Lovin' the Sea Turtles

My son Nick has always been a tree hugger. He has always been interested in the sea and nature so much that we've had to tape the spine of one of his nature books once or twice due to constant viewing.
Next week he leaves for a two month trip to the beaches of Mexico. He will be an internship at the Sea Turtle at San Cristobal Beach. Apparently the beach is 12 kilomiles north of Cabo San Lucas. He has to "work" at night, collecting the eggs and tagging Olive Ridley and Leatherback turtles.
Nick is excited and I of course am nervous. Everyone has heard the stories of Mexico and the druglord issues but there really is not to much I can do other than lock him in a room and never let him spread his wings. Nick is doing what he has always wanted to do.. I'm proud of him and love that he will be doing what he has always dreamed of.

And the clock strikes 12

When the microwave oven first came out many, many years ago, my father would watch the clock tick backwards while waiting for the clock to stop
10, 9, 8, 7 ,6, 5, 4, 3, 2..........1
Then he would say he just wasted x amount of minutes of his life that he would never get back.
My mom on the other hand had a clock on the oven that she put a piece of tape over that said.
"Time stands still for no one".
After she died, I inherited her jewerely box. In the box was a cheapo digital watch that was still working. I kept it in the box and would pull it out once in a while, breath a sigh of relief that it was in fact still working.
I remember the day the watch stopped, it was a very sad day for me. I still have the watch but I could not bear to put a new battery in it.

Phew, I need a vacation from their vacation.

Finally I can find my sanity - ok well that is a lie, I haven't had my sanity in a very long time but I can now enjoy the normalicy of my insane life.
Nancy, Fast Eddie, Melissa, Rod, Kaleb and Gavin left over the weekend.
The gang started arriving on the 17th and stayed through the 24th. We packed alot of fun into their vacation. We all sat poolside with our Margarita glasses on Sunday. Lucky for us Adam and Julie were able to come in from Denver for the day.

Monday was beach day here in Oceanside


Tuesday was a trip up to Disneyland where although it was a gloomy day, we had an amazing time One thing I learned about Disney in the rain is that you don't have to wait long for the rides. The longest we waited was 10 minutes for any of the rides including Space Mountain which I overwhelming enjoyed which made me want to hurl, next was the Star Wars trip where I sat on the aisle seat, lowered my sunglasses and closed my eyes due to the Space Mountain ride). Check out the driver Gavin's eyes.

Wednesday was Tidepool day in LaJolla


Thursday we took in a baseball game at Angel Stadium. The game turned from baseball to hockey due to a fight in the stands in the 8th innning. . Friday was our day of rest where Rod hunted lizards to throw in our bearded dragon's cage. Rod thought the dragon would eat the small lizards but they ended up laying on top of each other soaking up the sun. Gavin who is 8 decided he should top his vacation off with a tramp stamp to match mine.

I personally think that we all had a great time, although everyone has their own version. Who knows, maybe by the time they left they were all thinking that the plane could not get off the runway soon enough for them to get back to NY. Everyone has "their side" to the story...

Who knew a bunny could be so spoiled?

When I was young, I always had pets. We grew up on 50 acres so there was never a shortage of animals running around the place. I had my share of chickens (50 of them - 4H project which is a totally different post), mice (10 at once, individual cages - thanks Aunt Chris), guinea pigs, horses, cows, snakes, hawks, salamanders - you name it we had it. One of my favorite pets when I was about 10 was my bunny named Nadine.
Now that I'm a mom and have our land isn't so "spacious", my kids don't have quite as many animals but we do have a variety of them. Our menagerie consists of Stella the 100lb black lab, Mallory our cat, Eloise our hedgehog, the Bearded Dragon (nameless) and our rabbit Yankee. Yankee is about a year old now and he definitely has quite the personality. Generally he gets let out everyday to run in the backyard as we have a 6' fence that he can not get out of. He has the whole backyard to hang loose in and that's pretty much what he does all day long.

The cage we had Yankee in was not to shabby, just a basic cage that was left over from our Guinea Pigs - Nester and Thunder Thighs.


