Hope to see you on Turkey Day Jack Jack!

My Grandson Jack Sparrow, is Studious, a Streaker and a Dog Trainer.  We were lucky enough to have him for a couple of nights last week and he is also a wonderful "cuddle bug" in the morning.  I had all these grand plans to sweep him away and have pictures taken and go to Aunt Liz's house, but time flies by then he is napping or we are having fun and it's too late, or I haven't gotten out of my jammies yet.  I remember how hard it is to get a schedule going with a baby, it takes a lot of planning and time, umm, I guess I am a little out of practice.  He definitely is a streaker, at one point he ripped his diaper off and ran to the door, was he going to streak the neighborhood?  If he could have reached the doorknob I bet he would have.  And it is amazing how much attention he got from all three dogs.  They followed him everywhere, I am sure it is because he is just so sweet.  My favorite time those two days though, I would have to say, we made him a comfy little area to sleep downstairs and Stevi and I had a camp out with him, in the morning when he woke up, he was so quiet, but I noticed he was awake so I got him a bottle and cozied up on the couch with him and we cuddled and fell back to sleep together.  Ahh.......True Love, pray for us that Jack can come back at Thanksgiving, a month is too long as it is!

Congratulations Lucky Shamrocks!

Wow, we got the call Thursday evening that Stevi's soccer team made it to tournament.  When we first saw this team, we were not sure they would ever win a game.   They were all the late sign ups and left overs from other teams and had enough to barely form one more team.  And they were amazing.  We had to win the first game Saturday which was at 10:00 to battle for first place and we tied so the girls had a shootout.  Stevi had an amazing goal kick during the game that was halfway down the field into the goal over everyone's heads and during the shootout, she was one of the goal kicks that won them the game, everyone calls her blaster and legs, rightfully so, she kicked that ball and Jay said it was a 90 mph fastball, the goalie moved out of it's way.  So then we had time to kill so we ran into town because the next game didn't start until 3:30 and Stevi needed shoes for her costume because we had Halloween Bunko at 6pm.  I didn't even think about the time because we were so excited that they were going to battle for  1st place and I didn't realize that afterwards was the trophy and awards ceremony for the whole league.  So needless to say, we missed Bunko, with good reason though, even though we all had our costumes ready for Bunko, it was obviously worth it to see the smile and happiness on my little girl's face as she and the team received a SECOND PLACE TROPHY! for the U12 girls, second only to the team that Stevi used to play on, Shane's team, which has never been beaten.  We didn't get home until almost 6:30 and poor Stevi was exhausted and her legs were throbbing but what a wonderful day!  They now have their after party on Tuesday evening with their individual team awards....go go go!  All in the life of a soccer mom!  I'M SO PROUD OF YOU STEVI!!!

Somebody left behind.....

Ahhh, 840 miles down 1160 to go to reach my 2000 mile goal on my Harley.  

We started out on Friday morning, Jay and I left the house at 6:15 am to get gas and meet the rest of the HOG group at the Carson City dealership.  We had 20 bikes show up to go on the last ride of the year which is called "Sierra to the Sea"  We end up in Point Arena, just outside of Mendocino.  It really is a beautiful ride, it took us 11 hours to get from Reno to Point Arena and as we rode through the mountain ranges to finally get to our destination, all I could to was suck that beautiful smell up into my nostrils, whether it was pine, cow manure or skunk, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I have had such a busy summer with Stevi being involved in everything under the sun we have not been able to get more than 3 rides in this year, coming from last years Head Road Captain and the Ladies of Harley Director, that is pretty sad.  I guess as your children get older, they actually require more time and attention when you thought it would have been the other way around.

