Today, as Heather and I were walking back to the office from the cafeteria at work, I saw a big, black dog. From a distance it totally looked like Buddy. I immediately called out to the dog. Heather laughed at me when she heard my "dog voice". Of course the dog came up to me, tongue lolling about in her mouth, excited to see me as if we were long lost friends. She was a huge black lab mix. She had a patch of white spotted fur at her throat and a long, shaggy tail. I think she is a lab, husky, mastiff mix. She had very wide hips and shoulders and a square face like a mastiff. She was sweet. She had a red ribbon around her neck. I pet her and cooed to her. Heather and I decided right there that we would bring her up into the office for a little bit. Our boss hadn't arrived yet, so we thought we would surprise him. We often do things like that and I know he just shakes his head at our antics. But I also know he secretly loves how playful we are. We brought the dog upstairs and into the office. She came back to our desks and sat there. We fed her food from the food stashes we have in our desks and she loved that, of course. We took pictures of ourselves with her. She smelled just like Buddy and it was bittersweet to smell her and pet her. It brought back memories of Buddy. It was also weird to see a dog that looked so much like Buddy, yet acted differently than Buddy.
Buddy was my dog from the moment he stepped into our house. He followed me around, slept next to me wherever I was in the house and completely idolized me. He was like my fifth child. We had a bond that was like nothing I had ever felt for an animal. When he came to us, his name was Kai. I thought that was a stupid name. So I called him Buddy because he was literally my buddy. He would come in the car with me whenever I ran errands, unless it was the middle of the summer and too hot to leave him in the car. He would see me getting ready to leave and he would sit at attention in the front room, waiting to be invited. I would say, "Okay, come on..." and he would leap up and run to the front door. If anyone was foolish enough to be standing at the front door, they would get mowed down. Many times Emeli got thrown to the ground because she was standing next to me, getting ready to leave. When I ran a paper route in the middle of the night for a year, he came with me every single time. He would curl up on the back seat and sleep. I always felt safe knowing I had Buddy in the car. I know he never would have really protected me, but I still didn't feel so alone in the middle of the night in the dark. I painted many of the walls in our home and he would sit right next to me when I did that. Invariably, he would have a spot of the paint on his back from wedging himself so close to me. He would lie on my bed at nights and snuggle me. He would lie against my body and lay his head over my arm and snore. When he lay himself down, he always groaned as he kind of threw himself down. It was hilarious.
When someone came to the door, he would stand guard next to me. We often had door-to-door solicitors. If they were men, he would not leave my side. He could look quite intimidating.
He loved to grab a stuffed animal and just mouth it. I would give him an old stuffed animal that no one cared about and call it his baby. If he was lying on the floor, I would call out, "Buddy, where is your baby?" and he knew exactly what I was saying. He would get up and look around until he found the stuffed animal, grab it and lie back down with it in his mouth. Then he would lie there and mouth it. He used to love to jump up into my lap when I was on the couch and lay his head against my chest and nuzzle me. I would say, "Give me kisses..." and he would lick my neck. When I was cooking dinner, he would lie down between the dining room and the kitchen just waiting for me to call everyone to dinner so he could lurk under the table and catch crumbs. If the kids and I started to dance in the kitchen to my music, while I was cooking, he would join in. He would jump around and step in between the kids and I as if he was dancing too. I would pick up his front legs and we would dance. Or I would clap my hands and he would leap up and down.
He loved my cooking...well, he was a dog, of course he liked human food. Once when I was teaching piano lessons, he came walking past the piano and plopped himself down on the floor. I looked over at him and noticed that he had a full banana bread loaf in his mouth. I had just made banana bread and he had helped himself to one of the loaves cooling on the counter. Another time I left an unfinished casserole on the counter so I could run the boys to scouts. I came home to find that casserole dish broken on the floor and completely licked clean.
