We spent WAY more than my previously mentioned 'target' on family pics. Here's a link to an 'animoto' of some of the pics. The photographer took over 100 pictures - it was really hard to narrow it down. We placed an order for a lot of pictures. Good thing we don't do this very often.
http://animoto.com/play/K0a0mTC6jlBGpnAPez0T4w
I'm not sure how long I'll leave this link up - and the photographer is (hopefully, since I just emailed her asking her to) updating the animoto with more pictures. It was a fun photo shoot and I think this illustrates that well. And I have really great looking kids and a fantastically photogenic husband!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
SCC Rocks!
The Steven Curtis Chapman concert last night was FANTASTIC! My friend J. and I arrived around 2PM - we were not the only people 'camping out' there. We were about 20 people back in one of two lines. It was a pleasant afternoon - we played some backgammon (which we both played in our younger years but had to relearn and refresh ourselves). I won once. She won once. It was too windy for cards. We just chatted with each other and the people around us. The weather cooperated with moderate temps and a nice, cooling breeze. They opened the doors at 6:30 and the show started just after 7. It was just SO GREAT! There was laughter, tears, joy, sorrow, great music and wonderful faith-filled fellowship. A success all around. It was great. I was so wound up when I got home that I couldn't fall asleep until well after 2AM. It was THAT good.
Thanks to J. going out and getting us Baja Fresh for dinner around 5, we moved our cars to FANTASTIC parking spaces. Backed in and were able to easily exit the parking lot - I was home by just before 10.
AND, I increased my 'tank average' in my car from 27.2 gallons average MPG to 27.6!! Probably because my route home was 'backroads' and I drove very carefully - increasing my MPG is a 'theme' lately - my husband's is hovering around 37MPG since he bought his hybrid - so you can see I have a ways to go.
Yesterday was my husband's 59th birthday. It was wonderful of him to let me spend HIS birthday elsewhere. Tonight, we are feasting on massive amount of Chinese food at his favorite Chinese place here in town. I will be leaving shortly for a bit of shopping - since I never actually got to that during the week. AND because he won't usually say anything he 'wants' and we have a strict rule that we don't just buy 'stuff' just to buy. We have to WANT something.
I bought a bunch of souvenirs last night - a couple t-shirts, a necklace that I'm wearing as a bracelet, etc. I don't know WHY I buy this stuff - and my friend J. said 'now I'll have to read about your clutter on your blog'. No, you won't - 'cuz you don't HAVE to read if you don't want to. :-) But, I decided to use the necklace as my new 'hanging from my rear view mirror' decoration for the car...and the wristband will also be covering the strange 'cord like' thing that goes from the glass to the mirror. SO, that may be a good purchase after all - though it's still ridiculous to buy a little sweatband for my wrist with SCC's likeness. THAT was a stupid purchase - but I'll make the best of it! And the CD is GREAT!
J., my friend - thank you for going with me. For spending an afternoon chatting and sharing. It was great fun - and the concert, though amazingly fantastic - was really second to the great time with you. Our friendship means the world to me and you have always been such a blessing in my life. Thank you for being such a wonderful friend. I'm so lucky to have you in my life.
SCC, you are so amazing. I just can't thank you enough for sharing so much of your life with us last night. You warmed our hearts and reminded us of the promise we all have in Jesus. You are witnessing that promise for all of us everyday, in every concert, every song. I was deeply touched by your honesty and most importantly, your faith. I would have never imagined someone who lost their young daughter only 4 months ago could do what you did last night - but you DID. And those of us blessed to be there will never forget that experience.
Thanks to J. going out and getting us Baja Fresh for dinner around 5, we moved our cars to FANTASTIC parking spaces. Backed in and were able to easily exit the parking lot - I was home by just before 10.
AND, I increased my 'tank average' in my car from 27.2 gallons average MPG to 27.6!! Probably because my route home was 'backroads' and I drove very carefully - increasing my MPG is a 'theme' lately - my husband's is hovering around 37MPG since he bought his hybrid - so you can see I have a ways to go.
