Ok, fine!

But I'm NOT following ALL the rules! lol

What I was doing 10 years ago: Living in Norwalk w/ roomates, only
had one child, working part-time @ Montgomery Ward & trying to figure out what was WRONG w/ my DH....few months later I found out & nightmare #1 began.

Five things on my to-do list today:
1. Youth group field trip to Hollywood--didn't happen
2. Work on crochet sweater/cardigan--still working on it
3. laundry
4. finish painting bedroom I started 6 months ago---didn't happen
5. wash dishes

Snacks I enjoy:
1. trail mix--w/ cranberries
2. trail mix--w/ yogurt chips
3. cinnamon toast
4. toast w/ butter & honey
5. tortilla chips & salsa--ME too!!!

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:...
after tithe......
1. pay off BILLS!!
2. buy a McDonalds (have you ever seen one go bankrupt---except it would probably go against my healthy conscience--so never mind)
3. buy a house--like that would afford one in CA! lol
4. Pay off our parents mortgages
5. travel--you know, take lots of "field trips". ;-)

Five of my bad habits:
1. biting my fingernails--which has lessened dramatically since I started taking a vit B complex supplement! btw
2. taking long showers--although *I* don't think it's a bad habit!
3. misplacing my sunglasses---EVERY day!
4. not tying my tennis shoes--but is it a bad habit if I do that on purpose?
5. forgetting laundry in the washer.

Five places I have lived:
1. apartment
2. condo
3. backhouse
4. corner house
5. tent--JUST KIDDING! lol but I wouldn't mind. seriously.

Five jobs I've had:
1. telemarketer-- for OLAN MILLS
2. retail --for SUZY'S DEALS
3. home health care giver--for grandma
4. direct sales
5. theater costume maker/stitcher for Cerritos College

There ya go! :-D

Is this REALLY me?

Genuine Leader

I really AM EDUCATED!!!

I had an appointment yesterday @ the college to speak to a counselor about joining the Paralegal Certificate program......I knew I needed an AA degree in order to join. I figured MAYBE I had met it by the few Gen Ed classes I had taken @ the University after I transferred.....BUT I asked her: JIC, what classes would I STILL need?

She checked everything & was like: I think you may have ALREADY earned your AA!!! (w/o even having my U transcripts!) She went to talk to someone, an 'evaluator' & came back w/ "GOOD NEWS"! Told me to fill out the top of this request form...the AA Degree application....I most certainly DID earn it...like 10 YEARS ago!!!!

I thought I probably did once I got to U...but now I think I vaguely remember they (the community/junior college) had mentioned to me that I had earned it if I wanted to go through the ceremony & all but *I* was in a rush to just be OUT of "Junior College" so I didn't value it @ all & said, NAH!

But I most certainly value it NOW!!!!! AND if I start immediately (summer session) & go consistently I will ONLY have to take 21 units (ONLY 7 classes!!!) to earn my ABA (American Bar Association) Aprroved cert! In the FALL the requirements will go UP....meaning MORE class requirements! It's best I start THIS summer.

I am SO excited & extra proud of myself! Yay me!!!

THEN....as I walked out, my SHOE broke!!!! I had to walk home kinda limping w/ one shoe w/ a full heel & the other w/ only the top flap of the heel!!! Embarrassingly Hilarious...just proving my life is most certainly BACK to NORMAL! lolol And I thought God was humbling me jic I be 'puffed up' w/ pride! lol

I wanted to CRY for a moment when that happened......but whatever. I'm funny & I can totally LAUGH about it now.

I'm sleeping on the COUCH!!!!

Not for what you may think though.

Since the nightmare, I threw out my mattresses first thing...& have been using an aerobed air mattress (which has held up quite well, PTL). But I believe that day has come to an end. The air mattress has had it! It hasn't popped & is still holding in all the air...but you know those indentations that air mattresses have? well, they are coming apart. Really. One corner of the air mattress is now a huge bubble!

The other night I kept being awaked by a thud that shook the bed. We have wood floors so I thought one of the littles fell out of bed. Nope, it was the mattress, bursting the indentations.

I've already been having insomnia for about a week or so now....it feels like forever anyway. So this made it all the worse.

Last night we finally gave up & just slept on the couch. Well *I* slept on the couch & DH slept on the floor. lol

I was awake around 6:30 am & thought I should probably just start taking advantage of that awake time & go for a run...but I didn't. I regret it. When I woke up again later, I felt way too tired! sigh.

maybe later........

More hiking....

We have been SO blessed w/ such gorgeous weather lately! We went up to Angeles National Forest, San Gabriel River & took a short hike & the guys tried to catch some fish. We could see the fish jumping out of the water so we know they were there, but they weren't biting!

