend there, but the day just caught up to us. Lunch and breakfast were still weighing heavily on us, so we kept dinner fairly light. We shared a family chowder bowl at Mo's, a must-have for anyone visiting the Oregon coast. Daylight was beginning to wane, but we weren't quite ready to go back to the hotel yet. We checked out the little pier next to Mo's. The beach there was covered in driftwood and campfires, so we hung out for awhile to let the kids explore. This was the exact same place that DH found his big walking stick ten years ago (on our first trip to the coast as couple), so it held some sentimental value for us. Surrounded by sand, water, and wood...needless to say the kids had a blast.

Finally, the chill and fatigue caught up to us, so we made one final stop at the nearby Safeway (for some munchies) and returned to the hotel. It was a really long day and there wasn't much on TV, so we went to bed early...again. The next morning, we woke up early and got ready. To save money, we ate cereal and doughnuts in our hotel room. The only problem is that we were ready way too early. My appointment at The Glass Foundry wasn't until 11:00, so we didn't quite know what to do with ourselves. It was cold and blustery outside, so a walk along the beach wasn't in the cards either. We puttered around for a bit and then thought we'd just take a chance and show up a little early in hopes they'd take me.

As it turned out, I was their first appointment of the day so it was no biggie. My instructor was awesome and guided me every step of the way. I gotta tell ya, if you have never made blown glass before, you have to try it. This experience deserves it's own blog, so I will include this in a separate one. Anyhow, it was soooo much fun and somehow I managed turn out a pretty decent piece (with help from my instructor of course). DH wants to do it next time.

After blowing the glass, we ate some Gallucci's pizza for lunch and then went shopping at the outlet mall. I bought K some discounted Gymboree hair accessories. I wanted to get more, but we were trying to stay on some kind of budget for this trip. By this point, we had done almost everything we had wanted to do and we lucked out with a sunbreak, so we went hunting for seashells on the beach by our hotel. I think we were out there for over an hour. I tell ya, the fact that my kids still get a thrill out of finding an interesting rock is so endearing to me. They are easy to please and I love that about them. Then we rested up a bit before eating our last dinner out. It was a nice, quiet seafood grill that was part of the hotel. I later took the kids the hotel's arcade, where they marveled at all the games. They rode dueling motorcycles, played some air hockey, and rode a virtual rollercoaster. DH's back was hurting, so he hung back in our room. It was another early night, but we were so tired that we were all grateful for sleep.

Finally on Monday morning, we were dressed and packed pretty quickly. We ate another simple breakfast and checked out. Before leaving, we had to go pick up my glass float that had cooled overnight in foundry's kiln. They weren't quite open yet, so we killed time at the driftwood beach again that was located nearby. The only problem was that while K was climing on a log, she conked her hand on a branch that was sticking out. She got a little scrape in her hairline, but nothing too bad. She continued to complain that it hurt throughout the day, so it did give us a scare. After consulting an advice nurse and monitoring her, it turned out to be nothing, thankfully so.

Overall, it was really relaxing vacation and I loved just being with my family. After the craziness of the last few months, we truly needed this. We hope to make this an annual event. I have some wonderful memories of doing this with my family growing up and want that for my kids. It's been a great spring break.

Spring has sprung!

So I'm taking advantage of the fact that I was inspired to write a blog tonight. It's been tough to find anything worth writing about other than idle chatter (as you can see in some previous posts). We are finally past that nasty bug that has been knocking people down like dominoes. It pretty much shut down our household for almost a month and that was on the heels of all the other stuff that we dealt with. I knew it would be a marathon from Christmas break to summer, but I am so very glad there is that lovely little pitstop we call spring break. Just need to recharge my batteries to make it til June.

There are a ton of school activities on the horizon both at work and for the kids in the coming months, so life will continue to be very busy. I've made a lot positive changes in recent weeks to make home and work run a bit more smoothly. It is has caused some stress, but I am learning how to quiet my mind. We are also getting out of dodge at long last. This weekend we'll leave for a few days at the coast and I can't wait for that! This will be the first time we've ever gone away (just our little family) on vacation. We usually go visit relatives or friends, but we are beginning our quest to travel to different destinations. This year we are starting out in familiar territory, but will hopefully tackle Disneyland or The Redwoods next year.

