J O B

I have to find a full time job- ouch! It is a little daunting at the moment, but I almost think it will be easier than part time, cuz then both R and I will be full time, therefor all housework splits right down the middle. Right? I'm probably going to guess that's wrong, but we'll see how we end up. I won't be stressed out driving the kids to and fro all before 2pm if it were a part time gig and then have to do it all still. I'm trying to find the beauty in it... like having a whole hour lunch break to eat by myself and not have to get up to get someone a napkin, milk, or more of something. That alone is a beautiful thing.

I found this today. I think I should print it up and frame.

It just makes me smile.

PS I know I am terrible at keeping up a blog. Sorry.

My Brother Lands a HUGE Fish. HUGE!!!!

I'm double posting and they are both a little boastful blogs today, but I'm very proud of both Luke riding his bike and my brother landing the fish of a lifetime!

My brother Marc went on a ten day fishing trip out of San Diego the day after Thanksgiving. Just when they thought things were looking slow, they spotted something on the horizon and headed over where my brother caught a HUGE ASS fish.

HOLY COW!!!

3 4 4 lb

F I S H

They call it cow town for a reason I guess?!

Here is the fishing report from the boat

he was out on and a picture to prove this fish tale!

Here is my other brother's email about it...

My brother Marc is on a $3000, 10-day fishing trip out of San Diego. They travel down the Baja-Peninsula targeting 100 to 300lbs Yellowfin Tuna (AKA “Cows”). They had reached their southern-most point of the trip in “cow-town” and were discouraged to only catch a few 100+ pounders. They were about to leave the grounds and head back hoping to find some action on the way home when they suddenly saw “something interesting” on the horizon.

When the putted over there, two guys hooked into some “cows”. Marc fought a 344 pounder!!!! This fish spooled his reel. That means the 500+ yards of line was now empty so they do a risky, but common maneuver where they tie the end of his rod to a second one, let his $1000+ rod and reel go in the ocean and continue the battle on the second rod!!!!!

Icing on the cake: There is a contest going that gives anyone on the boat that catches a 300+ pound fish a free 10-day trip in the future!!!!

Sushi anyone?

Look who learned to ride a bike...

Yep Luke!

The night before we were on a family bike ride when Rodney called us all to a stop. Luke listened, but the big red caboose didn't. I accidently ran over his training wheel- Crack! The whole entire little wheel shattered in pieces. I felt like a big bully running over his little training wheel with my beach cruiser tire. Upon discovering his stumped training wheel he declared, "Hey, that wasn't nice, you broke my bike!" Tears. Lots of tears. More tears.

Ahhh, I felt terrible. The best I could do is apologize to my little man who's bicycle dreams had just been shattered. I quickly encouraged him that tomorrow.... "daddy will teach you to ride without your training wheel cuz you're a big boy Luke- I know you can do it." I mean after all, he's very athletic for his age. He can dribble a basketball and sink shots. He can ride a razor scooter and go off curbs with it. He jumps off our fourth stair to the ground floor. The kid is just crazy-wild like that.

The next day, Rod is heads out the door to go down to the parking lot with his tools.

J What are you working on the truck (It hasn't started well lately)?

R No, I was going to fix Luke's wheel you broke.

J Well, I think he could ride a bike without them. You should try first before you fix it!

I went about housely duties when Rod comes in and said...

"You were right. He can do it."

It's beginning to feel like Christmas

I finally broke out our limited collection of Christmas decorations and hung our stockings. Bella and I colored wreaths, trees, and cut out snowflakes to replace the turkey's in the window with our Christmas art. I have an almost-life size Nativity scene given to me by my grandma but until we live in a bigger place it just plain takes up too much of our space, not to mention the year round storage of it.

After listening to Christmas music all day, I convinced Rod to get us a tree after work. This year we opted for the local cut trees. What happen to the days when it was cheaper to cut your own? Last year it was near $50 to cut our own. This time it was only $30 and around the corner from our house. However, they did have organic nobel firs the same size for $70?!! Only in Santa Cruz.








