Queen Anne's Lace and Lilacs

Bethany in Old Sacramento

2010-09-02T18:17:42-07:00

Bethany's senior photos were taken in Old Sacramento. It's quite awesome there with the river, old architecture, a cool bridge. I was pretty happy with that location. I didn't know how Bethany would do, considering she isn't particularly thrilled when I'm taking pictures. (I don't what happened with my kids - they were so happy and cooperative when picture taking back in the day.) It turns out, she quite loved it. She especially loved the attention she received from the passersby. It was a Sunday afternoon/evening, so there were a lot of people out and about.

Tim and I had a couple of hours to kill, so we drove around and took our own pictures. At one point, we decided we needed a map to get to a particular location I thought would make for good photos. We drove around for over a half hour, not able to get out of neighborhood areas and/or to just find a gas station!!! Finally, we found one - luckily, we weren't actually needing gasoline.

I waited in the RV while Tim went inside. I was listening to the great selection of music on my iPod, when it occurred to me that I had listened to several songs. Which was weird, because there was only one other vehicle there. I looked through the window, and there was Tim and several other dudes, just standing there, arms draped over shelves, displays, etc., shooting the breeze, drinking pop. I don't know. I swear, the man doesn't know a stranger.

We were one our way, again, but for some reason, we forgot about getting to the place for which we had gone to buy the map. We headed back to where Bethany was, with about an hour to spare. We continued taking pictures. I thought it strange that in all that driving around Old Sac, we never saw Bethany and her little crew. Finally, the two hours were up. It was almost sunset. We were able to find a place to park now that Old Sac was clearing out. We sat, listened to music, and watched people. The sun went down. No Bethany. We called her phone, no answer. Sent her a text. No response. Old Sac was emptying out. It was dark.

Not being one to freak out (!!!), I admit I was getting a little panicky. More calls, more texts - to no avail. Bethany was 45 minutes late. I knew we had to call the cops! However, I had no information for them. I didn't know the name of the person(s) she was with, the person(s) phone number, what kind of vehicle they were driving, or where they might be. We called White Window Photography, but it was Sunday night, so no one was answering. I was so angry!

In the midst of trying to tell myself that nothing horrible had happened, they were just running late (but, that's what EVERYbody tells themselves, and then the cops show up, or whatever), I had noticed that, with the darkness, the freaks of Sacramento were now showing up en masse to Old Sac. I was so angry!

Just an hour and a half late, Bethany called. They were walking to the RV. I told Tim, "Oh, no. This is going to be one of those times when she's all happy and everything, and I'm GOING TO HAVE TO YELL AT HER." I was so angry!

Tim hopped out of that RV like it was on fire and ran to greet the girls. By the time they got to me, I was pretty calmed down, knowing that everything was okay. I didn't yell at anybody! I was no longer angry!

Bethany had the time of her life. Who knew?!

They all did apologize for not having their cell phones - they had left them in the photographer's car. Also, apparently, we had driven past them about 50 times towards the end, so Bethany had assumed that was my way of keeping an eye on everything. I was like, "No! I didn't see you!" Also, they all thought we knew there would be sunset photos. People, keep me informed, please.

We ended the evening having dinner at Olive Garden.

As for the senior pictures, they're fantastic, and I heartily recommend White Window Photography. In fact, we're thinking of getting a photo of the kids for over the fireplace. Maybe we'll go to Coloma for that one.

Here are just a sample of the photos Tim and I took whilst driving around:

"Holding a Hammer" May Get You into Trouble

2010-08-24T15:48:41-07:00

So, a guy writes this song on his own time on his personal computer. He then emails it to everyone of his contacts. Now, he happens to be a teacher/coach at a Tennessee middle school, and a fair number of his contacts are parents of his students. Well, guess what. Somebody doesn't like the un-pc-ness of the song. And instead of telling the teacher not to email them any other personal/political items, they complain to the principal, who calls the head coach, who fires the teacher lickety split.

I'm sure it goes without saying that those making the school children sing, "mmmm mmmm mmmm Barack Hussein Obama mmmm mmmm mmmm...." (barf barf barf) weren't fired. And I'm sure when those educators said their nasty things about Bush (43, or the other one, for that matter), they didn't face the unemployment line.

