I can't reach that itch

Can I interest you in dessert?

2011-10-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

It is a tough economy out there these days. That’s what the news tells us, and therefore it is true, right? Higher level economic indicators are discussed by news commentators and the politician of the hour expounds on the virtue of his greatness to overcome the sluggish market. I think I can confidently say, most Americans are simply tired of hearing about who to blame, why it happened, and how someone can magically take us back to the 90’s and the era of super big growth on Wall Street and outlandish personal spending.

From time to time I choose to spend time and money to have manicures and pedicures. It’s a luxury. My nails are strong enough to grow them out and have them long and look nice. So why do I do it? Because I like the fact that the polish stays on for two weeks without flaking and peeling. And I like the look of artificial nails with a French manicure. As to pedicures, who doesn’t like someone else trimming your nails, cleaning your cuticles and paying attention to your feet? It’s an extravagance that is easily chopped out of our budget.

I have been to quite a few different places to have fills this summer. The first set was put on in New Jersey; I didn’t get a get chance to get them done prior to business travel. Had some time in the evening and stopped by a new place, touting a Grand Opening special. As I walked in I observed the cleanliness and thought, yes, I’ll have my nails done here. The owner suggested a young guy put my set on and they both proceeded to upsell me on a set of gel nails instead of acrylic. Value add came in the form of a bottle of water. The final value add came in the highly self regarded opinion of the technician of the beauty of square finished nails instead of round tips. I thought to myself, “might as well do as the locals do, I’m at the New Jersey shore.”

After Jersey, I had a fill in Kent. The owner of the nail salon in Kent looked at my nails and spoke in length to the technician in Vietnamese. I said I’d like a gel fill since that’s what I have on. He said it is better to fill with acrylic. No upsell in this salon, and in fact, it was such a poor fill that I haven’t been back.

The next experience happened in Vegas. Again, business travel and I couldn’t get to my favorite place, Lovely Nail prior to leaving. Lovely Nail not Nails? Yes, if you question that, so do I and most patrons of the salon. Lost in translation and each time I leave here all of my nails (plural) are lovely.

Anyway, back to Vegas. I figured I could pay top dollar on the strip or go off and get affordable nails. But then there is the taxi fare. So I went ahead and had them done at the casino. Unusual for sure, but I had a Caucasian technician. It was a lovely visit with clear understanding and no difficulty in conversation. Of course, she looked at my gel set with acrylic fill and went on about how so many of the Asian salons really don’t know what they are doing. No upsells at this event. I was paying top dollar anyway. Have to admit, the polish and sheen of the color I chose was absolutely fabulous. I had so many compliments on the color and how nice they looked. This particular fill was COMPLETELY luxurious; I am embarrassed to say out loud how much I really spent when so many people don’t have money to meet all of their bills every month.

In between Vegas and now, I hit Lovely Nail a couple times. And then two weeks ago, I decided to get my “Groupon” (can I use that as a verb?) Anyway, I’ve had this Groupon coupon for almost a year. And with my nail season winding down, I figured I best use it before it expires. I phoned to make an appointment on Sunday afternoon and asked about costs to make sure I’d be using the entire coupon. Yikes, a spa pedicure and a fill will more than certainly use my $50. Glad I only spent $25 for the coupon.

As I walked into the salon, I noticed the fine atmosphere, soft music, nicely decorated, and clean. The gal behind the counter called for a technician to escort me to the pedicure area. 95 minutes later, my pedicure was complete. I planned for an hour and a half tops for both services.

Being a Sunday afternoon, and Uncle Bob asking if I ever get “Wendy time,” I held back my anxiousness to move on to the next thing on my list. The gal behind the front counter said to follow her and she’d fill my nails.

