Yucaipa Yarns and Yearnings

The Memories Will Remain

2009-12-30T22:46:00.000-08:00

I would like to share with you three of my favorite pictures of Joyce.

This picture was taken by our friend Judy while her husband
Phil piloted the pleasure craft. Joyce spent that weekend at
our second home in Hanford. Even though we did not enjoy
living a part during the week, the old saying is true "absence
makes the heart grow fonder". We truely enjoyed and appreciated
our weekends together.

Our good friend Brooke gave me this picture yesterday. She

loved it and so do I. When I look at this picture I see Joyce

as she really is; a beautiful person both inside and out.

This is my all time favorite picture (and I'm not even

in it). She loves her boys and her boys love her. In

addition to that she looks gorgeous.

I don't want to spend a lot of time writing about Joyce's death except to tell you how she died. I heard this evening from a friend, who is a nurse at Redlands Community Hospital,that her liver shut down due to the cancer tht had over taken it.

I also want you to know that I was was with her when she died. I had my hands on her when her body relaxed as her last breath was taken. At that moment her soul left her earthly body that was infected by this terrible, evil desease and entered the glorious Kingdom of Heaven.

I'll be honest with you, I am jealous of Joyce. Previous to today, I was not in a hurry for Jesus' second coming. Now my feeling is "come quickly Lord Jesus". I long to be in the presence of God and to see my wife again.

Until that time come our memories of Joyce will have to sustain us. Thank you for sharing with me how Joyce has impacted your life. I always knew that she was special but I did not fully understand or appreciate how special she was to so many people.

I was fortunate to have her as my wife for 26 years, five months and 14 days and I wouldn't trade my time with her for anything.

My boys and I would like to thank you for all your support and prayers over the last five weeks. We all prayed for the miracle of healing and our prayers have been answered. Joyce has no sickness or pain as she dances in the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

I would like to invite all of you to Joyce's Memorial Service at 3 pm on Thursday, January 7 at the University of Redlands chapel.

With appreciation and love,

Russ

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T20:34:00.000-08:00

I asked Joyce if I could be a guest blogger on Christmas Day and she graciously said yes. I hope that I am not a disapointment to those of you that enjoy what Joyce writes. I too look forward to her updates and am inspired by her. I wanted to use this space to wish all of our family and friends a very Merry Christmas and God's blessing for the New Year.

I also wanted to thank you for your prayers and support over the last month. I cannot begin to express to you our appreciation for the love that you have showered on our family. So many people have communicated with us and have expressed their concern and support. I cannot count the number of times we have heard the words "if there is anything that I can do...." and we know that thoses words are not throw away words but have meaning attached to them. Our family is overwhelmed by the love and support we have received.

The first time we were in church after receiving the news of Joyce's illness was Thanksgiving morning. The message that morning seemed to be spoken directly to us. We were encouraged, by the pastor, to focus on the blessings in our life even in the midst of our suffering and disappointment. Even though this past month has been tough, as a family our cup is still over flowing with God's blessings. I woud like to list just a few:

An intact family unit (Russ, Joyce, Kevin and Kyle) that truly loves each other.
Family and friends that have shown their love and support in a variety of tangible ways.
Many phone calls, emails, cards and Facebook messages from friends. Many of those came from peope that we have not heard from in a long time.
A school community, Hanford Christian, that couldn't be more loving to a guy they have ony known for a few months. Also, former colleagues that let us know that we are not forgotten.
The comforting messages in God's word. Many people have shared scripture that has personal meaning to them and these have impacted us. I have also stumbled upon passages that now take on a whole new meaning (Psalm 72:12-14).
A church that surrounds us with loving arms.
A walker that has recently turned into a clothes rack (Joyce's legs are feeling better).
The love that my boys show their mother that gives us, as parents, a glimpse of what kind of men they will be (their future spouses are very fortunate).
Doctors and nurses (and pharmacists) that have been kind and helpful to us.
People that are praying for us daily. I am amazed by how many people are praying for us. I am convinced that not an hour goes by (who knows, maybe not even a minute) that someone is not uplifting us in prayer.

It feels like that on November 23 everything in our world changed forever. But in reality maybe nothing changed. We never knew from one day to the next how long we will be on earth. It could be one more day, one more week, one more year, six more years or 32 more years. The one constant in our life, God, did not change. His one promise, everlasting life to those that believe, will never change and for that I am grateful.

So, on this Christmas Day and everyday thereafter give your family a great big hug and let them know that you love them. Everyday that God gives you with your loved ones is a great gift.

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow.

Shalom,

Russ

Cancer and Confusion

2009-12-21T10:11:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to get a handle on how I feel about everything and it is not easy. When we first were diagnosed, it was simple to grasp what we were feeling - shock, sadness, numb, overwhelmed. But one can't stay at that level of emotion and so as time passes a certain normality settles into our lives. With that new normal comes a sense of confusion. Yes, I am still in shock, but I am gradually getting used to the idea that I have a dreadful disease. Yes, I am overwhelmed, but I still must do what I can to keep things going. Bills need to be paid, Christmas gifts need to be wrapped (though I have declared this year a "no bow" Christmas - paper only), and decisions need to be made. Thankfully everyone is home now to help with all the chores - I have done very little in that department. Yes, I am still sad, but I cannot continually cry or yearn for what life was just a month ago. As I heard in church yesterday, I must find joy within my sorrow. Joy is there! I believe this is a huge gift from God that in the midst of the chaos that is now my life, I can still feel and take incredible joy in the things that have always brought me joy.
Another thing that is real confusing about this disease is the chemo. Wow! I have been trying to find the words to describe how it makes me feel physically. I remember when my mom was getting chemo she hated the way it felt when the medicine went into her body. I don't mind that so much but it seems to me, by the end of the day, I can smell the chemo seeping out of my pores to the point where I can hardly stand it. Russ assures me I don't smell like poison but I don't know.... Since I was in grade school I have had the onus of bumpy, scaly skin on the back of my arms. Since my first chemo treatment - Gone. Smooth as silk. What's up with that? I have lost the weight that I have wanted to lose for the last couple of years but instead of being happy about that I'm trying to bulk up not wanting to become too gaunt and skinny. And of course the nausea always seems to be lurking around the corner, jumping out to surprise me when I least expect it or when I'm not ready for it. Thankfully, the anti-nausea pills work wonders. But is the chemo working? I really have no way of knowing until a pet scan is done again in a few weeks. So in the meantime, I am praying that the chemo is doing its job and that the cancer cells are being killed off, and that I am on the way to healing.
I remember a woman telling me several years ago after her husband had been diagnosed with cancer that it was a series of hurry up and wait, hurry up and wait. That is so true. I must get all the tests and treatments, but then must wait patiently to see if they are effective. Waiting. It is so hard to do but it is what is asked of us. When I woke up yesterday morning one of my favorite praise songs popped into my mind.
"Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord. Our God, you reign forever. Our Hope, our Strong Deliverer. You are the Everlasting God, the Everlasting God, you do not faint, you won't grow weary. You're the defender of the weak. You comfort those in need. You lift us upon on wings of eagles."
When I rest in this knowledge, life is a lot less confusing.

Being Thankful

2009-12-15T11:05:00.000-08:00

Being diagnosed two days before Thanksgiving really threw that holiday into another realm. How do you find things to be thankful for after receiving a diagnosis like lung cancer? During the last few weeks I have been blessed in so many ways I could never list them all here. But I will try to list a few.
I am thankful for my husband, Russ, who is willing to do anything for me. Even the smallest and most annoying requests don't annoy him. He just does them cheerfully and with love. What more could I ask for?
I am thankful for my son, Kyle, who is remaining upbeat and keeps me laughing. He brings me whatever I need when I need it and often what I need is a hug. He's right there for me.
I am thankful for my son, Kevin, who is far away in Michigan but will be home on Friday. I am so glad that he sent an email one day insisting that I may not worry about him. Believe it or not, his insistence worked and I have been able to lay aside my worry. He is strong and I look forward to having him home the next six weeks.
I am thankful for Julie In't Hout and Kristen Slagter who asked if they could help by coordinating meals, rides, etc., etc. I love these women in my life. They are busy with their little ones but still take the time to help me.
I am thankful for my small group Bible Study - Marsha, Bev, Ruth & Deb - who came over last night to decorate my house for Christmas. They brought dinner, friendship, tears, calm, and Psalms.
I am thankful for my friend Gayle who lives just across the street. She stops in to see if I need anything from the store, brings me soup and is so close I know that she will be by my side in a heartbeat if I need her.
I am thankful for an anonymous friend who has lovingly offered to pay for a housecleaner. How can I begin to thank him/her?
I am thankful for the hundreds, no, thousands, of people praying for me all over the world.
"Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf." Psalm 66:5

Chemo and Ice Cream

2009-12-10T17:14:00.000-08:00

Today was the day we started fighting this evil thing called cancer. Russ and I were both nervous this morning. Fortunately, I felt so much better today then I did yesterday. I am much stronger mentally, physically and spiritually and that helped so much.
We met with Dr. Ibrahim first. He did give us one good piece of news. The MRI I had yesterday did not show that cancer was pressing on any nerves that would cause my leg pain. He gave me a prescription for Vicodin (I know what you are all thinking - "Now I know who to call when I need the good stuff"!!) and also suggested I wear support hose. Hmmmmm, that ought to be attractive. But I'll do it if it helps! He then went over some of the details of the chemo.
When I first got into the treatment room the nurse told me Maribeth Spoelstra was going to come see me. She works in the same building and has been a friend for years and years. It was so awesome to see her and she brought me a couple of thoughtful items. It just made me feel calm to see a familiar face. They then proceeded to get my IV going, put saline into me, drug me up on 100mg of Benadryl (they were all amazed that this didn't knock me out) and some anti-nausea drug. Next step - the chemo.
The plan was to first give me Taxil. We were told that it would be administered very slowly at first because some people can have an allergic reaction to it. Well, let me tell you. I am not only one of those people who get an allergic reaction, but I get an extreme, severe allergic reaction after only one minute. My heart started racing so fast, I became light headed and semi-fainted in the chair. Russ told me that they (the nurses and my doctor) were on me so quickly - getting me oxygen, pumping me with drugs to stop the reaction, taking my vitals. I was quite panicky so don't remember much of this. I say this in all seriousness - I thought I was dying, plain and simple. It was the scariest experience I have ever had. Fortunately, from that point on it went uphill. Once they got me stable and regulated they went to plan B for chemo. This new drug they are giving me will be just as effective but I will now have to go in every week rather then just once every three weeks.
I feel so much more hopeful today. I know a lot of that is coming from the wonderful things that peope are emailing me, posting on my facebook, texting and cards and phone calls. I wish I could respond and answer everyone but it just isn't possible. But know that these things are so uplifting to us. One friend posted on my facebook a youtube link to Alan Jackson singing "What a Friend We Have in Jesus". I've always loved that song and it just felt so beautiful and soothing to hear it. Another posted a link to a blog where the author wrote about remembering that Jesus is right there next to us in the midst of our storms. Jesus said to his disciples who were in the midst of their own storm on Galilee "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith." and then, the best part "Jesus got up and gave a command to the wind and the waves, and it became completely calm." It is really hard for me to not be afraid. But I have to remember that Christ is with me at all times.
One funny thing that made me laugh today. When I was almost finished with the chemo, I texted Kevin and Kyle the same message "I'm kicking cancer's butt right now." Here are their separate responses which both came back immediately. From Kevin - "Go Mom!! How much longer?" From Kyle - "I'm kicking some kids butt in Call of Duty right now." Two kids, same parents, such different responses. And I absolutely love each of the responses - a good laugh and encouragement - just what I needed.
Oh, and why Ice Cream in the title? I read some nutritional pamphlets the nurse gave to me. It said to make sure I eat high calorie snacks and ice cream was one listed. Hey! I have permission. Yummmmmm - mint chocolate chip.

A week later......

2009-12-09T08:46:00.000-08:00

Here it is, December 9 already. Time is either crawling or flying - I am still not sure. There are so many things I am not sure of right now. What does one do when you are diagnosed with lung cancer at age 47? It doesn't make any sense.
I'll back track a week to update everyone. Russ and I flew to Indiana as he had two interviews there. It was in many ways a difficult weekend. Physically it was a struggle - my legs are not cooperating and I also have an infection in my left arm from where the IV was put in for my petscan. This is also very painful. So basically I have one appendage that is working well. But on Saturday my siblings and dad drove down from Michigan and I was able to spend time with them. What a blessing that was for all of us. It seriously made the trip worthwhile despite how difficult it was.
We got back late Monday night and yesterday we met with my oncologist. We did not receive the news we were hoping for. (like "your cancer has miraculously disappeared!!!" or "it isn't near as advanced as we thought") Sadly we were told the cancer is quite advanced. The one good piece of news is that it has not spread to my brain. On Thursday I will be starting chemo. The chemo will take about four hours to be administered and will only be once every three weeks. I guess one good piece of news is the doctor said this particular chemo doesn't have a lot of side effects. I haven't asked about losing hair yet. But frankly, losing my hair seems like the least of my worries.
The nurse asked us if we wanted to see the treatment room. Russ and I answered together "No". The reason is because we both saw it as we were walking into the doctor's office and it was so depressing. Everyone in there is old - I mean really old. It isn't a spot for me. But Thursday, I will have my chair and the plan is to start killing cancer cells.
So how are we doing? Honestly, right now, not very well. We are just so sad. Sad for our children, sad for each other, sad for our parents, siblings and friends. I am physically feeling so wounded - I need the doctor to figure out what is going on with my legs. This problem is making it almost impossible to do anything at a time when I desperately want to do things. What do women do this time of year? Shop, decorate, bake, plan for the holidays - nothing has happened and it is just breaking my heart.
Please, please, please continue to pray for healing. Pray for strength for us emotionally, strength for me physically. Hang onto hope for us, ask that we feel God's presence in our lives and that He will give us a miracle.

