Yummy Stuffed Peppers

Ever notice a meal always tastes better when someone else makes it? I do! I also get a kick out of watching Josh in the kitchen. It's interesting to see our styles.. I'm more of a .... "sure, that looks like 1 tsp." and he's more into getting the spoon out, leveling it with a knife to make sure its exact. Ok, he's not that precise but he's much more structured about it than I! Last week he decided he wanted to try something from the Cooking Light cookbook we have. He made a stuffed peppers recipe. It wasn't as dry as the picture looks, at all!

Also, while it was baking in the oven, all of our peppers slid to their sides... but the flavor was there, it was delicious!

While we were waiting for the peppers to cook, it sparked the conversation, how exactly do you attack this once it's time to eat? Do you immediately break down the pepper and have a little with each bite? Or treat it as a bowl and only eat the insides? Well we did both. I dissected it (I love bell peppers) and Josh was happy to just scoop it out. Either way it's a definite do-over in our book!

Through Their Eyes

Last Friday, we were driving home from picking up the girls. We take PCH home... gonna sit in traffic, it may as well be a pretty view! We had the windows down, the iPod blaring... not too bad eh! I was singing along to some song, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel to the beat. We were at a stand still, so I began looking around. My eyes caught Kali in the rear view mirror. She was watching me, quite curiously. It was such a familiar gaze, it immediately sent me into my own world of memories.

I remember being Kali's age and watching my parents with that same curiosity. What is it like to be a grown up? It wasn't so much an "I can't wait to be older" feeling, but looking back, it's more the comfort I felt by it. I can close my eyes and picture Dad is his old Ford pick up, one arm over the back of the seats, one casually steering the car... and either a classic rock radio station playing quietly in the background, or classical music... I guess it depended on his mood. I've begged my Dad to quit smoking ever since I found out it was bad for you, but I will admit that the sweet smell of the old smoke that is forever stuck in the upholstery of his truck is a reassuring scent to me.

I could easily write a list of the mundane habits of day to day things my Dad has.. even now that I haven't lived at home in 6 years, I'd bet he still goes about his daily tasks the same way. There is a level of familiarity to it that creates that wonderful contentment of being "home". To this day, I always sleep better when I'm in the same house as my Dad... sure it's limited to family vacations now a days, but when I'm drifting off to sleep and can hear Dad shuffling his feet in his slippers, filling up the coffee pot for tomorrow, muttering to the dog, and the TV humming quietly in the background, it's a guarantee for a great night's sleep.

Snapping back into the flow of traffic on PCH, I began to wonder how this same dynamic played out between the girls, and Josh & I. Is Kali watching my fingers drum to the beat, and later in life thinking back on all the times we drove on PCH with the wind in our hair, singing our favorite songs? While they lay in bed at night, does hearing Josh laugh at TV shows, and mutter to Rufus as we go to bed give them the reassurance that all is well in the world? It's kind of neat and scary all at once.

Pine Needles and Shady Behavior

Oh the saga continues. You had to know when I first told you about Pony Tail Guy (PG)... my neighbor... that throwing palm tree leaves into my yard and having a loud mouth wife could not be the extent of why this man drives me bonkers. It's not. However, this does tie in to leaves falling. It's fall, it happens. Regular tree leaves, palm tree leaves, and pine needles. PG has a huge pine tree in his front yard, he used to have 2. They cut the bigger one down. I remember this day because the tree in question was near the property line between our homes. I was woken up on a Saturday to a chain saw outside my bedroom window, and a loud THUMP that made us jump out of bed. Their courteous tree trimmer was letting the giant pieces of tree fall onto our roof. Sure do wonder if that contributed to leaks the following winter. Anywho, the other tree remains, and it is amazing to me how pine needles get tracked into our home. But unlike PG, I take it in stride..the wind blows, needles will fall in our yard, life goes on.

Where life doesn't go on.... is the mysterious manifestation that appears in the gutter in front of our houses. Theirs is clean, and neat. Free of pine needles. However, about 2 feet into the gutter in front of our house, is a suspicious pile of needles. Same goes for the side walk. Odd indeed. When trash day arrives, our yard is a curious vortex for trash, strangely at that 2 foot mark in the gutter between our property lines. Quite perplexing!! However! Where my conspiracy theory comes to play, is not in our trusty trash men, or even PG.... it's .. are you ready? The street sweeper. Every week he comes by, dutifully and on time. Every few weeks, he skips our house. No cars are parked in front of the house, no obstructions (other than the pile of needles) in the way... it makes no sense to me why he'd skip our house. You can literally see the tire marks from his vehicle swing wide by a 6 foot gap, purposely cleaning the middle of the street where no trash lies. The only rational reasoning that I can figure for this, is that street sweeper and PG are best friends. I would be willing to bet you $100, right now that next week if I camped out in the bushes, after SS comes by, he'll slow down to give PG a high five as he comes back around to polish their gutter for a 2nd time just to make sure it's spotless. I'm sure of this. Just you wait and see!!

