Find The Studs, People!

When one attaches things to walls, things meant for supporting other things, I can't stress enough how important studs are.

Because if things aren't secured to these vastly important thingies called 'studs'......well, this can happen

In this instance, the shelf in the closet will not be able to support the storage items on top as well as the clothes hanging on the bar. When all these forces are put together it equals no hanging clothes or boxes on shelves....and a big mess when it comes time to clean up that shattered mirror door.

So find the studs, people, that's all I'm sayin'.

Be Careful, They Repeat What You Say!

Isabel and I had to take Edward (our new cat) to the vet today for a booster shot. Edward doesn't like the cat carrier or being in the truck (or probably the vet for that matter!), and he was being quite vocal in his protests. So Isabel and I were talking about Edward and how he was feeling about his journey, but then Isabel had something else to say....

Isabel - Edward is a booger.

Me - What???

Isabel - Edward is a booger. That's what Dad says 'cause Edward went in Caleb's room.

There you have it folks. Edward is a booger because that is what Isabel heard her Daddy say to Edward when he got into a part of the house that he wasn't suppose to be in.

Their little ears hear what we say and have no regrets about repeating it. So speak your words carefully.

It Spilleth Over

We are now on storm #3 of the week. And they say that this one will be the biggest of the string of storms passing through this week. I'm not sure what the rain totals are, but I can tell you on thing....we are this close to have an infinity edge pool.



Just from looking at the pool now and knowing what the water level was before all this crazy rain, it would be safe to say that we have gotten a good five to six inches of rain since Sunday night. And the worst of today's storm has yet to hit.

There is only about an inch left before the water level in the pool reaches the top. And I think today is the day it will overflow.

At least we won't have to fill the pool anytime soon!

Quotes To Live By

Last night we took the kids to a late-night doctors appointment. I had scheduled the first round of H1N1 vaccines for them.

Unbeknownst to my children.

Really, it's a smart move all around. This way I don't have to hear whines, fusses and crying over impending shots for hours on end. And the kids are also not plauged with thoughts and fears of the forthcoming shots either. See? It's a win-win.

We went out to dinner, then made a quick run to Costco since we had time to spare before the appointment. It wasn't until we were about a minute away from the parking garage that I told them the news. No surprise, there was whining, fussing and crying despite my pleas for bravery.

As I walked with Mae through the parking lot, toward the office of doom, I explained to her that this small pain was worth it so that she wouldn't get really really sick later. Her response?

"I'd rather die."

I couldn't help myself, I laughed! Seriously, it couldn't be held in. Not one bit.

Later, after the shots were dispensed and we were walking back to the truck, Isabel was still crying and quite sad. That's when she said...

"I want to cry forever."

Unfortunately, Ryan told the kids that they'd be back in about 4 weeks for the second round. My thoughts on this slip of information????

"Great. There goes the element of surprise. Now I'll be hearing about it for the next month."

There will be no win-win next time. *sigh* However, they may know its coming.......but that doesn't mean I'll tell them exactly when. *wink wink*

Good Thing My Camera Was Handy!

California is getting some big storms this week. Yesterday our rain got started by mid afternoon. When it storms here, I like to pull the blinds up in the family room so we can see better. I'm glad I did because Mae spotted a HUGE full rainbow in the backyard!!! I didn't think it would turn out, but I grabbed the camera and took a few pictures. THEN, I decided to look out the window that faces the front yard and I saw a very cool sunset....so I took a picture of that too.

Here's the rainbow as seen from our backyard. I was right, the rainbow didn't turn out very well.


But the sunset pictured turned out (at least I think so). I think God was doing a little showing off....and I loved it!!!

Expensive Taste

While we were out on Saturday, just looking around at fun furniture stores, I sat in this....


It's called a Womb Chair. The one I saw was displayed in a retro, funky, orange color. And the chair itself looks a little strange too. But I thought 'why not sit it in?!', and so I did.

And fell in love.

It is a fabulously comfortable chair. They way supports and just holds you just right.....ahhhhh, I could sit in it for hours.

I could read. Or watch a movie. Or put my feet up on the just-the-right-size ottoman and take a nap.

Yep. I could do all that.

If I had about two thousand dollars to spare.

Reunion

When we were in Modesto for Christmas, I was able to meet up with a long-lost friend - Wendy!!! Wendy and I lived across the street from each other when we were young. She was my best friend and we did many childhood things. Things like roller-skating in our neighbors driveways, lived out stories in the almond trees in her backyard, put on trapeze shows on her backyard swing set, built forts in the firewood pile that was in her front yard, and spoke vast amounts of pig latin. Together we had quite the imagination and I can't recall a time that we lacked anything to do. Of course, the fact that Wendy had 6 other sisters helped too. There was always something to do at Wendy's house and always someone to play with.

My childhood would not have been the same without Wendy and her fun sisters. And my blog life would be non-existent if it weren't for her too. After I was married, I had tried off and on for years to find Wendy, and a few years ago I finally did! Turns out she had a blog, and after reading it I discovered that blogs were fun and that I wanted one too. And so began my illustrious blog-writing career.

