Monterey Monday 6/15

Make a Smilebox slideshow

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Color Carnival

To Play Visit Martha...

New locater sign toppers at the zoo...

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Haircut and a test....

I know a lot of you are not able to see my blog and of course are not going to see this, lol, but neither can I... So I am seeing if it will still post an entry... I have my blog linked to facebook so I can go there and see my entry if it posted....

Son1 came over on Monday and was on his way to get a haircut so he took son2 with him....

So here is his before shot....

And here is son2's after shot...

He looks so much older... or actually his 15 years now....

Happy Journaling...

Colorful Carnival

To Play Visit Martha...

Newstands along the beach in Monterey...

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Monterey Sunday 6/14

Make a Smilebox slideshow

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Happy Father's Day!

Hubby and the boys skipping rocks in the ocean...
While the pizzas are cooking hubby has gone off to get gas in the car for his first day of working a Monday... I went back to work today, was a very fast day, worked 6am-2pm... Took my time setting up the ad, went to lunch, opened all the women's boxes so we can count all women's shoes tomorrow and then supervisor came in at noon and talked to me for two hours getting all her thoughts out from the week I was gone.... Then I was home getting the boys to finish their father's day cards that son2 was supposed to do while I was at work and then hubby got to open his presents.... He got two new shirts, Best of Star Trek DVDs, Animated Star Trek DVD's, Hogfather DVD and some engine oil for the yard edger and such... Now the Hawaiian pizzas are cooking and then I'm gonna put in some brownies to bake... Hubby hasn't decided what his movie choice of the night is...
This week we watched Bride Wars, Marley and Me, The Librarian Return to Solomon's Mines and Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull...
I got son3 a hula hoop, he wanted one at the end of school... so I thought sure, I could use it too and get a bit of exercise... I have forgotten how to hula hoop... It goes around twice and falls to the ground... Son3 took a couple of practices and can do it with no problem... Son2 said he could never hula hoop and yet he puts it on and it goes up and down and round and round... I can't seem to get the beat or have no waist line to hold it up... I'll keep trying...
Son2 has homework for the summer... He is taking accelerated English next year and so has a packet he picked up at the end of the school year that is due on the first day of English class... He has two articles to read and a poem and answer the questions and write an essay to answer a sample question given that is like if someone wrote into a newspaper or magazine for advise... I asked him to please not wait til the last week of summer...
And I want son3 to at least get through the first grade practice book I got him to keep in the school habit while he is on summer break...
Hubby is back and picking a movie and I am off to slice up the pizza... The brownies are already in the oven...
Happy Journaling...

Pool's Up...

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Vacation Week

Here it is second to the last day of my vacation... I'm exhausted, lol.... Included are a few pictures from our first day in Monterey... I still have about two hundred pictures to edit and then I can start making sideshows to share... I'll also do separate entries of our adventures in Monterey... this entry is just to catch up on the week in general... We were in Monterey from Sunday night through Tuesday afternoon... So this entry starts about an hour from home on Tuesday...



Since son2's cell phone is only available in our area he lost service while we were gone... til about an hour from home it kicks back in again... and so did the texting from his friends and the 'mom, my friends want to know'... so before we even got home son2 already had plans for the next day.... We got home about 5:30 and had barely finished unloading the car and ordering a pizza and son1 called wanting to stop by after work to bring some things from the apartment.... He ended up staying til after 11pm... Did he miss us... lol... I was pooped...



On Tuesday son1 called to say work said not to come in that they had not paid the electric bill... He had told us the night before that the owner was moving out of state and starting another business... ??... He also said that he only had a job for another week or so as he was the last one hired and they were downsizing... they also have closed the sales department and are only doing online sales and the service side where son1 works is not taking any more orders... I'm not thinking any of them are having a job for much longer... So he wanted to know if son2 could help him finish moving the apartment to storage but son2 already had plans with his friends... So son1 dropped by to borrow some gas money... He also hasn't got paid yet and I'm wondering if they have money to pay the associates if they can't pay the electric... he keeps saying he is getting paid today... I just hope they pay him out and let him go if they are going to so he can collect unemployment... He already has had a couple of friends tell him they will give him recommendations at their jobs... So son1 found a friend to help him move, son2 was off with his friends for the afternoon and hubby, son3 and I were off to get Internet for the laptop, Warlmart and the movies to see UP... By 5pm hubby was picking up son2 and some deli chicken and we watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button while I was on the laptop at Facebook....



