It's a...

Rocket! Last week was 'R' week at e's school and she made this wonderful rocket. I came home from work on Thursday and saw it laying on the TV cabinet and was very confused. Actually, I believe that 'confused' may be a bit of an understatement.

A Beautifully Strange Morning

So, this morning, I rode my bike down to Cannery Row to pick up my car from the ramp. Wait, rewind. My beautifully strange morning started as an almost equally strange night. Let's start there.

I worked last night until about 9:45. Normally, ATOM is open until 6, but on the last Friday of every month we stay open until 9 and serve wines by the glass. We have live music and the restaurant downstairs has appetizers for sale. It's a really fun time. Anyway, it was my boss' 29th birthday (yeah, I know) yesterday and everyone was going to go out after work to celebrate. I thought it would be fun to act like I was young again, so we hired a babysitter from 5-12 so E could come play too. So, long story short, we had a great time, stayed out until 1 and did the responsible thing and took a cab home.

Back to me on my bike. I was truly enjoying my ride this morning. The weather was gorgeous... clear and sunny, but not hot. A day kind of like this...


I had to reflect on how really nice it is here and that I am going to miss living here. The majority of my ride was along the water on the bike/walking path, which is a fabulous place to people watch... people running with dogs and strollers, the professional bike enthusiasts and the many, many tourists.

The first interesting group I came across were the Del Monte beach homeless club? I have never seen the homeless as I have seen them here, they almost seem to be enjoying it. Then, I passed by a group of Japanese men dressed to the 9s... white and black tuxedos (9:30 AM people) taking a picture of something/someone in the public restroom and laughing. I am still wondering what the heck was going on.

I arrived at my destination, rode up the elevator with my bike and found my car waiting. The ramp that I parked in is the main large ramp that everyone visiting Cannery Row parks in. So I casually walked my bike to my car, pretending that I just finished a gruelling workout and tried not to attract too much attention. I certainly don't want to be the subject of someone else's blog about their strange morning. I opened the liftgate on my SUV and was welcomed with a trunk filled to the brim with birthday presents for KK. I had completely forgotten that I had left her presents back there so she wouldn't find them. And these weren't small presents... I am talking about one of those cozy coupe ride-on cars in a huge box. As you can imagine, the amount of time that I spent arranging and rearranging the contents of my car was quite substantial. I finally managed to get the darn thing in there and I have no doubt that everybody who walked by me was wondering what the heck I was doing.

We either need to invest in another car or a bike rack or just go back to staying at home and save the trouble and money.

Poor Baby!

KK did battle with the cement yesterday and it won. Along with the championship belt, it also took a piece of her front tooth, bruised her entire lip on the inside of her mouth, left a few surface wounds on her lips and a faint blueish tint around her nose. The worst part about it is that I did not notice the missing piece until this morning. That's the way to make you feel like you are doing a stellar job as a parent.

I took her to the dentist today to make sure that everything was OK. There are no exposed nerves which is great. The tooth is a little loose, so we need to keep an eye on it. We also need to watch to see if the tooth turns yellow, grey, or black... three fabulous colors for teeth, if you ask me. He also told me that she will be more prone to these types of injuries since her teeth are 'out there'. Do you mean she's buck-toothed?

She did not want to go to the dentist, but did a fabulous job when she was there. The ladies there gave her a really cute rubber duck that's holding toothpaste and a toothbrush. I'd show you, but she is sleeping with it right now. In fact, she loves it so much that when she passed a man on the way to the car, she gave her signature scowl and said, 'no man take away my ducky'. I had to giggle.

Funny that this happened just three days shy of her 2nd birthday. If you will recall, last year she fell down a set of cement stairs on her birthday.


Can't wait to see what happens next year!

Whew... Thank God that's Done!

So, I'm not the type of person known to say 'No', when asked to help. I will volunteer for everything thinking that I can do everything. I don't know, I must have a God complex or something. Anyway...

I got a call a while back from our PTA volunteer coordinator asking me if I was available on a particular day. I immediately said, 'Yes', and apparently didn't listen to the rest of the conversation. Turns out, what I said yes to was to be the coordinator for the fall fundraiser at our school. Huh? What's that? What does it involve? I have a Kindergartner... I have no idea how this stuff works.