I asked for an acrylic fill, that I didn’t want to have another material since I had some lifting with the gel and acrylic mix. Sitting down at the station, she takes my hands and studies my nails. And then proceeded to tell me the features and benefits of silk wraps. She has developed her own wrap process and it is the best for your nails, only to have natural 100% Chinese silk on them. On and on. Okay, since this is a coupon, I’ll go ahead and give them a try. With that, she begins to file and prepare to wrap my nails in silk. Having heard about this type of fake nail before, I am curious.

Soon I learn that the front desk gal is actually the owner of the salon. She tells me of her other shop in Covington that she recently sold and how she has 3 children, two of which are going to school at WSU. Go Cougs. She stops from time to time to reply to texts from her daughter who is driving back to Pullman that day. I think to myself, she’s done well for herself, emigrating from Vietnam, owning successful businesses, and raising three children and having two of them in college. No small feat.

The wrapping takes quite a bit of time, and we discuss a variety of topics. Pauline, the owner, asks where I typically go as I have my Groupon coupon. She knows of Lovely Nail, and doesn’t speak poorly of them. Her sales tactic is on the up and up, Pauline promotes her salon with best business practices, clean facilities, how the Groupon deal has brought a lot of business her way. “I use it as a loss leader. I’ve offered the Groupon twice. Don’t know if I’ll do it again, but I did sell a lot of them.”
I commend her for drumming up business, and keeping her clientele growing. With the economy the way it is, I comment that I’m sure she’s see a downturn in her business. It’s hard to spend money on your nails when you have bills to pay.

Pauline stops wrapping and says, “Wendy, you have no idea how many people come in here and pay for nails when they can’t feed their families. Yes, it is rough with lots of people with no jobs, but ladies are not willing to sacrifice this bit of beauty.”

Smart businesswoman I think to myself. She is running this place to make money and understands a lot about sales from technique, product offering and her client base. It was nice to have this type of business conversation, surprisingly at a salon. I hadn’t had a higher level conversation like this at any other salon. Not that I couldn’t inquire and ask, but Pauline offered up this information.

So as Pauline grabs the spool of Chinese silk out of her drawer, she begins to tell me about other services they offer. Massage and waxing services. Nice.

“Wendy, do you wax?”

“Yes, I get my eyebrows done.”

“Oh, well what about other waxings; like a bikini wax or a Brazilian?”

This takes me back. Umm, awkward. I don’t know this woman and she’s asking me about that? Not wanting to appear uncouth, I decide to roll with the conversation and tell her no, no I don’t do those waxings. Besides, that whole Brazilian thing is so personal.

“I wouldn’t worry about that. We don’t even look at it that way. And a lot of women really like it.”

“Hmm.”

“You should try it.”

“Yes, well maybe I will.”

Pauling goes into the details of her services and I get a little glassy eyed. I don’t want to think about that on a Sunday afternoon! The conversation segues into other topics and my attention span officially wanes. Two and ½ hours into my “Wendy time,” I am seriously considering why I have my nails done. This is 2 ½ hours I won’t get back, and was it the best use of my time on this earth? I cut my event short; let her know that I don’t have time for polish and head out the door.

“Come on back when you have time, I’ll put some color on your nails. And think about making an appointment for waxing; you won’t be disappointed. “

Driving away from the salon, I am agitated by the delay in my schedule but also impressed by the sales techniques employed by a persistent small business owner in America. We all know that restaurants try to upsell appetizers and desserts to increase revenue dollars per ticket. The upsells and add-ons in other salons are typically for French manicures, eyebrow waxings, and paraffin treatments. But this gal, she went for it. You never know unless you ask for the order right? That’s what closing business is all about in sales. I’m curious about her close rate.

Will she close this sale with me? I honestly don’t know. But should I choose to have that service performed, I’ll likely return to her salon. Pauline deserves the sale.

P.S. As most of you know, my sissy la la is my sounding board. I told her about the waxing conversation prior to writing and we laughed and giggled. Sharing my title with her I said I still had to work the title into the story to you know, complete the circle. Otherwise the title wouldn’t make any sense. She texted back something I so wouldn’t expect. So then here I am explaining that it’s all about the upsell and more revenue and dessert that way. Love her. And totally think she’s gotta get her fiction writing groove on.