Do you dream of punching hookers?

I do.

So last night, I had a dream that someone was trying to get into our home. Not like a guy in a ski mask kind of situation, but where I was physically trying to stop someone from crossing the threshold into our home. When I looked up, it was literally this 8 foot tall woman with a tight grey dress and a pound of make up. Her hair was done in a sloppy fresh twist. I remember her just towering over me in her hooker heels. I had something that she desperately wanted, and while her monkey arms tangled around mine, we were jabbing elbows, pushing, pulling and hitting each other, and I had this overwhelming urge to punch or slap her in the face. But I had that horrible dream sequence feeling of not being able to make the motion. My arms simply would not go above her waist to hit. The frustration was maddening.

I woke up with the same expression you are probably making right now... WTF?

I didn't think much of it until Scotty teased me endlessly on facebook about having nightmares that could have been avoided had I sipped a hot cup of Stevens Brand of delicious hot chocolate. So I googled "dreams about not being able to punch someone"... oddly enough, the answer I got makes some sense.

"It’s common to dream of throwing punches and not being able to connect with the person you’re throwing punches at. Or maybe you’re able to connect, but the punches have no power or strength behind them. Do you feel that you’re fighting against someone or something in your life but getting nowhere?"

So, while I never take dreams to seriously, this does put things in perspective. I have a confession, I hold grudges. To this day, I will purposely put my eggs last on the conveyor belt at the grocery store if I have the same stupid clueless bag boy who put them under 3 cans of beans 6 months ago. I refuse to park next to certain cars at work because one time they parked too close to me. I'll admit I've ignored friend requests on facebook from someone who was mean to me one day in high school. It's just who I am. Soooooo.... I gueessss that the consequence to that, is I might occasionally get myself wrapped up in silly things. I think if I can take away 2 lessons from this dream, I will be in good shape.

1) Learn to let some of the silly stuff go
2) Never trust an 8 foot tall hooker

My Thumbs Are Still Green!

Sunday morning Josh set out to do some yard work. Always excited to help, Kali & Mackenzie followed, sweeping up the sidewalk each pass he took with the lawnmower. So I figured I should probably get out there and contribute too. Still on my fairy garden kick, I decided to go check them out. Maybe it was time for a watering with Miracle Grow just to make sure our new flowers are flourishing.

I stood there between the two flower beds scratching my head. What the heck? Didn't we JUST replace these? Why in the world are the petunias .... dead? I wanted to hide them.. I wanted no one to see them... and I definitely didn't want to hear Josh teasing me about killing them again!

So as I left to run errands, I sent Pattie a text, admitting my failures, and how much I sucked. Her response? "LOL! No honey, it's your soil that sucks." ahhhaaa... I sure like this explanation a lot better than me killing flowers!! And by gosh, she's a certified master gardener, so her opinion is the obvious correct assumption. Her next text offered to help us fix the problem.

Our plan? Josh and I need to set to dig out the planter... I'll measure it tonight, but we are guesstimating its about 10x4 feet, and we need to go 18 inches deep. Good luck with that, Josh! haha, no no, we have 2 shovels.. it will be a joint effort. Once we get the dirt turned up, Pattie and Dad are going to help us with the rest... first up, getting some better soil in the ground. Once we do that, we are going to re-establish the fairy gardens, and switch from petunias to pansies. Pattie speculated that the petunias were not getting enough sun, and pansies are a more shade-friendly flower.

The newest addition to our garden area, is going to be euonymus (sounds like youwannamus!) plants. I'm really excited for this, I think it will add some more solidity and fill in the space quite nicely!

I'll snap some more pictures as our little mini-journey continues... we should have it completed by the end of next weekend, stay tuned!!

Jack-O-Lantern Cakes & Best Friends

If this is any testament to our friendship, I think its awesome that I can post a blog totally ragging on Gina and immediately follow it with another explaining why I love her. I got a package in the mail last night! There is truly nothing better than getting not just non-bill related mail, but a package!!! A parcel! A delivery! Ok, I'll calm down. I dropped my purse and coat on the couch and headed straight to the kitchen to cut it open. Gina had given me a heads up that something was coming, so I knew it was from her but I had no clue what to expect.. it is Gina after all.