  We rode into Point Arena just after 6pm on Friday evening and stopped at their version of a grocery store and Jay, Denise and I split out groceries into thirds for the weekend so we would have healthy snacks and breakfast while everyone else raided the liquor isle.  I guess they were in a hurry to get their party on........because they left me and Jay at the store.  We ended up catching up, but in my book that is a no no, kind of like when you and your girlfriends our out on the town, you go out together, your stay together, you leave together, right?  RIGHT!  So we arrived at the lighthouse keepers quarters and Jay was really worried about getting stuck in the party house but we lucked out,  we ended up staying with Lori, Mark, Ray and Janey, Denise was supposed to be locked in as our roomy but it didn't work out, she stayed next door, (their are 4 houses that sleep  6 each)  and just came over every morning and afternoon to snack and have breakfast.  Saturday we rode up to Bodega Bay.  We went in 2 groups and we rode in the last group, it was really foggy and we decided after going to dinner the night before and not being able to see a car length in front of us, it was a little too dangerous on those windy roads.  We ended up meeting our friends Mike and Debbie  in the morning and they rode us in, the roads are so windey it takes almost 2 1/2 hours to go 80 miles or so.  The highway we were on is highway 1 which is the road I was on when I crashed my Dyna 3 years ago.  I'll tell that story in my memoirs at a later date...ANYWAYS.....we are in Bodega Bay and we went to the old school house where they filmed "The Birds" by Alfred Hitchcock, which I have never seen, but have been told around 50 times this weekend that I HAVE to.  Then as Mike and Debbie where getting on their bike, Jay, leading the group took off like a bat out of hell, and left me there AGAIN!  I am a road captain, and we are never supposed to leave anyone behind so I patiently waited for Mike and Debbie and we arrived around 15 minutes after everyone else, Jay was freaking out because he had no idea he left us, next time check your mirrors dingbat!  So then we had lunch and as we were leaving the wharf, Cat and Jerry got stuck in the parking lot and were around 6 cars behind the group.  I kept checking in my mirrors and couldn't find them, over and over, the road was so curvy I wasn't sure if I was missing them because of the trees or because they weren't there.  After around 45 mins. we got to a stop sign and signaled Sena who was our road captain back to Point Arena and signaled her to pull over at a safe spot.  We told her we were missing Cat and Jerry and Jay headed back to find them, around 15 minutes later he came back and said "Nothing"  We told them to go ahead because they had tickets to go see Janiva Magness at the Blues Festival and Jay, Mike, Debbie and I made it all the way back to Bodega Bay were we found them.  They had taken their eyes off the road for just a second and a car stopped right in front of them, and instead of breaking, he accelerated and slammed right into the back of the car.  We sent Mike and Debbie back to the lighthouse to let everyone know what was going on, none of us had phone service and Jay and I stayed with them until a tow truck got there around and hour and a half later, in the meantime all the locals were coming to see what was going on and we watched three young boys break into the Grange Hall and steal champagne and chug the bottle down while we were fixing what we could of the bikes.

  The ride back was miserable, Cat and Jerry on my bike with no foot pegs and me on the back of Jays with no back rest almost sliding off his barhopper seat for the whole 2 1/2 hours, my legs where shaking from squeezing and my back was killing me from just the tention I am sure.

Sunday we decided to rest, we were all sore and the four of us were exhausted from the long day, but I announced to the group that I was training in honor of Kathy Taylor who was a HOG member and I would be walking/running the 2 1/2 miles up to the diner and they were welcome to join me.  To my surprise 7 of the group showed up in sweats and tennies or leather and boots and ran/walked the 2 1/2 mile to breakfast!  I was so excited and a couple of the girls may do the marathon with me!  After breakfast Ray was the only party pooper and road bitch (on the back of a bike, for all you civilians out there), back to the keepers houses which was hilarious because he ended up riding on the back of the only Honda that came with us.  He got so much crap for that the rest of the weekend it, was funny.  That day the men watched football, we watched seals, whales, napped and read books until dinner which Heidi cooked in their house, lasagna, salad, german chocolate cake and mint chocolate chip ice cream.  Back to bed and up bright and early to leave by 7:30.   Then Sena blew her stater in her Dyna and had to ride up to Santa Rosa in an Envoy with Cat to go to the dealership and make arrangements to get her ride fixed, so now Jerry and Sena both have a bike at the Santa Rosa Harley Dealership getting fixed, and as they are riding off, Mike dropped his Heritage and broke the mirror off, cracked his windshield and bent his foot peg.  It's always and adventure, there was much more drama but it is almost midnight and I am done!  So we are back safe and sound, in one piece except for maybe some of the bikes, gotta love it, always somebody left behind, but we are always retrieved!

Accomplishment!!!

Off to Joanne's today, I need to finish Sage's quilt by putting on the binding and backing.  I spent around 5 1/2 hours on the top yesterday and finished it! I already had some strips sewn together but all the pictures are from yesterday.  I am so excited, it turned out wonderful, so now my two beautiful nieces will both have quilts from their Auntie Beautiful.  My mom came over in the afternoon and we did day 2 of our marathon training.  It was easier and I must admit, I was looking forward to the running part.  I am going to train again this afternoon and Stevi is going to run with me before gymnastics,  I know I am not supposed to over train but I need to get my 3 days in when I can, the rest of my week will be too busy and Friday-Monday we are riding the Harley's up to Highway 1 to see the coast and the lighthouses, hopefully not through snow!  I will try to run a couple of times along the coast, that will be pretty, and easier too considering we live at 5200 feet above sea level.  After today my training will be 3 days of 5mins. walking and 2 mins. running.

