New Bullet-Point for Resume

Funny story - last week my girl Julie came by with her 3 year old, Scarlett, to pick me up and hit the art store for some supplies. However, by the time she drove to my house (3 minutes), Scarlett was fast asleep, so she brought her inside and hooked her all up on one of our couches.

The 3 adults hung out in the kitchen for a bit, and I said - "hey, let's just go while she's sleeping since we won't be long," and Julie agreed. We would run out while Ak stayed with the sleeper. Ak was standing there, looking at us like we had lost it. He of course objected at first, but we convinced him/gave him no choice :) He was worried that she would freak out when she woke up and we weren't there, or that she would sissy/doody while we were gone. I made sure he knew where the sippy cup was, and where to go in the On Demand menu to get to Yo Gabba Gabba and The Wonder Pets shows.

As Julie and I left, I was thinking - he thinks we're kidding, and that we're going to go back in and get Scarlett to take with us. At the same time, Ak was inside waiting for us to come back in and say "just kidding, we're taking her". No such thing happened, and I couldn't believe we took off!! I knew I'd probably be in a little bit of hot water after we got back, but I also knew he would be absolutely fine with Scarlett.

Julie and I did our shopping and got back in record time. As I walked back into the house, I heard one of the sweetest things....Ak and Scarlett were singing together along with the TV to a tooth-fairly song - Brush, brush, brush, get your teeth clean, etc. Honestly, it was adorable to find them sitting on the couch. Scarlett had her sippy cup, and was very happy. She had woken up about a half hour before we got back, asked for something to drink and to watch Yo Gabba Gabba. Ak was amazed that she didn't freak out, and basically could give a hoot where her mom was :)

I am very proud of Ak, and Julie, too! She said the reason she wasn't nervous about Ak watching Scarlett was because Ak was so nervous, and that meant that he cared about her. I thought that was a very cool statement.

I have been bragging to everyone about Ak's first babysitting job at 40 :) I m so proud of him, and I think he's pretty happy with himself, too. And I didn't encounter any hot water!

So, in short, we can now say we provide couple's babysitting service for the greater Los Gatos area, or in reality, just for Julie's kids!

Have a great day, peeps!

Scarlett awake - 8/27/10 :)

THE WHITE VAN

Yesterday, Ak and I went up the mountain to Boulder Creek. A friend of ours who used to live out here was back for a visit before heading to Bangkok today. He will eventually end his travels in Laos where he is trying to purchase a house. He's been back in VA for a year, caring for his mother.

It was great to see him! Unfortunately, his mom is in pretty bad shape, but he has done everything possible to make her comfortable. He's just like we are - an only child born late to older parents. We traded war stories on care facilities and doctors, and I gave him big props for going back and taking care of his mom - we concluded that we do this because of the way we were raised back East :)

Anyway, as we were heading down the mountain home late last night, we ended up behind a van. It was totally white, and looked as if it had been an ambulance at one time because it still had the lights on top, and looked to have some medical stuff in the back windows. It just didn't have any markings on it at all. Then, the van pulled into a turn off to let us pass - all we saw was a big white arm out of the driver window motioning us to go around. At the same time, we both said "OMG - that's the Dexter van! He's out looking for meat!" So we laughed at first, but then Ak says that the van is right behind us! I told Ak to drive faster so he couldn't read our license plate...I figured our killer could do a little research and come and kill us in a few days. Finally, we got off the mountain road and onto 17...as we were merging on to the highway, Ak says that the van was behind us again on the on ramp! We then took off like a shot as Ak hit the pedal to put lots of distance between us, and we were giggling like school girls. We talked about him having stretchers in the back with vistims duct-taped to them. We finally got to our exit and were waiting at the light...we both turned our heads to the left to view the highway we just got off, and right then the white van cruised on by....hopefully Dexter had picked another car to chase for meat!

All this made us realize that 1. we have very active imaginations, fed by 2. too much TV, and 3. too many Stephen King books.

HAPPY LABOR DAY WEEKEND, PEEPS!

Fantasy Draft Tonite/DONE + Today's Apple Media Event

Ok, peeps - cross your fingers that I get a FABULOUS team tonight!!!