We've been getting crafty with the cold weather. I bought some mod-podge and have used it on everything from canvas to headbands. I even mod-podged the front page of my dictonary back on. That stuff is like the womans duct tape! I love it.

With birthdays and Christmas so near, we've come up with some handmade things like felt barrets, headbands, sewing aprons, and felt pin cushions. We are looking to cut cost on presents this year, so I'm open to great gift ideas if you have any? What fun stuff have you made that's fairly easy and kid friendly. Would about for boys? It seems I can't think of much, except maybe a army camo or dino apron? Hmmmm.

Here is a peek at 1st graders art work. Isabella's creations this year in first grade blow me away. She made a leaf bowl with real clay. I think I maybe had finger painting in 1st grade, not clay! Yesterday, she came home with this cutie. It's half clay, half paper. I love the whimsical feel all her drawings and faces have. However, some disagree, like her own father. When I showed him her creation, he stood there looking at it with a concerned look on his face.

OZ: Part 2

Is it tomorrow yet? Gee. Blog maintenance is hard with little ones around all the time. Anyway here is some more of our trip...

After our two night stint in Sydney, Tim picked Jenee and I up from the Robina train station after a 2 hour plane ride from Sydney to Brisbane. I forgot how enjoyable traveling can be without little ones to worry about. That train ride for one hour was probably the fastest hour in my life. I just sat with my own thoughts and soaked in the scenery as we ventured fom the commercial area through the inner city to the country south toward the Gold Coast. We arrived around 3ish in Brisbane, so the whole ride south we saw school age children getting on and off dressed in their uniforms. At each stop they'd get off, I'd look at the small small town they were from and wonder what their family life was like where they lived, their neighborhood and friends. It a mystery that always draws my thoughts in to ponder for a mile or two down the road

Arriving in Cabarita, Lyn came out to greet us in the driveway with Rod on the phone even though it was near midnight during the work week for him. She had tears in her eyes and it was a joyous welcome after a solid three years had past since I'd last seen her. She even made us a welcome sign and had flowers to welcome us with. So hospitable!

She cooked up her classic curry dishes that night.

Jenee and I spent that first afternoon Wednesday just around Caba. We figured a BIG day on bikes: visit Lyn at the church in town where she works, get a coffee beachfront, visit Tim at the post office he works at, go lay out for a couple hours at the beach, then grab a beer and head home for lunch. The thing is, we were waking up by 6am every morning, so with our early start and the small town that Cabarita is, we had well accomplished everything by noon and that was with a couple extras like a quick surf and a little shopping too. Time to slow down.

Tim took us shopping up the coast to their mall for the afternoon and we had dinner at the pub that night. Tim and Lyn treated us girls to the new pub in town called, The Beach. A very flash and modern restaurant that replace the old beachfront pub.




The next day, Thursday we headed north to see some Australian wildlife, since the only kangaroo I've ever seen in 6 month long visits was one dead one on the side of the road! So we started out being suckered into this tourist photo....


Emu. He had eyes for Jenee and tango danced her into a corner.

Entering the reptile area with real crocks!

Then off to the soft and cuddlies... Jenee fell in love with the little joeys and asked to stay a little longer like a little kid everytime I suggest we move on.

Lyn picked us up after a couple hours at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and we headed off to lunch for falafels and a tour down the coastline. Stay tuned for part 3.

How was your trip?

Lots of people have been asking me so here is a recap...

We took a short 13 hour plane ride:

1 sleeping pill

2 meals

3 movies

4 magazines

5 drinks

6 hours of sleep

7 bathroom trips later

we got here:

We stayed two nights in Sydney.

The first day we chilled out and stayed local.

Eating, drinking, and shopping nearby.

We got drinks in Darling Harbour that night at a place called, Homebar. This place had the best ambience! The wicker chairs were so chill and comfy. We sat just outside the bar with mellow tunes in the background and the harbor lights glistening on the dark night water.

It was here Jenee meet her first Australian critters...

Cockroaches!

