Tuesday, December 26, 2006

And a big relieved sigh. Christmas is over. I am never shopping again. (okay that's a giant LIE since I've already been out shopping today. Oh well)

Fletcher and Connor have been watching new movies, playing new games, and making sound effects with new toys all long-weekend. Connor is carting his new Star Wars blanket all over the apartment and Fletcher is hitting birdies (with alarming accuracy) at everybody's heads.

On Christmas Eve, we're sitting in church, and it's rather quiet because the sacrament is being passed (that's the bread and water, if there are actually any non-mormons or non-relatives who read this blog.) Not really 'rather', more like 'completely'. It's silent.

Fletcher: "Mommy, my penis is hurting!"

I am not kidding.

Connor has started taking piano lessons and is enjoying it. He reminded me that I had my own instrument to practice and I dug out the violin, only to pop an E string while I tried to tune it. Nanette was kind enough to buy me a new string for christmas, along with a music stand. But when I opened the package it was not an E-string but a G-string. (yes, THAT kind) Haha. She has the actual instrumental version at her place, I'll have to pick it up this week. Silly girl ;)

Christmas with no chocolate wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was simply devoid of warmth and happiness is all. I can deal.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006



I would like to introduce you to Elder Mills. He is from Arizona, and he's going home on Saturday. Everyone is going to miss him a ton. He's a great missionary and an awesome guy.

Connor was really bummed to hear that he was going home, but he tearfully admitted that Elder Mills was probably pretty happy to be seeing his own family again.

I hope my kids are as good as this kid, when they grow up.

Saturday, December 16, 2006


I think I was five or six when I walked into the bathroom where my mom was curling her hair and asked if there REALLY was a Santa Claus. She was not one for deception and asked me what I thought. Well I thought there probably wasn't. And then her sister, my aunt, forbade me to tell my cousin EVER. But I'm pretty sure Tisha figured it out eventually.

The point is, I always expected to be like my mother. To be no-nonsense about it all, and to approach Santa as a fun idea, part of the Christmas spirit, blah blah. But somehow my six year old believes so firmly in Santa Claus that I am actually fearful of the day that he discovers the truth. I think I've actually TOLD him that Santa isn't real, some years ago, but obviously he does not remember that. And now my two year old is following suit with equal enthusiasm. I am raising Santa zealots. How did this happen?

Friday, December 08, 2006


I took nearly a dozen photos of the boys in Daddy's church shirts and ties - here's one. I've got to pick my favorite and send it out with Christmas cards. Or AS Christmas cards. I'd better hurry up....!

Do you like my skirt?

Thanks! Me too! I made it. Bragging you say? Not ME!

I got this fabric from the clearance rack at JoAnn. It was a printed circle skirt pattern, right on the fabric. The panel cost me all of $4. It's very twirly. tee hee!

I'm working on a camoflauge skirt that I have high hopes for. I'll post pics, of course!

Thank you Connor, for being my photographer.

Thursday, November 30, 2006



I did it! I DID IT!!! I wrote a novel in 30 days! And NO you can NOT read it, people! Geez, gimme a chance to do some editing for heaven's sake! :)

Now I'm going to go before I start bawling in front of my poor children.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Thanksgiving weekend was fun. Good times had by all. We spent the holiday meal with the Hippens, and the boys enjoyed having company for most of the day.

This may have been my last excursion out on Black Friday. Parking was crazy. Items were sold out. Kare and I could have slept in, and done our shopping another day. It was fun to get out and have Mom-time, but it would be even better if Mom time didn't start at 4 a.m.

I'm feeling very negative lately about my no-chocolate stint. I don't care about it any more. As if, I will finish the year, and feel absolutely no sense of satisfaction at all about the whole thing. What does this mean? Should I stop Not Having Chocolate? Should I instead pick something that will give me satisfaction?

