Jun 29
"The Birthday Girl" from pool to Chipotle!
Jun 27
OK Amanda - here goes!!
For the last few months, I have been doing my yearly hair experiment. This year it is to grow my own color out to see what it looks like.
Well, it is driving my female relatives absolutely nuts!! The males (except Nick) don't say much and Mark has said nothing. He just sort of laughs!
Well, my wonderful hair stylist niece, Amanda, is helping me out here to see what I should do. These pics are for you Amanda. First 3 are from yesterday right after the cut and the rest are from this morning after I poufed it up a bit.
What should I do??
Jun 25
Lately Madison has missed...
the visits to get ice cream, so I owed her. Yesterday I picked her up after work and we headed over to Golden Spoon for some yogurt. Pretty yummy stuff! She got raspberry covered in gummy bears! As she worked her way through it, she had to admit "too many gummy bears!"
Since it was 107 out, I asked why she had on tennis shoes. "No flipflops" was the response, so we headed into Ross to see what we could find. "No flipflops" to be found (not acceptable ones anyway), but look at the find she made! Cute heels! And knowing Miss Shoe, she will get a lot of use out of them. Fun day!
Jun 22
Nick Gets Shaved!
The competitiveness with the men in this family is something else! Nick and Doug had a bet over a game of pool. Well, it's not just one game, but a series of games that take a bit of a timeframe. Nick and Doug are actually pretty evenly matched, so it was anyones game. I was not there to watch the competition, but according to Mark, Nick started out with a pretty good chance of winning. But, Nick got sidetracked with eating and Doug took the lead! And WON!!
The bet was if Nick won, Doug had to grow out his hair. If Nick lost, Doug got to shave Nick's head.
Witness the shaving with great "Photos by Chelcie."
Jun 21
Do You Fondue?
When Doug and Jody were younger, one of our fun things to do for dinner was to fondue. We fondued long after it was the thing to do. Well, when we moved out here, the old fondue pot from the 70s was finally gotten rid of. Last Christmas, Jody saw this electric one and couldn't resist picking it up for us. So, tonight we introduced Nick to the fun of fondue-ing. He really enjoyed having the hot oil spit at him! Thanks Jo!!
And, for dessert, ollalieberry pie!! Yum, Yum! (no diet tonight!)
Jun 19
Status on Dad
It was confirmed on Friday that my dad has a primary malignant tumor (astrocytoma) in his brain, so Tuesday we went to the radiation oncologist and yesterday we went to the neuro oncologist. I did the driving and Christopher provided the muscle to get Dad in and out of the car.
Chemo started last night in the form of a pill along with an anti-nausea pill to keep him from getting sick. He will start radiation a week from Monday, after completing 2 planning meetings next week. Christopher gets to drive and muscle on those days! The radiation will be Mon-Fri for 6 1/2 weeks on Sunset in LA. Luckily there is a shuttle from Kaiser Bellflower that will take him each day. They say he won't feel ill, so prayers and good thoughts that that will be the case.
We will see what happens from there.
Jun 17
Jody, mom and I went to see the movie tonight and we...Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! I felt so Carrie Bradshaw as I ran to the car afterwards!
Jun 17
Back in the days...
when Jody and I worked together, every Monday at lunch, she, Louise, Michelle and I would sit and rehash the entire Sex and the City episode from the night before. As you can imagine, we had the loudest lunch table in the cafeteria as we roared with laughter. My three single friends had some stories to rival Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. My, my, my!!
Jun 15
The City of Downey...
has done some wonderful things to help my parents out. They have a program that comes in and retrofits the house for the handicapped. They did the ramp first and last week they came in and put in a new toilet with a bar on the wall to hold on to, bars in the tub and a great new shower head that the height can be altered on.
But, the coup de grace is the pole by the bed. So...
Jun 15
Happy Father's Day to all of our fathers! Especially to you, my Dad. I love you!!
Jun 11
Camdyn loves this bus!!
This bus has been going through all the grandkids and now great-grandkids for years!!
Jun 08
Our girl "White 28" starts All-Star season!
Chelcie's team played in the Moreno Valley tournament this weekend with three games on Saturday. 8:00 am, 12 noon and 7:00 pm. What a long day for her and Doug!
They won their first game! Whoo Hoo! Nick and I headed out to watch the noon game. Chelcie got a couple of RBIs. They won! Whoo Hoo again!! But, as Chelcie would say "Sad day!" as they lost the third game, which ended the tournament for them.
But, that was just the beginning. This weekend will be the Beaumont tournament. Good Luck Chelcie!!
Jun 07
Oh the woes of the economy!
Two years ago, right before my neck surgery, as I was cleaning the bathrooms, I decided it was time to get a house cleaning service aka "the girls". I hate cleaning the bathrooms and would not be able to do that while I was laid up. Mark was all for it, because it would relieve him of the house cleaning duties that he had.
Well, as the economy gets crazier and crazier, it was time to see where we could tighten the belt. (Golf and hair appointments are just not an option!!) House cleaning service is not a necessity, it is certainly a luxury and by golly, we can do it ourselves!! :-( So...
Yesterday was house cleaning day. I came home from work and was greeted at the car with a sad face and "Can't we please get the girls back??" I walked in and the house had the same great cleaning smell that it always had when "the girls" had been here (apparently Simple Green was the cleaning solution of choice) and everything looked just great! Such a good job he did, why should we pay for a cleaning service!
Well this morning as I do my chores (yes the bathrooms) I can commiserate with him! But, that doesn't change the fact that the economy sucks and we still need to tighten our belts!
But did he have to use my good face cleaning cloth to dust the house!!
Jun 05
"Oh, California"...
4th grade history, always was my favorite! I missed going to the mission with Madison last week, but we got to enjoy her play on the history of California tonight.
Besides some of the rip roarin' songs that the class sang, Madison took part in the Sierra Miwok Hand Game Song. She also had quite an important part playing the bells in the song "Gold Fever"!
As you can see by the last pic, she is very much her father's daughter! Makes a Lolo proud!!
Jun 04
Congratulations to our Chelcie...
for promoting 8th grade with High Honors!! Last night was the awards ceremony. Actual promotion will be next week. We are so very proud of you!!
Jun 01
Status on Dad...
I ended up staying over til Saturday, so was able to help my mom remove Dad's bandages and get his hair washed. I was a bit surprised to see the size of the incision! Eleven staples there and three more down towards the bottom back of his head. Not sure what they did there???
The biopsy procedure went well, but the doctor is still quite sure that it is a primary malignant brain tumor. So...at this point we really don't know anything any different than we did prior to the biopsy. The post-op appointment is June 13. That is when we will get some answers and be able to make care decisions.
Right now mom is trying to keep him comfortable without jeopardizing her health. We all come and go to help as we can, but thank you Christopher for stepping up to the plate to stay with Grandma in the coming weeks to help out! I know that she and Grandpa greatly appreciate it and look forward to having your company. I sure appreciate it also!!