Yesterday was my husband's 59th birthday. It was wonderful of him to let me spend HIS birthday elsewhere. Tonight, we are feasting on massive amount of Chinese food at his favorite Chinese place here in town. I will be leaving shortly for a bit of shopping - since I never actually got to that during the week. AND because he won't usually say anything he 'wants' and we have a strict rule that we don't just buy 'stuff' just to buy. We have to WANT something.
I bought a bunch of souvenirs last night - a couple t-shirts, a necklace that I'm wearing as a bracelet, etc. I don't know WHY I buy this stuff - and my friend J. said 'now I'll have to read about your clutter on your blog'. No, you won't - 'cuz you don't HAVE to read if you don't want to. :-) But, I decided to use the necklace as my new 'hanging from my rear view mirror' decoration for the car...and the wristband will also be covering the strange 'cord like' thing that goes from the glass to the mirror. SO, that may be a good purchase after all - though it's still ridiculous to buy a little sweatband for my wrist with SCC's likeness. THAT was a stupid purchase - but I'll make the best of it! And the CD is GREAT!
J., my friend - thank you for going with me. For spending an afternoon chatting and sharing. It was great fun - and the concert, though amazingly fantastic - was really second to the great time with you. Our friendship means the world to me and you have always been such a blessing in my life. Thank you for being such a wonderful friend. I'm so lucky to have you in my life.
SCC, you are so amazing. I just can't thank you enough for sharing so much of your life with us last night. You warmed our hearts and reminded us of the promise we all have in Jesus. You are witnessing that promise for all of us everyday, in every concert, every song. I was deeply touched by your honesty and most importantly, your faith. I would have never imagined someone who lost their young daughter only 4 months ago could do what you did last night - but you DID. And those of us blessed to be there will never forget that experience.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Enjoyed
It's been a lovely five day weekend. I don't have massive lists of accomplishments to report - and yet, I did get 'stuff' done and was not too sloth-like. A bit of sloth..but I did manage to be 'productive'.
Yesterday, after lunching in Livermore with a friend, I made a trip to Home Depot to procure more 'grass patch mix'. We still have a few spots that need fixing. I also did a mini-Costco shop, picking up the couple things we forgot on Sunday - and pizza and salads for dinner.
Today, I resisted the urge to go to Jackson - mainly just trying to be frugal - what I would (most likely) lose combined with the gas to get there - and added to that, my somewhat 'sloth like' feeling today that I just didn't want to spend an hour and a half each way in the car. So I went to OSH to look around and found grass patch mix for A THIRD of what I paid yesterday - it's not the same brand, but it's the same 'mix' of seeds - and it was only $5 per bag for three times the amount. I bought 3 bags. Then I had to return the purchase from yesterday, so back to Home Depot. Thankfully, HD is near a drive thru you-know-where, so I procured my daily ration of caffeine.
While the cleaning ladies were doing their thing, I ran my errands. When they finally made it into the study, I took Chloe outside with me and worked out there a bit. It was HOT but I cleaned up some 'stuff' in the little space between the walkway and the fence - some plant stuff, a bit of recycling that's made it's way out of the trash can. It looks tidier. I also cleared out the patio planters where our plants died - I got a little too wrapped up in year-end and didn't water everyday - during the hottest part of our summer so far - and I lost quite a few plants. Since I'd also procured some plants at HD yesterday, I cleared out the dead plants, and readied the pots for fresh potting soil (put the old soil in a section of the flower bed that I've named 'the soil depository'). It now needs to be 'raked' into the existing soil and I'll get to that this weekend, hopefully.
It's funny how 'good' I feel that the trash bin is overflowing (just stuff we've tossed that needed tossing - mostly from the garage) and the recycle bin is full. And the lawn trimming bin is also not too empty - all those things are signs of 'progress'. I've recycled papers from last year's school binders; tossed things that we don't need and can't donate (little things the kids bring home that sit around cluttering up the place for no apparent reason); trimmed, weeded some, etc. It's a good feeling to have overflowing waste receptacles. It's strange to me - but I might make that a 'goal' - try to fill the waste cans 'cuz that's a sign you've done stuff around the house that needs doing. And the added benefit of a continually expanding visible concrete floor in the garage is an added highlight.
Of course, there are zillions of things I didn't get to - and I need to. But hopefully, the three days of work this week won't shatter my motivation and I can continue working on stuff this weekend. That would be nice.
