[ Tuesday, November 30, 2004 ]
Back at work today, head first into a fire! But at least I'm feeling a bit better, even though my voice is totally gutteral and my head still a bit foggy. *cough*< /whine>
yam [3:20 PM 0 comments ]
Brrrrrr!
The thermometer in my car showed 38 degrees this morning!
Record-Setting Cold Chills Southland
yam [8:17 AM 0 comments ]
[ Monday, November 29, 2004 ]
Bleah. Staying home from work today. Keeping my germs to myself and resting to try and get rid of this nasty sore throat.yam [8:02 AM 0 comments ]
[ Sunday, November 28, 2004 ]
*cough*Ugh, my cold is dragging on and was actually a lot worser today. I sound like a cross between Barry White and Oscar the Grouch. I had planned on doing a monster update tonight, catching up on all the things we've done over the past week and a half, but with this icky cold I'm going to cut it short.
Very briefly, our 4-day weekend went something like this. Stayed up late Wednesday night getting ready for our Thanksgiving dinner and spent most of the day Thursday cooking. I'm really sold on the brining technique and once again our turkey came out great, moist, tender and tasty! Only my parents came over because the in-laws were busy this year, so there was lots of leftovers since my parents don't eat much.
Making a Turkey Day Wish with Grandma
Friday we pretty much stayed home, except for a quick trip to Home Depot. We avoided the Christmas sales and I just did a few home improvement jobs around the house. The in-laws came up to join us for dinner and then took Matthew out-of-town for the weekend. Matthew was pretty excited to go this time, and was looking forward to it for several days. He wanted to take his Pokemon cards with him to play with his cousin, but since he got in trouble earlier in the week for hitting at school again (more on this later) they got confiscated by me.
Curry House - Vegetable Curry
The three cousins and their parents -- Daniel and Matthew getting their game on
Saturday I got to sleep in without the kid at home, but didn't really take advantage of the time much. I wasn't feeling that great, it was cold and gray and raining for most of the day, so I pretty much stayed in finishing up working on the floor and watching an old re-run of When Harry Met Sally on TV. I did get a chance to go out Saturday night though, actually going out on a semi-date, doing some Christmas shopping and chatting over a Starbux Egg Nog Latte. Heh.
Sunday I felt really crappy all morning and mostly slummed around the house until Matthew came home. With the rains now gone, the skies were incredibly clear and crisp, so before heading over to Target for a few items, we drove up the hill to take a few photos around the area.
Redondo Beach Harbor/Santa Monica Bay
Downtown LA
Snow-Capped Mountains
Matthew is piloting the Rocketship into the Blue Skies
yam [10:58 PM 0 comments ]
[ Saturday, November 27, 2004 ]
Christmastime is here!
yam [7:50 PM 0 comments ]
[ Thursday, November 25, 2004 ]
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!I'll get back to the regular programming soon (lots of catching up to do), but I just wanted to wish everyone out there a very Happy Thanksgiving. That head cold has hit me, although not too hard so far. Just kinda zapped my energy. But since today is Thanksgiving, that means it's time to prepare the holiday feast! Here's today's menu:
Sesame crackers, Bleu cheese and Smoked Salmon appetizers
Honey-Brined Roast Turkey with gravy
Cranberry Compote
Cornbread Pinole stuffing
Artichokes with Pork Sausage, Lemon and Sage
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Crescent rolls
Homemade Apple Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream
Look who's ready to eat. (Notice the new table?)
So, what are you having?
yam [1:18 PM 0 comments ]
[ Tuesday, November 23, 2004 ]
*cough*Ack, feels like i might be finally catching Matthew's cold that he's had for over a week, so I'm not going to do the update tonight. Also I'm a bit upset with da kid, who went and got himself in trouble at school today, yet again. I'll fill you in tomorrow.
nite.
yam [9:47 PM 0 comments ]
[ Monday, November 22, 2004 ]
Soccer Star
Edited the photos from the weekend, and will post them up tomorrow evening.