The other thing I am looking forward to is the return of sunshine and warmer temperatures. After a long winter hiatus, the kids get to do more activities outside and I get my second wind!

A Little Too Real

So I love a good reality show as much as the next person, however, I draw the line whenever possible. I tend to favor shows like Dancing with the Stars and American Idol as opposed to Tool Academy. There is one show that has taken viewers on a rollercoaster of highs and lows this year. As many of you know, I am a fan of Jon & Kate Plus 8. Sadly, I have been disturbed by some of the things that have happened in recent months. There are articles and blogs all over the internet that are just simply tearing this show apart, most of it aimed at Kate. Some of it is very vicious. She can be neurotic, controlling, abrasive, and blunt. She can also be creative, loving, sentimental, and extremely organized (a necessity in that household). Kate does not shy away from admitting her flaws or Jon's.


When you are under the glare of the spotlight and cameras catch every imperfection of your life, things are bound to implode at some point. I do love watching the kiddos and appreciate the realness the J & K bring with their banter, yet a show like this has to have a short shelf life for the family's sake.




I haven't watched many episodes lately as I've gotten sucked into some other shows, but I try to catch a little here and there. I am saddened by the teaser for the next week's season finale. They are lifting the veil of secrecy on how challenging things have become and are letting us be privy to what has to be a terrible time for their marriage. I fear this episode will be as uncomfortable to watch as the trainwreck that was the finale of The Bachelor: After the Final Rose when that gal got dumped on national tv.


As much as they have changed over the last few years, I still root for them to make it. Maybe this will be the thing that finally inspires them to take a break for a while to gain some perspective again. I would miss the show and welcome them back after a hiatus, but they need to take some time as a family...without America dissecting their every move. I'm all for giving the kids life experiences, but J & K need to nurture but each other too.

Fireproof

After all these years, Kirk Cameron's still got it! He was the first famous guy that I ever put on my wall. I talked my folks into getting me a subscription to Bop! teen magazine just for the pinups of this hottie. I once wrote him a quirky fan letter too, but never heard back. Not surprising though as he probably received thousands a week. Anyhow, he has led an extraordinary life in the years since his heyday on Growing Pains.

Tonight I had the good fortune to finally watch Fireproof with a close friend. I'd been wanting to see it for months, but had no access to it. It was truly a heartwarming movie and really makes you think about your life a lot. In a nutshell, it's about a couple on the verge of divorce. Kirk plays a fire chief struggling to figure out which path to take, when he is handed an inspiring book that dares him to go on a 40 day journey that leads him to what he had missing and ultimately changes his life. It requires him to take on many tasks that challenge him to the core. but teach him how to truly love another. I've been reading some of the helpful information offered by the movie's website and highly encourage anyone to check it out at http://www.fireproofyourmarriage.com/. I plan to look into this journey and see what it entails. If you haven't seen this movie, it's definitely worth your time.

Words, Words, Words

During my senior year of high school, my creative writing teacher had us do a brainstorming activity that was a lot of fun and one I always remembered. You basically had to create three different lists of 10 words. Now pay very close attention to the rules here. The first one was for words you loved for whatever reason. The second one was for words you couldn't stand. And the last one was for words that inspired you. The first and third lists were tough to distiguish. To make it easier to separate for us to separate, we had to stick with words that you loved the sound of, spelling of, or just how it rolled off the tongue for the first list. The third list were for ones that painted a wonderful picture in your mind or touched your heart in some way. The second list were just words that icked you out or detested for any 'ol reason at all.


Somewhere in a box, I still have my original lists. I thought it would be fun to update them to see how my choices changed in the time since. Now keep in mind, this is just a small sampling of the words out there. Of course there are so many more and no room to list them all. For ideas, check out http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/100_most_beautiful_words.html.

Here's some of mine in no particular order:

Word I Love

1. Sakura
2. Swirl
3. Ebony
4. Raspberry
5. Cinematography
6. Eowyn
7. Lyrical
8. Ethereal
9. Gossamer
10. Serendipity
11. Dipsy Doodle Dragon*

*Honorary choice for a children's song I loved the name of. =P

Words I Loathe

1. Simon (not Cowell)
2. Ant
3. Mealy
4. Bigot
5. Anus
6. Puss
7. Orc
8. Cocky
9. Larvae
10. Moist

Words I'm Inspired By

1. Waterfall
2. Sunshine
3. Whimsy
4. New Zealand
5. Melody
6. Hope
7. Serenity
8. Ireland
9. Rhapsody
10. Frosty

Even now I struggle to separate the words I love and the inspiring ones. It's also a challenge to whittle the choices down to just 10 each. I did notice that I had a harder time coming up with words that I didn't like this time around. When I was in high school, it was easier somehow. I can't remember all my words, but I gave up some sentimental faves to make way for some new additions (i.e. sherbet, shimmer, etc.). One I kept was Simon. Never liked anything about that name. Ironic that Mr. Cowell of American Idol now bears the same moniker, but I swear he has nothing to do with my issues with the name.