Speechless

2011-09-19T19:44:00.000-07:00

Left speechless at the dinner table tonight. Not from praise of the FINE stew I made.

From Reyde asserting himself. Looking at Uncle Bob and he says, "just so you know I wasn't talking to you."

Uhhh. WHAT? His delivery was impeccable, and I had to really hold it together to be stern without laughing at how funny it was. So I reprimanded, James chewed on him, and Uncle Bob didn't realize what was happening it occurred so quickly.

Love parenting.

You wanna talk to my....

2011-09-17T21:25:00.000-07:00

Uncle Bob kibbitzed with Mom for a long time on the phone tonight.

I sat down at the table with him, patiently waiting for him to wrap up the conversation so I could show him soccer photos.

Dah duh duh....da duh duh....waiting. Zoning. Pretty tired. And then I hear him say, "Do you want to talk to my lawyer?"

What? Mom didn't get it either.

He hands the phone to me, and I say, "I thought I was your nurse, caregiver. Not your lawyer."

"You're my everything Wendy."

"Mom, did you hear that? I'm HIS EVERYTHING."

HIS EVERYTHING. If it weren't my 73 year old uncle telling me that I'd be over the moon.

I thought we were just picking up a catalog

2011-09-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

I took Monday afternoon off to do a couple of things with Uncle Bob. Needed to go to wound care in Renton and since we’d be in the area, I thought I’d drop by the cemetery to pick up a catalog for Uncle Bob to peruse head stones. It’s been since 1991 when Verla passed, and he hadn’t gotten around to ordering a marker for her grave. Now each time we’d talked about this task, Uncle Bob had teared up; Verla truly was his soul mate and I think in the back of his mind, a marker would be pretty darned final.

I’d called over a month ago to arrange a catalog. The guy I’d spoken to said that we could look online, but I kindly refused saying that my uncle is a paper kinda individual. I’ll put something together he says. And he actually followed up call me to ask when we’d be in. That was a month ago. Life got in the way, and we found ourselves in the neighborhood. I told Uncle Bob he could sit in the truck, and I’d be right back.
No, I’ll come in.

10 minutes later, we’ve walked the short distance to the office and inquire about getting a catalog. The receptionist says they don’t have any, and I asked if there was anybody available to help us. She went through the names and I recognized the salesman’s name. He’s on the phone, if you’d like I can have you sit in a room and make a cup of coffee for you? Knowing that the afternoon has been taxing on Bob to begin with, I say sure, 2 cups of decaf and let’s sit in a room.

Been quite a while since I’ve been in a mortuary. We follow the gal into a room that resembles a residential dining room. Obviously decorated as such to make us feel like we are at home and not in such an odd place. You know, end of life place.

Before long, the salesman walks in and we say that we are looking to get a catalog that my uncle needs to arrange a marker for his wife that passed away in 1991. Our phone conversations are recalled and he gets us a catalog. About an inch thick. And I think to myself, there is no way he’ll let us take that home.

Uncle Bob tells him that he wants to be cremated and buried with Verla. That brings up a whole new conversation about 2nd rites and if he has those to be buried in the same plot. Off he goes to pull the card. Coming back we see that Grandma bought 4 plots, one for herself, one for a future husband, and the other two are assigned to Uncle Bob and Uncle Don. So, the salesman says, you can be buried next to her if you like? Digressing into who should go in what plot, pondering Grandma’s plans for a future husband, and what about so and so, we finally get back to 2nd rites and having Verla and Bob together.

Luckily this guy has done this thousands of times right, and begins to direct us on how to pick the marker. Shape, font, saying, design. Holy guacamole.

