Next Meeting Wed. Oct 20th at 915am.

Always check pizza BEFORE leaving!

I am very annoyed right now. Ordered Cheese and look what I received. It's my fault. I should have looked inside the box BEFORE leaving the place. Ugh! Question: Has this ever happened to you?

Would You Leave a Tip? How Much?

Tore up from the floor up!

I searched high and low for my remote. Emptied the trash cans, looked in the toilets (don't ask) and everywhere else I could think of looking. Exhausted, Frustrated and Defeated, I went to bed. When I woke up this morning, a voice (my granny would have said, oh baby, that was GOD) whispered for me to check Gracen's kitchen set! Wouldn't you know... Miss Gracen thought it was a good idea to microwave the computer wireless remote. She's only 16 months. I am afraid to ask what else will she come up with to drive me batty. I am just going to fasten my seat belt and get ready for the ride!

Military Family and Friends Pot Luck!

Babies and Babbling!

She was babbling on the phone as if she really had friends on the phone! Her face was so serious !!! Toooooo MUCH!!!!!

Reflecting on the meaning of Friendships! I have to keep reminding myself the BIG difference between FRIENDS and ACQUAINTANCES.
A very valuable Lesson Learned!

Lessons from the Kindergarten Corner!

I am not above learning lessons from my kids! My son ran out the back door without his shoes on and I said, "Hey, come back in here and put some shoes on" and he said, that's not a nice word! Me: What did I say? DJ: You said "HEY" *sigh, he's right. That's a rude way to call someone's attention!

Dinner is ready!!!!!!!!

I said say cheese and she did this!

My vote: Thumbs Down!

David Goes To School! Thumbs Down!

Have you read this book? Thoughts?

Target! 75% off brown dot clearance!

Life is short...Eat Dessert First!

De Luna Fest! Worth the trip? Yes or No

Darrin received these tickets for beating his race time today at the 5K! Great Job!

It's the weekend baby!!!

Too Cute!  She's posing for the camera!

Here's to another great weekend spent with family and friends.

We have quite a bit planned for the weekend and hopefully we will get a chance to relax a little before back to school on Monday!

Whew!

Friday

Family Luau on Corry Station

Saturday

5K run in the morning (Darrin will be doing this)

I will be doing the bedside portion in support of course!

Ladies Brunch at the church

Birthday Party

Sunday

Church

Football

Stir Fry (after church meal) 

Couples Social Event with other members of our church

FREE childcare will be provided!  Yes, Yes, Yes.  Thank You!

Monday-Back to School and the weekly routine!

What are your plans for the weekend?

Good Morning Brunch!

Watch out Der Now!! Pasta Salad (cuc, tom, olives) Mini Sausage (egg and cheese) Biscuits Apple Crisp Bake (raisins, oatmeal, flour, sugar, butter and little water to bind it) Yummmmm!!!!!! Wish me luck! I am on my way to a MOPS event brunch and this what I am bringing! Have a great day Everyone! Disclaimer: what have I learned? Prepare and refrigerate dishes the night before and get up the next day and bake it all. This way you won't have to get up at 5am trying to scramble eggs! LOL!

Why Me? Seriously, why me?

(I am posting from my bootleg phone sorry for the typos and grammar)


Ok, since we are on a roll laughing at all of the CRAZY stuff that happens to me in the course of a day.  I was at the market picking out Cherry Tomatoes and the produce police comes over to ask what I was planning to make.  


Ok, so I am looking around wondering why this dude thought it was OK to even come over to talk to me.  Anyway so I told him I planning to just slice them and throw this in a pasta salad with olives, cucumbers and whatever I can come up with.  I then put back the package and picked up another one.  He asks what's wrong with that package, I said nothing.  There are about 6 green tomatoes in there and I only want RED ones.  


Then what seems like the heavens opened to give this man the audacity<<--I love using this word.  


He said, "well you do know tomatoes all start off GREEN and then later on they turn RED", giggling and walks off shaking his head.

*silence* as I walk off biting my lip.

Why Me?  Seriously WHY ME?  I don't bother anyone.  I truly don't bother anyone.  This dude thought it was OK to say this to me?  AHHAHHHAAAA well, he was right.  I better get with the program.  Geez.  First the panhandler and now the produce guy.  I am staying in the house for the rest of the week.

Feel free to laugh at my expense.

Photoshoot with Crystal. Sept 2010

Thank You Crystal at Crystal Belle Photography!

(more photos to come)

She won't deliver mail if box is BLOCKED

Do you have a postmaster like the one we have? I hope not! Grrr...

CARRIE UNDERWOOD is coming to San Diego!

CARRIE UNDERWOOD is coming to San Diego Sports Arena Friday, October 1st and she wants to say "THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE" to all military and first responder personnel! 