Give it a try!

Home is where the heart is...

I saw this and just loved it. On the heels of my last entry, it seemed appropriate to reiterate that our work doesn't define us. It might keep our minds and bodies active for a certain number of hours each week, but it is our family lives that make us who we are and life worthwhile.

The Heart of Teaching

So this past week was literally a blur. I dove into my workload full force. Three times a year, life gets a little nutty at report card time and conferences. It comes with the territory and you accept it. For several days now, I have done nothing but eat, breathe, and dream about grades, portfolios, and lesson plans. After a very long and productive Friday, I made the conscious choice to leave all of my stuff at work. For the most part, I've been good about doing that for the sake of my sanity and so my home life doesn't suffer.

I am so glad that I did leave work behind this weekend and enjoyed life. It was just really nice to not to worry over what still needs to be done at my job, although I couldn't quite stop it from invading my dreams. At least, I was content to hang out with hubby, the kids, and some good friends. I think that's a good thing to do when work becomes all-consuming. I mean come on, I surf the net looking at educational stuff just for fun. How sad am I?!

Teaching can be a very time-consuming career. While teachers may get summers off, the school is definitely a busy and crazy time. A very wise teacher once told me early on, "teaching is not a job, it's a way of life." How right she was. Now I can fully appreciate that little pearl of wisdom. I am the first to admit that I didn't get into teaching just for the joy of it, I looked forward to the fact that it would be the closest I would ever get to being a stay-at-home mom with my own kids (in summers). It has given me the opportunity to be a better mom to them actually. I have taken all of this experience and it has helped me tremendously in working with N and K's schoolwork and such. During homework assignments, at parent conferences, and during my son's IEP process, I have gained a unique understanding that wouldn't otherwise be there. I'm very thankful for that.

I quickly learned that besides motherhood and marriage, it would be the single-most challenging thing I would ever take on. I have survived many things in my life, however I am still on the learning curve with this career choice. I won't lie and say I haven't missed my old career from time to time (social services), but promised myself to see this one through. I've said this before, but it is humbling to switch careers midlife. You go from feeling very on top of things to feeling completely lost. You wouldn't know it if you saw me at home, but I can also be bit of a perfectionist at work, so letting of that need to have things just so has been almost therapeutic.

When I started this journey back in 2004, I knew it would take time. After three years as an assistant, two years of graduate school combined with student-teaching, and surviving my first year in my own classroom, I can say that this second year has been pretty good overall. While it hasn't been a walk in the park, it has forced me to dig very deep and use all that I have. I realize that I have much to learn, so I accept that I will forever be the student, but at least I can say with confidence that I am at last a teacher.

A good friend at work (who is a third year teacher) recently said to me that she figured it takes the average person at least five years to truly get the hang f things. Wow. So I have at least three more years to go. I joked with this same teacher that I find myself gazing around the classroom for ideas when I attend N and K's school conferences. As interested as I am as a parent, I also keep my teacher hat close by and have to restrain myself from peppering their teachers with questions on how they make it all look so easy.

Rush in Heels

Okay, so I'm a johnny-come-lately on the whole Ann Coulter thing. I had heard of her prior to yesterday, but knew very little about her beyond the fact that she was a Republican pundit. I knew nothing of her controversial and confrontational style. Last night, I got couldn't get into the latest CSI episode, so I Larry King Live (Joy Behar subbed for him) and Ann was on it. What a piece of work this woman is. Even if I was a conservative, I doubt I could stomach her. She is like Rush Limbaugh in heels and without any filter.

Here's just a taste...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YyjrhvmDM8.