Flipping through the pages, I see that we gain a little traction in that there are a few pages for dual names. Uncle Bob is quick to choose one; seeing pictures of angels and flowers, he says he’d like to have an eagle on it. Go to the clip art section and you’ll find an eagle the salesman tells us. We find one that matches the tattoo Bob has. This is going well but it’s been about an hour and my attention span is waning. Remember, I planned to pop in, pick up a catalog and head home to start this journey.
Do we have room for a saying? The salesman says yes. Uncle Bob thinks about it for a moment, holding back tears I think but I can’t really tell as his eyes are shadowed by his baseball cap. I was think about writing something like, mother, friend, wife, because that’s what Verla was. We agree, sounds good. What do you think Wendy?

Oh boy, huge commitment here. Suffice or do I offer my opinion? Well Uncle Bob, I’m probably going to tear up a little bit here…but you guys were soul mates. You didn’t need anybody else around but each other. He agrees, the salesman says that’s nice too. Yeah, we could add that to the bottom. You know, she was the best friend I ever had.

That’s it exclaims the salesman. That’s what you should have written on the marker.

Best friend I ever had.

I take a sip of my cold decaf coffee to pull myself together and look at the paperwork in front of the salesman. No eye contact with my Uncle, don’t want the waterworks to start in full force.

Redirecting to pull myself together, I say should we talk about prices then?
We flip the brochure open to the options of burial and Uncle Bob suggests that we might as well pay for his cremation while we are at it. I look at him and say, okay, but we may not be getting the best deal. Yeah, but it’s done then and it would be easier for you right? Yes, yes it would. In the back of my mind, I am also thinking, when did I become the executor of your estate? I really wanted Amy to have that responsibility since she just handled Dad’s. Maybe we can be co-executors…

Looking at the prices, and knowing that Dad had a really good deal, I still asked if we could have the cremation service happen somewhere else. And then bring the ashes to be placed with Verla. Sure, not a problem. Would there be a cost? Like a handling fee? The salesman looks at me and says no. Wanting to make sure that he understands what I’m saying, I explain it like a cork fee. You know, if I bring my own bottle of wine to a restaurant, they charge me a fee. The salesman gets a twinkle in his eye and says, you know, no we don’t have that sort of fee but you have a great idea there.
After we pay for ours, you can start charging that fee okay?

Soon the event starts feeling like buying a used car. The brochure is flipped over and the salesman starts writing figures for cremation, and this fee, and the marker, and the engraving, and the 2nd rites and, and, and. We come up with a figure.

Whoa.

What sort of discount can you give us? This feels like we are paying full retail here.

No cork fee.

Doesn’t count, you get to start charging that after us.

If you pay today, I can give you 10% off but that only applies to this and this, and the state doesn’t allow us to discount that, but this, and this…we get a new figure.

How about a free t-shirt? Any gift with purchase? The salesman looks at me to see if I am serious. Yes, you know, like I got great service at Greenwood Memorial?

No, we don’t have t-shirts.

We’ll settle for these pens then and I point to the gel pens on the table. Oh no, pens are hard to come by here. I can’t give you a pen. I raise my eyebrows; this guy is serious about the pens.

Diverting our attention back to his worksheet, Uncle Bob agrees on the price. The salesman stands up to leave the room and print contracts.

Is there any sort of viewing with this cremation Uncle Bob asks.

The salesman sits back down and explains that the package he is buying does not include a memorial. No, but can people come in for a viewing before I am cremated? You know to say their goodbyes? The salesman looks a bit agitated, like we are not done like he thought he was.

Wendy, Uncle Bob asks me; wouldn’t you like to be able to see me one more time? Well, I mean, no, not really, but if that is what you want, for people to come see you, we need to make that happen. So here’s what you can do the salesman says. Upon your death he looks at Uncle Bob, she just needs to inform the funeral director that we need to do this…

What do you think my uncle asks me again. I’ll do what you wish. Looking at the salesman, I ask him again what I need to say. Writing it down verbatim, I put the note in the folder we will take home. I can’t forget, I have to make sure this happens.

The salesman leaves to get contracts.

