My sweet baby Connor 

Gettin' no lovin'

Ok I'll make this short and sweet, being as I'm the only one who reads it!!! Looks like I'm going to be a hungry girl this year. That's ok though, I could use a crash diet - just it, I'm going to the Cayman Islands. More to come on this but I'm booking by mid September. It seems we have saved up enough frequent flyer miles to earn two free tickets and enough Marriott points to stay at the hotel too. I've already secured a babysitter courtesy of 'nana' and now all that's left is booking the dive trips. Horray!

Let's get our grub on!!!

Ok, so this one requires a response. I've been a bit obsessed with cooking and entertaining lately and I'm always looking for a great new recipe. My fav's are the ones passed down through families. You know the one I'm talking about, grandma's secret sauce and so forth. I love all sorts of food but my absolute favorites are Italian and Indian. SO, my request is this... Please please post your absolute favorite recipe for me so that I may expand my cookbook. In exchange I will post a few that are in my collection. I promise, I actually have some good ones!!! Oh, and before I forget, Michael, I've been meaning to ask you for the recipe to the yellow squash casserole thing that you had me make with you at the lake??? Please. Also, I heard someone that reads this knows how to make a great homemade lasagna. I sure do love me some lasagna! O.k. Here goes...

BTW - if you don't know how to post just hit the comments button below this blog and follow the directions from there. Also, about the comment I got last night, a response is forthcoming...

Back in the saddle again...

Out where a friend is a friend. Where the longhorn cattle feed and la da de da de da.... back in the saddle again.
Well if you don't recognize the song then you don't run the risk of getting it stuck in your head like I have. Today began yet another adventure in my journey as a mom/wife/woman in this world. I went back to school. My how the times have changed since my freshman year in college nearly 10 years ago! I've only enrolled in one class, Spanish, and the purpose is so that I may teach Connor the proper way to speak it rather than my way which is a mix of spanglish and very inadequate Spanish grammar. Last night was my first class and I must say it was an overall success.
Yesterday I had to drive to the main campus in Stockton to purchase my books. Comparatively speaking, this is a small campus and yet I seemingly found it VERY difficult to find a parking spot that was for visitors. Every lot required a different "parking permit" and the only lot I found that didn't was one which had the machines to purchase tickets throughout the lot. Of course each machine was covered with a black canvas that proudly displayed its 'out of order' sign. There were warnings all over the lot that you would receive a ticket if your car didn't display a proper pass but at the risk of not getting home until sunrise I took the risk of the ticket and headed onto campus thinking that it would only take me a few minutes to purchase 2 books.
11/2 hours later I was proud to see that I had escaped the wrath of the parking police but realized that I had a lot to learn about campus life. I spent 45 minutes outside the bookstore just waiting to get in to purchase books. Seems as though the entire campus had chosen this day to buy their books. Mind you it was near 100 degrees yesterday here in the valley! When I finally made it into the store I was reminded of just how expensive books are. Have prices gone up? It cost me more for my books than to take a 5 credit class. At the end of it all it cost me $140- for a used textbook and a flimsy workbook. Wow!
Attending class was another interesting eye opener. The classroom was packed. Almost 1/3 of the students were adults so that was a bit of a relief. The part that I found comical was that cell phones were ringing off the hook until almost 10 minutes into class. Does this new generation of students have no respect? Was I actually as inconsiderate as these rude little brats myself. Their attitude was complacent and they spoke at a barely audible whisper when called upon. However, they had no problem talking amongst themselves while the professor was instructing. I'm terrified if this generation Y actually thinks they will be running our country one day. They have the attention span of an egg!
SO... I'm a better me for attending school only to find that I'm now terrified to send my son there. OMG - I'm officially turning into my parents.