Thursday we were all getting a bit tired and testy, grumpy even... We still haven't finished putting everything away from the trip and I am still catching up on laundry... Plus I've had a cold all week and hubby is still getting over his after almost three weeks now.... So we got a slow start to Thursday as I was nagging a bit... We finally got to the zoo about 11:30ish... Where everyone else was also a bit grumpy... crying kids everywhere... even the animals were snapping at each other, lol... and they were out of soft serve cones so no ice cream treat.... plus son2 was bugging me the whole time if we going to see Star Trek... ummmm you chose to go with your friends on movie day... and son3 was just whiny as he has many blisters from his new sandals he wore on the trip.... By 2pm we were on our way home and son2 had moved on as his friends were calling for him again... actually different friends... anyway I sent him off to adjust his attitude with his friends and told him if we weren't home we went to see Star Trek.... a cool feature I have on the laptop since it is Cricket service same as son2's phone we can text each other, so after about an hour after he left he text me to see if we had gone to the movies but I didn't get onto the laptop til another hour after that, lol.... make him wonder... There was a message for hubby from his work, schedule changes again... They are changing the store hours to fit the area... they also switched every one's days off around... hubby can't complain as he has had Sunday and Monday off since he started at Kinkos 11yrs ago... So now he will be having Friday and Saturday off... He'll still open during the week and between him and son2 will pick up son3... the down side is we will both work on Sunday now, I get off between 10am and 2pm, he won't be off til 6pm... the upside is we will all finally have a day off together again: Saturday, assuming my job hasn't changed my schedule while I was on vacation... We had leftover deli chicken for dinner and watched a couple of Buffys... Son2 got home about 8pm, I was watching Bride Wars in my room, so he went on the internet, son3 was watching Garfield in his room and hubby was disassembling computers and rearranging the computer room as he is moving one of the computer into son2's room...



And now here it is Friday and hubby is back to work and I have been on the laptop all morning... Working on Monterey pictures, reading all my email, catching up on facebook and now blogging... But I have showered and dressed... and had hot chocolate and then a cola as it is 95 degrees already today heading for 102 although of course I am in the air conditioning... The boys got up about an hour ago... son2 is liking being able to go online now that I have the laptop, freeing up the other computer... Son3 is getting dressed and watching Sesame Street and complaining that nothing is on, however he can't keep his eyes off Sesame Street... Chocolate Chip muffins for breakfast... speaking of chocolate we finished off the last of my bday cake last night... it must have been really good for us to finish the whole thing cause usually we ended up throwing the last of cakes away... Son2 has to clean his room today per hubby so he can move the computer in after work... I want son2 to help me set up the pool today for son3... I also need to clean this house badly but never seem to get to it, too many distractions... At least get to the laundry and dishes... and I bought some Kaboom toilet cleaners that hook in the tank that I want to try... Still need to watch Marley and Me with son2... Pay the bills and balance the checkbook... finish up the bday/anniversary cards for the month...and make lasagna for dinner... Tomorrow we have to make father's day cards and wrap the presents... Then next weekend is hubby's bday... always a party around here... lol...

Happy Journaling...

Color Carnival #6

To Play Visit Martha...




Kayaks on the beach...

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Vacationing...

We are back from three wonderful days in Monterey Ca... And I am doing my first entry from my new laptop... Yesterday me, hubby and son3 went to the movies to see UP... cute movie, not the comedy I was expecting though it had funny parts... son3 liked it... Son2 was off for pizza and hanging with his friends... Son1 has already been around twice since we have been back, bringing over some stuff from his apartment... I think he's just about finished moving out just the last few items they have to divide up... I have lots of pictures to go through from the trip and adventures to share... Today however we are off to the zoo!!
Happy Journaling...

