Time to start buying fall clothes!

While it may not feel like time to wear them, the fall clothes are out! We made a bit of a dent at Target today, and I'm sure there are more to come. I also snagged us a couple of cute pairs of sneakers from oldnavy.com!

I'm sorry that my posts haven't been terribly wordy lately--save for the high school questionnaire. The truth of the matter is: I'm tired! My new job as a literacy coach is wonderful, but I'm definitely in new territory. I am worn out by the end of the day. I was worn out as a classroom teacher, but this is a different kind of worn out. I'm at a wonderful site, though. I couldn't ask for better people to work with. I'm sure I'll hit my stride here soon.

From a while back...

Rachel, trying to recapture her youth in Maddie's Bumbo.

Not going anywhere this weekend, you?

It's so flippin' hot out there, so we're staying close to home. We're getting some home projects done, and HOPEFULLY getting out to see The Bourne Ultimatum! Wanna see my cute September desktop?

You can get one of your own here.

Taggity Tag Tag

Okay, if Megan and Kelli can do it, I can too.


High School Questionnaire
1. Who was your best friend? Jen and Libby were both my closest friends, though I still tried to stay close to my pals from grade school: Susan, Sarah, Brooke, Kathy, Autumn, and Stephania.

2. Did you play any sports? Not in high school.

3. What kind of car did you drive? An '82 Toyota Celica with louvers on the back window. That's right--louvers!

4. It’s Friday night. Where were you? At Lyon's eating those big fat fries with ranch, watching movies with my boyfriend (and probably eating fries), at the football game with the band, or getting ready for the band review the next morning.

5. Were you a party animal? I was the person that drove the party animals places so that they wouldn't kill themselves. They didn't mind the louvers.

6. Were you considered a flirt? Not at all! I was shy, shy, shy. Most people thought I was a brat, but really I was just terrified of you.

7. Were you in the band, orchestra or choir? I was a band nerd. I played the flute. I got to go to Hawaii and the Tournament of Roses, then dropped after two years to be in Drama.

8. Were you a nerd? see above

9. Were you ever suspended or expelled? Nope. I don't think I was even tardy! Man, I WAS a nerd.

10. Can you sing the fight song? We did have one, and I can see the words on the gym wall....uhhhhhhh. I know the band played it... "Hail to the Varsity!" That's it!

11. Who was your favorite teacher? He made gross noises, and was so very odd, but Mr. Stanley's tests had us rolling in the aisles.

12. What was your school mascot? Merced Bears

13. Did you go to the Prom? Yes, and I can beat Kelli. I went with my boyfriend AFTER we had broken up. How's that for an AWESOME idea? sheesh.

14. If you could go back, would you? I just wish I hadn't worried so much. It so wasn't worth it.

15. What do you remember most about graduation? My class was ginormous and it was super hot. I was wearing a totally cute dress, though. I also thought my hair was RAD...in that "look how huge and rad my hair is!" way.

16. Where were you on Senior Skip Day? I didn't get the memo.

17. Did you have a job your senior year? I worked at a local Hoffbrau called the Red Steer. I was even in their local commercial. No one can pass a big tray of roast beef over the counter with quite the flair that I can.

18. Where did you go most often for lunch? We had an open campus, so it was all about personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut and corn dogs at Weinerschnitzel.

19. Have you gained weight since then? I have to work a lot harder to keep weight off, that's for sure. All of the marching and running around made it easy to pack in the food without paying the price. Ah, the ol' metabolism...how I miss ye!

20. What did you do after graduation? I got a job bagging groceries, then commuted to Stanislaus.

21. What year did you graduate? 1992

22. Who was your Senior Prom Date? My then boyfriend Ryan, who really is a great guy, despite the sarcasm above.

23. Are you going/did you go to your 10 year reunion? I didn't go. I was told that no one is very different at those, and that the 20 year is the cool one. That's the one I'm shooting for.

Sometimes...

...you just need a little push.

Sometimes, you get pushed in the wrong direction.

...and sometimes you're just cute.