I wonder if this does not stem from my participation in NaNoWriMo. I mean, this month I have been writing a novel (currently at 40, 448 words!!). I have wanted to write a novel since I was a kid. This is so catastrophically MORE important to me than not eating chocolate, that it really makes the lesser goal pale in comparison. (although let me tell you, when one is trying to crunch out a 175 page novel in 4 weeks, one really REALLy misses the chocolate).

Anyway, that is my dilemma. I am considering halting my chocolate fast simply because I am afraid I will in the end feel like it was a waste of time. Or maybe I just want chocolate so much that I'm making up excuses. You tell me.

Monday, November 13, 2006

Marcia Hohn had this link on her website (which I LOVE by the way) which is www.quilterscache.com . A quilter's dream site. But that's not the link I was talking about. It's here http://www.barnquilts.com/default.htm and I totally have to get out of this apartment so I can buy a house with a barn! So. Cute.

Kristen

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

This one's for Kare, who won't drive a mile and a half to see my new haircut, and insists that I put a picture on my blog. Kisses, Kare!

I just broke 10,000 words today on my novel. 32 Pages! But if I want to keep up I have to get 3,000 more words by the end of the day. That's 12 pages! ACK!!

Thursday, November 02, 2006

End of day two for NaNoWriMo.

Word count, 6816.

woo hooooooo!

Wednesday, November 01, 2006


Pictures from the church's trunk-or-treat on Saturday night. The "boys" were all wizards. I was a man in drag....I mean, a geisha. :)



I don't know why I didn't just wear this in the first place - I already had everything and it was way more comfortable! I opted for the Pirate costume on Halloween night, when I took the boys trick-or-treating for their very first time! Connor rifled through my jewelry box and his toy box to add to this some gaudy jewelry and a sword. It was great.

Thursday, October 19, 2006



check it out. I've signed up for a class thru UCLA Extension. So I've got a builtin support group for this. You are all welcome to email me or call me (if I know you and like you) and encourage me and cheer for me all through the month of November. It will be crazy. It will be fun! Kristen

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Halloween is almost upon us! We are generally a Theme Family, and we all dress up with a particular theme in mind and it's very fun. This year was going to be an Indianna Jones theme which I was willing to be excited about despite the total lack of variety (the guys were ALL going to be Indiana, and I was going to be Miriam from "Raiders of the Lost Ark". But Craig's creativity and enthusiasm is being sapped by a current project at work and we scrapped the "huge halloween fiasco" this year.

Now the boys both want to be Harry Potter (who connor has been twice already! Fine with me!) and Craig is thinking he'll be the Shadow - which, if you ask me, will take more creativity than Indy, but whatever. So I get to be whatever I want. I think I'll go Geisha this year. That will be fun.

Time to start making the lists for Thanksgiving and Christmas. What we'll eat, do, buy, etc. Last year we got Round Table Pizza for Thanksgiving dinner and it was really fun! I did not have to stress and slave in the kitchen all day, and we enjoyed the meal immensly! Round Table really does have the best pizza ever. I won't even get started on the garlic twists.

We're not going home for any of the holidays this year. So we have to find a way to occupy ourselves for the breaks from work and school. I'd like to head up into the mountains one weekend so that Fletcher can actually see snow.

fun! Kris

Tuesday, October 17, 2006



Last Thursday we went to a pumpkin patch in Woodland Hills. The kids took their first trip through a corn maze (not as exciting as I had been led to believe) and rode a bunch of fun rides. Connor even tried the climbing wall, and got about 15 feet up before he decided it was time to jump. (or float, as the case may be. I think that was his favorite part of the whole thing).

Anyway, the FREE pumpkin patch was indeed not as free as it sounded, since everything required tickets. So $60 later I told the kids they could get SMALL pumpkins and NOT big ones, and then we came home and they painted them. The one with the crooked neck is Mason's and then the other two are Con & Fletch's. (Connor picked out the Halloween place mats).

