Charleston, SC

Today we went to Charleston. The drive was about 90 minutes South of Columbia. We were headed to the Magnolia Plantation first. It was raining and hail and thunderstorms were predicted, but we were believing for best. I prayed that the rain would end once we arrived. It actually did. It rained all the way up there but once we were at the plantation, it stopped. Afterwards, we went to the Charleston Downtown district and rode in a horse carriage. The minute we got on the horse, it began to POUR down. I was drenched. The guide attempted to give us a tour of the old businesses, but through the rain, we weren't able to hear him. We got lots of pictures, but I'm too tired to post now. I can't wait to get home. I'm so tired from the time change.

The area was gorgeous. Old buildings from the 1700s and 1800s, cobblestone streets, old churches. Really, it was breathtaking.

DCFS - South Carolina

We passed by this on the way to being lost today. It made me laugh because I work for DCFS, L.A. County. It's a beautiful building. The drive was extraordinary. It was so beautiful. Full of trees and I just loved the homes. I am hoping to see Billy Graham's church on the way home and take some pictures. I wanted to stop on the way up but we ran out of time.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Mary and I have been trying to teach Katie about the Ice Cream Man. She's learning that the truck brings the goods. Today, I was watching her, and I heard a faint tune coming down the road. I asked Katie, "what do I hear?" She stopped to listen intently.

When I told her, "I think it's the ice cream man!" she became so excited!
She took off running toward the sound, yelling, "wait!" When she saw it, she was yelling,

"MIMI MAN! TRUCK! TRUCK! RUN!"
She likes strawberry crunch.and did an excellent job of eating it, without making too much of a mess.

Bunco, March 2009

I went to play Bunco today. It was held in Quartz Hill, at Lori's House. The theme this month was St. Patrick's Day, so most people wore green. We started out by looking at my sister's Glamour Shots.

They took them a couple of weeks ago at Anita's house.

I like the one with the cowboy hat.

This is Debbie, my sister.Mary, sitting on the floor talking.

Our score tags. Debbie & Nancy Jo made them since it was their turn to host.

Lunch. My macaroni, Mary's Papa John's breadsticks, and corn chips.

The potluck. Lori has a wine theme in her kitchen.

The girls before the game.
The girl in the yellow is from Germany. She has been staying with Lori for a time. This was her first time playing, and everyone was explaining the rules to her.

She seemed to get it pretty easily.
Posing for pictures

I wasn't the only one taking pictures.
Mary, scoring Bunco.
The hat wouldn't fit over her bun.

Another Bunco winner. Whoever scores Bunco has to wear the hat, until someone else gets Bunco and takes it from them. Whoever has the hat when the game is over, wins money for "traveling".

At intermission we had cupcakes. Debbie had the hat during intermission, but Beary won for traveling.

My camera battery died before the game ended. I ended up winning $40 for having the most wins. I didn't even realize I was doing that well. Mary won for Biggest Loser, but didn't get any cash because we were short 2 players this time. She would have won about $15. Actually, Debbie and I tied for most wins, and we had to do a tie-breaker, which I won.

It was a fun day.

Spring and Things

Today I woke up and went to yard sales. There wasn't much out. Mary and I found a few things--nothing to speak of. I did find a potty cover for Katie. Heather has the same one for her at her house, so I saw this one for $1 and bleached it up for Katie.I thought Bunco was today, so I made Macaroni. It was in the oven, and I was just about to put the final layer of cheese on, and get it browned, when Mary called and said we had the wrong day for Bunco. It's actually TOMORROW! I turned off the oven, let it cool down, and put it in the refrigerator for tomorrow. I was disappointed because I had whittled away so much of my morning, thinking I was going to be going to BUNCO, when I could have been cleaning the yard up.

Spring is coming and I'm looking forward to the warmness of Spring. I noticed flowers starting to sprout. Tulips in the backyard and daisies in the front.

I planted some new bareroot roses in the front yard. They are lavendar. I love lavendar. I hope they grow. I got them at Costco, 2 for $11.00

I decided I would try to tackle some of what is going on outside. I feel overwhelmed. I cut down some large branches from my tree and now I find myself staring into this amazing pile of wood and I don't know where to start. Because of the tree branches, weeds have sprouted out underneath--tons of them.

Far beneath my pile of branches, and inside the weeds, daffodils are trying to sprout out. They are beautiful, but covered by so much mess. It reminded me of how I feel so often. I feel like I want to sprout and grow, but I'm covered by so many hurts and disappointments, that it's hard to see the beauty that lies beneath. I'm struggling to shine through, and see the son, but my heart is so buried in pain, and I miss Bobby. Yesterday would have been our 15th wedding anniversary. I went to a concert with my friend, Ronica, at the Desert Vineyard. I thought about bobby, and I missed him so much. Bobby not being in church with me is something I will never get used to and something I'll always long for.