Saturday...

I was up at 3am... I am so tired... But I was awake and up and too excited to sleep from all the birthday I guess, lol... Plus my head is all stuffed up from this cold and hubby was snoring from his cold and thoughts of son1 were going through my head... Hubby was off to work at 8:30am... So I got all caught up on the computer and by 9am, I was dressed and eating breakfast... Son1 picked up son2 at 10am so he could help him move more stuff to storage... I did laundry and dishes and figured out the new laptop... not much in it til I get internet for it on Wednesday... By 11am I was starting to droop from being up so early... Son2 and son1 were back by 1pm and looking for lunch... We finished watching Fired Up while they ate their lunch and I updated the checkbook... Son3 has been on computer games... Hubby should be home in about an hour... I still need to straighten up the house and get snacks and car stuff together for our trips... But I can get all that together in the morning when I'm more rested... I should sleep well tonight...
I had a good birthday day yesterday... Just playing on the computer all day and watching a couple of Emergency shows and then a Buffy with dinner... Son1 came over after dinner and had cake and ice cream... I had already opened my presents before he got there... Hubby went way over board but mostly because of the laptop and we would have probably gotten one even without it being my bday... I also got season3 and season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, School House Rock DVD, a hummingbird windchime and a bird bath for the backyard... See previous entry for slide show...
It's only going to be 68 degrees in Monterey with a slight chance of rain... Have to bring jackets, brrrrrrr.... Only 79 degrees here today though...
I'm off to straighten up and fold and put away laundry before hubby gets home....
Happy Journaling...

Birthday slide show...

Make a Smilebox slideshow

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Happy Birthday to Me!!

Today is my birthday!! 45yrs today... Surprisingly it feels good... I kinda like 45... I think I finally feel like a grown up, lol... and I feel like me again... I know what I like and don't like... and what I want... now if we could just move on from these hormones... it would be perfect...

I am now on vacation for nine days... Plans for the beach in Monterey, the movies, the zoo, setting up the pool... Hubby has a few days off too... But today and tomorrow he is off at work... He was home early yesterday with a cold... Which reminds me I already got my first bday present, his cold... lol... I have a sore throat today...

The boys are now on summer vacation as of today... Yesterday was the last day of school... Yea!! Son3 is now a third grader and son2 is now a sophomore... Son3 got all B's and C's on his report card... Son2's will come in the mail in a couple of weeks... Son2 hung out with his friends after school yesterday and had pizza... Son3, hubby and I got Carl's Jr. and watched two more Buffy episodes... Son2 is watching them now and son3 is getting ready to head for computer games... First he wants a jelly waffle for breakfast... I am a bit disappointed with the end of son3's school year... When I picked him up all the kids had full back backs and paper bags from cleaning out their desks... Son3 however cleaned out his desk and threw everything away... sob... I save most of their school papers... He said the teacher said he could bring it home or throw them away... however he also said he didn't want me to see some of the papers, I guess they had bad grades or the teacher wrote comments... Now I know why he never brought home any papers all year... Third grade can only get better....

Son1 came over... He will be moving home at the end of the month... He and girlfriend have finally decided to break up... Son2 has known since Mother's Day... I'm glad son2 and son1 are able to talk to each other... They already gave their notice at their apartment and son1 got a storage near the house... He came over to borrow a lock and move some of his stuff to the storage... They are deciding who gets which dog, Abby and Danny... I hope he picks Danny... He also has a hamster... And he got a 8 week old lab puppy... He says it is solely an outside dog though... my backyard.......... For now he can set up his futon and tv in the front living room... which will give him a bit of privacy with access to the front door, kitchen and bathroom... and we still have the family room... he is looking forward to having access to the washer and dryer, lol.. I told him we will make a schedule... I told him his number one priority is getting caught up on his bills... he has gotten behind the last six months or so... and then saving money so he can be on his own again... he's been on his own for three years now so moving home will be a bit of an adjustment... but between work and his friends he will have plenty of freedom... it will be a bit of an adjustment for everyone, especially with all the pets... Holly will set them straight I'm sure...

