Wordless Wednesday

Carolynn's 18th Birthday
April 21, 2014
Apple Valley, California

Alien Nation

David and I are finally getting married. I know, about time already. But anyway, we are not having a big fancy wedding. Actually no wedding at all. But we are having a barbecue party to celebrate with friends and family.

And there lies the conundrum......

Who do we invite? 

Family? Obviously. 

But so many of them live far away, especially David's family. I don't want anyone to feel obligated to come. But I don't want anyone to feel left out either. 

Friends? Sure. But which ones? 

How well do I know you? Who will have hurt feelings if I forget them? Who could care less? 

Do I just invite everyone and let it sort itself out? 

Do I over think everything?

Yes. Yes, I do. 

Wordless Wednesday

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Baby Shower For Baby Michelle
July 21, 2012
Apple Valley, California

Wordless Wednesday

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I can't even believe how many of us there are!!!!
July 2011
Apple Valley, California
Picture Taken By My Cousin Wendy

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

Tonight we went to our annual “Christmas Ornament Exchange”. Sometimes we do it at our house, but this year we did it at Chris and Sherri's house. We had a great time. We made homemade pizza. Sherri made this fabulous vegetable barley soup. Mary baked pumpkin bread. I was full after that.

We got some pretty great ornaments. I got some glittery hearts. Carolynn got a cool Glee ornament, which she hung on the wall in her room. Catherine got a fun rhino ornament.

We had a great time.

*************************
To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle mount to the sky;

The Surprise Of The Century

Tomorrow is David's birthday. He will be 24. He is getting old. Just 5 more birthdays and he will have caught up to me. We are not planning anything special. We are tight on money right this minute and we are spending our extra money on car repairs and maintenance. Having two working vehicles is a must.

Of course, that is what we told Catherine for her birthday in September. We told her we were so broke she wasn't even getting presents. Then we bought her Ginny Weasley. She was so surprised. But really, that wasn't the end of it. The Saturday after that, we threw her a surprise party. She had no idea.

We had actually been planning it for weeks. Catherine's friend Brittany helped me pick out invitations on the sly. They were tea cups and when you pulled out the tea bags the party information was on them. That was our theme, a tea party. Catherine's friend Dalia helped me with the guest list.

On the day of the party, while Catherine was at tae kwon do, Carolynn and I cleaned the house. We started the food and got the decorations ready. Catherine's dad sent her a corsage of orchids that came while she was out and we stored it in the refrigerator. When Catherine got home she saw us decorating and getting out the fancy tea set. She thought that we were just having fun. When we lived in San Diego, we often threw ourselves silly parties when we were broke just for us. It was fun. That is what Catherine thought we were doing then. So she joined right in and helped us decorate and make food.

Then she had an idea. Maybe she could invite over a friend. She wanted to invite her friend Robyn. I said sure. Robyn was on my guest list but I didn't know where she lived or how to find her so she never got the invitation. Catherine was happy to invite the one friend and was ready to go get her and start the tea party.

Then she looked out the window as our friends Adrienne and Serenity drove up. She looked confused. Then her friends Dalia and Brittney (and their little sister) came and brought cake pops. (I tried to make some but mine didn't work out to well. Luckily Dalia and Brittney's mom had it covered.) Catherine was so excited. She finally was catching on it was a party for her. She and David went to pick up Robyn. While she was gone 2 more friends showed up. She couldn't believe it when she got back. Later Chris and Sherri came too. The girls played games, ate and drank tea. Catherine got to wear her corsage. They all wore plastic tiaras. They opened presents. Catherine got a lot of cool scrapbooking stuff. It was quite the surprise.

Happy Halloween

I was kid free on this Halloween night. I only have had one little group of Trick or Treaters all night. Catherine went out Trick Or Treating with her friends. Carolynn went with her friend to a church thing and maybe some Trick Or Treating. I think that the girls had a pretty good Halloween this year. Especially Catherine. Carolynn got grounded due to some test grade issues and, though she was invited to several, she did not get to go to any of her friends' parties. She was forced to stay home and clean. She did a good job. She did some studying and helped out at Catherine's party.