Along with my, 'I can do everything' attitude, also comes the, 'why bother bothering others when I can do it myself?' idea. I mean, if it is going to take me a while to figure out what I am doing, I certainly don't want to waste other peoples' time. Plus, I like my own way of organizing things... again, it's a control thing. Amazing that I did really well in management, as I am obviously not great at delegating.

So, I did most everything for this fundraiser, with a little help along the way. I roped E into counting money with me one night. He said, 'There are so many better things that I could be doing', and my response was, 'But are you going to be doing them?'. OK, not that I am trying to pat myself on the back. That's the furthest thing from what I am trying to do. I am trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with me? Why can't I say no? What's wrong with letting others help? Why do I get myself into the predicaments that I do? Ahh... self evaluation is so much fun.

I don't have time to ponder as I am off to do a training manual project for work that I volunteered to do. Oh, the irony.

Thank You Max!

This is e's first book that she ever read. We couldn't be more proud. It's about Max the cat who gets mad at the bad rat. There is a ham and a pan and a BAM! She read it the first week in September, not even a full month since the first day of school. She has an amazing teacher and we will be so sad to leave her and the school.

Speaking of firsts and learning. This is e doing some artwork on the window with paint that you use for car windows. She has been wanting to have a cookie and lemonade sale forever... I should probably get that desire taken care of. Anyway, I was working in the other room and she asked me how to spell 'cookies', 'lemonade' and 'monday'. Now look closely at the picture.


OK, so the lemonade is kind of hard to read, but the rest should be clear. And she was inside the house when she wrote it. Can you figure it out?

It's so much fun to watch them grow and see what they come up with. It's amazing what they do and so nice when it's not something insane or dangerous or just plain weird.

I Love Him...

I am not only love him, but I am in love with him! He is the greatest husband, friend and father there is. He cooks, cleans, does laundry, brings home the bacon and is darn sexy. He's smart and kind, funny and sweet, understanding and a voice of reason and so much more. And who else would let their kids do this with a smile on their face?

I distinctly remember the conversation when we were deciding whether or not we wanted kids. We were watching 'The Perfect Storrm' and right then and there, both of us were in tears talking about if we wanted to do it, it would be forever and we would be a team and we would never get divorced, etc., etc. That conversation truely shaped how we work as a couple and as parents. It has provided consistency and stability for our kids and sanity for us.

Most of you know that I am a little insane and I obsess just have to say, 'Thank you', to E for being who he is and understanding who I am and learning to deal with and except it.

When I start to feel like things are getting crazy in my life, I clean and organize... It's theraputic for me to regain control over a small portion of my life. When E gets even the slightest whif of the smoke about to come out of my ears, he springs into action. I would love to say that he does this out of extreme love and admiration for me, but I know it's just his way of helping the insuing storm to pass by quickly. I mentioned that he's smart, right?

Anyway, I should stop now before I start making you all feel uncomfortable. I just wanted to express how lucky I am to have a man like this in my life. Thank you!

In the Meantime...

I don't really have a ton of time today to post, so I thought I would share this picture from our recent family photo shoot. (Plus, I couldn't leave the last post lingering for too long). We went to Asilomar to take the pictures. A friend of mine down the street took the pictures of the girls and our family and then I did the same for her family. Very fun. I will be using those that are here locally as guinea pigs for my new found photography obsession. Christmas is coming, so book your appointments now!

How Many Balls Are Too Many?

This is Charlie, my good friend Amy's dog. Apparently, for him, 3 is enough.

E went to college with a guy suffering from polyorchidism, for him, 4 was the magic number.

I'm sorry and ashamed of myself. Good night.

Quirky or Crazy? You Be the Judge.

I was reading one of my new favorite blogs, Because I Said So, and came across this posting Quirks Are Normal Right?. Another blogger tasked her with listing 6 quirky things about herself. I decided that I want to play the game even though nobody asked me to. Watch out my fellow blogging friends, I'm coming for you too.

Alright, here we go.