Out of curiosity, I checked her out on youtube in several videos as she made the interview circuit to promote her latest book. Let's just say I was not impressed. If you know me at all, you know that I am not overly political and am an independent or moderate if you will. I can look at issues from both sides and lean wherever my moral compass directs me (often in the liberal direction, but not always). However, this lady is way out there with some of her assertions. She has that kind of personality that borders on narcissistic. For a woman as educated as she is, I am surprised by her tunnel vision. She reminds me of Nancy Grace actually. Ann is very opinionated, self-righteous, and talks over others that try to respond. I got a kick out of a clip of Elisabeth Hasselbeck (of all people) on The View make reference to her and she was not happy about it. Check it out for yourself at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce4glmJKve0.

I have known a number of people like Ann Coulter (from all walks of life and political viewpoints) over the years and they are not easy people to interact with and can be downright exhausting. I do not begrudge anyone their right to their opinion. Each person's worldview is shaped by their life experiences. She is a Christian, career-oriented woman who has never married, nor does she have any children. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of that. However, she makes many judgmental claims about people and issues she knows little about. Just a few of her views: she blames single mothers for the prison population, thinks 9/11 widows are basking in the gold rush following their husband's deaths, makes anti-semetic remarks, and believes a perfect world would contain only Rebublicans. Can we say...ouch!

I do not often blog about stuff like this, as I prefer to cover more trivial matters such as which contestant should win American Idol. Real life is stressful enough without carrying all that baggage into cyberspace. However, she really raised my ire and that is her gift I suppose. She may not be popular with the public at large, but she does get people's attention. I'm not saying she doesn't make the occasional point that has merit, but she just never stops talking! Maybe my educated mind has turned to mush over time, but I'll take Jon Stewart of The Daily Show over her anyday of the week and twice on Sunday.

Weekend Rewind

Okay, so our Valentine's plans didn't pan out quite the way we intended, but it all worked out pretty well anyhow. We got a late start on the day and just didn't feel up to a day on the town, so we promised to make it up to the kids later and vowed to bring them home a special treat later that night if they were good at the babysitters.

DH and I dropped them off and then went to a local watering hole that has that whole sports bar and grill vibe, complete with big TVs playing various sporting events. This place was first class all the way, complete with cardboard six pack that held condiments instead of alcoholic beverages. They did put out red carnations at each table though in honor of Valentine's Day, which was a nice touch. We thought about going somewhere fancier, but opted for something more casual so we could just relax and be us.

Since we got there fairly early, they weren't very busy yet. We stuffed ourselves pretty good, so we decided we had better walk around a bit. It was getting chilly, so we thought it was best to do so inside. We stopped at the local cell phone store, but I couldn't settle on anything just yet. I'm uber picky about this. Our night out was capped off with a trip to Lowe's for to get some items for various home improvement projects we have undertaken. I tell ya, there is nothing more romantic than a stroll through their "Tool World."

In exchange for my infinite patience, DH agreed to rent me a movie of my choice and we also bought the kids Journey to the Center of the Earth. They had been wanting to see that movie since it first came out in theaters. We also treated them to chocolate frosties from Wendy's.

Sunday was pretty sedate as I spent much of it grading papers and getting errands ran. It was nice to have today off with the kids. I kicked myself out of bed and finished up the last of my grading pile. What a relief that was! Then I took the N and K out for lunch at the soda fountain downtown I'd been promising to take them to. We each enjoyed sandwiches and waffle cones (the kids-bubblegum, me-rocky road). Then we walked around and visited a couple of nearby shops. They each got a couple of little trinkets at this neat little toy store and a shiny rock from an elemental shop to add to their budding rock collections.

I forgot to bring my camera, but it was a day that I definitely took mental snapshots of to keep in my memory. It reminded me of the many little exursions the kids and I take during the summer months. Definitely makes me look forward to the warmer weather ahead.

Happy Heart Day!

I somehow thought sitting here on a Saturday morning would somehow inspire me to write a thoughtful blog about Valentine's Day. Instead, I am berating myself for all the things I have wanted to do since last summer and instead have swept those things under the carpet. Life gets in the way a lot during the school year and that bothers me. We are so active and busy when the kids and I are during the summer months and then become very much homebodies during the colder months. I realize this is not uncommon, but it still bugs me.

