What Christmas Is All About

Here is proof that the end of Christmas Day is not the time to try to get a photo of all the kids together...even tho they all look so cute in their matching pj's ....

His auntie and uncle (who are both police officers) gave long haired Owen this Police officer get up...becuase they love hearing HIM say "Freeze hippy!"

Besides Kaia, who after all is only 3 months old, the only one to collapse into nap time was Jack...and this was AFTER his nap when he wasnt quite ready to join in the games again... Hubby's great-grandfather taught hubby's grandfather the family recipe for cioppino - and his grandfather taught it to hubby's father - who then taught hubby - well, our son hates it - so looks like it will skip a generation! Connor was at his side all day helping him cook! Even getting over his fear of touching a crab! And he then ate some shrimp and clams! A Christmas Cabbage Patch doll? Nope - a 3 month old Kaia all dressed up to party hearty with all the family! You know, it sounds like a cliche, but it really is all about family. And how could my Christmas have been any more perfect - I got to spend time with all my kids and grandkids!

You May Call Me MASTER

I JUST FOUND OUT I PASSED MY COMP. EXAM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Men!

So I am making biscotti....okay, so it is the first time ever I have made them. I have them baked, and am slicing them and putting them back on the baking sheet to be baked again....and there is my husband picking one up and taking a bite out of it!!!!

Guess I should have let him and asked him what they tasted like!

Hope they are good....they are cranberry pistachio ones and shelling the pistachios is the worst part of the recipe.

Also making some Ricotta cookies. Tomorrow I will make Cherry Walnut Balls and Raspberry Almond Merangues and some more fudge. If I dont tire out too much, I will also make cranberry bread for daughter who is coming home from Nevada.....but that might have to wait till Friday!

A lovely present from Australia!

Found an envelope on the porch this AM when I was leaving for a faculty meeting. It must have been delivered yesterday evening and our wonderful guard dog (HA!) didnt let us know!

Anyway - wish I could post some photos - but it was from Australia - a swap I participated in. Ozknitter sent me some lovely orange bamboo yarn (no Gracie, it did not have your name on it!)....an Eucalyptus bookmark...two ornaments, wooden koala bear and 'roo....a dark green handknit alapaca gift bag kept them safe all those miles in the post...a box of yummy shortbread cookies...a book of Australian recipes that is killing me cause everything looks so yummy! And an Australian made handkerchief - in the Bush Tucker Design by Julie Nabangardi Shedden.

And it was an especially lovely gift because I have been feeling so downright crappy this week!

Thank you!

Time is Flying By

Or is it really creeping by? Depends on what you are referring to.
And NO - thank you for enquiring - but I still have not heard any results on my Comp Exam.
And yes, that time is creeping painfully by... while the time to Christmas is whizzing by as usual.

I got my cards out, but am not sure that they are actually going to get mailed out. No Christmas spirit this year due, I think, to the stress of hearing about the Exam results.

I have most of my shopping done - except for oldest daughter and husband - and husband's birthday present! SIL birthday was the 10th - daughters is today - and hubby's is Friday. It makes it hard when you get to a place in life, that if you want something, you buy it. Every couple of years I have flashes of gift giving inspiration, but none this year unfortunately.

I have participated in several gift swaps this season and they have been fun. All except this last one. And that is because I ordered a 'special' gift for this person months ago...and it is still not here...lots of excuses tho! And that means a frustrating wait in line soon....I tried to get all my packages mailed early enough that the lines werent bad and I could mail cheaper cause there was plenty of time to arrive. Not matter what, this last package will go out by Friday -with or without the 'special' gift!

Spent our annual weekend in SF. It was lovely - cold and clear! Altho later we realized that we never got a chance to look at the decorated windows around Union Square, which is one of the reasons we spend a Christmas time weekend there!

This time we stayed at a hotel down near the Wharf, chosen by the couple that we go with. It was nice (altho there were little complaints - like, dont be so chincey with the towels! And what is up with running out of mugs for tea and the stuff advertised for the afternoon wine and beer hour?) -- the bed was very comfortable as were the pillows (this is a rare combo any more!) and the room was soooooo quiet....and it was in great walking distance of North Beach where we love to eat (if you go - please try Volare's on Columbus - it was wonderful - [but dont waste your time on the cannoli's, they were terrible]). But very not so good for shopping downtown - which means by the time we got to spend some time there we were too tired to window shop and the bags were too heavy....didnt make it to 1/2 the shops I wanted to go to.