When I left my husband, I moved to a house that did not permit dogs. I left him with my ex. My ex was never home and Buddy was neglected. I finally took Buddy in to stay with me until my ex could get his stuff together. He was going to take Buddy to Idaho with him to his new wife and her girls. That hurt, but I also knew that I couldn't support Buddy. One day, Buddy got out. He was famous for escaping. He had a name tag on his collar that read, "Buddy Kesler, escape artist" with our phone number on it. Fred's phone had been shut off, so when Buddy got out, no one could call that number to let us know where Buddy was. I never saw Buddy again. At the time, there was a lot of drama going on in my life and this was just one more thing. I closed my mind to it. I pushed it back to deal with later. I had to comfort myself with knowing that he either was taken to the pound and found a new home or he was put to sleep. Either way, I knew he was happy.
When I die, I hope to see Buddy and be with him again. I don't think I will ever love a dog like I loved Buddy. My memories of him are all happy ones and I am grateful for the time I had with him. I will never forget him.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
MLK
So today is MLK and I really don't care except that my boss let me have the day off, pretending it was a holiday, so I'm grateful for MLK. The only problem is that I didn't wear my eye covers so the bright sun in my bedroom woke me up and I was done sleeping in. I had planned to go into work anyway, but at 7:45, when I was having a hard time getting out of bed, Roberto said, "Why don't you just stay home?" That's all the invitation I needed. I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. But we have two huge sky lights in our bedroom and it was bright and I couldn't sleep anymore. But I did get to just lie there and relish not having to get up. But I also felt guilty because that's just the way I am. I lay there thinking that I should have gone into work, but it feels so good to just stay in bed (especially when it is so dang cold outside!!) and then I feel guilty again...crazy, I know.
I lay there as long as I could. Meanwhile, I could hear Emeli annoying Brett and I could tell she was bored and was going to take everyone with her. So I got up. I ate breakfast: banana bread, orange juice and yummy banana granola. I got in the shower and took Emeli to Allen's with me so we could buy eggs. I had received a bunch of bananas from Roberto's work. They were going bad and he had offered for me to bake banana bread for all the kids. But I needed eggs. So Emeli and I went to buy eggs. They had those cute little Valentine cookies that you put on a cookie sheet and bake. Of course, I had to buy some of those. Plus, they had Valentines for 99cents and Emeli needed those for school.
I baked banana bread, went back to bed to snuggle Roberto. He is THE most non-morning person I have known, besides my dad. They could both sleep until noon if they were left alone. In fact, I think Roberto could probably sleep later, if I didn't harass him all the time to get up...haha! My dad used to say that he and my mom were the exact opposites that way. She wakes up, opens the curtains, and is up and running. My dad would lay in bed on the weekends and we had to tiptoe around the house until he finally dragged himself out of bed. Even then, you wanted to avoid him for the first hour he was up. That's basically Roberto and myself. When I get up, I go down to the kitchen, make breakfast, turn on my music really loud and greet the day. I always bring orange juice up to Roberto, who is buried under the covers, and grumbles if anyone makes too much noise or expects any kind of conversation from him, and for the first hour that he is up, you want to avoid him as well.
Barbi and Ryan are on a cruise until Sunday. I thought it would be nice to have their kids over for dinner last night...holy cow!!!! I forgot how loud four children can be when they are that young. My four kids are a lot less noisy than they used to be and I have forgotten how loud it is. I always told myself I wouldn't forget, but I did. The moment Sawyer walked into the house, he was leaping on the couch like it was a trampoline. I told him that if he kept jumping on my couch, I would toss him out my window. He must have thought I was joking because he looked me right in the eyes and kept jumping...grrr. So I had Brett go upstairs and get my mini tramp. That kept Sawyer happy, until he found the piano!!! I also forgot how busy a six year old boy is. Holy Cow!!! During some of the horse play with all the kids, Sawyer banged his head against my coffee table. All his sadness and angst came out and he just lost it. I knew that most of his crying was from missing his parents. Suddenly he wanted to go home. Kaitlin was really good with him. I told him that if he went home now, he would miss my chocolate cupcakes, which he ate six of!!! By the time the kids left, I was frazzled! I know they weren't that much more rambunctious than my own kids would have been, but I have forgotten. And that bothered me. I never wanted to be one of those grandmas that goes nuts when the grandkids are here. I can tell I just might be one of those...dang!!! I guess I will have to invest in some Xanex.