We had the 'chip repair' guys come and patch the chips in the van window. I don't commute over the Altamont anymore - and it seemed pointless to repair them when I was likely to get another one (or two or dozen) imminently - but since we're trying to sell it, we got them fixed - 100% covered by our insurance. J. also went to the DMV today to get 'new' plates for the van so we can save my 'personalized' plates for the Mariner. They say [heart symbol]MI2SNS - Love my two sons. I sort of considered letting that plate go - sometimes, I think people read it as 'Love my two sins'. And since the outer frame says 'Teedle and Boo' (the nicknames for the kids when they were babies), I think people are looking at me trying to figure out exactly what two 'sins' are metaphorically being called 'Teedle and Boo'. I'll leave it to YOUR imagination. Go ahead. You know you will.....anyhoo - so I considered letting them go and just getting 'regular' plates. But I do love my two sons, so I'm keeping them. Thanks to J. for helping with that. Now, we wait for the Mariner 'regular' plates to arrive and then take them back to the DMV, with the personalized plates we have in the garage (safely stored) and put the Mariner's ID # on the personalized plate. It's a complicated process - but thankfully, J. already blazed the trail a couple years ago when he bought his new car. So that 'to do' is off the list.
We are sitting on the edge of our seats watching the stock market's crazy ride this week. The government bailing out AIG is not a good thing. How many bail-outs can the government keep doing? And while I realize there must be very serious reasons for doing that, I still don't feel good/comfortable with it. It will affect consumers either way - if they fail, it will have repercussions. But the government spending BILLIONS of $$ to shore them up - wow. I just can't wrap my head around that.
J. got a call today from a person asking if they should put their money in gold. His advice? No advice. We don't give advice to people. And just the fact that they're calling and asking should be their first (OF MANY) clues that they have no idea what they're doing and would be better to just keep their money in a bank somewhere. WE are less than 10 years from retirement (for J. at least - it now officially looks like I'll be working for the rest of my life) - and we're still holding tight. You have to invest for the long term. You can't have knee-jerk reactions that lead you to make bad decisions. Truth is the stock market is a relatively 'safe' place - sure, it has volatile times (as evidenced by NOW) but by and large, it is a good place to keep investments. And I look at it this way: we both work. We have good jobs. We can conceivably work for another 20 years if we had to - not that we want to - J. certainly doesn't - but we could if we have to. So if we lose absolutely everything (which isn't likely), we could rebuild. And we will probably be fine - the economy will turn around. Not sure when. Not sure how. But it will....so we, like many Americans, wait it out. Trying not to bite our nails, spend extravagantly, panic. We just hold tight and wait. And pray we don't have 8 more years of the current party in the Office of the President.
I did not check emails much - primarily because my mailbox is so blooming full that I didn't want to frustrate myself with trying to clean it out. I'm sure emails are bouncing back to people - and I'm fine with that. I will move stuff to folders in the morning, first thing, which at least clears the in basket enough to allow new emails to come in. I did pop in the office last night to get my laptop - thinking I would work on emails today - but I didn't open it once. I did check my voice mails and returned a couple calls - but that's it. I have done NO work for five days. At least not any work worth calling 'work'. I have a pensive feeling that I'll be paying for that shortly - there's always so much to do - but I really needed the break and I'm grateful I took it.
OK - back at it shortly.
Yesterday, after lunching in Livermore with a friend, I made a trip to Home Depot to procure more 'grass patch mix'. We still have a few spots that need fixing. I also did a mini-Costco shop, picking up the couple things we forgot on Sunday - and pizza and salads for dinner.
Today, I resisted the urge to go to Jackson - mainly just trying to be frugal - what I would (most likely) lose combined with the gas to get there - and added to that, my somewhat 'sloth like' feeling today that I just didn't want to spend an hour and a half each way in the car. So I went to OSH to look around and found grass patch mix for A THIRD of what I paid yesterday - it's not the same brand, but it's the same 'mix' of seeds - and it was only $5 per bag for three times the amount. I bought 3 bags. Then I had to return the purchase from yesterday, so back to Home Depot. Thankfully, HD is near a drive thru you-know-where, so I procured my daily ration of caffeine.
