Trying to squeeze in one last post for August --
whether you pray or just want to think good, positive thoughts, please take a moment to think of my Mom, brother & his family, and all of my extended family along with numerous friends who live in the New Orleans area. Hurrican Gustav is looming large and I hope that the area gets minimal damage; they truly can't handle it. The city is really just getting rolling again, but many people were still living in FEMA trailers. 14mos. post-Katrina there was still so much emptiness and work to be done.

You can never be fully prepared whether it's packing and evacuation or coming home with fingers crossed to see what kind of damage was done.

I hate hurricane season.

One of the best movie quotes -- Matthew Broderick from Biloxi Blues "it's hot; it's Africa hot; I don't think I'm going to be able to stay here if it's this hot"

That about sums up how THIS family of SoCal a/c spoiled folks feels.

Our a/c pooped out yesterday so we are on our 2nd night of open window suffocation. During the day it's over 80* in my house. Blech.

Downstairs is bearable in the evening; upstairs is just gross until about 3am when it finally cools off.

As I was 'tucking' Sean in bed, I had to toss out "I'm sure people in India or Africa don't have a/c and they sleep" b/c his whining was just incessant. I'm sure I won some Mom points with that.

Shhhhh, don't tell anyone - I'm thinking about sleeping on the cold tile floor.

I am grumpy today.

I am doing procrastinated girl scout paperwork. I am working on bid sheets/organizing/prepping the football silent auction that my husband is in charge of. I have had a neck ache for two day since I slept on the couch listening for the dog in case he needed to be let out in an emergency while he was sick. (how's that for a run-on sentence?)

Other than their commitments of football and/or dance and/or tutoring, my children haven't been anywhere in three days. I KNOW -- poor deprived souls. I fear that their brains are melting though b/c if they aren't in front of the TV or the computer, they are arguing about something stupid. (like who get's to be Spongebob/Patrick/or whoever b/c they act out the show while it is on b/c they have seen it so many damn times) How many times can they watch High School Musical 2? GAH!

I AM taking them to the beach on Friday. I WILL take them to the Science Center at some point next week.

But for now, I'm going to take a shower since it is 11:30am.

Poor Fritz Pup --- had his first trip to the advanced critical care last night. He appears to have colitis. Not fun for any of us. He's been a bit droopy and not eating for a couple of days and I was going to take him in today, but after detecting bloody stools (icky, sorry) I had to take him in.

I thought he might have eaten a stuffed animal eyeball or one of the green army men. His x-rays were clear and his bloodwork was good so they think it is a random illness. Let's hope.

Mini-schnauz. are prone to pancreatinitis so we have to be careful. He does get weird and won't eat much along with accidents when I go to AZ and such, but I'm hoping that is just stress and not something bigger.

He is our spoiled baby dog so he is digging this extra pampering.

It seems a bit cliche, but the saying 'good friends know your faults, but are still your friends in the end' really is TRUE. Friends come and go but true friends see you through it all.

My life-long friend is Patricia. We were neighbors growing up; three years apart in age but that didn't stand in the way. I remember the day she got her dog, Chi; Chi is long gone now. I remember talking endlessly especially while each of us hung on our backyard fences until the moment our Moms called us in for dinner. I remember one day playing 'Little House on the Prairie' and how we could never recreate that day. I remember Skate Country 1-4 on Sunday afternoons. I remember the insane car accident my freshman year of high school; to this day, I can see the 'spider webs' on the windshield from our heads & faces and can feel the glass in my mouth. I remember how intimidated we were by each other's fathers (may they rest in peace). I remember her LONG insane labor and the birth of my godchild, Jennifer. That is only a sample of the fabulous memories.

We haven't lived near each other since 1990. It's almost 1/2 my life that we've been apart. But we've stayed connected. Patricia and Jennifer were able to come for a visit recently. I hadn't seen them since March of 2002, Amanda's baptism. They came from their quiet mid-western home to my crazy CA home with four little kids.
Me and my beautiful godchild, Jennifer. She was a wee 6yo girlie in my wedding; look at her now - a college girl.
The girls -- Amanda, Jennifer & Patricia (Amanda is Patricia's godchild)
Laguna Beach, a reminder of one of the benefits of living here

Too short of a visit.
I'm pretty sure I saw them pulling ear plugs out of their ears as I dropped them off at the airport.

So, along with the rest of humanity, I've been watching the Olympics. Or should I say staying up WAY TOO LATE watching the Olympics. Or should I say falling asleep on the couch b/c the Olympics are fun but really long.

BUT it's the Micheal Phelps show - that's a good reason right.
Thank goodness I have a DVR b/c I'm missing the last hr. every single night. It's not as fun b/c I usually hear the results before I watch but at least I can watch the magic over-and-over if I choose.

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE!

The top picture is the 'play clothes/curtain' costume and the 2nd one is the Kaltzberg festival costume. There are seven "families" of kids; this is the girls' in their group. Such a nice group of talented kids for my girls to look up to.

We are having so much fun.

Saturday, August 2 was a big day in our house. It was the day Sean got his first helmet and shoulder pads. He thinks it is the coolest thing. I have to admit it is pretty cute.

although getting his helmet off is a learning process and his ears are sore.

Last week they only made contact with pads and blocking dummies. Today they start full contact. I'm sure I'll have a tick by the end of the week.

So another week of summer has come and gone. We've since gone to the county fair; had my best childhood friend and my god-daughter out for a visit; visited the SJCap. Mission; hit the beach; and done more football and theatre stuff.

I thought I would share a few pics. from the fair.
Amanda checking out the huge sand castle that was structured around the theme of 'Say Cheese'. It was unbelievable.

What's a trip to the fair without a visit to the piggies? The little white one was so content.
They also had deep-fried cupcakes and oreos. For the record, I stuck to my favorite potatoes.
now THAT is some good eatin' (Australian fried potatoes)
this photo is especially funny if you know the love/hate relationship Maggie & her buddy Justin have

It took my crew about 35 seconds to inhale a monster funnel cake. I think I got a bite.

MY GIRL
Miss Maggie is off to Girl Scout camp tomorrow AM. Real camp. Overnight. Without her troop and/or leader. It's at a location that she has gone to previously with her troop. It's about two hours from here; she will take a bus. She doesn't come back until Sat.

It's really good timing b/c honestly she is making me crazy right now. She is just difficult and I'm having a hard time with it all. She will argue about ANYTHING and is just not nice a lot of the time. I had a talk with her tonight while I was helping her pack. I hope she will take this time to enjoy being on her own and making some of her own decisions. I hope that she will come back appreciating how much her Momma does for her. (ya know, little things like laundry and cutting the crust off her sandwiches.)

More than anything else, I hope that she has a great time and that she knows her Momma loves her no matter what. I WILL MISS her, but the timing couldn't be better. (and I hope that she at least changes her underwear and combs her hair)