I cut open the box, pulled away the packing and just started laughing. Josh was looking at me as though I'd lost my mind. What was in it? A jack-o-lantern cake pan!

Ok so before you join Josh on the "Megan is crazy" campaign, let me tell you a story.

Back when we all lived on Dorena Drive, and Gina and I were probably like what... 12ish? Gina and I got into this phase of baking ... a lot. Her mom was incredibly gracious about letting us use all of her flour, sugar and other said pantry items. We made cakes mostly now that I think about it... funnel cakes, cup cakes and most importantly, jack-o-lantern cakes! So, the baking part went off without a hitch, we've got Betty Crocker beat. Mix 2 pre-teen girls, a huge bowl of home made frosting and way too much food coloring together and here's what happens.

We made two cakes, naturally. One for her house, one for mine. We made a huge bowl of frosting (hey Gina, do you still have that recipe? I have never been able to make home made frosting that tastes quite as good as that did.) We successfully made orange, yellow and green frosting for the first pumpkin. It turned out soo cute! On to the next. Gina was in command, frosting, check, orange dye.... I went to hand it to her and it was just about empty. Hmm... well, being as brilliant as Gina and I are, we figured we'll just mix a couple other colors together, and make orange! Gosh, how we didn't strain our selves patting each other on the back is beyond me. So for whatever reason, if my memory serves me right, it became crucial to taste the frosting in order to see if it had successfully made it to the orange shade we were after. It didn't take long for us to be like mad scientists hiding in the corner mixing way too much dye into the frosting and laughing like lunatics on a sugar high. At this point, our beloved frosting had turned this disgusting color that can only be described as a mixture of pea soup and a turned avocado. It was in this fit of laughter that Gina fatefully dug her finger into the bowl and lifted a giant glob of goo to her face, and smeared it across her teeth. Her face transformed into a huge smile... my head went back I couldn't breath, tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard, and then BAM like ice water down my back, my eyes were glued in terror... on Gina's mom looming over us in the doorway. Gina tried mercifully to keep her mouth closed but it was pointless, green goop was all around her mouth, oozing from her lips, almost looking like a new string of a a rabies virus. We stared up at her in silence for a moment before jumping as we heard "GINA LOUISE MEEKS GO BRUSH YOUR TEETH RIGHT NOW". I sure wasn't gonna stand in the kitchen looking guilty so I ran into the bathroom with Gina where we continued to laugh while she scrubbed away. Oh but poor Gina. It would not end there. She continued to laugh as she spit and rinsed, only to look in the mirror to find her now clean teeth were stained green.

We were banned from ever making colored frosting again. My only regret is that we have no pictures of this!

So it was a fond memory that made me cackle out in amusement last night and I can't wait to make a cake with the girls this coming weekend! I think this time I'll make sure I have the right dye before we get started!

Tooshay, Gina

First, if you aren't Gina, read her response to my last blog here: barefootconservative

So, at first I thought ohh cool! She knows. But then as I was reading I was thinking. Well. Kinda rude! You know Gina. I was trying to be nice and just give you some insight so you'd know what I was talking about. Not rub assumptions that you aren't down with times or anything like that. I was merely trying to appreciate the fact that your plate is very full with school and was throwing you a bone.

Plus, any of us females between 12-137 would tell you the book is WAY better than the movie. Edward, and frankly, all other males in the book, vampire and werewolves included, are all way hotter in our heads than casted. That was probably the most common disappointment for us all... there was no way to cast anyone as beautiful as we've built them up to be! At least the first movie.. it was low budget. So.. pscchaa.. get your act together and read the stinkin' books. HOMIE!

Edward Weather

FINALLY!!! It's raining here. I do have to laugh over the local weathermen "STORM WATCH!" ... I barely needed an umbrella this morning. But hey, maybe it's still coming, from what I understand Northern CA is getting hit pretty good. Either way, I don't care, I'm just happy its cold and wet outside and warm and snuggly inside! Even if I am stuck at work.