I've spent the last 2 days buried in FF magazines, and constantly checking online for any last minute signings, etc..
Last season I was in 1st and 2nd place the whole season, and finally ended up in 3rd place when it was all said and done.
I am looking to win this year!!

I'll post later after the draft with my results :)
....and here they are!!!!!!

Draft Results (Round / Player picked):

1 Michael Turner / RB ATL
2 Rashad Mendenhall / RB Steelers
3 Marques Colston / WR Saints
4 Anquan Boldin / WR Ravens
5 Chad Ochocinco / WR Bengals
6 Knowshon Moreno / RB Broncos
7 Matt Ryan / QB ATL
8 Steve Breaston / WR ARI
9 Joe Flacco / QB Ravens
10 Owen Daniels / TE HOU
11 Saints DEF
12 Brandon Jacobs / RB NYG
13 Mark Sanchez / QB NYJ
14 Braylon Edwards / WR NYG
15 Rian Lindell / K Bills

Ok - not sure what to make of my team yet, and I have to fine tune Bye Weeks, etc.
Fun work! We do our draft through Yahoo, so it went really fast, and is very effective if you've done your homework and pre-ranked players. I just sat back and waited for my turn each time, hopping up for a smoke now and then. Total draft time: 1 1/2 hours.

Ak and I watched the live Apple Media Event today on his 4G, and it was really cool. Apple came out with a bunch of free upgrades across the board, and also they have redesigned the Shuffle, Nano, and iPod, which will all be available next week. The Christmas buzz is already starting! Cool new Apple TV unveiled - super cheap, and the slide show feature is amazing. You'll be able to shoot pics right from your iPhone directly to the TV, and have a show in like 5 seconds. The Media Event lasted about 1 hour and 15 minutes, then Jobs introduces Chris Martin :) It was just him, not the band, and he sat at a piano and sang 3 songs ... it sounded fantastic, and even looked great for live streaming. Very cool, and a nice way to start the day!
Check out the new stuff at Apple:
http://store.apple.com/us?afid=p219%7CGOUS&cid=OAS-US-KWG-AppleBrand-US

...and read about the event today:
http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/apple-details-ios-4-1-revamps-tv-offering-rentals/2010-09-01

Happy September, peeps!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Bobby & Pac Bell Park

We had the best visit at the end of July - Bobby! He was in town briefly for work, and we got to spend a day together :) On the special day, Ak and I headed up to SF, picked him up from his hotel, and then headed to Pac Bell Park to see the Giants/Marlins game.

The weather was fantastic - not a cloud in the sky, and a warm sun balanced by a cool breeze. Out tickets were fantastic - club level, and the view was spectacular from our seats.

View from our seats :)

We made friends with the regulars in front of us, and Bobby asked lots of park questions - his goal is to visit every baseball park in the US. Unfortunately, the Giants lost pretty badly, and the game was one of the shortest in history! No matter - we fought the crowds at the Giants store, and emerged with some excellent T-shirts. We then walked out along McCovey Point - the wind really was blowing, and we were no longer sheilded by the stadium. We snapped a few pictures, then headed to the car.

Ak & Bobby with McCovey statue, stadium behind them

Next stop, Crustaceans, for their famous dungeness crabs and homemade garlic noodles. We've taken Bobby here before and he loves it, and requested to eat here again. We got to the restaurant a bit early, so we walked around. We followed Bobby into a Rocky-esque gym to watch a boxer training with a bag, and asked some general questions about the gym. Apparently the boxer is a contender for something - I can't just remember :) Right next to the gym was a crazy smoke shop with a 6-7 foot "tobacco" pipe in the window. Meanwhile, the air had gotten progressively chillier, and I decided I needed a scarf, so I left the boys and headed into "Out of the Closet", the local thrift store. I purchased a scarf (then washed it 3 times whne I got home), declined the offer of a free HIV test, and joined the boys to go feast. It was a delicious meal from beginning to end. We finally rolled out of there, headed south on 101, and dropped Bobby off at SFO for his flight back to the East coast.
I think I 've known Bobby now for 15 or 16 years - WOW!! He is definately a good buddy :)

