MIA

by Lucky Red Hen on June 4, 2008

I know, I know.

Guess blogland is beginning to wonder what’s going on with me. The funny thing about that is that ‘most’ of you who read this blog have just emailed or called me to find out (I can’t imagine there are people who read this that DON’T know me).

Long stories short…

  • Back’s been out
  • Thigh’s been out (who knew? I certainly didn’t, but do now!)
  • Neck’s been out
  • Hair is falling out
  • Getting done with editing the school newsletter for the year (I’ll do something else next year)
  • My birthday (last week, hooray, except I’m a year off from what I thought I was)
  • My birthday game night (all I wanted was a few friends, appetizers for dinner and Mexican Trains dominoes)
  • Piper’s bday (yesterday with her Princess Party festivities this Saturday)
  • Grandma Jo’s out of her coma and into a looooong stint at rehab
  • Harley battery gave up the ghost (whatever that means; but I installed a new one)
  • Pulled over by police (not for a traffic violation, either)
  • Body temperature isn’t regulating itself much anymore (I’m freezing, never been before)
  • Car is falling apart (windshield needs replacing, somethings funky with the battery, fender)
  • 2nd shooting with my buddy
  • Winding down the school year for both kids (teacher conferences, tests, studying)
  • Clients need their work done before I fart around on the blog
  • My daughter needs attention, more than I give her already
  • House still needs arranging (going from 3100 sf to 1700 has been tricky for organizing)
  • Figured out how to pull the D/W out so I could see behind it (AFTER the shooting water fiasco)
  • Found the point-n-shoot digital camera memory card that’s about 1cm x 2cm small
  • Controlling the constant sibling rivalry (which really means “fights,” and end-of-the-world catastrophies of an almost 5yr old
  • Figure out Webkinz world (if a 30+ year old is having trouble, how’s a 5yr old supposed to understand how to make it work)

Anywho, I’ll be back with fun stories, pictures and questions for you to answer…

Q: High heels are sooo pretty, but why can’t they be comfortable too?

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Grandma Jo and Grandpa Gary

by Lucky Red Hen on April 29, 2008

Lately I’ve been a bit distracted (sorry to those who are waiting on me). Grandma Jo (she’s my bio-dad’s wife, my stepmom and Grandma to my kids) is in a coma. Her surgeries went well, so we’re just playing the waiting game for her to come out of the coma (they took her off the breathing machine recently, she’s breathing on her own). If you’re the praying type, please include her in your prayers for a healthy recovery.

Jo is a lovely lady (even if she weren’t related). Her kindness radiates and you can’t help but feel good around her. She and my bio-dad came into my life when I was 25, and I feel richer because of that. Not that I felt I was missing something, but the addition has been fun. They taught me how to play my favorite game, Mexican Trains (dominoes), and I’m extremely grateful for that ;)

She’s active at her church in Candy Kitchen, NM, line dances on a regular basis, is an avid walker and great entertainer. Not like Cedric The Entertainer, but like having people over and socializing. My paternal grandmother lives in San Diego, CA alone, but Jo and Gary make a point to get over to see her on a regular basis without making her feel incompetent. Jo remembers our birthdays, anniversaries and holidays like clockwork (that’s not my strong suit, so I admire that quality in others). She’s enjoyable to be around, talk to and call a friend.

That’s the snippet on Grandma Jo, but there’s more that involves Grandpa Gary…
Long story short, this is my bio-dad, Gary (I call him “dad,” but some get confused because I call my dad that raised me “Daddy” instead of stepdad). He wasn’t around from when I was 2 until I was 25, but it’s kinda creepy how much alike we are. His sense of humor is similar to mine, we are both dang smart (teehee) and he’s sooo non-drama. So much non-drama that he didn’t bother to tell me about Jo’s recent condition right away (a couple weeks) or how his gall bladder had to be removed in an emergency surgery during all the hooplah. I can see a little why he didn’t want to bother us with the bad news, hoping she’d pull out of it and he could call with good news, but next time (if you’re reading this) I’d sure like to know much sooner than later ;)

Here we are at Sundance a few years ago when they came to visit. We all had a blast (and we played more Mexican Trains than you could imagine, and I could’ve played more).
Piper liked getting cozy with Grandma Jo while watching a movie. I absolutely love Jo’s smiles :)
Piper likes to do this weird face when I have the camera pointing at her. But I loved this one of Jo and couldn’t pass up the chance to show her off.

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Gas

by Lucky Red Hen on April 25, 2008

This might come as a shock to my mother (she thinks she knows everything about me), but I don’t pay attention to how much I pay at the gas pump. Here’s my thought… if I pay attention, I’ll know how much I’m getting raked over the coals. I claim ignorance and, they say, ignorance is bliss. Blissful indeed until I figured it out today.

At Costco in Woodinville today (the sheriff was in line and I selectively chose a lane far away… you know, just in case), the lanes for the driver side pumps were a mile long (it felt like it was, but we all know Costco’s parking lot isn’t THAT big) so I bellied up to a passenger side pump that had a max of three cars waiting (I also say “belly up to the bar” and I don’t even drink alcohol, or serve alcohol, for that matter, but I still say it and I won’t stop, in case you’re wondering), figuring that I can pull the line across the back to the driver side where my tank is.