But the nice thing? Our friend apparently shared her cold with us! I came home on call yesterday cause I felt so "not good". Didnt feel bad - just didnt feel good. Kept looking around me for my mom and my hubby as people kept saying to me "Boy, you are pale today" (my mom use to, and now my hubby does,- state that they know when I am sick by how pale I get). So I called in sick for today - kills me to use up my dwindling PTO this way - but am very glad I did. I just feel totally wiped out. Hopefully I can do some wrapping today and maybe some baking...but I really dont have time to be sick!

Have a meeting to go to tomorrow morning and then lots of errands afterwards....and the same all over again Friday! So I dont have time to be sick or feel wiped out!!!!

Ok, I have a terrible confession to make. After all my life - 50+ years - of saying I would never do this - know what we did this year? We bought a fake tree. Yeah, I know that means we have stopped supporting the Christmas tree growers - but it also means that, altho we did this one time petroleum product support, we have stopped some support on the petroleum industry - with rising gas prices, that means the prices of everything will have to go up, especially buying dead trees! Now, we have in the past many years, bought from the Boy Scouts, which helped support them, and also had them pick it up afterwards and they would mulch it, which is a very good thing....but I amm too tired to deal with this scenario any more:

• One evening we face the dark (ends up being evening since I work every other weekend - and hubbyw orks M - F - and we use up one weekend for the SF trip) and cold to pick out a tree quickly before we start arguing and fighting. Altho they put the tree in the truck for us, we have to wrestle it into the back yard when we get home (cause of course we are too tired by then to do any more with it) and then I get to listen to hubby complain about sap on his hands and clothes
• Then another evening is spent trying to get it into the stand. Yes, we have one of those nice foot pedal stands, but you pay for a 7 foot tree, and by the time you get it trimmed well enough to put into the stand, you end up with a 5 foot tree and lots of complaining (i.e. cussing)
• Maybe the tree comes in the house that day - but if it does, you cant decorate it yet, cause it needs to warm up and the branches relax
• So then it comes to night numer 3 or 4 when you actually decorate it....I wish I had a house big enough for a couple of trees so that I can put up all my decorations, but it just aint so...so then we have to decide what goes on the tree...which means I give up a lot of my hand made decorations and end up with a tree full of Star Wars and Star Trek stuff - you know, all that stuff that jsut reeks Christmas????!!!!

So now - we will be able to skip steps 1 and 2 (sometimes 3) and go right to the decorating. So we get rid of several arguments and save time and the season! But funny, I still saw some pine needles on the floor the other day...

I thought this was cute!

Afdre
I dont know - I cant size it so that it is readable....so let me translate here.....
What HE says is "I've been thinking...I'm the man of this house, so starting tomorrow I want you to have a hot delicious meal ready for me the second I walk thru that door...Afterwards,while watching ESPN and relaxing in my chair, you'll bring me my slippers and then run my bath...And when I'm done with my bath, guess who is going to dress me and comb my hair?"

And SHE replies : "The funeral director."

Anyway, I am still going nuts here waiting to hear....and it is driving me crazy. I would like to be able to sleep thru the night again someday....I want to thank everyone who has prayed for me in their way, and hope you are still praying!

Meanwhile, I am seeing 'signs' everywhere I look....and I really really wish that big black old crow or raven or whatever, would leave my driveway area cause it is really giving me the creeps and worries!

Just went outside to take some recycling out - and heard this odd noise - and there is a squirrel scampering up the palm tree with an apple in his mouth! Now, I want to know where he got that apple....and he looked so funny trying to carry it up while he ran up that tree. I guess when I stopped to talk to him he realized I wasnt going to shoot him or anything, so he stopped to taste it...but then the dog saw him and starting whining, so he ran on up.

The other day I took pity on my plants and went out to water them. This weather has been so very very crazy. So do you know what I discovered? My lilac bush has some puny blossoms on it!!!!! At the end of November! And I thought I was the one going crazy!

Had a lovely day making the rounds of the thrift shops....got the cutest little Christmas polar bear pin...some yarn for a scarf that will go in the donation pile...books...some collectibles that will become gifts...it was an awesome day to shop (especially since one of the shops was having a 50% off sale! Boy, I have never seen that shop so crowded!)

SICKO

If you havent seen Michael Moore's movie, SICKO, you must see it.

As with his other movies, it is very thought provoking.

I may not agree 100% with what he says - but he truely makes you think about things.



Do you know another profession that has very poor health care and retirement benefits?

Health care workers!

Yup, unless you work in a union hospital or in the Kaiser organization, you retire with no medical benefits and very poor retirement (except for your savings).

Many health care workers dont have any retirement except social security.

Now, isnt that a sad reflection on the system - those who have worked all those years providing health care - have none when they retire. What does that say about the American system?