I have pork roast, potatoes, carrots, mixed veggies with herb and garlic marinade in the crock pot for dinner... I have started making son2 a list of things he needs to accomplish today and tomorrow... I need to get the laundry done and wash all the bedding... Straighten up the kitchen and wash the dishes... Vacuum the family room... Sit in the sun... watch a movie or two... watch some Buffy and Emergency... Be a lady of leisure on my bday day... two whole days to get things I want to do done without going to work... and then the family vacation starts on Sunday....

Happy Journaling...

Color Carnival #5

To Play Visit Martha...

My very first Indian Blanket flower finally bloomed this week from the seeds that Martha sent all the way from Florida!!

Happy Journaling...

Saturday...

We have been watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer that I got for Mother's Day... Son2 and son3 are hooked! We are on Season 2... Episode 3 of season 2 is where Spike the vampire enters the picture... He's my favorite vampire....

Here we are half way through another Saturday and I have got nothing done as usual... Son2 is watching Big Daddy with Adam Sandler and son3 is conquering the galaxies on his Star Wars video game... I've gotten dressed, yay me, lol, washed and dried two loads of laundry, ventured into son2's room and found all his dirty laundry and am now on load one of that, ate a banana nut muffin for breakfast, had a cola and my headache is finally gone, wandered outside and killed two black widows and trimmed the roses, rescued pictures from Picasa and Photobucket that I saved to the computer to replace the lost ones in the computer crash, played a bit on Facebook but it kept freezing up and decided what I will cook for dinner....

I had planned on washing the floors today and washing the dishes and pots and pans... fill the birdfeeders and put a flea collar back on Holly... get all the bday cards ready for the month and pay the bills... and fold and put away all the laundry... I might get to it...

Son2 got an 81% on his effect of video games on teenagers report... imagine what he would have gotten if he had spent a week on it researching instead of just the weekend... still amazes me how he just throws things together at the last minute and still gets good grades... he brought home some sort of packet I have yet to see of homework for the summer for advanced English next year... and he and his friends yesterday were making their summer plans for sleepovers and such...

Son3 still had homework up til this past Thursday but he is now done... Next week they have fun activities planned all week... Monday is Movie day and Water Day to play in the school sprinklers... Tuesday is game and drawing Day where they can bring games and such to do in class.... Wednesday they are going to the park next to the school... and Thursday is the last day of school!!!

Hubby and I have been so blah lately... neither of us doing a great job of keeping up with our chores around the house and going to work too... My work has gone back to being stressful again when I was just getting into a routine and enjoying it... Sunday is ad set again and finish opening the boxes... Monday we have to do the count on Men's shoes this time plus we are having a VIP visit... Tuesday I really need to stock athletics... Wednesday I am off... Thursday I have to scan the men's and athletic shoes but I have a short day as I have to pick up son3 and then I am on vacation for nine days... Next Friday is my bday and then the next week we are going to Monterey... Can't wait... Hubby and I are so in need of just getting away and having a day off together...

I don't hear anything of washing and drying in the laundry room so better go switch things around....

Happy Journaling....

Color Carnival #4

To Play Visit Martha...







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June is here...

Another week gone by... the weeks and days are flying and yet there are still six more days of school left.... I'm worse than the kids... Last week we did not go to Back to School night... we did go to the movies but saw Night at the Museum... It was funny!! lots more action and characters too... of course the next day the teacher asked son3 why he didn't go to back to school night and he told her he was at the movies, lol....

Son3 has field games tomorrow at school... relay races and such... he's not sure about it... says he can't run fast and last year he fell down... I told him you are not a first grader any more, you are in second so I'm sure you will do better and it's just for fun anyway... then next week they have a field trip to the park right next to the school... wonder if they will have an end of year water day playing in the school sprinklers... Son2 is just waiting for finals next week....