I have recently found a bunch of people that I grew up with in Camarillo. That was interesting because some of them I would rather forget. Lori is on a mission to find as many Camarillo people as possible and then she suggests them to me as friends. Some of them I ignore, others I invite to be friends. But it still brings back some memories I had buried for a long time. So on Friday, I had a little dark cloud looming over me for most of the day. What I appreciate is that when I have those times, I can talk to Roberto and he holds me. He listens, remembers everything I tell him and then he helps me put it all in perspective. I have never had a partner like that. I love that about him. The funny thing about Roberto is that no one would guess how tender, kind and understanding he is. He has a very tough exterior, yet he is the most supportive and understanding friend. From the moment I met him, he took me under his wing, listened to all my bitter history and has helped me move on with it.
Right now Emeli is downstairs with her music blasting, singing her lungs out. Reminds me of me. My favorite thing is to blast my music, dance to it or sing at the top of my lungs. My dad used to do that, too. He would come home from work, change out of his suit, play with the dog, eat dinner and then go into the front room and blast his music for the rest of the night. So I guess I got it honestly and so did my daughter.
I lay there as long as I could. Meanwhile, I could hear Emeli annoying Brett and I could tell she was bored and was going to take everyone with her. So I got up. I ate breakfast: banana bread, orange juice and yummy banana granola. I got in the shower and took Emeli to Allen's with me so we could buy eggs. I had received a bunch of bananas from Roberto's work. They were going bad and he had offered for me to bake banana bread for all the kids. But I needed eggs. So Emeli and I went to buy eggs. They had those cute little Valentine cookies that you put on a cookie sheet and bake. Of course, I had to buy some of those. Plus, they had Valentines for 99cents and Emeli needed those for school.
I baked banana bread, went back to bed to snuggle Roberto. He is THE most non-morning person I have known, besides my dad. They could both sleep until noon if they were left alone. In fact, I think Roberto could probably sleep later, if I didn't harass him all the time to get up...haha! My dad used to say that he and my mom were the exact opposites that way. She wakes up, opens the curtains, and is up and running. My dad would lay in bed on the weekends and we had to tiptoe around the house until he finally dragged himself out of bed. Even then, you wanted to avoid him for the first hour he was up. That's basically Roberto and myself. When I get up, I go down to the kitchen, make breakfast, turn on my music really loud and greet the day. I always bring orange juice up to Roberto, who is buried under the covers, and grumbles if anyone makes too much noise or expects any kind of conversation from him, and for the first hour that he is up, you want to avoid him as well.
Barbi and Ryan are on a cruise until Sunday. I thought it would be nice to have their kids over for dinner last night...holy cow!!!! I forgot how loud four children can be when they are that young. My four kids are a lot less noisy than they used to be and I have forgotten how loud it is. I always told myself I wouldn't forget, but I did. The moment Sawyer walked into the house, he was leaping on the couch like it was a trampoline. I told him that if he kept jumping on my couch, I would toss him out my window. He must have thought I was joking because he looked me right in the eyes and kept jumping...grrr. So I had Brett go upstairs and get my mini tramp. That kept Sawyer happy, until he found the piano!!! I also forgot how busy a six year old boy is. Holy Cow!!! During some of the horse play with all the kids, Sawyer banged his head against my coffee table. All his sadness and angst came out and he just lost it. I knew that most of his crying was from missing his parents. Suddenly he wanted to go home. Kaitlin was really good with him. I told him that if he went home now, he would miss my chocolate cupcakes, which he ate six of!!! By the time the kids left, I was frazzled! I know they weren't that much more rambunctious than my own kids would have been, but I have forgotten. And that bothered me. I never wanted to be one of those grandmas that goes nuts when the grandkids are here. I can tell I just might be one of those...dang!!! I guess I will have to invest in some Xanex.