Anyway, a friend of mine and I have a totally gooberific way to describe days like today... they are perfect Edward Weather Days. Normally at this point in my blog I'd tell you that if you don't know what I'm referring to, you must no longer speak to me. But given that Gina is one of my faithful readers and I know you are so busy with school you haven't had time to read the series yet, this is in reference to Edward Cullen ... (hello! I think we'd all love to be Bella right about there)



the sexy teenage (yet, hundreds of years old) vampire in the Twilight series. They come out during the day on cloudy days becuase they glitter in the sun. Back to me. I guess I'm in a gooberific mood because I'm re-reading Eclipse, the third installment of the series. I began with re-reading the 2nd one so that when the movie comes out next month (YAY!!!) I'd remember what happens in this portion of the saga. Once I finished the 2nd book I immediately wanted to refresh my memory on the 3rd. The way the author describes Forks, the town they live in just makes me want to move there. I'm sure its much like those who say they'd love to live in snow but the reality is that living in snow is a pain in the ass, I'd love to live where its cloudy and rainy and forresty. It would be so fun. And you might just see occasional muscle crazy teenage cute werewolf boys run by too. Enter... here.. (admittedly cuter in my head before they casted for the movie)



(again, go read Gina, I promise, you will LOVE IT!). Tease me all you want, these books rock and the new movie is going to be soooo much better than the 1st! I can't wait!

Cute Little Mini Cheesecakes

I love to cook. I love baking even more. It's so much more fun when its a sweet and yummy treat and not a dinner you had to make. So 2 years ago or so (geez, really?) Josh started going on and on about wanting me to try to make cheesecake. So, one weekend when he went with his Dad and Uncles to Laughlin I went out and bought a spring form pan. What an odd contraption. Next, I began the hunt for the perfect recipe. Personally, I love the "allrecipes.com" website. What I like is that people put their reviews on it, so you can know if it was good, or bad, what they changed, etc. Now I'm not going to give up all my secrets, but the recipe I found had over 1500 positive reviews. Works for me, and off to the grocery store I went. 8 hours later (there is a fool proof process not everyone knows) I sliced into pure heaven. How was I going to NOT eat this entire thing before Josh came home??? Oh my. I did not want to share it.

So there developed my famous cheesecake. We've made chocolate crusts, added white chocolate, raspberry toppings... made all sorts of sauces to drizzle on top.. its fool proof, seriously.

While sitting in bliss eating cheesecake one day, I told Josh about this place close by I used to buy the BEST mini cheesecakes from. (They made full size too.) I remembered reading that they started selling them at the local Farmers Market, and they got so popular they got a store and made it an official business. So we added this to one of our many ideas to "get rich and not have to work at a desk" dream jobs. Hey, it could happen!

My latest desire is to get cute little mini springform pans, and make little ones, so I can experiment with the flavors a bit more. I'd love to have some more variety! Plus the pans are so cute, see:

I'll have to keep you posted and let you know what recipes worked and which didn't... then you can kiss up to me in hopes I'll make ya one! ha!

Bats. Big Scary Bats.

K not really, but they are super cute!

As promised we've started our fall crafts. We started our quest to Joanns with 3 projects in mind. We only ended up completing one after we couldn't find everything we needed. Oh well, it's only Oct 5th so we've got time!

So, what was our project? Vampire Balloon Bats!

Ok, so usually we try to test out the waters before involving the girls so that we (I) don't implode our (my) frustration on them. Since we were dealing with balloons we (I) figured this was a good idea. Three balloons popped into my face later, VIOLA! Vampire bats!!!





We taped string to the back of their heads, and butts, so they hang just right on the patio... sooo spooooky!

Want to make your own? Here are the instructions: http://jas.familyfun.go.com/crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=12255

Tip? Buy extra balloons ;o)

Underwood Farm!!!

This weekend, Dad and Pattie treated us (THANK YOU!!!) to a visit to Underwood Farm. If you haven't gone, GO! Admittedly you have to sign away half your earnings for the month (again, thanks D&P!) but it really was a fun trip.

Kenzie immediately wanted to check out the animals, so that was where we headed first. They had everything from cute little piggies (running in a race!), chickens with fluffy feathers, donkeys, llamas, and the biggest cow I've ever seen. Each area had feeding tubes (and food - you had to buy) so the animals were extremely friendly. If you even so much as looked into their general direction they'd mosey on over to the feeding tube area and bat their eyes at you. One donkey even sang to Kenzie a bit and nudged the tube at her! Here are some pics:

Next we headed over to the corn maze. I should have just let Josh and the girls head in on their own. I walk out of a store in the mall and I get turned around!! But in we went, and immediately I saw Josh and Kali's competitive sides come out! They paired off and purposely took a turn away from Kenzie and I. Fine with me! Kenzie and I began taking pictures, laughing at every dead end we hit... until we hit the 5th, then the 6th one. When you reach the end of the maze there is a giant hay stack you can climb up to claim your victory. Kenzie and I became determined when we saw Josh and Kali at the top pointing at us and doing a victory dance. We began to walk with a purpose!!! And yet? More dead ends. It felt like we were in there for an eternity, and Mackenzie was officially over it. Thats when Ceasar, our high school hero walked by, eyeing us suspiciously. When we hit another dead end and came across his path again, he reached for his walkie talkie and said "I think I got her" .. "Hi are you Megan?" oh good grief. Apparently Kali decided that we were actually lost and got worried and told an employee!! HA!! So we hung our heads in shame as Josh got the last laugh.. this time!! It was fun though!