1. I have an irrational hate of conversion vans. Not that there are many around anymore, but still, I have nothing but hate for them. It could be that I dated a guy for 3 1/2 years that drove a big brown one. Or it could be the accident that I was in, in a conversion van, when I was a child, where we drove into a ditch full of water that proceeded to fill up the van. I just can't pinpoint it. Probably a topic for a therapist down the road.

2. I alphabetize. If it can be alphabetized, I do it. Movies, file folders, spices. I distinctly remember a progress report from the 5th grade where my teacher said that I was great at alphabetizing. See, what you learn in school DOES translate into the real world. It really it a useful skill.

3. I hate wash cloths. Despite my mother-in-law's quest to convince me that the wash cloths that E's grandmother makes are, 'The best wash cloths ever', I can't have anything to do with them. Not for dishes, countertops, or personal hygiene. I cannot stand the foul order that will emit from a wash cloth that has been used for over a day. I think I single handedly wiped out a forest with my use of paper towels. That's the way to do it. Lysol or 409 cleaner and paper towels, that's the only way to get your counter clean.

4. It takes me almost as long to unload my groceries as it does for me to go grocery shopping. I not only put my groceries away, I organize them as well. Not at all shocking to those that know me. I take every individually wrapped snack item out to put into the 'snack basket'. The film over the juice boxes is removed and they are lined up according to flavor. I cannot stand to have trash in my cupboard. Old fruits and vegetables are removed so that the newer ones are placed in the bottom of the drawer. The good ol' FIFO method. Yet another lesson learned that can be applied to the real world.

5. I am addicted to reality TV. There is not a reality show that I haven't liked. OK, there are a couple that I don't watch, but for the most part, I love them. In fact, my friend Jenn and I auditioned for 'The Amazing Race'. I have no idea why they didn't pick us. We would have made great TV... we had only known each other for a couple of months.

6. I rarely go more than one day without talking to my sister. Sometimes I talk to her 5 or more times in a day. E is an only child, and not a woman, so cannot begin to understand why we talk so much. 'What do you guys talk about?' is always his question and my answer is always, 'I don't know, stuff'. That usually explains it.

7. I ALWAYS have a scrunchie on my wrist, unless my hair is already pulled back by one. You just never know when you are going to need to put it up. The ladies that worked for me at Target used to call it my 'work hair'.

8. Wait, I was only supposed to do 6. Darn, I have way more than 6 quirks about me. The lady who wrote her blog entry could only think of 4. I very well may be insane. At least E still likes me... or has learned to live with it.

**DISCLAIMER**

My loving husband informed that some engineers from McDonald Douglas may beg to differ with me on the F-18 design. Let me clarify my below statement. I, in no way, meant to represent that I knew that the actual design of this aircraft was modeled after this particular moth. I was mearly stating that I thought the two of them were shockingly similar and that seeing their wings made me think of the wings of this particular airplane.

Taken From Nature

While I was supposed to be watching the kids outside, I got mesmerized by the moths hanging out on our flowers. Their wings intrigued me and I tried to get a closer view. I couldn't get closer than this... I SO need a macro lens for my Nikon D80. The more I looked at them, the more familiar they looked to me. I now know where the inspiration for the F-18 Hornet came from.

Adventures in Potty Training Part 2

Sometimes, you just have to go.


If it looks like a potty, it must be a potty.

I Could Possibly Have the Best Job Out There...

Alright, besides being a Stay-At-Home-Mom, I also work at A Taste Of Monterey, pouring wine and having some great adult conversation. As E says, I get to go out while he has to work. Heehee. Welcome to my life buddy! :)

Here is a tour of this wonderful place that one of my very good friends is a partner of... she is also my daughters future mother-in-law. We will forever be linked. Anyway... Here's a little background and a look around.

A Taste of Monterey (ATOM) is located at 700 Cannery Row in Monterey, California and is the BEST (in my opion) wine tasting room around. There are no other tasting rooms that have this kind of view.


In fact, Sunset Magazine named ATOM as one of the Top 10 Secret Coastal Escapes. ATOM represents over 70 wineries and carries over 90 labels. Pretty impressive. When one thinks of California wine, thoughts of Napa and Sonoma come to mind. But Monterey County is a great competitor. Known for it's Chardonnay's and Pinot Nior's, Monterey is no slouch in the wine game. In fact, take a look at this...