Poor Stevi"punkin"Lynch.........

We were looking forward to a quiet evening.  Stevi was spending the night with her friend Cierra and wouldn't be home until 9pm Sunday evening.  They had a whole girls weekend planned so after Stevi's soccer game ( which was in 34 degree weather I might add)  I brought her over the hill to Cierra's house and then had a nice quiet shopping experience at Costco.  Came home and unloaded groceries then planned on making seasoned flank steaks and stuffing for a nice relaxing dinner.  Jay and I tag teamed and cooked dinner together and sat down to eat when the phone rang.  You can always tell by your child's voice when something is not going well.  

Stevi: Mommy, I am having an allergic reaction to something!

Me:  Ok well, do they have Benedryl?

S: Yes I already took one but my eye is swollen shut and I can't see! (Stuffy voice, sounding like she just stuffed to wet cotton balls up each nostril as far as they would go)

M:  OK well you can take one more take one more and call me back if you need me to come pick you up.

Phone rings 10 minutes later.........she is coming home.  She is 11 and is not usually over dramatic, but she is an 11 year old girl at her friends house so I thought she might be milking it a bit..............I WAS NOT PREPARED TO SEE THIS!  She looked like she had just lost a UFC fight with Kimbo!  Her eye was swollen shut and looked like she had a golf ball crammed under her eyelid.  She has been having allergy problems for the last few months and she is taking Nasonex, Naphcon A and Allegra D,  I think we will be making another trip to the Doctor to see about a Kenalog (sp) shot..........Like Father Like Daughter!

First training session down and my 40 list!

I DID IT!  My first day of training, a day ahead of schedule, It's not much, but I did it,  and my mom came over to start with me!  I feel great, we started with our 6min walking then 1 min. running repeated 3 times.  It was a lot easier than I thought and I could have kept going but instead we came back home and took the dogs up in the hills for a hike. I plan  on doing the half marathon which is 13.1 miles in stead of the full marathon at 26 miles.  Next year, I will try the full marathon and I am going to stick to it.  

Now for my 40 list.  Liz had a 32 list of things to do before her next birthday.  She is ahead of me since my birthday was in July , so I think I will give myself one year from today, so I will try diligently to complete all 40 before October 11, 2009.

1. Lose 10 lbs.
2. Run a half marathon
3. Raise $1000+ for Breast Cancer Research
4. Invite a friend out to breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee once a month.
5. Clean the garage.
6. Put 2000 miles on my Harley.
7. Buy MYSELF something the first weekend of every month, no matter how small.
8. Devote 3 hours a week to sewing
9. Refinance our house
10. Payoff at least one bill
11. Continue to grow my hair out.
12. Ride my bicycle around Reno
13. Ride my bicycle around Tahoe
14. Take at least 6 more sewing classes
15. Sew something for myself
16. Make xmas gifts for everyone
17. Take at least 6 more knitting classes
18. Learn how to make fabulous soap
19. Give myself at least one facial a week
20. Deep condition my hair at least once a week
21. Stick with my 3 day a week workout on top of Training for Race for the Cure
22. Call a random person once a month and tell them why they are important in my life.
23. Take one day a week to "chill"
24. Stay in bed all day and read a book
25. Watch movies all day
26. Get the old business desk out of our bedroom
27. Input receipts in Quick Books at least every 3 months to stay on top of it for tax time.
28. Help someone in need when I am able to.
29. Donate time at the homeless shelter around the holidays in the kitchen.
30. Buy things with pink ribbons on them when at all possible
31. Hike up Davis Creek all the way to the top (7 miles uphill I think)
32. Join the hiking club with Achieve Fitness
33. Go horseback riding with my sister.
34. Have more family game nights.
35. Help Jay finish the gazebo
36. Buy some good running shoes (Ann recommends Nike Air so that's where I will start)
37. Get at least 7 hours of sleep per night.
38. Learn to say no more often
39. Be a bit more frugal
40. Live life for the day, not the past or the future.

For the love of a friend......