The littles dipped their feet in the water a bit. They said it was freezing! We plunged our water bottles in the water for later & they were nice & refreshingly extra cool by the time we drank them. lol I caught up on some Bible reading. That was nice.

@ one point, while the guys were pursuing the fish, I took the littles on the other side for a short hike & some rock climbing. It was amazing to see my dd, so self sufficient & the self-confidence she displayed, being capable of climbing these boulders & rocks pretty much on her own! Then to take off running down a trail she had never been on before, slip & catch herself & continue on her way!

We tried to cross the river (creek @ that point) but I knew I could not do it alone w/ the 2 littles. It was too wide between the rocks. S insisted that we could cross it. We went back & he insisted to his dad that they could get across. So he & oldest went back w/ them.

As a mother, it was so rewarding to see my oldest & middle (S) work together to find & make a way across that water! Oldest grabbed & carried a long branch/log to the water & made a way for them to cross half way then moved it from the half way point to the other side & they made it across. Dh got across w/ Birdy, another way.

Funny thing though.....they could NOT get BACK the way they came. As hard as they tried, it seemed impossible...hhhmmm...WHO had warned them? lol

obviously they eventually figured out something, but I'm pretty sure it involved some soaking wet shoes & socks!

Good times!

Easter was nice.

We slept in, as usual. We spent the afternoon @ Sil's parents home. They had a bar-b-q, egg hunt, potato sack races ect. All the kids eggs had money I think.



We also had a 'grown-up' egg hunt. Besides 150 colored plastic eggs, it also contained 2 GOLDEN EGGS. One containing $150 & one containing $100! DH did not believe me when I told him this was serious business. Needless to say he ended up w/ NO eggs! I ended up w/ 2 eggs totally $2.35! lololololol Oldest ds also ended up w/ 2 eggs. heehee!



Church was nice. We had an artistic service, as usual, but still a bit different. Oldest made a sketch representing what Easter means to him, today. He went on stage to speak about it briefly & i felt so proud of him. The boldness & articulation he displayed....I almost wanted to cry looking @ this tall, 15 yo boy, almost a grown man!



It was a stunning sketch, btw, very eye catching. It appears to be a simple still life @ first, but it's not (there's no table, i gave him a hard time about that. lol) . It's more like a 'vision'. iykwim.

Sorry the pic doesn't do it justice.

We also attended the Good Friday service. Dh was still working so he missed it. @ one point they invite you to write your 'sin' on a sticky note, something you really want to let go of and/or overcome this year/season, & then stick it on the cross. All the ktbunch sat in service w/ me. I thought it was so cute when my S started to write his 'sin' on the note. He asked me to finish writing it for him & it said: being mean to my sister. The sincerity of his heart was touching.

Breakfast!!

Homemade blueberry muffins!

These do NOT last very long in our home.

They are completely made by scratch.

It's a favorite recipe taken from the Tightwad Gazette.

Life is NOT like the movies!!!

I am having a HARD time processing something that happened recently, for a few different reasons.

DH was @ his parents home, a city over, about 12 min away, the other day, Monday evening to be exact.

A woman was shot & eventually died. DH & his family heard the gun shots, then DH witnessed a car speed by then a van slowly roll past his parents home. He figured the driver was 'ducking for cover' & didn't reallize it was safe to get up.

He ran out to alert her that it was ok except she was slouched over, all the doors were locked so he couldn't get in to hit the brake or anything. The van soon came to a stop when it hit another parked car.

Finally someone got the doors open & Dh noticed blood dripping down her right arm & her left arm was turning blue & she was unconcsious. He checked & she still had a pulse. There was also an infant in the backseat crying & the back window was shattered.

Her 'baby daddy' was too busy on the phone calling his 'homies' than try & get into the van or tend to his 'baby momma' of his baby! (he had been driving another car)

A 'bystander' instructed everyone to NOT touch the victim, to wait for the police. Eventually they arrived then THEY instructed everyone to keep their hands OUT of their pockets AND that the paramedics would NOT arrive UNTIL the scene was 'secure'.

Eventually they arrived.......

The police interviewed everyone, right? The baby daddy was no where to be seen by the time the police arrived....& it wasn't UNTIL they interviewed DH, did they find out there had been a BABY in the van!!!!!!!!!

That's all the story I'm willing to share @ this point.

I think I am MORE bothered by the people's reactions than by what actually happened.

An entire neighborhood & NO ONE knows what happened or saw anything & YET everyone seems to know who did it!!! A woman is shot & near death & NO ONE tells the police there was a BABY in the car!!!!

And WHAT is w/ the police saying the paramedics WON'T arrive @ the scene unless it is secure? A woman lay bleeding to death...is that the new paramedic motto? Not until the scene is secure!