Catherine had a Halloween party last night. She didn't have a birthday party this year, so we agreed she could have a party for Halloween. She had 7 friends come. They wore costumes. They played some party games. They sang and danced. I hope they had a good time.

On Friday Catherine's school had a Halloween parade. There were some silly costumes. She said it was fun and they got to do some Halloween activities and get some candy and prizes.

It was quite the weekend.

And here is a video to prove it. Enjoy.

Happy New Year!

I know it has been a few minutes since I updated. It is nice to see you missed me. I hope everyone had a nice holiday season. I hate to be a humbug, but I am glad it is over. It was so hectic and cost money I needed for other things. It was so nice to eat all that yummy food and see everyone. But all that extra work and partying wore me out.

I have been working a lot. A LOT! The paychecks will be fat. Work is good. I finally finished my probation. WOO! I made it. Not only that, but I was promoted from a 5 officer to a 6. A little more money in the paycheck. It comes with some new posts to try and new stuff to learn. This is going to be a great year of work. I don’t know why I love my job, I just do.

Christmas was good. I worked on Christmas Day. We celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve. The girls got a ton of good stuff. Carolynn got the iPod she has been wanting. Catherine got a ton of Pokémon. I got a new sweater and some chocolates. David got a Super Mario game. Carolynn also wanted a kitten. I don’t know why. We have a cat. We unfortunately lost two cats last year. We have three dogs. She still wanted a kitten. A kitten named Muffins. She had lost her mind.

Anyway, I went to the shelter last week to pick up the dogs tags and Carolynn fell in love with a little gray kitten. Muffins had arrived. The shelter said she is 6 months old. They also said she had a cold and they gave her 10 days of antibiotics. They said she was clear to take home. But after a week, she was sick again. I took her to the vet. They ran a bunch of tests and gave her some medicine. They still are not sure what exactly is wrong, but they don’t think it is fatal or major. The shelter covered part of the expense. My ex-husband is sending some money to cover it for his child.(He didn't want to see her cry and he didn't want the kitten to be sick either.) And she should be fine soon.

Our New Year’s Eve was fun. We had snacks and played games quietly at home. I had to work New Years Day.

Anyway, 2009 is gone. It went by so fast. But it was a great year. 2010 is going to be even better. To commemorate the occasion, I made this video. Enjoy peeps. Happy 2010!

Angels We Have Heard On High

I have three days off this week. Really this time. I mean it. It should be glorious. Today I went to the post office to get stamps to send the rest of my Christmas cards. They all went out today. The old folks in the post office are very chatty. Then I went to the Wal-Mart to get something to pack all the Christmas goodies in. I am doing a little baking this week for our Holiday Game Night. I will do most of my baking for presents next week so they are fresh.

Speaking of Holiday Game Night…

This Saturday, December 19, we are having a Holiday Game Night and Ornament Exchange. If I didn’t send you a personal invite, do not be alarmed. You are totally invited. Just email me, Facebook me, text me, call me… Whatever. It’s going to be fun. In actuality, it was Tabi and Kathy’s idea for the game night and ornament exchange. We are going to have lots of appetizer type foods. I am making my Aunt Pavena’s yummy eggrolls. I know Jackie is bringing deviled eggs. I am baking some cookies; peanut butter, snowballs, sugar cookies and maybe chocolate chip. It is going to be just what I needed to get into the holiday spirit. Friends, fun, Christmas cookies, and ornaments… So come on down.

Next week I will do more holiday baking; Cookies and fudge and Grandpa’s Gum Drop cake. Tonight I am making spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. Later the girls will be in some holiday programs at their schools. Yes, each one at her respective school, at the same time. Carolynn will be playing in her holiday band concert and Catherine will be singing in her school’s choir concert. David will be attending Carolynn’s band concert and I will be attending Catherine’s choir concert. There will be pictures.

