To my 1am Visitor

To the person who banged on my door and rang the doorbell at 1:00am last night / this morning.... I am so bummed we did not get a chance to meet up! There I was, enjoying the quiet evening... de-stressing, playing a game. Then suddenly,

BANG BANG BANG BANG... dingdong! Dingdong!

After jumping a mile and having to restart my heart, I realized... someone was at my door... at 1am?? It must be someone dying to see me! I was so excited. I even debated on getting dressed, since you probably wanted to see me in my sexy jammies... why else would you ring at 1AM? But alas, I did dress (maybe that is why you ran away??). I started to yell, "Who's there? WHO IS THERE?" But no answer. You wanted to keep me in suspense. I peaked out the window... and saw no one... so.. you like games! You wanted me to come out and find you! So that I did... I opened the door and looked around.

"MARCO!... MARCO!... MARCO???"

No polo... I must have missed you. I knew I shouldn't have gotten dressed!

Please, next time you want to visit me... or just check if my doorbell is working.... I would so prefer it to be done during the day. I make great cookies, and can get you some lemonade if you stick around. Also, please, please, next time you decided to ring and run, do it before 9pm. You woke my kids up (not to mention scared the crap out of all of us)..... that doesn't make me like you much. And I want to like you..... really I do!

Till next time!

Blog Stalking/ers

I looked at my counter and since I put it up in Februaryish/March, I have had nearly 3,000 hits! Wow! That is a lot! Despite what some (my sisters) may think, I do not just sit and click 'refresh... refresh....refresh...' to get my numbers up (because if I did it would be in the upwards of 20,000 hits!!). Not all of those 3,000 clicks are me! That means... some of them must be YOU.. and YOU.. and YOU! Yes you… you know who you are!!

Are YOU a blog stalker? The definition of a blog stalker would be someone who reads blogs, but does not leave a comment. Ever. I myself and guilty of this. Yes, I know, SHOCKER!! I have a list of blogs I like to read, and do fairly often. However, every once in a while, I will start clicking on a blog of a blog of a blog, and find a friends sisters cousins best friends grandma's blog, who I remember meeting once, and I will read her blog, maybe several times. When doing this, I often feel like I'm invading privacy, or 'sneaking' a look. In reality, if the blog is out in the open (not secured), it is free for all. Do you ever feel like this? Do you ever find yourself reading a blog and feeling almost guilty because it is someone you haven't connected with in a while? FEAR NOT! I do not want you to feel that way when you are at my home in the world wide web!

I would like to invite you all....

RID YOUR BLOG STALKING GUILT!!

Maybe you are an ex girlfriend of an old ex-boytoy and you somehow heard my name and decided to see what I'm up to, to make sure you are better off than I am (not hard). Or maybe you are a friend that we met in 1st grade and some how you came across my blog, but don't want to say anything in fear that I will not remember you. Maybe you are someone I see all the time, but don’t want to admit you are blog stalking. Maybe you are a random stranger who just loves to see what I'm up to (5'9 1/2).... FEAR NOT! I do not judge (often). I would love to reconnect, say HI or even read your blog!

So that is my challenge to you… if you are reading this blog… leave a comment… say HI… and know, you are invited to put up with the crap I write. It’s your mind being wasted, not mine. :-)

Now for the ‘crap’ to be put up with:

I have a lot of fun pictures to share, however the cord to the camera is lost*. I can show you pictures of the camera, but that won't show you the fun that has been happening at our dive bomb. Oh yes, be jealous. We are having a grand ol’ time and will have a grand ol’ time next week, too!

So until I find the camera cord… fair thee well! And rid your blog stalking guilt here!

PS... when ridding your blog stalking guilt, please be so kind as to leave your name!

* Meaning Sam actually has taken and hidden it.

Because waiting a month for an update is FUN.....

