Who's That Girl?

First off, let me start with "I DON'T CLEAN MY TEENAGER'S ROOM". You'd think that she could do it herself by the time she is 14-1/2 years old! We have lived in this house for 10 years. So, this is 10 years worth of stuff. Oh, Marisa, I love you anyway!

Second, let me say that I let Marisa "DECORATE" her room anyway she wants. It's her room. We ain't moving anywhere anytime soon, so who cares. I know there are a few out there that are having heart attacks right now. Too bad, so sad. IT'S HER ROOM, I said!
Now, this is where I get all squeamish. The makeup battle. Now that the time has come, I've decided NOT to take it on. I decided to "get in front and lead the parade". So, when my baby came home from her sleepover and she was covered in mascara and eyeliner, I offered to take her to Walgreen's so she could buy her own. We could practice, I could help her. Cool Mom, right? Then why do I feel so, so tired?

There now! She did a pretty good job. Not too much, not too dark. If I could just get her to hone in on the bangs. But, hey, look how happy she is!

Labor Day Weekend

Finally! We got to sleep in late! Tony got up first, then me. I made breakfast for him: half a package of bacon, 3 waffles, 2 eggs, and 2 glasses of milk. My baby boy is now taller than me and weighs in at 120 lbs. Heavy sigh....

The rest of the morning was spend on homework and getting ready for my classes to start. I have to be hyper-organized during the school year or I drown. Between Marisa's schedule, Tony's schedule, and my schedule, I'd go nuts. Tony finished his Pro-Con chart on "year-round" school and his Venn diagram between himself and an old Testement person (I cringe when folks refer to people in the old Testement as "characters"). He chose Samson. He made a very good diagram. Marisa had to finish up math and study for her biology test, which is Tuesday.

THEN, Marisa got ready to spend the night at a friend's house. She had her friend are doing a makeover for Marisa. Then, the two are going to The Orchard with 3 other friends, who happen to be boys. Heavy, heavy sigh... I pick up Marisa in the morning at 10:30am from her girlfriend's house. (I figured that I would start texting Marisa at about 10pm tonight, just to see how she's doing. I know! But, I can't help myself!)

Friday Night Lights

...and I left my camera in the car! Tonight was Legacy's first football game of the season. We stomped Mountain Range HS 31-7! Marisa hung out with other kids for awhile, then came over to sit with Danny and I in the cheerleading section. Well...it's the weekend, I'm off to bed and I'm sleeping very late in the morning. Goodnight all!

Another Day Goes By

...and I'm totally beat! My plate today consisted of an IEP staff meeting, a Diabetes Skills training and treatment delegation meeting, an ELC staff meeting, two loads of laundry, driving my kids to and from school, homework checks, pay bills, recharge my iPod (I had to do that for my sanity), and get dinner set up Danny could just walk in from work and finish it.

I'm totally beat!

Mad World

Not only does this represent a poor choice of a presidental candidate, it is a sad, sad statement to the medical professionals who perform these vile acts. What does this say about the people who follow and support Obama? I'm sorry, NO I won't apologize, this is the pivotal issue for me, and it's simple. You are either Pro-Life or Pro-Abortion. I choose LIFE. Where do you stand?

Bundy Selmer Trumpet by Vincent Bach

We are the proud owners of a Bundy Selmer Trumpet by Vincent Bach! Guess who wants to play the trumpet now? Yep....Tony. All I can hear in my head is "Taps".

The Weekend Update

Ave Maria
Dios te salve, María,
llena eres de gracia, el Señor es contigo.
Bendita tú eres entre todas las mujeres,
y bendito es el fruto de tu vientre, Jesús.
Santa María, Madre de Dios,
ruega por nosotros, pecadores,
ahora y en la hora de nuestra muerte.
Amen

Tony has to learn the 'Hail Mary' in Spanish. He has been practicing and reciting it all weekend. His religion instructor is also his spanish teacher. Hey, it works.

We have had a busy, busy weekend. I went on a scrapbook retreat on Friday night. I got 3 pages done, one of which is my oldest nephew's graduation from last year. (My goal is to stay one year behind.) On Saturday, Danny and I attended our annual CPR class. A lot of the information is the same, with only slight variations on the rescue breathing and compressions. I recommend everyone knowing CPR. Then Saturday evening we went to the Rockies games. It was a blast! The Rockies won! And, they have this promotion that if the Rockies score 7 runs in a game, you can take your ticket stub to Taco Bell and buy 4 tacos for $1. We're all over that!

Today, we attended our parish picnic. At first, we hung out in the beer garden, but ventured out to be socialable with the rest of the parish. Danny and I kept a close eye on Tony and his friends. For my blogger friends, my son Tony can be compared to a middle school 'Kelso' from That 70's Show. He is a 13-year-old goofball that gets into trouble every time he turns around. So, just to make sure we don't get a phone call or an email from some uptight parent, we watched our little 'Kelso' from afar. (I feel a little guilt putting this story in the same post as the Ave Maria, but it's a reflection of our crazy life.)