I have recently found a bunch of people that I grew up with in Camarillo. That was interesting because some of them I would rather forget. Lori is on a mission to find as many Camarillo people as possible and then she suggests them to me as friends. Some of them I ignore, others I invite to be friends. But it still brings back some memories I had buried for a long time. So on Friday, I had a little dark cloud looming over me for most of the day. What I appreciate is that when I have those times, I can talk to Roberto and he holds me. He listens, remembers everything I tell him and then he helps me put it all in perspective. I have never had a partner like that. I love that about him. The funny thing about Roberto is that no one would guess how tender, kind and understanding he is. He has a very tough exterior, yet he is the most supportive and understanding friend. From the moment I met him, he took me under his wing, listened to all my bitter history and has helped me move on with it.
Right now Emeli is downstairs with her music blasting, singing her lungs out. Reminds me of me. My favorite thing is to blast my music, dance to it or sing at the top of my lungs. My dad used to do that, too. He would come home from work, change out of his suit, play with the dog, eat dinner and then go into the front room and blast his music for the rest of the night. So I guess I got it honestly and so did my daughter.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Wow...
So I found an old childhood friend of mine on facebook last night. That was kind of depressing. She was always an over achiever, but I had no idea how much until I found out what she is doing right now. She is an attorney who consults for Court TV and CNN, plus she is now working as a broadcast journalist for KTLA. She's gorgeous and always was. So for me to look at her life and to look at mine was kind of sad. I was joking with a co-worker that my job is a loser job compared to hers. But then I think about what my priorities were when I was in my 20's and 30's and that was my children. I would not have wanted to work out of the home. Raising my kids was everything to me. I don't know how women work full time and raise young children. It's hard enough to raise Emeli, who is 11, and work out of the home. It kills me to be away from home when she gets home from school. She watches a lot of TV and doesn't interact with many friends because I am not home to drive her there or pick up her friends with her. That saddens me a lot. I'm a totally different mom for her than I was for my boys.
I showed her picture to Roberto and asked him if she thought she was pretty. He said no. He said she looks like all the other New Zealanders he knew in Holland and her looks don't do anything for him. He likes women with paler skin, which would be me. I am pale. At least that made me happy...
I get so frustrated with my ex. I could write pages about him on a blog, but it would be a waste of time. So I just grind my teeth in frustration and simmer a lot. It was always all about him and it hasn't changed. If he wants the kids, he wants the kids and then he will call Emeli and beg her to come visit. Emeli feels guilty and then she bugs me. I get so sick of dealing with him. I look forward to the day when Emeli turns 18 and I don't have to deal with him and custody any more.
Last night I went to Emeli's parent teacher conference. That was fun. I liked her two teachers. They are funny women and Emeli loves them. I know it's because one of them reminds her of me. Emeli had opted out of reading a book the class was reading. Don't ask me why they allowed that. In my day, they would have told me to get over it and to keep reading. But they told her she had the choice, but she would also have consequences for her choice. That consequence was to get a bad grade in her reading. Of course, I didn't hear about any of this from her. They wrote on her report card how she chose not to read this book. I read that out loud, with Emeli sitting beside me, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see her start to slouch in her seat. I turned to her and said, "You didn't want to read the book?" and she shook her head. Then I said, "Oh really?" Then the teacher told me she gave the book 11 pages and then decided she didn't like it. I asked Emeli to go get the book. The teacher stood up and went to get it. I said, "Emeli can get it." She told me the book had been put away; otherwise, she would have let Emeli get it. I asked the teacher for two copies. I said, "We are BOTH going to read this book." and I gave Emeli a crusty. The teachers offered to change her grade if she read the book. I told them I don't care if she still has the bad grade. I care that she read the book. I asked them what she needed to do to show she read the book and they said she needed to write a report. I told them it would be done. Meanwhile, Emeli is kind of sitting in her seat with a resigned look on her face. I had to chuckle inside because I knew she was not happy about that.