Had a lot of drama last weekend... Not sure if the computer crashed or just wigged out but in my attempt to fix it, I erased the whole computer... And all our pictures from 2008 to now... plus the boys folders, son2 said he didn't have too much in his, I'm hoping son1 had transferred all his pictures to his zip drive to put on his new computer, but hubby lost a lot of pictures and a lot of artwork he hadn't transferred to his new computer yet... I had even put all the pictures in folders just waiting to transfer to CD's, what was I waiting for... Plus other instructions and such we had scanned into the computer for safe keeping and all the graphics I had collected last year.... Mostly we are sad for losing our San Diego and Monterey vacation pictures from last year and bdays and Halloween and Christmas... I have some from blogger/picasa that I might be able to retrieve... and I put some on smilebox but I can only view them on the blog not save them back... I lost all our emails we had saved from friends and family and all the pictures friends and family had sent... I have always wanted to clean up the computer, lol, well it's clean now, except the stuff we have put back in just to be online again... I didn't even install AOL as I can access it from my SBC account which I have linked to Internet explorer... So we are limping along on the basics... Hubby is wanting to get me a laptop for my bday, so we went to Best Buy on Sunday and liked the Dell's we saw... I was surprised how much lower the prices are compared to the last time I was wishing... Of course feeling guilty for getting a reward for crashing the computer... so am thinking of getting hubby a new Canon camera he has had his eye on for his bday at the end of the month...

I am still trying to figure out the lesson for losing everything on the computer... because I am spending too much time on the computer... maybe to appreciate the computer more instead of being mad at it for taking up so much time... we are past the shock phase and into the grieving stage of having lost so much... we have the memories... and I told the boys we will just have to do everything again so we can take more pictures...

Work has still been stressful with all the processes and more computer frustrations... probably why I didn't have patience with the computer at home cause between work and home computers both running as slow as molasses I had had enough... Eight more days til my bday and I will be on vacation....

Hubby will be home from work any minute and we are going to the grocery store to fill our bare cupboards....

Happy Journaling...

Weekly happenings...

Wednesday again and my day off.... Hubby is off today too as he had his annual doctor check up appointment... The boys have early day and will be home from school soon... I've just been tending my crops in facebook, washing dishes and doing laundry...
Hubby asked if I had been out to see the roses today... told him I'm still updating the roses from the weekend, lol, actually do a blog entry on the day it happened...
Sunday and Monday work went fast with the new processes we have to do now and going in at 6am both days... Sunday was set the ad and open boxes; Monday was count women's shoes and open boxes; Tuesday was stock men's shoes, stock clearance and open boxes...


Holly keeping cool over the weekend in the sprinklers...


Burgers cooking... looks like a face... Didn't seem much like a holiday on Monday between going to work, we didn't even get to dress in patriotic colors like we usually do, and the boys having homework, and I forgot to put up decorations in the yard...


But dinner was tasty...


Son3 and his finished rain forest diorama that he and hubby built... I helped him with his report... that wasn't as much fun...


Son2 working on his report on teenagers and the effect of violent video games... he had a list of topics to choose from and that is the one he picked... He was a bit stressed as he waited til the weekend and hadn't even done the research yet... I also realized the project he told me he did before spring break could not have possibly gotten done as he saves everything to the last day... so hubby was not happy with him for lieing... he did tell me that he forgot over spring break and showed up for school the day it was due... that I believe... the problem is school is so easy for son2... he aces all his tests and papers he does write, but then gets zeros on the things he forgets about or thinks are no big deal... so then he gets C's on his report card where he should have gotten an A...


Tonight is Open House for son3... Would I be a bad mom if I suggested we go see Star Trek instead... We didn't get to do anything fun over the holiday weekend and we are all home early today... Hmmmmm will see what everyone thinks... of course son3 will want to do both....


Happy Journaling...