I look at my watch and we are 90 minutes into “picking up a catalog.” I call James and let him know that we’ll be awhile, that he and Reyde are on their own for dinner; maybe you should hit McDonald’s.

Uncle Bob is starting to look a bit piqued. When the salesman returns I ask him if we can do this pretty quick as my uncle needs to have some food and we need to head home. Yes, this will be quick; I have a 6pm appointment.

We head out to the foyer to look at marble and pick out the color Uncle Bob wants. Going through all the colors, what looks best with the engraving, what looks good in the rain, what takes upkeep or not. Some are always tidy with the wind, while others get moss and mold growing in them. We lean toward green since Uncle Bob loves the outdoors and the mountains, and we have an eagle.

Heading back to our faux dining room, the salesman notes the color, the clip art number for the eagle, and then asks us for the font to use. Knowing we have hundreds to choose from, I wonder how long this will take. Uncle Bob makes a quick decision and before long we are done.

A signature here, initials there, papers are signed for both his cremation and the grave marker. As Uncle Bob write his name for the final time, the salesman hands us a copy of the contracts and says, and I’ll take those pens. Right.

We shake hands and excuse the salesman from the room. Uncle Bob’s gait is a tad bit slower than his, and he is late for his next appointment. We leave the building and get to the truck.

I ask if he’d like to go visit Verla’s grave and Grandma Lillian’s. No. Let’s head out to Maple Valley and visit with Don and Julie. Sure, but I need food and so do you. Might as well hit up McDonald’s for chicken nuggets and salt free fries. Not the best choice but one that doesn’t mess with his diabetes too bad.

Heading out of the parking lot we see a conveniently placed McDonald’s right across the street. Bet they get used a lot for folks unexpectedly coming to Greenwood.

Quickly ordering and pulling up to the drive through window, I tell Uncle Bob that I don’t plan on driving and eating. You sure you don’t want to have dinner with the girls?

No, we’ll visit them when we place the marker.

As we eat in the parking lot I check out of the corner of my eye to make sure he’s doing okay. Big stuff organized in the last two hours. Closure to his soulmate’s death. Planned his own cremation. AND we were just supposed to be picking up a catalog.

The whole event was pretty non emotional. A business transaction, as if we were buying a new appliance. Perhaps it was so matter of fact as it was unplanned, perhaps because he’d thought about it for a while. I don’t know. I sit back and wonder how I would feel, paying for my own cremation, and planning what will be on my grave marker.

Watching traffic go by, and cars arriving at the funeral home, I remark that he’s gotten a lot accomplished.. Now, you need to remind me what you want and where to have your memorial I tell him.

He says I don’t want to wait until after I’m gone for the party. I think we should have it while I’m still alive so I can hear what people have to say about me.

I laugh, put the truck in gear and head down the road.

My day didn’t’ go as I’d planned. We got home very late and while we didn’t cry, it took a toll on my emotions as I’m sure it did his. Quite a remarkable afternoon.

I knew there’d be life lessons learned living with Uncle Bob. I have to say that I appreciate every day my family gets with him and the opportunity to get to know this man. My uncle.

A Man of Character

2011-08-12T16:43:00.000-07:00

Fiddling with the remote control, I clicked on “On Demand,” and queued up Entourage. Finally, James and I get 30 minutes of down time watching one of the few shows we seek out. It’s 10pm Wednesday night, and while late, we are looking forward to this mindless drama.

As James walks past the end of the bed and past the windows, he notices a truck slowing down alongside the road, gravel crunching in our driveway. I wasn’t looking out the window, instead fast forwarding to the beginning of the show. Seeing the headlights and hearing the motor, I asked if it was headed up our neighbor’s driveway.

“No.” Opening the window further, James sticks his head out and watches the headlights dim and the truck go in reverse into our other neighbor’s driveway.

“You got Ross’s number?” James asks as he checks his phone.

“Yeah, I think so, let me get my phone.”

He tells me turn off the TV and the lights.