I just love that last picture, that was at the top of the hay stack! Next we headed over to the tractor ride, which is always fun... it was neat to see all the different crops the farm had. Lastly we checked out the pumpkins. The girls got on this kick about wanting baby pumpkins... so thats what we got! We figured we can get big pumpkins to carve closer to Halloween anyway.

All in all, we had a BLAST!!! Mackenzie said she wants her birthday there, LOL! This was a great way to start off the month of October!!

Santa Anas and Annoying Neighbors

So the one thing I really don't like about Fall is the Santa Ana winds. Don't get me wrong, breezy days are signature for fall.. but these aren't "breezy days". These are immediate bad hair/dry cracked skin, horrible sinus pain days... and.. the most dreaded part is it brings back the heat!! nooooooo!!

Hopefully it will only last a few days. A thought that popped into my head while I was getting Rufus set up outside this morning, was oh gawd... I wonder how soon my annoying neighbor will complain. Allow me to shed a little light on this portion of our lives:

To the right of our home, resides "Ponytail Guy." I think his name is Scott... but.. for all intensive purposes, we've always called him PG. He thinks hes Fabio. He's tall, some muscle, leather skin tan, and one long blond pony tail that I would seek great victory in chopping off in his sleep. I sound mean right? Well if you know me, its probably because something pushed me to this point... and boy did they ever!

I think PG and his nasally wife (she makes Fran Drescher sound quiet) should count their lucky stars. I moved into my house when I was 18. I have NEVER had a loud party at my house. Do they realize the rarity in that? However, guess who does have loud annoying parties with their drunk wife yelling goodbye to everyone at 2am. Ya, PG. We've even gotten as far as speculating that they are swingers because they have gross old people parties in their hot tub that sounds sooo gross (hey, its on the side of the fence closest to our bedroom window, we can't help but over hear it!)

Of the nit picky things he's come by to gripe about over the years, the most ridiculous has been the palm tree branches. We have one of those prehistoric giant palm trees in our backyard, that is pretty close to the fence that separates our yards. My Dad has it trimmed every few years.. it's not "growing wild" or anything like that. However, when the wind blows, much like today with the Santa Anas, the giant leaves or branches fall (what a concept, right?) At any given time I can peek into the backyard during these days and see a tan leathery hand throwing branches over the fence into our yard. It's not tons... maybe like 5 for the whole year. Fine, whatever, if you seriously can't fit one branch into your yard waste bin, whatever, fling it over.

What pissed me off was the day he came by to tell me it was becoming an issue and I'd need to talk to my Dad about it. I wanted so bad to suggest something that might work a little better ... maybe a little prayer to the Wind Gods... "Dear Wind God, please make the wind blow to the East instead of the West because apparently my A-hole neighbor is the ONLY human being on the face of the Earth who has to deal with neighbors leaves". GIMME A BREAK!!!

LOL anyways.... if this is the only downer to Fall I will gladly take it. I'm more than happy to spend my time ignoring PG and his branches and enjoying all the perks Fall has!!

Not so smart, Santa

It's that time of year.... Christmas shopping time!!! K so I haven't actually bought anything, but my list of ideas is growing and the panicky feeling that I need to start buying things a little at a time is full force. Of the many ideas we are getting for the girls, Josh and I thought it would be a good idea to get Ugg boots. Mind you not "Ugg" brand, but just something cute from Target. They are kids... they grow way too fast for me to spend $100 or whatever it costs on real Uggs! Anyway, I'm thinking to myself maybe a dark brown would be good, something like that. But I wanted to see if they liked them before we committed. So when we were at Old Navy last weekend and I saw I a pair I thought to myself, Perfect! Well, self... you should have paid just a tiny bit more attention to the selection that was there before opening your big fat mouth. Both girls sighed a perfect shopper's sigh and said yes they'd want those... however... they found what they'd want EVEN more.