I don't know why this guy sent this out to everybody. Most people should have noticed by now that conservatives, Christians, Republicans, people on the right do not have quite the freedom of speech as those other people do. Therefore, I would have been careful about mailing this out. I like the song well enough, considering it's country (kinda makes me shudder, but, whatever), and I totally agree with the lyrics. I do hope the teacher finds a new job. It would be nice if he would get his old job back. Oh, and you can purchase the song at iTunes, Zune, and CD Baby.

h/t to Ace of Spades

That's a Spicy Nacho!

2010-05-21T22:45:02-07:00

I'm thinking I may have to give up my Baskin-Robbins Cappuccino Blast. I haven't been able to sleep, lately, which isn't totally unusual, but it's gotten worse. This morning, I was awake at 4, after being awake until after 2:30. I decided I might as well get out of bed at 5:30. I began reading through my blog reader, and came upon Pioneer Woman's Restaurant Style Salsa. I decided we could have that, with some of her cheesy nachos, for dinner. (What a relief! The question of what's for dinner often results in screaming and crying.)

I didn't tell Bethany about the cheeses - grated Pepper Jack and Habanero Pepper Jack - because she refuses to eat spicy foods. Earlier, I had made her take a teeny tiny bite of a chip with the yummy salsa nearly all scraped off. She sat with her tongue in ice water for the next 15 minutes. I knew if she was aware of the cheese situation, she wouldn't even take a bite. So, I didn't tell her. My, oh, my! The shrieking!

Was I bad? I don't know. Bethany finally squeaked out, "You KNEW this was going to be spicy!" She refused any more cheesy chips, despite my insisting she try a few more.

You know, when I was a kid, I detested broccoli. And, I could only eat cauliflower if it was covered in Velveeta. My mother didn't stop making me eat those foods. She didn't care at all that I hated them. I could have sat at the table until the day I died, but I was going to eat that food! And, now, years later, I love broccoli and cauliflower, and eat them in a variety of ways regularly, and this is just how you have to deal with these things.

Back to the menu. We made some guacamole. Tim bought a cut of London Broil steak, which we cut into strips and fried with onion and garlic. We layered the chips, the steak and onions, and then those wonderful cheeses, and heated all of that until the cheese melted. With the salsa and the guacamole, it was as good as eating out! Well, for some of us.

Sadly, there are no photos.

I forgot (not really) to mention Brett. He came in, saw what we were having, and left. Whatever. It's going to be fun watching these people when they have their own kids. I'm preparing to be amused.

Sadie's 2010

2010-05-20T21:37:54-07:00

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything. No particular reason for this, unless it would be Facebook. I don't post a lot there, either, but I do enjoy playing "Bouncing Balls." I'm determined to get past the eighth level, and it's not easy!

I was trying to think where I should begin. I'm thinking Sadie Hawkins Day. Oh, I know. The kids today just call it, "Sadie's." They'll do anything to be different! Of course, that's what they called it back in Brett's day, too, and that was a number of years ago.

Bethany asked Alex to the dance. No one just asks a person to the dance anymore. Even that has turned into a major production. Bethany and a friend glued about 50 kinds of candy to a poster containing the invitation. Shoot! I don't have a picture of that!

The kids went together in a group. The girls dressed as the Spice Girls, of all things (Bethany was "Baby"). The boys went as the Backstreet Boys. Or 'N Sync. Hmmmm....which one were they....I don't think it makes any difference. Alex's shirt says, "Joey." I wasn't into either of those boy bands, so I don't know which one had a Joey.

These groups - the Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync - these are the oldies for these young whippersnappers today. I guess their going back in time to dress like a '90s band is like my generation getting a kick out of putting on an old poodle skirt and bobby socks. Speaking of which, my mom made me wear bobby socks LONG after they were out of style.

What HE Said

2010-05-20T19:08:12-07:00

Lori

It's All Fun

2010-05-20T13:05:29-07:00

Since deciding to become a Giants' fan this year, I've been recording each and every game for Tim. Unfortunately, we don't have time to watch entire games every single evening, so Tim has taken to fast-forwarding through the game, hoping to catch the highlights. This is fine with me, as I take this time (about a half hour) to get ready for bed. (What?! A half hour is perfectly enough time to watch anything that needs to be watched in a baseball game!)

Often on Wednesdays, the Giants play at noon. Well, yesterday was Wednesday, and there was no game at noon, but there was one at 3. I recorded the game. Now, I've become more generous in my recording. For the first few weeks, I only recorded a half hour extra (which killed me to do, because I then could not record a number of MY OUR shows), but Tim was missing quite a few ends of games. So, a couple of weeks ago, I decided to record an hour extra (you're welcome, Baby).