The next day we took a run from Darling Harbour where our hotel was through the botonical gardens where we encountered fruit bats in the trees.

We continued our run out around the Sydney Oprah House...

around to Circle Quay where there is a "Cahill Walk"

down to the Sydney Harbour Bridge

then to breakfast at

Pancake on the Rocks.

Mmmm... Pancakes

with strawberries and fresh cream plus

mushroom crepes with pesto sauce.

I order a coffee with milk they call, "flat white."

If you're a straight black kind of girl you'd get a "long black."

If you're really complicated (ahem, Jenee), you'd order a half-caff-skinny-latte.

Delicious!

After breakfast, we bought a day tripper pass and after cleaning up at the hotel jumped on a

Ferry to Manley Bay for lunch.

Then back to Sydney where we caught a bus with this sign on it.

Our bus ride took us to Bondi Beach for the afternoon.

It was here we were sand blasted from high winds and

retired inside for some sangrias with a view.

After an exhausting two days in Sydney, I was happy to be going to Caba... it felt as though I was returning home. I was looking forward to someone else figuring our way around, mum's homecooking and dad's stories. Stay tuned for our adventures on the gold coast tomorrow.

Lost Treasures

Yeah, there is always a few hundred lost treasures awaiting me in my parents attic. I was over at their place this weekend while my mom was away to help her re-claim her dining room for Thanksgiving. She moved her office out into the dining room a few years ago. Ok it's been more than that! It was when we boom-a-rang children all moved back home the same year. Oh yeah, and my boyfriend who knocked me up but wasn't allowed to share a room with me under my parents roof moved in too. Anyways, I love having my house in order. So since she's hosting Thanksgiving this year, I thought it would be a fun surprise for her to come home to her house back in order! In the midst of it all, I had to shuffle three rooms of furniture and kid mania and a bunch into the attic. It was there that I found a sewing book that teaches you everything you'd ever want to know about sewing! From basic stitch to how to follow patterns and make custom slipcovers. It even has a couple pages on how to set up your workspace room. Well, now I'm dreaming, but maybe one day I'll refrence those pages. I do know how to sew pretty well, but am missing a lot of the basics. I'm very excited. I've had two sewing machines given to me and one brand new one bought for me, but somehow I still don't own a working one?! While I was away, Rod was at home to play (surf). But the surf was flat and he did all sorts of handy work at home in addition to finding me a surprise gift... a sewing machine!! I'm so goo goo over him that he got me something. A how to sew book with a machine to match, all in the same weekend- Hot dog!


It has been taken good care of too, all the pieces
are there with the original manual.



I love how vintage it looks. Classic all American colors.


The second treasure I found in the attic was my old year book of when I was a first grader! Despite the cheesy I want bangs haircut and my two missing front teeth, I knew my first grader back at home would get a kick out of it, so I brought it home. She really did get a kick out of it, she studied it with a serious look, then started busting up laughing! As childhood insecurities started flooding in, I couldn't resist pointing out that I was missing two front teeth in first grade, but she has only lost one. That is big talk when you are six!

Billy Graham is 90

Today Billy Graham turns 90 years old. God bless that man. What a legacy and unwavering life of service he's had. While he retired a few years ago, he's still around and going strong. His mind and spirt are strong, while his body is growing old. His son said on an interview today, the hardest part for Billy is his sight is going and he can no longer read scripture daily like he has for years and years. At which point I felt God say, one more reason to put my scripture to memory child. I'm working on it. I have it posted all around my house. I feel in the midst of mommyhood, scripture written out and posted around the house is very grounding and encouraging. You know how our mommy days go, just a quick word from the Lord can stop me in my tracks and change my attitude on the matter at hand. Billy was quoted saying, "As a Christian I know how to die, but not how to grow old." I've heard that often from older folks and pray that I learn to age gracefully as I grow.