The boys tackle daddy, who is disgusted that mom got the camera instead of helping, while explosions happen in the background. Good times.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Apparently I never blogged two of the most-fun things I did this summer! We had two girls-nights-out, both in September. On Sept 13 we went to Torrance to a book signing by Stephenie Meyer. She has written two YA novels, Twilight and New Moon, both of which are excellent! And she is working on 3 more novels, one of which will be an adult sci-fi. Check her out at www.stepheniemeyer.com .

The second was also a book signing, this one by Meg Cabot, of Princess Diaries fame. (which, frankly, I don't think are her best books.) She also has several adult novels out BESIDES the early ones which are all smutty romances. My favoriets of hers are the Mediator series, originally published under pen name Jenny Carrol. Her recent GREAT book is Avalon High. Teen Idol was also very very fun! Her blog is my favorite one to read: http://www.megcabot.com/diary/

Yes, I am a grown up, hooked on Young Adult literature. I'm sorry folks, you just can't beat the humor! and they're clean! (Given, I also love Janet Evanovich, who is HILARIOUS, but not so clean...) YA books are the new chick-lit.

Also recent great reads are "Fairest" (YA fantasy) by Gail Carson Levine, who wrote Ella Enchanted which is endlessly better than the movie; and "Archangel" (adult sci-fi/fantasy) by Sharon Shinn. I will be reading much more of Shinn in the future!

On the writing vein, my class at UCLA starts on Wednesday. We are heading down there tonight to find the building and locate parking that is not scary-far-away and arm-and-leg expensive. I also have to get a carry case for my laptop.

Kristen

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Here is the raffle quilt that the Weaverville quilt guild made. It's called, "oh no, there's a weed in my garden!"
This is the raffle quilt that my mother's quilt group "The Thursday night strippers" made. Isn't it beautiful!?



Here are some pictures from the quilting retreat I went to with my mom in Weaverville last weekend. I managed to finish the top of my wall hanging, and she's keeping it this week to machine quilt it for me. This was my first retreat (I was a "virgin") and it was so much fun! Linda Ballard calls this pattern Hidden Stars. She is the woman who taught the retreat and it was great having her there and well, and we all hope that her recovery from surgery continues to go well!

Being away from dh and ds's for 4 days was relaxing and fun, and I'm pretty sure they didn't miss me at all! They were all over the place while I was gone - went to disneyland, the tar pits, had all kinds of fun. I'm waiting for them to ask me to go away again so they can have more fun with Dad!

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Here is a picture of my dress! It's got some problems, but I guess I can't expect perfection this early in the game. (excuse the finger in the corner, my 6 year old took the pic) I need to re-do the side hem on the left, and the neckline isn't symmetrical. That's going to have to stay. It's cozy though! You can't really tell from the picture but it's a faux wrap dress - the top wraps and ties on my left (right side in the pic. you also cannot see the ties.)

Here's the pattern.
I did the one in the center, bottom. Too bad I'm not as statuesque as the model, eh? :) Oh well! My next project will be simpler though, something that says "2 hour dress" or "easy" on it. For real.
Later!

Friday, September 29, 2006

I have not had chocolate for 48 days. I'm just a little more than 1/8th of the way through my self-inflicted self-control-enhancing (I hope) purgatory. *sigh* Yesterday I really wanted chocolate. I was convinced that if only I had some, all my problems would go away. Is that sick or what? Good grief.

We're in week 4 of homeschooling 1st grade. Not going as well as I hoped (mommy is slacking a little) but Connor loves it and the K12 curriculum is FANTASTIC!

I have sewed a few things in my day. Some skirts. One top (that sadly did not work out), and several quilts. And tons and tons of Halloween costumes and paraphanalia. Here is a pic from last year:


Yes, I was Princess Leia. Do. Not. Laugh. And there are my sons, Darth Vader(bought that one) and Luke Skywalker, and my dh Han Solo. Our suv, there in the back where you can't see it, was decked out with lights and jawas and an R2D2 that my dh built. We kinda get into Halloween. This year the boys are ALL being Indianna Jones, and I'm gonna be Miriam from movie 1, in Egypt, with the monkey and hideous red pants. I'll have to get a wig this year though, because I'm not dyeing my hair brown for Halloween twice in a row.