Marisa was the center of attention. Folks were asking her how she likes high school, telling me that she is beautiful and starting to "look like a girl", etc. I'm glad that Marisa is working the Luke 18 retreat for our middle school kids this year. I'm praying it will keep her grounded in her faith.

Well, that's it. We're heading out to Taco Bell. I know! You don't have to say it...

I Rarely Do This

...make a morning post. But, I just had to shout to the roof-tops: THANK GOODNESS IT'S FRIDAY!!!! We made it through the first week, barring any issues in the 8 hours. This weekend we have a packed schedule. Tonight, I'm going on a scrapbook party. Tomorrow, Danny and I have our annual CPR training and then we are going to a Rockies game with some friends. On Sunday we have our annual parish picnic. Danny and his Brother Knights are manning the grill, of course. I'll be walking around chit-chatting all afternoon.

And we're off....

A New Rule

Day 2 of school and we have a new rule for Marisa to follow. She is allowed to give girls her cell phone number, but boys have to call our home number only. Day 2 of school and Marisa has met new people, of course. Day 2 of school and Marisa has signed up to participate in the Art Club and FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America). Day 2 of school and Marisa attended a student council activity meeting. Day 2 of school and I've heard of several new "friends", most of which are boys. Let's see...there's Demetri, Joshua, Austin. Okay, when I picked Marisa up from activity night, she was hanging out with Demetri. Heavy, heavy sigh....

As for Tony...he was eating lunch with this entire 8th grade class, including a couple of girls. But for recess, he and his knuckle-headed friends pulled leaves off the tree, ran to the fence when the trash truck drove by trying to get the trashman to honk the horn, and twirled around the basketball hoop.

What will tomorrow bring?

Photo Diary Of The First Day of School '08-'09

Behind this door is a teenage high school girl about to get up for the first day of school. The time is 5:45am mountain time. Class starts at 7:15am. (Obviously, we let her decorate her door as she likes. Yes, the hot glue gun was used often.) Ready?

Rise and shine! Hello? Maaaaaariiiiiisssaaaaaa....it's time to get up!
WHAT TIME IS IT? Did I get any texts during the night? What day is it?

This is typical. The dog gets a hug every morning. Today is no different. Sometimes it's hard to tell where Marisa's hair ends and Lucy's hair begins.
Progress! I don't think she is completely awake.
There we go, better! Marisa SEEMS excited about her first day of high school.
Alright, something happened. Now, she doesn't look so sure. But, hey, check out the ride for the first day of school. She gets to go in the convertible with Big Daddy.
Hi there, Hollywood! You look so preppy. What's that you're having for breakfast? Dump cake cobbler and milk. Breakfast of trouble-making champions. Muah!
In the end, everyone had a great day! Tony stayed out of trouble and didn't get suspended. Marisa had a blast, but never made it to her locker. While Tony and Danny went off to Boy Scouts this evening, Marisa and I hit Staples for last minute school supplies. Shhh...we snuck off to Wendy's for dinner and to play with her new miniature stapler, hole punch, and pencil sharpener.

And The Honor Goes To...

...Tony! That's right, Tony has been invited into honors English. Now, if we can just get the behavior under control.

Marisa's first day of high school is tomorrow. She has to be there at 7:00am. Heavy, heavy sigh...

Going Green

Since there is a such a push to "go green", I'm going to start by using homemade cleaners. The first one that I found is a basic:

½ of a lemon
½ cup borax

Dip lemon into borax and scrub the area you want to clean then rinse (not safe to use on marble or granite surfaces).

Another Scrub Idea: sprinkle salt and baking soda in the sink and scrub with an old wet rag. The salt and baking soda become like a paste and it works great! Then run a bit of white vinegar over it and down the drain to clean and freshen. Rinse.

Chime in and let me know other homemade house cleaning recipes and ideas.

And The Rain Came Tumbling Down

And this is what the pond by our house looks like!

You can see where the sidewalk dips underwater. Look at the park bench!

The clouds are perfectly reflected in the water.

Cute little duck family.

My kids up on the hill. They got into trouble yesterday, so they are not happy right now.

Neighborhood kids jumped on the bench and now they can't figure out how to get off it.

We had a ton of rain and cool weather, so today we all slept until 11:00am. Oh, yea, it snowed in the high country! After a breakfast of good ole' pancakes, we headed out to Sam's to restock our cupboards and refrigerator. I'm embarrassed to tell that we got out of Sam's with $577 worth of food and supplies. Of course, the kids were in heaven and drooling over the food in the baskets. Once we got home, Danny and I divided up the meats and poultry into supper-sized servings and stored them in the deep freezer. Marisa's job was to take the canned goods to storage in the basement, move the older cans up front, and stock the newer cans in the back. Tony was to refill the cereal containers and put the beverages and paper goods away. We bought a 25 lb. bag of flour, so Danny had Marisa help him divide up the flour into 5-5 lb. storage bags. I had forgotten what an undertaking it was to restock. When we finished, we took a walk to the park in the nice cool, clean, crisp Colorado afternoon.