DH said he freaked out when he saw all the blood...it's not like the movies right? Even HE thought they should 'apply pressure' & yet someone is telling everyone NOT to do anything?

Would that same person say that if it was HIS daughter? or wife? or son?

And what were the police doing for the woman while they were 'securing the scene'? Nothing!

And I CAN'T HELP but question if this same situation would have played out like this in ANOTHER city or better neighborhood?

Would the police have helped the woman if she was in another city or better neighborhood?

Are even THEY so desensitized that they allow a woman to lay bleeding to death & do NOTHING!!!!!

I've got to come back to this........

From the wedding....

Hey! I got a sunburn!

That's what I forgot to write the other day. lol

When i took my run. later I saw I had a definiete sunburn & could see the tan/burn lines from my sports bra.

I should have ran yesterday but.....I didn't.
I'm finally feeling so much better. last night I stayed up late, as usual & woke up early but was NOT so drained!

The weather is gorgeous again today. Yesterday turned super windy & that made it cold. Weird.

I'd like to start crafting MORE! I have things to put up on ETSY & I just have not done it. I also have a 'trade' to send out & some half finished crochetted cupcakes...OH! & prize to send for an e-aquaintance. I can feel the creativity but not the time....I think Spring Cleaning would help...clear my mind, space & free up some time!

Ok, off to the park, gotta run.....well, not literally! ;-)

Anyone else feeling it?

Is this or is this NOT the WORST time change EVER?

I thought it was JUST me, but after talking to everyone ELSE! It seems it is not.

I am SO tired. I am so drained.

Yes, i stay up late, but I've ALWAYS stayed up LATE! I'm dragging.

Well, yesterday I had had ENOUGH! SO I dragged myself up & FORCED myself to get up & out!

Did 5 miles...a walk/run combo, taken too many days off to run it the whole way. But did some hill work, up & down both ways, 2x + ran some bleacher stairs 10x.

Sambo thinks this is the coolest, most funnest thing EVER! Running the bleacher stairs that is. lol

Good for him. I like it. I like natural work outs like that. Forget the gym stair climber. blech!

Had an emotional weekend....went to a wedding. VOMIT! (literally, but I won't get into that in public!) Too soon, I realized. Oh well, live & learn.

I think there was something else I wanted to share but i have forgotten...maybe later! lol

Hooray for Hollywood!

Took a drive out to LA today, specefically to check out the Oscar Nominated Costume designs!

I thought it was a display of ONLY the 5 nominated films but it was a display of quite a few different films such as: Blades of Glory, Atonement, Across the Universe, Marie Antoinette, Elizabeth: The Golden Years (this years winner) & Nancy Drew to name a few.

It took us longer to find parking than walk through the actual exhibit but I thought it was still TOO cool! It was a nice little something different to do w/ the ktbunch on a Saturday.

I really liked being able to see the detail up close & personal of the costumes. You can't catch it in the actual films, no matter how BIG your screen is.

For example, there was a costume on display, of Christian Bale's character from 310 to Yuma. He plays an average guy, a rancher type. His costume looked worn, the pants had patches & the buttons were mismatched. Like an average hardworking family man in the midwest would have during the time. Russel Crowe's character on the other hand, was in a finely tailored outfit w/ shiny buttons. His side-kick wears this outfit of orange suede-like pants that button all the way down the sides of his legs from the hips, sort of flashy, & totally suitable for his character. I LOVED this! One of the female characters actually has a sweater underskirt, I know they wore layers & pondered what they did in the cold since women only wore skirts & dresses. DUH! An underskirt that is a thick sweater skirt makes perfect sense! The other female had 2 under skirt layers.

The female costumes...boy were they SMALL! I know these actresses are thin but WHOA! The costumes are so tiny, many of the males too! DH thinks it is only for display purposes & perhaps these aren't the original costumes worn in the movies, but I disagree. I think the actresses really ARE that skinny! & possibly much shorter than they look too?

Kiera Knightly's green dress from Atonement...just as gorgeous IRL as in the film. The fabric looked much lighter weight though. In the movie I thought it was satiny...but IRL it was something much lighter, like linen maybe? We're not allowed to touch them OR take pix! Sorry. cause you know I would have!!!

It's a cold & dreary day so we stopped for some hot cocoa @ a Starbucks, it was the only place we could find. Then we drove a bit to this basic 'coffee shop' type restaurant & ate some real food & it had totally delish SWEET POTATOE fries! ScrumpdillyUMPTious!!! I've never had them before.

We then drove to Hollywood Blvd & wanted to walk around but we couldn't find parking & it was too chilly so we decided to call it a day. Dh pointed out his 'improv school' to the ktbunch & the theater we saw HSM-the musical @.

Now, just home chillaxin. I think I'm going to go bake & decorate some cupcakes! ;-)