Kali picked up these (and gasped):

K now let me explain that this picture does not come close to what they look like in person. They are bright GOLD!!! WITH GLITTER!!!!

Here is what Mackenzie picked:

Ok so at least these won't be visible from space, but its a far cry from the dark brown that matches almost everything I had in mind!!!

These girls were just never meant to blend in.

Fairy Gardens

Several months back, Pattie got me going on an idea to make fairy gardens with the girls. To get them excited about it, she even got us this pop-up book, isn't it cute??

Here is what one of the pages looks like:

Josh was overly thrilled at the idea of having to dig up flower beds in our rock hard front yard... but several hours later we had 2 cute half circles under each of the front bedroom windows. Pattie and Dad were sweet enough to start us off with our first bunch of petunias. The girls ended up being so into it, we went and doubled the amount of flowers. Josh took the girls to go get "Fairy sized" wind chimes and ornaments to encourage fairies to visit their gardens often. We finished it off by putting stepping stones with their hand prints in the middle of each garden. Admittedly the excitement died down occasionally, but they could always be talked into to watering and checking in on their gardens to make sure they were at the proper fairy standards.

Then summer came. This last heat wave was no match to our efforts to water, and keep these flowers nurtured. I sent Pattie a pic msg asking if there was any hope. After seeing the picture of the fairy gardens, she wrote back that "Hun those petunias are as dead as the get!" I was so disappointed!!! So I sat on in for a few days, then had an idea.

Last night I brought the girls out after dark, and handed them each a hot pink pouch with "magical fairy dust" that Pattie had gotten from a very top secret place. I asked if they wanted to sprinkle the fairy dust on our flowers and see if it will help the fairies to see we needed their help, and maybe they would stop by tonight. They both got wide eyed and went straight to it.

Then I waited, and waited and waited. And waited some more. Of course this was the night they fought sleep. 10:30!!! I got up, sleepy, a glass of wine in me... and out I went. I made Josh come with me, and all the while I'm trying to quietly dig up their dead petunias, he's laughing and pointing out the holes in my plan. I didn't get a flower to replace my dead flower pot, only ones for theirs... surely they would see the dirt under my nails... We were laughing so hard I was afraid we'd wake the girls! We finished, scanned the yard to make sure we didn't leave anything out, and went to bed.

When I woke up this morning, I heard the girls playing. I wondered if they had remembered. I peaked into their room I noticed their curtains were open.... which lead right to Kali's fairy garden. So I walked in and Mackenzie immediately grabbed my hand and brought me to the window. She said "Look!!!! Kali has new flowers!" So I suggested we go outside to see if her garden got new flowers too. Here are some of the pics, I didn't get any really great shots but you get the idea!

(If only the grass fairy could come by and give us a new lawn! ha!)

The next thing I want to do is get something to border their gardens... rocks, mini fences, I'm not sure, but they are lacking something and I think that will do the trick!!

In the end I don't know who was more excited, the girls or me... but it sure was fun sneaking around!!

Head Scratcher

Yahoo! recently posted an article about strange laws around the world. Check this out:

Playing the numbers: Rush-hour regulations in many major cities of the Philippines seem meant only for mathematicians: A vehicle can only be driven on days determined by the last digits of its license plate—this is called, for murky historical reasons, the "color-coding scheme." So borrowing a local's car may require more number crunching than it's worth. Even traveling by scooter has its challenges, since you can get ticketed for driving in sandals or bare feet.

What now? Sure makes our laws seem a little less annoying!!

My First Back To School NIght

Last night was Back to School Night for Kali and Mackenzie. This was the first B2SN I've ever been to. Josh and I took a half day off work so that we could drive down to Long Beach before traffic got bad. What to do with this extra time? Well shucks, we went to Sonic. While admittedly my burger was cold and my fries were old, my Route 44 Cherry Coke was hands down the best I'd ever had. It probably helped that a)it was 103 degrees there (no joke!) and I haven't had real soda in quite some time. But it rocked, and Josh LOVED what he had. (This Sonic venture was for him, so I can't complain!)