If there is time for movies tonight after the concerts, we will be enjoying Mickey’s Christmas Carol. David really wants to watch A Muppet Christmas Carol. Everyone wants to see Jim Carrey in the new Christmas Carol. It’s my favorite Christmas story. (But my favorite Christmas movie has more to do with a Red Rider Air Rifle.)

Anyway, I have to go get the meatballs going.

Merry Christmas.

Let It Snow

Yesterday was a stormy day. It snowed off and on all day. Nothing stuck. The wind howled. The lights flickered. The Christmas lights are now falling off the house. It was so cold. It is still cold. I have to work tonight. It is going to be super cold. I know it. At least the weather is Christmas-y.

I am still having trouble getting in the Christmas spirit. My car is a piece of crap. Seriously. I hate it. If I don’t have to go to work, I am not driving it. Not until I can afford the repairs. Why do cars find the most inappropriate times to break? I still have bills to pay and Christmas presents I want to buy.

Here’s another added stress for you… Drizella has been digging out. She digs out and Gibby goes with her. She knows she is bad. When we catch her she slinks back and won’t come close to us. I don’t know what to do about her. Frankly, she isn’t a very good dog. She doesn’t listen. She steals food. She chews stuff up. She bites. And she digs. What am I supposed to do? If animal control finds her, we will get a big ticket and the added expense. Just what I needed right now…

And one more suck-fest to add to my Bah-Humbug spirit… Knott’s Berry Farm is free for me and the family until the 20th. It’s free for all law enforcement officers. I knew it was coming and we had been looking forward to it. But now, it looks like we won’t be going. Even though it is free to get in, we’d still have to pay for gas, parking, food (you have to get Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner), and maybe a souvenir or two. And with my stupid car being stupid, I wouldn’t try and drive it that far anyway until it is repaired.

Okay, sorry I am such a Scrooge. I am trying not to be. We are thinking about having a New Year’s Eve party. A long time ago, I used to throw a New Year’s Eve party every year. At the time, we had this grouchy neighbor who called the cops on us at about 10:30 PM. Every year. We were never that loud. She was just a Scrooge herself. Then for a long while, I had no one to invite to any sort of party. Now I do. And if my work schedule continues in the way it is, I will have New Year’s Eve off. So keep a look out for party e-vites. (They are cheap.)

Here is some more good news… Yesterday I talked to my friend Paula. I had not talked to her for a couple of years. She moved and lost her job and I lost contact. But thanks to Facebook (again) she found me again and we talked last night. She is going through some rough times too, but like me she is working through it. Her husband is having trouble finding a job right now. I suggested he apply where I work. At least it is something.

Well, I guess that is it. I have to get ready for work soon. I will take my Scrooge attitude to prison. I am sure the inmates will enjoy.

Merry Christmas To All.

So A Raccoon Walks Through The Door

Carolynn came home from school today with two black eyes. Nope, no one punched her. It was eyeliner. More eyeliner than anyone would ever need. And this was after her attempt to wash it off since she is not allowed to wear eyeliner. When I asked her about it, she said she fell and some dirt got around her eyes. Black dirt? No, asphalt. Yes, I totally believe her. Do you?

Carolynn was batting 1000 when she handed over her progress report. Yep, she is failing Language Arts and Math. Oh wait, no she is doing fine… She is getting a 61% in Math and a 69% in Language Arts. Is she having trouble? Not according to her teachers. She is getting 100% on quizzes and the work she actually does in Math, but unfortunately she doesn’t do much work. I am not 100% sure of her skill in Language Arts, but I am sure that it has much to do with missing assignments. Another problem, she is getting a C- in Band. BAND! According to the teacher, it’s because she refuses to pay attention, doesn’t play her instrument and talks a lot.

So what was her reaction to the grounding, the taking of her cell phone and the removal of her laptop? She doesn’t care. She has been a bundle of attitude all evening. I am about to shove my foot up her ass. I just love teenagers. Anyone want to trade?