Weekend

Pernell's mom is in town. We hit the beach yesterday. Our friends told us of this great beach that you can drive on, so off we went to drive on the beach! It was fun fun fun!! The girls (and me!) love playing in the water and waves. And the water was warm (for the Oregon Coast) and didn't even make our legs numb for quite some time!!

After getting all wet, we drove down to Cannon Beach and ate at Mo's. If you have not eaten at Mo's you are missing something.

It was a great day. Beautiful weather. Love the coast!!

OHMYGOSH............

If you are looking for a belated birthday.... mother's day... Anniversary... "hey it's June!" present for me, I HAVE FOUND IT!! This looks so cool! EGG GENIE


I came across the infomercial on TV, and just WANT THIS!! BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!! Not only do you get the Egg Genie, but if you order now-ish you also get the bacon wave, too!

Pernell just rolled his eyes and said use a pan, but NO WAY! Why use a pan when you can make perfectly hard boiled eggs... like THAT??? No more guessing on if the egg is fully hard boiled.. no more worrying if it is too hard boiled.

I want it. Very bad. I will have an Egg Genie. Oh yes, I will. Mark my words!

Check and Mate

When I was 12, my dad gave us a Nintendo (in 1992... a mere 7 years after it was released). Along with the NES were a plethora of games for it. One of them was Super Mario Brothers 3. From Friday night until Sunday afternoon, every other weekend my sisters and I (more specifically the two younger sisters and I) played Mario 3... non stop. The only time we stopped was if my Dad wanted to watch Football *psh*, otherwise we were GLUED. I, personally, never beat the game. I do not remember specifically if my younger sisters did. But I do remember we tried hard and persistantly to beat it, but unsuccessfully.

Three years ago on Freecycle I came across an original NES.... and the quest to beat Kupa continued.... but unsuccessfully.


When the Wii was brought into our home, that was one of the first games we downloaded. Mario Three.

I am proud to announce that after.. WAY too long, I have finally.. FINALLY ..... BEAT THE GAME!!!!!!! WOOHOOOO!!! Not only once, but TWICE!!!!


Cheap thrills, right?

We do not offend... intentionally

It has been brought to my attention that some persons reading this blog might possibly be feeling that the Tipping Etiquette post was aimed towards them personally. Rest assured it was not aimed towards ANYONE, just an awareness post.

However, I would like to point out that if you feel it was aimed towards yOu, then maybe tipping is something you need to work on? I try not to intentionally offend on this blog. (and if you have not read it yet, read it! See if it hits a hot spot for you!)

In other news:

A FOLLOW UP: if you read THIS entry, not only do you see that my sister called me a butthead (....... seriously???), you will know that I had a something of some sort cut out of my leg. A few days after that the Doctor's office called and said that the biopsy came back 'not cool', so they are cutting more out tomorrow... a bigger chunk! YES!!!!!!!! Woohooo! I love nothing more then having my leg cut up. It is going to be so awesome! Hopefully that will end the cutting for THAT spot. Good grief!

A side note, the sister that called me a butthead (.....really???), she takes great pictures! Check out her blog (Aubry Canales Photography) and look at her work! Somewhere in there are pictures of my really stinkin' cute niece and nephew! Now if ONLY she would see it fit to come visit me and take pictures of my kids!

Alright, I am off to seek my destiny.......... will I EVER beat Mario Brothers 3???


** my efforts to make this a colorful post have failed. It now just looks ca-ka-ee. Next time, prettier!

Potato / Potato

Pernell and the girls took his mom to Portland to attend Church at the Deaf Branch this morning.
Ever since, Kaylee and Sam keep talking about how cool the 'Death' Branch is.





MIL is less than amused.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

What is this bright ball of.... SHINNY HEAT in the sky?? Bah! It hurts my eyes.

I wait.



It does not go away.



I wait some more.


Never has it stayed THIS long.

This has the potential to change my vampire like skin to something human-ish. NOOOOO!!!!!

Bah! I love the Pacific Northwest.