I've been so preoccupied with work (it's parent conferences and report card time) and all the upheaval in our lives (family deaths and floods) recently that I feel as though we have put living on hold. The kids came into our bedroom this morning and asked us, "what're we going to do to celebrate St. Valentine's Day?" We both felt immediately bad that we hadn't planned anything special to do with the kids. Our plan was to take them to the babysitter and enjoy some alone time on a date out. We hadn't thought beyond their school parties. I had planned mini-celebrations with my students by doing art activities and giving out little candies. Hubby and I had planned out our night out. What about my own two kiddos?

In my defense, I helped them with their cards for school, made them each a Valentine card with lots of love, and we went out as a family for dinner on Friday night. However, I still feel guilty for not planning anything for the day of love. Hubby and I decided that maybe we'd take them to the downtown area and visit an old-fashioned soda fountain shop and walk around a bit. They love that kind of thing and it's close by. K and I discovered the place last summer and have been wanting to go back. Anyway, guilt is gone now and my kids know they mean the world to us. I just want to make sure I don't let work and other glitches in life take over the simple things that bring us joy.

Hope everyone has a very happy heart day!

Random 25

Taking a cue from fellow blogger Yankee Mom and some good friends on Facebook, here are 25 random things you never knew you wanted to know about me...

1. I am a sucker for extreme cake-decorating shows like Ace of Cakes and Food Network Challenge.
2. I was born in Salem, Oregon.
3. My favorite concert was a tie between Def Leppard and Fleetwood Mac.
4. I believe it's all up to the universe.
5. I have a weakness for beignets.
6. I still struggle to cut meat...yes I admit it.
7. I had a huge crush on Rick Springfield.
8. Splash is still one of my all-time favorite movies.
9. I learned to trust in God after reading Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. You never know what sorts of things will make an impact on you. Go Judy Blume!
10. I too loved Joannie and Chachi.
11. My favorite commericial is the one with Chris Brown singing for Doublemint Gum.
12. American Idol is a must-see for me. I rooted for Carrie Underwood from her first audition.
13. Laundry feels so nice when is fresh and warm from the dryer.
14. I would love to have more children, but want to travel the world with my family more.
15. I wish I had a tattoo of two dolphins making a yinyang.
16. Math is makes my brain hurt.
17. I can't stand the saliva sounds people make when they talk with cottonmouth.
18. My family once had two horses named Misty (an appaloosa) and Cisco (forget).
19. I love the city at Christmastime when the trees have white lights wrapped around them.
20. My firstborn was breach.
21. I have 6 brothers and 1 sister. Our blended family is a looooong story.
22. The opening score from Superman always makes me smile.
23. I have been to Japan three times, but really want to see Okinawa.
24. Baby's soft skin has to be one of the best things in the world.
25. Hot mustard makes my nose hurt, but I still eat it.

Spring cleaning comes early...

Today was quite productive in that we continued the task of drying out our flooring in the bathroom. I washed loads and loads of laundry, primarily towels. We also drove to Vancouver to take care of some loose ends with my FIL and ran a couple of errands. Between the fiasco of the flooding and some bedroom furniture we inherited from DH's father, our bedroom is in complete upheaval at the moment. With all of the shifting of stuff and cleaning up, it almost feels like we're moving. It's a lot to add to an already overflowing plate, but I look at it all as a blessing in disguise. It's given us the kick in the you-know-what to get things straightened up and thinned out. We even rented a storage locker at long last. It will be a time-consuming process, but we hope it will all be so much better in the long run. Here are some pictures to illustrate the crazy mess we call our storage room, oops I mean bathroom. Will try to post some "after" pics once we get it all presentable again.

This is all the stuff that needs to be sorted out. Aaaaaaah!

And more stuff...

And even more! All thanks to the our little flood.

Goodwill here we come!

The Cutest Blog on the Block

Found an awesome website that makes adorable blog templates for free and with instructions on how to alter just the background...without losing all those pesky widgets! Now I can decorate my blog for special holidays and they even have a handful of tropical ones that will go well with my blog theme, much to my delight! Check it out at http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com/!

Waterworld

Water played a very intregal role in my day. To survive the ups and downs of today, I tried to go just go with the flow, so to speak.

The morning began alright as we got right up and ready to go to the memorial service for DH's dad, Grady. After dressing up a little and having a quick breakfast, we left the house. We met my MIL to carpool for the drive to Vancouver to save gas. It was a smooth commute and we got there pretty quickly.

