Public Decree

Having spent entirely too much time looking at photos on other blogs, I've become inspired. Each day, ordinary (I guess?) people from around the world post a single photo of the city or area in which they live. There are now 100 cities/areas represented. I started by looking at Paris Daily Photo since I've visited Paris and was enchanted with the city. I've since added other cities I enjoy to my list of daily blogs to read. I'm going to make an effort to carry my camera around and take more photos of the life around me.

Side note: My birthday is in three weeks...maybe I need a smaller camera.

At any rate, I'll start dragging my (rather large) camera around with me tomorrow and taking photos of whatever strikes my fancy.

Want to look at the original site? Click here.

Whole Foods

Who shops at your Whole Foods Market?

Toni Braxton was shopping at mine today.

Jamaica Wins World Cup

I know, I know. The World Cup is not for another three years.

All this week Ana participated in British Soccer Camp. Each group was assigned a country. They earned points by answering trivia questions, creating chants, making flags and bribing coaches. At the end of the week, the two teams with the highest points played a soccer scrimmage to determine the overall winner. Ana's team, Jamaica, won the scrimmage on the game winning goal by none other than Ana!! This was very exciting for her. Almost as exciting as her injury on Tuesday.

After camp on Tuesday evening, the teams did a "cone raid" where all the players race around the field gathering the cones and cleaning up equipment. Ana, graceful girl that she is, managed to trip and bang her knee HARD on the ground. The coaches at camp, in order to limit their liability, wouldn't let anyone touch her and insisted on calling 9-1-1. The paramedics arrived first and sauntered down to the field. The ambulance was not far behind but they drove down to the field. (It's quite a distance from the parking lot to this particular field as it is also used as a drainage basin in the event of flash flooding.) Ana was then transported by ambulance to St. Rose Dominican Hospital's Emergency Room. We finally got home around 12:30 in the morning on crutches with the knee immobilized.

After a heart-to-heart chat at the pediatrician's office on Thursday where I informed her all that she would lose (namely: the 2007 Chun Kuk Do ITC) if she was unwilling to endure a little pain, she made a miraculous recovery.

She muscled up, got through the pain and was able to participate in soccer camp by Friday night.

One word meme

1. Where is your mobile phone? purse
2. Relationship? great
3. Your hair? reddish
4. Work? no
5. Your sister(s)? JoAnn
6. Your favourite thing? chocolate
7. Your dream last night? forgotten
8. Your favourite drink? chardonnay
9. Your dream car? BMW
10. The room you're in? office
11. Your shoes? thongs
12. Your fears? falling
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? married
14. Who did you hang out with this weekend? kids
15. What are you not good at? lying
16. Muffin? poppyseed
17. Wish list item? emerald
18. Where you grew up? cold
19. The last thing you did? ate
20. What are you wearing? jammies
21. What are you not wearing? shoes
22. Your pet? sleeping
23. Your computer? desktop
24. Your life? blessed
25. Your mood? happy
26. Missing? friends
27. What are you thinking about? friends
28. Your car? dusty
29. Your kitchen? cluttered
30. Your summer? full
31. Your favourite colour? clear
32. Last time you laughed? earlier
33. Last time you cried? awhile
34. School? August
35. Love? in

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day! This is a picture of Mike wearing the gorilla eyes from the children's menu at Elephant Bar. I think he said, "Don't take my picture. It will end up on someone's blog." We took the kids to New York New York and rode the Manhattan Express roller coaster. It was really fun and a lot less scary than The Desperado at Buffalo Bill's in Primm. Even Sam (who hates roller coasters, bless his heart) said, "After the first three drops, it wasn't that bad."

An observation by Ana

Kids in the backseat cause accidents.

Accidents in the backseat cause kids.

Thought for Today

When your children are teenagers,

it’s important to have a dog so that someone

in the house is happy to see you.

Henry Ford

Sam just finished a big project for school. He researched and did a report on Henry Ford. As the culmination of the project, the students dressed as their subject and put on a "Living Museum."

Ana's new footwear

Ana left very early this morning (3 o'clock) for her class trip to Disneyland. This is her lovely new footwear. Seems boys with skate boarding shoes stepping on barefooted girls achilles tendons does a little damage. Who'da thunk it?

Cutest thing ever...

The family across the street from us has the most beautifully landscaped yard (for Southern Nevada) in the neighborhood. The fake riverbed had to be re-done by the landscape crew because it was originally "too deep." She has asked that we not let our dog anywhere NEAR her plants when he is marking territory. The rose bushes are meticulously groomed.

So today after school when the little boy from down the street jumped out of his car and picked a few of her flowers, my kids and I watched with gales of laughter hoping she was napping with the baby and not reloading.