Tuesday night, the half hour turned into 45 minutes. Tim came into our room and told me the game had gone into extra innings, so he would be a bit late. Which was fine, because I was in the middle of "Dancing with the Stars," and Tim hates that show, anyway. When he finally came to bed, he was a bit bummed. He'd watched 12 innings, and then the recording stopped. He didn't know the outcome of the game. He eventually learned that the Giants had finally beaten the Padres! Oh....and he didn't get to watch it. Well, I felt bad, but I had recorded that extra hour.

Now it's Wednesday night. Same routine. We watched Glenn Beck and American Idol. I went back to bed. Tim started his half-hour baseball. About an hour later, Tim comes in and says, "Man, they're killing me! Another 12-inning game!" I said, "Wow, that's weird." Tim went back to finish the game.

He finally came back to bed. He said, "That was so strange. It ended just like last night's game. Is it possible I just watched last night's game again?"

I thought about that for a couple of seconds and then burst into a fit of laughter that went on for several minutes. I couldn't breathe! Every time I tried to answer the question, I'd start laughing, so it took a while to get back to the conversation. Oh, my gosh! I was laughing so hard I was crying. Tim was even laughing, but he didn't know why...which made me laugh even harder.

FINALLY, I was able to ask, "Was it the same pitcher as last night?" Tim said, "Why, yes! I think it was!"

I didn't think I'd ever stop laughing. He watches a game until 1 a.m. and, at no point does he think, "Haven't I seen this before?" Even when the pitcher's the same, the score's the same, the plays are the same, the number of extra innings is the same - oh, Timmy! Priceless. But...Hey! It was late!

Of course, I finally had to explain how it came to be that I mistakenly recorded the rerun of the game. WHO KNEW that they weren't playing an early game? It was Wednesday! I do think I've figured it out. If it's a home game for the Giants, they normally play at noon on Wednesdays. But, as this game was in San Diego, it was a night game. And, yes, 3 o'clock isn't the same as noon, I REALIZE THAT, but it was an early Wednesday game, so, whatever.

Oh, my gosh, though! The actual Wednesday night game? Tim might be happy he missed that one. The Giants, um, kind of lost to Arizona. Well, it was only 13 to 1. No extra innings!

Slide Show of the Game

2010-01-07T17:05:30-08:00

I thought I'd do a slide show of Tim's photos from the Kings game against Phoenix the other night. We don't often get such clear photos or have such close seats. If you click on the slide show, it will take you to their website, where you will have a few choices in viewing size.

Tim and Bethany Go to the Game

2010-01-06T16:11:46-08:00

Last night, Tim and Bethany attended the Kings/Suns basketball game. It was a great deal - seats in the lower bowl, regularly $140 apiece, for $40 a ticket, or something like that. The first quarter was awful, but things picked up in the second. It ended up being another game we almost won. There are getting to be too many of those. Just WIN, already! Seriously.

The bigger news is this photo that Tim took (click for a larger view and enjoy the perfection!). That's Omri Casspi, with his arms in the air. Right behind him is Tyreke Evans (#13). You can even see the Maloofs in the very back of the photo sitting court side.

Tim and I have taken thousands of basketball photos, mostly of the kids' games. In the vast majority, if there is even the slightest motion, the picture is blurry. So, since it's basketball, most of the photos are blurry. This has driven me insane for years. We've tried many different cameras. Anyway, Tim tried a different technique, I guess, and as you can see....no blurriness. Now, if we could just go all the way back and start over, taking pictures this way! I would be more than happy to go back and do it all over again.

I watched the game, of course, but the camera didn't make it around to Tim and Bethany. I haven't seen the other pictures he took, but Tim tells me he has a good photo of the "Sign Lady." She's been at just about every game for 25 years, I'm thinking, and I expect to see her on TV at least once during each game.

The Kings are a much better team this year, fun to watch again, but they've got to win a few games! And, I'm sincerely hoping Kayte comes back.

It's 2010

2009-12-31T22:09:09-08:00

May you accomplish in 2010 those resolutions that didn't quite make it this past year. In one way or another, have a great time. Here's wishing you health and happiness and all of God's blessings throughout the new year!

The Gift of Christmas: An Act of Mercy

2009-12-25T03:45:16-08:00

1 Timothy 1:15-17

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.