8 Months to go.....

8 months to go, 

till the family reunion, I am so excited.  My mom is starting a 6 week  yoga series with me on Saturday, Jay says he is going to start working out with me this week as well.  My sister?  Well she is a fashion model, so she doesn't have to do a thing. I am hoping we get Jack for the week as well.  The last couple of weeks have been horrible on my work out and I am hoping to start my running schedule again, May is coming awfully soon but the weather has been pretty icy. For Christmas Stevi got me a Timex Ironman watch that charts your progress and  keeps track of your calories burned.  I want to wear it today while I paint the salon, but I will have to go off of the Self chart and say that I will probably burn on average 100 calories per hour ( I don't want to get paint on my new watch!). Not that great of a work out but at least I am getting some stuff done, as well as a workout, Stevi and I will try to make it to the Energizing Yoga class tonight at 6:30 and it will probably feel good after painting and pretty much doing nothing for the last 2 weeks.  So for all you family members out there planning the reunion in 8 months, please remember, Aunt Pat is coming and she teaches Yoga all the time, we don't want her running circles around us!  Plus bring your hiking shoes, I plan on bringing all willing victims on a fun hike or two!

Knitting the "Ugly" stocking........

I think I make it look more difficult than it actually is, I am Bubba, therefore when I knit, it is not pretty, it is , picture this......as Bubba would knit.  I started a stocking for Guoda, yes a Christmas stocking, the pattern I chose is an intermediate pattern, and I decide to be frugal and instead of purchasing new yarn, I would use some Chenille yarn my sweet little sister gave me for free..........she later told me she gave it to me because it was so hard to work with.  My mother has seen me knit, it is not pretty.  But I try, the stocking has 3 rows of shingles that attach to the base then you knit the 3 needles together.  I followed the directions and special ordered the double ended needles and when I got to Madreadoptiva's house, she said.."No, no, no,  put those down!"  then went and got me her needles on the round and said, "You are going to love me for this!"  Boy what a difference!  I didn't look like I was going to snap the knitting needles in half.......(and yes you can do that, I have) I was so proud of my achievement that I proudly held up my stocking to show my loving husband and he looked at it and said......"That is ugly." then tried to fix it by saying..."well, it's not exactly pretty....."   Just like when my mom saw the fabric I chose for her bathrobe and said, "I hope that fabric isn't for me, that is hideous ."  Does anyone see a pattern here? My family is so proud of me........I can tell.  Maybe I should quit while I'm ahead, but I will not be defeated so 'BRING IT LOVING FAMILY, BRING IT!'  Because there is no crying in knitting.......It takes a lot of balls to knit like I do..........

Ready......set............slam!

"THE LAW OF LYNCH"  That is what we call it.  Kind of like Murphy's Law.......only worse.  What CAN happen WILL happen.  

Jayson and Stevi, excited, on their way up to Boreal Ski Resort to break in  their new snowboards, boots, bindings and snow pants, jackets that they got for Christmas.  Stevi couldn't sleep.  Jumped out of bed, make lunch and a snack pack for her and Brother.  Loaded everything into the car.........SCREAM!!!!!  DADDY!!! SCREAM!!! DADDY!  I thought she slipped on ice and cracked her head open, thankfully no, she slammed her finger in the car door, completely shut it in there.  She will lose her fingernail for sure.  Being ever so tough as she is, pure white and ready to pass out, blood dropping all over the garage floor, on her shoes and pants, she sat down, we cleaned it off, fed her, got her water.  She still wanted to go snowboarding, I think more because she didn't want to disappoint her brother.  They headed out, her stomach  was really upset, so I cut up a couple of cuties for her and fed her as she iced her finger and told Jayson to stop and get her a Sprite and water.  She had some Advil, ice and a package of bandages and Polysporin for the trip up the hill.  

And they are back.  Poor kid, she was so excited, she decided she wouldn't be able to enjoy herself and it is really throbbing, so she is home.