Anyway, I have started sewing my first REAL dress. One to wear for every day, not a costume. The dear sweet "A dress a day" blogger has inspired me. I need to scan the pattern, and the fabric, and then take some photos of my progress so I can post it. I'm nervous, the directions are complicated, and I've already screwed up the neckline (and NO I am NOT fixing it! The stupid thing is LINED for heaven's sake!) but I think if I let my hair grow.... anyway. More on that to come shortly.

In a week I leave for 4 days (my first trip away, alone! ACK!) for a quilting reatreat with my mum in my home town, Weaverville, CA. It's gonna be loads of fun and tomorrow I'm hopping down to Redondo Beach with friend Betsey to get some fabric. Woo hoo!! I hope that being away from my boys will not cause nervousness that overpowers the fun of being away. I'm sure I'll get over it. I'm such a nervous worrier! Stop it Kristen!

More later!

Sunday, August 27, 2006


We went up to Will Roger's State Historic Park yesterday morning and did some hiking. It's nice that we can get away from the city pretty easily here. Here is a picture of the family at Inspiration point. We had a nice view of the city and of the ocean and mountains, but it was really hazy so we weren't able to appreciate it much. Kisses, Kris

Monday, August 21, 2006


9 days with no Chocolate and I'm doing great! Only 355 days to go!

WE FINISHED THE HARRY POTTER ROOM! See pictures for evidence. We are very excited. I think Craig and I are more thrilled with it than the boys - of course.

Had Connor's 6th birthday party on Saturday and it was a big hit. We made all kinds of cool games for the kids to play. Craig painted a poster of an owl and we played "pin the message on the owl" and then we did a picture of a garden gnome and had a bean bag toss into it's mouth. They colored pictures from the stories and had a Herbology class in which they potted a plant. It was great!

Alas, that night, we lost Lily the rat, to a sudden and apparently severe illness. We noticed that she seemed ill around 3 pm, and by 11 pm, she was gone. Connor was devastated, and cried and cried. He even spent all of church at my side the next day, instead of going to Primary classes.

Frankly, that is why we got rats. They're a good starter pet. They dont' live forever, and it's not as devastating as having a dog die or something. And I rather that the kids' first experience with death is a pet rat than a dog or a family member.

Monday, August 14, 2006

At the temple of Apollo in Delphi is inscribed the ancient greek aphorism "know thyself". For many years I have altered this phrase for personal use to "NO thyself". Learning self control has been an ongoing goal of mine.

So Saturday, my son's 6th birthday became my last official day with Chocolate. I will abstain from chocolate for one year, until his 7th birthday. Today is day 2. Yesterday I withstood hot chocolate, a candy bar, and brownies. Today there is no chocolate in the house except for hot chocolate, and I've got cider to get me through the hot-drink craving.

*wish me a year of luck!*

Wednesday, August 02, 2006


I'm working on painting my dining set this week. We got it for free (Yay!) and it's nice but I really wanted black, to go with a quilt that I have hanging on my dining wall. Here are the chairs, before and after. I really like how they are turning out.

Sunday, July 23, 2006


I had the opportunity for the first time in my life to attend the annual Comic-Con in San Diego this Friday and Saturday. What an experience! Such a myriad of people there, many of whom had spent hours and hundreds of dollars on elaborate costumes. Kudos to all of the storm troopers, who looked fantastic! Haven't heard of comic-con? No way. Check it out www.comic-con.org

My husband learned that the trick to all things free is to allow an eager 6-year-old to drag you along the exhibition floor. People could not give enough stuff to them! My son is very proud of himself. His aunts are both trying to bargain themselves into possesion of some of his loot.