Heartbeat accelerating, I get my phone in the kitchen and amazingly unplug it from the charger after having just put a TON of hand cream on my hands. Fumbling through my contact list, I call the home and cell numbers to no avail.

“Call 911,” James tells me as he is pulling on pants and shoes. He heads downstairs and out the front door. He tells me he’s heard a voice his doesn’t recognize and he thought he heard a scream.

I place the call tell the dispatcher what I know and ask them to send an officer out to investigate. Throwing on pants and grabbing Mom’s sandals, I head out the door too. If James is going outside, well I’m going too.

The motion light in the driveway blazes brightness; I walk through the light and off to the other side so as not to trip it again. A police cruiser pulls up, no lights and an officer gets out. James is across the street, standing in the bushes near the truck. He walks across the street, talks to the officer and then goes back by the bushes and trees. The police check out the truck, check both doors of the house and then go ahead and knock yelling loudly, “Normandy Park Police.”

Our neighbor opens the door, talks to the officer, and then they check out the truck. We hear him say, “I just bought the truck….yeah, I know I need to get current tabs….”

A few minutes later the officer walks past James and says, “Seems like everything is okay.”

I yell across the street, “Hey Ross, I need your number!” We visit for a while and James apologizes for calling the cops. He said he didn’t recognize the truck, and then when it backed up with no lights in the driveway he got concerned.

“You did the right thing, thanks for keeping an eye out.”

“Yeah, and then I heard a loud knock and this voice that sounded like it had an accent. And I thought I heard a scream.”

Ross laughs, “I guess it’s not funny now, but I knocked because I told my daughter not to answer the door. She asked me if it was me, and I did respond with an accent that of course it’s your Dad.” The daughter must have laughed and screamed or something to that effect.

Walking across the street to go back into our house I asked James what he was doing across the street hiding in the bushes and trees.

“I really thought I heard screaming and I wanted to be close by until the cops arrived. I was pretty sure the kids were home by themselves.”

It was in that very instant I saw the very inner core of my husband; that I realized I married a man of such strong character. He willingly crossed the street to protect our neighbor’s children. If he heard another scream he intended to go in the house. How selfless is that?

So as the days go by faster than a Google Search, the pace of daily life so quick that you can’t seem to appreciate any of it, I have a flash of clarity. A flash of the good in people, the protector instinct in James.

Moments like this don't happen very often. Where you an ethic or moral talked about but rarely put to the test. I mean, you see that a person is nice, caring, giving, a good person. But rare to see the very essence of who a person is, what they believe in.

I am awed to be a part of James's life.

I Stand Accused

2011-06-13T21:16:00.000-07:00

By my Sissy La La. And luckily I stood up for myself, defended against the emotional and moral judgement set upon me on Saturday.

Amy and I set out about 11.30am to transport Uncle Bob from Maple Valley to the Issaquah skilled care nursing facility. Uncle Bob needed a bit more rehab from his ailments and hospitalizations of late. We knew it would take a while.

"Amy can you find this?"
"Wendy can I have another cup of coffee?"
"Julie where did you put this..."

I don't really recall the segue as to how Amy brought up "my charge." But it went something like this.

"Wendy do you remember what you did to me to make a scar on my face? I don't remember how it happened but I have this scar on my chin."

"Amy, I don't think it is a scar."

"Well, it is really deep and I don't remember getting hurt as a kid."

"I have a feeling I know exactly what it is from. I think I have one that is really similar. Right here, on my face to the right of my chin."

Amy looks up from what's she doing and confirms that yes that's about where it is on her face.

"I hate to tell you this, but um, yeah, it isn't a scar. It's a wrinkle."

Amy screams, "ahh." Julie busts out laughing. Uncle Bob chuckles away on his hospital bed. The ice is broken a bit. Laughter was definately in order.

Cut to t minus 6 hours later.