The rest of her grades were good. I was really proud of her math grades because I stink at math. I have always struggled with math and Emeli got really good grades there. So I told her that this weekend I will be taking her for a girlie day to celebrate her grades. She was happy with that. We went to the grocery store across the street after the conference. They had all this Valentine stuff. I LOVE Valentine's day. It is my favorite holiday of all. I just love the whole idea of Valentine's Day and the colors and the hearts. I'm just a sap! We got a banner that reads "Happy Valentine's Day" and hung it in the stairwell. It was only 60 cents! I'm tempted to get one for work.
Right now I am alone in the office with Bill. Bill makes me sick. Bill is 60 years old, psycho and gross. He is hugely overweight, breathes heavily whenever he walks more than twenty feet and has made a couple of inappropriate comments towards me, which totally grossed me out. He lives alone with his two cats and has told us a little too much about them. To listen to him speak is enough to drive me crazy. He is the most passive aggressive person I have met, since my ex. Everything is spun to make him look like a victim. They way he speaks is always that way. It's like talking to Eeyore. To listen to him speak to my boss is the most excruciating thing. My boss has no tolerance for Bill and Bill obviously despises my boss. When they talk to each other, I want to leave the room and come back when they are done. They talk circles around each other with Bill saying things like, "I know that's the right thing to do, but..." and I just roll my eyes. He just stepped out of the office, so I'm relieved...
I showed her picture to Roberto and asked him if she thought she was pretty. He said no. He said she looks like all the other New Zealanders he knew in Holland and her looks don't do anything for him. He likes women with paler skin, which would be me. I am pale. At least that made me happy...
I get so frustrated with my ex. I could write pages about him on a blog, but it would be a waste of time. So I just grind my teeth in frustration and simmer a lot. It was always all about him and it hasn't changed. If he wants the kids, he wants the kids and then he will call Emeli and beg her to come visit. Emeli feels guilty and then she bugs me. I get so sick of dealing with him. I look forward to the day when Emeli turns 18 and I don't have to deal with him and custody any more.
Last night I went to Emeli's parent teacher conference. That was fun. I liked her two teachers. They are funny women and Emeli loves them. I know it's because one of them reminds her of me. Emeli had opted out of reading a book the class was reading. Don't ask me why they allowed that. In my day, they would have told me to get over it and to keep reading. But they told her she had the choice, but she would also have consequences for her choice. That consequence was to get a bad grade in her reading. Of course, I didn't hear about any of this from her. They wrote on her report card how she chose not to read this book. I read that out loud, with Emeli sitting beside me, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see her start to slouch in her seat. I turned to her and said, "You didn't want to read the book?" and she shook her head. Then I said, "Oh really?" Then the teacher told me she gave the book 11 pages and then decided she didn't like it. I asked Emeli to go get the book. The teacher stood up and went to get it. I said, "Emeli can get it." She told me the book had been put away; otherwise, she would have let Emeli get it. I asked the teacher for two copies. I said, "We are BOTH going to read this book." and I gave Emeli a crusty. The teachers offered to change her grade if she read the book. I told them I don't care if she still has the bad grade. I care that she read the book. I asked them what she needed to do to show she read the book and they said she needed to write a report. I told them it would be done. Meanwhile, Emeli is kind of sitting in her seat with a resigned look on her face. I had to chuckle inside because I knew she was not happy about that.
The rest of her grades were good. I was really proud of her math grades because I stink at math. I have always struggled with math and Emeli got really good grades there. So I told her that this weekend I will be taking her for a girlie day to celebrate her grades. She was happy with that. We went to the grocery store across the street after the conference. They had all this Valentine stuff. I LOVE Valentine's day. It is my favorite holiday of all. I just love the whole idea of Valentine's Day and the colors and the hearts. I'm just a sap! We got a banner that reads "Happy Valentine's Day" and hung it in the stairwell. It was only 60 cents! I'm tempted to get one for work.