Just got back from Sacramento. **Cool game alert!**

I've just tumbled into town after a FIVE DAY conference with the other reading coaches, and while it was fun, I really missed my family! I did get to visit with Jen, Dan, Becca, and Katherine one of the days I was there. Dan made yummy pizza, from the ground up, and I had so much fun holding Sweet Katherine and running around and coloring with Becca. I also got to just sit and catch up with My Jen! I miss having my best friend nearby!


The other new coaches and I had to endure some "hazing" this week. I dare not go into the scary details, as they're not for the faint of heart! I DID find out about a really cool game, however:





SUCH a fun game! Especially when you're not CHEATING! You know who you are (Patti*, Cecilia*, and Ann*)!


*indicates Barry Bonds-like cheating

Not super-jazzed about vacation being over, so....

...I've resorted to watching funny Back to School commercials on YouTube


I love that guy! He's one of my favorites on My Name is Earl. Hey Crabman!

What? Don't YOU nap this way?

With toys, books, and sleeping on the end of the bed? You know you have.

The other birdy...

I had to post this. This is a clear sign that she's inherited the "Price tongue." Fabled in song and story, the Price tongue is only visible when the owner is thinking, concentrating, lifting something, heavy, or just really ticked off. Rachel seems to be using hers to decide which way to run from her sister. If you listen carefully, you might be able to actually hear my husband rolling his eyes in the background, as I torture and twist yet another picture with my actions. He thinks they look a bit phony. He's a purist. I'm just having too much fun!

Some birdy on her bike.

Charlotte, playing in the backyard on her tricycle. I love those shirts. Speaking of birdies, a dove couple has been sitting on our back fence, scouting possible nest locations. I haven't seen them today. We're having such a hard time selling this place, getting rejected by doves would just add insult to injury.

Because it is better to look good than to feel good, dah-ling...

We carted ourselves to Blades today so that Grammy could give us a bit of a trim. This was our first official trip to "the chair," and we were such good girls! Now if we could only warm up to the chair that you potty in!

A favorite pastime....

Rachel and Charlotte both like to play with their "little guys (Little People and other small toys)" on the window ledge. Again, I've used Holly McCaig's actions.

Playing with photo actions....

In pursuit of better photos, I purchased a package of Photoshop actions from Holly McCaig. Wow. These are so fun. This is my first attempt. Sweet Madison!

Katherine is here!

My best friend Jen gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Katherine yesterday! I'm so anxious to meet her. Go see!

We call her "The Stacker"

...actually, we call her Mr. Monk. Rachel is a bit OCD (wants her hands wiped, has to touch things as she walks along). But she doesn't neccessarily have to line things up. Rather, she stacks them. So that's okay, right? Just nod your head and say, "right." It makes me feel better.

Be not a couch potato in our house! You'll soon find yourself buried under every toy Rachel owns! She's just keeping track, really.


I think.

She found...

one of the Ellison shapes that fell out of my mountain of school stuff. We use the camera shapes to frame a snapshot of new students under their Introducing... writing piece. Charlotte proceeded to take MY picture with it.


Note that she found my ladybug chart stickers as well.

Possibly the only person in the world NOT reading the new Harry Potter

Listen.

Charlotte will come up to me and say, "Mama...lissen Ma-ti?" This means she wants to listen to "Malti" on my iPod. So, we have a listen. I hold the bud away from her ear and turn the volume to non-Mama levels (I'm a bit of a blaster), and there it is:


"Malti" is a song by Dan Zanes and his band. They're a Playhouse Disney fixture, and a breath of fresh air in the world of children's music. I think he might be my favorite. Though Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town singing "I'm Glad" on Noggin is about the best thing ever.

Hi.

...brought you some dirt.

Playing with my camera....

Oh, hi Rachel! Wait...no...don't touch the ....awwww!

Procrastination....

...I'm supposed to be sorting through mountains of baby clothes for my yard sale on Saturday, but I've grown weary and lazy! Sooo.....That's right, girls--iPods firmly in hand. (Or the mp3 player of your choice, naturally). GO!