Contest

No - not here...on another blog...but you gotta enter - cause it is a good one. Not only does the winner win - but so does a charity! She is asking you to tell your favorite charity - and if you win, she will donate to that charity! Awesome idea!

And if those of you who are not knitters are reluctant to enter...you can always donate your winning to me!! LOL

Anyway, the site is http://chanknits.wordpress.com/

Happy Thanksgiving - Have a blessed, safe, and joyful day with your family and friends!

Wrapping up Hell Week

Well - those are the best photos I have since I lost my camera on Thursday. Which means I lost the photos of COnnor being surprised with balloons and a birthday basket...and the boys in the Monster Inc car....I am sad more that I lost the photos than I lsot the camera (altho the loss of the camera resulted in missed photo ops) and the fact that I lost my LARGE scan disk....at least I didnt lose the one with Connors Birthday party photos on it! Did get some photos the last day there with a disposible camera...

So Friday was something else. Woke up early (of course) totally stressed out. Couldnt even eat the breakfast I bought the night before....cried myself silly on the drive there until I had a little talk with myself about how silly I was being. Just missed being hit twice....I thought drivers up here were crazy! Down there if they dont like the speed in a lane - they jsut make their own lane!

Got there plenty early and found other people there jsut as stressed as I was. It was very easy to focus on typing the paper - the other people around me didnt bother me at all. The paper turned out to be a page longer than when I originally wrote it - even though I later realized I forgot to add in some evaluation tools I meant to put in - so I dont know if I went back and started adding in redundant info or not. About 2/3 of the way thru I regretted not eating anything. I finished spell check and all about 15 minutes early. Went outside and met up with some of the people who had done their orals and were waiting to do their paper. Oh, and ate my breakfast at 12:30!!! I felt to drained - totally brain dead and jsut totally drained....I cant explain it at all...

Sat in a group of 5 for the orals - and our moderator was the director of the school! - and was totally blown away by these smart, intelligent women...I was so drained from the paper experience that I could barely put sentences together much less paragraphs. Spoke with another person who was in that group later and she said she felt the same way. But I am encouraging her to publish her paper becuase the basis was fantastic!

Was thinking about stopping and buying a new camera but didnt. Made it back to the hotel and valet parking and ran upstairs to the room to go to the bathroom. At that point I oculdnt find my phone so thought I left it in the car...ran back downstairs and they had already parked the car. The Christmas parade was to start at 3:30 but for premeir seating (at the top of the stairs at the railroad) you had to be their early so I hiked double time to get there (my knee was killing me by the time I got there) without being able to call ahead....the parade wasnt all that good (Disney parades have all gone downhill since the 80's - jsut not as good and much much shorter) but the best part of it - what made it all worthwhile - was as I rounded the corner I heard two little guys shouting "MeMaw! MeMaw is here!!!!!!" That made it all worthwhile!

Had fun the rest of the evening - and watched the fireworks and the snow!!!

Sat morning we watched the boys while daughter and son in law packed and did some last minute shopping. Then they left and we hit California Adventure - drove to Knott's and had our chicken dinner - drove back to Disney to watch the fireworks again - and then to bed totally exhausted!

Sun we had the world's lousiest breakfast at the RainForest Cafe....and then we did our shopping - and left. Exhausted. Still tired. But last night got 1 of my last 4 assignments for this semester done - they are all due this week so you probably wont see much posting this week!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Hell Week - Thursday

Ok, I am in a full blown stress out here!

Lovely day today - not as warm as yesterday (it was 93 degrees down here... in the middle of November!!!) but very nice. Very nice that is until I lost my camera. I am sure I will never see it again, and of course what I really miss is the 1 gig (or whatver it is) scandisk! Luckily I downloaded the photos yesterday - and only ad a couple new ones on there today. But of course there were all these great photo ops today that I couldnt take advantage of! The park is so beautiful decorated for the holidays and especially at night! Guess I will buy a throw away camera tomorrow afternoon...

I dont even know what time I need to leaver tomorrow to get there on time! Mapquest says 25 minutes but I so dont trust them....and no one I ask here can give me a better answer. So I am going to give myself an hour...and maybe I will get there a little early.

Wonder if I will even sleep tonight?

Hell Week - Wednesday

Well we got up in the middle of the night...took us only 30 minutes to get to Oakland airport!
And then it was a relatively empty flight - why cant we get those on longer flights? Got our car...and headed right to...Radio Shack!!!!! Yeah, the charger adapter for my phone broke this morning...but we did get to the Grand Californian and got our tickets and headed into the park. And we were starving for a hot dog - and there were no hot dog places open cause it was only 1030 in the morning! Got right onto Indiana Jones....finally found a hot dog....and then got to ride the New Submarine Ride and see Nemo! Had to wait in line mmmm.....about 45 minutes for that one.