Drunken Crab and Garlic Noodles

Just a few funnies from our day:

-Bobby trying to get out of our backseat, scrabbling like an old man with the lock, hollering how he can't get out

-3 of us losing each other in the park; literally every 5 seconds

-Bobby trying to get a hotdog from the deaf vendor

-how we got our Giants cups

-our interacting with the "bib" guy...he puts a bib on anyone who orders crab. I think Bobby thought the due was going to rape him, or something

-making Bobby change his shirt at the airport b/c it had crab all over it

Editor's Note: I admit I have not been so swift on the Paris pictures - they are a work in progress. I forgot how MANY we took, and we are trying to weed it down to a decent sized slide show, but it is so hard to pick and choose the photos. Julie sat with us the first time we went through all of them - poor thing fell asleep on the sofa during the 3 1/2 hour slide show! Axel and I opffically turned into those "Look at our vacation pictures" people.

Back from Paris

Bonjour!

What a trip...we've already decided to go back for Barbara's 80th birthday!

More pics and stories to come - we had quite an adventure :)


Paris, and France in general, we found to be filled with the friendliest people, the best metro system, the coolest stores - best place to shop anywhere!!!


Still working out the jet lag - this is the hardest time I've had getting back in the groove.

Keep your eyes open for posts this week!

Au revoir, peeps!

HAPPY 40TH, BABY!

A LOVING SHOUT-OUT TO MY SWEETIE ON HIS BIRTHDAY!

Here's to a healthy and happy year, honey :)

We are headed to Half Moon Bay for the weekend - I will check in when we get back.

I should have some crazy pictures of the coast to post :)

GO FLYERS!!!!!

Westside is excited!!!!

Flyers logo in all windows and on our mailbox so there is NO QUESTION where this girl is from, and where her heart is!

HERE WE GO FLYERS, HERE WE GO!!!!!

Nous allons à Paris !

Exciting news! Ak's mom is taking us to Paris for ak's 40th birthday!

Although his b-day is at the end of this month, we will be meeting her in Paris in early July to coincide with the end of her Europe trip.

I can barely get my head around this......

Saint begonias!

41 part duex

Well, I had a fabulous birthday! On Friday, the weather was perfect, and I enjoyed a total lazy day reading and talking on the phone. I got all kinds of wonderful presents that I will always treasure. Axel told me to be ready at 7pm for a 7:30pm dinner reservation, so I got myself all prettied up and dressed up, and we went to The Plumed Horse in Saratoga ( http://www.plumedhorse.com/ ), where Julie and her husband Gabriel were waiting as a surprise :) It was awesome - we had our own private room off of the bar area called the "Champagne Room", and the service was out of this world! They have a crazy wine room/cellar with a glass floor so you can see the whole cellar - so cool! We sat behind the piano player, and he even played "Happy Birthday" and the "meow-meow Charlie Brown" song at our request :)

After a toasting glass of champagne, ak drank his usual vodka tonics, I continued with the bubbles, and Julie and Gabriel got a bottle of red. No one was feeling any pain as we walked back to our cars, but it was evident that Julie was a little more tipsy than the rest of us. We got back to our house, and had started to watch a movie when Julie disappeared into the bathroom. When Gabriel checked on her, it was evident that she was totally sick. He was totally freaked out, and asked me to help her......the poor thing had been sick everywhere - red wine. I jumped into action with the cold washcloth, water to rinse, pulled back her hair, etc., but she wouldn't stop puking, and it was really loud. At one point we thought she was done and headed out to the front patio for some fresh air. I left her for a second to rinse the washcloth, and by the time I got back out there she had power puked out there, too. I got her back in the bathroom right away! By this time, Gabriel had to leave to get home and pay the babysitter, and ak and I could tell how freaked out he was by the whole thing, and possible a bit repulsed. He kept telling her to get in the shower. Finally, it seemed like she was done, so we got her into the guestroom. Within 5 minutes, she was heaving again, so I sat in there with her for like an hour to make sure she didn't choke to death, and to hand her the trash can. Finally she passed out, and I felt comfortable going to bed. Ak checked on her few times during the night.
I woke early to get started on the cleaning.....washing down the front porch, washing out the 3 trash cans that got used, washing the bathroom rug and towels, wiping down the whole bathroom, cleaning toilet and mopped floor.
I can say that at the time I wasn't very happy, but I felt so badly for Julie that it didn't matter. I hope someone would take care of me the same way if I was in the same situation :) We were able to laugh about by Sunday. Julie and I hung out last night, and she is choosing to remember the wonderful dinner only!