Brrr, it's cold in SoCal today!
yam [11:59 PM 0 comments ]
We had a really good weekend. How was yours?
(more to come this week)
yam [1:09 AM 0 comments ]
[ Thursday, November 18, 2004 ]
At the school book faire tonight
Matthew got: Kung Fu Pigs - Hostages of the Jade Wolf, Stanley In Space, and the SpongeBob Squarepants Battle for Bikini Bottom computer video game.
yam [7:08 PM 0 comments ] Happy birfday greetings out to Bob S.! Have a great one! Hope we get to see you guys out here during the holidays!
Interesting link of the day: UrbanDictionary.com I was trying to find the origins of the word murdalize... I think it was from an old Bugs Bunny cartoon, but not sure. Three Stooges? Anyone got any ideas?
Mmmm, made some gingerbread syrup last night for my homemade Gingerbread latte this morning.... yummmm!
yam [10:50 AM 0 comments ]
[ Wednesday, November 17, 2004 ]
Careful Shopping
Matthew made tough choices this evening, for food he wants to give to charity. This is what he got (with a "little" help from Dad): Betty Crocker pound cake mix, canned sweet potatoes, canned pears, corn muffin mix, canned peas, canned peaches, Cheez-it crackers, yogurt pretzels, Mrs. Cubbison's dressing mix, boxed chicken broth, canned green beans, Nestle Hot chocolate mix, canned corn, canned cranberry sauce, and Apple juice.
Whew!
yam [6:43 PM 0 comments ]
Thanksgiving Shopping
Matthew saved his charity fund from his allowance and went shopping for food for the needy tonight.
yam [6:39 PM 0 comments ]
Matthew receives his soccer award
yam [5:50 PM 0 comments ]
Team party pose
yam [5:49 PM 0 comments ]
Soccer season party - Sweaty Head kid
yam [5:47 PM 0 comments ] New Stuff
In most respects, I relish change. But in a few areas I really resist change, especially when it means a change to my every day habits. So it's a big deal when I went and downloaded the newly released Firefox browser from Mozilla. I know, it's not that new, but they finally released a "full", non-beta version of it. I'm trying to get used to it and find the advantages, which I haven't seen yet, although it is supposed to reduce the threat of letting nasty viruses into my PC. It seems to work pretty good, but I've noticed a few quirky things that don't work right which make me go back to IE until I can figure out what I need to do to make it work. More on this after more trials.
I've also downloaded and installed the new (I think it's new) Google "Desktop" search engine. Wow, that's a great tool! Helps me find things stored on my PC that I always have trouble finding, from documents, photos, e-mails, etc. I highly recommend giving it a try.
Also got a huge file today from my friend P who used YouSendIt.com. That's a website where you can upload huge files (that you can't send via e-mail), and your recipient can download the file directly to their PC. It works pretty good, but of course you need a broadband connection otherwise you'll be pulling out your hair.
And lastly, when we went to see Shark Tale this past weekend (which was boring), I was very interested in two upcoming animated films. Robots and Madagascar (both with big celebrity voice casts) look to be future hits next year.
yam [10:30 AM 0 comments ]
[ Tuesday, November 16, 2004 ]
I can't understand it.The search for an answer is met with a darker day.
And we've been handed these moments forever.
But I'm reassured there's another way.
You don't have to close your eyes.
There is room for love again.
Ease the pain to realize
All that love can be.
Forced apart by time and sand.
Take a step and take my hand.
And don't let it go.
Never let go.
~JG
yam [1:34 PM 0 comments ]
[ Sunday, November 14, 2004 ]
'sup?Maybe it's the change of seasons or just time for a break, but I really haven't felt much like blogging lately. A lot of the same things going on around here so I figured it wasn't all that newsworthy. But just for posterity sake, here's a brief rundown on recent activities and thoughts:
- Bought a new dinette set (in the Cherry finish) which should arrive just in time for Thanksgiving
- Thinking about this year's Thanksgiving dinner menu... something new?
- The basketball and soccer seasons are almost over for Matthew (whew!)