Right now I am alone in the office with Bill. Bill makes me sick. Bill is 60 years old, psycho and gross. He is hugely overweight, breathes heavily whenever he walks more than twenty feet and has made a couple of inappropriate comments towards me, which totally grossed me out. He lives alone with his two cats and has told us a little too much about them. To listen to him speak is enough to drive me crazy. He is the most passive aggressive person I have met, since my ex. Everything is spun to make him look like a victim. They way he speaks is always that way. It's like talking to Eeyore. To listen to him speak to my boss is the most excruciating thing. My boss has no tolerance for Bill and Bill obviously despises my boss. When they talk to each other, I want to leave the room and come back when they are done. They talk circles around each other with Bill saying things like, "I know that's the right thing to do, but..." and I just roll my eyes. He just stepped out of the office, so I'm relieved...
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Tomorrow is Friday...yeah!
So I figured out that my paycheck will be a little bit bigger than normal because I am being paid for all the time I spent for the company while in CA. That's nice because we always have bills. I wish I made that all the time. It would sure be nice.
I'm so glad that tomorrow is Friday. I have a very laid back boss. He just brought in a dart board today and challenged Heather and I to play. However, he is also a huge perv. EVERY single thing you say he can turn into a sexual statement...grrr.
Lately, I have been running on a mini trampoline. I love doing it. I run to the beat of all these great songs and have a blast doing it. I know Roberto is proud of me for keeping to it. My goal is to become a svelte, athletic 40-something. I would love to get rid of my tummy!!!
Tonight I get to go to Emeli's school and meet with her teacher. Doing Parent Teacher conferences is almost as fun as getting a crown put on your tooth. I don't know which I would rather do. You get to walk in the hallway exchanging greetings with all these SuperMoms. And in Utah, they all want to look like SuperMoms. It's really annoying. I don't know a lot of people in our ward, so I sometimes see them at the school and they look right through me. I would be hurt if I actually liked these women. But some Mormon women can be the most wenchy women in the world. You would think with the knowledge we have about the worth of a soul, they would be nicer. I have never seen such rude women in my life.
But that gets me to another topic I could go on and on about. There have been times when I have been in the mall or at the grocery store and women have stared me down with the most evil stares. Once I was in Sam's Club with Roberto and this group of four women (all sisters, obviousy) all stared me down in unison, including the mom!!! It was crazy. I just gave them the Arnold stare-down, which we Arnold girls have perfected, right back. The sad thing is they kept it up! We were in line behind them at the service desk, so I was stuck. A part of me wanted to trip them when they walked past me. Just a group trip would have been nice...grrr!
Anyway, I'm done ranting. So I will go to the school, endure the waspy looks and talk to Emeli's teacher. I will glare at the boy who torments her and then leave. My work will have been done...haha
I'm so glad that tomorrow is Friday. I have a very laid back boss. He just brought in a dart board today and challenged Heather and I to play. However, he is also a huge perv. EVERY single thing you say he can turn into a sexual statement...grrr.
Lately, I have been running on a mini trampoline. I love doing it. I run to the beat of all these great songs and have a blast doing it. I know Roberto is proud of me for keeping to it. My goal is to become a svelte, athletic 40-something. I would love to get rid of my tummy!!!
Tonight I get to go to Emeli's school and meet with her teacher. Doing Parent Teacher conferences is almost as fun as getting a crown put on your tooth. I don't know which I would rather do. You get to walk in the hallway exchanging greetings with all these SuperMoms. And in Utah, they all want to look like SuperMoms. It's really annoying. I don't know a lot of people in our ward, so I sometimes see them at the school and they look right through me. I would be hurt if I actually liked these women. But some Mormon women can be the most wenchy women in the world. You would think with the knowledge we have about the worth of a soul, they would be nicer. I have never seen such rude women in my life.
But that gets me to another topic I could go on and on about. There have been times when I have been in the mall or at the grocery store and women have stared me down with the most evil stares. Once I was in Sam's Club with Roberto and this group of four women (all sisters, obviousy) all stared me down in unison, including the mom!!! It was crazy. I just gave them the Arnold stare-down, which we Arnold girls have perfected, right back. The sad thing is they kept it up! We were in line behind them at the service desk, so I was stuck. A part of me wanted to trip them when they walked past me. Just a group trip would have been nice...grrr!