Ak is in Fl for the week, so I am flying solo here. Not sleeping very well, but doing a lot of anal rententive organizing :) More soon.

Definately check out the Plumed Horse link - the place was AMAZING!!!

Later, Peeps!

It's official - I am IN my 40's!!!!

Wow - I am 41 today! Just talked to my mom, and I think she is more in shock at my age than I am!!! It is a beautiful day here, and I am ready to enjoy it :)

Here are some fun May and May 7th facts:

Who was born?
Johannes Brahms 5/7/1833
Robert Browning 5/7/1812
Peter Tchaikovsky 5/7/1840
Gary Cooper 5/7/1901
Eva Peron 5/7/1919
Johnny Unitas 5/7/1933
Willard Scott 5/7/1934

Top Box Office 5/7/1941 - Citizen Cane
Bestseller 5/7/1944 - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
#1 Song 5/7/1964 - Hello Dolly!

May's birthstone is the Emerald. Emeralds can guarantee true love and uncover false.

May's flower is the Lily of the Valley. In Victorian times, Lilies of the Valley signified the ruturn of happiness.

Taurus can be kind, loving and mad as a bull. Personally secretive, Taurus is tenacious and known for mental and physical strength.
So what do you think? Does this zodiac description fit me?

Have a good one, peeps!

Scrabble & Poetry - for Meadow

Last weekend, ak and I headed up to Boulder Creek. Ak couldn't wait to show Rob his new iPad! I had my iPhone, book and a small craft with me, so I was prepared for the back and forth tech talk marathon.

Luckily, Meadow arrived, and we engaged in a great game of Scrabble. I told her I would post a picture of our board AND compose something out of all the words we had used.

Check it out ....


And now for the literary portion of the show, here are the 4 short poems I wrote.

I think I rose to my own challenge :)

(Note: red words have been added)

1.
Ode to Sunny April

Bella dia gives joy to zoo life,

And grime aroma.

2.
Tear the web quilt.

Lamps give?

3.
Ed voted yes, re: is in a queer fedora.

Hike to China, be a true yang twin!

4.
Tag sax dogs.

Atone for coy tics.



I think I am ready to be published.

Later, peeps!

Happy Cinco de Mayo & stuff

In tradition with today's holiday, ak and I enjoyed Mexican fare for dinner tonight. We have a great place with the yummiest tacos, and any meat, chicken or fish preparation you can think of.

It's been a busy week so far. We've had to run around alot, but the weather has been fantastic. It's been good to get out of our 2 block radius :) I've started doing the Farmer's Market again each Saturday morning, and am usually there between 9-10am. There was also an art festival happening at the same time, so there were alot of folks milling about. It was a bit too crowded for me, so I hustled through, but I did take the time to get this shot of the am's entertainment. A bluegrass dude is usually there, but this Saturday we had this .....



On Monday we did something we have never done....I was over at my friend Julie's by 7:30am on Monday am. She was running around geting ready for work, so I got the 2 girls going with shoes, school snack, dressing Scarlett, etc. At 8am, Hannah, Scarlett and me set off in Julie's car (car seats) to drop Hannah off for school. She's in first grade. The two of them sang the whole way - a song about the nice sunny day :) Traffic is crazy in the parking lot, which I had to drive through to get to the drop off area. She zipped out of the car before I could say bye, and all I saw was the back of her running to class - blond hair flying and pink Hello Kitty backpack bouncing up and down. I felt like such an imposter, and tried to manuever my way out of there as fast as possible without killing any children.