THE LAW OF LYNCH

Menu Monday

• Sunday- Shrimp Scampi with Pasta, Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes and Olives
• Monday- Chicken Parmigiana with Angel Hair Pasta, Steamed Broccolli and homemade tomatoe sauce.
• Tuesday- Chimichurri Flank Steak with Black Beans and Brown Rice with Homemade cilantro and parley sauce.
• Wednesday- Beef Kebabs and Creamy Brown Rice flavored with lemon, sour cream, paprika and parmesan.
• Thursday- Skinny General Tso's Chicken with a salad topped with Carrot-Ginger dressing and brown rice.
• Friday- Oven baked fish and sweet potato fries with a salad.
• Saturday- Ginger-Lemon Chicken Skillet with bow tie pasta and mixed veggies.

Ummm.....I have a confession to make......

So my sister said it would happen, I thought I could just do a little Crank, but once you get started, you start "Jonesing" for more.  "I'll just do a little today, and a little tomorrow and stick to my guns..."  I couldn't put  Crank down, I had to keep doing more and more.......I'm sorry, I know I planned to not pick up Crank until January 1st, but once I started, I couldn't stop.  I picked up Crank for the first time at 7:30 last night and couldn't stop it until it was all done at 12:37pm.  Crank kept me up all night.......it was unreal the feeling it gave me. Curiosity, and fear, I dare you to pick up Crank and only go to page 135.  I couldn't, I was addicted to Crank.  Now I am scared I am going to get "Burned" too.  I will post for all you blogger's who are doing the book club also and post date so it is as if I only read 135 pages per week,  but I guarantee you this, once you pick up Crank, you won't be able to stop until it is all gone.  Good job Ellen Hopkins, and thank you for taking us on this horrible journey, Wow.

Things always happen for a reason........

Things always happen for a reason.  Sometimes we are not really sure what they are but they do.  We may not always agree with the way things are going, but if life doesn't happen, we wouldn't live it, right?  I am going to be a great aunt. I am not as shocked as some may be, I think I am broken in.  Hello, I was 17 when I got pregnant with Jayson, in high school and completely terrified.  Jay and I struggled many times with financial things, jobs, youth, trying to be adults, good parents and good spouses.  We had to learn

everything the hard way, but the decision we made back in 1986, was the right decision for us.  When Jayson told me he and Chrissi had gotten pregnant, I was a little upset.  I knew Chrissi was ready to be a mom, I knew Jayson was not ready for parenthood at all.......despite what he thought.  But as I said things do happen for a reason.  Chrissi is an amazing mother.  I love Jack just as much as one of my own children, I would die if I couldn't be a part of his life.  I knew I would love that child, but not like this. Along with it comes my love for Chrissi.  She takes such good care of him, I don't worry at all.  Of course I worry for them as far as them making ends meet and little things like that, she and Jayson didn't work out.  That happened for a reason as well.  If they had, things would be alot different than they are and Chrissi and Jack wouldn't have Kevin in their lives.  You see, from the day I was told almost exactly 2 years ago, things have changed dramatically.  Jack is in Bend, Or. with Chrissi and Kevin, happy, thriving and wonderful.  Jayson, he is still growing up.  I love him to death but I do think that for the time being, things are exactly the way life intended them.  So when faced with life changing decisions, just remember, what happens is what should happen, and we all survive, as my mom always says when faced with tough challenges and decisions, "God gives us only what we can handle. " I always say, "What doesn't kill us, only makes us stronger."

Menu Monday

• Sunday: Brisket with sweet potatoes
• Monday: Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower and Ham
• Tuesday: Nacho spuds and baked cauliflower stuffed tomatoes
• Wednesday:  Sweet onion and garlic soup
• Thursday: Pot Luck at Moms for Xmas bringing Sirloin and veggie stir-fry****
• Friday: Deviled Fishwich and chips
• Saturday:  Lemon Chicken Schnitzel with roasted potatoes

Where did I get all these yummy ideas you ask? Why the Rachel Ray everyday Menu planner, check it out, it is kind of fun, no brainer and you can print out the recipes and a shopping list right off the web sight, anyways here is the recipe for Thursdays pot luck dinner I am bringing to my moms house.........