Two of my sisters have been visiting for the week and it seems like we have been going non-stop since they got here. Both are in high school, and have never seen anything resembling Los Angeles in their lives. For one it was her first plane trip. Tomorrow will be the first trip to Disneyland for both. They have had their first trip to a beach that is not 50 degrees and foggy. I am pleased that I get to be there for it all, since we did not get to grow up together, what with the gargantuan age gap between us.

The weather has become abyssmaly hot here. Even had some power outages yesterday apparently (we were gone). Today is looking no better. Our little LR air conditioner is struggling to reach into the bedrooms. And failing. I put my toddler to bed with his hair wet so he might not overheat during his nap, poor thing.

Happy July. More later.

Monday, June 26, 2006

Jo Rowling gave an interview recently in which she states that two main characters will die in the 7th and final installment of her Harry Potter books. You can read the article here http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13558242/?GT1=8211 . I'm not even going to guess. It just makes me sad.

Our Harry Potter bedroom is coming along impressively. Another week should see us all set, except for some antique furnishings that we are hunting down in shops around here as we go. Woo hoo!

Made a trip to the ER this weekend. These superbugs like MRSA are becoming frighteningly common. I have heard of several people who have had it. I had it just over a year ago. Traumatic! And now my 2 year old has it. More Traumatic! It really makes me itch to get out of this big dirty city. And then I have to sit and be grateful for all that I have because we're NEVER getting out of here!

-grateful, grateful, grateful....-

A big Kudos to Janet Evanovich on her 12th installment of the Stephanie Plum series. It was great! But as always, too short! It's been tough lately to find good stuff to read. All my life I have been almost entirely a sci-fi/fantasy reader, but good books in that genre seem to have become fewer and further between. (although I am very much looking forward to the next Mercedes Lackey/James Mallory book out this summer!)

I'm such a nerd. No more book talk.

Pirates II comes out in less than two weeks! Woo hoo! (ahem) I suppose I'd better stop before I reveal my entire gamut of nerdiness. Happy Monday! Nearly half through with 2006.... It's almost Christmas! Ack!

Monday, June 12, 2006


My dh took off w-f last week, and I had it off as well, so we were able to enjoy a little mini-vacation. Took the boys to LegoLand on Thursday and though we did have fun we will not be going there again.
Why you ask? Why not go to Legoland? 1) The only friendly staff we encountered were in the restaurant where we ate. 2) It costs just as much as Disneyland 3)But it's even further away 4)and it's less than half as small 5) and though the lines are very short they take a VERY long time to get through. 6) and then just when you're starting to have fun and think it may not be as bad as all that after all - - they close. At 5. That's right people!
But all in all we had a good loooooong weekend .
The boys have decided they want a Harry Potter room and since Craig doesn't do anything by halves we dove right into transforming their bedroom (in an apartment, which we cannot paint) into a castle. We will do this by hanging panels of fabric and nailing up painted ply-board on the walls. We're going to be searching craigslist (that's www.craigslist.org) for a mirror, swords (unsharpened), brooms, and trunks. Tried to find a good large cauldron for a toy box but the only really good ones are in the vicinity of $200 and that folks, is just not worth it. So trunk it shall be and that will actually look a lot better. Add bookshelves and a lamp and we may actually have a finished product. (the bearskin rug we're still debating on).
When we will actually finish it..... well, I'll let you know.
Kris

Saturday, May 06, 2006

The next 6 Weeks will be very lonely and very busy and very crappy. I do not like to be busy. Slow, rambling spring days are my cup of tea (or hot chocolate, as the case may be). I guess I've always had this idea that being busy means you weren't properly prepared. Which I am not. For anything. Ever.

Unless it's packing. Then I over prepare, over-pack, and make my husband miserable because he has to carry all my suitcases.