So Scarlett and I headed to our house. She's 3 1/2, tough as nails and comedian funny, so the day could go either way, easy or very hard. We ended up having a great day here, watching children's programming, singing inane songs, playing inside and outside with her race car and our toys, and putting stickers on paper. The 3 of us had lunch together, and she told us all kinds of stories - she is very expressive with lots of movement and jumping up and down, voice rises, too. We got the call at 2:30 that all parents were back home, so I packed up Scarlett and her huggy (blanket), fairy bear, race car, pull ups, and wipes and headed back to Julie's.

When I got back home, ak was lounging on the couch. I joined him, and by 5:30pm we were both passed out, and stayed there until 1am. We were totally wiped out!

Here is Scarlett hanging out on our back patio ....



Hope all of you had a wonderful Cinco de Mayo!!!!!

funny find

I have been making myself clean up my computer favorites every day. Each time Ak updates my computer, he transfers all of my favorites and puts them in special folders. I now have 5 folders to go through!! Many are duplicate sites, alot are crap, but there are hidden gems everywhere :)

I clicked the link to Tedman's Flicker today - haven't checked it out in probably 3 years? Found this gold nugget picture from our 5 year high school reunion - November 1992. I think it's in Wayne's apartment that he used to have in Media, on the corner of State and Orange. We had a pre-party there (not sophisticated enough to call it a cocktail party yet).


So, here is a shot of Chris (aka Nummer) and me:














1. I loved that white Liz Claiborne suit! Wish I still had it.
2. Chris looks great! I have known him since 1st grade.
3. Nice blush!!! Back then we did NOT practice less is more.
3. OK - let's address the hair. My Lord! Snooki has nothing on my poof, or as we called it "high hair". My poor father had to snake our shower 1-2x a month...I still feel pretty bad about that! Also, it looks as though the plant and my hair are one.
I remember Kelly picked me up, and before we left my house, we actually both made our poofs taller.

Hope this makes you laugh :)

Pooh likes the Ipad

Pooh checking out the ipad ... this a rare occurance as it has been attached to ak since he took it out of the box Saturday!

The Ipad has landed....

At exactly 12:47pm today, I met the UPS man at the door and signed for Ak's Ipad. He will be engrossed with his new toy for many, many hours....only surfacing to grill our lambchops for tomorrow's Easter dinner :)

I am looking forward to playing my current iphone games on the larger screen, and I can't wait to watch a movie on it. It's going to be awesome for travelling. In the last 13-14 years that we've been together, the amount of tech stuff (and all the stupid heavy power bricks) that have travelled with have diminished significantly. Hitting the road with this thing is going to be great :)

One of the new TV shows we do watch is Modern Family - we find it hilarious. Anyway, the episode this week was all about the Ipad, and the shennanigans the whole family went through to get one for the dad. Good stuff.

I am preparing for our Easter dinner tomorrow, however, I am sick with a sinus infection - bad this time. All tired and puffy eyed, falling asleep wherever I sit down. I've downed almost a case of Gatorade this week. In spite of it, we are festive, and have lots of Easter decorations going on, and daffodils everywhere. We are painting eggs today, too.

I am posting the pic of Scarlett Begonia, too, that I received from CNN today. What an Easter treat! She is definately a pollyanna girl :)

HAPPY EASTER!

Addiction-Project Runway

You know how much I love Project Runway, and this week Axel installed the Project Runway game on my computer! It is so much fun - I am completely addicted. The challenges are just like on the show, and you have the ability to cut fabric, pick colors, etc.. My favorite part is the hair and make-up studio because it is so realistic as you apply blush, eyeliner, eye shadow and pick out crazy eyelashes. The challenges are exactly the same as each particular season. I am halfway through one season, and have won every time :) The only part I have trouble with is the runway walk beacuase you have to press the arrow keys in a specific order, but I am working on it.

In other news, I had to take a break from therapy on my doctors orders. Last weekend, my knee was killing me, and I was so scared that I had messed up the surgery as well as being on the Vicodin train again. As it turns out, I was doing too much and strained my quad muscles and IT band muscles, which was causing all the pain. I've been taking Celebrex (sounds like a club) and feeling much better. I return to therapy tomorrow, and hope I can continue.

I can't believe we'll be into April in a few short weeks! This year, Orthodox and American Easter fall on the same Sunday, which is nice. I made crazy candy wreaths this year - I'll post pictures of it later. There are 3-5 pounds of candy on each!

