Saturday, January 31, 2009

Run for a Wish

This weekend the kids and I signed up for Kendall Tenney's Run for a Wish to benefit the Make a Wish Foundation. The turnout was huge! I would love to know how many people were registered. The atmosphere was fantastic. Fun, friendly, festive, live music and entertainment. And all held at the Town Square Shopping Center.

The kids did what they do prior to the race. Sam leaned on a pole using his phone and Ana paced while using her phone.

More posts to follow in the days to come.

Friday, January 30, 2009

LOST

I'm at karate on Wednesday evening when LOST is on, so I watch it online when I get a chance.

This week's favorite quote courtesy of Sawyer:

What about you? Do you want to stay here in Crazytown or help me rescue the geek?

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Red




What seems like a long, long time ago, I did a post on a traffic signal near Sam's school that is NEVER red.
.
.
.
I hit it red for the first time since August 25, 2008 while driving to and from school.
.
.
.
January 28th, 2009 at 2:33pm.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

The Yard

There is a learning curve involved with leaf blowers. I had no idea. I recently inherited one so thought I'd put it to use today after trimming the lantana in the front yard.

The first thing I learned is that some stuff just seems too heavy to actually move.

The second thing I learned is that when the wind is blowing, it's an exercise in futility to try to blow debris into the street.

And thirdly, it's a good thing the next door neighbors are renters and are moving, because a bunch of my "junk" ended up in their yard!!


I still maintain that yard work is best left to men. I think they possess a genetic ability to use power tools.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Menu Plan Monday

In no particular order:

  1. Chili (in the crockpot) from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
  2. Ziti Bake from Cooks.com
  3. Tex-Mex Spicy Meatballs from RecipeZaar
  4. Salmon - no recipe needed. Olive oil, salt and pepper. Nuff said.
  5. Pizza in a Bowl from Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly.

mpm12

Brought to you by I'm an Organizing Junkie. Stop by to visit. There are literally hundreds of menus and many of them have links to recipes.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Ouch!

It only took a few months to virtually erase almost 20 years of investments!

It could be worse! This is my smaller non-retirement account.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Disappointed!

This is the giant mural on the side of Sam's school.
The Academy of Mathematics, Science and Technology.
Based on our experiences for the first half of the school year,
I'm recommending a name change.

It should be changed to
The Academy of Sub-standard Mathematics, Science and Technology.
The only Algebra class offered is reserved for 8th graders.
I guess it doesn't matter that my 6th grader was doing
math at the 9th grade level when he started last fall.
He is in the Advanced 6th grade math.
Each year NASA chooses 50 schools in the nation to be Explorer Schools.
I had really high hopes that Sam would respond to,
"Houston, we have a problem."
But I guess that's not going to happen at this school.
Oh, well.
Thankfully his zoned public schools are high achieving and that's
where he'll be until he's off to college.



Friday, January 23, 2009

Ravioli

My friends have a great tradition of making (and eating!) homemade Ravioli each Christmas.


There are three generations of women (and a couple men) making these. I would show you the picture of all three generations, but I wasn't there and my guest photographer didn't get that photo. I'm still grateful to have these photos. It makes me long for family (or maybe just traditions) of my own.
Photos courtesy of Joe



Thursday, January 22, 2009

Las Vegas Living

I drive by this local casino to and from Sam's school each day.
It's the Beverly Hillbillies Gambler Casino.
Some of the lights on the sign are burned out but it reads
78 degrees.

In case you missed it, today is January 22

and it's 78 degrees!


Monday, January 19, 2009

New Levels of Boredom

Mike has the TV in the family room.
Ana has the TV in the office.
Karen is playing Solitaire on the computer while partially watching the show Ana has on.


And poor Sam is so bored, he's watching me play Solitaire!

This brings boredom to new pathetic levels.

Menu Plan Monday

Again, in no particular order, except that fish will come early in the week as it's already in the fridge.






  • Tilapia picatta with orzo
  • Pasta with red peppers and capers
  • Shepherd's Pie (ground turkey instead of beef)
  • Chicken and 40 cloves of garlic
  • Huevos Rancheros

Brought to you by I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Cop Count

Sixteen.

While driving Sam to school on Friday, I saw 13 police vehicles before 7:30am so I decided to count for the rest of the day.

I ended at 16, which is one short of my record 17. Most were Las Vegas Metropolitan Police cars/motorcycles. I did spot a few Nevada Highway Patrol and one or two from Henderson Police Department. My keen "cop observation" skills helped me identify the undercover cops at the gas station. They looked like cops and that was confirmed when they exited the vehicle to pump gas with guns, and thankfully, badges on their waistbands.

Monday, January 12, 2009

The Local News

Why I like the local CBS affiliate better than the local NBC affiliate for the evening news:

The NBC station lead the 5 o'clock news with 5 stories.

  • murder
  • kidnapping (child recovered in Las Vegas)
  • murder
  • murder
  • motor vehicle crash (fatality) car v. motorcycle

That's when I turned it off and went to make dinner. We had spaghetti alfredo with chicken and broccoli. It was much better than the news.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Recycled

from several years.

1. What is your occupation right now? Homemaker
2. What color are your socks right now? White
3. What are you listening to right now? Ana and her friend playing the Wii
4. What was the last thing that you ate? A chocolate cookie, but I'm going to get my cinnamon roll right now.
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Listened to a voicemail from Mike because I missed his call. Other than that, I don't recall
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes, she is my favorite sister-in-law
8. How old are you today? 42. Why do you ask?
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Not a big TV sports fan, but I DO watch the SuperBowl
10. What is your favorite drink? Earl Grey Tea
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? In the past, but I don't bother anymore
12. Favorite food? Could be that chocolate cookie from number 4.
13. What is the last movie you watched? Bolt
14. Favorite day of the year? Fourth of July
15. How do you vent anger? Swear at other driver's from my car
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? I rather liked my hula hoop
17. What is your favorite season? Summer
18. Cherries or Blueberries? Blueberries (expensive here in the desert!)
19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Well, I didn't do this by email, but they could certainly leave a comment
20. Who is the most likely to respond? Joe
21. Who is least likely to respond? Everyone else
22. Living arrangements? Single story tract home with a 30 year mortgage I can afford in a city leading the nation in foreclosures
23. When was the last time you cried? I don't recall. I don't do it often.
24. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes, a dresser and shelves filled with 33rpm vinyls
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? Again, not sending
26. What did you do last night? Surfed through all 54 stations on the TV without the cable box
27. What are you most afraid of? Falling
28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Cheese (crisp bacon, too, if it's available)
29. Favorite dog breed? I like my own chihuahua, but I don't really like dogs much
30. Favorite day of the week? Monday
31. How many states have you lived in? Four (Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Nevada)
32. Diamonds or pearls? pearls (chocolate pearls to be precise)
33. What is your favorite flower? Lilacs

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Menu Plan Monday

brought to you by I'm an Organizing Junkie.


On the menu this week, in no particular order (because I'm NOT an organizing junkie!!)...


Day One - Lemon & Dill Chicken, broccoli, brown rice

Day Two - Crab Cake Burgers, maybe on english muffins or maybe on a bed a greens

Day Three - Pasta with homemade pesto (which I made on Sunday afternoon), salad, zucchini

Day Four - I know! A fish! (which is also my favorite line from A Cinderella Story)

Day Five - Pizza provided by someone else at the karate meeting


Only five days for me because my husband likes to cook on the weekends when he has the time. He usually decides on his way to the grocery store. I know it's not cost-efficient, but he's happy and that's good enough for me.