As a side note to this little story: the picture of the gas pump on your dash does NOT necessarily tell you which side your tank is on, contrary to this little legend (but wouldn’t that make sense and why DON’T the auto manufacturers make it so, sheesh, I’m tired of cranking my head out the window to see which side mine is on — no, I don’t have a good enough memory to just know without looking sometimes).

As ANOTHER side note, this story isn’t about which side of the car my tank is on.

Back to the original point of this post.

I paid $3.53 at Costco and drove by a Chevron a couple miles away that listed the same grade of gas for $3.75… that’s 22 cents a GALLON! At that rate for 20 gallons I saved $4.40 today and spent it on a Kid’s Meal Crisp Chicken Burrito Meal at Taco Time to celebrate (psst, I didn’t have a kid with me)!

As another side note… the new BBQ Chipotle Chicken Burrito at TT is tasty but waaaayy too messy for any normal person to put up with.

{EDIT… yeah, it’s $3.53 and $3.75, respectively, and I’ve made the change; see, I don’t pay attention to gas prices! LOL}

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It's About Time

by Lucky Red Hen on April 24, 2008

Grey’s … is … baaaaack (phew).

We’re having a new family (moved from AZ in Jan) over for dinner. They have two kids our kids’ ages, she laughs at all my jokes and her hubby is computer savvy so it’s a match made in heaven, right? :)

However, they just found out their oldest might have an allergy to food issue (no gluten, dairy and somethingorother; he can eat meat and veggies). It’s a new discovery, so they’re in the beginning phase of cutting everything out so they can narrow it down.

She will bring his own dinner so I don’t have to worry about his restrictions, but I sure would like to figure out a way that I can accomodate him while still making fabulous eats. Without a planned menu, I’m open to suggestions that will get the ideas flowing. Maybe I’ll just swing by Costco (I need gas anyway) and the dinner will plan itself (that place has a funny way of doing that).

Hey, did you hear about the latest rice and oil rationing going on at Costco and other grocery stores? Yikes!

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Reaction Time

by Lucky Red Hen on April 22, 2008

How fast are you?

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Twilight Movie

by Lucky Red Hen on April 21, 2008

Some clips, if you’re interested, in the making of Twilight, the movie. I’m looking forward to the film (expected in theaters Dec. 12) and hope I enjoy it as much as I have the book series.

If you have NO IDEA (as this writer didn’t) what I’m talking about, click here to see inside the first (Twilight), second (New Moon) and third (Eclipse) books by Stephenie Meyer.

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Christmas Photos

by Lucky Red Hen on April 17, 2008

We’re way past Christmas (has it really been that long?) and I’m trying to organize this house. Seems that the places I thought would work for things aren’t so I’m rearranging. Don’t even get me started on the garage (looking forward to Ben making shelves so we can find stuff). We still haven’t unpacked everything, so I wonder if my attempts to organize will be shot once we open the rest of the boxes.

Anywho… as I’ve been shuffling, I came across my precious Christmas photo cards and pictures that friends and family send every year.
For the record: I LOVE getting photos from friends and family, anytime of year.
But now I wonder what to do with them. They’ll certainly not go in the trash (I don’t throw friends and family in the trash, thank you). I’d rather them not spend the year in a box somewhere. There are too many for frames (although they all DESERVE a coveted spot in a frame, but I don’t have the space to then put those frames). Not being a fan, the traditional peel and stick albums aren’t an option, especially because I’d like to have them alphabetized then add to them each year.
Ooh, that reminds me of something that might work… but I still wanna know if you have ideas.
I diiiiid see a cutecutecute album thingy that a friend at church made for each of her girls. It was a SUUUPER simple idea, although she did WAY more than my short-attention-span could handle (in a scrapbooky sort of way). Right about now would be perfect for a visual aid, but I don’t have one so you’ll have to use your imagination.
It’s an A to Z book. Each letter has it’s own page. Each page has a picture of the subject of honor doing the particular letter, like: asleep for Sleeping, laughing for Joy, looking cute for Cute, holding a ball for Ball. Then each page had simple lettering added such as “S is for sleeping” applied with the S being a die cut. To finish, each page is laminated (thickly), hole-punched and attached using a simple binder ring (kinda like a skinny metal shower curtain ring) with matching ribbons knotted to it. SOOO cute!
Q: So do YOU have any ideas for the Christmas pictures?

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Sell Your Kids

by Lucky Red Hen on April 16, 2008

Didn’t realize this really was an option until Piper mentioned it at bedtime tonight…

Me, way past bedtime having to tend to Piper again: Grrr, why aren’t you guys asleep already?

Piper, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed: We’re just not tired, I guess.

Me, ready for the AI results show: Well, you’re driving me nuts!

Piper, as sweet as an angel: So are you going to take us out and sell us to another family?

Both of us: giggle … giggle

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