Against All Odds

Ha I say to the Bon Bon GODS! As I got in my car and headed to the gym I knew that I had a narrow window of opportunity to workout before my son would be hungry and ready for his morning nap and I was determined to burn off at least one layer of butt fat. As we arrived at the gym I noticed the entrance was blocked and there were a line of cars waiting to get in. Upon further investigation I realized that a gigantic flatbed semi with a back-ho resting on top was stuck on the driveway. The bottom of the truck had literally ground into the cement and was jammed. Brilliant! The gym is undergoing massive renovation so this explains the reason the truck was there in the first place however, he had managed to get stuck in just a way so to block all incoming and outgoing traffic through the only entrance/exit. At this time one begins to wonder how much determination and discipline they really have. Does one say fine, guess I just wasn't meant to workout today and I didn't really want to anyway? - which is what I did several times in my head while waiting in hopes for one of the construction workers to render the situation hopeless. No... I didn't succumb to this easy way out. Connor and I sat patiently for about 20 minutes waiting. Other moms desperate for a break from their little ones and in hopes of returning to their "pre-pregnancy size" sat with me getting more desperate by the minute. Some gave up and sped away agitated at the whole situation while a few sat unified thinking that somehow if we stare hard enough our piercing laser eyes would burn holes unto the flatbed truck and it would miraculously move.
No you may be wondering, why didn't you just find alternative parking. Well it's difficult to explain but the gym sits next to a field on one side, train tracks, and has the back of a neighborhood on the other (literally the privacy fence so no parking here). My option was to park across the street down an alley and jaywalk across a busy four lane street with no crosswalk. So after giving up on the hopelessly comical situation that's just what I did!
As I ventured toward the gym I could feel the victory smile creeping across my face. Once again I beat Mr. Procrastination and Mr. I don't have enough time. One more day that I can mark down as a cardio success story. I got Connor settled into the daycare and headed off to the treadmill only to realize I had left my headphones at home. Guess I still need to work on conquering Mr. Opps I forgot!

oh and just a little footnote... as I pounded away on the treadmill I watched the construction workers fumble around for another 30 minutes with that damn truck before they finally got it moved!

Where's my coffee!?

My baby boy woke up in one of the worst moods today. There are very few times you will catch me on edge due to him but OMG really? The phenomenon of the toddler baffles me. Connor has been in this "daddy is a god" phase and while it's adorable, it's also terribly exhausting. I can go a whole day caring for my son and he's fine, then daddy walks in the door and he has a complete and total meltdown. I mean if Joey isn't there to pick him up and coddle him every second this child freaks.
So this morning Joey got up to care for Connor at about 8 a.m. and the baby hasn't stopped whining yet. The rule goes like this, if Joey is within 1 ft of Connor and looking directly at him at all times we are fine. BUT... if he turns his head, takes a seat, step, breath, or hiccup it's all over! Now if you don't have a little one in your home then you may not fully understand what I'm talking about. The whining I'm referring is what I like to call the 'almost cry'. It comes at you in 4 second spurts with one split second of hopeful silence in between. This isn't the first time Connor has produced this cancer causing sound however, it is the only sound in his arsenal which drives me to utter frustration. I can take repeated No's! I can take a full on crying tantrum but the 'almost cry', that's his trump card. I feel a bit guilty about my frustration but I'm just not used to that behavior from my son. I don't understand where it comes from as there is no predictability behind it. The only common factor is Joey. You would think that he woke up in the morning and covered himself in a sugar spread the way this kid is drawn to him. My poor husband does the best that he can, he really does. However, a man can only take so much. Joey has had to adjust to walking in the door at night and switching immediately to dad mode with barely a second to even set down his puter and breath.
At last silence! I don't hear a baby. On any normal day this would send me running throughout the home trying to find what my child has gotten into next but today, I find it quite soothing. Happy Sunday.

Dear Dairy...

Well I have come to the conclusion that a blog is just a diary. Obviously I edit it a little knowing that my friends and family may view it from time to time. Only one person knew of this website until now but I have decided to open it up and see what happens. I'm suprised to realize that I'm a bit nervous. And to think, I haven't even written anything juicy and scandalous yet! Anyway, here's to my launch! Hope you find as much humor in this as I do.

Well I survived...

I took my mom to the airport last night and the adventure has come to a close. Over 300 photos were taken the past two weeks and hundreds of miles put on the car. It was really great to have my mom in town to share in my day to day life with me. She was the first family member to come out and see the new house and she loved it. Yea!
I hope that she had a great time as I know I did. We traveled out to some area lakes, bought homemade apple pie from farmers, through the birthday party of the year and even made a day trip to Yosemite. What a beautiful place. I find myself once again with the renewed vigor to make some changes around here. What they are and when they will occur has yet to be seen. All I know is that I've been in a rut lately and I'm bored of it. It's time to take back me! This is a good thing though, a breath of fresh air if you will. Thanks to my mom I'm remembering the me I like to be.