20 Most Memorable Kisses

20 Most Memorable Kisses

Check out this link to the 20 most memorable kisses. Some of them I wouldn't have selected, but I wasn't asked to vote, just to comment. One of my favorite on screen kisses was in the Last of the Mohicans when Daniel Day-Lewis and Maddolyn Stowe were at the fort.

Why am I blogging such a random post? Tony got in trouble at school today. That's all I'm saying about that. And Marisa...well, she is such the pot-stirrer. Now we have appointments and meetings to go to, not to mention confession!

Liturgy Of The Hours

We had a spiritual retreat today for the teachers and parish staff. We started off with the morning Liturgy of the Hours. Then we spent the rest of the morning going through spiritual growth and team building activities. At lunch, we dined together at a Mexican restaurant in Boulder. After which, we returned to our retreat site, St. Martin de Porres. The afternoon session was filled with more team building tasks. It was really nice to get away and enjoy the entire staff's company. Thank you, Fr. Tim, for a wonderful day!

Back To The Old Grindstone

Danny picked me up at the airport and we made it home by 9:30pm. The house was clean...yes, clean I said. They did a good job cleaning up for me. Today, it was back to our routine. I left a laundry list of things for the kids to do while Danny and I were at work. One was for Marisa to start dinner. It was so nice to come home today and have the laundry done, literally, and dinner started. I could really get used to this!

Here is a picture of part of Marisa's student ID. I edited out the barcode and such. I can't believe my baby girl is in high school. We bought her academic books online so she won't have to cart them home everyday. The school issued ones will stay at school and she will have a complete set at home. This is a good deal for us because 1) Tony will use them next year, and 2) no excuse about leaving the book at school.

The Olympics

My parents and I have been watching the Olympics since the opening ceremony, which was spectacular! This morning I took my parents to their church and then to the grocery store. We are now settled in from the hot afternoon to continue watching the Olympics. I leave to Colorado tomorrow evening.

Are You A Cheater?

No...I'm not talking a cheater like Senator John Edwards (or Senators Gary Hart or Ted Kennedy, or President Clinton...hmmm, what party do they belong to?). I'm talking about short-cuttin' cheaters. Okay, I will probably need to go to confession.

I cheated! Here's my story and I'm stickin' to it:

I went to Wishes & Dreams this morning. I am like a bulldog, I had to get those Dee Jay candles. I was too early to the store, it wasn't open yet. Now, I'm driving my Dadddy's luxurious red Cadillac AKA the Land Yacht. Yes, there is a handicap sticker. See where this is going?

I decided to waste a few minutes, so I drove to Starbucks. I know, no need to tell me! The parking lot was full, well almost full. When I drive my Daddy's luxurious red Cadillac AKA Land Yacht, I take the handicap sticker down because it obstructs my view. So when I parked in the handicap parking lot, I got a few looks. I hunted down the sticker and put it on the rearview mirror. I'm still getting "looks", so when I open the car door, I gimped around a bit. SORRY! I even limped a bit up the side walk. If I fooled anyone at all, it was all lost when I ordered the venti Caramel Frappicino. I know! Confessional here I come! I think I skipped back to the car because it was after 10am and Wishes & Dreams was open now.

For good measure, I left the handicap sticker up on the rearview mirror.

Home Again

...as in my Texas home where I grew up. I arrived last night at 7:15pm and the temperature was hovering at 102F. I couldn't take a deep breath! Sometimes I wonder how I grew up here. Anyway, my brother picked me up at the airport. After stopping at Loews for a new shower head and good ole' Taco Bueno (see we don't have Taco Bueno in Colorado, so I must indulge!), we headed home to Mom 'n 'ems (translation...Mom and thems...Mom and Dad's house).

I was surprised! Mom was looking good! She was dressed and walking around, cuttin' up, smiling. Dad was off having dinner with some of his old school buddies. He arrived home about 30 minutes later, tired and with a leftover box from Red Lobster. Although he was tired, he looked good. And, another surprise...the house was a perfect 78F degrees both upstairs and downstairs. The new air con is working great!

So, what's in store for me today? I'm Mom's personal taxi. We're heading off to the hair dresser, then on to the doctor so Mom can get one of those nasty mammograms. I'm going to run by my favorite place: Green's Produce for fresh fruits and veggies. After I'm done with taxi-ing Mom around, I'm going to Wishes and Dreams to load up on DeeJay's candles. Later alligator....