Sore Legs, PetScans and Packing

2009-12-02T16:53:00.001-08:00

Last night was not a good night and this morning wasn't too great either. For some reason my calves are killing me! I mean, when I get out of bed I can't even straighten my legs and walk I feel like I'm about 88 years old. In fact, I went to the lab this morning to get my blood drawn and as I was walking in all these old people were passing me by. That's a little depressing. I know they aren't blood clots and they definitely aren't sore because I over excercised or something. Just strange and bothersome. I wil have to check with my doctor.
Then at 10:30 I had to go in to Redlands Community for my petscan. Carol Kreuter had paved the way for me in radiology and they treated me so kindly. It wasn't bad at all. They inject a "radioactive sugar" which after about 45 minutes of resting finds its way to the cancer in my body. Then I was given the scan which was also about 45 minutes. No problem at all. One funny thing - the hospital shares the scan with a couple of other hospitals. So it is literally brought to the parking lot and put behind shipping and receiving in a trailer. They wheeled me out of radiology and down this long hallway and before you know it I was out on the dock where all the trucks deliver the hospital goods. If it had been a horror movie, the nurse would have wheeled me to the edge of the dock and dumped me over! I almost started laughing because it seemed so ludricous to me. Then across the parking lot and into the trailer. We will find out the results on December 8 when we have the first appointment with the oncologist.
And tonight I packed a bag as we are flying to Chicago tomorrow for two job interviews in Indiana. This is something we had planned before and we feel must continue pursuing. I am struggling with going, worried that my legs will hurt and worried about having to be "on" with strangers.
Please pray - that my legs will feel back to normal tomorrow, that the cancer has not spread and that the weekend in Indiana will be a time of refreshment and relaxation, not tiring.
I have had a hard time praying today. Thank you to all who are lifting me up to God. I feel His presence through you.

Strength for Today

2009-11-30T09:18:00.000-08:00

I tend to remember my dreams. I'm also a firm believer that what our subconscious mind is thinking about often comes to fruition in our dreams. And, I believe that God will speak to us in our dreams. Of course, sometimes it is not at all clear what He is trying to say. My dreams are sometimes so bizarre that my wakened mind can't even recreate or imagine what my sleeping mind seems to be able to do, let alone pick up any kind of message from it.
Saturday night I had one of these bizarre dreams. I dreamt that my good friend, Susan and I were at an amusement park. Of course it wasn't a normal amusement park by any stretch of anyone's imagination but, nonetheless, an amusement park. As we walked through the park, we would have to go through different turnstyles. Each turnstyle would require that we have change to put in a slot to get through to the next spot. Everytime I approached a turnstyle, I never had enough money. I would be frightened to approach and uncertain as to what to do. But then, all of a sudden, I would see a dime on the ground or a quarter, pick it up and, lo and behold, I would now have just the right amount of money to get through. Another time I got all the way up to the turnstyle and I knew I didn't have enough money and nothing was materializing on the ground. But I went ahead anyway, and just starting pushing my change into the slot. By doing this it unleashed change into the return slot and I then had enough.
What does this say to me? God's grace is sufficient for each day and He will grant me the strength that I need to move forward to the next spot. And even if I don't feel like I have the strength, like I didn't have the money when I got to the one turnstyle, I still must go ahead, trusting that somehow God will provide for me even though I have no idea how He will do it.
"Great is they Faithfulness" keeps running through my mind and the line "Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow" is my mantra today. Lamentations 3:22-23 says "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."

Then and Now

2009-11-29T07:38:00.000-08:00

It has been only five days since I was diagnosed with cancer but it seems like a lifetime. It's a little like after you have a baby - you have no recollection of what life was like before the baby - only not so joyous. Everything is surreal. I feel very singularly focussed but yet, not well focussed at all. I forget what I have said to who and what people said to me. I'm really hoping this symptom goes away! I told my family last night at dinner that if they hear me repeating myself in a conversation to do a finger swipe along the nose ala "The Sting" so I'll stop. To all of you, please feel free to use the same signal.
A lot of people have asked how we got here. What were my symptoms? How did this happen?
As many of you know last March, Russ was in the hospital for Pumonary Embolism. He had had a blood clot a couple of years earlier in his leg but this time he had no warning signs - just went straight through his heart and settled between his lungs. It obviously was a scary time for us but he physically felt very, very good. In fact, I remember having a horrible cold that week and wishing I could be the one laying around in bed all day! After he was released from the hospital, he found out the next week that he would not be getting his job back at ACA. Ugh! What else could happen? Obviously stress and fear dominated our lives for awhile but we were able to come to a place of peace and trust, knowing that God was in control and would take care of us.
About this same time I started feeling a pressure in my chest, right in the middle. I initially thought that my cold I had while Russ was hospitalized had moved to my chest and just settled. My sister, Jeanne, mentioned to me that I might have walking pneumonia so I made an appointment to be checked out. I coudn't get in to see my GP right away so I went to a Physicians Assistant. He was very perplexed but he did listen to me. Gave me breathing treatments. He ordered a chest X-ray, EKG and stress monitor test. Everything came out good and clean. Thinking that everything serious had been ruled out I went away feeling somewhat better but still with that pressure in my chest.
I remember sometime in May crying over our changing circumstances. I was lamenting the idea of moving away from friends that have become like family. I dreaded the idea of leaving a warm climate and possibly moving to a place that had long, cold winters. I cried for my children not having that 'house' to come back to. As I cried, the pressure in my chest became stronger and stronger like a balloon that was ready to burst. I called Russ and told him in tears "I know what I have. It's grief."
In July I was still struggling with this "pressure". I called my GP again and was able to get in to see her quite quickly. She was also perplexed as I had no pain, no problem breathing. She asked a bunch of questions, looked through my previous tests and diagnosed me with Costochondritis which is an inflammation of the cartilage around the rib cage. She told me to start taking Aleve to get rid of the symptoms. I did this but saw no improvement. We went camping in August and I remember worrying about it and wondering if it was ever going to go away.
Which brings us to October. Still no improvement though I can't say things were worsening. I went back to the Doctor. She now was really stumped and referred me to a Pulmonologist and had me scheduled for a pulmonology lab. I did the lab a couple of weeks ago and my appointment with the pulmonologist was scheduled for December 12.
Which brings us to last week Friday. I woke up in the morning with a pain in my left calf. The pain had been there a couple of weeks but it was really bad and my calf was swollen. I had this epiphany that I had a blood clot so went to Urgent Care in Redlands. I specifically told the doctor I wanted a d-dimer test. (This is a blood test that will be negative if no clot. If it is positive you may have one.) The doctor looked at me skeptically. I then told him about the pressure in my chest and that it got worse if I raised my arms or laid down. He said "That means nothing. It is only something minor." (I put this in as a warning to all - if you think something is wrong push for it!!) He did do the d-dimer test and it came back positive. But the ultrasound on my leg came back negative - no blood clot. Huh? The doctor was ready to send me home. No way. I pushed to get a cat scan. This new doctor didn't think it was necessary. Said "I want a cat scan." Was told that if I could find someone to drive me across the street to ER I could try to get one there. One funny thing, she told me to tell them I was having breathing problems so they would take me seriously. Wow.
My friend Brooke showed up to sit with me in ER and shortly thereafter, Ann showed up. Can I just say here that I have the greatest friends in the world? Who knew sitting in ER for an entire night could illicit so many laughs? As I was taken in and out, different steps being performed, I was continually told I just should have an EKG. "No. I'm not leaving here without a cat scan." They finally did a scan and at about 10:30 that night while sitting in ER I got that bad news that it was abnormal. Brooke called Russ, he headed home from Hanford, and the rest is history, albeit a short history. Which feels like forever.

Thanksgiving Morning 2009

2009-11-26T07:40:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting in my living room looking out at the mountains. Several years ago I stenciled on the cornice boxes atop my windows the following "I lift up my eyes to the mountains: Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1&2. Through the years during difficult times this verse has lifted me out of despair as I realize over and over again that my help doesn't come from within myself, but from the Creator of the mountains. Never has this verse been more poignant then this morning.
It is difficult to take this all in. Just a few days ago I was going about the business of life, doing some projects in the house, planning a Thanksgiving meal, starting to think about Christmas and getting excited that Kevin would be home. Now, it feels like everything has stopped. Or maybe more, everything has slowed down. Priorities shifted. Plans changed (don't think I will be taking a girls trip to Miami the first week of February). Decisions now need to be made about things we don't understand, not things like what color do I paint the cabinets or if I'm only going to buy one winter coat should it be black or can it be a more fun color.
What I do know - I have lung cancer but that cancer is up against a huge fighter - me. There are literally people praying for me all over the world and I cannot even begin to express my gratitude for these petitions. I love my life! I love my husband, my boys, my family and friends and I plan to enjoy them all for years to come. Please ask God to make that possible for me.
So many people have offered help and love. I will probably need to call in those promises from many of you over the next few months. Thank you for willingness to walk beside us.

Malibu Barbies

2009-11-16T18:01:00.000-08:00

Well, not really Barbies. Just Malibu. We did look good though but definitely not Barbie-ish.

Wednesday being Veteran's Day, Brooke, Ann and I took off to the Getty Villa in Malibu. This is not to be confused with the Getty Museum which is in LA. The Villa holds the antiquities from J. Paul Getty's collection. Think Greek and Roman statues with various body parts knocked off and you get the picture.

It was a beautiful day in Malibu and the museum was gorgeous. Getty had it built in the early 70's in imitation of a villa that had been partially unearthed at Pompeii. The architecture of the entire site is a museum unto itself. There are gardens surrounding the building and also an inner courtyard garden.

After viewing coins, pottery, statues, jewels, some dating back to 2,000 BC we enjoyed shopping and dinner at Third Street Promenade. I would highly recommend the Villa. It is free but you do need to get tickets for everyone in your party. There is a $15 parking charge. There is a picnic area if you want to bring in your own food (or the beach is right across the street) or a cafe if you want to spend a lot of money on lunch. Even though the museum itself probably wouldn't interest too many kids, there is a lot of room for kids to run around. Great day trip!

Big Trees

2009-11-07T18:11:00.000-08:00

Many, many years ago, I may have been about 12, my family camped in Sequoia National Park for an entire week. I don't remember much about the actual nature in the park - well, a few things.
1. There were bears. Every night, while laying in our tent trailer, we would hear those critters knocking over the trash cans looking for a midnight snack.
2. It was August. It snowed. It was really, really cold.
3. Since it was August, I had only brought one pair of long pants that about the 2nd or 3rd day, split right down the butt. Neither of my parents rushed me to the nearest store to purchase another pair, but I had to wear my sweatshirt tied around my waist until the days warmed up enough to wear shorts.
4. Every night we went to the Park Ranger show at the campground's ampitheatre. There, we heard bits and pieces of Sequoia trivia and sang campy songs such as "In Sequoia, in Sequoia, there are bears, there are bears.." to the tune of ??? - I can't think of it. I can sing it, but not come up with the original tune name.
5. We had to go to church on Sunday at the above ampitheatre on Sunday. My parents also went to the Catholic service right after the Protestant service. Fortunately, they did not force us (Susan, Dan and me) to go with them. Whether this was out of mercy or fear of corruption, it is hard to say. We will never know.
Today, I made a trip back to Sequoia with Russ. Differences? One day, jeans solidly stitched together, in November (but it was cold - as low as 39 degrees according to my car) and no camping. We really did have a nice day. As far as National Parks go, Sequoia really doesn't rate up there as the most beautiful in my book. I found John Muir Woods north of San Francisco, far more picturesque with those redwoods. But there is no denying that the trees are magnificent.

The above is the General Sherman tree, largest tree in world based on weight (how do they know that?) and volume. There are trees taller and wider, but not as 'big'!

Roots of a tree that toppled. The usual reason sequoias die is because their root system is shallow and they eventually fall over.

I just really liked this hollow tree trunk. Russ did offer to crawl in there for a picture, but then I wouldn't have been able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The Sentinel - just an average tree among sequoias - but incredibly huge.

Happy Belated Birthday to my brother, Jim Zylstra, who turned 60 on Thursday!!! I still can't believe it. And don't tell him this, but he doesn't act like he is a day over 50. He's pretty cool.