Tipping Etiquette

Over the past few months I have gone out with different family and friends and have realized that not everyone knows how to tip, or more importantly, when to tip. Nothing has mortified me more then when I went out to eat with a family member, and they 1. Did not tip our server, or 2. Gave a lousy tip (but bragged about what a great tip s/he left).

So, dear blog readers, I am now educating everyone on proper tipping procedures. I would like to point out that I got all of these from tipping etiquette websites (links at the bottom). I feel that EVERYONE should have to be a server once in their life so they get it. If you have ever had to be a server, you will understand. When I was in Utah, I made $2.13/hour plus tips as a server. Tips are how I survived!!

Some of these are no brainers (resturaunts, manicure/pedicure, pizza delivery), but I had NO idea about some (tow truck drivers!).

Let us be educated together:

• Food server - 15-20%. Keep in mind that the amount you tip reflects the total price before any coupons, gift certificates, etc. Just because you get a discount, does not mean that your server did not serve up the full order.

• Takeout - If you get good service, in other words, the waiter gets and packages the food, then at your choice you can tip $1-2 or up to 10%. Nothing is really necessary.

• Barber - $2-3

• Hair Stylist or Color Specialist - 10-20%. $3-5 extra for last-minute service

• Manicure/pedicure or Facial / waxings - 15 - 20% Salon and spa tipping should generally be the same as restaurant tipping.
  

• Porter or skycap - $2 per bag or more if the bags are heavy. $2 extra for curbside check-in is optional.

• Towing service - $5 - $20 depending upon circumstances and your desperation.

• Jump start - $3 - $5

• Tire change - $4 - $5

• Locked out of car - $5 - $10

• Furniture or appliance deliveries - $5-10 per person. If the delivery is huge, then $20 per person.

• Pizza deliveries or other food deliveries - 15%, but not less than $2.

• Hotel: Bellhop: $1.00 per bag; $2.00 minimum if you have just one bag
• Concierge - $3.00 to $5.00 for dinner reservations; $20.00 for booking tours; $25.00 for tickets to sold-out show; none for directions
• Desk clerks - none
• Doorman - none; if service provided $1.00 per bag; $1.00 per person for hailing a cab
• Maid - $2.00 to $5.00 per night (leave daily as housekeepers may change)
• Pool attendant - $1.00 to $2.00 for each service
• Room service - 15 - 20 percent
• Valet - $1.00 to $2.00 each trip

My rule of thumb, when it doubt, tip! Also, when you tip, add an extra dollar to what you think is right. People who you are tipping WILL remember you, good or bad. And trust me, if you are leaving a bad or no tip, your service next time has a good chance of being really shotty.


These are awesome sites:

Tipping site 1
Tipping site 2
Tipping site 3



Thank you. This has been a message from your concerned blogger.

Things I am excited for:

• Summer Term
• Girls Camp
• Zoo trip with Kaylee this week
  
• November
• 2012
• Girls Camp
  
• Sam to stop being an artist on her walls, yes, even the ones in the closet she claims I cannot 'see'
• My sister to move back from Japan (seriously, another four years?!?!?!)
• MIL to come (Wednesday)
  
• MIL to leave
  
• Doctor's appointments over the next two weeks
  
• To win the lottery (mental note: need to play to win.. oh well!)
• Girls Camp.. did I mention that already?
• Harry Potter 6 in theaters
• Twilight (always excited for Twilight!)

A big, heartfelt "I'M SORRY"....

I apologies to my mom. Every year for Mother's Day, her Birthday and Christmas, we always asked what she wanted. Without hesitation, she would say, "A clean house". Bah! Whatever! No fun! So with out hesitation, we would also laugh and go on and buy her something we thought she REALLY wanted.

Now that I am a mom... every Mother's Day, birthday and Christmas... when my husband and kids ask what I want... without hesitation, I say, "A clean house".

