Trolley Tripping, Sunday Football & the Near-Death Experience

on saturday the six of us (ok, it was actually the five of us - stitch was out-voted unanimously...) decided to go on the trolley for an adventure. i have always wanted to do this, and was re-inspired by a post from hotfudge. stitch almost didn't make the trip - he wasn't feeling very good (i think he just needed some fresh air - i get like that too.). thank goodness for leily's "magic water" that miraculously got him out of bed and motivated to go...

we decided to go north towards seaport village, to see what we could see.

and what did we see?

Daniel helping stitch buy tickets...

three little rascals waiting for the trolley ever so patiently...

my baby boy daniel...
seaport village: these are carriage rides that take you through the downtown area. nice, if you don't mind the smell of the manure collecting behind the horse...
there were free activities for visitors to play. stitch and daniel played lawn chess.

the girls were jumping over the captured chess pieces and practicing cartwheels. leily fell out of a tree she climbed and plopped down rather hard on her butt... the little trooper walked it off, and with a bit of tlc was able get back up.


on sunday morning i was almost killed in my very own garage. i went to the upright freezer we keep in there and opened the door. i was showered with mini candy bars that fell out of an open bag. the bag was carelessly (or purposely one might suspect...) left on top of the freezer. this should never have been the case, since this candy is SPECIFICALLY for halloween. i marched into the house and called everyone together for an emergency family meeting.

"i was almost killed just now by a bunch of candy falling on top of me in the garage!" i exclaimed, "does anyone have any idea who did this horrible and careless thing?!"

stitch started mumbling something and made his way for the back of the couch, averting eye contact.

"i'm sorry, babe. did you say something? i can't hear you..."

everyone was giggling because they all knew he was the culprit - he can be easily (and often) caught snacking on a snickers or almond joy...

i continued, "now i know it wasn't leily or day, they are too short to reach the top of the freezer... that leaves one of the boys! i know it wasn't Rey because he is ALWAYS emphasizing the importance of safety. so who was it, boys? which one of you two did this?"

from the back of the room, "um... i think that maybe i might've um left the candy out umm..."

"aha! you DID do it.. what shall his punishment be?"

i asked daniel for his input for stitch's punishment because daniel was just in trouble for not being safe. he was constantly running around even after being scolded the day before when we were waiting for the trolley. once i had palpitations he scared me so bad...

daniel said, "no football for the rest of the day!"

HA HA. i wish i had a picture of the look of shock and then despair on stitch's face...

i gotta give him credit - he stuck to it. and every time he started grumbling or tried to protest it, i reminded him that i was almost killed, and that he was actually getting off easy...

not much better...

I don't think i like this site...

celeb look-a-like.

oohhh. this is bad. i should redo this sans glasses.

the home stretch

hoping i'm not jinxing myself by coming out with this...

I got a job!!!

i received a call last night from the dept. manager and he said they would like to offer me a full time night position...

of course i said yes! i will hopefully start working in about a week or so. the hospital just needs to do a background check (hopefully not too many skeletons fall out... i'm so glad i got that streaking violation reduced to a misdemeanor...) and i have to pass a physical. a friend of mine that i just spoke to works there and said that it's just a basic physical, no x-rays or ct scans. too bad. i was hoping for full blown body invasion...

i have a whole new energy - i want to get the house as clean as possible and maybe even prepare a couple meals and freeze them so that i don't have to cook too much or end up doing take-out.

i'm going to do a lot of misc. paperwork tonight and shampoo the carpet (it seriously needs it). take the XL blankets to the laundry mat, and hopefully tomorrow or thursday get this damn overgrown yard finally done.

i love coffee and coffee loves me
sometimes i even drink a little tea.
chai or green, it does not matter,
just easy on the milk, it'll make me fatter.
getting things done feels so very good,
for a couple months now i've been under a hood...

wondering where some things are going, and remembering that for the past couple years i've known this year was going to be the hardest of them all...

just a couple more months, baby. i'll get there...

The Long Day That Is Not Over Yet

i broke my mother's heart today.

it wasn't the easiest thing for me to do and yet, i wasn't even trying.

i had a talk with her about the way she interacts with the kids, and how she needs to begin doing things my way, or she can not see them. it was a long and difficult talk.

once she tried to sucker me into a debate - i guess it was her way of calling me into the boxing ring to duke it out... the thing about "talking things out" is that when i am truly truly done with something or someone, i will not let myself be engaged in anymore conversation other than the initial subject. when she realized this, she backed down. and i actually felt bad for her. but it had to be done. there is too much drama in my life as it is, and i am trying very hard to keep my children out of it as much as i possibly can. as if problems with voldemort and my sister aren't enough, i don't need my mother whispering more crap into their ears. true or not, it is still adult matters, and as far as i am concerned, crap that my kids shouldn't be exposed to. they got enough goin on as is...

and in other news, i went to an interview this morning. my first so far. i honestly don't know if they liked me or not. i'm just glad i didn't ralph on anyone. that includes myself.

quite possibly the most intense hour of my day so far. the hour with my mother was probably the most tiring and depressing...

so far...

over the river times ten

a good friend of mine has a loved one in prison. on saturday stitch and i drove her out to Blythe, Ca for visiting hours. we had nothing but free time from 8 am to 3 pm. at a nearby liquor store, i talked with a man who suggested driving through quartzsite, az, which was just up the way.

this sign was about the most interesting thing in quartzsite... and the very nice english couple we met in an AM/PM. they were headed out to tombstone for a wedding. they were kind enough to invite us along, if i cleaned out their car first...

this is Parker Dam. here is stitch playing vanna white. it was pretty hot out. the single public bathroom didn't have a lock on the door. the man monitoring the dam must've thought we were a couple of nut cases, we were goofing off so much...

there are turn-outs all along the winding mountain roads that overlook the river. we pulled off on one and decided to go hiking. finally made it to the top of a mini-mountain and had a rock throwing contest. stitch was sitting to my right, so i couldn't get a full rotation as i threw... otherwise, i would've totally wasted his butt!!! (um, yeah, that's it...)

by the end of our adventure, we had crossed the colorado river ten times, drove through lake havesue, and ate a bunch of junk food (mostly diet soda and sun chips. and some jack in the box). i have two new pretty rocks.

we also did a lot of talking. about the kids, about taking more trips, and about me starting work (hopefully) soon. there were times that i was giddy and optimistic about life and love, and times when i was tired and found myself brooding on things that have been weighing heavily on me lately.

one of these particular times i fell alseep. that's when stitch's inner photographer emerged and decided to be a bit creative with the props...

i'm so gonna get his ass back...

AND he friggin' kept a poker face for the rest of the trip until later on at home i went through the camera...

juggling with dilemas is like wading through mud for me. i just want someone to sedate me and wake me when the toughest part is over. what a brat, huh? there is so much you learn about another person if you just take the time to listen and pay attention.

then it gets really scary. then the other person starts figuring you out, too.

i feel so naked...