As The World Turns

Marisa checked in for high school today. I was going to post a baby picture next to her student ID, but I'm a bit verklempt. Maybe next week. I leave for Texas again tomorrow. This will be the last time I see my parents before the 'hustle and bustle' of the school year.

Marisa got two textbooks today. Everyone who know me, knows that I'm a book geek, so guess what I'm doing tonight in between laundry loads? Yep, I'm perusing the History and English textbooks. I know, no need to say it. Marisa already did..."Mom, you're such the geek! No wonder Dad likes you so much!" ~I even have a music CD to play in the background when I read. It's called Brahms for Book Lovers.~

Don't Forget The Crisps

...that would be the Tropical Crisps for the fish, Danny's other hobby second to Everquest. I didn't get a good picture of all the fish because they were in a bloodworm-induced coma from the frozen bloodworm treat they just ate. We keep the bloodworms and brine in the freezer. I know! But, this is their favorite meal, according to the fish tank keeper. The fish love the Tropical Crisps. Emphasis on "Crisps". I've been told multiple times to make sure and get the "Crisps". Have you ever smelled the "Crisps"? Totally gross! I know!

The fish do love them based on the frenzy in the tank when they are fed the "Crisps". But what really grosses me out is when I find a live earthworm bowl in the fridge because Danny is "goin' fishin'" on one of his Boy Scout camping trips. I know!

Who's Knockin'?

My kids just can't stay out of trouble! We had visitors at the door tonight...the Mormans. But not to do their mission work, instead to tell on "some kids that threw our books in the pond". Yea, can you believe it?

Marisa and Tony had just arrived home from running around the neighborhood with 2 other kids. They were already in trouble for being 30 minutes late. Tony had gotten into the shower. When our visitors knocked on the door, Marisa said, "don't answer it!" Well, that made me want to answer it even more.

The young gentlemen told Danny and I that 4 kids were seen around the area where their books were tossed into the pond. One of the kids had a blue cast on his arm....that would be MITCH. We got Tony out of the shower and he fessed up that Mitch threw the books in the pond. Marisa still hem-hawed around and wouldn't give it up. I told her to get Mitch on the phone and tell him to come over.

To show just how obtuse Mitch is...he came over! Long story short, Mitch fessed up to the deed. I let everyone have it and forbade my kids from hanging around Mitch (I'm saying 'Mitch' like Jerry Sienfeld used to say 'Newman').

I learned later that the books were not religious in nature at all, they were fundraiser coupon books. Blockheads!

After The Pancakes

Early, early this morning I woke up Danny. It was his Knights of Columbus team's turn to run the pancake breakfast at church. After I woke up Danny, I woke up the kids because we were going to the early, early Mass. I had plans for the day! Following Mass, the kids and I went to the pancake breakfast, ate, and visited with Danny. When the kids and I got home...

Tony and I mowed the backyard. Actually, Tony started off mowing the backyard, but had a freak attack because there were bees all around the plants. So, I finished up the yard and sent Tony inside to do a "clean sweep" on his room. (BTW...remember the hammock? It's still in his room and so is the mattress. Hmm...) Anyway, I finished mowing and called Marisa to help weed. She started off pretty good.

Then, the pine needles started sticking her fingers. Now, I did offer her gardening gloves, but I guess gardening gloves are not cool. And, let's not forget the iTouch. It is necesary to have the right tunes while sitting on rocks and pine needles, pulling weeding.

But for Heaven's sake, she might not have stuck her fingers at all if she could have seen through the bangs.

My Self-Imposed "Time Out"

Sorry there was not a post yesterday, but I decided to take a self-imposed time out. The day started off well. I went to Mass. I love Friday morning Mass. It's when we take the ELC kids. There's nothing cuter than watching a 3- or 4-year-old make praying hands and follow the prayers. Anyway, after Mass it all went down hill at work. Enough said about THAT!

It was over 100 degrees here in Colorado, a record setting heat. The kids were off at the gym swimming. Danny was on the guitar, so I decided to SPA myself. I got everything ready, lit a candle, poured a tall glass of iced tea, ran a bath, turned on the iTunes from the computer, switched off the lights, and eased into a nice cool bubble bath. It was so refreshing. Then, I remembered my blog and yelled for Danny to bring me my camera. (Hence, the photo. These are BeautiControl products. I made the bracelet myself.)

I soaked until I was pruned. It was getting dark. The kids came home hungry, so my self-imposed time out, my SPA, my solitude was over. They watched a movie and I ended up making Tony a steak-um sandwich and Marisa got grilled cheese.

This morning everyone is still asleep, but we have a full day scheduled: go to the farmer's market, get waxed, buy school supplies and clothes, do laundry (oh, yea... I have a Garza-made clothes line now), and stay cool. I might even put myself in time out again after everything settles down.