I made chicken and dumplings for dinner. It was delicious. I had plenty to pack for lunch at work. We took down the Halloween décor and put up the Thanksgiving stuff. We did some cleaning. We got a new water heater. Our old one rusted and was leaking. They replaced it today. Our new one is bigger and works better. They came and looked at the dead tree in the yard. The gardener said he didn’t cut it down yesterday because he was hoping it would make it come back. He said it was once very pretty and gave the front of the house a lot of nice shade. I am sure it did. But now it is just a big dead stick. They will be by to cut it down next week.

Tomorrow it’s back to work for me. Catherine has her softball team party. Then we are going to Jackie and Alan’s for a barbecue. It should be a fun time.

A Halloween Surprise

On Friday, David, the girls and I were going to go to a pumpkin carving party at David’s Friends house. Unfortunately, David’s friend’s kids got the swine flu and the party was canceled. I felt so bad for them. Their party was canceled, the kids won’t get to trick or treat, and they have to be sick. Poor things. Anyway, since I had already taken the evening off, and we already had cupcakes and snacks we had made to take to the party, we figured we’d invite some friends over. Tabi came and brought the boys and Jackie and Alan came and brought their nieces. Taylor came too. There was video game playing and snacks and chit chat. It was a pleasant evening. Not exactly the evening we had planned, but it turned out pretty good in the end.

Yesterday, Catherine had her last softball game of the season. They had fun. They made it 4 innings before they called the mercy rule. After the game, Catherine’s friend Katelyn came over. There was pumpkin carving. David made a Transformer, Catherine made a cat, and Carolynn made Jack Skellington. After te pumpkins were carved, they got in their costumes. Carolynn went as Mrs. Lovitt from Sweeney Todd and Catherine as a vampire. Catherine’s costume was quite the predicament. We didn’t find out until Thursday night, that the collar was missing from her costume. On Friday, I went to Party City to exchange it, but they were all out of that one and out of all other vampire costumes. So I looked at Toys R Us, Wal-Mart and Target for a vampire cape. No dice. Then I remembered I had an old adult sized vampire cape in the garage. So I cut the bottom off of it. Done. Carolynn did the makeup and they were off. David took Carolynn to her friend’s house and Catherine to Joe and Nicole’s house so she could Trick or Treat with Allison. I hope they had a good time. I was at work, and I was up before them all this morning.

Today is the first day of NaBloPoMo. I am making another fabulous attempt and blogging everyday for a month. This will be my third year. And to start it off, I am working 16 hours today, so I can’t add any cool pictures from last night because I will be in prison. Way to start off. Better than last year’s start… Which was windy and rainy and I spent the day searching desperately for a job in the rain with my mom. (on the plus side, we had some really good coffee.)

Until tomorrow, unless I work another double… then NaBloPoMo will be over for me before it begins. But I will have extra money…

Bunco

Last night I went to see some old friends and play Bunco. I was a little nervous about the situation. I hadn’t seen Jamie (it was her house) or Sarah in 15 years a long time. What if we didn’t get along anymore? I know some people I went to high school with who I was friends with there, but when I knew those same people after high school, I wondered why we were ever friends.

So there was that issue, along with the fact that a whole bunch of other people I didn’t know would be there and I had no idea what Bunco was, other than it was a game played with dice. But I don’t get out much and I could use some friends, so I went.

Turns out, I didn’t have anything to be nervous about. Jamie is still the sweet and wonderful person I remember from high school. Her house was beautiful. Her Halloween décor put mine to shame. Her husband was very nice. Our friend Sarah came and she too was still so friendly and so nice. Now I know why I was friends with them for so long. (I am sure I met both of them in the 7th grade.) Anyway, there were fourteen people there and everyone was nice and we had fun. Jamie had made chili and corn bread. We ate and talked for a while before we started playing. Bunco is an easy game. If you can count and roll dice, you can play. You switch partners a lot and move around so you get to meet everyone. I had a blast. I even won a little money. (Everyone put $5 in to play.) I didn’t care. I would have been just as happy had I lost every time. I met some new people who were just lovely. I hope we can do it again.