Headed back to the hotel to meet up with the kids.....and when Connor saw us, the first thing he said was "MeMaw, PaPa, what are YOU doing here???????" They have obviously been cooped up in a car all day cause they are way full of energy!

Hell Week - Tuesday

I work with some pretty great people - I put an email out at work shamelessly asking for prayers and good thoughts on Friday - and I am getting so much wonderful support from them!

(Look to the left - those are two of the little people who are keeping me going this week!!!! Notice I didnt say sane...cause that just aint possible!)

Found some more articles as I was putting things away to pack up - so have re-written the paper again as well as the reference list and the annotated biography - to the point that I have run out of printer ink!

Rec'd a kind phone call from someone who has this all behind her - who reminded me that I have to email things in before Friday! Had totally forgotten about that! Thank you Bernie! And I think I got the outline down to one page AND at a 12 font! Hopefully it will still help me...

Laundry is done, time to pack. Have to get up well before dawn for our flight....

Hell Week - Monday

Day one of countdown...didnt make it to the gym. Overslept. Got to play with grandson and hold granddaughter before they left for home. So oversleeping was ok...

Have worked more on my paper. Anyone know a magic portion for 24 hours of photographic memory?

Got some laundry done...will go put some more in the washer in just a minute.

Made lunch reservations for grandson at the pirate restuarant at Disneyland (Blue Bayou if you want to be more precise!).

Found mistakes on the Reference page for the paper, fixed them - have to print it out AGAIN!

Think I better pack some tums or rolaids or something....and the debate with myself is - do I want to go to the CSUDH bookstore while there and get a momento of what could be (hopefully will be!) my last trip there? Or would that jinx me??

Oh yeah - felted my new purse. Finally gave in and bought this kit at a lovely store in Pleasanton, Knit This, Purl That (hopefully I got the name right). Have falled in love with a purse in the store but dont have the time to take the class. So this kit appears to be the same yarns. I didnt quite like the bottom, which was jsut a 3 needle bind off which would make it a flat tote. So I did a circular decrease and made it a rounded tote. Took a photo of it drying, but will take another photo when I get the straps in and see if they work right...if not there is enough yarn to make new straps.

5th birthday party

Kaia - our little POlish Yenta???? Tried to get her into the pirates mood...there she is again - no she wasnt drinking - trying to get a photo while holding her is tricky!

Kaia's big brother Owen arrived wearing his own Captain Owen hat and shirt with Mickey Mouse explaining how to be a pirate....from his visit to Disneyland last year!

Little brother Jack who - although you cant see it in a still photo - was rocking out to pirate music! He kept his pirate hair and hat on throughout most of the party!

What is a pirate party anymore without your very own Capt Jack Sparrow showing up????? AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

The birthday boy himself in his pirate gear! No - this was a special outfit just for the party - he was Spiderman for Halloween (brother was a lion!). He was Mr. Social and seemed to have a very good time!!!!

Time really goes by quickly the older you get....seems like just yesterday that his mom was telling us about his November arrival...and here he is such a big boy at 5 years old!

Still here

Still freaking out about this Exam....how the heck am I supposed to write a knowledgeable APA formatted paper under duress????? Is this really worth it?????

Daughter jsut called me and the work MD is referring her to an orthopedic MD. In college she had to have knee surgery - they thought it was a bad meniscal tear but the MRI didnt show that. They went in and jsut had to trim it up and all. Well, she was at CMT training (Crowd Management Team) and did some kind of exercise or maneauver and it didnt feel so good...so now after a week + of light duty, exercise, icing and all, they need to really check it out and see if she damaged it more. Bummer.

And I jsut saw where they took that Philly cop off life support and he died yesterday. The one who was shot in the head. That makes me shudder. Even if I didnt have a daughter and son-in-law in law enforcement, I still dont understand why the badge makes people a target even before they do or say anything. Sick sick people. My heart goes out to that family and to the Philadelphia Police Department. I hope someone finds that ***hole....maybe anonymously in a dark alley...

Stress is such a lovely thing...wakes me up at 0300 every morning with thoughts of this paper running thru my head. I still cant come up with a decent opener and closer...what does it matter anyway unless I can memorize that and actually remember it on that stress filled morning???

I did manage to get a decent nights sleep the last 2 nights but only cause we are so busy at work. Apparently Halloween and lots of candy result in preemies being born...of course, the fact that the Auxillary had set up their Holiday Bazaar in the lobby and we all wanted to go shopping yesterday probably had something to do with it too!!! (Why are medical people so superstitious?? Wonder if I can get a grant and do a study on that?)

