108 Miles in SLO - Wildflower Century

Many of you know that Jeff is a cyclist... he road and mountain bikes... and has been riding for over 30 years. Since the kids and I came along, he cut his riding down about 95%... even more since he got sick. We have been LIVESTRONG supporters ever since those little yellow bracelets came out... to support Lance Armstrong and his cycling... we have NOT TAKEN THEM OFF since Jeff got sick, got treatment, and recovered. In the past 7-8 years, I can hardly think of a time that we have taken off our LIVESTRONG bracelets... and I COULDN'T HAVE BEEN PROUDER to wear my bracelet this weekend, when Jeff rode the Wildflower 108 mile ride with friends Dan Dawson and John McDowell... his best century ride since he started riding again!!!

Anna and I had a WONDERFUL time with Angela and Michael (6) McDowell... I haven't seen Angela since our wedding almost 8 years ago... what a PERFECT weekend to catch up and get to know each other better!!! We took the kids to see "Bubble Gum Alley," (and Anna having her first piece of gum... and swallowing it...) Moro Bay and a glass bottom boat, downtown SLO and the creek... such a great time... what AWESOME friends! I hope you enjoy the picks of this FANTASTIC WEEKEND!!!

Beautiful Day to Homeschool at the Beach!

We have been having a heat wave here in Southern California for the past few days... over 100 degrees here in town! So Penny and I decided that it was time to dust off the beach chairs and umbrella and take the kids to the beach for the first time this year! It couldn't have been more PERFECT! There were only about 10 families on the whole beach... several with kids our age, so they all started playing and digging together. There was a slight breeze... the sound of the waves breaking on the sand... beautiful blue water stretching as far as the eye could see... giggles from both the kids and the parents... a pod of dolphins swimming back and forth in front of us... flocks of HUGE pelicans flying and diving into the water... Anna crushing on a cute little 5-year-old named AJ... :-)... such a great day! We decided to do a bit of schooling at the beach, so we taught the kids a few new words and used our fingers in the sand to write our letters. We had also planned a math lesson and science lesson, but, I was stung by a bee (yes, I am very allergic), so we had to pack up real quick and get home. It was still a GREAT day!

One last thing... my sweet husband brought home a dozen red roses last night... to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of our FIRST DATE! I can't believe we have been together for 10 years!!! And what a fun night that was... a 3-hour-beer at the El Torito Grill (we just kept talking and talking and didn't realize what time it was)... then off to see the movie "Ed TV"... we were the only 2 people in the entire theater... he held my hand... I was SOOOOOOO attracted to him... he walked me to my car... I didn't know if he would kiss me and I was very nervous because it had been a VERY LONG TIME since I had a first kiss... he came closer and gave me a very warm... hug... that still makes me smile... I remember sitting there in my car, my hands shaking, because I just knew that I was going to marry that man! It was like a bolt of lightening... I just KNEW. And 2 years and 3 months to the day later, we did just that... I LOVE YOU, JEFF!

OGHS Athletics Auction...

Busy, busy, busy!!! The Dick Disney Athletics Auction is the single BIGGEST fundraiser for athletics for the ENTIRE YEAR! What so many people don't understand is that THANKS TO THE STATE ECONOMIC ISSUES, SCHOOL ATHLETICS NOW HAVE NOOOOOOOOO MONEY!! Um, YEAH, NO MONEY! In the 2009 - 2010 school year, NONE OF THE ATHLETIC PROGRAMS AT OGHS WILL GET A DIME OF SUPPORT FROM THE SCHOOL/DISTRICT!!!! Every cent for uniforms, travel, safety equipment, tournaments, EVERYTHING will have to be FUND RAISED!!! It is so sad to say that out of a school of about 2,500 students that there is a group of around 30 families that HAVE TO RAISE ALL THE MONEY FOR THE ENTIRE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT FOR OUR HIGH SCHOOL!!!!! It is so FRUSTRATING that out of hundreds of kids that participate in sports at our school, that so few of us end up paying for ALL OF THE KIDS IN ALL OF THE PROGRAMS! Do you know how many of the parents we ONLY SEE AT THE END OF THE YEAR BANQUET!? We seriously sit there and wonder who all these people are that all of a sudden show up for the party when they haven't done a THING to support their own child, much less the program the ENTIRE YEAR!!@!

Sorry, enough of my tirade on this issue...

WE had a great time... Anna found a Disney Princess item that she HAD TO HAVE and she sat on it and covered the bid sheet so that nobody else could bid on it... some of our family friends gave her a hard time... trying to write a new bid on her arms, but she would not have any of it!!! Here are a few fun pics from the auction...

Please support your school... no matter what school... no matter what program... if you have kids in school, the ONLY WAY that they are going to succeed is going to be because YOU SUPPORT THEM!!!

Computer crash...

... and, yes, it was intentional! We have been having problems with our computer for MONTHS! We finally got so sick and tired of it that we spent the last week backing up EVERYTHING, getting software together and finally crashing the entire system. It is our last attempt to save the computer or we are going out to buy a new one! In the meantime, I wasn't able to update my blog, say, "Happy Easter" to my peeps, and it seems that my email is not working... I'm not sure what we are going to do about that, but it is on Jeff's "list!" :-)

First, down to business... any of you that want to audition for the Rusty Pickle Design Team, you can find all the specifics for the call at the RP site here. I will be happy to answer any questions that you might have about the call, the team, the products, etc!