Mom, I am sorry I never did that for you. I just hope that my husband and kids are reading this and know that is the ONLY thing I would like!! :-) .......... but would settle for a Black Porche Convertible

Ewww.

Yesterday I had a beauty mark turned bad cut out of my leg right by my knee. I'd post pictures, but then you would have to see my gross leg... and even grosser knee. So just imagine a little beauty mark that is no longer a perfect circle but turned into a 'splotch' as the 'BEFORE' picture. And then imagine a mess bleh with stitches as the 'AFTER' picture. It is lovely. And surprisingly, the only part of the procedure that hurt was getting the numbing junk. Now it just hurts off and on. I imagine it is because the stitches are tugged on my by knee moving. Go fig. Oh well, it is done. Now here's hoping it is nothing bad! YIPPEY!!

Wait! Let me jump back to the only part that hurt was the 'numbing junk'. My fantastic doc is awesome. However, she did not warn me she was going to numb me. Typically this wouldn't bother me, but just the night before I heard on the John Tesh show that if you count while getting pricked with a needle, it won't hurt. I wanted to try that. Maybe next time.

I know I have stuff to blog on, but I can not think of what it is. Sooo random, here we go again!

Today I received my Degree Audit from the College. If you remember about my April, it got off to a rough start, so I ended up dropping all my classes because I just did not have the confidence to be able to miss 1/4 of the term (if you need to know why, read down a few posts) and still get A's. Last term, I earned a 3.95. Don't want to ruin that! So anyway, I am turning in all the paperwork so I do not lose my financial aid, and that included meeting with an advisor and doing a Degree Audit Plan. As it turns out, I am 35 credits away from graduating with my Associates. Which also means that I should be able to start the Elementary Education program at WSU-Vancouver, by the latests, next fall. WOOHOOO!! Closer than I had thought. There is light!

Alright! Until next time! Fair thee well!

Random stuff

GOOD NEWS!! The Honey butter freezes well. Yippey! Life is good.

I am a night person. When I lay down to go to sleep, that is when my mind goes crazy. It takes a long time to fall asleep. I've remedied that now. I have taken to listening to books on CD. Currently I am listening to Harry Potter 7. It is almost 22 hours long. I usually listen to it for about 20 - 30 minutes and BAM! I am out cold! This has worked wonders!! I am going to check out the rest of the Harry Potter series on CD so I should be able to sleep well for a long, long time.

I dropped my spring classes (see Utah trip below). It has been very different because I am not nearly as busy.

It has been raining a lot. I love the rain! I love how it smells when it rains.

Kids are great.

I think I'll make Big Boy Burritos tomorrow.

That's about it.

Gold

This stuff is SO GOOD. Does anyone know if you can freeze it without the quality or taste being effective? I've emailed the website. We shall see. OH SO GOOD!!! Going to make scones... just because we have this! We also have the honey butter in raspberry flavoring!!


Maybe if you are nice.. we'll invite you over. Maybe... we're pretty greedy with our honey butter from Utah.

The time has come

Friday around 11am the mechanic called to let us know our car was done. Done, as in running working done, not finished bury done. WOOHOO!! We picked it up and I drove it around for an hour or so, just to make sure it was working well (YAY!!). Then I went back and packed up the car. We waited until John got home so we could say good-bye to him (there was no way we could leave without saying good bye!).



While waiting to leave, Kaylee and Grandma 'Salad' played Phase 10. This was Kaylee's first time playing with Gma Salad... it went over much better when Kaylee won her then when I did. :-)

And then John came home...

Goodbye Trip....

Goodbye Horses....

Goodbye Grandpa Great

Goodbye Grandma Salad....

Goodbye Jo-NANNA.....

Goodbye Ammie and John

Goodbye Utah.....we have had fun!









After visiting Grandpa one last time and having a quick dinner with Jo-NANNA, off we went! We stopped in Boise for gas, and again in Pendleton (though we did not need to, I needed to get out and walk!). We made it home around 7:30 Friday morning. We had a GREAT time, and now it is great to be home.