The other day, I mentioned we should build Yankee a cage for outside since I was tired of moving his cage around and the shavings were pretty much a disaster in the house. Chuck is a Union Carpenter so I knew it would not be a problem for him to whip something up. This is what the man came up with. The cage is huge, about 5' high, 4 foot long, a hutch to the left and the bottom has a ramp extending up to the top "floor" that he bolts upstairs without skipping a beat.






My son Nick is ready for a car, I told him to tell his dad that Yankee needed a car and we would see what see what Yankee ended up with.

Dream big Nick and we will see what Yankee ends up driving.

April 1 - why do you only come once a year?

Why not laugh, smile, pull a prank or tell a funny joke every day? My daily goal in life is to laugh - laugh through life. I’d rather laugh than cry besides, I’m pretty ugly when I cry.

We've all heard the cliché "laughter is the best medicine". When I was sick it was easier for me to laugh than take my crappy chemo but I did both. Since then, I have not stopped laughing. The only problem is now that I am getting older, sometimes I pee my pants. That too, makes me laugh.

A few years ago when I moved to California and was friendless, I had to make an effort to find friends. I needed cool/fun/exciting friends like Wacko Judy and Crazy Ange who I had to leave in NY. I thought I was pretty cool but apparently not everyone was willing to take that risk. After ruling out a few Stepford Wives in the area I took a chance and became friends with Carly's Girl Scout leaders.

The "leaders" had a "Bunko" group and soon enough I weaseled my way into their hearts and was able to secure an invite. Another friend was also invited to the open enrollment Bunko session. At the end of the night I had made the cut, she was sent packing - just like American Idol (well, that’s a stretch but she definitely did not get a second invite).

Actually, that was my first and ONLY Bunko experience as the group soon disbanded. After all the scheming, how could it be that our little group was so f*ck9d up, we could not even commit to bunko once a month? Was I going to let this new found friendship faultier? Heck no, I worked hard to infiltrate the click, I knew I had to take action. Thus the name changed from Bunko and became "Funko" (inserted the “f”) and times we even change that “f” to a "d" for Drunko. On Tuesday, it was Drunko night for me at Funko.

One of the ladies offered to drive and pick us up for the Happy Hour festivities, I quickly accepted. Generally, I am the designated driver so this was such a treat for me. We went to happy hour and had $5 Margaritas while playing lots and lots of pool. Of course the real pool sharks got a bit torched but honestly we did not even care. I'm not sure I even heard any of their grumblings over the whoohooo that projected several times from my mouth.

The night was filled with laughing, smiling and bitching. We’ve learned to laugh at our problems because we know everyone else is.

Maybe Billy Joel had a point....."I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints........the sinners are much more fun”?

One thing about my Bunko/Funko/Drunko friends is I can bitch at them, steal their food and then make them go to the bathroom with me. To others in bar they may all look like a bunch of bitches but they are my bitches.

Oh crap, we have visitors coming...

Nothing like a e-mail from a family member with the phrase "we are coming to visit" to get some work around the house done. I've never been one to have a "hunny-do" list but I on my fridge is one with about 10 items on it.
It seems absolutely crazy to feel the need to get things ready for guests. I mean if they really like us, who the heck cares what the house looks like right? WRONG.
Secretly I love when people come to visit because a timeline is set. Things that I want to do around my house get actually done before the clock strikes Nothing like a deadline to make me stop procrastinating and get in gear.
Honestly I do better with a list, I should make one for everyday. I feel so empowered when I can cross one of my list.
When we lived in NY, nothing ever got done on time because no one ever wanted to come visit us. Seriously, what does Western NY have to offer in February other than cold and snow? Now that we have sunshine every day, I can bribe guests to come.
When should I pencil you in for a visit? I need my bathroom remodeled....

Girl Scouts....

I am getting ready to go camping tomorrow with my daughter Carly and her Girl Scout troop. I've packed all that I can as we are sleeping on the dirt (not ground, not grass but DIRT due to construction), in a tent. You are envious - seriously I know. Its going to be such a fucking horrible good time..

I'm not much of a camper... I mean I grew up on 50 acres across the street from the lake, we had cows, horses, chickens. I basically grew up on a camp.

We had to travel at least 45 minutes for a good supermarket but for the most part, the milk delivery guy came up our driveway, dropped off glass milk 1/2 gallons, we had chickens for eggs and my uncles farm for beef. We raised those adorable little calves and chicks from birth only to eat them. Do you know how hard it is to go down in the cellar and get Chip the Chicken out of the freezer and eat him for dinner?