The Brothers K

2009-10-23T13:21:00.001-07:00

The impetus for me to write on my blog is often one of my sisters complaining about my lack of changing it. Thank you, Jeanne, for pushing me. I really should have been writing more. I've been to Michigan and back, went wine tasting with Russ in Paso Robles (so much fun), went to Hanford all since my last post but for some reason I just didn't feel like writing about all of that. It may be because I have been more engrossed in one of the best books I have ever read than in what I am actually doing.
I had bought "The Brothers K" months ago, wanting to choose it for book club. But when I saw it was 645 pages long I figured it might be a little difficult to finish in the 5-6 weeks that we have in between meetings. I instead chose "The River Why", an earlier book written by David James Duncan. It was a fabulous read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But I still had "The Brothers K" to get through. I picked it up a couple of times this summer but put it back down again. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the beginning, I just wasn't ready to read it.
And what I mean by ready to read it is this: You cannot snack on this book. It is a meaty, full meal that needs to be chewed on in order to swallow what it is all about. Every word, sentence, paragraph, chapter is necessary to the telling of this story of the Chance family. Frankly, it is an incredible, epic piece of work that I would recommend to everyone to read.
Now, if you are not in a stage of life where you can sit down and commit yourself to 645 pages of meat and potatoes, then don't bother. Someday, but not now, you will want to read it (I think I'm talking to all you new moms out there.)
However, if you have been looking for a book that you can lose yourself in, laugh out loud at, cry in other parts, relate to the characters and can admire each and every sentence for how perfectly it has been constructed then pick up this book and don't put it down.
If any of you read this book and you don't like it, I really don't want to hear about it. It just means you didn't get it. Sorry. But its true. You just don't get it.

It's Blooming

2009-09-13T17:03:00.000-07:00

A few years ago a woman from our church dug up all her Iris bulbs from her yard and brought them to our church for people to have if they wanted them. I grabbed a few thinking I would try but that they probably would never grow. A friend assured me that they would, even in our tough Yucaipa clay. I planted them in an area by our back fence where we never seem to be able to grow anything. A few came up but really only one has grown more than a foot. Then today, I found this! It makes me happy. Trivia: The Iris is the official flower of Yucaipa! I feel I am now a true Yucaipian (but not really sure if I want that label!).

Change it up.

2009-09-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

I've had two complaints in two days that I haven't changed my blog for awhile. That actually makes me feel really good - some people read this thing!! But the fact that I haven't changed it shows what a dull life I lead. What is there to write about? I have no cute little kids left that I can post pictures and videos of their changes. Russ and I are changing, but really, not that fast and who wants to look at pictures of us anyway?
Speaking of Russ, he came home this weekend. He did a lot of yard work and trimming. Everything now looks scalped. I prefer a more 'overgrown' look. Oh well. At least I didn't have to do it. He will head back up to Hanford this evening.
One exciting thing that happened - Russ and I were sitting in the jacuzzi the other night. Suddenly Russ said "look at this." Well, a huge tarantula had found its way into the jacuzzi with us. So, we offered it a glass of wine ...... NOT! Disgusting! I freaked out, went to grab the net and Russ hurled it over the fence into the back yard of the neighbors behind us. (we don't particularly like them anyway) Needless to say, the night in the jacuzzi ended and I now walk gingerly when outside at night. If I see it again, I'll remember to grab my camera and take a picture for all of you.

Visit from Kris and Kids - Caroline, Cole & Catherine

2009-08-24T16:41:00.000-07:00

Kris Peterson Sucher and I have been friends since freshman year at Calvin College when we were fortunate enough to be put in the same suite. She was a New Jersey girl, I was from California, we were both preacher's kids and we hit it off quickly. Twenty nine years later we still see each other as often as possible.
Last week she and her three kids made the trip to Southern California where we were able to spend some great time together. I hadn't spent any time with her kids in about four years so it was especially fun to get to know them somewhat. They are awesome! We spent a fun day at the beach, went to the LaBrea Tar Pits, a Dodgers/Cubs game and explored Hollywood on Saturday. In between days she was able to fit in another day at the beach, Wild Animal Park and Universal Studios. It was so good to catch up with her again.

Her kids outside John Wayne airport with random guy sitting on the bench.

Our view at the Dodgers game. We were in nose bleed section but it was a fun way to watch the game. And the fireworks were amazing afterwards.
Catherine and I in front of the wolf head exhibit at La Brea Tar Pits. Doesn't it look like some futuristic athletic shoe display?

As close to the Hollywood sign that we were willing to hike to.

Hanford!

2009-08-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

I returned home this afternoon after spending a couple of nights in Hanford with Russ. Wow, is life going to be different for us. It was a lot of fun. He had gone up on Tuesday "for good" and was able to get his apartment on Thursday. Thanks to a couple of old Redlands friends (thanks Julie and Judy & Phil!) we have been able to furnish the apartment without having to buy anything big. It has been a huge help to us. Phil and Judy have also put up with Russ while he has stayed at their house during the days of July that he was in Hanford. They are great and generous people and it is going to be fun getting reacquainted with them. I think Russ spends WAY too much time over there and I tell him that they are going to be so sick of him by the end of the year. But, of course, Russ insists that they love him and Judy swears he isn't in their way. So..... I better just keep my mouth shut. :)

Judy supplied Russ with some essential house warming gifts. The three most important - coffee, wine and toilet paper.

We (or I should say, Russ) did make one major purchase. His dining room and kitchen all conveniently located within steps of the living room, bathroom, bedroom and front door!!

Phil has a 1963 Pontiac Bonneville, which, as you can see is way too sexy for us old people. But we drove it over to Judy's parents house anyway and we looked mighty fine in it.

Took a spin around the lake by Judy's parents in their pontoon boat. Perfect weather and a lot of fun.

Camping, Cars and Costochondritis

2009-08-03T22:55:00.000-07:00

Say what you like about Obama, but we were able to get $4500 for this clunker. A sad day, getting rid of the old Ford F150. Bought a new car tonight - Nissan Sentra. Not exactly a luxury car but it has air conditioning!!! Hey, beggars can't be choosers!

Last week was wonderful. We camped for seven nights at Carlsbad with good friends, good food, good drink and good fun. Many games of Scrabble, Thirteen and Settlers of Catan. A variety of people joined us during the week. Food was fabulous. Jeff and Ann planned and basically did all the cooking. Who else gets Baked Ziti with Meatballs while camping in a tent? It was fabulous.

Kyle and his beautiful girlfriend, Maddie. She and her mom came and visited us for a day while camping.
Russ was also really happy with Reyer. Aren't they cute? Note our ocean view through the towels, swimsuits and chain link fence.

Brooke reacting to something Jenna said. Who knows!!??

Jeff and Ann - fabulous friends. We love them.

As for the Costochondritis mentioned in the title. Yeah, I have it and it really sucks. Have had it for about four months now but just got diagnosed. Nothing to worry about and should go away with massive doses of Aleve in about six weeks. But what a pain. (literally)

I'm Breathing Again

2009-07-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

SERVE is finished! It was great. The kids this year just, well, obeyed!! A nice change from last year. However, it certainly isn't a week that produced as many stories that we will be laughing about a year from now. I guess that is the pros and cons of having obedient kids versus mischevious ones. The latter provides much more excitement and laughter (after the fact.).

All in all it went really good. One of the organizations we worked at was Redlands Family Services. I talked to the volunteer coordinator today. He is writing an article about the SERVE kids for their newsletter. He was so impressed with them and they whole organization and mission behind Youth Unlimited. Really cool to know that we helped facilitate that. If you want to see some pictures you can go to www.redlandsserve.blogspot.com.

I was so tired after the week. Left church about 10:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. Took a nap that afternoon which got me through the rest of the day. Went to church on Sunday but probably should have stayed home. I was so tired and couldn't concentrate on anything or even sing. When we got home about 11:00, I went to take a nap and woke up 2 1/2 hours later. Fell asleep reading on the couch at 7:00 that night and didn't wake until 7:30 the next morning. Fortunately, that caught me up on my sleep.

But then this week has been so busy with work. First I had to catch up because I didn't work last week and also one of my clients wanted me to work as much as possible this week. Ughh... My heart wasn't in it. I did work quite a bit but am now done for the week.

Which is good because I was starting to stress about the fact that we are camping all next week at the beach! Cannot wait to get out of the hot weather and go to South Carlsbad. But first have to do all the cleaning around the house (that hasn't been done for a month!! - yes, I know - it is gross.), laundry, grocery shopping, etc., etc., etc., etc....... But it will all be worth it. In a couple of days I'll be on the beach, reading a book with a glass of wine. Lovely.

The Craziness that is called SERVE

2009-07-11T06:59:00.000-07:00

Today 89 people show up at The River for SERVE. I think I am ready. There are so many people who helped. I don't know how smaller churches do it. By week's end we will all be exhausted but it will be well worth it. It's going to be very hot next week and just hope that the kids don't try to get "really tan". Also hope they remember to drink water constantly!
And I hope I can keep my confidence up. I love doing projects like this and think that I am good at it. But I have already fallen into the trap of worrying about the people who so obviously dislike me. This erodes my confidence instantly and I just want to go curl up in the fetal position somewhere. So if you are reading this and want to pray for me this week, please pray that I don't allow the personal feelings of other people towards me to effect my ability to get done what needs to get done.
I'll let you know next week how it all went!

Viva Las Vegas

2009-06-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

Russ and I decided to get away for a couple of nights and chose Las Vegas as our destination. We have not been there for years. The last time we went we met Tim and Jill Van Soelen who had flown in from South Dakota. It was a long time ago because when I look at the pictures I was far skinnier then I am now.
Why Las Vegas? Cheap. We paid $16 a night at The Four Queens. Yes, you need to over look a few things. The size of the rooms are small, but why do you need a big room? It was clean, the bed was comfortable and the air conditioner ran all night. (it was well over 100 degrees outside). We gambled and had mixed results, went to see "The Hangover" which we thought was hilarious but will only recommend to those of you that can handle raunchy and f-words, and we bowled two games. I came SO CLOSE to finally beating Russ in bowling. I always choke though. Some day.... Some day.....
Now on to more altruistic endeavors. SERVE begins Saturday July 11. I am starting to get really excited but seriously, am I ready for this? It seems like there is so much to do. I plan on going to church tomorrow and setting up an "office" in the conference room and just working all day on stuff. It works so much better than trying to do things at home. Too many interruptions here (like TV, Facebook, blogs, reading, housework (jk)).

Books

2009-06-19T16:21:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me it is no surprise that I love to read. When I was a little girl in Redlands during the 1970's my mom would take me to the library every week along with my sister, Susan. We would both take out the maximum number of books you could in one week, which I think was 15. Since we weren't allowed to watch much TV, we spent the majority of our time reading. How I wish I had written down every book I have ever read! But it didn't occur to me to do that then. It has occurred to many times throughout the years since then but I didn't start recording them without fail until March of 2005. I will write down the name, author and a very short summary in a journal I keep in my living room. Sometimes I will just write if I liked the book or not.
I am not good, however, at remembering what books are about. When I go back and reread the summaries sometimes I won't have a clue as to what the book was about even if I write something like "Great book!! Highly recommend!!". Apparently I do not have very good retention.
I always hesitate to recommend books to people with the exception of my fellow book club members and my sister, Lois. I hate telling someone that I really enjoyed a certain book only to have them come back to me and say "How could you have liked that book!? It was horrible?" or worse yet "It was disgusting! Sick!". Gee, what does that make me? Horrible? Sick? Disgusting?
I looked back in my records today and counted that since the beginning of 2009 I have read 19 books. I thought I would list the ones that I enjoyed and then decided I would list all of them. Just to clarify, the books with the asterik in front, I liked. No asterik, no like. But that doesn't mean I'm recommending any of them to any of you. Proceed with caution.....

"The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" Junot Diaz
"Twilight" Stephanie Meyer
*"The Senator's Wife" Sue Miller
*"Infidel" Ayran Hirsi Ali
*"Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith" Gina Nahai
*"Outliers" Malcom Gladwell
*"The Secret Scripture" Sebastian Barry
*"Revolutionary Road" Richard Yates
*"Frankenstein" Mary Shelley
*"Cutting for Stone" Abraham Verghese
"Crossing California" Adam Langer
*"Still Alice" Lisa Genova
*"Drowning Ruth" Christina Schwarz
*"The River Why" David James Duncan
*"The Lord of the Flies" William Golding
*" Dirty Blonde" Lisa Scottoline
"Terminal Freeze" Lincoln Child
"One Fifth Avenue" Candace Bushnell
*"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Stieg Larsson

Unexpected visitor

2009-06-15T10:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon we had a graduation party for Kyle and Kara. We had an unexpected visitor from the house behind us. What do you think? Time for a new fence? The dog actually went through the fence - not over, under, or around - but through. Russ tried to stuff him back to the other side.

Graduation

2009-06-14T20:19:00.001-07:00

Last night Kyle graduated from ACA! Great night. Russ gave the graduation address and he did a wonderful job. Kyle introduced him and he did a great job also. Today, Kara (my niece) graduated from Loma Linda University with her doctorate in Physical Therapy. The first doctor in the family!

It's all over except the crying

2009-06-07T11:52:00.001-07:00

This week is graduation week for ACA. It seems as if there are a lot of milestones for our family. Yesterday was baccaleurate for the senior class (yes, we have this at a Christian school. No idea why. Doesn't make sense. But they don't mess with tradition at ACA.) Last week of school is for exams and fortunately, Kyle doesn't have too many. Kevin comes home on Wednesday for two and 1/2 weeks - can't wait to see him and spend time with him. Russ' parents fly in on Thursday for a week visit and to be here for graduation. They haven't been here since Kevin's graduation three years ago. Jeanne and Tim and Sharon (who is visiting T & J in Tucson from Michigan) will be here on Friday. 2nd birthday party for my cute great-nephew Micah on Friday night. Saturday night is ACA graduation. Sunday, my niece Kara Banks graduates from Loma Linda University with her doctorate in Physical Therapy. Yeah Kara!! In the afternoon we will have a party for her and Kyle at our house to celebrate their achievements.

And of course, this is Russ' last week at ACA. Very strange to think that he will not be in Redlands next year. He was chosen to be the graduation speaker by the Senior class so I guess that will be his last official act as principal. I think that is a great final job to have and a real honor. Where will life take us in the next few years? Only God knows.