Maybe she won't notice...

Amazing Science

Today I learned that women eating the highest levels of trans fats increase their risk of heart attack by 50%.

I also learned that "Folks who take regular naps lower their risk of dying from heart disease by 37%." *

So.....I've concluded that by napping after eating a bag of Oreos, my risk of heart disease only goes up a paltry 13%. Seems worth the risk to me!

* Reader's Digest - June 2007 - p. 67

Why I'm Happy Today

I'm happy today because:

• I dropped my children off at school this morning for their FREE public education


• I went to the Doctor's office and was treated by a highly educated woman doctor


• I stopped by Starbucks and grabbed a cold drink


• I went shopping in several stores and even spent a little money

If you're thinking, Big Deal, it IS a big deal.

I did all of these things while listening to the radio which is broadcast for free, without a male escort and, best of all, I did NOT have to wear a burka.

My heartfelt thanks to all our fine men and women serving and sacrificing in the United States military who defend my freedom and make these things possible.

HOOAH!!!

When I Was Little

I grew up in a small town at the base of this dam. It NEVER occured to me that the dam could break and I'd be washed away like Johnstown.

I thought all dogs were girls and cats were boys (don't ask me how we got MORE dogs and cats. I was LITTLE, remember?)

The Boogeyman lived in the closet at the back of the long hall in my grandmother's bedroom. I know this is true because my big brothers told me so!

I couldn't imagine why anyone would pay 25 cents for a Coke when you could get Shasta for 17 cents and still have enough allowance left over for some candy.

Was Burger King married to Dairy Queen?

I thought Elvis Presley and Evel Kneivel were the same person

We did a project in school where we created a candy bar and named it. We named ours "Afternoon Delight" and our theme song was the song by the same title by Starland Vocal Band. We had NO IDEA what the lyrics meant and our teacher didn't tell us.

My friends never talked about going to "Mom's house" or "Dad's house" because that was the same place: home.

There wasn't a daycare center in our town. I'd never heard of such a thing.

We played "Cops & Robbers" with the neighborhood kids (without parental supervision) and the cops ALWAYS won!

We were priveleged to be taken swimming at Lion Lake.

Oh yeah...I also walked to school uphill both ways in 4 feet of snow.

A Tribute to Dear Old Dad

I know Mother's Day is fast approaching, but this post is a special one for my dad.

When my family came to visit in March, my dear father

spent some time cleaning up my front yard and pruning

wayward trees and bushes. If you are unaware, purple

trailing Lantana goes dormant - and looks DEAD.

So....my dad pruned them back to tiny little stubs that

were barely visible. This was upsetting to me because

I was SURE he had killed them.

Well, FATHER KNOWS BEST.

My Lantana are blooming beautiful blooms and look terrific.

So a very public YOU WERE RIGHT and I'M SORRY I DOUBTED YOU.

Thanks Dad

note to self

When the choices are "hot" or "mild",

choose mild.

Field Day 2007

I enrolled Sam in public school just in time for Field Day.

The scooter relay - with a teacher standing by

to drench them with a hose.

The tall kid seems to be having a good time.

He REALLY can run! I'm amazed.

The best one was the next round (which I didn't
capture in a photo) where he had his drink with
him. He put the drink down, popped the ring and
caught it, picked up his drink, and ran back to
his line. Very funny to witness in person.

I didn't remember

Did you remember that legs came this skinny?

Why I miss Sam

So there I am at the gas station, lamenting the fact that gas is $3.10 a gallon, when I decide to wait in my car whilst the tank fills with oily goodness as the wind is blowing at around 25 mph. I push the button to open the door and there it sits, refusing to move. A quick glance at all four doors confirms it. They're all locked.

YOU KNOW WHERE THE KEYS ARE...they're in the ignition.

Now the last time this happened (not so long ago), I was at Odyssey Charter School waiting for Sam to finish a class. Not the most athletic kid in town but agile enough to climb through the open sunroof (remember this post?) and unlock the car. With no Sam at my disposal, I'm left with few options. I can call AAA and have them send someone in about 45 minutes, but alas, the phone is in the car, too. What to do, what to do. So I'm thinkin'...if Sam can do it, surely I can.

Up I go, over the hood, to where all of my worldly possessions await, and into the sunroof to the amused chuckles of the other patrons pumping gas.

And that, dear friends and family, is why I miss Sam.

Lunch

When both kids are enrolled in school

full time, this is what I eat for lunch. Grilled

Salmon and Tabbouleh. I like to wash it all

down with a Chai Tea Latte. This is the life!

Right up my alley

Chemistry wasn't my best subject but I liked it.

I would have liked it even better with this.