Beginning Monday, Sept 20th at 10am through Friday, Sept 24th at Noon, you can receive a $10 ticket* to see Carrie perform on her Play On Tour with special guests Billy Currington and Sons of Sylvia.

Just bring your ID to the Sports Arena Box Office to purchase your tickets or go to ticketmaster.com and enter your special passcode (thankyou) in the promotions box.

 Join Carrie and her special guests Billy Currington and Sons of Sylvia for the Play On Tour at: San Diego Sports Arena on Friday, October 1st at 7:30 PM. *Plus applicable service fees.

Offer good while supplies last. 6 ticket limit per ID

Lisa Watanabe MCAS Miramar ITT/Travel Manager (858) 577-4141

Brilliant Babies!

My friend crystal took some photos of gracen at the park! Every time she took a few photos, gracen would walk over and point to the camera and point, "---see, see, see" pointing to the camera. Ok so let me see if I can understand this. 16 month old knows how to preview photos on a camera? I am done with her! LOL It's like she's approving which photos were best to use! Say what???? :)

WHAT IS A GRANDPARENT?

WHAT IS A GRANDPARENT? (Taken from papers written by a class of 8-year-olds) Grandparents are a lady and a man who have no little children of their own. They like other people's.A grandfather is a man, & a grandmother is a lady! Grandparents don't have to do anything except be there when we come to see them. They are so old they shouldn't play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the shops and give us money.When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars.They show us and talk to us about the colors of the flowers and also why we shouldn't step on 'cracks.'They don't say, 'Hurry up.' Usually grandmothers are fat but not too fat to tie your shoes. They wear glasses and funny underwear. They can take their teeth and gums out. Grandparents don't have to be smart. They have to answer questions like 'Why isn't God married?' and 'How come dogs chase cats?' When they read to us, they don't skip. They don't mind if we ask for the same story over again. Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don't have television because they are the only grownups who like to spend time with us.They know we should have snack time before bed time, and they say prayers with us and kiss us even when we've acted bad.A 6-year-old was asked where his grandma lived. He said: 'Oh, she lives at the airport, and when we want her, we just go get her. Then when we're done having her vitis, we take her back to the airport.'Grandpa is the smartest man on Earth! He teaches me good things, but I don't get to see him enough to get as smart as him!

Secretariat-The Impossible True Story (Giveaway ends October 8th)

Based on the remarkable true story, “Secretariat” chronicles the spectacular journey of the 1973 Triple Crown winner.  


Housewife and mother Penny Chenery (Diane Lane) agrees to take over her ailing father’s Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge.  


Against all odds, Chenery—with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich)—manages to navigate the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and what may be the greatest racehorse of all time.

Against all odds, housewife and mother Penny Chenery (Diane Lane)—with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich)—navigates the male-dominated horseracing business, ultimately taking Secretariat on a spectacular journey to become the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and perhaps the greatest racehorse of all time.

FUN FACTS

·         IT TAKES FIVE -- The production relied on five horses to play Secretariat—four thoroughbreds and a quarterhorse. Not only did they have to perform like the champion equine, they also had to look the part. To replicate Secretariat’s white signature markings, everyday Lisa Brown (Horse Continuity) painstakingly painted the three distinctive white socks and the facial white stripe and star on to each of the horses. 

·         NOSE TO NOSE -- Nelsan Ellis (Eddie Sweat) experienced a very close relationship with all the horses—sometimes a bit too close. During the course of production he was nuzzled, bitten in the stomach and stomped on.

·         DISCOVERED -- One of the horses that played Secretariat in the film, Trolley Boy, was discovered in true Hollywood fashion after winning a Secretariat Look-Alike contest held at the Secretariat Festival in Paris, Kentucky. According to Diane Lane, Trolley Boy brought his own special talent to the role. When shooting close-ups with Lane, Trolley Boy had a tendency to chew the bit loudly which often caused her to laugh and break character.

·         PUZZLED -- The cast and crew of “Secretariat” were addicted to crossword puzzles, especially Diane Lane, John Malkovich and Margo Martindale. Lane was such a super fan of the brain teaser; she created her own crossword puzzle during production.

·        PEACHES -- The fluffy blonde wig that Diane Lane wore in the film was playfully nicknamed Peaches.

·         INSPIRED -- Make-up artist Julie Hewett used Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis as her style icon when designing the look of Penny Chenery in the film. Photographs of the former First Lady were plastered all over the walls of the make-up trailer.