BUT....good news!!!We finally have our new light up in the bathroom! And the wall switches actually work correctly after being replaced! Instead of playing head games with us - either one will turn the light on and turn it off...But we have 2 holes in the ceiling where the old lights were that hubby will have to close up this weekend....and I might shower upstairs in the wee hours of the morning until he does. Why? Cause there is a hunk of fluffy stuff on the bathroom rug that wasnt there before I ran an errand and is there now....how could it have come out of the attic space if it wasnt pushed out? And I dont really want to meet what might have pushed it out in the dark hours of the morning....

So now we just have to finish painting the ceiling after the holes are filled in and put the mirror up and it will FINALLY BE DONE....that one week project started back in June....

Uh oh - its coming

Well, went to the Comp Exam workshop yesterday and it all became very very real. In about a month I will be sitting in a computer lab, with 4 hours to write an APA formatted paper, without any resources with me except a reference list and an outline. And whether or not I get my MSN depends on whether or not I achieve an 80% on that pass/fail paper.

A month. 4 weeks. To research it and write it over and over again until I know the material inside and out, upside and down.

And they blew my original idea out of the water. So I have to go back to another idea - of which I threw away all my articles about 2 weeks ago. So I start from square -1.

Might not be seeing much posting. Unless I am freaking out - which I know I will do.

So I am asking you all for lots of prayers and good thoughts that I pass this obstacle...and that my poor husband survives living with me for this period of time....which of course also includes work, and role option hours, and school work...

Only a month...only a month...only 4 weeks....

Thought provoking thoughts

Thanks to Birdsongs comment on my last post....I started thinking. I love the yarn I made the SCRAWL from. Not only the texture but the colors. But have I worn it yet? No - becuase I dont have anything to wear it with.

And that started me thinking. The colors I buy in yarns rarely if ever go with the colors in my wardrobe. Why? Why would I lust for/buy/enjoy/choose colors to knit with that are so different than the colors in my wardrobe?

I know in socks, most of my clothing is not purples. And I do love the deep plums and eggplants. And yet most of the sock yarns I choose are purples...no matter how hard I try to chose other colors...the ones I make are from the purples I buy.

Does anyone else have this predicament?

Some Updates

Here are two photos of the Scrawl that I finished sometime ago. It is lovely isnt it? Still dont think I got the sleeve length quite right, even after re-doing them once. If you are interested, the pattern is here: http://funkits.com/scrawl%pattern.htm

This is an adorable kit that I found out from a friend at http://janevdoviak.blogspot.com. She has a far better photo of the bracelet she did on her site. Anyway, the kit is from www.earthfaire.com. They have a lot of lovely kits and their service is wonderful! Please go and look at all the lovely jewelry you can make! And you know what surprised me? They have knit bead jewelry kits for sale - jewelry that I have in my mom's jewelry case that she made decades ago! What is that saying about what is old is new again?

And this is a future present for a special little miss. Yes, it is way too big for her right now. And I purposely made it too big. It will either fit her next summer or the summer after that. Altho, after the phone call I recieved today - maybe it will be next summer! The phone call was from DD who states little Kaia is up to 9 lbs already and has sprouted 2 inches - up to 21 inches tall!!! So maybe she is going to a be a tall girl and tkae after her brother...after all, both parents are pretty tall! Anyway, that was a cotton yarn and pattern that I bought from the yarn girls at www.discontinuedbrandnameyarn.com. Again, I had wonderful service from them, but this was thte firts time I have ordered from them.

Updates

Well, I emailed United Airlines last week to ask them how they determined who recieved the travel voucher. No reply so far. Of course, I was pretty sarcastic about preferential treament towards the male half of the traveling twosome...

I am so tired. Really tired. And it is school that I am tired of. I feel like there is this pendulum swinging over my head "Clinical hours...Comp Exam...Weekly work...Clinical Hours...Comp Exam...Weekly work". Slowly and tenaciously it swings...

I have my Beap Soup bracelet done...well, almost done. The knitting is done. Just have to put the fasteners on. Should be able to get to that today since I am on call. And am ready to make more - much more quick and easy than I first thought!

And the dress I am knitting for someone special is almost done. And already found another idea. Dont know that I will have to order the pattern for that one. I think I can wing it without a pattern as long as I find the colors I want!

Next weekend I have to go to the Comp Exam Workshop in Salinas - Sunday evening. I am not complaining. Much better than having to fly down south - miss out on work and clinical hours and spend more money! Have to do that in November for the Comp Exam itself. And I am getting pretty frustrate trying to find resource material for the paper.