Another big milestone? Paid the last tuition payment to ACA on Friday. Kind of liked that one. :)

It's Raining!

2009-06-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't live in water starved areas you may not hear or understand the excitement in that title. Rain like this in the first week of June is such a rare gift. Even more of a gift - thunder and lightening. "Whoopee!", those of you from more watery states may say. But when I first thought I saw lightening this morning and then had it confirmed by a big clap of thunder it just felt so healing. I know - strange. But about this time of year, everything starts to look so dirty around here. And if it rains enough today, there is a chance that it will be cleaned off at least for a few weeks. Check out my skylight. Filthy still, because I took this after only the first few drops of rain and I had thought it had stopped for the day. Now it is still coming down and there is hope that this window in my roof will be clean. If not, I will have to wait many months to be able to see through it. You may have to click on the image to actually see how dirty it is.

Another gift from this storm - As Kyle walked out the house today he turned back and said "Mom, come look at this." He pointed to the sky and showed me the cloud formations. I told him it reminded me of something but couldn't name it. He said "It's 'Starry Night'". From Van Gogh. And it was.

So now you know why I posted a Van Gogh masterpiece and a picture of my dirty skylight in the same post.

Jasmine

2009-05-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

I wish you could smell these. If I had to pick my favorite aroma in the world, I think I would choose jasmine. But not just any jasmine. It would have to be the scent from the plant on our patio, mid-May, at night, while the whole house fan is on and it flows into the bedroom. Love it.

Milestone

2009-05-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

Last night was Prom. For my baby. It is hard to believe that this year is almost finished. The prom was at The Queen Mary in Long Beach. Kyle had a great time because, as he put it, "we made our own fun." This afternoon he went air softing with a group of guys in the field below our street. Now he isn't feeling too hot and thinks he is getting sick. And tomorrow he leaves for his Senior Trip to San Diego for a couple of nights. Hope he feels better soon. Have to post the tux photo from prom!!

On another note, my sister Sharon! Oh my - her daughter Sara is getting married Friday, May 22. This morning she (Sharon) had surgery for a ruptured appendix. AAARGHH! What timing! I guess we could say it is good timing as it didn't happen this coming Friday. But still, how difficult. She doesn't know when she'll get out of the hospital. Her two other children both live out of state but will be coming some time this week. I feel so bad for her.

Vegetation

2009-05-11T17:01:00.001-07:00

Being a farm girl (hey! I work on a farm.) I thought I would post some pictures of the plant life around here. First off a look at my two succulent beds and how much they have grown since last year. I don't know why we ever tried to grow anything else under these windows on the patio. These have grown the best by far. All the grasses and lambs ear we broke off or transplanted from around the house. All the cacti were purchased from the .99 cent store for, you got it, .99 cents. The first is the bed closest to the pool, first from 2008 and second from today. The second set is in the bed under the kitchen window. As you can tell, we had to change some plants out in that one, but the remaining have grown like weeds.

And now my vegetable garden - in pots. Yucaipa dirt is like clay and I am too lazy to improve on that, so any kind of vegetable needs to be put in pots. I started doing this a few years ago and have had mixed results. Last year was terrible but from the way things are going this year, it looks a little better. First my one zuchinni plant. Never tried this before but everyone always seems to want to give them away, so if I can't grow this I might as well give up.

And then two cucumber plants, a jalepeno and a bunch of red onions. (Not to be confused with a bunch of green onions. Russ had trouble with this once when I sent him to the store for a bunch of green onions and he came home with five red onions.) The pot with the flowers started out as basil. No, the basil didn't turn into flowers, but the basil died and I have officially given up on herbs.

And then, of course, the tomato plants. Four plants in two pots, all different varieties. I mistakenly threw away the little plastic thingies that say what kind of tomatoes they are so I will be surprised when they start to fruit.

And that leaves us with my favorite plant around the house right now. When I came downstairs on Mother's Day I found these on my kitchen counter. Kyle had worked the night before and bought them for me. (sidenote - he did NOT get an employee discount on them.) So sweet and so beautiful. Both Kyle and the flowers.

The Beginning of the End

2009-04-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first event for the seniors at ACA leading up to graduation. Every year a senior brunch is held. It was a nice morning - great food, one of the teachers spoke and then a slide presentation of the kids.

Easter

2009-04-13T07:44:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter with Ben, Kristen, Caleb, Micah and Nick, Julie and Eva. Good food and good friends. The kids enjoyed looking for Easter eggs. Caleb was very mature and subdued, finding eggs and putting them in his bucket, saving the candy for later in the day. He was very mature. Kristen had to strip Micah almost naked because he ate as he went along. After the first egg his new Easter shirt was smothered with chocolate. After the second egg his pants were smothered in chocolate. Fortunately it was warm enough to just run around in a diaper.

Kristen couldn't get the candy open fast enough. I wonder how Micah's tummy felt last night. :)

Eva was more demure then Micah. But she was also stripped to a diaper later. But since she is a girl and much more modest then Micah, no pictures.

Hope all of you had a wondeful Easter!

Random Pictures

2009-04-06T12:59:00.001-07:00

This is while I was sitting in my favorite part of my house during the favorite part of my day. It was late afternoon to early evening so the sun was setting. I'm sitting (or lying down) on the couch in the living room reading. I love the way the sun comes in my back windows and casts shadows throughout the house. These two were outside in the backyard. It appears that the larger lizard, lovingly has its arm around the shoulder of the smaller one. But after closer inspection, it was discovered that the smaller one has the head of the larger one in a death grip bite. Is this some kind of mating ritual among lizards? Territorial fighting?

My baby boy no longer has virgin ears. Check out the lobes.

Craig, Lois and Kaitlin are in Southern California for their spring break. They have a condo in Dana Point so Russ and I went and spent the day with them yesterday. It was fun to just visit with them. Jeanne was also here in So CA and she along with the kids and grandkids came down for some beach time and dinner (and Ben's sister, Lisa, who is visiting from Idaho). It was a perfect OC day.

We celebrated the April birthdays with a cake. Lois - April 2, Kristen - April 6, Russ - April 8, and Kara - April 12. 158 is the sum of all the years. Anyone want to guess how old each is!?

The Best Dinner Ever

2009-03-23T08:48:00.000-07:00

Last week, Brooke and I decided that Jeff VM needed to cook for us. Since I have no shame, I called him up on Thursday under the guise of wanting to talk with Ann, and then invited Russ, Brooke and myself over for dinner on Saturday night. He said that gave him only a couple days to plan (which gives you a pretty good idea as to how his meals are not simple). But after about 30 seconds he caved and 'invited' us over.

Saturday Ann emailed us and told us to wear bikinis and veils because they were cooking a Moroccan meal. I would have done that but I don't own a bikini or veil (ha).

When we arrived the drinks were waiting and the food was well on its way. I can't even begin to describe how wonderful this food was. One reason I can't describe it is because I don't remember all the ingredients! I do know there was saffron and chicken and chickpeas and dried apricots and mint and carrots and couscous with almonds and other yummies. An incredible side dish was orange slices drizzled with honey mixed with cinnamon. Of course, the oranges were from the groves of Jeff's dad which made them extra good. Yumm, yumm, yummmy.

Jeff not wanting his face shown due to his humility.

The above mentioned oranges - with mint.

The carrots and couscous - oh my.

The carnage.

Mooooooo - Part Deux

2009-03-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

(Cow not actual member of herd from either dairy mentioned in this article. For illustrative purposes only.)

Last week when I headed out to Mira Vista, Garrett, the owner of the dairy told me that the dairy next door was looking for a bookkeeper and he had told them about me. So I called them and scheduled to go in to meet the manager today at 10:00. This dairy has been there for years. In fact, Garrett's sister used to live there. But for about a year now, the new owner has come in and redid everything. Put up all new shades and barns and levelled everything out, etc., etc. They are finally at the point where they have started delivering cows and hope to milk soon.

I went to Hollandia Farms (the name of the dairy) this morning and the manager, Marinus, was out on the farm so I just started working with the current bookkeeper who has been driving up from Escondido to do this job as a favor. After about two hours I finally met my new boss for the first time. I told him I felt a little weird but that it looked like I was working for him. He said 'no problem'. It initially should be about 5-10 hours a week but may increase as time goes on.

I love getting jobs this easily. I feel very blessed.

so....very.....tired......

2009-03-11T07:03:00.000-07:00

Since Russ got out of the hospital I just can't catch up. I love that I have a lot of work, and it is definitely needed, but man oh man. So tired. I just need a day where I can sleep but I don't see that in the future. At least not the near future. It is amazing how, when you are used to having a few days at home a week, you quickly get behind when you lose that. I have lost control over my house, but in all honestly, I probably never had much control over my house.

Russ is doing well and has been back to work since Monday. He needs to go to the doctor again tomorrow. Going to the lab to have his blood checked will be a regular part of his routine. We aren't sure how often he will need to go yet but I would think a minimum of once a month. Now that he is out of the hospital we have heard of so many people who lost their lives to pulmonary embolism and are, once again, so thankful that this was caught in time.

Next week both Kevin and Kyle have milestone birthdays. Kevin will be 21 on Monday and Kyle will be 18 on Friday. It is hard to believe. I am posting a picture of them when they were three and one. This is one of only two pictures that I have of them on my computer when they were little. Some day I will have to scan all my photos in. It will not happen anytime soon - see first paragraph. (oops it turned out little - oh well)

A New Week

2009-03-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

Anybody who reads this blog knows that Russ was in the hospital for four nights this past week. What craziness. It was a relief to have him diagnosed after wondering what was wrong for three weeks, but scary to think about what might have happened. We don't dwell on that. He feels really good but will have to work on getting his blood INR levels even. Anyone who has been on coumadin before knows what that is all about. Basically he will be making a lot of trips to the lab this week for blood work to make sure he is taking the correct dose. It is a guessing game. Here are some pictures of Russ with visitors. Not everyone that visited Russ climbed into bed with him but these two did!

I am ready for life to get back to normal. But as I look ahead the light at the end of the tunnel is a little warped. If someone could get back to me on what normal looks like, I would appreciate it.

Am I getting old?

2009-02-26T07:08:00.000-08:00

My life has been very busy lately. I won't go into the details because nothing bugs me more than to get into the 'my-life-is-so-busy-wars'. We are all busy and all get stressed over different things. Something that stresses me out might be a blip on the screen for another person and something that doesn't bother me at all might be the straw that breaks the camels back for another.
But (and isn't there always a but?) I think my problem is I'm getting slower. Being quick and efficient is what I have always prided myself on and now I feel as if I just slog (is that a word?) through my work as if everything is wet and heavy and impossible to deal with. I sat at my computer for approximately three hours yesterday going through the paperwork that is accumulating on my desk/dining room table. At the end of the day I was trying to remember what I had done and just couldn't come up with enough to justify three hours of 'work'. At least I got the FAFSA done for next year. I'm sure that will bring in thousands of dollars to help pay tuition next year. So, if I looked at it that way I just earned thousands of dollars in a short three hours - NOT. But it will allow Kevin to get another fat student loan that he will have to pay off.
I'm off to the dairy today. It is a good thing that is where I am going because I am getting a cold and just don't feel up to making myself pretty this morning. Fortuntately the cows and Dottie the dog don't care what I look like.

Lake Michigan in Winter

2009-02-09T06:31:00.000-08:00

I was at Geneva Shores along Lake Michigan this weekend. The weather was beautiful. It is the first time I have been to the lake in the winter since Russ and I were dating and in college sometime in the early 80's. I remember walking on the ice then and being freaked out. Needless to say, did not step off solid land. But it really was beautiful to see.
Heading home to California this afternoon. I'm looking forward to getting back but my week is going to be so busy. It will have to be one of those "this too shall pass" weeks. Can't wait to see Russ, Kyle, Ann and Brooke but love being here with Kevin and my sisters. Also got to see my friend Kris Sucher last night - we've been friends since 1980 when we were suitemates at Calvin. We both still look exactly the same. :)

Untitled

2009-01-29T19:48:00.000-08:00

First off, the recipe from the previous post was a hit. I asked all three males in my house how they liked the casserole and their responses were: "It was good", "OK", "Mhuhedh". You may not think that would mean it was a hit. But the reason I know it was is that the leftovers were gone very, very quickly. The only change I would make to the recipe is to put some chicken broth in it because after baking it seemed to be a little too dry.
I started working for a new company (customer?) this week. They are downsizing so let their accounting manager go and have asked me to come in and try to streamline things a little and see if the job can be done in a different way. They have a bookkeeper who will have to pick up a lot of the load. I've put in about 15 hours there this week and will be there all day tomorrow. I spent about 4 hours at the dairy this afternoon and it was so peaceful compared to this place. Less people and more cows!
Kyle has a B-ball game tomorrow night at home. He has been playing really well lately and it is so much fun to watch his games. I will miss this when it is all done.
Saturday morning my plane leaves from Ontario at 6:00 a.m. to fly to Grand Rapids, MI! Can't wait to see Kevin and the rest of the family. I am having dinner with a college friend, Kris, on Sunday night and lunch with a high school friend, Jane, on Monday. Now if only the sun would come out, the snow would melt, and the temperature would rise about 40 degrees.