Anyway, I'm done ranting. So I will go to the school, endure the waspy looks and talk to Emeli's teacher. I will glare at the boy who torments her and then leave. My work will have been done...haha
Monday, January 12, 2009
Disneyland
We had so much fun at Disneyland. We walked ALL day and ALL night and by the time we got back to our hotel room, our feet were screaming!
We got to Disneyland at 10am and left at 9pm. We started out with a VERY expensive breakfast at IHOP. We only bought one breakfast and two orange juices and the bill was $25! The first ride we went on was Pirates of the Caribbean. That was cute. It had been 20 years since I had gone on that ride. They have added Captain Sparrow to the ride and it's cute. We were really bummed that The Haunted Mansion was closed. So was Small World. We rode on Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, and a few other kids' rides. Roberto doesn't do roller coasters and fast rides, so we did a lot of walking, shows and looking in stores. I didn't mind that because I used to be that way, so I totally understand. I have only recently been a roller coaster girl.
I love to people watch at Disneyland. It's hilarious. We took some fun pictures in the shops of each of us trying on different hats. That was fun. Roberto found about fifty cents from seeing random coins on the floors of the shops. I bought an antenna ball for my car.
The first night there, we ate at Carl's Jr and Roberto got food poisoning. It was pretty bad. He was in bed all day while I was in meetings. Then on Thursday, he finally felt okay, but still took it easy just in case.
We had a lot of fun during casino night on Friday night. We played blackjack. My boss tipped our dealer to cheat for us. So we got a ton of tickets to use in the raffle, but I still didn't win anything. Oh well. It was still fun.
It was very sad to come home on Sunday. We had turned the heat down, so the house was freezing! I climbed into bed, turned on the electric blanket and fell asleep! Roberto unpacked a ton of things and finally came to bed. He was freezing too. The temperature in the house was about 50 degrees and felt like it! It wasn't until around the middle of the night that the house finally felt warm.
I had a great time and we want to go there in a couple of years with ALL the kids. That would be fun!
We got to Disneyland at 10am and left at 9pm. We started out with a VERY expensive breakfast at IHOP. We only bought one breakfast and two orange juices and the bill was $25! The first ride we went on was Pirates of the Caribbean. That was cute. It had been 20 years since I had gone on that ride. They have added Captain Sparrow to the ride and it's cute. We were really bummed that The Haunted Mansion was closed. So was Small World. We rode on Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, and a few other kids' rides. Roberto doesn't do roller coasters and fast rides, so we did a lot of walking, shows and looking in stores. I didn't mind that because I used to be that way, so I totally understand. I have only recently been a roller coaster girl.
I love to people watch at Disneyland. It's hilarious. We took some fun pictures in the shops of each of us trying on different hats. That was fun. Roberto found about fifty cents from seeing random coins on the floors of the shops. I bought an antenna ball for my car.
The first night there, we ate at Carl's Jr and Roberto got food poisoning. It was pretty bad. He was in bed all day while I was in meetings. Then on Thursday, he finally felt okay, but still took it easy just in case.
We had a lot of fun during casino night on Friday night. We played blackjack. My boss tipped our dealer to cheat for us. So we got a ton of tickets to use in the raffle, but I still didn't win anything. Oh well. It was still fun.
It was very sad to come home on Sunday. We had turned the heat down, so the house was freezing! I climbed into bed, turned on the electric blanket and fell asleep! Roberto unpacked a ton of things and finally came to bed. He was freezing too. The temperature in the house was about 50 degrees and felt like it! It wasn't until around the middle of the night that the house finally felt warm.
I had a great time and we want to go there in a couple of years with ALL the kids. That would be fun!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
My New Year's was a lot of fun. On New Year's Eve, Emeli, Roberto and I played a game we got for Christmas called "Swashbuckled". That was fun. Brett went to a stake dance and had a lot of fun.