****SIRLOIN VEGGIE STIR FRY (serves 8)

Prep time 15 min.

cook time 20 mins.

3 lbs trimmed, boneless beef sirloin, sliced 1/4 inch thick 

6 tbs. soy sauce

2 bunches broccoli rage, florets separated

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil and garlic halved plus 6 tablespoons of their oil

4 large cloves garlic chopped

4 bunches scallions cut into 1 in. lengths

3-4 pickled hot peppers chopped

1 lb angel hair pasta

2 cups beef broth

2 tbs. cornstarch

1. In a bowl, combine the sirloin and 3 tbs soy sauce, set aside.
2. In a wok or large skillet, bring enough water to reach a depth of 2" to a boil.  Add broccoli rabe, lower the heat and simmer for 3 mins.  Drain in colander and rinse well with cold water; set aside.
3. Return the wok to high heat, add 4 tbs sun-dried tomato oil and the garlic and stir-fry for 1 min.  Add the sirloin and stir-fry for  for 2 mins.  Transfer the meat and its juices to a bowl.  Add the remaining 2 tbs sun-dried tomatoe oil to the wok, then the scallions, peppers and sun-dried tomatoes, stir-fry for 1 min.
4. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente, about 3 mins.  In a small bowl, stir together beef broth, cornstarch and remaining 3 tbs soy sauce.  Add the mixture to the wok.  Stir until thickened, about 1 min.  Return the meat, its juices and the broccoli rabe to the wok, cook until heated through.
5. Divide the pasta among the plates, top with steak and vegetables. 

Tales from the Chair Chapter 15

Everyday I hear it.  I need to cancel, sorry I just don't have the money right now.  Or, I/my spouse just lost their job.  We just lost our house.  We walked away/ did a short sale.  My client "Haley" was sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner when the knock on her door changed the mood of the day.......3 day notice to vacate.  Yup 3 days, she had no idea her boyfriend was even behind on the mortgage, he, too embarrassed to tell her.  It took her, him, their family and friends the whole 3 days and on that Sunday, the police came and locked them out just to make sure.  Really 3 days.  When she had all her hours cut back to 20 hrs. a week and he, a barber, is in the same boat I am in, only he only does cuts at $12 a piece, mainly on older men.  He doesn't have greying women to fall back on like I do.

Same day, my new client and friend "Tim"  told me he has been late on his lease payment for his condo every month so far,  he moved up here for a job with a 2 year contract that has recently been laying everyone off and they cut his hours in half.  His family lives in Mexico, he has no one and may not have a roof over his head soon with nowhere to go.

I can't tell you how this breaks my heart.  I hear it all day long.  I myself am late on our house payment.  What can I do, if the money is not there, it just isn't there.  I guess right now we are most of us in this position.  I could cry about it, but I just hug my clients and tell them to keep their head up, we are all struggling right now.  I was really scared about losing my house that I have put so much of our money and hearts into but you know what?  I could still be happy in a 2 bedroom apartment if I had to,  life teaches us lessons the hard way.  All the money we have saved is gone and now all of our credit card are maxed out but I have my family and my health and that is all that really matters isn't it?  We have a roof over our heads for now, if we get one of those notices on our door I guess we will cross that bridge when we get there.  For now we are swimming up stream and I don't even know how to swim, but I am learning.  

Crank it is..........

This is the book that was voted on for our first book club read.  I am not sure if you can get it at the library but I do know that my sister has offered her copy to the first ask to borrow it.  She says it is a  very easy read, I am still not sure how to do this at all so please give me some suggestions if need be.  We will start on January 1st.  I was thinking of calling it "The Book Thoughts for Thursday."  So every Thursday we will post what our thoughts are on the book for the week.  There are 537 pages in my copy but it is very easy reading so how does 135 pages a week sound to complete this book in 1 month?  It is written more like poetry so that should be easy for all of us even if we are reading other books, completing projects etc.  Let me know your opinions on this!  