While I was gone, Catherine and David watched The Princess Bride. David said Catherine got so into it, she just about cried at parts. Carolynn has a friend sleeping over. She seems a lot more tame than a lot of her other friends. She is a polite little girl and hasn’t caused any trouble. I have hope for Carolynn yet. Catherine wanted to go her friend Cady’s house, but she is so grounded.

Today we are going to Oak Glen to soak in some fall color and see about some pumpkins. I promise pictures when I get back. (I wish I would have thought of that last night. Some of the Bunco players had some excellent costumes. I was dressed as an off duty correctional officer. It’s my favorite way to dress up.)

A Mind Overflows... Mine Just Sort of Simmers

I didn’t do much today. I was so lazy. I did make Catherine slave around the house as part of her grounding. Carolynn did some cleaning because she wants some friend of hers to sleep over. I worked on my reading group stuff, got some prizes mailed out and checked in on the voting for November’s book. I started some laundry and made meatloaf for dinner.

I am pretty excited about some upcoming events around here. I am hoping I get to go to the pumpkin carving party at David’s friend’s house. It will be nice to meet some people who haven’t murdered anyone. I am looking forward to going to see Angela sing next month, if I can. The nightclub she is singing at is an old one. It’s an old jazz club. Then a little while ago, my friend Jamie invited me to come play Bunco at her house with some other people tomorrow night.

You know why I am so excited about this? I have no friends. I work a lot. I spend so much of my time chatting with murderers and bank robbers and the like. Sure, I have plenty of online friends. And I have plenty of friends that live far away. I even have a few friends that live close by. But honestly, I am a terrible friend. I don’t call. I suck. I know this. I feel bad about it. But I don’t change it. For instance…

I meet people at work, people who work there and are not incarcerated, but I don’t make any effort to get to know any of them outside of work. Sure there are several of them I like and wouldn’t mind hanging out, but I don’t.

I have a couple of friends who live in the area and I have had them over and we went to a concert in the summer, but that was it. I would love to do more stuff, but I just don’t. Like I said, I suck.

So now I have a chance to go and meet some more new people and see some old friends. It seems like such a mundane thing, but to me, it’s a huge occasion. I have no idea what Bunco is. Jamie says it’s a fast paced dice game. I suck at games like that, but I don’t care.

It reminds me of my Grandma. At my Grandma’s memorial service, my Great Aunt Margie and some other family members were talking about how when Grandma was my age, she used to have neighborhood wives over to play cards and what not. It’s what people did back in the day. Now the only way I interact with people is via the internet.

Ready or not real life…

The Aftermath

There are sleeping bags and pillows everywhere. Popcorn and chips are all over my floor. Empty cups and paper plates are on every surface. Little girls in jammies are staggering about, looking like zombies. Some have marker on their faces, price of falling asleep too fast. I heard them giggling and playing until at least 3am. We had pizza and birthday pie. Wii games, regular games and a scavenger hunt. It was the birthday party of the decade.

Catherine didn’t even know she was having a party until early this week when I handed her some invitations to hand out. Then she didn’t know when of what kind of part she was having until her friends opened the invitations. Still she thought I had to work, so she thought she would be having a small party with some cheap food and they would have to play quietly in her room. What she didn’t know is we were planning a big party, with balloons and games and prizes. We ordered pizza from Nick’s Pizza. We got pie from Marie Callander’s. We had balloons and decorations. We picked everything up yesterday. Catherine was very surprised. She has three friends from school, one friend from her softball team, and Allison. I invited Allison because she would have been crushed if Catherine had a party and she knew about it, but hadn’t been invited, even if she is only 6. Everyone had fun. Catherine said it was the best birthday she ever had. You only turn 10 once.

So Very Busy

I will have put in 58 hours at work this week. I had only one day off. Sunday, begins a new quarter at work. I will be saying good bye to steady shifts and regular days off for the rest of the year. I know, it is fabulous.

Catherine’s birthday is on Monday, but she is having a party on Saturday. I would say more but Catherine is a nosy pain. I ordered the pie from Marie Callander's. We can pick them up Saturday.