Upon arriving, I recognized some of DH's family right away. His brothers and their families were already there. It was a lovely reception and very nice to meet and greet many family members I'd never had the chance to meet. I met DH's oldest brother, Greg, for the first time and his daughter (DH's niece), who happens to be just 6 months younger than DH. Also, I had a great conversation with another one of his brothers, Stu, who also happens to be a teacher. We talked shop in a langauge only other teachers seem to understand. Later on, my SIL, BIL, and their little boy arrived.

Of all the kids, she was the only one who hadn't been on speaking terms with their father. So this was a very big deal for her to come. It meant a lot to everyone. At one point or another, all the kids had had their troubles with Grady, so I have to say how truly endearing it was to see DH and his four siblings all together in one place for the first in probably over 20 years or more. He was a complicated man to love, but he tried to make things right near the end. We took lots of photos and exchanged contact info. No sense going another 20 years without keeping in touch.

After the reception wound down, we all drove out to a little park along the Columbia River. It was Grady's wish to have his ashes spread over border between Oregon and Washington. It apparently isn't a legal thing to do, but everyone figured it was a small price to pay to fulfill his wish. His remains were kept inside of a plastic bag within the urn, but it took some doing to open the zip tie. It took a good ten minutes to open the bag. Finally, we all gathered at the water's edge as DH's oldest brother slowly let the ashes all into the river. A flower wreath was also laid to rest upon the waves as well. It was truly a touching moment as the whole family stood in silence and watched it float away.

We said our goodbyes and then had lunch with DH's mom, sister, and her family at a nearby McMenamins. It was a first and was extremely pleasant. For those of you who know my backstory, you'll understand why this was such a tall order on everyone's part. She is on the verge of giving birth to their second child, so it has been a nice change for the better in the family dynamics, so our hopefully our kids will know their cousins as they grow up.

It was well into the afternoon before we finally headed home. We came home and were ready to take a rest. As I walked into our bathroom, I realized I was standing in an about an inch or two of water. Turns out our toilet had flooded while we were gone and soaked the whole floor. Needless to say, we had horrible time getting the floor cleared of all our junk. I should probably mention that our bathrrom has served as a partial storage space. You can imagine the water damage. Thankfully, it was all clear water and we shouldn't have too much difficulty cleaning up. It didn't make too far into the carpet and was mostly isolated on the tile floor. It just wasn't what we needed to come home to. It just added to DH's stress level.

One interesting thing we learned was that Grady left DH his car. He'll head out to his dad's place tomorrow to meet his brothers to go clean up things. He asked me to take tomorrow off from work, so I scrambled to find a sub. The awesome school receptionist found one for me and my wonderful coworker Lara called me to check in and promised to handle everything. Definitely makes me feel good that they are so caring and I don't have to worry about my students. I am very meticulous (aka anal retentive) about my lessons, so it's not easy to just let go. In the meantime in between time, I have major housecleaning, papers to grade, and stuff to organize tomorrow...so I am currently keeping the outside world at bay for just a bit.

Whew, what a day!

Widget-Challenged

Anyone know how to change my blogger template without losing all of my sidebar data/widgets? I normally just copy and paste a template, but then I have to re-enter all the links, images, and other stuff. Hence, this is the reason my blog has remained the same for sooooo long. I always lose something in the transfer, so I wish there was a simple way to change my background. Help!

P.S. What exactly is a widget anyway? I always assumed it was the various gadgets people have on their blogs.

Color Today Blue

Today was a very long day. It began early as I got the kids ready for school. I had taken the day off to attend the funeral of an old family friend. As I was getting ready to head out the door with the kids, the phone rings. As I answer it, I hear DH on the other end and he did not sound like himself at all. Immediately I sensed something was wrong and he was hard for me to hear. It took me a couple of times to fully understand what he was trying to tell me. Then I realized his father had died last night. It was so sudden and sad to hear all this first thing in the morning. DH said he was headed home as he just couldn't focus at work, understandably so.

I finally got the kids to school, albeit late at that point. I came back home to spend a little time with DH before I had to leave. We chatted awhile and then I left to go to the DEQ Clean Air Station, a necessary step in order to renew our license plate tags (they expire this month). Then I had to stop at Target to get a few things, then I drove the 45 minutes to meet my parents in Salem. We visited and ate lunch at Olive Garden. About 1:00, we left to attend the funeral in nearby Silverton.