Stevi's Dance Recital.........

As I watch my beautiful daughter grown up, sometimes it hurts, sometimes it is exciting, scary, confusing and just plain wonderful.  I remember when she first started at Dance Unlimited, she was unsure, unsteady and not very limber.  Now I watch her on stage and every time she gets up to perform, I am watching a new dancer I have never seen before.  She has thinned out, grown tall, gained movement, technique and facial expression that amazes me.  This week Jay mentioned that sometimes he's not always sure about Miss Gina.  I told him to get over it because she is passionate about what she does, sometimes she may come across mean, or impatient.  One thing she said a couple weeks ago at auditions, yes, just because you dance at her studio doesn't automatically place you in all the dances, some of the kids had to audition 3-4 times just to find a spot, she said...."I AM NOT PREPARING YOU FOR RECITALS!  I AM PREPARING YOU TO AUDITION TO DANCE!"  and she does,  she is hard, and always tough but she is very serious about what she does.  I have heard her tell student's and/or parents not to come back for disrupting class or not showing up, or talking back and not following direction.  If you go to other recitals, you see the difference,  the technique is sloppy, the dancers look confused and mess up the whole routine which in turn messes up the other dancers along side them and it is painful to watch.  To know Gina is to love her, you may not always agree with the way she runs things but I feel blessed that Stevi is in the studio.  It will toughen her up because as you know, auditions whether it is for dance, schools, interviews or just plain life is tough.  I have seen Stevi grow tremendously over the last 3 years, I think I do owe alot of the to Miss Gina as well.  She is helping me in many ways to develop my beautiful young daughter into a strong, poised and confident young woman.  Thank you Miss Gina.  Despite some of your strict hard rules, I understand why you are the way you are and I truly value you in our lives.  We love you and you are stuck with us!

Five things I do daily to clear my mind.......

1. Check my palm many times to see what the hell is going on next.
2. Read, whether it is the newspaper, a book or magazine, I absolutely have to read to escape.
3. Exercise or see when I get to exercise next.
4. Blog, or read blogs.
5. Accomplish at least a few things off of my written list of things to do, otherwise I stress that I haven't accomplished a thing!

What do you do?  If you read this and don't have a blog, post your 5 in your comments please!

And Heather makes 3!

It's funny, when I used to do hairshow's and in-salon education, the worst part of it was walking into a salon for the first time.  Hairdressers are so catty, it's like when you walk in you are crapping in their cat box.  One of the reason I opened a small cozy salon.  My client Janet told me her niece Heather had been looking for a salon to move her clients to but everywhere she went they were rude, or didn't give her the time of day.  "Send her down!"  I said.  She came in the next day and is just adorable, the only reason they were rude to her is probably because she is so dang cute!  Good, cuteness works for me and she is also very sweet.  We had our salon party Monday night so I invited her along to meet the other girls and see if she felt like she had a home.  We all had a great time and January 1st I will have a full house again,  I am so excited.  Heather, Jeanne and Angie are all starting out part time but that works for me.  I couldn't be happier, and now we will be open 7 days a week with a couple of girls working weekends.  I went to work early this morning and they building is almost done, painted and my signs are there and ready to go.........Things are looking up, must be the Stress Busting Strategies I have been posting.

P.S.  As you can see, Crank is in the lead for the 1st book to read............

Book ideas.........

I had a really hard time voting on one because I wish I could read ten books at once.  But here are a few suggestions to get us started!

Book ideas.........

All of these books may be researched on Shelfari.com if you have any other suggestions please feel free to make them!   We will start on January 1st please let me know how you want to do this, how many chapters a week, month etc?

No more Mrs. Niceguy!

