Friday, October 31, 2008

Suprise! It's not the forest!



Last week a bunch of us girls from Church packed up our sleeping bags, pillows and SNACK FOOD and piled into vans and cars to strike out on our big camping trip. Caryn Stapp had been planning this trip for about 6 weeks. She had camped at the place a bunch of times, as had a lot of the other women, so I gave my money for my spot at the campsite, and I got psyched!

I was so excited to sleep under the stars in a lovely forest setting and feel as though I was back under the Montana Big Sky. I looked forward to seeing the lovely lake and walk on it's beach. I couldn't wait to smell the pine needles, pick up pine cones, make s'mores over a campfire, and keep an eye peeled for deer wandering into our campground.

First clue that something was going south was when we started driving toward San Francisco instead of toward Auburn. Wait! What about our planned stop at In 'N Out! That's in Auburn.

Okay, I thought. There are 'hills' in the distance. People here think 'hills' are mountains, so the campsites must be there. And there are lots of In 'N Out Burgers throughout CA. That's why we're stopping in Fairfield. Enjoy your shake, Patty. We're not in Kansas anymore . . .

Because somewhere into our 2nd hour on the road, Caryn mentioned the ocean.
What?
Me: I thought we were going camping by a lake.
Caryn: No, we're going to the ocean.
Me: But you said 'beach' and a lake.
Caryn and a couple of other people in the van: No. Didn't you read the emails? Its at the ocean! The ocean has a beach!
Me: Noooo. You're kidding, right?
Everyone in the van: NO!
Me: You promise?
They promised.

At this point, I swear, I had to do some major mental readjustment.
Especially when I learned we were staying at a hostel.

But when it all came down to it, we ended up at a really cool, famous place called Point Reyes. It has a billion ecosystems, so although I didn't get any s'mores, I did get to see pine trees, sleep in a sleeping bag, see stars when we walked back from eating in the hostel's kitchen . . .

And although I didn't see it for myself, my friends tell me they did see a deer - splayed dead on the beach.

pacifica2
Originally uploaded by cobaltika

Monday, October 20, 2008

"Do a Good Turn Daily"


Cub Scout 3
Originally uploaded by Drunter&Druber




On my honor I will do my best

To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake,
and morally straight.


I was just called to be the Cub Scout Webelos leader here in my Woodland Stake Church group.

I really love the Scout Oath. I DO try to help people. But the only part of it that I am actually living is the whole 'morally straight' thing.
As far as 'Physically Strong' ~ not even.
Mentally Awake ~ zzzzzzz . . . sniff, snort, huh?

But I did this 'job' in Montana for over a year, and I really enjoyed it. (I even have my own Scout Shirt!) The boys are at a really delightful and fun age, and they are so enthusiastic and 'teachable.'

I especially enjoy the yearly Pinewood Derby. Each boy gets a kit with pieces of wood, and the wheels and axles to build a small car. You get to carve the car to whatever shape you want, but it has to be the correct weight so they'll all be equal. It's really fun. The boys are always so excited and proud of their cars. But I think the Dads sometimes get more invested than their sons!

Better go and work on becoming physically strong and mentally awake!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Autumn's Apple


Autumn's Apple
Originally uploaded by naughton321


It's a lovely October afternoon and the earth is calming down and settling in for winter. Some leaves are still changing from green to red or yellow or orange. Some are falling. The days are getting shorter. It's the most beautiful time of year and it makes me want to break out the t.v.-watching footsie socks and settle down with a good book.

Happy Autumn!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

A Screaming Halt


A Screaming Halt
Originally uploaded by Gregory Pleau
I talked to the admin at school today and made plans to take a leave of absence and then switch to night classes. I'm so relieved that I can have a little easier schedule.

I won't start nights until the end of January, so it's another 'hurry up and wait' situation. But I'll be starting on Perms - like I would have on Monday - and will move along into Hair Design. I'm excited, because it won't be long after that until I'm working on the floor.

So, that's that!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

weapons of grass destruction


weapons of grass destruction
Originally uploaded by dro!d
Seeing these pup feet (pootsies - rhyme with footsies) on here, I miss my big old dog Yogi who passed away a little over a year ago. Only Yogi had 'star toes' - hair between the pads that splayed out into little stars. The best feet in the world.

Anyhoo... (I really HATE that expression) ... today was a lazy day. I haven't been to school in 2 days because I had a horrible migraine last Friday and it was an awful day. I just got so tired and frustrated that I was ready to quit.

But after thinking it over, I've decided I'd like to transfer to the night classes. They're part-time, and start at 5:30 pm and finish at about 10pm - the perfect time for me since my body and mind starts to come alive after about 2 in the afternoon!

Unfortunately, it takes about 18 months, and I would have to go in on Saturdays, but I really want to finish. I just have to finalize things with the admin at school. But I think they like my monthly cash payments enough to work with me! (HA.) Hopefully!

On another note, we have the Presidential Debate on t.v. and it's so obnoxious. McCain and Obama are arguing about stupid things - 'you said this about me!' 'Well, you said this about me.' I'm not particularly fond of either of them and don't even know who I'll vote for. It will be the lesser of two evils - if I can even choose one.

Viennese 'hot' dog


Viennese 'hot' dog
Originally uploaded by P.U. Who?
I took this picture last year when Mark and I were in Austria. We had strolled through a little rainstorm into the posh downtown of Vienna. We passed Tiffany's, Dolce y Gabanna, Versace, etc. I took photos of cathedrals, shops, statues, and fountains.

But this is my favorite shot.

If ever an animal looked embarrassed....

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Happy October


happy halloween
Originally uploaded by rist2796
I love this picture because I've felt flu-ish for the past couple of days.
It didn't help knowing that the girl I ride to school with spent a week hitting her forehead on the toilet.

School has been pretty fun lately, and I'm glad I didn't bail after week 3. This mod has been Hair Color and we spent the first 2 weeks learning the color wheel ("Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?") and then brushing shaving cream on our doll heads. There are 9 State Board Procedures for how and where to apply hair which hair color or bleach, so it's a bit confusing at first. But now we've dyed and bleached our little 'quads' (a scalp with 4 sections, each a different color) as well as done 'weaving' and 'slicing.
Okay, nobody cares, but it's cool.

Mark and Sid have been in Europe over the past 10 days, and I miss them like crazy. Mark gave a presentation at a medical conference in Germany, and right now they're in Holland touring Amsterdam. Have I mentioned that I miss them like crazy?

It seems as tho every time Mark leaves, something goes wrong. This time the washing machine flooded. A lot. The only nice thing about stepping barefoot into 1" of cold water is realizing it's very clean. And the worst thing is realizing that when the guy fixed it for the same thing 2 weeks ago, it didn't work and he'd have to come back. Luckily I have tomorrow off so he can come and fix it I won't smell at school this week.

Anyway, I'm going to go and find something good to do that doesn't involve getting out of this chair. So I guess I won't really 'go.' I'll just let my fingers do the going and see what I can find on my little Dell.

Booo!