As Promised . . .

More party photos.

These are my friends Jen and Derek, the hostess and host of the party. Jen and I met in 8th grade and have been friends ever since -- she is one of the many cool people I know. She is also quite beautiful. You may notice that in this photo she is dressed as a character from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (although I have never seen the show) and she was cracking me up. They both were! Derek is dressed as a character from Reno 911, (this photo does not show his extremely tight short shorts). They also just had their first child. . .

If you look closely to the right of the above photo you can see a picture of their newborn son, Kjell (pronounced Kell), hanging on the wall of their motor home. So sweet. Kjell stayed snuggled out in the motor home with his Aunt Kristen in the Village resort parking lot while mom and dad made brief appearances at their party.

This is a picture of a man dressed like spam. He has a computer head, a spam can body, and an envelope on his side filled with messages offering solutions for enlarging your member and sprucing up your love life that he was passing out to party goers all evening. He is raising his hands in the air like he just don't care.

This is Bender. At one point Bender ran up to me on the dance floor and accosted me for a few seconds and then ran off. Bad behavior Bender. . . Halloween is no excuse, even if the actions fit the persona. The best part of the night, besides seeing Jen, Derek, and Kjell, was just people watching and costume observing.

Sunday, Lazy Sunday

Today instead of:

1. Cutting the grass
2. Doing the laundry
3. Going grocery shopping
4. Cleaning the bathrooms
5. Painting a second coat of sealant on my freshly painted walkway/carport
6. Hemming jeans that are too long (handed down to me from my 14 year-old daughter)
7. Washing my bedding
7. Submitting new account forms for work that should have been done on Friday
8. Turning in a call log report for work that should have been done on Friday

I could go on. . . instead

I laid in the (uncut) grass and beset my cat with the camera.

I watched Cole make line drawings on the computer (future engineer right there).

And recalled the events of the evening before. One of the reasons I was such an underachiever today was because of staying up past my usual 10:30 pm to attend my friends Jen's and Derek's Halloween party in Squaw Valley, Ca last night. This is a photo of my sister Steph with random dudes. Steph is quite a pretty lady, even dressed as a gladiator, so it is not unusual to see her surrounded by random dudes. She was also sporting quite the artistic, glittery eye shadow (click on photo to see eye shadow up close). It draws in boys like moths to a flame. More party photos to follow. . .

Quinoa: It's What's For Breakfast

After a weekend of wine tasting, chocolate, and prime rib cooked just right, (I was working! If one has to go to a Clinical Laboratory Management conference on a Saturday, it may as well be at a beautiful winery in the Sonora Foothills, right?), I needed to cleanse my indulging-lovin' soul (and body) with a simple, nutrient-rich breakfast. So, I cooked up my new favorite grain, Quinoa (keen-wah), and sauteed some asparagus in loads of garlic -- sounds like breakfast? It was yummmmy. Quinoa is noted for having the most complete amino acids profile (protein) of any grain. It is native to the Andes and is a staple in Peru and Chile. And it's tasty.

Fungus Among Us

Look what I found growing out of some composted soil in my back yard. Fungus, because of its cellular structure, is more closely related to humans than plants. Yet, I still do not call this alien-looking "creature" my brother.

Mmmmm

Recipe: Drive to Mikuni's and order.

Nulceus Reaction

Cole (and I) finished his 3-D model of a cell project this weekend. After forming the cell out of clay -- it kind of looks like a messy Mr. Bill -- and labeling all the parts (organelles) of the cell, Cole's next assignment was to write a short paragraph comparing an individual organelle to some modern object that performs the same job the structure does in the cell. Cole chose to write about the Nucleus, "the Main Controller," and compared the object to -- his mother! He wrote that the organelle was like his mom because she is the main controller of the family.

I felt all at once honored that he recognized my role (he is a twelve year old boy with a strong will), and startled -- I'm not controlling, I check myself daily, I could not possibly be a controlling mother. . .???

I suggested, "isn't the nucleus more of a director, it directs the activities of the cell?" Semantics.