While the cleaning ladies were doing their thing, I ran my errands. When they finally made it into the study, I took Chloe outside with me and worked out there a bit. It was HOT but I cleaned up some 'stuff' in the little space between the walkway and the fence - some plant stuff, a bit of recycling that's made it's way out of the trash can. It looks tidier. I also cleared out the patio planters where our plants died - I got a little too wrapped up in year-end and didn't water everyday - during the hottest part of our summer so far - and I lost quite a few plants. Since I'd also procured some plants at HD yesterday, I cleared out the dead plants, and readied the pots for fresh potting soil (put the old soil in a section of the flower bed that I've named 'the soil depository'). It now needs to be 'raked' into the existing soil and I'll get to that this weekend, hopefully.
It's funny how 'good' I feel that the trash bin is overflowing (just stuff we've tossed that needed tossing - mostly from the garage) and the recycle bin is full. And the lawn trimming bin is also not too empty - all those things are signs of 'progress'. I've recycled papers from last year's school binders; tossed things that we don't need and can't donate (little things the kids bring home that sit around cluttering up the place for no apparent reason); trimmed, weeded some, etc. It's a good feeling to have overflowing waste receptacles. It's strange to me - but I might make that a 'goal' - try to fill the waste cans 'cuz that's a sign you've done stuff around the house that needs doing. And the added benefit of a continually expanding visible concrete floor in the garage is an added highlight.
Of course, there are zillions of things I didn't get to - and I need to. But hopefully, the three days of work this week won't shatter my motivation and I can continue working on stuff this weekend. That would be nice.
We had the 'chip repair' guys come and patch the chips in the van window. I don't commute over the Altamont anymore - and it seemed pointless to repair them when I was likely to get another one (or two or dozen) imminently - but since we're trying to sell it, we got them fixed - 100% covered by our insurance. J. also went to the DMV today to get 'new' plates for the van so we can save my 'personalized' plates for the Mariner. They say [heart symbol]MI2SNS - Love my two sons. I sort of considered letting that plate go - sometimes, I think people read it as 'Love my two sins'. And since the outer frame says 'Teedle and Boo' (the nicknames for the kids when they were babies), I think people are looking at me trying to figure out exactly what two 'sins' are metaphorically being called 'Teedle and Boo'. I'll leave it to YOUR imagination. Go ahead. You know you will.....anyhoo - so I considered letting them go and just getting 'regular' plates. But I do love my two sons, so I'm keeping them. Thanks to J. for helping with that. Now, we wait for the Mariner 'regular' plates to arrive and then take them back to the DMV, with the personalized plates we have in the garage (safely stored) and put the Mariner's ID # on the personalized plate. It's a complicated process - but thankfully, J. already blazed the trail a couple years ago when he bought his new car. So that 'to do' is off the list.
We are sitting on the edge of our seats watching the stock market's crazy ride this week. The government bailing out AIG is not a good thing. How many bail-outs can the government keep doing? And while I realize there must be very serious reasons for doing that, I still don't feel good/comfortable with it. It will affect consumers either way - if they fail, it will have repercussions. But the government spending BILLIONS of $$ to shore them up - wow. I just can't wrap my head around that.
J. got a call today from a person asking if they should put their money in gold. His advice? No advice. We don't give advice to people. And just the fact that they're calling and asking should be their first (OF MANY) clues that they have no idea what they're doing and would be better to just keep their money in a bank somewhere. WE are less than 10 years from retirement (for J. at least - it now officially looks like I'll be working for the rest of my life) - and we're still holding tight. You have to invest for the long term. You can't have knee-jerk reactions that lead you to make bad decisions. Truth is the stock market is a relatively 'safe' place - sure, it has volatile times (as evidenced by NOW) but by and large, it is a good place to keep investments. And I look at it this way: we both work. We have good jobs. We can conceivably work for another 20 years if we had to - not that we want to - J. certainly doesn't - but we could if we have to. So if we lose absolutely everything (which isn't likely), we could rebuild. And we will probably be fine - the economy will turn around. Not sure when. Not sure how. But it will....so we, like many Americans, wait it out. Trying not to bite our nails, spend extravagantly, panic. We just hold tight and wait. And pray we don't have 8 more years of the current party in the Office of the President.