I'm getting ahead of myself. Say you were to take a nice trip to the Monterey Pennisula to visit say, your family or friends, and you wanted to head down to Cannery Row to shop and do some wine tasting, this is what you would see...





Ahahh! You've found the building, now let's go inside.

Here is the grand staircase that you must ascend to your wonderful wine tasting experience at ATOM.


An open and inviting door leads you inside.


As you climb yet another set of stairs, the retail area awaits you with a hint of the breathtaking view ahead.


OK, wine gifts and souveniers can wait... let's taste some wine.



Oooo... he's pouring wine, can we have some?


This is Rafael, he's from Chile. Cute huh? Not only does he pour wine at ATOM, he is also a guide at A B Seas Kayaks (look for that post soon) and a double masters student at Monterey Institute of International Studies. Sorry ladies, he has a girlfriend.

Your wine flight will take you through either 6 Premium Monterey County wines or 5 Ultra Premium wines. Along with the superb wine, you will enjoy fabulous views, wonderful conversation AND you might even learn something... the staff is pretty well versed in the Monterey County wine business.

I could say so much more about this unique and exquisite place, but I shall stop for now. Please make sure to stop by whenever you are in the area... You won't regret it!

Do You Ever Have One of Those 'What Did I Miss?' Moments?

Yesterday, I went to IKEA, quite possibly one of the coolest stores AND I was all by myself, which made the experience oh so much nicer. I spent a good hour and a half browsing and putting random, non needed things in my big yellow bag, the majority of which were organizational items... I was in heaven!

I finally made it to the end of my maze and was ready to check out. The not so friendly associate efficiently rang up my purchase and the asked me, 'Would you like to purchase some plastic bags today?'. Huh? What did I miss? So I intelligently say, 'You mean to put my stuff in?' and she looks at me like, Duh! It's been a while since I've been to IKEA, maybe a bit too long. I did not know that stores were now charging for plastic bags. Good for them. Way to make a stand on environmental issues.

So, instead of littering our world with more harmful plastic bags, I opted to purchase the take home version of the big yellow bag... but it's blue instead. Now the girls are fighting over the darn thing. Had I not been so confused at the time, I would have purchased two. I guess there will have to be a next time.

Wii Love It!!

I think that I have mentioned that I like gadgets and electronics.

Our neighbor (her husband claims to want nothing to do with it) bought a Nintendo Wii.

If you haven't heard of it, it's a video game system that mimics your body movements. For example, you stand in your living room, holding a remote and act like you are bowling and your character on the screen does what you do. Anyway, when she was gone for the weekend, strange neighbors that we are, called T and asked to borrow the Wii... he wasn't going to be using it anyway, so why not, right? We had sooo much fun with it. We bowled and golfed and boxed until we were sore. Shocking that a video game can do that to you... I swear that was the best workout that I had had in a long time. Anyway...

We fell in love with the darn thing and spent the next week on a mission to find it. I have no idea why, but they are really hard to come by. My friend Jenn and I were out shopping one day and happened to find a store that had 5 of them on hand and we bought two. No, we are not 12 years old, but it's fun to feel like it.

Here's my Mii getting ready to bowl. The resemblance to me is almost scary... you know how I love the green eyeshadow so.


Which brings me to my thoughts on bowling. Why is it that bowling is the one (sport?) that your body automatically has to will the ball in whatever direction in needs to go? I know you all know what I am talking about, because you've done it too. That little dance after the ball is released, the ever popular arm sweep and my all time favorite... one leg kicked behind the other with your body low to the ground as if greeting royalty.

Anyway, thanks to Nintendo, we will never look at our living room the same way again. A thankfully we have DVR because I have the feeling we're going to be missing a lot of our TV shows.

Our Latest Addition

No, we're not having another baby. Thank God!

It's just another pet.


e has had a rough couple of days... her best friend moved away and her lizard 'ran away' (Buddy was responsible for that one). How we had a lizard in the first place is a story for another day.


I think she's going to make it through.


Amazing what a pet can do.