United Airlines

Hubby got a letter in the mail on Friday. Very nice letter from United Airlines apologizing for the inconvenience of the 4 hour delay in taking off from Maui. They even enclosed a $100 flight coupon. Very nice of them.

Apparently they think only my husband was inconvienced. Because I didnt get one. And I was in the seat next to him waiting that 4 hours...

Do they think only men get inconvenienced? It wasnt addressed to Mr and Mrs. Only to Mr.

Ramblings

We have been so slow at work - everyone is getting way more call time than they want. Now it is my turn to get it since I am back from vacation and taking time off to meet my grand daughter. Oh well....thats the non-perks of this job!

A few months ago the battery in my watch died. Didnt know where to take it, and then got a coupon in the mail from a jeweler near a yarn shop. Oh boy! Great excuse to go over there! SI went into the jewelry store with watch and coupon in hand - watch battery replaced for $5! Yes, I can deal with that! They looked at my watch and shook their head - oh no, they said, the battery for this kind of watch is way too expensive - it is not covered on this coupon. As soon as I started arguing with them - there were no limitations printed on the coupon - all their English disappeared. And after getting nowhere, so did I. Yes, I would post the name of the store on this blog if I could remember it...

So I didnt have time to do more shopping around so picked up a $9 watch at Walmart. Sure wished I had my better one while on vacation but oh well...so yesterday on the way home from errands, I stopped at a nearby jewelers. Stopped in - yes they had the battery. So I was looking around and saw this darling earring adn necklace set - silver with tiny diamonds in it - be a nice gift (hint! hint!) if I pass my Comp Exam....and the person said, oh I am so sorry and so embarrassed, but we dont have the battery for your watch in stock - and of course, I immediately thought, here we go again....but she continued to say, but it will be in this afternoon as soon as we get our shipment from Fed Ex. No sooner were the words out of her mouth than the FedEx truck drove up! Five minutes later I had my working watch - set to the correct time and date - and was paying - guess how much??? $5 + tax!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meanwhile I fell in love with a lovely emerald and diamond ring .... would make a lovely Christmas present (pretty nicely priced too). And yes - I will tell you the name of this jeweler atw hich I recieved wonderful service - Lance Cavalieri Jewelers! Stop in and tell them they are being bragged about!

Had some fun at the thrift shops today. Got a nice silver mesh bangle bracelet and a bunch of yarn and a pile of books! Nice haul!!! And all I originally went out to do was mail an envelope to my daughter! Oh, and 2 very nice girly brag books!

Altho the days are warm, it is cool at night. I LOVE FALL! So there is chicken stew in the crockpot...biscuits in the refrig...and leftover brownies for dessert.

Introducing Miss Kaia

Who the heck wants to live in Fallon NV?

So I ran around all day Friday to get errands done - and took the weekend off (emergency family) to go see my new grand daughter. Friday night I thought I was getting sick with the worst cold I have had in years....downed allergy meds and took 2 doses of Airborne and the next day I was pretty fine. So was it jsut allergies? Didnt feel like allergies at all....so bless Airborne...I am going to start keeping a stock of it in my cupboard (and the Walmart brand of it tastes a little better and is approx 50% cheaper)!!!!!

Started our drive to NV. Hit the Sierras and it was raining. By the time we got close to Donner Pass it was snowing. Sticking on the ground, but not on the road. And there were all these motorcycles on their way to Street Vibrations in Reno! I felt sorry for them - but truth to tell - also a bit smug that they were getting wet and cold and not me!

Took out my camera to take some photos....and my battery was dead. Now, did I bring the charger????? OF COURSE NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Talk about being a loser grandmother!

So we get to Fallon (again - why anyone would want to live there is beyond me - altho it was a bit bigger and a bit nicer than I had pictured in my mind which is not saying much!!) and our second stop was Walmart to get a disposible camera (after checking in at the motel). And then called DD to find out directions...oh yeah, such a big town, we were 2 blocks away.

And then to look at and hold the sweetest grand daughter you have ever seen - even if my crazy daughter named her Kaia Sunflower! The idea was to call her Sunny but DD likes the name Kaia so much, she will be Kaia.

A little yellow....so it is hard to tell what her complexion is going to be. I think tho a bit darker than her brother - maybe she got some of the Sicilian genes?? She has thick thick dark brown hair, and (when I finally got to see them on Sunday) baby colored eyes. That is what I tell all our new parents when they ask what color the baby's eyes are - a very few have definite colored eyes, but most have baby colored eyes.