My 5 year old son starts Soccer on Tuesday. We have 6 weeks to finish 13 weeks worth of Kindergarten. My husband is working 12 hour days and 8 hour Saturdays until Zoom Academy and My Super Ex-girlfriend both wrap.

But when the 6 weeks are over life should take a marvellous turn for the better.

It even looks like my dh may be caving in to the "Weaverville on the 4th of July" idea.

Maybe.

Thank goodness for me, the weather is BEAUTIFUL outside and I have lots and lots of reading material to get me through the lonely times.

Crossing my Fingers. Kris

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Last Saturday was the most beautiful day we have had all year. The Spring-nostalgia was thick. I couldn't keep myself inside. And it's only going to get better. Until it gets TOO hot of course, but that never lasts long here either.
Tried unsuccessfully yesterday to convince my husband that we really need to go to Weaverville for July 4 this year. We've been married 7 years and he's still never seen a 4th in Weaverville. There is no better place to be for that holiday, let me tell you. Small towns do the best Independence Day celebrations on the planet.
It's like the high school football games, where half the county is there and there are cow bells ringing and.... but I digress. Go to Weaverville, CA for the 4th of July. Get a cabin, or a campground or a houseboat or a hotel room (but by now you might have to wait until next year). Do some hiking, see the fireworks, watch the destruction derby and the softball games. Go to the carnival. The pancake breakfast the ice cream social. See the historical sights. Spend your money. And think of me, because it looks like I'm not going to get to go this year either.

Monday, April 03, 2006

Again with the rain! And again with the not-alot-of-interesting-things-to-say.
Spring cleaning ensues. Reorganizing closets and moving furniture. Thinking about sewing some curtains. Or Easter dresses.
Spring always makes me feel like sewing. Every year. This uncontrollable urge that wells up and makes me go out and spend lots of money of fabric and patterns and then start 10 projects that never EVER get finished. Ask my poor husband.

Monday, March 27, 2006

Apparently March is going for the "in like a lion, out like a lion" bit this year. We get just enough sun to get everyone's hopes up and then WHAM! another rainstorm. And not even a ferocious enough rainstorm to be interesting. Just the dull drippy get-you-all-wet-and-ruin-your-hair-for-no-good-reason rainstorm.
I'm so annoyed I can't even think of anything to say.

Monday, March 20, 2006

To be fair I haven't actually seen the second season of Battlestar Glactica. This however, does not keep me from being completely shocked!!! at the ending of season two! (thank you www.televisionwithoutpity.com) I don't know what to do with all the thoughts running around screaming in my head.
In other news, today is the first day of spring. And Los Angeles is still suffering from abnormally low temperatures, and everybody is still sick. Now people are getting all agitated about Bird Flu and even the news is saying to have a 10 day supply of food and water in case of quarantine. Ew. Scary. However I'll use this moment to plug the concept of food storage and emergency preparedness. At LEAST three days. Preferably two weeks. Do it people. Someday you will need it.
Today feels like Monday. Going to go fix it with some hot cocoa.

Monday, March 13, 2006

I thought I was a converted being. I thought, after all those years of swearing that I hated sushi, that perhaps it was pretty good after all. I mean, I had it at the concert; and I liked it.
However, I had ONE piece at the concert. It was rice, and shrimp. Just that. Which was good. So I went and bought a whole platter full of sushi at Costco to munch on while I gazed at the dresses parading the red carpet on Oscar night.
It was sick. All smelly from seaweed and krab. How can people eat this?
I had a couple of friends say that the problem was that it wasn't "fresh". Yeah but seaweed is seaweed isn't it? I just dunno. I'm pretty sure that I really do hate sushi, despite my geographic location.
Instead I ate 4 pieces of cheesecake. Which I also didn't used to like. But that was just because I was mis-informed. It wasn't my fault.
Got a cavity filled today. I must say, my dentist is quite amazing. Really quite. Helen Sanderson, D.D.S. of Marina Del Rey (well, her office anyway). Yep she's good. You should try her out. You know, if you're ever in the area.
And while I'm giving plugs, the new Pride & Prejudice is so great! So great! Really can't be compared to the A&E version with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, but that is how it should be. When you can't compare them, then you don't go around, you know, comparing them.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Went to Costco on Saturday to renew a long-unused membership. Was reminded why it went unused for so long. The nearest Costco to us is located a mile or so from the beach. It shares a parking lot with Albertsons, Hollywood video, and In-N-Out Burger. If any of you have ever wondered what Hell is like, I suggest you try to find a parking spot at Marina Del Rey Costco, on a Saturday.

