Okay, in less than 8 hours I'm off on a girlfriend road trip to the "Happiest Place on Earth!" Yes, Mary, Missie, and flippinwatermom are heading south for LA and Disneyland. I can't wait. The Mr. hates LA and Disneyland, the teenager is taking in an Avenge7fold concert in Fresno, and my oldest is entertaining the folks in the Lone Star state at the Caverns, and The Moon. I couldn't get anyone to go with me to see all my favorites at the Land. It should be fun and full of laughter and I'm ready. 3 teachers, 3 escapees from teenagers, middle aged weight gain, complicated Misters, and the regularity of out lives are on the road of Southern California adventure. No, we're not going to down tons of tequila and dance on a table top. Although I've been known to do both in another life, Mary too. I did bring a couple bottles of fruit of the vine just in case we need to relax after all that 50th anniversary celebrations that comes from wearing our golden sparkly ears.
We are dorks, okay I admit it. But, you know, for 40 somethings and one flippin' 53 year old, we rock! Talk to you Tuesday.

Signing

On the eve of Valentine's Day I know I need to share with a few of my fellow bloggers my upcoming exciting news. On March 11 I will load into a van with 70 high schoolers and 30 adult leaders for a week long missionary trip to Mexico. We are headed to the only deaf school in Mexico. We'll be staying in tents, running a traveling medical team and dentist unit, working with children through crafts and stories, and building a roof and additional dormitory for the deaf school. Believe me, speaking Spanish is a stretch for me, but signing? I am learning a new language and the teenagers are helping me. So far, I can sign my name, the colors in Spanish, and say a few words. How amazing is that?

So for all of you prayer warriors out there, pray me up big and strong! My friend Darcy and I are going to minister and take care of 28 high school girls, make sure they don't get too homesick, love them and help them in their service to others. I am incredibly excited. I'm taking a week off with out pay and even paying the substitue teacher from my pay check. I need to be ready to rock and roll. How cool is this? very very cool.....

Oh by the way, I'm following in the footsteps of my oldes who went on our church's very first Mexico mission trip, my teenager who's been on 3 trips, and the Mr. who's logged 4 trips under his belt including one extra one to Nicaragua. I can't wait and I hope it will be the first of many. It's been one of those things that I've always wanted to do when I had more time. I'm hoping for trips to Guatemala, South Africa, and even Slidell, LA. This is a sure fire cure for the blob, and the depression.

Pray me up, please!

Daffodils

In my corner of the Golden State, no one listened to the ground hog on February 2. We've been experiencing spring. The weather has warmed into the 70's. The Cali sun is beaming down and yes my nose is getting tan. Best of all hope is in the air. The vines are trimmed and down to their gnarled trunks and branches. There are no canes. Disking is happening in the vineyards and we've turned the sprinklers back on. Best of all, my daffodils are blooming. There is hope in their yellow heads standing as sentinels under my oak tree. The tulips, too, are stretching their green necks upward. I know I will be seeing the culmination of red and pink joining the riotous yellow and white of my daffodils. I just can't help but smile. It's not much of a yard, but it's beautiful. The razzleberry just continues to pink up and blossom in spit of the winter doldrums. I can't imagine what my roses will be doing. You know, I do have Mr. Lincoln, Christopher Columbus, Cajun Spice and Pearl Essence all trimmed and ready for spring and summer. I can't wait. Hope, I can feel it, touch it, smell its aroma, and know itreally is hope. Yippee, I love daffadoils!

Blessings and More Blessings

I am officially migraine free today! Yippee! My aunt is out of the hospital with meds and more tests. Hear heart attack was a mild. Yay! I conferenced with a very sweet parent today. I needed to tell her about her precious little one and how ready he really is for 4th grade. She was so receptive and very relieved on many levels.

The best blessing of all is, my local small town paper wrote a wonderful article on my teenager and his All American waterpolo selection. The Mr. and I are so very proud of him and all of his very hard work. His big bro has been instrumental in encouraging and coaching him in all things aquatic, as well. I am one incredibly blessed mom to know, without a doubt, those two are connected and brothers forever. The big bro always takes time to coach him in life as well. I'm such a dorky mom to have such great boys. Thank you so much, God. I am overwhelmed.

Blob

The Mr. picked up our pictures from Christmas and the teenager's winter formal. Unfortunately, I am in some of those selected snapshots of our life and yes, i am a large blob. It was painful seeing the pictures, facing the reality, not liking myself. It was also humorous. Who is that fat old woman. I have no idea. I liked her thinner younger self more. I must give up food and put these tired joints on the tread mill.

Oh and as a side note, our cat is very fat too. Random, but true.

Family

There are days and weeks even months and years that I forget the genetic predisposition I have, health wise I mean. Today was a day it became clear again. My Aunt is in the hospital with a mild heart attack. I was home early today from school and went to bed at 1:00 in the afternoon. I've had a "headache" since last Friday and even had convinced myself it was an allergy headache and not a migraine. I got stupid at school, starting slurring my words, lost feeling in my right arm and hand. I guess I realized it was a migraine. At 6:00 tonight my cousin called to tell my aunt was at the hospital. Getting myself together, I prayed in a conversation to God. Let her be okay. Our little family is still healing from the genetic curse of heart issues/disease and stroke. We need a little more time. She looked good and is having more tests tomorrow. How many more times do I make this trip? Probably many. The genes they are calling me to take better care of my health. Weight Watchers, the treadmill, less Pepsi, and more water. Auntie Norma I love you and be patient. God isn't finished with us yet.