·        UP CLOSE -- In order for the audience to get the jockey’s perspective, director of photography Dean Semler attached small, lightweight digital cameras to sticks and positioned them close to the horses as they thundered down the track. The horses got used to these cameras being in such close range, but the same was not true for the actors. When recreating Ronnie Turcotte's famous look back during the Belmont Stakes, Otto Thorwarth peered backwards and was startled by camera.

·        AUTHENTICITY -- The production used the actual Triple Crown trophy, on loan from the Kentucky Derby Museum. The coveted cup was created by Cartier in 1978 after Affirmed won the Triple Crown in preparation for the next winner.  It had to be handled with gloves and was hand carried back and forth between Kentucky and Louisiana.

·         DOUBLE DUTY -- The head of the make-up department, Michael Mills, played a fellow golfer alongside John Malkovich’s character Lucien Laurin. Lead horse wrangler Rusty Hendrickson not only cast the horses in the film, but he also portrayed a fry cook in a diner scene.

Secretariat Stats:

·         BIG HEART -- Secretariat’s heart was twice the size of an average horse’s heart.

·         RECORD BREAKER -- Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths and still holds the record time at 2:24 for 1.5 miles.

·         COVER BOY -- In 1973, weekly mags Time, Sports Illustrated and Newsweek all featured Secretariat on their respective covers the same week.

·         AMONG THE GREATS -- Secretariat was ranked the 35^th Greatest Athlete of the 20^th Century by ESPN.

·         A STAR IS BORN -- During the peak of Secretariat’s career, the William Morris Agency would book the horse’s appearances the same way they would any of their other (two legged) mega celebrity clients.

ABOUT THE MOVIE

Based on the remarkable true story, “Secretariat” chronicles the spectacular journey of the 1973 Triple Crown winner. Housewife and mother Penny Chenery (Diane Lane) agrees to take over her ailing father’s Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge. Against all odds, Chenery—with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich)—manages to navigate the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and what may be the greatest racehorse of all time. In theaters Oct. 8, 2010.  For more information, check out Disney.com/Secretariat; like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/Secretariat, and follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/DisneyPictures.

**Press materials including images, video clips, and synopsis can be found at: http://media-file.net/10/secretariat/

Genre:                                      Drama

Rating:                                      PG

U.S. Release Date:                 October 8, 2010

Cast:                                        Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Dylan Walsh, James Cromwell, Kevin

Connolly, Nelsan Ellis, Dylan Baker, Margo Martindale, Otto Thorwarth, Fred Thompson, AJ Michalka and Scott Glenn

Director:                                    Randall Wallace

Producers:                                Mark Ciardi & Gordon Gray

Executive Producers:                 William Johnson, Mike Rich

Written by:                                Mike Rich (writing credit not final)

Suggested by the book:              “Secretariat: The Making of a Champion” by William Nack

Notes:

• In 1973, Secretariat became the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in 25 years, setting race records that still stand today in the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes.
• Penny Chenery, now 87, is an integral resource in the making of the film.  She also appears as an extra in one of the film’s scenes. 
• In 1973, Secretariat graced the covers of three magazines the same week:  Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated. 
• Director Randall Wallace, whose directorial credits include “We Were Soldiers,” is the Oscar®- and Golden Globe®-nominated screenwriter of “Braveheart.” 
• In 1999, the U.S. Postal Service unveiled a 33-cent postage stamp with Secretariat’s image. 

Now on to the GOOD STUFF!!!!!


I have great news!  I have been given the chance to host a giveaway to announce the release of the movie. Secretariat-The Impossible True Story.

ITEMS FOR GIVEAWAY: 

Update:  All of the items listed below!!!!!!!

Men’s T-Shirt

Women’s T-Shirt

Youth T-Shirt

Hat 

How to enter:  Post your favorite movie!

For Extra Entries:

Blog about this giveaway

Grab my blog button

Facebook, Twitter or any other social network site.  

Be sure to leave a comment with each one you complete.  

Bonus: Enter daily for more chances to win.

Like SECRETARIAT on Facebook at: Facebook.com/Secretariat.

Follow SECRETARIAT on Twitter at: Twitter.com/SecretariatFilm

SECRETARIAT hits theaters on October 8^th, 2010.  

Giveaway Ends on Friday, October 8th.  9am CST. 

Winners will be chosen by random number generator.

Disclosure:  I haven't received any monetary compensation for this post.  I am hoping to receive a t-shirt once the giveaway is over.  The administrators of the giveaway have assured me that they will do their best to provide the same or similar product as my blog winner.  The reason why I chose to post this giveaway because of the story of a housewife going against all odds to make her dream come true.  That hits home with me!

It takes a village!

Was just "scolded" by an elder.

To be honest, I truly deserved it.*sigh*

 On the way out of the store, I stopped to get a copy of the local paper from the vending machine. Before I coulf get a tighter grip on her arm, Gracen darted out the front door and this guy in a wheelchair stopped her quick and screamed for me to keep a closer eye on my kid! All I could say was, you are so right.