So it's a good thing I'm not Catholic, because our little "we're going without sweets until Easter" lasted maybe a day or two. We realized that 1) we had a gallon of ice cream in the freezer that we just couldn't let go to waste, 2) we had a giant bag of M&M's in the cupboard (for teaching our kindergart'ner math) (and eating whenever the urge hit) (okay so we only used them for math once!). Then we thought, well as soon as the existing junk food is out of the house, THEN we'll go off sweets until Easter. And then we invited friends over for dessert on Sunday. We got a 4-flavors-in-one Cheesecake. And then our friends got sick. And then we ate almost the whole thing ourselves.

But NOW, there is no junk food left in the house. Dare we try? Will saying the magic "I will not" words prove too much for us? We haven't really talked about it. I guess we'll see. I did manage NOT to stop at any fast food place on my way home from the doctor this morning. Not that I have a weak spot for fast food, but I had to go get a bloodtest before I ate today, and boy were they calling to me! I conquered. Small victories right?
- K

Friday, March 03, 2006

Proof that my 5 year old is far too acquainted with modern media:
On Monday he's walking around the apartment with the little ones, all armed with swords or lightsabers. "we're playing fires of the doomed."
The next day, it was the same. Armor, helmets, the works. So I ask. You playing Fires of the Doomed again?
Nope.
We played that yesterday Mom. Now We're playing Fires of the Doomed II.

Good Grief.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Today is the first day of Lent.
Not that I'm Catholic or anything, but as a writer on msn.com noted today, Lent is being observed my more and more non-Catholic people every year. Funny though, just last week some friends of ours decided that to be healthier, they were going to eschew consumption of any and all junk type foods including desserts and EVEN popcorn, until Easter.
At which time they will stuff themselves with Easter candies and be sick for weeks afterward.
Well my husband thought this would be a good idea, since we have been trying very hard to be healthier-- especially in the food category (no more ice cream for lunch I guess) for several months now. I didn't realize just how much junk I ate until I had to stop eating it! If left to my own devices, I would probably subsist entirely on a diet of Bran Flakes cereal, ice cream, lost of french bread, even more chocolate, and the occasional fruit. It's amazing that I am not 400 lbs. In fact I am on the good side of average, I'll have you know; I went from a size 12 to a size 8 in just the past 6 months. So there.
But anyway, I'm pretty much left with cereal and fruit, and now have to expand my horizons and figure out how to cook some healthy-yet-scrumptious meals for dinner; pack lunches that consist of more than a cold hot dog and fruit snacks, and make sure that we all drink more water and less juice.
I am still allowing us popcorn however, since I make it in an air popper and not the microwave, and can control the amount and type of butter and salt. You gotta give yourself something right!

My time on the internet is, I fear, swiftly becoming an addiction. I need to limit myself! I'm emailing and reading stuff and "window" shopping (should I call it Windows XP shopping?) for a large part of my day lately. Some sites that I like, and that may tell you a little bit about me :
www.megcabot.com - one of my favorite YA authors

www.quilterscache.com - it is what it says! The Quilters Cache! Free patterns galore.

www.thegrocerygame.com - coupon clippers paradise.

www.lds.org - my own religious affiliation.

www.evanovich.com - very funny lady! Love her books!

www.lapl.org - where I get most of my books

www.amazon.com - where I get the rest of my books

www.caliva.org - website for the homeschool program I use

www.craigslist.org - your own online yard sale!