I did not check emails much - primarily because my mailbox is so blooming full that I didn't want to frustrate myself with trying to clean it out. I'm sure emails are bouncing back to people - and I'm fine with that. I will move stuff to folders in the morning, first thing, which at least clears the in basket enough to allow new emails to come in. I did pop in the office last night to get my laptop - thinking I would work on emails today - but I didn't open it once. I did check my voice mails and returned a couple calls - but that's it. I have done NO work for five days. At least not any work worth calling 'work'. I have a pensive feeling that I'll be paying for that shortly - there's always so much to do - but I really needed the break and I'm grateful I took it.
OK - back at it shortly.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Sunday
We had a very productive day today. J. and I worked hard on the garage. Tidied, culled, swept, etc. Still lots to do but we made progress and the swept concrete floor pleases me for reasons I can't explain. J. inventoried several bags of Goodwill and he will (I hope) drop it off at our local charity on Tuesday this week, or next. Once those bags are out of there, and the recycling is taken to the recycling center, we'll have some clearer space. Still so much out there that is 'garage sale' ready. We just need to actually have the sale. Soon, I hope.
We also worked in the backyard - used the Scott's Patch Mix to try to fill in some spots in the yard that have been suffering all summer. Not sure if we're having sprinkler problems, dog problems or both - but we had a lot of patches that needed reseeding. A friend of ours told us about the patch mix - looks like mulched paper that has seed in it - and we put it down on top of some new top soil (after breaking up the surface a bit with the weed tiller), water and wait. It should show new grass growth in a few days. I'm going to go get some more patch mix tomorrow to finish the back and also do a couple (much smaller) places in the front that need attention.
We all slept in this morning and skipped church. I know - but I just needed a 'commitment free' day and that included no church. J. and I headed to Costco around 1ish and did a fairly large shop. Then we worked out back.
I'm lunching with a friend in Livermore tomorrow. Tuesday has no firm plans, though the cleaning crew comes and I like to get out of the house when they're here. Still, I'm not likely to go anywhere 'cuz I don't want to spend any money. Maybe a movie? I'll see. Not sure. Am 'in the mood' to continue working on various projects - like the garage - and may just work along side the cleaning crew, trying to stay out of their way.
The van has For Sale signs. We drove it to Costco today and J. will drive it to BART tomorrow. He'll try to drive it a bit over the hill and hope we get a call. If we get desperate to sell it, we'll drive it up to CarMax in Sacto and see what they offer. It looks terrific and has been well maintained - so it should sell quickly. But, in this economy, nothing sells quickly. So we wait.
We got a letter from our attorney reminding us that we should update our estate documents - which we do need to do. The arrangements that currently exist are not what we want anymore - and yet we hold off 'cuz we're not sure what to do, exactly. B. will be 18 in 4 months. It's not that he would be ready to assume responsibility for himself - nor his brother - but it's hard to re-do guardianship arrangements for a kid who's legally going to be an adult in 4 months. And what about his brother? Still, we have to do something - we don't want them to go where our current arrangements say we do - and ultimately, we want them to stay in this town. So we have to think about this and try to figure out what we can put in writing. Thinking about all this makes me uneasy. It was hard enough to put it all in writing 2 years ago - and now it's going to be hard to re-do everything. We need to make the appointment with the attorney, talk through the things that have changed and see what he suggests. I know we need to do it. I'll feel a lot better once it's done. But honestly, when I'll really feel better is when H. turns 18 in 2.5 years and we won't have to worry about guardianship arrangements anymore.
The news is full of bank failures, insurance firms selling off assets, etc. It's a scary time in our economy. My nerves are frayed. I dreamed last night that gasoline was approaching $10/gallon - some futuristic dream. We all seemed 'fine' with it - like it was the norm. And it may be....things are getting a bit crazy, don't you think?
We also worked in the backyard - used the Scott's Patch Mix to try to fill in some spots in the yard that have been suffering all summer. Not sure if we're having sprinkler problems, dog problems or both - but we had a lot of patches that needed reseeding. A friend of ours told us about the patch mix - looks like mulched paper that has seed in it - and we put it down on top of some new top soil (after breaking up the surface a bit with the weed tiller), water and wait. It should show new grass growth in a few days. I'm going to go get some more patch mix tomorrow to finish the back and also do a couple (much smaller) places in the front that need attention.