"No", he responded, "it says in the book that the nucleus is the master controller."

"Ok, well this is a short paragraph, let's see if we can add more details."

I searched his science text book for more descriptions of the nucleus (pretty, funny, a joy to be around -- nope, it was the controller). Ok, I'll accept it.

Brent, overhearing our conversation, piped in and said, "well then I am the Endoplasmic Reticulum of the family, because the reticulum performs the job of transporter!" (Brent, who has had his license for two years, does an awesome job of moving his brother and sister from one place to another -- thank you Brent).

I was impressed with Brent's memory, now in his first year of college, he had done this same project in the 7th grade. Or, I should say, we had done the same project, and I also completed the same project with Hannah too. This was my third and last go around with the 3-D cell project, but this was the first time I had been compared to the nucleus. In the end, I feel proud to be the nucleus of my son's life. However, it must be recognized, it takes an entire cell structure to raise a child.

The Hills Are Alive

If you know me well, you know that "The Sound of Music" is a few of my favorite things (have I mentioned that before? No? Well, now you know). This may be why I became a little overly excited that Elisabeth von Trapp, granddaughter of Maria and Baron (Georg) von Trapp of the famous von Trapp Family Singers, is singing in Sacramento this weekend. It's not that I am overly excited about her style of music, what really got me was when I heard her interviewed on Capitol Public Radio -- a live interview with an actual von Trapp.

She had some insights into the movie, things that are true, things that poetic license had its way with. The general story is true. She mentioned specifically that these two facts are true: Maria did make the kids play clothes out of curtains, and they did climb in trees and were hanging out of them when the Baroness came to visit. In fact, Elisabeth added that her father recalled that Maria raced the kids to the top of the tree and won. Oh bliss. . .

Things that are not true: Georg, far from being the detached, cold-blooded patriarch of the family who disapproved of music, as portrayed in the first half of The Sound of Music, was actually a gentle, warmhearted parent who enjoyed musical activities with his family (thank goodness!). While this change in his character might have made for a better story in emphasizing Maria's healing effect on the von Trapps, it distressed his family greatly, especially the real life Maria (who, disappointingly, was at times prone to fits of anger). And, the von Trapp family did not escape over the Swiss Alps on foot, but rather took a train and then a boat to America. Their personal ethics and sacrifice saved them all!

Still, it is my favorite love story ever.

The Sky is Fall

Photo by Hannah W.

Family Gallery

Hannah, self-portrait 10.10.07

Cole, a very long day 09.07

The Sound of Fresh Cut Grass

To cut the tiers of grass in my yard, I chose the 20" Task Master to help with the job. I really enjoy having a push mower instead of a power mower; easier to start (just push), good for the environment (no fuel or fuel exhaust), easy to store (smaller size). It is, however, believe it or not, nosier, or at least more grating, than the hum of an electric mower. As the blades turn they emit a high pitched squeal and scrape -- metal against metal. I am a veritable spectacle in my neighborhood of modern yard care equipment. People turn their heads, children run for cover, dogs howl.

One afternoon, however, an elderly lady walking up my street beamed a huge smile at me while I was cutting the grass and said, you don't hear that sound anymore! She stopped for a moment, breathing in deeply, watching me push rows through my scruffy lawn. She had that wistful look of someone catching a happy memory, and I felt happy that my throw-back-lawn-care-ways were able to give that to her.

Gang of Five

At 7:30 am I gave Cole $2 to buy his morning donut and to buy two for his friend, Riley, who had covered Cole for his donuts twice before. That's the way these boys roll. Cole rides his bike to school every morning, meeting up with four other boys that join the pack along the way. The lot of them then stop at Save Mart to self check-out a donut (not a healthy breakfast, but they're eating!) and continue on to bunny-hop, wheelie, swerve and skid into Jr. high for a day of seat work and tests.
I love waving Cole off on his iconic boys' romp to school and imagine (and hope) that these will be times, when as a man, he will reflect upon fondly.

Fall is Coming, Fall is Coming