Clear Skies

It was one of those absolutely beautiful valley winter days. Because it rained yesterday which was later accompanied by a light breeze, today my valley sparkled brilliantly. I was on my way to the water polo tournament at UOP. The teenager plays winter polo. Headed south on Davis Road, I took notice of the vines all neatly pruned with their canes scattered askew in the rows. I wondered about the farm labor hands and the skill it takes to properly prune each and every vine. There was so much to contemplate. A red tailed hawk swooped down toward the vines. He obviously was looking for lunch. The valley oaks along side the road were round and fat. Even some cherry trees were pink with blossoms. It was a very good ride. Then just as if God opened my eyes even wider, I looked to the east and saw the clarity of the day. The Sierra Nevada mountains ringed the valley with snow all over their tops. As I glanced west, the coastal range stood out every so clearly with Mt. Diablo standing tall and important in its place. Wow! I almost missed it because I was driving at eye level. It was beautiful. Sometimes it's a rarity to see both mountain ranges so clearly, but today was the day. To make it even better, a scissor tailed flycatcher was resting on a utility line. I passed the Holland Dutch nursery and chuckled at its "check out our new greenhouse" sign. It's been there a few years. Martin's dairy came up over the railroad intersection and there were several all white calves resting. With my Honda's moon roof open, there was no cow smell. How awesome is that? I just smiled. I know my children think Lodi is backward, silly, too small town, too slow, too conservative, too boring, but you know, in spite of that, the drive down Davis Road today was just too incredible to even think of the negative. Yes, I live in a little place that's 90 miles from San Francisco and the Coastal Range and 100 miles from Lake Tahoe, snow, and the Sierra Nevadas. It was a beautiful day. Oh, and the teenager, his team won 3 out of 3 games, and he scored a bazillion goals. I love my valley.

Crab and Pinot Grigio

Tonight the Mr. and I joined my cousin and her husband and several of their friends for a Crab Feed in the sleepy valley town of Ripon. Because I love this valley, a simple trip back in time to the small valley town of Ripon is cause for celebration in a quiet smile kind of way. It's known for it's Swiss Club, the cherry trees, the dairies, and the Ripon Community Center and it's major fundraising entity, the Ripon Quarterback Club. You guessed it, the Quarterback Club is made up of alumni from Ripon High School who played football. They raise enough money through their crab feeds, steak and oyster barbeques to fund the city of Ripon's youth sports programs. Just because this is small town America doing the right thing, the Mr. and I drive the extra 45 minutes for the crab feed. It was heavenly. We dined on some absolutely delicious sweet cold crab, french bread, salad, and baked potato. I also had 2 glasses of a wonderful McManus pinot grigio. Now, I didn't win any raffle prizes, but you know, driving to rural Ripon, eating crab, and sipping pinot grigio from a paper cup, is a reminder to me of what is good in my valley. The American Legion served tonight, and there were several Vietnam, and Korean war vets. Believe it or not there were even a very few World War II vets. I loved their caps and pins. It made me proud to be a citizen of this country. I love the fact that this event is so small town, yet such a big deal. We chatted with strangers, shared a platter of bread, a bowl of salad, and BOWLS of fabulous crab. I wish you all could have come. Oh yeah they even had dancing and Bingo! What a great evening. I love my valley.

What the Heck?

I am like so excited because I do have some really important things to blog about. I wanted to check my blog, but it won't let me check my own blog! How does this happen? It is such a mystery. I was hoping that I might have had some comments on my last blog. Noooo...I am now forbidden from looking at my own blog. What inept flippin' ridiculous thing did I do now? Talk about being depressed. I just found out that my oldest's first Cd is on a
WalMart site. Is that a true thing or is that a mystery also. You know I am learning by doing and I'm thinking it's all way beyond this 53 year old brain. We shall see. No editing this times, fellow bloggers because I have no idea if this is really going out into blog space as I can't even read my own blog.

OOps!

Okay, I'm blogging, and I'm trying to correct as I go. Oh crap, there's two grammatical errors and how in the flippin' name of the Grammar god do I edit this stupid thing and not lose it? Okay, I'm afraid, very afraid. Please just read and know I'm not a complete illiterate. I'm only a partial crowded brain one. Talk to you soon. The Mr. is pacing.

Flippin Out

Hello to those who used to read this blog. Sorry, I've been on a blogging sabbatical because of my ineptness. I did have a great blog about Christmas and my bubble lights, and in typical flippin water mom style, I tried to edit it, and of course, deleted it. Man, are there too many commas in that thought? Probably. Sorry, Miss Buechler and Mrs. Gavin. January has left me in a very large blue abyss of weight gain, undeniable depression, and lack of motivation for much. Thank goodness my fellow bloggers are still writing! I am inspired by my friend Wink who joined Weight Watchers. I am also inspired by my oldest boy, who yes really is a pirate, and he's blogging about the parrot who is stealing his new apartment's ambiance and the peace of a good night's sleep. He continually cracks me up. He's kept me laughing since the day he was born. One day I will tell you about how he "christened" the Pediatrician's office on our first visit. This story is especially for those of you who visit his band's web site.

To make a very long mindless blog make sense, I'm back. My valley is very soggy right now, but that my friends, this makes all those wonderful dead vines, fruit trees, and strawberries want to grow more. I am really trying to deal with the depression the only way I know how. I've joined weight watchers, and I'm walking/jogging on the treadmill. Of course I've turned every flippin' light on in the house. I wouldn't want to deprive my brain of light. Whoa! What an electric bill. There is so much racing around in this 53 year old brain and so much to tell you about, but, the Mr. is waiting. We're going to a basketball game and he likes to be really early. Believe me it's a curse....Talk to you soon!