Internet Anxiety Leading to other Random things

2009-01-21T16:22:00.000-08:00

Before the 'internet' became an everday occurrence I was besieged with a sickness which I labeled "WWW Anxiety". As websites started popping up on TV ads, in print ads and in articles I felt this overwhelming need to visit each and every site. Of course, I was way too lazy to do this which in hind sight is probably a good thing. I would have been addicted to the internet much earlier in life. But my problem was that I felt that if I didn't check out every website that I heard about somehow I would be missing out on something really cool. I had no concept of the fact that there were thousands and thousands and thousands of websites and their numbers were doubling every day. Now that it is 20 years down the road, I realize that my WWW Anxiety, though it may have felt real, was easily cured with the knowledge that most websites are extremely boring.
But now, I have this overwhelming desire to look at food sites and I know many of my friends have the same predilection. Along with that comes the desire to want to cook and taste all the delicious recipes that can be found. Obviously, impossible. My favorite food site to date is www.foodgawker.com. The pictures are beautiful and when you click on them they lead you to all sorts of foodie blogs.
What I have started doing is making up my own recipes based on recipes I have found on line. Usually I'm not organized enough to plan my meals when I go shopping, so I buy ingredients that I know I saw online and hope that some day I will have all the ingredients to create a recipe. And if not, I wing it!!
So tonight I winged it (wung it?) and it tastes so good. Actually, I have only tasted it after it has been prepared and before it goes in the oven because I'm going out for dinner tonight with Brooke. I hope the males of this house like it.
There was a recipe on www.pioneerwoman.com that looked good with chicken, bacon, diced tomatos etc. But it was made with chicken drummettes (or wings) and those aren't my favorite. Wings need to be crisp and preferably hot and spicy. But the chicken/bacon combo sounded really good so I made the following. Most of the ingredient choices were because it was what I had in the house!

Boneless/skinless Chicken Breasts (I used 1 1/2 - or 3 if you count a half a whole!)
Bacon (I used about 8 slices)
1/3 onion
1 can diced italian flavored tomatoes
Lawry's Seasoning Salt (About 1 tsp)
Pasta (I used macaroni because the others I had in the house were jumbo shells, mini shells and linguine - none of which seemed to fit the bill)
Various cheeses (I used Feta, Goat, and Parmesan because, well, isn't that what we all have leftover in our house!!??)

First I poached the chicken and cut it into bite sized pieces. Then I started the pasta and the bacon. After the bacon was finished cooking I removed from pan and diced into pieces. I then diced the onion and sauted it in the bacon grease. (My bacon wasn't too greasy but you may have to get rid of some if yours is.) Place the cut chicken in with the onion so it will soak in some of the bacon and onion flavor. Sprinkle the chicken with the Seasoning Salt. When the chicken was once again heated through and was starting to brown up in the pan, I added the cheese. The parmesan was grated but the feta and goat cheese' need to melt so they could be stirred through. Then mix the bacon in and the diced tomatoes. After everything is well blended stir in the pasta. OK - this is the point where I started to eat it and I don't want to stop. But it isn't for me so I need to. I plan on popping it in the oven as soon as I am done writing this. Probably for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

I'll let you know tomorrow what the rest of the family thought of it.

No News

2009-01-20T20:13:00.000-08:00

I was surprised to see that I haven't written on this since January 7. That seems so long ago. (Before I go any further, I need to tell you that the 'g' does not work very well on my new computer. So if you find typos and that typo is a missing 'g' don't blame me. I need to call Dell. That is torture).

I really enjoyed watching all the festivities today around Obama. It is so exciting to me to see older African Americans take this all in. I truly believe that those of us who have never been refused service, never been denied a position we are qualified for, never been shut out of a club or organization, or have been otherwise discriminated against because of the color of our skin, cannot truly understand the excitement and pride that these people must feel to see one of their own become the President of the USA. How can we not share in their excitement? I have been so disappointed with some people with their take on this. I see their status' on Facebook and just want to shake them and scream at them and try to make them understand that their hatred is just coming through their words. Instead, I just deleted them as friends so I don't have to see their poison anymore. But should I say something to them directly? I don't know. I think Obama is a good man and I pray that he will be a good President.

I am missing Kevin and wishing we can have contact with him. But no news is ood news so I do not worry. I will see him on January 31 when I et to fly to Michian. (I did not edit this pararaph. Notice the missing 'g's)

Family Pictures

2009-01-07T07:14:00.000-08:00

We had our family pictures taken by Mark Leonard Imaging on December 20. Mark and his wife, Jill, are friends of ours. Mark now works at ACA an office away from Russ. Jill works at RCS. And they both are so gifted that they seem to have their hands in everything. (thankfully)

Here is a link to our pictures. What do you think?

http://markleonardimaging.smugmug.com/gallery/7025888_bQ4i7#449854027_bRynm

Things change

2009-01-05T19:47:00.000-08:00

Look how they have grown. They were fun then and they are fun now. I'm not sure which time I like more. In 1991 they were definitely more work. But it certainly seemed to be a more carefree time. But as the kids get bigger the problems get bigger and then the worrying gets more heart breaking. And then I'm told that we will NEVER stop worrying about our children. I used to think that once they got out of high school then I would stop worrying. WRONG. So I might as well accept the fact that all the women I know with older children are right in their wisdom - I will always worry about them. I am very thankful that, to date, neither Kevin or Kyle have given me too much to be concerned about. Now if we can just get Kevin safely to Michigan tomorrow and then safely to Jamaica on Thursday and then keep him safe in Jamaica and then bring him back to Michigan safely and then help not get stressed about school and then help him not to worry about the future and then and then and then.......

So glad I'm not in control of all this but that Someone else is.

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T21:45:00.000-08:00

2009. What will it bring? I certainly can't complain about 2008. It started with a bang - Russ was diagnosed with a blood clot on January 1, 2008. But he survived and is well. Kyle had his surgery on February 22, 2008. Six weeks later he was back to school and this afternoon I watched him play an awesome game of basketball. He has amazed us with his fortitude and stamina and recovery. Kevin has been healthy with the exception of a weird knee thing which we will have to take care of this coming summer. (stay tuned) And I have the usual pains and aches of turning 46 which puts me closer to 50 than I would like to be.

But everything has been good.

We (Russ and I) were both able to take trips to Michigan to visit family and friends. In June our niece Kara Adama married Nathan Banks here in California and all my siblings were able to be here with the exception of Jim and Josephine. A lot of fun and laughs. We were able to spend time at South Carlsbad Beach with great friends. Russ and I celebrated 25 years of marriage with a four night trip to Seattle which was very fun.

What more could we ask for?

I have been so blessed with work. Was able to make enough money this year to pay the bills but still had a lot of time to just relax and read and be a part time stay at home wife/mom/kept woman/whatever..... Whatever you choose to call it, it was an enjoyable year work wise.

I have wonderful friends. My good friends Brooke and Ann and I decided we needed to start up book club again so gathered some new people and starting reading and meeting about every five to six weeks. It has been a great reading year. Shall I list the books I have read? Ok, I hear a resounding YES so will! Now, I'm not recommending all these books, (I will even list the ones I'm not proud of reading) but these are the ones I plowed through in 2008...
"The Husband" Dean Koontz
"The Overlook" Michael Connelly
"The Tenth Circle" Jodi Picoult
"Truth or Bare" Richard Cahill (trashy - for those of you who care)
"My Sister's Keeper" Jodi Picoult
"The Quickie" James Patterson (horrible! don't read it!)
"Bleachers" John Grisham
"Rasputin's Daughter" Robert Alexander
"Straight from the Heart" Tami Hoag (See above - "The Quickie")
"The Nanny Diaries" Mcalughlin & Kraus
"Wrapped in Rain" Charles Marting
"Nineteen Minutes"Jodi Picoult
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" Mark Twain
"The Wheel of Darkness" Douglas Preston & Lincoln Childs
"Salem Falls" Jodi Picoult
"The Lottery" Patricia Wood
"Dance of Death" Preston & Childs
"Picture Perfect" Jodi Picoult (finished with her - got in a rut)
"Basket Case" Carl Hiaasen
"Sole Survivors" Dean Koontz
"Moghul Buffet" Cheryl Bertrand
"The Catcher in the Rye" JD Salinger
"The Double Bind" Chris Bohjalian
"A Good Indian Wife" Amre Cherin
"All the Pretty Horses" Cormac McCarthy
"The People of the Book" Geraldine Brooks
"The Yiddish Policemans Union" Michael Chabon
"One Good Turn" Kate Atkinson
"Crow Lake" Mary Larson
"Certain Girls" Jennifer Weiner
"Blasphemy" Douglas Preston
"The Appeal" John Grisham
"The Road" Cormac McCarthy
"Floreana" Margaret Wittmer
"A Wedding in September" Anita Shreve
"Skylight Confessions" Alice Hoffman
"The Two Minute Rule" Robert Crais
"The Memory Room" Mary Rakow

So now you all know what I did this year!!! It was wonderful!!!

Here's hoping that 2009 is just as great!

It is finished - well, almost

2008-12-24T08:31:00.001-08:00

Before: After:

We think it is quite an improvement. I have been waiting to post these pictures because the shower door was supposed to come in this week but it looks like it won't make it. So, we can use everything but the shower. And we have some touching up to do with paint, hanging of towel bars and that sort of thing. But otherwise - it's done!!

Except for paying the bill............. But it was worth it.

It's Christmas Time

2008-12-18T14:36:00.001-08:00

Last night Kyle came into our bedroom about 9:30 pm with a snowball in his hand. I didn't even know it was snowing. It had rained all day - amazingly hard for California. And snow was predicted down to the 2,000 foot level. We had just enough snow to cover the green of the grass. The neighbors across the street were able to scrape up enough to make a respectable snowman. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures. But I figure that most of you who read this see snow all the time

Kevin is in the air on the way to LAX. His flight arrives at 7:00 p.m. Russ and I are going to leave here about 4:00 and hope to make it there in three hours. If we get there early, we will have dinner. If we get there late (please, please, please no) Kevin will have to just wait awhile.

It's coming along.....

2008-12-13T08:50:00.001-08:00

We are still waiting for the bathroom to be finished. Mark went a little crazy this week and apparently started tiling the walls. Oops - Picture turned the wrong way. That's better. I guess he did do the floors. Monday he grouts and then on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday puts together everything. I told him I wanted him out of there by Thursday because that's the day Kevin comes home.

We are having some problems deciding where to put the toilet. It really isn't working where we have it now. Creates quite a mess and the flushing isn't too good. On the flip side, it is a few steps closer to the bed. Any ideas?

Per Request

2008-12-05T12:46:00.000-08:00

I have been asked to replace the lovely picture of Jeanne chowing on a turkey leg with pictures from the bathroom. Things are moving s....l....o.....w.....l....y...... He is a perfectionist and I try to tell him that we aren't and he should just slap those tiles up there. But he wants to do it right and of course, that is better.

Here is a picture of the floor that we will one day stand on to take a shower! No, the red is not tile but just some backing stuff he has on the wall. And here is the bench that Russ plans on sitting on while taking a shower. The ledge at the top is for our shampoo, etc.

And a view of the "almost" completely tiled shower which we will some day be able to get clean in. Also, note the shelf which one day Russ will be able to place his toiletries.

And here are the vanities that one day will contain sinks and faucets and will be used to wash and brush teeth and shave in as opposed to having my yellow sweater set hanging over it.

And here is the mirror (one of them) propped up against the wall outside are bedroom door where we can watch ourselves walk upstairs but will one day be hung above the vanities (see above) that will be placed in the bathroom (see further above).

But until then, we live in dust and dirt and tools.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-30T17:15:00.000-08:00

We had a really nice Thanksgiving. It was quiet and restful. Jeanne, however was unable to control her urges and started chowing down before the rest of us could even get to the table.

Russ did the manly duties of carving the turkey. Note the beautiful (yet manly) apron.
John and Brooke did a lovely job putting together the greens, pear, pecan and bleu cheese salad.

Perils of Online Buying - II

2008-11-21T08:25:00.000-08:00

After calling the company to complain that I received a toilet paper holder instead of a shower faucet, they informed me that it was on back order and wouldn't be able to ship until December 9. The rep said, and I quote "That is probably why you received the wrong item." Hmmm - wouldn't it have been better to just not ship anything or did they think we could magically form a shower faucet out of a toilet paper holder. So I had to go to Lowes and pick something off the shelf. Well, first I picked a special order faucet, got the quote, and promptly turned around and picked something off the shelf. But the bathroom is coming along nicely but definitely will NOT be done before Thanksgiving.
Speaking of Thanksgiving - I love this holiday. Russ' brother Dan and his daughter Kristin, will be here from Salt Lake City. Tim & Jeanne from Tucson, of course. Ben and Kristen and Micah and Caleb - the cutest little boys in the world (along with Evan Adama who has to go to Michigan with his parents.) Jordan, my nephew who lives in Idywild hopefully will be here unless he is called out to count plants in the burn area. And my good friend Brooke will be here also. Who I really, really, really wish could be here is Kevin. I haven't seen him since July 29 and I miss him so much. He'll be home on December 18 and I can't wait. Love you Kevin!

The Perils of Online Buying

2008-11-17T15:27:00.001-08:00

Remember this beautiful shower faucet that I purchased on line the other day. I was very excited for it to get here and was surprised to get a notice that it had shipped on Friday already. Today it was at my door but I was somewhat leery as the size of the package just didn't seem big enough. When I picked it up I thought there had to be something wrong - it was too light.

Well this is what I got. A beautiful Toilet Paper holder! It matches as it is from the same collection but they really aren't one and the same. I'm hoping that they will allow me to keep it for my troubles. It is hard to find good help these days.