Anyway, eventually 6:30 wandered around, so we went in. It started with the principal giving a speech on the gigantic black top playground they have. Once the teachers were all introduced we were instructed to go to our student's classrooms for a presentation. Josh split to Kenzie's while I went to Kali's. Much like the doctor's visit, this is where I suddenly became nervous. As I noticed my heart was beating rapidly, I caught myself going wtf? LOL why? Here's why: I walked in and it was like the teacher zeroed in on me. "HI! What's your name?" Oh crap. I had no idea if Kali has talked about me and if this woman will know who I am. So I said my name, and said I was here for Kali, and before I could get much further, she stopped me to tell me she knew all about me, Kali talks about us a lot and to come on in. PHEW.. high five Kals! Next, I found Kali's desk and sat down. Mrs. Grantham had the students fill out an "about me" packet...Kali's answers were priceless. 5 traits: Pretty, Smart, Blue Eyed, English (lol), Sister. Awesome Talent: Wii. HA! Love it! After the teacher gave us a background on herself (she was a student at the same school back in the day), she began to go over expectations, curriculum, daily routines, behavior, etc. Where I started to worry (again, much like at the doctor's office) was at the guidelines for moving on to the 4th grade. Only 6 of her students were actually ready to move onto the 3rd grade reading level. On top of needing to improve there, Kali has to learn multiplication AND division this year. Yikes! We better get some flashcards.

After Kali's class was done and I'd gone up to sign up for volunteering in the class, I headed back to see if Josh was almost done. The girls had just arrived, so I was excited to get to see them and get lots of hugs. Kenzie walked me around her classroom to show me everything. Josh and I were particularly worried about how Kenzie would adjust. She had NO desire to start Kindergarten, and the development learning center she was previous at had the attitude of "if you don't want to participate, its Ok, go do something else." Ya, that doesn't fly in grade school! The teacher told us that admittedly the first few days were a struggle, but one particular art project got her going, and ever since she's been doing just fine. Another PHEW!

So all in all, it was a great experience. Sure I would have loved it that much more if they were going to school out here, but I think that's pointing out the obvious. Next up, parent/teacher conferences!!

Ob la di ob la da

So I haven't blogged in a long while. Lord knows I've started about 10 posts, just to sigh half way through and close out the window without saving it. I find that when I'm grouchy or life gets hard, its challenging to write. Mind you, I could go on and on, griping and complaining about life's latest struggles, but honestly, who whats to hear that? If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't want to read it.

While wallowing in my misery, I felt decidedly annoyed that life continued to go on around me. How dare it? It was this admittance that finally made me get off my soap box and move on, so alas dear faithful readers that hopefully have been checking for new blogs in me 3 week hiatus... I turn to you with a new cheek.

One thing that undoubtedly lifts my spirits is the very near arrival of fall. I heart fall. It's something Pattie and I have bonded over. There is something about the air, that cool breeze when you are watching Sunday Football that makes your toes get cold and yearn for socks that just makes my spirits rise. Then of course there is the change in season (even the subtle So Cal changes), pumpkins, Halloween, decorations... it's only just beginning. You can count upon several more posts in the upcoming weeks about Fall. The girls and I have numerous projects lined up, and a trip to Underwood Farms is already scheduled!

So.... onward and upward...

Lamp Lust

We picked up the girls today for the last partial week of summer *sad*. While we were sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on the 405, we saw the wonderful blue and yellow colored building signalling an Ikea was within our reach. The girls know it as "the store where we can touch EVERYTHING!" so of course they were on board. We high tailed down the off ramp and in we went.

Even if you don't buy anything it's such a fun store to walk around in. Showroom after showroom of endless ideas and vibes. We joked that Kali was going to pass out if she gasped and said "I LOVE this!" one more time. If I won the lottery I would seriously consider furnishing a lot of my home from Ikea. I'm not a snob I don't need a coffee table for $5000 just because I could.


All the while I was enjoying myself, but it was when we got to the room of lamps that I really felt my shopping urge soar. What in the world is it about lighting that just gets me all giddy inside? Beats the hell out of me. But all our lighting at home was purchased from Ikea. Maybe its the cheapskate in me that is filled with oodles of joy over the unbeatable prices or just the fact that they are a little funky and not the standard Bed-Bath-and-Beyond-everyone-has-it lamps. But today, I felt my Kali-sized gasp come out over a new lamp I've not yet seen. It was small, warm, inviting, girly... just what my bedroom needs!! I felt my heart swell up, my hand gently roaming over the frosted design on the glass. I held my breath as I flipped over the price tag. $16!! That was it!!! Oh my ... my brain immediately went to how to justify the fact that I needed this lamp. Unfortunately, the last lamps we bought were... for our bedroom. Boo. Fine. But I WILL be back. I will eventually scheme up something (or accidentally break 2 lamps in our room) and find a justifiable cause to purchase these beauties. I will.

This image doesn't do it justice, but I have to give you some sort of an example!

What's for dinner?