Sir, Thankfully you were there to stop her before an accident happened. *Thinking to myself, I knew that I should have kept her strapped in the bootleg stroller* Needless to say the people on the way in and out of the store caught the end part of the incident and only saw me getting scolded by a guy in a wheelchair!

 Oh did I mention that he was a panhandler too? Yes, so of course I scrambled to give him all the spare change I coulde find and I hurried off to my car with sounds of him "reminding" me there are crazy people in the world and I need to keep a better watch on my kid. I just waved and smiled embarrisingly all the while thanking GOD for watching over babies and fools.

 Now excuse me while I go an V just thinking of what could have happened if an accident were to come to my children.

 I am a parent. I am NOT perfect.

RSVP: 8507233046

Parenting Tip of the Day! (Best and Worst Snacks for Kids)

I received this email from a parenting website:

Parenting Tip of the Day 

We've got a list of the best (and worst) things for your kids to snack on, just waiting to be printed and posted on your fridge.

Among the best: American cheese, chocolate milk, cantaloupe, and other fruits.

The worst:
French fries, fruit leather, and soda are among the top junk-food offenders to cross of the grocery list for good.

Question: What are your favorite healthy snacks for kids?

Also, what are the "unhealthy" snack(s) you like to make semi-healthy for your kids?


Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Liberty Church.Wed.Sept 18th. 930-1130am

Are you planning to attend the MOPS sessions for the 2010-2011 year? Go to http://mops.org for more information and to find a local organization in your area. Momology-The Art and Science of Mothering. MOPS-Mothers of Preschoolers (expectant moms to kindergarten age children) Looking forward to growing and sharing in the mothering journey with friends in our community.

Do you put bumper stickers on your car?

Say Eeeeeeee!!!

Fri. 7pm.Story Time at Barnes and Noble.

Our local Barnes and Noble hosts a Pajama Story Time every Friday. We saw our friend Ashley and her daughter Sophia and took photos with Corduroy the Bear! It was a really cute time with cookies for the kids as a bonus. Have you ever attended the Pajama Story Time at Barnes and Noble? Do you dress your kids in pajamas?

Gracen Ahlia-Happy 16 months!

Happy 16 months Gracen Ahlia!

Bootleg way of making dipping sauce!

IThanks Shelly for the Tip!!!!! :)

Unforgettable Me.

I have been reconnecting with a few old classmates from High School on Facebook.

I received a friend request from an old classmate from 8th grade! WOW!

I had to study the face and name because as much as the name sounded and looked familiar, I couldn't remember the details.
When I looked at her friends list (come on now, am I the only one to do this)? I recognized other classmates and quickly began sending a few notes of greetings.

Out of the 3 people I sent messages of greetings, they all responded with "of course I remember you! Who wouldn't remember you!?!"

These replies made me sit back and think.

Do I really have an unforgettable personality?

Like, if you met me, you would never forget me?

Hmmm...this is a very interesting revelation.

Needless to say, we have all reconnected through Facebook and sharing our family updates and pretty much picking up where we left off.
Facebook! Fun Times!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

The NED Show! Too Cute!

The N.E.D. Show presented an assembly today at the school. NED stands for: Never Give Up Encourage Others Do your BEST Very Cool Show!

New transitions and a moment.

The usual routine, baby girl starts out falling asleep in our bed. Then daddy transfers her into the crib when it's time for us to go to bed. The other morning I went in to check on her and slightly screeched because she wasn't in her crib, she was in her toddler bed. This is the sight of her sleeping soundly in her bed. Funny thing, through my minor scream, she didn't budge one bit. Hmmm...looks like she's fine and dandy in her new digs. The transition was easier than I thought. Crossing fingers to stay this way! Happy Monday!

Sleeping Beauty!

I love watching my sweet baby when she's sleeping. She's growing up so quickly! Thank You God for our sweet baby girl.

Do you like crawfish?

I will not eat crawfish. It doesn't seem appealing at all. Corn on the cob, potatoes and crawfish on a newspaper? I will pass!

Dress! Gift from @jennifer keaton! <3

Thank You!!!!!!

Independent Toddlers

Gracen stood at the door watching her brother outside riding his bike with friends. She was banging on the screen door calling his name. You could tell she really wanted to be out riding her bike with the big kids. I took her to the garage and picked out his old big wheel. She was so excited, jumped on and scooted (her feet can't reach the pedals) down the driveway. She was so proud of herself. Go Gracen! You're growing up so quickly.

Ummm...

Baby Play Date-Gracen and Ivan!

Wordless Wednesday!