Another fascinating fact I learned today is he is a democrat. Ahhhhh, yes! The funny thing is his son is a republican. Ha. Not that it is who votes who, but in the Christian community, we are often considered to be "watering down the truth" or told some guilt ridden thing if you are a democrat. I've flip flopped a bit over the years, but I feel like it's about each candidate that year and the current standing with our country. Like Billy, I will sometimes vote one way nationally and a different way locally. I am encouraged to read all this today. Here is a link to his older interview...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8326362

With politic the hot topic these days, our small group has had the best discussions. In the end, I walked away feeling like, you can't legislate peoples choices. Well you can, that is what this is all about... but does that really change their heart? Is that really bringing them closer to God? Is that drawing them into our church family or pushing them away and building bitterness?

"Our compassion for others is an accurate gauge of our devotion to God." ~ Billy Graham

Welcome Winter

It's good to be home with my family again. I spent ten days in beautiful Australia with my dear friend, Jenee. I'll post about that once I get the photos off her camera. On our last night in Australia it rained and we woke up to a drizzly morning the day we flew out. It was closure in a way. Time to leave. It seemed to travel with me and when I got home, it was rains and winds in the states too. I enjoy the break that nature gives me with rain. I cancel plans and cozy up with the kids for snuggles and books in bed. It's an excuse for hot chocolate. The rains came in perfect timing since I'm suffering a little jet lag and could use some time at home to unpack and settle back into things.

Rod did a stellar job. I love that while I was away, no matter how bad or miserable he was, he just said how good things were at home and told me the highlights of their time together. He's good like that; never complaining. I'm sure I complain enough for the two of us. Even if my complaint is simply announcing on the car ride my need to pee. I do admire his will to hold his tongue.

I just appreciated how well he rolled with it all from beginning to end. I'm proud to say he said he did 10 loads of laundry in the mix. It sounds like Bella was late to school a number of the days, and unfortunetly one work meeting, but overall he survived the mission and I returned to two happy healthy kids! It wasn't looking so bright on my departure. I was all ready to go, when Bella came down with awful stomach pains. Tears and rolling on the floor followed, so I phoned the on-call nurse and left Rod with the instruction. Shortly after going down the road, Rod called and said she vomited all in the car- bad start, like really bad start! I later found out she threw up another two times that night, which in itself was the beginning to his laundry days. I figured it could only get better from there though. And it did. He rocked it and welcomed me home with gratitude and love! It's good to be back. I love my family.

Colorado- Aussie Rules Nationals

Rod and I got to slip away to Colorado for his Nationals of Australian Football. Usually I leave him to indulge in this boy weekend alone, but when the news of where it would be broke out, I told him it was all I wanted for my birthday present. So six months later, I finally got my gift. I've always wanted to go to Colorado because I've heard time and time again of it's beauty. So while I didn't see much besides footy fields and Wal-Mart, we did make it to once touristy sight, Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.


We were driving along, turned a corner and there it was.It was simply stunning. Magnitude. Color. Presence. While we are normally the type who take the hike or loop around, it was still in the freak low 30's late in the afternoon, so we admired from our heated rental. The other highlight of the trip was at the end of the trip Rod told me the trip was way better with me there with him! :)



Our rental car also doubled as box seats for the girlfriends and wifey who made it out to support our men. It was so flippin' cold. After making a multiple Wal-Mart runs for some insulation, we still got soaked on the side lines! For the first game on Saturday we had layers, umbrella, parkas, beanies and more, but what I really needed was my water polo parka. We decided to bunker down in the car with the heater on for the second game. We told the boys, if they hear a honk, it's us cheering for them!

Post games we hit up a local BBQ joint for dinner and drinks.


Post game we simply hit the drinks.
Dave & Rocket
Cass and Jess (Jess knows SJSU polo girls Jen Sanders and Jamie Schneider- she married an Aussie- small small world)


We kept drinking beer in effort to warm up. Our logic didn't work- It was still FREEZING cold.

At the award ceremony... Rod took home a Outback Steakhouse gift certificate for some good scoring!

This is the last photo on my camera. These two began singing out endless Rugby song. Lyrics: unforgivable. I left.

Note Rodney's "party" shirt. Invite him to a party and he'll 9 times out of 10 arrive in this colorful number- classic!