Hopping down a different bunny trail for a moment... after Amy and I had a 9 hour event with Uncle Bob on Saturday and Mom had a 7 hour event today with Uncle Bob, there is a newly formed verb in this world. When your day gets away from you and you don't get everything done, you've been "unkiebobbed." I will definately use this verb along with my "practicing avoidance behavior." Yes, I tend to proscrastinate. And when I do, I overachieve "practicing avoidance behavior."

But I digress...t minus 6 hours later, Amy and I are organizing Uncle Bob's things in the nursing facility room. A little tight on the space as the wardrobe is directly behind the vanity area. Lighting is good. I pause and smile and inspect my own "childhood scar" in the vanity mirror.

"See Amy, look this is what my wrinkle looks like."

Adjusting her glasses (because she really does need bifocals but won't accept that her eyes are aging,) she agrees that that there is a wrinkle.

"So show me yours." And there my sister and I stand side by side, vying for mirror space in the nursing home room. Which is not private; Uncle Bob nearest the bathroom and his roomie Randal on the other side. Being good 40 year olds, we don't start picking our black heads and checking out other dermatological concerns.

"Look towards me." Amy turns and I check out her scar.

"I hate to tell you this. But it's confirmed. You've got broken blood vessels on the bottom and a wrinkle on the top."

We laugh, Uncle Bob laughs. I think Randal laughed too.

Tucking Uncle Bob in for a rest and good God we helped him tuck in a pinch of chew too, we left to go get dinner.

I love you Sissy La La.

Want Versus Need

2011-06-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

A wise counselor once told me there are only 5 things you need in life: food, water, oxygen, shelter, and the ability to go to the bathroom. Everything else is a want. It is in this perspective that I feel blessed with such a generous, loving, want fulfilled life every day.

May is for trying motorsports

2011-06-07T20:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Mummy Tummy

2011-05-08T20:32:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of Sandra Lee's Semi-homemade, tonight's delicacy is Costco's Spinach Feta Cheese Chicken meatballs in a blend of Vodka and Alfredo Sauce with rotini noodles, baked with mozzarella cheese. Wouldn't recommend the meatballs, but my throw together masked them well enough. Yum, happy mummy tummy.

Every once in a while...

2011-05-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

I read a really good sentence. That just gets to me. And I don't know why this one did; perhaps it's the imagery, I don't know. I just know I really like it.

From The Help A Novel by Kathryn Stockett.

At the end of June, a heat wave of a hundred degrees....

Mister Dunn's rooster walks in my door and squats his red self right in front of my kitchen fan. I come in to find him looking at me like I ain't moving nowhere, lady. He'd rather get beat with a broom than go back out in that nonsense.

Ahh. Inspired to write.

2011-02-27T09:11:00.000-08:00

I asked Reyde to practice art. Got a dinosaur, a race track, and "can I play Wii now?"

"No, you need to practice shading, and shadows from light."

I put a car in front of the table lamp. He took it from there.

"Hey Reyde."

"Yeah?"

"Now. You can play Wii."

It's a bit presumptious

2011-02-09T13:25:00.000-08:00

But I often dream about being a brand. And today, I doodled an idea for my brand.

Dad-o-meter

2011-02-09T10:50:00.000-08:00

On vacation this and next week. James is at work, Reyde is at school and I have all the time to do what I want. Haven't gotten to much of what I thought I would, but it's only Wednesday right?

Having been on a creative binge of sorts for a while I indulge in a few movies. I can't just sit and watch though, it drives me batty. Lacing up my shoes, turning up the volume, I set my treadmill in motion and enjoy the escape of a good story.

With the Oscars just around the corner, I catch "The Kids are Allright," "The Social Network," and "Crazy Heart." (Yeah Crazy Heart is from last year and Jeff Bridges performance was so good.)

I love it when a story brings forth emotion. I'm inspired and motivated by The Social Network. Gosh, why can't I invent the next biggest thing?