New Bath - Five Days later

2008-11-13T18:58:00.000-08:00

Progress is being made in our bathroom. First is a picture of the shower head that I have on order (only we are getting it in brushed nickel). Sink faucets are the same design. (for some reason I can't get the underline off)
The second picture is of all the dust that is accumulating in our bedroom from the work. This is over EVERYTHING. Now if I was a good Dutch woman I would be dutifully cleaning our entire bedroom every night. But I'm not a good Dutch woman nor am I a very good cleaner, so therefore we just breath it in every night. Good thing none of us has asthma - yet.
The next picture is of our recessed lighting that replaced the flourescent industrial looking bulbs. And the last one is the shower being built up. Tomorrow I am ordering the tile.
So far we are only two times over budget - all is well and we are doing our part for the economy.

New Bath

2008-11-08T17:03:00.000-08:00

We are in the process of having our master bath redone. It is partially out of necessity. The shower hasn't worked (meaning there is only cold water) for about a year now. We checked with a couple people to have it fixed and in order to do that the wall would need to be torn apart resulting in quite a bit of money. And we would still be stuck with the same old ugly bathroom only with hot water. So, we finally decided to bite the bullet and redo it. The first picture is Russ scraping the popcorn off the ceiling. But no, he isn't doing the rest of the work. The other pictures are obvious. Will keep you informed as the project moves along!

SLO

2008-11-03T19:44:00.001-08:00

I had a great time this weekend going to San Luis Obispo with my friends Ann and Brooke. Brooke's brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Tom and Susan, live there and enjoy entertaining. We have been there a couple of times before so I knew it was going to be great fun. It is about a 4 1/2 hour drive and we left at 4:30 on Friday afternoon. When we got there, they had dinner waiting - rustic bread, pear salad, spicy chicken gumbo. It was so good. We then played a game of Scrabble and watched a move "In Bruge" (which I highly recommend but only if you can tolerate the 'f-word').

The next morning the women took off and walked along the cliff by the ocean - I think it was called Montana de Oro. It was beautiful. In the afternoon we headed off to the wineries of the Central Coast. Great fun. That evening went out for dinner in Cambria and then went to listen to some live music by Jill Knight. (no, you probably haven't heard of her. I hadn't either but she was very good.)

Next day we had a late brunch, shopped in San Luis Obispo for a few hours and then headed home.

Today I head out at 5:45 am to go down to Norwalk and work for the day. Tomorrow will do the same.

One more thing - when I got home tonight the master bathroom was completely gutted. Finally!

Kyle

2008-10-21T19:27:00.000-07:00

Kyle called Russ today just as he got home from work - about 4:15. He had gotten a cut on his arm during basketball practice and thought he needed stitches. Apparently he went to stand by a big fan in the gym to cool off, and some of his teammates ran up behind him to give him a big hug. He landed on the fan and isn't exactly sure what cut him (he knows it wasn't a fan blade) but it is about 3 cm long on the inside of his right forearm. So we went to ACA, picked him up and I brought him to urgent care. The cut is really deep but it is on a slant so the edges of the skin are together and he didn't need stitches. They just put steri-strip on it.

Just another exciting day. Almost as exciting as my jalepeno story in the previous post.

Garden

2008-10-21T08:46:00.001-07:00

My vegetable "garden", if I choose to plant one, consists of pots on the patio. In May I planted about four tomato plants, five or six bean plants, a green pepper, some garlic and a jalepeno pepper. In the past I've had pretty good success with this method but this year was pathetic. I had a lot of blossoms, but not much fruit. There was maybe eight small tomatoes, all that tasted great, about ten beans, no garlic, no peppers, no jalepenos. One by one, I quit watering, let the plant die and pulled it from its pot.

But the jalepeno I never let die. Not that I continued to water it manually, but it sat close enough to the edge of the patio that it received just enough water from the lawn to keep it alive. Yesterday I went out to look at the plant and found jalapenos!! It's the middle of October and my summer garden is finally bearing. Better late than never!

My Toe - Update

2008-10-18T07:27:00.001-07:00

I think that Susan was right - it must have been a bug bite. It still hurts a little but I can now walk without limping and sort of bend my toe again. But what kind of bug was it? Very strange.

Thanks for all the cards, prayers, phone calls and meals. (just kidding on the meals but it would have been nice :)). (just kidding again, I didn't need meals).

My Toe

2008-10-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

It hurts and I don't know what happened. Left foot. Toe next to big toe. (you know - the one that on some people is longer than their big toe. Do these people now call their second toe their 'big toe'? And if so, what do they call their real big toe?)

All I did was walk from the car to the house. Then it started to hurt. I didn't bump it into anything, no one stepped on it and there seems to be no perceivable reason why this is happening. But for some reason, when I walk it feels like it is dislodged from my foot. It is swollen. It stings when I walk. I limp.

What happened?

Busy again

2008-10-09T23:13:00.000-07:00

You know how things start to pile up and in order to get through everything you have to look at a date in the future and say "that is the day it will be over"? Well, tomorrow is that day. The last few weeks have been crazy busy for me. I'm sure compared to some people's life (like my brother Jim who apparently is extremely busy all the time. But then again, he is quite a bit older than me so maybe he just doesn't handle things as well as he used to.) my life is quiet and serene. I hate getting into the 'I'm so busy' conversations with people. Usually you look at the other person and think 'you've got to be kidding me? your life is a cakewalk compared to mine.' But instead of saying that out loud, you nod and sympathize and agree that, yes, their life seems incredibly rushed and hectic and they must be such a talented and gifted person to be able to come through 24 hours without having a complete meltdown. All the while taking deep breaths because you are trying to figure out a way to leave politely so you can get on with your own incredibly busy life.

Well, it is all relative isn't it? I went and saw a new mother today. She had one day notice that a new baby was coming into her home (adoption, obviously). Their adoption papers had only been completed for one week and had assumed incorrectly that they now had time to sit back, prepare a nursery, buy supplies, think up names - just as if they were going through a nine month gestation period. Instead, they were chosen to become the parents of a beautiful 2 month old little girl. They are incredibly busy. Busy holding and cuddling and loving on a little girl that probably hasn't had enough of it in her short life. They are incredibly busy making up for lost time. Now THAT is a busyness I can buy into.

Senior Pictures

2008-09-29T19:20:00.000-07:00

Saturday afternoon Kyle and I met with Mark Leonard, a friend and photograper for his senior pictures. Mark is really creative and we had a great time. He is putting some of his pictures up on his website http://www.markleonardimagery.wordpress.com/ so you can check them out. (there is also a link to his site on the left side of this blog.)

I can't believe that he is a senior. It seems like he was just a baby.

Busy, Busy

2008-09-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

I feel like a working woman again. It is Friday night and I'm tired. Yesterday and today, I met Ron (the owner) and AJ (his son) at 6:00 am and made the 1 1/2 hour drive to Norwalk to start work at 7:30. (arrived home at 7:00 pm each night) My day consisted of working with a software system I had never worked on before, Peachtree Accounting, but figured out well enough to work in it and get things accomplished. The previous owner didn't use the system fully. He shipped against inventory items but never received any inventory in. For example, he would sell 100 widgets123 but never buy 100 widgets123, so the system would read that he had negative 100 widgets123 in stock. My first job was to reset all the widgets to Zero. How many widgets are in the system you may ask? One thousand nine hundred! 1,900! That's a lot of zeroing out. And the stupid software makes you input each part number individually and doesn't allow you to just hit an arrow that says, next, next, next, next...... At anyrate, I completed this task this morning. I also was able to change/fix some accounts, set up some new ones, figure out a system for entering payments, etc. This weekend Ron will take a physical inventory and on Monday I will enter in all those numbers. I think I should be able to finish up on Monday.

Which is good because next week I have to teach a budgetting class at Redlands Christian, work at the Dairy on Wed and Fri, work with Alice Hettinga (and I told her kids I would teach her how to do email! Yikes! She's 76! I hope I can do it.), and also I have to do the 2009 budget for Classis and am supposed to meet with the Finance team of Classis sometime soon (date yet to be determined). Oh, and I invited my Thursday morning Bible study over for dinner on Thursday night.

When it rains it pours.

A New Gig

2008-09-23T20:54:00.000-07:00

I met with the husband of Russ' assistant tonight in regards to doing some work for him. I was kind of nervous but I think it went well. He bought a business in LA this past summer. The bookkeeper that came along with the business still does everything by hand - writes the checks by hand, does the journals on green columnar pads, and then reenters everything into their Peachtree Accounting software. Unfortunately, she is so slow, she hasn't even finished up August yet.

So I'm going to try to get everything up to speed for them. Will go there on Thursday and have to leave at 6:00 AM!! What will I do without first getting my coffee, checking my email, checking my blog, Z Press, My Neck of the Woods, Slippery Amoeba, Pioneer Woman, Facebook, the weather at Calvin College, and doing the USA Today crossword puzzle and Sudoku puzzle?

I think this will be really, really good for me. Maybe I can still get my coffee.

Calzones

2008-09-18T18:22:00.000-07:00

Kyle is taking culinary arts this year and this was his first project. Making a mouse out of a pear. I guess if he ever works in a deli, this type of learning could be very useful.

Isn't this a beautiful work of art? Kyle made this calzone. The calzone was more complicated than the mouse. He had to make dough with yeast and knead it and roll it out and the whole kit and kaboodle. And this was very useful as this is what we had for dinner tonight. It was good!

Tomorrow he heads up north to a computer tournament with some of his friends. They are driving so I am a little nervous about it. But Russ said his parents let him and a bunch of his friends drive to Florida for spring break when he was a senior in high school. Were they crazy!? What were they thinking!?

I head to the beach with a girlfriend tomorrow and will stay through Sunday. This time I'll be camping in a trailer - no tent to pitch! Her little boy will be along also so it should be a pretty mild weekend. Should be very relaxing.

The Train

2008-09-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

My last post was about my first train ride to the beach and how fun and relaxing it was. Yesterday, the Metrolink (the train system I was on) was involved in a horrific accident and at least 17 people were killed. It is really giving me a sick feeling. Of course, when I got on the train on Wednesday, being an avid believer in imagining worst-case-scenarios (this is not a trait I am proud of, by the way), I did think about what would happen if an accident occurred. When we passed a car in an intersection or when the northbound train would pass us just a few feet (it seemed) away I thought how easy it would be for an accident to occur. But then my logical side of the brain took over and I know how rare these things are and I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.

In the meantime I have told some friends how great it was and they should take their little kids on the train because it would be so much fun for them. I thought my great-nephews Caleb and Micah would love to watch the houses fly by and be able to walk around while moving. Now a part of me wants to say, absolutely not, never again, no one I know can use that system.

But that would be living in fear and would mean that we all would have to stay hunkered down in our homes 100% of the times. And if you lived in Galveston, you would have to make sure it was hurricane proof, and in the midwest, tornado proof, and in the southwest, earthquake proof. What a sad and dull life that would be.

I still think it would be fun for the little ones to ride the train and still think they should be taken on the trip.

Oceanside

2008-09-11T08:30:00.001-07:00

My neighbor/friend Gayle rented a condo in Oceanside this week. Yesterday, I spent the day with her on the beach. I did something I had never done before and took the train. It was so relaxing. I had to drive to downtown Riverside to catch the train at 7:25. It took 2 1/2 hours to get there. When I arrived in Oceanside I walked the half mile to Gayle's condo which was right on the beach. What a beautiful day. Since school is in session there was hardly anyone else there. We sat and talked for awhile and then sat on the beach for a few hours reading and just enjoying the waves crashing. She brought me back to the train station about 4:15 and I headed back home, reading a book the whole way. I highly recommend this mode of transportation. Weird though - I bought a ticket from the computerized kiosk and not once did I have to show it to anyone. I didn't have to walk through a turnstyle or show the ticket to a conductor. I guess the people at Metrolink are very trusting.

Hands of Mercy

2008-09-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning Russ and I were able to spend a short amount of time building a house. We along, with about 25 other people were able to complete it. Let me explain for those Non-Redlands readers.

A couple years ago our church, The River, got involved with an organization called Hands of Mercy (HoM). HoM was started several years ago by a man in Redlands who is a former missionary kid. He came up with a design for a loft house that could be made quickly, simply and for little money. The homes are prefabbed in the USA and then the following weekend brought down to Mexico where they are assembled for a family that has been chosen beforehand. The homes are only 144 square feet and have no indoor plumbing. Basically two by fours with cheap siding on them.

I just found out yesterday why they are made this way. Why don't we build strong homes that are reinforced with steel, have indoor plumbing, wiring for electricity, etc.? Well, these homes go to the poorest of the poor. Right now, the people are living in literal shacks with maybe corrugated tin for a roof. These homes that HoM build are still considered a temporary structure. Because of that, they are taxed at an extremely low rate. If they had all the "luxuries" (which Americans would consider necessities) the family would be taxed at a rate that is much higher than they can afford and would have to abandon their new house and go back to their shacks.

I love it that a missionary kid has found a way to make these people's lives better, while still maintaining their dignity and pride.

If you want to read more go to Hands of Mercy website. http://www.handsofmercy.com/index.html

An Entire Week

2008-09-04T15:37:00.001-07:00

An entire week has gone by without me posting anything. I think that means that nothing happened. Kyle and Gerald are both really excited about their classes and teachers. They LOVE school this year! (ha)

We are going to have someone redo our master bath. The shower hasn't worked for about 8 months. Only cold water comes out. It is actually dusty in there. I haven't completely decided on the details of the new bathroom but stay tuned for updates. He (Mark Kimm - the same person who did our downstairs bath) can't start working on it for a few weeks yet so I have time.