We all slept in this morning and skipped church. I know - but I just needed a 'commitment free' day and that included no church. J. and I headed to Costco around 1ish and did a fairly large shop. Then we worked out back.
I'm lunching with a friend in Livermore tomorrow. Tuesday has no firm plans, though the cleaning crew comes and I like to get out of the house when they're here. Still, I'm not likely to go anywhere 'cuz I don't want to spend any money. Maybe a movie? I'll see. Not sure. Am 'in the mood' to continue working on various projects - like the garage - and may just work along side the cleaning crew, trying to stay out of their way.
The van has For Sale signs. We drove it to Costco today and J. will drive it to BART tomorrow. He'll try to drive it a bit over the hill and hope we get a call. If we get desperate to sell it, we'll drive it up to CarMax in Sacto and see what they offer. It looks terrific and has been well maintained - so it should sell quickly. But, in this economy, nothing sells quickly. So we wait.
We got a letter from our attorney reminding us that we should update our estate documents - which we do need to do. The arrangements that currently exist are not what we want anymore - and yet we hold off 'cuz we're not sure what to do, exactly. B. will be 18 in 4 months. It's not that he would be ready to assume responsibility for himself - nor his brother - but it's hard to re-do guardianship arrangements for a kid who's legally going to be an adult in 4 months. And what about his brother? Still, we have to do something - we don't want them to go where our current arrangements say we do - and ultimately, we want them to stay in this town. So we have to think about this and try to figure out what we can put in writing. Thinking about all this makes me uneasy. It was hard enough to put it all in writing 2 years ago - and now it's going to be hard to re-do everything. We need to make the appointment with the attorney, talk through the things that have changed and see what he suggests. I know we need to do it. I'll feel a lot better once it's done. But honestly, when I'll really feel better is when H. turns 18 in 2.5 years and we won't have to worry about guardianship arrangements anymore.
The news is full of bank failures, insurance firms selling off assets, etc. It's a scary time in our economy. My nerves are frayed. I dreamed last night that gasoline was approaching $10/gallon - some futuristic dream. We all seemed 'fine' with it - like it was the norm. And it may be....things are getting a bit crazy, don't you think?
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Willpower
One of my favorite pictures of H. is him in a metal washtub, complete with rubber ducky. He was about 8 months old. His shirt is off and he's sitting in the washtub, smiling his sweet smile. I took him to the Sears portrait studio, and promised, PROMISED myself and J. that I would buy the 'basic' package. I don't remember the exact cost - but I was trying to keep it down to whatever the 'minimum' package was. We were trying so hard to save money. Only the darn photographer took that washtub photo, and a couple others....and the next thing I knew, I'd left the shop with a lot of pictures...spending far more than I intended. I felt a bit mad at myself for doing that - but one look at that picture, and I quickly forgave myself. I mean, the grandparents needed it. We needed it. Aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, strangers on the street needed it. I couldn't help myself. I bought the full package....all sizes, various poses. They were incredibly cute pictures.
That's sort of what happened today - B.'s Senior pictures came out wonderfully - and we picked 3 poses. 2 with cap and gown and one without. Bought lots of the year book pose (in a tux) and then couldn't decide between two of the cap and gowns - one smiley, one serious - so I bought a small package of one and a medium package of the other. I bought the 'deluxe' package of the yearbook pose, including plenty of wallets to include in the graduation announcements we'll send out in the Spring. I just couldn't help it...and the prices weren't outrageous. It's not that it's expensive by pose - it's just that there are so many darn poses to choose from...and it's hard to narrow it down.
The photo shoot was tons of fun and I'm sure we got some good pictures. The photographer was nice and fun - and we took poses of me and the kids, J. and the kids, all of us together, me and J. together, the two boys together, and the boys separately. Yikes. Can you see how many possible 'packages' will result from this session? It's going to be hard....and expensive. We also got a shot outside of H. from his orthodontist - they will post it in their office for awhile and then we'll get to keep it - it was a gift from the ortho. And we also took one family shot outside, which will be nice.