1. Rock This Town--Stray Cats
2. Walk--Pantera (that's right...you heard me. I have layers, people.)
3. Adelaide's Lament --Guys and Dolls
4. Gotta Get Away--The Offspring
5. Isn't She Lovely--Stevie Wonder
6. I'm Gonna Be (500 miles)--The Proclaimers (heaverin!)
7. I Cross My Heart--George Strait
8. Redneck Woman--Gretchen Wilson...well hello CMT! Honestly, I don't have a ton of country.
9. Show Me How to Live--Audioslave
10. You and I --Michael Buble (Donnie's love)
11. Rehab--Amy Winehouse ( I DIG her voice...wow)
12. Come on Eileen --Dexi's Midnight Runners
13. Reflections--Diana Ross and The Supremes (theme song to China Beach! Awesome.... )
14. Somebody--Depeche Mode (aww...it's like that one is just for Amy B!)
15. Solsbury Hill--Peter Gabriel
16. Glycerine--Bush (Gavin...*sigh* Gavin....)
17. Behind the Wheel --Depeche Mode (okay, maybe Amy is channeling through my iPod!)
18. An Innocent Man--Billy Joel
19. Never Going Back Again--Fleetwood Mac (all about Lindsay Buckingham moving on after Stevie Nicks...if you've never seen their concert The Dance, go rent it now! GO!)
20. Stay Awake --Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins....seriously...who doesn't love Mary Poppins? That one was for the girls. iTunes has LOADS of old Disney music--really obscure stuff, too. It's so cool!)


Okay....AND...let's pause a moment to examine what a dork I am. I have been fretting and fretting over this fancy new camera, thinking either I was doing something wrong or that it was already BROKEN, as it wouldn't auto-focus! Yeah, I didn't have the lens screwed on all the way. That would be good, don't you think? So here I am with my little silver guy, doing the requisite bathroom mirror portrait of the two of us:


I tried to do a natural light photo of myself by a window. Why, hello 33 years on my face! Wow. So there's apparently a downside to this fancy camera business!

ah yes, the more flattering (if not energy-efficient) glow of the yellow incandescent bulb

I need to get crackin' with some photoshop touch-ups! Speaking of which....did you see this???

Alright...I guess I should get back to work...

Today I am 33! I've gotten all kinds of sweet birthday wishes on blogs and ICQ, and I'm keepin' it low-key, celebration-wise. It's rare that Adrian and I can get to a movie, so that's what I wanted to do. We're going to see Harry Potter and have some In n' Out Burger! My folks got me all kinds of gifty cards to spend on new clothes for work, and I've gotten lots of cool stuff.


AND.....



I got the camera that I wanted! It's a Canon Digital Rebel XTI, which is a departure from my normal "point and shoot" cameras. This one shoots faster, and is more like a 35mm camera, only digital. You can switch out lenses, and all of that good stuff. It's a big change for me, and I've been burying my nose in the manual. I've even signed up for an online photography class. I'm so excited!


AND....
I totally want one of these! I am SO happy that Monk and Psych are back! Wouldn't this look so cool on my desk? Alright, off to eat burgers and watch wizards.

Another photo from the Fourth

Mommy refuses to work out on national holidays. Rachel gets her arm curls in! Work it! Grrrrrr......

Tagged

Amy , Kelli, and Megan have already listed 20 of their favorite things, so here goes mine... 1. My mom's cooking
2. New magazines, cards, or movies in the mail
3. Naptime!
4. Sephora
5. Digital Scrapping and learning about photography
6. Giggly twins!
7. The quiet of being up earlier than most
8. Watching Daily Show and Colbert Report with my husband
9. Books
10. Walking through Target when it's quiet and sipping a Diet Coke.
11. The in-between seasons...do we even have those anymore?
12. Baseball games
13. Brownie sundaes
14. Reading trashy magazines at Barnes and Noble while dishing with the girls
15. Pizza Villa pizza
16. Going to the movies
17. New clothes
18. DVRs
19. Framed photos (which I'm currently having to hide!)
20. Reading everyone else's blog!