On New Year's Day, Cartoon Network had Looney Toons cartoons playing all day, so the kids and I would turn on the TV throughout the day to watch Bug Bunny. We would laugh so hard. I remember watching those cartoons after school. We had a lemon tree out back and we would pick huge lemons, cut them up and salt them and eat them. Whew! They were sour, but we loved it. Every time I eat a salted lemon, it takes me right back to sitting around watching TV when I was a kid.
On January 2nd, Mom and I went out to dinner. Grandma wanted to come and was sitting at the counter complaining that we didn't include her. The woman is 99 years old, can't see, can't hear and has to be dragged along next to you. It was snowy and dark outside and we were NOT going to take her. She sat there, scowling and said, "I'm not an ugly, old...bitch...yet." I laughed to myself and wanted to say, "You were an ugly, old bitch seventy years ago!" But I held back. It's times like that that I wish my dad were still alive because we would have gotten a big laugh about that one together. He probably would have said something to her about that.
On Saturday, Roberto had to work from 6am until 2pm. When he got home, we went shopping for a present for Brett's birthday. We tried a new buffet they have in Provo. It was pretty good. It reminded us of a place we used to go to in West Valley when we were dating. We were completely stuffed.
Lately, I am jumping on a mini trampoline for an hour every day. Wow! I can feel it. I run in place on the tramp to music on my ipod. I love doing it and it's a killer work out. I can feel all my fat jiggle as I jump. I'm hoping that pretty soon, that fat won't be there to jiggle anymore. haha
On Wednesday, Roberto and I are going to CA for a business trip for me. We are excited. Even though the first two days will be full of meetings for me and then dinner things as well, we have Saturday and Sunday to ourselves. We will go to Disneyland and Roberto wants to see "the sea". He doesn't call it the beach or the ocean. To him, it's the sea. That is so cute. So we are going to try to go to "the sea" on Sunday. I miss the ocean. I love the sound of the waves and I love the sound of sea gulls screaming overhead. Even though we can't swim, we can walk along the water and let it lap at our feet and we can dig for sand crabs. I'm going to keep some sand to bring home.
On New Year's Day, Cartoon Network had Looney Toons cartoons playing all day, so the kids and I would turn on the TV throughout the day to watch Bug Bunny. We would laugh so hard. I remember watching those cartoons after school. We had a lemon tree out back and we would pick huge lemons, cut them up and salt them and eat them. Whew! They were sour, but we loved it. Every time I eat a salted lemon, it takes me right back to sitting around watching TV when I was a kid.
On January 2nd, Mom and I went out to dinner. Grandma wanted to come and was sitting at the counter complaining that we didn't include her. The woman is 99 years old, can't see, can't hear and has to be dragged along next to you. It was snowy and dark outside and we were NOT going to take her. She sat there, scowling and said, "I'm not an ugly, old...bitch...yet." I laughed to myself and wanted to say, "You were an ugly, old bitch seventy years ago!" But I held back. It's times like that that I wish my dad were still alive because we would have gotten a big laugh about that one together. He probably would have said something to her about that.
On Saturday, Roberto had to work from 6am until 2pm. When he got home, we went shopping for a present for Brett's birthday. We tried a new buffet they have in Provo. It was pretty good. It reminded us of a place we used to go to in West Valley when we were dating. We were completely stuffed.
Lately, I am jumping on a mini trampoline for an hour every day. Wow! I can feel it. I run in place on the tramp to music on my ipod. I love doing it and it's a killer work out. I can feel all my fat jiggle as I jump. I'm hoping that pretty soon, that fat won't be there to jiggle anymore. haha
On Wednesday, Roberto and I are going to CA for a business trip for me. We are excited. Even though the first two days will be full of meetings for me and then dinner things as well, we have Saturday and Sunday to ourselves. We will go to Disneyland and Roberto wants to see "the sea". He doesn't call it the beach or the ocean. To him, it's the sea. That is so cute. So we are going to try to go to "the sea" on Sunday. I miss the ocean. I love the sound of the waves and I love the sound of sea gulls screaming overhead. Even though we can't swim, we can walk along the water and let it lap at our feet and we can dig for sand crabs. I'm going to keep some sand to bring home.
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