I'm so glad we did it - it was fun and the kids were in good spirits. I thanked the boys profusely for humoring me and agreeing to do this - and I know we're going to end up spending a fortune. But I'm fine with that.
We went out to brunch after - there's no place downtown that serves breakfast so we settled for a lunch place that opened right at 11, just when we'd finished (that was a full hour of photo taking). Then J. quickly got H. to the soccer field where he was able to ref one game. B. left for work at 12:40.
We have the picture selection appointment next Saturday at 4PM. My goal is to get out of there for under $300.
That's sort of what happened today - B.'s Senior pictures came out wonderfully - and we picked 3 poses. 2 with cap and gown and one without. Bought lots of the year book pose (in a tux) and then couldn't decide between two of the cap and gowns - one smiley, one serious - so I bought a small package of one and a medium package of the other. I bought the 'deluxe' package of the yearbook pose, including plenty of wallets to include in the graduation announcements we'll send out in the Spring. I just couldn't help it...and the prices weren't outrageous. It's not that it's expensive by pose - it's just that there are so many darn poses to choose from...and it's hard to narrow it down.
The photo shoot was tons of fun and I'm sure we got some good pictures. The photographer was nice and fun - and we took poses of me and the kids, J. and the kids, all of us together, me and J. together, the two boys together, and the boys separately. Yikes. Can you see how many possible 'packages' will result from this session? It's going to be hard....and expensive. We also got a shot outside of H. from his orthodontist - they will post it in their office for awhile and then we'll get to keep it - it was a gift from the ortho. And we also took one family shot outside, which will be nice.
I'm so glad we did it - it was fun and the kids were in good spirits. I thanked the boys profusely for humoring me and agreeing to do this - and I know we're going to end up spending a fortune. But I'm fine with that.
We went out to brunch after - there's no place downtown that serves breakfast so we settled for a lunch place that opened right at 11, just when we'd finished (that was a full hour of photo taking). Then J. quickly got H. to the soccer field where he was able to ref one game. B. left for work at 12:40.
We have the picture selection appointment next Saturday at 4PM. My goal is to get out of there for under $300.
Torture
In just under two hours, we will be implementing a Saturday morning torture session known as 'Family Portrait'. B. getting his Senior portraits done prompted me to schedule a sitting as a family for a group photo. Seemed like a good idea at the time.
I've seen family portraits in other people's home with dozens of people in them. I don't know how they do that - 'cuz trying to get the four of us scheduled to be in the same place at the same time has been an all consuming ordeal. Add to that the question of 'what will we wear?' and you have a drama unfolding into it's own little five-act show.
We think we are wearing jeans and white t-shirts. That's what I suggested - which I thought would be an easily accepted, casual look. WRONG. H. came downstairs night before last in a white button down dress shirt. Not suggesting that he wanted to wear a tie - but suggesting that white dress shirts and jeans would look nice. Except we don't all have white dress shirts (specifically me). And, H. doesn't wear jeans. The kid would wear shorts in a blizzard if I let him. So just mentioning the word 'jeans' is a red flag to him.
The photographic studio we're going to is pretty established and professional - and the scheduler told me they have black t-shirts, and other 'tops' we can wear - so we don't have to go out and buy anything.
I know the picture will turn out well - and I really don't care what we all wear. We haven't had a family portrait done in years - the last one was taken at Disneyland at Christmas 3 years ago. And it's a nice picture, but it's 'seasonal' [the 25 foot Christmas tree in the background is pretty hard to miss] and I want a nice, professional portrait of all of us before the boys head away to school.
We're also looking at B.'s Senior portraits today to decide which one will go in the yearbook and what package we would like to purchase. Cha-ching, cha-ching.
The van was detailed yesterday and looks brand new. The guy even buffed out the rear bumper - the only real 'body' damage there was from when I bumped into the parked car across the street one foggy, cold morning. It looks great. We're taking it to the soccer field to park for the day and hoping a soccer family sees it and has to have it! I sure hope it sells quickly so we can put that money back into savings.
OK - gotta get going - putting on makeup on a Saturday morning is an adjustment for me and I'd better get to it.