....and here's a layout I did today:

credits here

Kind of a different page....

credits here

I really liked this photo, but didn't really know what to do with it. There are a lot of scrappers playing with more "grungy" elements, and I thought I'd give it a try. It's different.

So that you can be crafty AND giving!

Okay, all of my crafty friends... Have you heard of this site yet?



This is the new July kit at Songbird Ave. and all proceeds go to The Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation! They have a new kit for a new cause every month, and they're always outstanding. Check them out!

Still...

...lovin' the ol' playhouse. AND the fact that it's not so flippin' hot outside. More photos later.

We can't seem to stop!

credits here

Donavan and I have been addicted to hopping around, doing all sorts of digi-challenges. This page is for a "ME" challenge, which I usually avoid like the plague! I'm not a big fan of scrapping myself, so it was indeed a challenge. I tried to be a little funkier than I usually am, and you get extra brownie points for using some of the hostess's products, so I've recycled the flowers that I've used in my banner. That's what's very cool about digiscrapping--you can keep re-using without re-purchasing...and no mess! I am getting a callous at the base of my hand from my keyboard tray. Kind of sad, really. Maybe I should go raise some kids or talk to my husband or something!


Oh...and I kind of stole the tagline from Amy's profile and used it on my journaling. Imitation IS the sincerest form of flattery, Amy! =)

We love Auntie Vicki...and Play-Doh!

stamps by Meredith Fenwick

We got to go up to Lodi today to visit with our Auntie Vicki (Mom's cousin), and we had so much fun! She put out a splashy pool for us and all kinds of fun toys. She also got out the Play-Doh, and we loved it! I've been a little shy of it, as we're trying not to get into things that might be ground into the carpet of the house we're trying to sell. But maybe we'll start working on the patio table like we did today! I've been checking out their site to see what kind of fun stuff they have these days. I wanted the Fun Factory sooooooo badly. Time to live vicariously!

Vicki also sent us off with new books and animal crackers. We zonked in the van, but got right into the books when we woke up. AND we made short order of the crackers as soon as we got home! Thanks again!

7-7-07...how much luckier can you get?

Today is Donnie's husband (and Adrian's best pal) Aarin's bday. We all call him Hipee ('hippy'). Well, everyone except Donavan. It's a throw-back to high school nicknames. Donavan got to have Michael Buble for her birthday, so what to get the man who is in love with all things Jeep???? Hmmmm.....

This just in...yogurt is awesome!

Well, it is if you're Charlotte and you get the extra-fancy, swirly Trix yogurt. Mommy has to settle for the 1 point Weight Watchers Yogurt with probiotics for digestion! It's also very good, but not nearly as fun. I should try smearing mine all over my face the next time I'm eating one at work.

credits here

A little hot for ya?

It's been a bit toasty in the big, steaming bowl of bad air we call The Central Valley. It's a bit muggy, or at least it was on the 4th. Therefore, all of the smoke that was cast into the air from the fireworks is hangin' low over our heads. It was quite overcast during my 6am jog this morning. Yes, Friends. I....am a JOGGER. I'm so very proud of myself. I should have someone take a picture, really. After being a longtime walker, I've taken the plunge into jogging. I've gotten many nice comments on Rachel's 4th of July video, so I thought it only fair to throw Charlotte's reaction into the mix.




And today, we look like this:

Our "glowing" faces are a testament to the climate in the computer room.

They've got a hangover today...

Well, if toddlers could have hangovers. They are NOT in the best of moods, and I'm sure it's because we threw our schedule way off. Ah, well. It's all in the name of partying.

credits here

Fun on the Fourth

Nothing like some alliteration in your title. So we had a low-key 4th at Grammy and Papa's, but it was very fun. This was really the first time we'd ever seen fireworks, so their reactions were the best part.

At first, Char wouldn't watch.

Then she watched.

Rachel, trying out our fancy glasses from the mall.

Rach watching with Grammy.

Char and Mom.

The Maestro.



Rachel reacting to a fountain. We're laughing so hard because it barely did anything. It was a dud.


Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th!

Independence!

frame from Bren Boone's Firecracker Kit