- Played hoops myself this weekend and my body is not happy with me
- Matthew has been fighting off a cold and seems to be getting through it OK
- Went to see Shark Tale. Disappointing, to say the least even though Matthew liked it.
- Went out for some steamed fish at a Chinese restaurant. Man, was that good. And with just the two of us, we got to eat a LOT!
- Came close to deciding on a business idea. Still working on it.
- Matthew got himself into trouble at the Y again, this time with accomplices. I can see the pattern now. Not what I thought it was before.
- Started my Christmas shopping and have my list ready to go.
- Still working on home improvement projects, mostly finishing up those I've started long ago.
- Getting myself in and out of "trouble" on the social scene. ;-)
- Got some new lights to liven up the homestead.
- A little sprinkling of rain Saturday, but awesome, near 80 degree temps on Sunday!
Have a great week. I'm out.
yam [11:37 PM 0 comments ]
Beautiful Sunday
yam [12:06 PM 0 comments ]
[ Friday, November 12, 2004 ]
Not Here, Not NowThese words of love,
hard for me to find;
How can I change my mind
if you can only lie?
These shattered dreams
I try to build again.
But looks could kill again,
and I'm too young to die
Smiling faces all around us;
You don't wanna make a scene,
not here not now,
and I don't wanna cry.
We drink the wine
like we were really friends,
but can our sadness end
and work turn into play?
We dress so fine
and step out on the town
and friends may gather 'round,
but soon will turn away.
Smiling faces all around us;
You don't wanna make a scene,
not here not now,
and I don't wanna cry.
~ Joe Jackson
yam [1:13 AM 0 comments ]
[ Wednesday, November 10, 2004 ]
New photos!Not feeling especially verbose these days, so here are some new photos of Matthew that I've gotten recently...
Summer Pose
Future Basketball Star
Second Grade!
yam [11:57 PM 0 comments ] Work is kicking my patootie again, thus the lack of entries lately. We are sorely understaffed and overburdened with too many projects all colliding at the same time right now. I'm lucky that I have an excuse (single parent) so I don't have to put in much overtime, but it looks like I will be working all day Sunday. Bleah.
As the Govenator sez, "I'll be bawk!"
Update (11/11): Yay! Looks like I don't have to work this Sunday now!
yam [8:50 AM 0 comments ]
[ Monday, November 08, 2004 ]
Matthew Sezme: "I need a vacation!"
matthew: "What about me? Where am I going?"
me: "You're coming with me of course. I just meant that I needed a vacation away from work. I don't have any chances to play when I'm at work."
m: "I do. I get to play a lot."
me: "Yeah, you're lucky. I don't."
m: "Why not?"
me: "That's a good question. They should allow us to play more. Or maybe I need to just get a job where there is more play involved."
Hmm, sometimes kids know a lot more about the way life should be than we give them credit for.
yam [9:01 PM 0 comments ]
[ Sunday, November 07, 2004 ]
Matt & SpongeBob
yam [2:41 PM 0 comments ]
[ Saturday, November 06, 2004 ]
Double CongratsThis weekend I got notified of two special events that happened recently. Both rather sudden, but not totally unexpected. First off, a group of my friends from high school and college used to hang around a lot in our post-college days, including my friend S and occasionally H would join us. We did all kinds of things together, and spent many hours discussing the worlds issues at happy hour. We were pretty much just all friends and over the years have kind of drifted apart. But sometime in the last couple of years, S and H realized that their old friendship was perhaps more than just "friends" and last weekend they tied the knot in an intimate ceremony. Woo-Hoo!
And then tonight, I got an e-mail from Kgirl (who I dated about 3 years ago) and she told me that she recently got married in Vegas and is very happy to be spending her days now with her "knight in shining armor"!