I've been reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn again (on CD). I think it's my 4th time reading it. It reminds me so much of Bobby and I, so much of growing up, so much of just the living and struggling that we all have to face. It really warms my heart to hear it and Johnny Nolan--I imagine him like Bobby. Johnny died at 34 years of age too. The same age as Bobby when he died. So much good in Johnny Nolan, but so much bad because of his drinking. The same with Bobby. So much good, but so much bad, because of the drugs.
My side yard was a disaster. I have a ton of recyleables to get rid of and redeem. Leaves and trash and old junk was piled up back there.

I put on my iPod and got busy. In a relatively short time, I was able to make some progress. I added a few new songs. Cat Steven's "Wild World" and "Peace Train", and "Dancing in the Moonlight" by Toploader. Also, some Tom Petty and "Dare You to Move" by Switchfoot. I bought Matt Giraud's American Idol songs and Kris' too. I'd like to eventually build a cover for this side yard and set it up for Katie to play in, where she'll be safe, and be able to keep all her big toys, like a kitchen set and things. It would have to be covered first though, since all her toys would get ruined from the rain.

I still need to hire someone to come cut down those bushes. I think while I'm at it, I should hire them to take away all the tree branches and weeds. It's just so overwhelming and I think I'm past the age of doing everything myself and feeling proud of my accomplishments. I think I'm at the age of paying someone else to do it, and being happy to rest.

There are new neighbors across the street. I worry because you never know what type of people you will get to live next door. They have been working in the yard today too.

Park Time..........YES!!!!!!!!!!!

Katie loves the park now. When we arrive, and she sees it, she says, "yesssssss!!!!!!!!!" the way football player would say it if they just scored a touchdown. The other day I took my lunch at the park and met Katie and Heather there. It was right down the street from my office. She met a little girl there, Corina, and she played with her, and kissed her on the nose. She loves kids and she loves babies. Corina was a few months older than her, but Katie kept pointing to her and calling her "baby".

She thinks she's so cool when she hangs from the slide.
This slide kept shocking her when she got off. It had a lot of static.
We were at Desert Sands Park. I won't go back there. I didn't feel safe in the area and the whole area was filled with dirt now. Not sand, but actual dirt. Katie had new shoes on, and when we left, I had to wash them. She fell in the sand and had to show me her dirty hand.She found me up top. She went across the bridge.

Big Winner!!!

My mom won the lotto today.

$52

WHOO HOO!!!!! lol. I'm inspired. Going to get a quick pick now.

Rocket Man

Today I had to work. I had to go take some kids to visit their sister at All Saint's Health Care facility in North Hollywood. I woke up at 6:30 and had a headache. I knew it as soon as I opened my eyes. I took a shower and got dressed and then got in the car to go vacuum my car out. I had a headache but I was too lazy to go back home and get aspirins. I paid for that dearly. For the rest of the day I continued to get worse. My head was throbbing and I didn't have a chance to eat because I had 5 kids with me.

By the time I dropped the kids off, I was shaking. My hands were weak, I felt like I was going to throw up, and then, finally, I had to pull over to the side of the road and throw up. My stomach was so empty, so it was that nasty yellow acidic stuff.

I went to McDonald's and grabbed a 7-up and french fries. I just needed something quick. While there, I went into the gas station and bought some aspirins. I felt so horrible.

On the way home, I had to stop on Lancaster Blvd. at King's Photo Supply to get a "rocket" for Heather's camera. There was a black dust ball inside the camera and a black dot was showing up on all her pictures. The rocket is more or less a nose syringe. It looks like a Nerf football with a straw in it. You squeeze it and it shoots air into the lens. Well, I attempted to do this when the camera was not fully charged, even though everything I googled, and the manual said "only attempt this on a fully charged battery". I didn't get the option to manually clean the sensor. I moved it myself. Big mistake. The mirror would not come back down. I lost auto focus and every picture came out blurred. The black dot was gone, but now, the camera was essentially useless.

I took the battery out, fully charged it, and then tried again to manually clean the sensor. This time, I got the option. I clicked "manually clean" and the screen read, "mirror will move. Manually clean. Power camera off when complete". I did this, and YEAHHHHHHHHHHH!! it worked. The camera is back in perfect working condition. All thanks to the rocket.

In the meantime, Heather went to see Madison at the hospital today. Poor little thing. They say she is feeling better. I have been sick too so I only went once, for a minute, to drop off an outfit. I've been coughing too bad. They are out eating at Shakey's now, with Anthony, Ashleigh, Hannah, Katie, Heather and Lauryn. I babysat Katie. She was really good. We went outside to walk for a while and I pushed her in her car. Afterwards we read books and she did a puzzle that Heather bought her. The whole time, I was sick to my stomach. I'm going to bed early tonight. I'm physically exhausted.

By the way, King's Photo Supply were very helpful and the rocket was only $11. I've never been there before, but I was very happy with their service.

Tomorrow we are off to San Diego to see Grease. I can't wait!

Invitation

My cousin's family is having a party for one of her nephews. She wanted me to make the invitations. I'm sick today, and have been so tired, but I hope this is okay. I don't really know the people.