So far she seems like a good baby. And Big Brother loves her and seems to be okay at having her home. Of course, who knows how long that will last!

When we stopped by to see her before we left Sunday she was much more awake and that is when I could see her eyes. Even tho she is a shorty (compared to Brother) she has long fingers and big hands!

DD seems to be doing ok - hopefully she isnt overdoing. Guess it is the Polish in her!!! She and her sister both did so well after their c/sections I was surprised (and proud of them both - neither one of them whiners about the surgery after it was over and done!!). I think it is killing her sister that she hasnt been able to - and might not be able to for awhile - see the baby!

Since my digital camera was not working, I do not have photos to post yet - but you know I will post them as soon as I get some!!!

Winding up Maui

Jumping slightly ahead - the first phot of the rainbow is actually from Friday night.

On Thursday we went to another beach in the Nepili area where we got to see a bunch of green turtles. They are protected by law so you cant get too close and they are apparently camera shy - so I did get some photos that I know are of them, but otherwise you cant see them.

Friday Tom and I drove around. He FINALLY got his Spam and eggs that he didnt get 5 years ago, so now he can shut up about it! Actually, the food was very good at that little cafe - and no, I had my fill of Spam growing up and didnt like it then...

So we ventured on to the I'o Valley and saw the I'o needle. Very very beautiful area. Drove around some city that starts with a W for awhile looking for the antique stores and thrift shops mentioned in my Maiu for dummy book - we saw 3 pawn shops and that was it. Stopped at the Maui Tropical Plantation and had some very delicious macadamia nut ice cream. And then back to the pool and beach for our last time...

Had to include that sign...read it if you can...talks about the missionaries that came to Hawaii to educate the 'poor heathens' (said with huge sarcasm) and yet soon, the literacy rate in HAwaa was higher than where they came from!

Saturday was leaving day, so we finished packing and cleaning up and paying the bill. My husband - who is so unlike his mom - wanted to get going. And when we did finally get going, traffic was bad - slow and backed up until we finally got off the two lane road onto the 4 lane!

But we made it in plenty of time...everyone boarded as the people were saying hurry up and find seats - we dont want to miss our take off slot! And then we sat....and sat some more....and sat more....finally the pilot told us that they were having trouble with the intercom system between cockpit and flight attendants and per FAA rules, they could not take off with this problem. So they started a movie for people to watch.

Finally he came on again and said the engineers have to replace the part - but they dont have the part - they are flying it in from Honolulu. He said that really wouldnt take long, but to be prepared, because the engineers are not 100% sure that would fix the problem.

I had to stand up becuase I get very claustrophobic when the person in front of me puts their seat back all the way, and of course that is what they did. So I was standing in the back, and let me tell you, the flight attendants on this airline are very unhappy people! Talk about lack of job satisfaction! Whew! And I thought we complained a lot at work!

Finally they decided they would let us off the plane if we chose and I chose. So I went out and bought another sandwich for later (they cant open the food refrigs. at this point, they said) and bought some ice cream for now. And they wouldnt let us back on the plane! Finally after waiting there for almost 20 - 30 minutes, they told us what the people on board already knew....that the intercom was fixed (and BTW, they apparently left SF with intercom problems but according the the flight attendants ever since they began out-sourcing their repairs, they do not do preventative maintence! Hoo boy, makes me want to fly the Happy Skies again!!!) but now so much time was spent they could not expect the flight crew to fly back to SF, it had to be done voluntarily. So the majority decided to stay in Maui overnight...and now they had to find replacements.

And those replacements had to volunteer too. They apparently text messaged the pilot on the incoming flight to tell the crew not to de-plane themselves before calling in...and they asked if any of the crew would voluntarily turn around and fly back to SF instead of staying overnight in Maui. Luckily, along with the 2 or 3 flight attendents from our flight, they were able to get enough volunteers from this other crew to make up a crew... otherwise we would have been in Hawaii until the middle of the week.

Meanwhile, out on the concourse we heard about another flight (a different airline) that was having troubles too. They were flying that plane load of people bound for Chicago to overnight in Kona, and then take off the next day - otherwise, if they tried to leave from Maui, there were no available seats until Tues or Wed!!!!!!!!!

So instead of landing at 8:08PM we landed at 12:10 AM. Got home about 2:30 AM....which actually worked out well for jet lag!!!!

And yes, it was good to be away, and I always love the beach and getting re-energized by the ocean - but no, I dont ever really want to go back to Maui. If I got a free trip and could go during whale season, well, I wouldnt turn that down....but so far, my vote remains with the beautiful garden island of Kaui!

A day to drive a grandma crazy

Well, little Kaia (see new spelling?) is here! Finally!