I'm very happy for all of them, as it's very tough to find just the right person to make that huge commitment to. I know how tough it is, for sure. I got lucky once, but unfortunately it wasn't meant to last. So, I'm still waiting for my turn again. *sigh*
yam [11:25 PM 0 comments ]
Mmmm, broccoli cheese soup in a bread bowl
yam [1:15 PM 0 comments ]
Panera Bread cafe for lunch. Mmm, iced green tea!
yam [1:00 PM 0 comments ] Bleah, Blogger is having a lot of issues right now... so my posts may or may not be going up... stay tuned.
yam [11:17 AM 0 comments ]
Beautiful fall morning for soccer
yam [9:44 AM 0 comments ]
[ Wednesday, November 03, 2004 ]
Peer PressureI was wondering when the stigma of peer pressure would first show up with Matthew and last week I noticed the first sign of it. Actually it was more than a week ago, but I didn't recognize the effects of it until last week. A couple of Fridays ago Matthew had his Halloween party at the Y and as he was carrying his costume with him in the morning, I heard one of his friends say "Is THAT the best you could do?", since he brought the popular Red Power Ranger costume with him. I realized that it wasn't a very nice thing to say, but didn't do anything about it as I was rushing off to work. Later that afternoon, at the party, I noticed that same friend only had on a blue cape with his regular clothes. As Julie noted, it was probably his way of making up for feeling inadequate about his own lame costume. I wanted to tell him "Is THAT the best YOU could do?" but I'd probably make the little sh*t cry. Hehehe. OK, so it would be childish too, especially since I know his mom. :-p
And then last Friday, when the school held its Halloween parade I reminded Matthew to take his costume and he said, "I don't wanna wear it." "Why not?" I asked. "Because they will all laugh at me. And nobody else is wearing their costumes." Well, without really thinking about it, I just told him that not everyone will laugh at him and to bring it anyways in case he changes his mind. I was going to try to explain it better to him, but we were late as usual and then after arriving at school he said that he forgot to bring his homework with him. Well that made me mad and I totally got off on a different subject, scolding him about being responsible and saying that the next time we're not going back home to get something he forgot. I felt bad about not being more sensitive to him having to deal with the "new" peer pressure.
Fortunately it all worked out OK. He wore his costume (everyone but one kid wore their costumes), participated in the Halloween parade and he had fun. He especially had fun going Trick-or-Treating with his friend on Halloween night in his costume. Whew. I'll just take this as a learning experience for both of us, and try to be more sensitive to his social needs the next time.
yam [11:05 PM 0 comments ]
[ Tuesday, November 02, 2004 ]
-Lakers win!-I voted!
-Still don't know who won the presidential race right now, but Bush is ahead.
-Yuta is the first Japanese player in the NBA!
- Wow, the power of blogging is getting noticed
-Tired from staying up late last night studying my long California ballot, so I'm going to sleep early and will try to write up a few things tomorrow night.
yam [11:30 PM 0 comments ]
Wow, 85 in November
(I think the thermometer is a little bit off)
yam [1:14 PM 0 comments ] The BIG Day
Yes, today is a "BIG" day. It's the start of the NBA season! Oh, and it's also our friend Mikey's birfday! Huh? Oh yeah, and there's this little election going on too.. go vote!
yam [9:49 AM 0 comments ]
[ Monday, November 01, 2004 ]
Go Out and VOTE!More blog entries in my mind to be posted tomorrow, because tonight I'm studying THIS for the BIG election day on Tuesday. Go out and vote!
yam [10:43 PM 0 comments ] Horrorscope
Weekly romance (by Astrology.com)
Monday is all about connections -- dates, heart-to-hearts and personals ads will all yield great results. You'll be in touch with your heart and able to assess what you really want. Be careful not to let yourself move too fast this week; you might be tempted to invest too much of yourself too quickly. Take your time and know for certain what you're getting into. Coast through the weekend. If you're not seeing anyone, hang out on your own or with friends and put off the search until later.
... hmmm, I'm keeping my fingers crossed...
(Edit: OK, I know it's just "for entertainment purposes only", but already, the total opposite of this happened today. bleah.)
R.I.P.
Awww, Juvin.com is no more. Thanks Julie, for all the humorous insight, your unique opinions and sharing your wonderful family with us.
yam [8:52 AM 0 comments ]