The service was very lovely, just like our family friend, Carol. She was a gracious and caring woman towards everyone. I was grateful for the chance to pay my respects to her family. I ducked out of the reception following in order to get home to DH and the kids. In no mood to cook, I grabbed McDonalds for dinner. The kids were happy-go-lucky and none the wiser that they had suffered a tremendous loss today. We told them what had happened, but they didn't really seem to fully process what it meant. My oldest kind of understood, but thankfully was able to go about his day with relative ease. The wonderful gift of youth is that amazing ability to bounce back quickly.

I thought a lot about lost loved ones today. It brought me back to that dark place I struggled to leave behind four years ago. In the space of four months, I lost both of my grandfathers to cancer and nearly lost my natural father. For these and many other reasons, it was a taxing year that left me emotionally-drained in a way I'd never experienced. I had no choice but to deal with it and move forward. What other choice is there? I feel so sad for my husband and hope that this hole in his heart heals well. To lose a parent is never easy and always complicated. To anyone reading this, hug someone you love just a little bit longer and make sure they know you care. As we all know, you never can know if it will be the last one.

10 Years

I've come to the conclusion that love is what you make it. For some, it is a 24/7 lovefest. While for others, it is an intense and passionate merry-go-round of breakups and makeups. No matter what sort of relationship you have with your significant other, if the love isn't there then you aren't really living. There is no doubt about it though, it takes a little bit of work to keep that flame burning over the years.

DH and I went out for our 10 year unofficial anniversary last night. We've been together for 10, married for almost 7. That to me is quite an accomplishment. It's been a rollercoaster relationship that has been full of challenges and blessings. We've produced two children, a boy and a girl, who are both beautiful inside and out. We've survived the rocky patches and still manage to make each other laugh after all this time. Considering the fact that we became parents early on in our relationship, we have essentially grown up together to feel our way through the choppy waters of adulthood. This might sound corny, but I love the fact that I can still look into DH's eyes and see the man I fell in love with all those years ago.

My MIL took the kids overnight so that we could celebrate alone. DH and I knocked off early from work and went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner. It is one of our favorite places to eat, so it was only fitting that we go there. We've been under a lot of stress lately, so tensions flared for a bit as we acknowledged and aired some things that had been swept under the rug for too long (due to our children always being around). For anyone who knows us, it is a cycle that DH and I go through sometimes. When we fight, it can be intense. When we get along, it can be truly some kind of wonderful. Once we got the icky stuff out of our systems, we seemed to rise above the petty stuff to simply enjoy each other's company.


We didn't go see a movie or anything like that (as nothing was playing that we really HAD to see). However on a whim, we did something we both rather enjoy and helped heal our rift. Of all places, we went to a furniture store to check out some things we've been wanting to get. It was fun looking at the bedroom sets, kitchen tables, and other pieces. Though we walked out empty-handed, we seriously considered getting a couple of things. The greatest part was that it didn't take much for us to come to an agreement in terms of taste. It's like when you buy a house or a car, you just know it when you see it. It always feels good when we just look at each other and know we found what we've been looking for and simply nod. For all our differences, we know what the glue is that keeps us together and the love alive after all this time. I consider that a true blessing.

It's an Obamanation!

I would be remiss if I didn't take a moment to acknowledge the remarkable events of this past week. As many of you already know, I work in a melting pot (multilingual and multicultural immersion school) so I have been enveloped in the inaugural activities and historical aspects. First off, we paused on Monday to remember and honor Martin Luther King Jr. for his legacy and his dream. Then we have the amazing coincidence of the swearing in of the first African-American President the very next day. Barack Obama is the 44th President to take the oath of office and what a road he has ahead of him. There has been a tremendous amount of hope and hype placed on his shoulders.

Not only does he inherit a troubled economy, two wars, and a host of other national issues...but expectations are sky-high. It is my sincere hope that people remember that while his win was amazing and long overdue, he is still just one man and will not be perfect. If we have learned anything from the Bush years, it is that anything can and will happen. No President is infallible. I fear that liberals will expect miracles and conservatives will pounce on any little mistake. It is a waiting game at this point. We are definitely at a crossroads that should take in a more positive direction, but I still hope we still proceed with caution into the future and don't make too many hasty changes without thought to the consequences. We have many fences to mend around the world, but Obama has the right stuff to see us through.