After a tearfull phone call from DD who was in pain and frustrated because she was not dilating any further (she went from 2 cm to 4 cm after they broke her water and didnt dilate any more) and she was in pain and they werent giving her an epidural....guess they walked in on the melt down and gave her the epidural.

I found out later that Kaia did not like the epidural and showed it by dropping her heartrate and DD did not like it (well, she loved it except for right then) and showed it by dropping her elevated BP. Luckily, I know that both are not uncommon reactions to epidurals!

And then I did not hear anything. At all, for a long long nerve wracking time. Then the next message I got was at 6 PM and all it said (text message) was c/section. Nothing more.

After about 1/2 hour of pacing and crying and putting up with a very annoying father and his new baby I finally called for a break so I could go fall apart in private. Which I did. And thanks to loving co-workers, I was able to pull myself together and called the hospital, knowing they couldnt give me much information - and they didnt. But the tone of voice at the other end helped some. Not much but some.

Wasnt until about 8:30 PM last night that I found out that little Kaia arrived at 1807 via c/section. And she did not outweight her brother or even approach her mother's own birthweight - she weighed in at a mere 8lbs 2 oz! And DD said most of that is hair! Unlike her big brother who was 22 inches, she is only 19 1/4 inches!

Guess she had the not-so-unusual reaction to being born by c/section and had some moistness in the lungs, which bought her an extended observation in the nursery. But by about 9:30 PM DD was finally able to hold and see her new baby!

Although they kep Kaia in the nursery under observation last night, she was allowed to come out for feedings and apparently nursed quite well twice.

Now sometime today big brother will get to meet her - DD wants to wait until all her attachments are gone so she doenst scare him!

And so - a day late - but HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAIA!
And right on time - HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE!

I love you both and am proud of you both...now you and your sister can compare c/section scars!!!

Happy Birthday Kaya?

Today Katie is being induced....for a large baby that, according to the ultrasound they did yesterday, is around 9 lbs 9 oz. The irony of all this is....Katie herself was born on 9/20 (tomorrow!!) and weighed 9 lbs 9 oz!!!

So prayers for a quick labor and safe delivery please!

Tuesday in Maui

This was the day we did the bike ride down from the volcano. Approx. 38 miles downhill....much of it with no guard rails! And something like 16 or 69 or some awful number of hairpin turns!

Started off from 10,000 overlooking a crater that could hold the island of Manhatten, and ending up at sea level....from 35 degrees cold to 80-something degrees humid!!!

Did not get up to do the sunrise ride...after all, if I am going to get up at 0230 to do it, they better darn well guarantee that we will see the sunrise!!!

But this was fun and I did so much better than I expected! Not many chances to take photos, so here is what I have...

Some photos of Lahaina

To continue....

So, after we spent the time under the water - diving to 133 feet - and seeing some interesting things (no sharks tho - or turtles - or dolphins) - we got back onto the tender and headed back to the Lahaina harbor.... walked around a bit and stopped for lunch.

And it was at lunch that I found out why hubby 'surprised' me with these tours....because he had made a unilateral decision that the one and only thing I really looked forward to doing, was not going to happen. No trip to the East side of the island. No driving the Hana Highway. The one and only think I had been looking forward to since the majority picked Maui as the island to go visit.

Now, if this trip was just hubby and me....he would have played golf slightly later in the day and I would have spent one day taking the ferry to Lanai....and another day driving some of the Hana Highway if he didnt want to go.

But apparently he decided that when he and our friend got lost - and they were on a crappy road - that apparently the Hana Highway was very much worse (which people at the golf course told him) and he wasnt going to go...at all...which meant I didnt go. So you can imagine this made a rough time since he was playing golf 3 times during our stay there, and I....well, what did I get to do. Hmmm, shop (and those of you who know me know who much I love that....) and go to the beach. Cant say I minded going to the beach at all but....I really really really wanted to go down the HH...not necessarily all the way to Hana but some of it becuase the scenary is supposed
to be to die for - and from some photos I have seen, it must be...but I will never know for sure.....

Next Day

So on Monday hubby surprised me and booked two trips - a submarine ride and the bike trip down the volcano (not at sunrise tho!!). I kept telling my hubby that the sub was not in the harbor...and he said he knew. So off we went for that - and we did have to do a 10 minute ride out to the sub, but after taking Bonine he did great. Of course, we also went out in the AM so it was a bit calmer...

That blurry photo up there is supposedly something called Frog Fish...fish that dont swim....they climb and 'walk'. Havent verified that but that is what the person told us when we saw them...

Time to go eat...will finish Monday's saga after dinner...