Barbecue Bust

So yesterday we had a barbecue. Too bad just about every person I know was unavailable. They were at work, out of town and otherwise occupied. So I threw a barbecue for myself. Allison was here. She slept over on Saturday night. Nicole came and brought the baby. We had some burgers and the kids tortured toasted marshmallows in the fire pit in the back yard. Then the girls went to sleep over at Joe and Nicole’s. It wasn’t nearly the fabulous barbecue I had in mind, but it certainly had the cutest baby in the world, so it worked. Speaking of the cutest baby in the world…

"HULK MAD! Hulk rolled over and Hulk has no idea how he got there or how to roll back!"

"Rolling is hard work. Think I better rest here and suck this finger."

"Yep, I am the cutest baby boy you will ever see."

Carolynn and Nathan

Nicole, Allison and Nathan

Anyways, today I went over to pick up the girls from Joe and somehow brought Allison back again. I took them to McDonald’s for chicken nuggets and ice cream. Then Allison has been on the computer since we got home. They are installing a new garage door opener in our garage. The old one wasn’t working right. David is making pizza for dinner.

Allison surfing the web

Tomorrow night I go back to work. I have switched back to the midnight to 8 am shift. Fun times!

I Work Hard For The Money

I have been working a lot lately. 6 days a week, sometimes 7 or 8 shifts in a week. My feet hurt. Usually, I work on one of my days off, but this week I decided against it. Yesterday, I ran some errands and got a burger. We watched The Jazz Singer. We did some cleaning and I made some pasta for dinner. It was a nice quiet day. Today, we are doing much of the same.

Since I have been working so much, I really have been missing out on a lot of stuff. The girls are doing fun stuff like hanging out with friends and watching movies. David took the girls to a 4th of July party. All the while I have been working. This weekend is the shift change at work and my days off will change. I will be home on Sunday. So I decided we should celebrate and have a barbecue. We could invite some people; get some burgers, water balloons and other fun stuff. Sound like a plan? Of course it does! Do you want to join in on the fun? Of course you do! So you are invited! Yes, you. Transportation is not provided though. So if you aren’t local, this Sunday I will drink a glass of ice tea in your honor. But if you are local, come on over. We can party like it’s 1999. Or something. Who cares?

Anyway, since I am throwing this fabulous shindig on Sunday, I have a lot of cleaning and stuff to do to prepare. I will return later.

In the meantime, you have got to see my previous post. Seriously. I laughed for hours. I still laugh when I think of it.

Beware of Mega-Shark.

Penis

Yep, I said it. It has been an interesting time at my job to say the least. I am sick of men. All men. Prisoners and employees alike. Men are stupid pigs. David is probably packing as I type this. He did get a one way ticket to Texas. Maybe he will stay there because he thinks I have lost my mind. That is all I have to say. That and it is very funny. If I didn’t find humor in my job, I would have quit already.

Carolynn’s grounding is going along filled of drama. (“I can’t do anything. I guess I will just stay in my bed.”) She missed going to the movies with my mom over the weekend because of her grounding. My mom took Catherine to see Coraline. Speaking of movies, we got our Netflix back on. I canceled it when we moved and we were broke anyway. We have watched several movies. Definitely, Maybe was okay and Burn After Reading was not super great. It had some funny parts though. The Coen brothers make some great movies; I just didn’t care for this one. Fargo, Raising Arizona, and O Brother Where Art Thou were funny. Today we should be getting Changeling.

Today I was out doing some shopping and I stopped by to tell my Grandpa I had next Monday and Tuesday off and see if he wanted to go anywhere. If there is a casino, he wants to go there. He had some free rooms at Agua Caliente so I am taking him. We will go on Monday and come home Tuesday. The Monday after that I leave for Georgia.

On Sunday Nicole is having a baby shower. I will go there after work. I hope my nephew gets a load of goods. (And some stuff for Allison too, because being a big sister is an important job.)

Well, I am off. My days off are often filled with cleaning, shopping and errands.

Wordless Wednesday

Carolynn's Birthday Extravaganza
April 19, 2008
Vista, CA