Xmas 2009

Going backwards in time a bit....here are a few shots from the wonderful week I was home for Christmas!

The day after Christmas - Joanna and Nicky

Uncle John & I in Brickersville, PA








My first encounter with Scarlett Begonia - LOVE HER!








Scarlett laughing at one of Aunt Joanie's jokes

Cheesesteaks West Side - Amato's

Hey kids! Ak and I went here for dinner and we were NOT disappointed!!

Nothing like hitting Amato's and getting an authentic cheesesteak and cheese fries to make being far from home a bit more tolerable. The place is decorated with all kinds of Philly memorabilia, sports jerseys, city pictures, etc. I can't wait to go back!

Also, the owner has this crazy truck all tricked out Eagles style. Here is the picture, as words cannot do this vehicle justice. Love it!

Later, Brian

Spent this am reading about the Eagles releasing Brian Westbrook - damn. I know he's had the injuries and concussions, but in my mind, Westbrook = Eagles and Philly.

I really hope he retires, as I couldn't bear him playing for another team. My heart hurts watching Brian Dawkins on the Broncos, and it would be the same with Westbrook. Maybe even worse!

Wow - I am still a bit dazed at this....need some coffee for clarity!

To all the East Coasters - good luck with this next storm. It's shaping up to be a ballbuster, so make sure you have all of your supplies, and hunker down.

Been Too Long...

WOW - it's been a while since I posted!
Many things have happened - Christmas, New Year's Eve, the Superbowl...

Anyhoo, here were are, almost at the end of another month! I had my knee surgery the first week of the month, and I think things are going ok. I really had to slow it down, though. At the end of last week, I was back to cooking & laundry, putting up our Easter stuff, and other things I should not have been doing. Then this past Friday, I drove 1/4 mile to the grocery store & CVS for some stuff. I think I should have waited on that! I am just antsy, and I get really uncomfortable after sitting or lying down after a while, so I do things like rearranging my undies drawers (like I did yesterday) and standing for 45 minutes to an hour. I also just wanted to give my honey a break - he's been his usual amazing self while taking care of me. I get sick of asking him for every little thing, so I wanted to do things for myself. Of course this has backfired - my calf and foot keep swelling up on me, and all of my muscles are so sore everywhere from compensating for the right knee - aye papi! I am back to doing ice packs and taking pain pills again. It's not worth messing anything up, that's for sure!

So I am back to reading, writing letters and TV :) I can sit at my desk for 20 minutes at a time now for correspondence and computer time, which helps break it up. Right now I am waiting for Axel to come into the office at any minute to tell me to put my foot up :) He is like a policeman! He's a trooper, that's for sure!

I totally got into the Twilight vampire teen books during this surgery recovery. Let me backtrack - the week prior to the proceedure, I finally went to our local library, got a card and started checking out books. I've been keeping a list of books that I want to read forever, but I always buy them, so going back to the library after at least 20 years seems amazing and ridiculous for me! Let me tell you, I was blown away! I can put books on hold online, wait for the email that tells me they are ready, head out and go to the hold area at the library, go to the self check out with the books, and I am on my way home! Yesterday I had to renew some books, so I just did it through my online account. I love it! And you get receipts at the library when checking out or returning, so it's like shopping :)

So back to Twilight.....I am a big A. Rice fan, and all of her vampire books, so I thought I would give the series a chance. Plus, it's all you here about, and the teens go crazy for the books, movies, and especially the actors (I may have a crush on the Rob Pattinson dude, I admit). I LOVED the books - I was so surprised! The 4 book series reads like modernized Jane Austen - very cool. So of course we had to watch the first 2 movies. For teen dramas they certainly aren't the worst, and it's not over-sexed, but very romantic. Now I have the Twilight game app on my iphone, and honeyman got me my own set of the books for Valentine's Day! How sad is that??!!??

Okay, I am about up to my time limit for sitting in my desk chair, so I will sign off now.
Next, I will be posting pictures from my 2 recent trips back to Media - lots to share! Great trips!
Tata for now!
xoxoxo