In an attempt to not bring the inside temperature of our house to 100 degrees, I went outside to BBQ last night. Josh was in a burger mood, but I was wanting something a little less traditional. One of the things I've fallen in love with in our new world of cooking is fresh ginger. I'd seen it plenty of times on cooking shows, with its weird funky shape and wondered what it was really like to use. The first time I bought it, I looked at it for 5 minutes before deciding how to attack it. My first slice... oh my.. the smell is what gets me. It just makes me want to get creative and start cooking as much as I can. So when I stumbled upon an Asian inspired burger with fresh ginger I was sold.

Turkey Burgers with Special Sauce

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1197203

Our verdict: Super juicy with lots of flavor. I felt the Dijon was a little overpowering in the sauce, while Josh thought the soy sauce was a little over powering. You be the judge and let us know!

Pediatric Offices and Adult Hood

Yesterday I took a new step towards my step-parent role with the girls. I don't know what my official title is. LOL blended families confuse me. (You'd think with my background I would totally have it down!) Mackenzie needed to go to the doctor for her 5 year physical and Josh had to work. I didn't even think twice about it, sure I can take her. So I left work around 10am to go pick her up from "Camp Tino" (Great Grandma Valentino watches the girls while we are at work, she is the coolest lady ever and makes a mean meatball.) It was in this moment that I started to get nervous! Mackenzie looked at me and said "I want my Dad to go with me." Yikes. I'm sorry kiddo, you are stuck with me this round. She began drilling me with questions about what was going to happen (mainly, would she be getting shots), tentatively sitting on the couch, fully ready to throw a tantrum. Bless her heart, Grandma Tino (with an extensive nursing background) walked her through it in the least scary way. Mackenzie reluctantly agreed to go. I threw her favorite song on my ipod, brought her favorite stuffed animal and away we went. By the time we got there she was her usual self cracking jokes swinging my arm as we walked.

My wishful thinking died here. As we walked in, the entire office was consumed by a child screaming and crying at the top of his lungs "I DON'T WANT TO GET A SHOT!!!!!" I closed my eyes praying for someone to close the freaking door somewhere!! I waited a second and looked at Kenzie, her big blue eyes staring up at me with a look I can only describe as a sad puppy rejected at the pound. Oh man. So I went into immediate damage control, plopped my big butt next to her tiny one playing with toys. The assistant behind the counter quickly blared "The Jungle Book" on the waiting room TV, trying desperately to drown out the poor child in the back's screams. Luckily, these things seemed to help.

Much to Kenzie's disappointment, we were called back. After the standard height and weight, we were placed in the "Space Ship" room with planets, astronauts and stars. Hey, they try. To my delight (I've trained her well) Mackenzie wanted to snoop through all the drawers and cabinets so we did so and I took the opportunity to try and explain to her what everything was to keep her comfortable. We heard the inevitable knock on the door and scurried back to our seats pretending like we were there all along. This was the point when I feel like the reality of I'm the "parent" responsibility really set in. I spent the next 10 minutes getting grilled with the standard questions. Eating habits, sleeping habits, previous illnesses, allergies, behavior problems? I've known Mackenzie since she was born, I know all of the answers to these questions, but it doesn't mean that the doubt isn't placed. Oh my God - what if she is allergic to something and I am just totally forgetting and then they give it to her? It honestly scared me! Don't worry, I double checked all my answers with Josh after we left, and I was right. (phew! lol)

Once the Q&A session was over, the doctor began Mackenzie's physical, and as she was checking her breathing and what not, began to tell Mackenzie things she should be doing. She talked to Kenz about what she eats, and told her "you should be eating 5-6 fruits or veggies every day." I just about died when Kenzie looked at me with this shocked expression and asked "You aren't going to tell Dad are you?". But my favorite Mackenzie response was when the doc told her she should only be watching TV/playing video games 1-2 hours a day. I asked her if she understood what that meant. She said no, so I explained "1 hour is like 2 spongebobs." Her jaw practically hit the floor. "I'm going to have to talk to Kali about this."

We finished up soon after. Her mom was for whatever reason unable to fax her shots record to the doctor's office, so Mackenzie will have to go back for shots, but I sure I am glad that I've gotten my first trip to the doctor out of the way!

Oh, one last final note. A male nursing assistant was brought in to give Mackenzie the hearing/vision test. He tried really hard to make friends with her, I'll give him credit. When they were done, he stuck up his hand for a high five, and Mackenzie actually put her hand up to hit his, and then stopped midway and changed her mind. What a snot!! He even laughed at her sass. That's Mackenzie for you.