Labor Day was fun. Friends of ours had a birthday part for their one-year old little girl Eva at our house. There were about 20 people here and they provided all the yummy food. I loved it! All the joy of entertaining with none of the hassle.

I have become addicted to another thing on the internet. Playing Scrabble on line with other people. Why oh why did I start this?

Being Tired

2008-08-28T18:41:00.000-07:00

Everyone is tired after only two days of school. I'm tired even though I'm not back in school. But I have recommitted to going to 6:00 (that is 6:00 a.m.) Bible Study on Thursday mornings. Fortunately, I no longer have to go straight to work afterwards, so I roll out of bed at 5:40, put on clothes, brush my teeth and comb my hair and go. Another fortunate thing is that no one there cares what I look like. (I love my group.) Kyle is tired because he is always tired the first couple weeks of school. Waking up at 6:45 am as opposed to the standard between noon and 1:00 p.m. like he does during the summer is a huge change. Russ is tired because he doesn't sleep well. When we complained at dinner tonight, Gerald guffawed in Korean. It sounded a lot like guffawing in English only not as boisterous. He is tired because he is still jet lagged. Thankfully Monday is a day off for them, so maybe they can catch up some.

In other news, Kevin did get the job at Eastbrook Bowling Lanes. He passed his drug test (always makes his mama proud) but won't be starting for a couple weeks yet. Kyle still hasn't heard from Clark's but plans to go down there tomorrow and talk to the manager. Russ is still gainfully employed and I am still not so gainfully employed.

Just another exciting time in Yucaipa.

Cactus

2008-08-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

I spent some time this weekend redoing the flower beds underneath the windows off the back patio. We haven't had much luck growing anything there. One year I think pansy's did great but the next year not. We've tried all kinds of plants and nothing seems to make it. So Russ suggested we do cactus and grasses.

I went around and transplanted cactus from pots I had and broke up some grasses from the front yard. I also put in a little lambs ear. (that is what isn't looking too perky yet.) I like the soft texture of the lambs ear against the prickly cactus but we have to keep an eye on it or it will be growing over the patio and into the swimming pool before we know it. Also went to the 99 Cent store where they sell cactus for, you got it, .99 and bought four more to add to what we had already. Don't buy them at Home Depot or Lowes or your local nursery!! They cost three times as much and frankly, it is really hard to kill a cactus. The largest cactus in the first picture (way in the back - it is about a foot high) I bought at .99 Cent store just last year.

For four dollars and some transplanting of rocks, grass and other things I think it looks rather nice. Now we just need to see if it will grow.

No Subject

2008-08-23T09:51:00.001-07:00

It has been five days since I posted. I wish I could say I was just so busy doing a variety of volunteer and service for the good of others but unfortunately that would be a lie. And I have learned my lesson about lying on this blog! Even my own son, my own flesh and blood, called me a jerk the other day for writing my 'scary day at the dairy'. I did go to the dairy twice (don't worry, nothing bad happened to me). I also went to a three hour Classis Executive Team meeting (plus two and 1/2 hours of driving time). So, I actually was busy for some of the time.

Gerald came back on Wednesday night. He seems happy to be here but his sleep is all messed up. Being 12 hours different is really hard. I'm glad he came a week before school starts. Hopefully that will give him enough time to adjust.

Both Kevin and Kyle are waiting to hear if they got jobs. Kevin at the Eastbrook Bowling Lanes - yes, he will be spraying the inside of the shoes so they don't stink so much. He can work 15 - 20 hours a week so we hope that one works out. And Kyle at Clark's Nutrition Center in Loma Linda. Russ found out that one of the mom's at ACA manages the place and hires ACA kids so we are hoping that one comes through also.

School starts the 27th. Not sure I'm ready for it yet.

I'm Back

2008-08-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

It seems my family was quite shocked by my latest post. I promise not to do that again. But now you know where my imagination can take me. A little scary. If I ever write the great American novel, I will be sure to let all of you preview it and will tell you which parts are autobiographical and which are strictly fiction.

With Jeanne's great gift to me for helping with Kara's wedding, Russ and I bought these dishes on Saturday night. I love them! Now I just need a new kitchen to go with them.

We are still waiting to hear when Gerald is coming. He is the only Korean student who ACA hasn't heard from yet as to the date of his arrival. Russ has tried to contact him by email but we still haven't heard! His parents don't speak any English so everything has to go through Gerald and, well, he is a typical teenage boy and not very good at communicating.

A Scary Day at the Dairy

2008-08-13T15:06:00.000-07:00

I thought I better write out what happened today before you all hear about it through the grapevine. Also, it is easier to explain it one time instead of trying to field questions over the phone. So here goes.

As you know, I work at a dairy in San Jacinto as a bookkeeper. San Jacinto is south east of Yucaipa. It is about ten miles from an Indian reservation called the Sobobo (I think I spelled that right). If you live local, you know the Sobobo's have been in the news lately due to some problems out at their casino and on their land. To make a long story short, three people have been shot and killed on their land by the Riverside sherrifs. It is like the Wild, Wild West. OK, that's the background.

So, I'm at my safe little dairy this morning. At my desk, which is in the office attached to the main house (where nobody lives anymore), you can see the barn and the dairy. It is usually really, really quiet and I only look up if I hear a feed truck lumber by or if the dog, Dotty, starts to bark. Dotty is a very racist dog and barks at anyone who isn't white. This includes all the farmworkers who are Mexican even though some of them have been on this farm longer than Dotty herself. Anyways, today I kept hearing Dotty barking and barking but didn't see anyone in the driveway or anywhere else. But she wouldnt shut up so I would occasionally look up. After a couple of minutes, I saw Humberto (the foreman) and Jesus (one of the milkers), come tearing down the feed lane in their golf cart. They took it all the way to the barn entrance, ran into the barn and shut the steel doors. At this time, I thought what the heck? Dotty was still going crazy.

I was standing by my window, looking out on the scene, when I saw a man running towards the house. Dotty was in full pursuit, and behind that I saw a sherrif running behind the man. At this point I got really scared. The man continued coming towards the house and was almost in the backyard. I ran and locked the door to the garage but wasn't sure what to do. The strange man now was in the yard and kind of hiding behind the row of trees that separates the yard from the dairy. I then saw the sherrif, behind some old equipment and he had his gun drawn. OK, now I'm terrified.

I grabbed the cordless phone and called 911. I didn't really know what to say but tried to explain. The lady was really nice and said that obviously the law enforcement was there but she would get word to them that someone was in the house and in the meantime, I should go find a place to hide in case gunfire was exchanged. Oh, perfect.

So, I took the phone with me and decided to head to the back of the house where the master suite is. I knew I could hide in the closet or the bath. I passed Garrett's safe which is in the family room. I know this was dumb, but I knew he kept his rifles in there. I quickly punched in the combination (it is just electronic buttons, not a dial) and grabbed one of his guns. I had no idea if it was loaded or not, but at least I know what end the bullet is supposed to come out and I could point it at someone if need be.

I ran down the rest of the hallway and hid in the master closet, scrunching myself in a corner hoping that even if someone would look in, they wouldn't see me. This is the part where if it was a movie you would all be yelling at the screen telling the stupid lady to lock the master bedroom door, or hide in the bathroom and lock the door. Well, now I know why they don't - you just don't think when you are in the middle of this.

I'm scrunched up as tight as I can when I hear glass break. It sounded like it was from the opposite end of the house. (later I found out it was the door to my office that leads to the backyard). I couldn't hear anything after that but just prayed that the sherrif was inside or at least close behind. It was so quiet in the house but I was breathing hard and thought I was going to pee my pants.

Unbeknownst to me, the strange man had snuck into the master suite (quiet as an Indian, you know). I didn't even know he was there. And then, a hand grabbed at my ankle. I started hitting it with the rifle and started screaming and screaming. I didn't even look at the guy, my eyes were squeezed so tightly shut. The Indian started yanking and pulling at my leg, and pulling and yanking, just like I'm pulling yours.

(an old joke, personalized)

Proud Mom

2008-08-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

I talked to Kevin for awhile last night and am feeling very proud of him. Why you ask? Well, let me tell you.
1. Kyle answered the phone and he and Kevin talked to each other for at least 10 minutes before I got the phone.
2. He cooked a chicken and spaghetti casserole.
3. The aforementioned receipe came from one of my favorite websites www.thepioneerwoman.com .
4. He has figured out how much money he will need to make a month to make ends meet.
5. He was going to have dinner with his grandparents tonight.
6. He bought a mango at a farmer's market and declared it the best mango he had ever eaten and his roommate wouldn't even try it.

Aaaahhhh - the pride a mother feels for the simplest things. If he reads this he probably thinks all of the above are really dumb reasons for feeling proud of your kid. But if you're a mom and have had a child leave home, you get it.

Top Ten List

2008-08-11T16:58:00.000-07:00

Here is my top ten reasons as to why I liked "Mama Mia" better than "The Dark Knight".

1. The previews are movies that I actually want to see.
2. A Greek island is far more beautiful than Gotham City.
3. The sun or moon shone in every scene.
4. Pierce Brosnin.
5. The singing and dancing was so much fun.
6. Meryl Streep's Mother-of-the-Bride dress.
7. The rundown hotel in the movie is where I want to spend all of next summer.
8. Christina Baranski's solo number on the beach.
9. Colin Firth (despite how it ended up he will always be Mr. Darcy to me)
10. Meryl Streep singing "The Winner Takes it All".

Untitled

2008-08-09T19:18:00.000-07:00

I have decided if I never personally turn on the TV to watch the Olympics, I will be watching far more Olympics then I really want to. I did enjoy the opening ceremonies. What a show! Who knew that China had it in them.

Kyle had his teeth whitened today. When he got his braces off, his teeth were pretty discolored and he talked about getting them whitened. Awhile ago there was an article in the local paper about a business called I Smile that whitened teeth. You just go to the mall! We probably would have ignored it but the parents of one of Russ' former students owns it, so we went today. $100 later his teeth are whiter. It was a little uncomfortable. In fact, he wasn't able to complete the entire treatment because it started to sting his gums. So now he can go back and finish it up later. Just in time for senior pictures.

I am feeling so lazy lately. I think I need a project. Wait! I do have a project. Figure out what to do in my master bath. I can't decide on tile, though, and so I am going crazy. Everytime I think I know what I want, I go to a tile place and become more confused. I can't afford to hire a designer and I don't have any friends who are really good at this. I am looking for accent tiles that have some black, brown and green in them. The field tiles I want will be just a neutral tile and hopefully the same in the shower and the floor (just different sizes). I wish there was only three choices and then I think it would be easy to decide. I've never had this problem before. I should contact Ben and Kristen and let them decide for me.

Kevin told Russ yesterday that he made a spaghetti casserole for dinner. Not just spaghetti but a casserole. When asked how it was he responded, "OK".

I made a great chicken dinner tonight. I was going to bbq it but when I went outside the propane was out. I'll go back a couple days. The farmer at the dairy gave me a great salmon filet that he and his kids had caught last week while fishing in Alaska. So we asked Nick and Julie over and bbq'd it on Thursday night. Friday morning, I was in my usual spot checking my email (leather chair by the open window to the patio). I thought I smelled gas so asked Russ if he had remembered to turn off the bbq. He went out and checked and he said he had. So when I went out today, all three knobs were turned all the way to the left for low heat and not to the right for off. (he thinks he might be losing it.) I had to go to plan B for the chicken.

Boneless skinless chicken thighs - Salt and pepper them
Olive oil in large pot - heat and throw in a few chopped cloves of garlic.
When hot, brown the thighs.
When all chicken is browned place in pot. Add:
Chopped green peppers
A can of mushrooms
Can of italian style diced tomatoes
Chicken broth
Spices to your liking.
Cook on low to medium for about a 1/2 hour.

Yumm!!! Serve with great bread and sop up the juices with the bread.

Strange Noises

2008-08-05T15:06:00.000-07:00

My car, which I still really like, has 157,000 miles on it. It still does run very well but occasionally has had some strange noises, especially while going uphill. When I go out to the dairy, I have to exit the 10 freeway and head south about five miles on a curvy road between the hills. During this time, I have no cell phone service so I am always a little fearful of breaking down. The only life on this stretch of road is the county dump. It is located 1/2 way from the 10 and the next major road and has a steep road leading up to the dump entrance. If I break down, I walk a very long way, no matter where I am.

This may be one of the reasons that when I listen to music in the car I can be very paranoid. If I listen to a CD I am constantly hearing funny noises. So I turn down the volume, and magically the noise stops. At this point, you would think I would laugh at myself, relax and enjoy the music. But no - a 1/2 minute later, I find myself turning down the song again to make sure that the thump, de-thump, de-thump noise isn't coming from under the hood. Surprise - turn down the music - the noise stops. This happens even when I listen to music I know well. Yesterday, I was listening to a Coldplay CD and was sure that my carbuerator was going to fall out (or some other piece of equipment). Today it was classical. I had the same problem.

Does anyone else do this?