I love Judy, and I wish I could help her get through her cancer.  I don't know what I can do other than just love her and be there for her when she needs someone.  I thought about it over the last few years, I have had many friends that have fought the battle of breast cancer and won, lost or are still in the battle.  I want to run the Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure marathon and I plan on doing it.  I never started because I am not a runner.  I hate running, I can't run, so why should that stop me when I am healthy and able to.  Of course I finally committed myself to it and decided I would start my training on Sunday. I look outside and it is snowing, yes, non stop,  I would say that we have about an inch by now, so now what? I guess I will have to find a gym nearby and pay to run on a treadmill since I don't have one.  Please standby me and encourage me, I plan on doing this to raise money for Breast Cancer Research.  This week my training schedule as a beginner is to train 3 days this week, 6 minutes of walking then 1 minute of running repeated 3 times.  I can do this, would you join me and maybe we can start team and do next years events that are all over.  I wish I could make a difference, it's not much, but it's a start.  If you can't start training with me, would you be willing to support me by donating?  And also ask me how my training is going occasionally so I will keep it up?  Thanks!

Sky Tavern 2009!

So we got Stevi signed up for Sky Tavern, Snowboard program.  The season starts the beginning of January of 2009.  I was going to get her a bus pass for Saturdays but while we were standing in line waiting, they were asking if anyone wanted to be a snowboarding instructor.  I asked what was required and Jayson met all the requirements so I called him and he said he would do it.  He needs to complete an instructors course which they provide, and commit to Saturdays during the season, he can also go any Sundays that they need an instructor and Stevi can go for free.  I saved $75 on the bus pass as well because she will be riding up with brother.  After this season, he will be certified and be able to get a job as an instructor at any of the ski resorts.  This is a good deal for me, Stevi and Jayson.  Also Jayson has a job a Zumies so if we use his discount, we can get a snowboard, boots and bindings for around $25 more than we would have rented them for the season at Mogul Mouse.  Busy, busy,..... but now we will have Sundays to ourselves from around 8-4 and that is relaxing me just thinking about it, I just have 3 more months to go............

Update on All before 10:30 blog.....

I don't think you want me to post any of the pictures I found but anyways, here is an update on the blog I posted October 2nd.  Stevi's bus driver sent a fax to the school from the hospital and had it messengered to Stevi in her class room that she is doing fine.  She had 5 kidney stones removed and will be out until her recovery from her next surgery she has scheduled in a couple of weeks.  So she is doing fine and the pain she was experiencing was from a completely different issue.  I know how that is, before I had my gallbladder removed, I went to emergency 3 times, once they hooked me up to ekg thinking I was having a heart attack, then they said I was having an anxiety attack.......when you are in that much pain, you have no idea where it is, just that it is there.......so Sarah, I hope you recover quickly and Stevi will see you in November when she is back in school.

So You Think You Can Dance?

I just love this kid...last night we went to dinner at Hacienda and then went to go see So You Think You Can Dance.  This kid Joshua Allen, was my favorite from the beginning and actually won.  I loved him from the beginning, his passion, emotion, tough guy looks, and school of hard knocks determination.......but with a teddy bear tenderness.  If this show is coming your way, you really should go.  We went last year and this years show was completely different, but just like last year, you fall absolutely in love with these kids.  They are amazing and extremely talented and bringing Stevi to classes, recitals and  competitions, I get emotional.  I can't imagine what their families are feeling when the see them on the show and on tour.  Awesome, Awesome, Awesome........if you go, I promise you won't be disappointed!

All before 10:30 am.....ON MY DAY OFF!