So, after many a year (20??), I had the opportunity to see Wendy again. It's funny, Wendy is one of those people that doesn't seem to change. She looks just as I remember her.

Only with four kids.

And being nicely tanned from the Hawaiian sun.

It was great to get together with Wendy last month and to meet her children. I enjoyed catching up with our lives since we last saw each other, and to see our kids play together. If only we lived closer, I wonder if our kids would be close friends too??

A Big Day

Caleb had a big day yesterday.

#1 - He got to sit in the front seat of the truck for the first time. The law in California says that any child age 6 or older can sit in the front, but Caleb didn't know that (shhhhh, don't tell! *wink*), and so he finally got his view from the front seat at age 7!

#2 - He was signed up for his first soccer league. Caleb has not played any sport, ever!, and he finally gets the opportunity. The only bummer is that he now has to wait another 4 weeks before his first practice and game.

Can't you tell.....Caleb is super-excited about these major developments in his life!

Say "cheese!", or how about "front seat!", wait, I mean "soccer!". Oh never mind.

A Cone?....Seriously??!?

I got the kitties fixed this past week. I am amazed at how things have changed since I last had cats. For instance, the instructions for caring for Jane, post-op, was to have her wear a cone until her stitches come out. Back when I had kitties (was it really 25 years ago??! sheesh, I feel 'old'!) the vet sent us home with ointment to put on the incision that would make their mouth foam if the kitty licked it, this would teach them from doing that. Now, they must think the ointment as inhumane, for instead, they make the kitty wear a cone for 10 to 14 days. You tell me, which is worse....a little foam but the ability to keep oneself clean and 'normal'? -or- wear a cone and not be able to be and/or keep clean or be able to do anything normally???

Anyway, despite how pathetic and sad it is to see Jane with her 'cone of shame', it's also kind of funny. She walks weird as her head bobs from side to side and she thrusts out her front legs like a supermodel. hee hee.....I have a supermodel kitty!

I'm going to make her an appointment tomorrow so that she can get her stitches out on Friday. At least that is my hope. The next step with these kitties is to introduce them to the out of doors, where they will live the rest of their lives, for the most part. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to do that?? Again, it's been a while since I've introduced a cat to the outside and I don't want them to run away. What a waste it would be to spend all this money and have them run away. So, if you have any tips or advice, I'm open to suggestions!

My Name Is Muerte!

We began thinking of cat names before we even got them. Of course, at first, the plan was to get only one cat, so we were only trying to come with one name. And we wanted the name to be fitting for a rat killer. We tossed names back in forth before landing the perfect one.

There were names like Spike, Axel and Rouge. But as we were discussing names Ryan threw out Death, then we just looked at each other, and at the same time, we said Muerte! If you've seen the movie Undercover Blues then you'll understand why this name is so perfect. (although I hope that our cats are more successful) Here's a few clips from the movie, featuring bits of just Muerte.....

The name would have been great, if we had only one cat. But as you know, we got two. And they came pre-named. Edward and Bella (very Twilight). We kinda liked the name Edward so we kept it, but we couldn't name the girl kitty Muerte, it just didn't seem to fit. So we changed it to Jane, after a kitty we had seen at the Humane Society. But we had to fit Muerte in there somewhere! So we gave the cats a family name - Los Gatos de Muerte (the cats of death)

Here Kitty, Kitty!

Where we live now is in between the main town and farmland. I call it Town and Country. This means that we don't have sidewalks and are not hooked up to city sewer. It also means that we have issues to deal with that we haven't had in the past. Things like rats.

These issues call for long-term problem solving techniques. We like to call this, Cats. Yes, yes, I know....we can use rat bait and traps, but we'd rather not have to deal with those things. It'd be easier to employ a live-in solution.

So last week, after an exhaustive search, we got not one, but two live-in solutions. Please say hello to Edward and Jane.

They are brother and sister and are the nicest cats ever! The lady I got them from told me that they are seven months old and part Siamese and part Calico. Edward, for sure, looks more Siamese with his dark ears and blue eyes. Jane seems less Siamese but her eyes are a pretty light blue. Regardless, I think they are beautiful!

It's been fun to watch the cats and see how the kids interact with them. My kids haven't really had a pet before so this is all new to them. Me, on the other hand, grew up with a couple cats and I find that I have not lost my touch with finding their favored scratching spots around the ears and under the chin. I think Edward likes me best. And to that I say Yes!

This past week has been quite eventful for these kitties. Not only have they been plucked from their home but just yesterday I took them to the vet to get 'fixed'. Poor Jane, she tore a hole in her cardboard cat carrier on the way to the vet. The next thing I hear is Isabel saying "Jane is out". Sure enough, there was Jane all wide-eyed and walking around the truck, looking through all the windows. Now, if you think texting while driving is dangerous, try driving with a cat walking on the dashboard!!!

After all we've put into these kitties (finding them and vet costs!), they'd better stick around when we let them out and keep the rat population down.