Second... WHOA, what a busy week... 8 assignments due, taxes, 2 swim meets, final weigh in for the Biggest Loser, Athletics Auction on Saturday, and teaching on Sunday!!! If you are local and would like to take a class, I am teaching the "Anna" Hanging Frame Set on Sunday... you can find the class information and sample at the Ever After Scrapbooks site here.

Finally, we had a WONDERFUL Easter at my sister's house!!! Early mass, baskets, good food, better drinks, egg hunt, Rock Band 2, jacuzzi, 80 degree temps... it was PERFECT! Hope you enjoy these photos of our special day... now, back to work!

RUSTY PICKLE AMAZING RACE 2009!!!

It has been 2 years since the last Rusty Pickle Amazing Race... the Pickle's search for new Design Team members!!! As a contestant in the 2007 Race and a Chef (DT member) for the past two years, I am THRILLED to be the Contestant Coordinator for the new Race! WOOOO HOOOO!!!

While I tease you just a bit and make you wait for your assignments (bwaaahwwwaaahhhaaaaa - my evil laugh), let's get to know each other just a bit! WHO IS READY TO RACE!?

GCD Studios - Audition Time!

Today is the deadline to enter the Design Team audition for GCD Studios. This is only their 2nd DT call and as of yesterday, they had already received over 350 applications for 8 spots! WOW!!! Here is another layout I created for the call. (There are 2 more in previous posts.) I just LOVE this picture of Anna and Chris taking their pumpkins to get weighed. 12 years might separate them in age, but they couldn't be closer as brother and sister!

GCD Studios put out a request for designers who can create "altered items." Although I think my forte is in layouts, I have created quite a few altered items and mini albums that I wanted to share with Heidi and the rest of the judging panel. Enjoy the slide show!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a GREAT weekend while we all wait for "call day" on Tuesday! Woooo Hoooo!!! :-)

I've been playing...

I've been scrapping quite a bit... monthly fun with Rusty Pickle and my DT audition layouts for GCD! WOO HOOO!!! The "Adjust Your Sails" layout is Jeff's new current favorite... memories of him... relaxing with The Bug... sailing in Mission Bay... yeah, I can see how the memories from this layout could put him in a happy mood! :-) The "Hard Work" layout is from the same vacation at Campland on Mission Bay... another great day at the beach... kids having fun in the sand... the sound of the water lapping on the wet sand... a gentle breeze tickling the palm trees... ahhhhh, summer! Bring it ON!!! :-)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Every year, we host a HUGE family party to celebrate our Irish heritage... good food, good company, and good drinks! :-) I must say, that being in the middle of another of my weight loss challenges, I was presented with a difficult decision... be good... or be bad... so what is any good Irish Catholic to do? I set the table with my late "Papa's" orchids and Irish china, I ate a good breakfast, went to the gym and worked out REALLY hard, and then celebrated for the rest of the day! :-)

Our celebration started with a special school day (we home-school preschool for Anna, Cat, and Robbie). We worked on writing exercises, made special Irish bracelets, learned about Ireland, St. Patrick, snakes and leprechauns during circle time, and performed "The Three Little Pigs" for the whole party! The kids had been planning this performance for a few weeks (since our pig/farm study) and Miss Penny did a FANTASTIC job getting the "costumes" together!

We had another great party, leftovers for 3 days, and are just now finishing the dishes... just in time for me to wish each of you a FANTASTIC, MISCHIEVOUS, and BLESSED St. Patrick's Day!

GCD Studios...

An editor friend of mine just brought to my attention a new company... about 2 years old... new to me... GCD Studios... based in Lake Forest, CA... only about 1 hour from me and 5 minutes from where I grew up!!! I have been checking them out and found some of their first release to play with (none of my LSS have their newly released stuff yet... coming SOON, I hope!) I have added their link to their blog here and under the "Places I Like to Visit." Here is the first of my audition pieces for their Design Team Audition called, "24 Hours a Day." Thanks for looking and have a GREAT day!

Anna and the Dentist...

Ohhhh... all these firsts that are flying by... like a leaf that barely opens to the sunlight and falls to the ground and blows away... This week was Anna's first trip to the dentist! She was prepared and very excited because she saw on TV that she would be getting a BRAND NEW TOOTHBRUSH... like the special princess brush she currently has isn't enough... :-) Better yet, her "Grand Aunt Sarah" is her dental hygienist, so there was nothing to worry about! It was funny, sitting there watching Anna get her teeth cleaned, Aunt Sarah said she was having flashbacks to when I was in the chair, at Anna's age, and she was cleaning MY teeth for the first time. (It sure is nice that the older family members are around to remember these things for we youngsters... ha, ha, ha... I LOVE you, Aunt Sarah!!!) Anna did a FANTASTIC job and we were THRILLED that she didn't have a single cavity! Woo Hoo!!!