Enough for me today. Time to remind the kids that I exist and that I still know when they're misbehaving. Looking forward to good weather again soon so we can get OUT! - K

Monday, February 27, 2006

So I found out this weekend that my uncle Milt is like, World Class pole climber guy. Who knew? I sure didn't. I mean, I've only seen him a handful of times in my life, and during those times, I don't actually remember him talking. He has climbed a 110 foot pole. I climbed an 8 foot pole once. Scared the crap out of me.
My folks just got another organ. (instrumental not anatomical) We had one for awhile when I lived at home, but noone EVER played it. Now my sister Nancy is learning so they got another one, that works when it feels like it. I think playing the organ is probably a lot like flying a spaceship. All those buttons and pedals and keyes.
Went to the L.A. zoo on Saturday. Pretty much all the animals were asleep. People only go for the sea lions and the petting zoo. Well that's what we go for anyway. There's been construction ever since we moved here in '03, and as far as I can tell, those tractors are never actually moving. You can look into the construction sites through little bubble shaped windows in the wall - and all it is is dry rocky ground. Nothin' happenin'.
It's supposed to rain this week. Most of the week. What a way to welcome Regis and Kelly to the Southland eh? Sweet.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Well the food was good anyway. They had sushi, and all kinds of salads and lettuce wraps and fajitas and sandwiches and veggies. Even a dessert cart came by and I got a caramel apple about half the size of my head!
The music you ask? Not sure I heard any music per se.... No that's not true, Lennie Kravitz was on first and his show was pretty good. And Aerosmith did play one song that I actually knew the words to. But mostly it was, as I told Karen, lots of electric guitar and screaming into a microphone. It's really amazing that these guys have been making albums for more than 30 years! They must have all kinds of stamina.
It was really fun trying to figure out if the lady in the center aisle with the hot pink prom gloves and 5 lbs of silicone was Anna Nicole Smith or not. Someone in the suite had binoculars and after much discussion we decided that maybe it was A.N's Grandmother! I kid you not, this poor woman had to be at least in her 50s and was dressed like, well, like Anna Nicole Smith would be expected to dress at an Aerosmith concert. It was very very sad.
And then there was the lady in the front row who was either a) Pregnant & Drunk or b) a drunk man dressed as a woman . We all hoped for option 'b', because option 'a' was just too disturbing.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006


Great long weekend at Disneyland! Despite the cold and the rain and hail, we all had a wonderful time.
Going to see Aerosmith tonight at the Staples center. Haven't seen them in concert before (I confess, I've never wanted to...). It will be interesting I'm sure. Really, I'm going for the food! We'll be in a private suite, with catered dinner and dessert...Yep. That's why I'm going. How sad.
Found my wings again today. Have been feeling crippled for a few weeks. (months?) It feels like everything came back today. In a rush. Hopefully sitting still for a few moments here won't ruin it!
It's nearly March! I love March! And not because it's my birthday month. It means the end of cold, the end of ugly slushy roadsides. (these expressions being carried over from my childhood where there was cold, and slush. Not like LA) March means renewal, and Spring, and warmth! Man, it's better than New Years!

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Saw Great Big Sea in concert last night at the El Rey. Wow they really know how to put on a show! Craig and I decided it was more fun than we've had in Years. The location was great too. El Rey is set up as mostly standing room, and there isn't a bad spot in the house. Looking forward to the opportunity to see them again when they return.

Feeling the Thursday crush today. Making the Lists. What needs to be done before the weekend. What needs to be done during the weekend. We're taking the kids down to disneyland for the holiday, and two of Craig's siblings & co. are meeting us there. I should really be stressing about this right now, but I am suffused with the calm of Georgette Heyer's storytelling and can't seem to part with my book long enough to admit to the impending reality of out of town visitors.