Purging

2008-08-04T11:07:00.001-07:00

Our year has been so crazy busy. Russ and I told ourselves we would clean out the house come August. Here it is August. I am taking one room a day. Or sometimes one closet at a time. Today I cleaned out a cupboard. Not quite a room, but it certainly needed help. I disposed of a foot high stack of notes and papers from when I went to U of R in the early '90's. I really don't think that I will be revisiting that info any time soon.
Kevin is anywhere from Chicago to GR. The concert was done last night and from the little we heard from him he had a great time. I'm not sure if they were planning on driving to GR this morning or if they would sleep for a time and then go or if they would wait until tomorrow. I am missing him but I think this a much better way for him to go. How great to move into your first place and have to fend for yourself. Does anyone have any cheap meal ideas for one? Simple is good also, but I think the emphasis is more on cheap.

A Dark Night

2008-08-01T19:11:00.000-07:00

Russ and I went to see the new Batman movie this afternoon, "The Dark Knight". Kevin & Kyle saw it on opening day and, of course, thought it was fabulous. Highest grossing movie currently and the Rotten Tomatoes website gives it a 94% fresh rating. (If you aren't familiar with Rotten Tomatoes, it takes a compilation of all the reviews given for certain movies. The far majority of them are reviewed rotten). So, even though I have never seen a batman movie before and I'm not really into action movies, I was interested in seeing Heath Ledgers last performance as The Joker and the critics say it is good.

I wish I hadn't.

I know that Batman is a fantasy, science fiction movie so it really doesn't have to make sense. And I understand that there is a lot of violence that will be shown. Also, I am aware of the fact that I will be seeing many things blown up, etc. But give me a break!! Can we at least have the time line of the movie make sense? Could the dialogue be more real? And why does batman talk in that raspy voice? How could anyone not figure out he is Bruce Wayne? Can people (not batman - the real people) really move around from place to place so fast? And how does The Joker have the ability to set so many explosives all over Gotham City without being caught? After all, he is a little odd looking. Are the police of Gotham City really that incompetent?

The one good line in the movie was when The Joker said to Batman "You Complete Me". That was classic. The rest was trash - DON'T SEE IT!

(but Heath Ledger's performance was amazing. very scary)

The connection between relaxation and guilt

2008-07-30T16:29:00.000-07:00

Since the beginning of the year I have been go, go, go. Even though I worked less hours all together, there was a major back surgery, recovery, income tax business and then shortly after that, wedding planning, SERVE planning, visitors, vacations, the actual wedding, the actual SERVE and another vacation. Then for a few short days getting ready for Kevin to leave.

And now. I went to the dairy for three hours on Monday. Tuesday, cleaned the kitchen in the morning and went to help some friends for a couple of hours during the day. Had dinner with a friend at night. Today, cleaned the family room, went grocery shopping, and relaxed. Leisurely checked email, blog sites, talked on the phone with a friend - no rushing around, no sense of urgency and it seems, nothing hanging over my head. It is such a nice feeling.

So why do I feel like I should be adding something to my schedule? I need to get over that real quick. I will enjoy this wonderful time and go read a book or something. Or maybe I will start planning how I want to redo the master bath since that has been on the radar for a long time. We haven't been able to use the shower in that bathroom for almost a year now. One plus, no need to clean the shower there! Like I would anyway.

My Baby Leaves

2008-07-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Today is the day he takes off. He is still sleeping. I am afraid that this is the last time he will be officially "home". While I was helping him pack his bags last night he made a comment that included the words "going home" referring to GR, not to CA. I know he knows that he will always be welcome to make our home his home, but it is better that he has his own - as hard as that is to say.

It will be nice this month to just have Kyle. It will be the longest time we have had him alone. I'm not sure he wasnts our undivided attention but that's what you get when you're the baby in the family.

A month later

2008-07-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

It has been over a month since I last posted. I was somewhat busy with a wedding and then SERVE. Then, two days after SERVE we went camping for four nights. Now the last couple of days I have washed clothes, worked, and, sadly, helped Kevin get ready to go back to Michigan. It seems way too early. Well, it is way too early. It's only July!

I am worrying about a lot of things with him. Obviously the drive back to Michigan. The three day concert in Chicago. I don't think the majority of the concert goers will be good Christian young men. His car starting once he gets to Sharon's. I'm afraid he will lose his paychecks from this summer before he has a chance to put them in the bank. Or he won't bother to put them in the bank. I'm worried that he won't be able to make food for himself which I know is a really, really stupid thing to worry about. I'm not sure if he knows where the sheets are for his bed and I'm not sure if he knows if he has a bed or not.

I know he will be OK but I still worry.

A beautiful morning

2008-06-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

It so beautiful and cool this morning. Something smells really good in the backyard but I can't figure out what it is. Maybe the neighbors honeysuckle. I have to get ready soon and head out to the dairy. It won't smell quite so nice out there.
I made it through about half my list yesterday but I did a lot more than what was on my list. Today I will have to finish yesterdays list and do todays list. Sigh.

This is the week

2008-06-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

I am looking forward to this week. Family coming in, wedding on Saturday, beach on Sunday. And in between time just hanging around the pool which will hopefully be filled with people all the time.
I think everything is finished for the wedding. If not, they will get married anyways. Kara is tanned and beautiful and Nathan is smiling all the time. They are cute together.
I have HUGE lists to get through in the next few days! I can do it. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....

Hot

2008-06-21T10:02:00.001-07:00

It is so hot. We even turned on the ac yesterday which is unheard of in this household. Afterall, we have that pool we can all jump into and cool off with. But it was too hot to squirm into a swimsuit.
Kyle is playing basketball in Big Bear today so I think we are going to head up there this afternoon. Maybe it will be a little cooler.

A Mess

2008-06-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

My house is a mess. The guest room is completely filled with stuff for the wedding. The office is filled with Kyle's junk and trash and whatever else he never puts away. The laundry has all the clothes that I washed yesterday but did not fold. The downstairs bathroom has not been cleaned in weeks. The family room floor has newspapers, SERVE stuff, computer cords and laptop computer, some dirty socks, a video camera (where did that come from? we don't own a video camera.) and miscellaneous books, magazines etc. The kitchen has all the dirty glasses from yesterday which are numerous and i don't even want to go in the refrigerator. Dining room - table is covered with wedding stuff and SERVE stuff. Living room has four pairs of paints - Kyle's for the wedding, and three for Kevin (two which I bought on line but are the wrong color - the plastic bags they came in are on the floor) a few shirts for the wedding and a bag of grapes that Russ must have been eating last night and didn't put back in the refrigerator.

I think I will have another cup of coffee.

Vacation

2008-06-11T16:43:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we are off for Seattle. I can't wait. Just to get away and go out to eat and see a new place sounds like fun. I'm not sure what to pack. If the weather is lousy I'll just wear jeans the entire time, but if it happens to be sunny (which the weather report says it might be) I'm going to want something cute and springy. What a horrible dillema.

The freezer is stocked with frozen chicken patties, ham and cheese hot pockets, corn dogs, and pizza. When that is gone they will have to make do.

Russ is golfing and I'm trying to catch up with some SERVE stuff I have procrastinated with. Some day I hope to not be a procrastinator. Do you think it is too late to change my bad habits?

Busy

2008-06-10T07:04:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to a shower at church for Kara. She got a lot of nice things and will be able to bake many, many cakes.

I'm heading out to the dairy today and hope to spend at least six hours out there. Kevin took the day off. After all, he has now worked 12 days.... He and his friends will be filming a movie today. I'm sure it will be going straight to youtube so will let you know. Kyle will be applying for jobs today. Stater Bros is accepting applications so he will head up there. Russ has prepared him on what to say and what not to say. I'm so nervous for him! My Baby!

I have so much stuff to do before we leave on Thursday. If I think about it, I get a sick feeling. I guess I won't think about it.

Wedding

2008-06-09T06:17:00.000-07:00

No, not THAT wedding. Last night we went to the wedding of John Nydam and Janae Shaw. He is the son of friends of ours, Jack & Henriette Nydam. There oldest son who just graduated from college. Jacob is there second and he is at Calvin with Kevin. When I watched Jack & Henriette walk down the aisle I had such a sinking feeling - "I am old." How could they have a kid getting married? They used to all be so little?

The bride is someone who needs everything "perfect". There was an obvious attempt at that. But when all is said and done, Kara's wedding will be much nicer.

Gerald flies home today for the summer. He is ready to go but is dreading the summer as he will have to go to school three days a week. Take a train for 1 1/2 hours there and back and then I think his parents make him study all the time. Unlike the fine De Kock tradition of just doing the bare minimum to get by, this kid actually studies.

Will clean Geralds room today (formerly known as Kevin's room) so Kevin can get off the floor of Kyle's room and unpack his suitcases that have been laying around since May 22.

Control Regained

2008-06-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well, control has been somewhat regained. At least I didn't forget any more appointments this week. Oh wait, I take that back. I forgot I had to go to the Lawlers this morning but fortunately Sandy called me to remind me.
It seems as if here are a lot of people around here. Kevin, Kyle, Russ, Gerald and my other son, Kyle Sternjacob. Actually, I love Kyle S but it is another body.
ACA is finished. Yippee - Kyle is a senior! Hard to believe. What will be happening a year from now? Will he go to college? Work? Will Kevin come home? Will I be doing the same thing? Will Russ be doing the same thing?
I can't think about all that.
And Thursday Russ and I leave for Seattle for four nights. Can't Wait!

I've lost control

2008-05-29T06:47:00.000-07:00

I woke up at 5:37 this morning with a start. I somehow remembered, in my sleeping state, that I had to teach a budget class at Redlands Christian this morning at 9:00. Crap. Last night I just had a feeling that I wasn't doing something I was supposed to be doing. Apparently preparing for this class was it. Fortunately, I have all the notes from last time and since they are middle school kids it is pretty easy to wing it.
I feel as if I have all these different projects going on at once when in reality I only have a couple. But those couple are some big ones and so they are weighing on my mind. Of course, because I am such a procrastinator, I don't just do the work and let the burden go. I just THINK about doing the work and hold on to that burden as long as I can. When will I learn? Maybe when I'm fifty.

I will start again

2008-05-28T20:39:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been so long since I have written on this blog. It really is easy to ignore what we have committed to doing. Especially when no one knows the difference. I am curious. WIll anyone ever see this post? The web is actually a very lonely place. Too many places to go. Too many blogs to read. Too many opinions. Too many photos. If you aren't able to write well enough or take the best pictures or have the most recipes or aren't willing to show off the sexiest body does anyone care about what we say? Is the web just a big popularity contest? What a horrible thought that we may all be just back in high school. Look at me!! Look at me!! Read what I wrote. Look at my kids pictures. See what I did last night. Aren't I so exciting? And rate the level of my popularity by the number of comments I have.

No, I think this blog is officially my diary. Something that no one will ever see - unless they stumble across it.

First day

2007-09-05T19:14:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was the first day for all of us. First day back to school for Russ, Kyle & Gerald and first day where I didn't have to go to my church job. I spent 7 1/2 hours out at the dairy. It was very peaceful out there - just the mooing of the cows to listen to. I kind of like that though I do have to get used to the flies and the smell - and actually I prefer the smell over the flies. I'm not too keen on the farm dogs either but I suppose I can get used to that quite easily.

Kyle posed for his 12th first day of school picture. He scratched his nose playing basketball in the pool the night before so that is the reason for the red gouges. It was a self-inflicted injury. Russ was injured the first day on the job also. New shoes - BIG blisters. He almost had to call in sick on Wednesday.

Evalyn Claire

2007-09-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

Check out this cute baby. Evalyn Claire In'tHout was born at 12:13 a.m. on Saturday morning. Her parents are good friends of ours, Nick & Julie. Nick is the Youth Director at The River and Julie teaches Spanish at ACA with Russ. They feel like family to us and we to them. They came over for dinner tonight and I took this picture.

Tomorrow is my first official day at my new job and it feels good. It also feels good not to have to go to church tomorrow. As I was walking out of church Sunday morning, a man stopped and threw his usual negativity my way. I wanted to scream at him "I'm quitting my job because of people like you!" But I bit my tongue. I don't think I will bite my tongue next time as I no longer have to be so diplomatic.

Short Timer

2007-08-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

One more official day of work at church. Then I move on to the Mira Vista dairy in San Jacinto, California. I am looking forward to less stress, fewer hours, and working with different types of, uh, people... Here is a general idea of the view from my office.

The Family

2007-08-28T21:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of my family. This is the Sunday before Kevin left for college. This may have to be the Christmas card picture this year. In fact, it will definitely be the Christmas card picture for 2007 as it is the only one we took.

Back to School

2007-08-27T20:59:00.000-07:00

Our Korean student, Gerald Oh, is back with us. It feels good to have him back. Russ stopped at Chipotle on the way back from school to get him a burrito - something he hasn't had all summer in Korea, he went straight for a big glass of milk, started watching basketball on TV and is now outside shooting baskets. It is like nothing has changed.
I am wondering what Kevin is doing in Michigan. Having fun, I am sure. No classes until next week Tuesday and meeting up with all is old friends. Life is quite sweet when you are a sophomore in college.
And Kyle is dreading the start of school - mentally trying to ignore the fact that he has only one more week. Complete denial is a handy tool.

My First Blog

2007-08-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

I am feeling very young and modern. I actually just created my very own blog. The question is will I ever actually use it or will it one day disappear into the vast universe called the "world wide web"? What happens to a blog that is not used? Does it just dissolve or are there non-visited websites floating around on fiber optic lines just calling out to be logged on to? It reminds me of the Mormon idea that there are empty spirit babies waiting to be born if only someone would get pregnant and take them down to earth.

Maybe I'll write something interesting next time I log on. Stay tuned.