I've seen family portraits in other people's home with dozens of people in them. I don't know how they do that - 'cuz trying to get the four of us scheduled to be in the same place at the same time has been an all consuming ordeal. Add to that the question of 'what will we wear?' and you have a drama unfolding into it's own little five-act show.
We think we are wearing jeans and white t-shirts. That's what I suggested - which I thought would be an easily accepted, casual look. WRONG. H. came downstairs night before last in a white button down dress shirt. Not suggesting that he wanted to wear a tie - but suggesting that white dress shirts and jeans would look nice. Except we don't all have white dress shirts (specifically me). And, H. doesn't wear jeans. The kid would wear shorts in a blizzard if I let him. So just mentioning the word 'jeans' is a red flag to him.
The photographic studio we're going to is pretty established and professional - and the scheduler told me they have black t-shirts, and other 'tops' we can wear - so we don't have to go out and buy anything.
I know the picture will turn out well - and I really don't care what we all wear. We haven't had a family portrait done in years - the last one was taken at Disneyland at Christmas 3 years ago. And it's a nice picture, but it's 'seasonal' [the 25 foot Christmas tree in the background is pretty hard to miss] and I want a nice, professional portrait of all of us before the boys head away to school.
We're also looking at B.'s Senior portraits today to decide which one will go in the yearbook and what package we would like to purchase. Cha-ching, cha-ching.
The van was detailed yesterday and looks brand new. The guy even buffed out the rear bumper - the only real 'body' damage there was from when I bumped into the parked car across the street one foggy, cold morning. It looks great. We're taking it to the soccer field to park for the day and hoping a soccer family sees it and has to have it! I sure hope it sells quickly so we can put that money back into savings.
OK - gotta get going - putting on makeup on a Saturday morning is an adjustment for me and I'd better get to it.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
We're Going!
I got the concert tickets! I paid a fair price for them - far above what the 'retail' price was, but a number I won't lose any sleep over (and I am thankful for my many blessings that make that statement easy to make). I rationalized that I won't go to Jackson during my days off and that right there will save a chunk of $$. And yet, I may go ahead and go and just take 1/3 of what I usually take. Play for a bit, have a nice lunch and come home. Or just stay home - I'll see what I think on Tuesday when I wake up. Motivated (and wanting to vacate the house 'cuz the cleaning crew will be here)? Jackson. Not motivated? Stay home in the morning and head out for a movie when they get here to clean. We'll see. That's the really great thing about a few days off - loads of possibilities with no 'have to's'. It will be a nice break from jammed schedules, never-ending to do lists, etc.
So, my friend J. and I are spending next Friday night with Steven Curtis Chapman in Brentwood, CA. The venue is a church and I'm sure it's going to be an amazing night. We can't wait. We're meeting for dinner at 3:30 - plenty early but we want to get there and be ready to get in the door and get good seats when they open the doors at 6:00 (I think it's 6 - better check on that). I'm driving out to Brentwood tomorrow to pick up the tickets 'cuz I'm nervous about them being sent US mail - and the new car hasn't done much highway driving so a small 'road trip' would be a good thing. And then, I'll head into Livermore for lunch with a friend (also initial J.) and cruise by Mervyn's to look for shoes and socks. I need some.
Time for sleep. I will try to get some writing in this weekend 'cuz I have some posts mulling around in my brain.
So, my friend J. and I are spending next Friday night with Steven Curtis Chapman in Brentwood, CA. The venue is a church and I'm sure it's going to be an amazing night. We can't wait. We're meeting for dinner at 3:30 - plenty early but we want to get there and be ready to get in the door and get good seats when they open the doors at 6:00 (I think it's 6 - better check on that). I'm driving out to Brentwood tomorrow to pick up the tickets 'cuz I'm nervous about them being sent US mail - and the new car hasn't done much highway driving so a small 'road trip' would be a good thing. And then, I'll head into Livermore for lunch with a friend (also initial J.) and cruise by Mervyn's to look for shoes and socks. I need some.
Time for sleep. I will try to get some writing in this weekend 'cuz I have some posts mulling around in my brain.
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Tales of Helpers
Our cleaning lady D. is here today - she wears earbuds and chats on the phone while she works. She is the third cleaning 'person(s)...