I have absolutely had it.  I try to be patient, understanding, and relaxed and now I see that that gets you absolutely now where.  They have been putting stucco up on the building the Salon is in.  Now, that is great except they started in October and not only are the workers not done because they are never there, they are complete pigs.  I have left very considerate and patient messages with the landlord with very appreciative responses and it is still a disaster with garbage, bricks, shingles, boards with nails sticking out of them, no sign, no front light and just crap strewn everywhere.  Everyday I go to work and it is absolutely embarrassing.  I finally had a PMS fit and started calling everyday.  Mondays message was much kinder and gentler than Fridays message I assure you.  I called Friday and told them I had had it, and was not paying rent until their pigs came and picked up their garbage and all the crap all over the front of my business and if it wasn't done by 4:00 on Friday, I would do it over the weekend and take $30 per hour out of my rent check.  Magically they came and do you know  that the crew they brought with them had 2 months worth of scaffolding , garbage etc. picked up in 1 1/2 hours!   Amazing.  Now I don't have to do it Thank God, but I will still be taking the price of my Bistro Set that they broke and my front deck mats off, I also need to put up a new security light the light I had is just hanging off the front wall and doesn't work, and  my front sign which I wouldn't have had a problem paying for except now I do.   It is still not done, I still have no sign up and I have decided that from now on, it is all business.  If I try to please every one else and not ruffle any feathers, I am the one who ends up frustrated.  Moxie Lady move over, Bubba is coming in.

Two new girls for a great New Year.....

Ha ha,  I met my two new girls for lunch today at PF Changs, they are  both starting on January 1st and are going to share a station for the first 6 months and then we will re-evaluate how well they are building a clientele and see if they are ready to go full time or not.  

  Angela a.k.a. Angie, has been a client of mine for around 3 years, almost 6 feet tall, maybe a size 4, huge breast, jet black hair down to her waist with a hot pink chunk in the front, and sultry Italian eyes.  She is such a knock-out that every time she has been in the salon, if a male is anywhere in the vicinity, they are asking me to set them up, get her number etc.  Well today, lunch was on the "Head Chef" at PF Chang's......that hasn't happened to me ever, her apparently she thought this happened to everyone.  When we walked in all eyes where on her and we had around 5 male waiters attending us at all times, I felt like a celebrity, or should I say a celebrities "friend".  She is 31 and very very sweet to go with her beauty.  A rare find.

     Jeanne is 36 and a single mother of 2 with an adorable haircut and a very cute style.  Very cute as well and a little more serious, I think only because this was the first time I had ever met her.  Our lunch took almost 2 hours and we chatted endlessly about everything, I feel that they will both make a comfortable fit in the salon.   We are all getting together for cocktails and appetizers on Monday evening so that Angie and Jeanne can get to know Christi and Tita before they start to make a comfortable transition into the salon,  I was new once and I know how intimidating it can be.  I am so excited that out of the 5 of us Angie will be the baby in the group, and they were both happy with my "No Drama" policy.  

     The week between xmas and New Years I am going to repaint with chocolate browns and redo the 3 benches we have in leopard print.  Anyone need a cut and color?

Hello Bangledesh!

K, Still having major issues with my computer due to the crashing of the hard drive a.k.a. dropping my laptop.  So I called the 1-800 # for Palm and I spoke to Russia, China, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and finally Hong Kong, and he helped me, I actually got to hot sync my computer after 1 hour and 5 minute!  That is record time when your have to travel the world to get someone with computer know how.  So Cumin, or whatever his name was, was awesome and I told him I loved him and he is magic!  Aaaaah,..............he's my hero for today!

p.s. I don't think I got to speak to the girl in the picture though........hmmmm

Menu Monday

Sunday- Pot Roast, Mixed Veggies, Rice, Apple Pie.

Monday-Hot Pockets

Tuesday-Left overs

Wednesday-Breaded Chicken Breast, mashed potatoes and gravy, Veggies.

Thursday-Hamburgers, mashed sweet potatoes

Friday-Lobster Bisque Soup and Bread

Saturday- Chicken Margherita penne past