My mom would kick me and my cousins out of the house after breakfast and we basically could not come back until it was lunch time or dinner time. We were not allowed to dare turn on the TV until after supper. There were no electronic gadgets or gizmos. We made our own fun!

I know it sounds like I am complaining about my childhood, actually I loved my childhood!

Now that I'm an old fat kid adult... I just don't want to relive my childhood by camping - its too much work! Get the sleeping bags, tent, clothing, lanterns, dishes, food etc. I pack enough crap for a month even if it is a 2.5 day trip. When we get home, EVERYTHING is dirty whether we wore it or not. It smells like smoke, the items are damp or just all out soaked, it generally rains/snows. Then I get stuck putting everything away and washing clothing for days.

So now I am going with the Girl Scouts this weekend. I'm lucky, there are only 10 preteens that I have to deal with. Only 10 whining, crying, complaining, hormonal bitchy 12 year olds Girl Scouts. It won't be that bad right?

Honestly once I get there, I will have a blast. I won't have to worry about cleaning, shopping, or anything.. I will know that there is nothing better in the world I could possibly be doing except hanging with my daughter.

Its just the prep work. Kinda like the colonoscopy I had a couple years ago. The prep was horrible, the procedure was pretty uneventful.

Oh and by the way, if you are looking for a good time on Friday go here ---->

Only the Good Fridays

I almost waivered...

Today was Wednesday.. Hump day...
So it was almost a given I would go on a date with my husband... Also, Wednesday are my day off from work so double bonus...

We decided to go to up to watch the Anaheim Angels game as they were playing the Yankees!

I thought to myself does it really matter who wins? I mean I live in California now maybe I should support the "home team"... I thought maybe I should bring my Angels Jersey just "in case" it goes the other way...

No, heck now... I'm still a Yankee girl.

Good thing because they won!

Where oh where.....

Where have you been? When will you update your blog?
I was asked those questions the other day and I immediately felt guilt. One more thing on my “to do” list that I have failed miserably at “doing”.
I mean, its not like its that hard, I can type 90+ words a minute. The whole entry might take 5 minutes, 10 if I search for a picture to put up too.
I’ve no excuse… I mean I do but do they really count?
Carly’s birthday
Graduation
Rachael’s birthday
Kid with a tattoo
Kid with a pierced tongue
Yankee Game
NY Trip
Vacation
Meet with old college buddies
Plant garden
Kids off for the summer (no explanation needed)
Not paying attention… another kid with a tattoo
My Birthday (yah, I get another one )
Work
Wedding in Denver
Rachael College
Nick College
Carly back to school
Float and Fick party
Ah…. Normalicy…..
When I ask - do those excuses “count”?
I mean, they really don’t as everyone has a busy life but some (most) manage to do a lot more than I do plus BLOG.

I made myself a 10 year plan, a 5 year plan, 1 year plan and 90 day plan about 8 months ago. So far I am on track for the 5 & 10 year goal. The 1 year and 90 day has been pushed out the window. I did accomplish some of the 90 day goals (tiled the downstairs, put in a garden) but all in all I really did not make a dent in the list. I think I need a new list. Or, maybe I need to make an executive decision and say that those excuses “count”.
Yup, that’s it… those excuses are hereby approved and seconded (by my puppy Stella) and therefore it is written, stamped and passed. NEXT!
This corporation I’m running has to streamline it’s (my) agenda. No more guilt, validation has been made. Starting tomorrow I will be getting a 100% raise (hmm.. 100% raise of $0 is $0) but hopefully my sanity benefits will kick in before 90 days.

I turn my back for one second...

He said.... "Mom, I'm going with Tori to look for a surfboard" and I figure, no harm right?

I mean, he's got 5 boards already so I figured he wasn't in the market for a new board and it would be ok if he went...

I swear, it was just a short time that lost contact with him... maybe four hours.

LOOK what this rotton son/kid did....

Once they start earning their own money, they think they need to spend it on himself when he should be saving their money so he can take care of me when I'm old.

I told him I think it says "Dumbass" or "My Momma's a Hottie"... I think it might say both.

All I do know is my "baby" is so grounded....