Wow, today is my day off, so I was woken up by my wonderful Angel with a cup of coffee, the ulterior motive, we just cut her hair short and she wanted me to flat iron it.  Ok, I have coffee, not a problem, she knows how it works around here.  So I get my gym clothes on to go to my pump class and flat iron her hair, then head out the door at around 8:30.  Get out of the driveway and have to stop behind her bus up the street, only the hazard lights are not on, the stop sign is not pushed out and the bus is at a crooked angle,  kids are making really confusing hand gestures out the back window.  Stevi tells me to go around, someone is probably getting into trouble.  No....something is wrong, so after around a minute or so I get out to investigate, of course Stevi is horrified!  I then have to pry the doors open because the bus driver is slumped over the steering wheel and is hyperventilating.  I calm her down slightly and yell to Stevi to call 911.  Apparently, she has the same female issues I was going through and is having surgery in a couple of weeks, but she is in extreme pain and can't take any pain pills because she is driving the bus.  I think what happened is she was in so much pain, she got her self worked up into an anxiety attack and couldn't get it under control then started to hyperventilate.  I sat with her and tried to calm her down, in the meantime, the kids started to panic.....so I had to use my Bubba personality and tell them to sit down and be quiet.  Of course that made 1 or 2 of the little guys start to cry, now I am hugging little ones and going back and forth from kids to bus driver.  We got a hold of the bus yard and they dispatched all drivers in the area to come pick up kids for school, so Stevi would then run to the bus and see how many they could fit, first bus could fit 20......counted 20 off and had them start to go to the other bus, of course some were hysterical then because they had brothers or sisters they were leaving behind on the bus, so I had to explain that they would all be taken to the same school..not working, ok, who has a brother or sister on the bus raise your hands.......ok, separated them so they could stay together, of course they all wanted to then sit by their siblings whom they had probably fought with all morning.  It was amazing to me to see how frightened these kids were, I think she was probably going pretty slow when she pulled to the side of the street but she was pretty worked up so the kids probably felt like they crashed somewhat.  Finally the 2nd and 3rd bus came so we got all the kids to school, now 4 buses were full of kids and late, then Stevi went with the last batch of kids and I stayed with her until the fire department came.  I felt so bad for her because she was so embarrassed and a couple of the older kids were laughing, probably nervously about it, so as they were leaving the bus I said " Yeah I am sure this would be funny if it were your Mom or Dad right?"  That stopped the snickering right away.  I made it to my Pump class, missed step before it, but had enough adrenaline going I worked out hard.

Afterwards I went to Starbucks to use a free oatmeal coupon my mom had given me and got a skinny vanilla protein latte, then sat down to call my dear dear friend Judy who is not doing well with her cancer.......she broke my heart, she is on the way to the oncologist again and said she would call me when she gets back, she sounded so weak and defeated, I had planned on going over and doing some housework for her today and some grocery shopping since her husband has been working overtime and trying to get her to all her doctor appointments and do the cooking and cleaning........then I had a little to much time to sit and think.......now I am sitting outside Starbucks holding my phone trying to choke down my oatmeal and crying because one of the best friends I've ever had is struggling with all she's got and the cancer was in her breast, she had a mastectomy, was in remission, but now it is in her lungs, ribs, spine and she just found out it is in her liver too........WHY GOD, WHY HER!!!  So I broke down, I need to get it out so she doesn't see me like this because that isn't going to help her or her husband when I go over later.  Jay is at work, my mom is at work, my sister is at work, Stevi is at school, the dogs just want to lick my face, so I called Jayson, I was crying, I need someone to hug me just so I can be the one being hugged for once.....big bad Bubba huh?  Well, my 6'3" 225lb. Baby boy is on his way to give his Mommy a hug, so don't worry, I will be back to Bubba in no time.......all before 10:30..........

Life is a Melting Pot......

The night was September 29th, it was Monday, we all had to work even Mother Elaine who had her 65th birthday.  The restaurant we originally chose, Lulou's now closes on Sunday and Monday evenings, due to the economy?  That is what I think.  So I gave Liz a few suggestions on some restaurants I thought Mom would enjoy that was not a typical dining experience.  After looking on line she chose the Melting Pot, and I was ecstatic, I have wanted to try it for over a year, being that it is pretty expensive, I have been waiting for a special occasion to suggest it to someone, how often does ones Mom reach 65?  So my Mom and I dropped Stevi off at gymnastics and arrived approximately 45 minutes early, just in time to enjoy a Beefeater's Martini together while we waited for the baby of the bunch to join us.  We had a wonderful dinner which included an appetizer, apples, bread and other vegetables to dip in a nice Swiss cheese we agreed on, then for dinner, lobster, shrimp, broccoli, salmon amongst others to cook yourself in a pot of some sort of broth, then for desert lots of fun yummy stuff to dip into the chocolate.  From what I hear, there are Melting Pot restaurants all over, if you want to try it, it is a very enjoyable experience, plan on at least 2 hours and around $75 a piece to try all the treats.  All in all 5 stars, but definitely a special occasion place to go!  

Now for an explanation on the above pictures......

1. Me, Mom and Liz before dining 
2. Liz and Mom looking over the menu's
3. Liz and Mom STILL  looking over the menu's
4. My Mom has something in her teeth and Liz is trying to flap the prices down on her menu
5. Liz doing a shot after the bill arrived.