More time.....

There are horses in the backyard here. The girls LOVE them!




John's dog, Trip, is awesome! He gives high 5's.









We went to see Grandpa yesterday. He seems to be doing well, considering. He has such a positive attitude right now. We had a fun time! The girls are holding his 'dogs', Cindy and Buddy. The only type of dogs Grandma would let him have. :-)


Still waiting on the mechanic. As of this morning he had to special order a part in. Woohoo! Pernell flew home this evening so that he can go to work and classes. We will wait until our car is fixed, then the girls and I will head out. Yay!!

If you can't beat 'em....

Last night we were went Pernell's Aunt and Uncle's home and had a fun evening with all the cousins, their wives and kids. There were about 25 people total there. Lots of Pizza, lots of cake, cookies and ice cream. A fun night!!


Today we should be home. But, remember our luck, that just does not happen. Pernell's cousins worked on our car some today, but came to the conclusion it is the timing in the car that needs to be fixed. So now, the car is sitting at the mechanics, waiting for it to be fixed. Here's hoping that tomorrow we will be able to drive home!

So what, you may ask, did we do today? Being that we were planning to go home, we did not go to church today. We thought we should get some church in. After we had a nice lunch at Red Butte Cafe in the Foothill Village, we went to Temple Square. The girls really loved it!

We went into the North Visitors Center, and the girls loved it! The two things they really liked a lot was the Christus. Amazing!

After that we went through a section that was about the Proclamation to the Family. Here are the two sister missionaries that walked us through. One was from Vancouver, BC and the other was from Hong Kong. They were really nice and we had fun with them!

Just after we did that, we received a call from Pernell's cousin and we needed to go help tow the car to the mechanic, so we had to cut our visit short. But now without running across the street to see the waterfall at the Conference Center. It was such a beautiful day today, and I am glad we had the opportunity to take the girls to Temple Square.





So we are doing great. Just waiting. Ever so patiently waiting. Sam does not want to go home and keeps trying to convince us to leaver her here. She loves loves loves her Aunts and Aunt Ammie's boyfriend, John. He's a trooper! I'm pretty certain they are going to go through shock when we leave. They are giving John a run for his money!



So until we get home, we are smiling and loving life! Here's hoping we can get home tomorrow. See... still smiling.. even if it looks fake! HA!!

You can't make this stuff up....

In the last week and a half..... we have had strep throat, Pernell's grandma died, came to Utah for her funeral, and tonight, the night before we leave to head back, our car breaks down. Pernell's cousins have been working on it and we hope to have it fixed tomorrow. Hmmm... I've missed three classes because of this, and now maybe a fourth if we don't get back.

How do I tell my professors this? I mean, really? This sounds like a joke! I am prepared with receipts, funeral programs, obituaries and doctor's notes.

Seriously... you can't make stuff like this up.

I say BUUURRRR it's cold out here....

Driving to Utah. I've done it several times. I've done it in the best of weather, I've done it in the worst of weather. I've done it with an old dumpy car, I've done it with a new fast car. This time, we had the 'middle road' trip. An OK car, and the weather, could have been better. We got to the pass and headed over the Blue Mountains. We were about to the top of the mountains when the fog got horrendous and the snow was coming down really hard. It got to the point that I could not see two feet in front of me. CRAZY!! I finally pulled over and woke up Pernell. We sat on the side of the road till another vehicle came, which ended up being two semi's. We were able to follow them down. One the down hill part of the pass, the fog went away and it was just snow and ice. Amusing! It was clear for a bit, then we hit just past Boise and it was snow snow snow all the way to Ogden.

But we made it safe and sound. It has been a good trip. Tonight was the viewing. It was nice to see all sorts of family and friends whom we have not seen in a long time, including my most favorite doctor of all time (the one who delivered Kaylee). Tomorrow is the funeral.

More to come... and maybe even pictures! (but no promises!!)