Crazy Heart on the other hand was off the charts for tears. Tears? Yeah. Tears. I mean it wasn't that sad of a story. Brdiges character reminded me so much of Dad. The unkept hair, dirty clothes, a man lost. There wasn't much similarity other than that, a man alone in the world with the realization that he'd lost someone. Trying to make amends. Seeing it from Bridges character's perspective I cried for how my Dad must have felt.

So, having balled my eyes out while not falling off the treadmill, I figure I should check in with Amy. Because it seems that when I am missing Dad, she is too. We are connected that way. Chit chat about this and that, and I bring up the movie.

"Have you seen it yet?"

"No, is it good?"

"Well, on the Dad-o-meter it's off the charts. Bridges character looks like Dad and I cried like a baby."

"I better not watch it then. I'm missing Dad."

"Yeah, me too."

Grief sucks.

Meeting Miss Lula Belle

2011-02-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

After falling backwards, hitting my head on the compact snow and chattering my teeth, I decided to go shopping with the girls last Tuesday in Sun Valley. Best to rest my head for a day and give my whiplashed neck a break from the action. Time out for Wendy. And "they" say you don't need to wear a helmet when cross country skiing. I say they need to design a sleek line of helmets with fun design in mind while protecting the noggin from the occasional nordic mishap.

Carol, Vivi, Nancy, Joy and I headed into Ketchum Idaho and hit up the consignment shops first. In years past, the ladies had found quite the prize in this playground town for the uber rich.

The first stop was The Dollhouse. Perusing the goods, I didn't find anything I couldn't live without. Settling on the bench for trying on shoes, I wait for the ladies to finish shopping. The shop owner directed us to another consignment store down the road. "We refer back and forth you know? Keeps us in business. Head that way for 2 blocks and you'll find Consign Design."

Off we went. Stepping into the shop, we realize that this is an upscale store. Miss Lula Belle catches my eye immediately. She's sitting on the shelf, a bright spot amongst the brown and black offerings. I try her on, looking at her in the mirror. She's lovely and the price is too. Sitting her back down, I wander throughout the store.

Not being a fashionista, I ask Aunt Nancy what she thinks of Lula Belle. Lovely color but is the texture all wrong? The color is spring and summer, but the texture is all winter. I don't even know what you call it. Cow fur? It's one of my favorite colors, she's one of a kind, but I don't know. Will I use it?

We leave the shop, but Miss Lula Belle remains on my mind. Having taken a photo I decide to show James to see his reaction. If he doesn't say much I figure I can go back and buy her; if he says something it's unlikely I'd choose to use the bag much.

No reaction, "buy it Wendy," is all he says.

The following day, Aunt Nancy and I go nordic skiing (with helmet.)After lunch we head back into town and I go back to Consign Design. Miss Lula Belle sits on a different shelf, and my hopes are dashed for a brief moment until I see her. I guess it was meant to be.

The store owner tells me that Miss Lula Belle came in with an expensive herd. "She had $20,000 in handbags that had never been used." Inquiring about the designer, Temma Dahan, the owner didn't know much about her.

A few nights later, after our usual Rummikub competition, I googled Temma Dahan. Mind you, it was late, about 11.30pm. I didn't find much save for the tag line about the designer creating bags for the "modern princess." Uncle Clem, Aunt Nancy, Joy and I got a kick out of that. Lula Belle sat on the kitchen counter between us all.

"I'm a modern princess dammit," I say and Uncle Clem busts out laughing. We all do. As if Lula Belle will bring out the princess qualities in me. Perhaps I need to add a few rhinestones to her.

Sifting through more links, I try to find her worth. Hoping that she was one of the more spendy individuals in the herd, I can't find anything online. She's one of a kind.

Out of the blue, (I suppose pun intended,) Joy asks, "I wonder if she'll attract flies like cows do?"

We all laugh so hard that Joy is crying Nancy is wiping her eyes and Clem is leaning over the counter, he can't stand straight. Loud enough to get James out of bed and come in to see what all the fuss is about.

I now am on a quest to find a rhinestone fly to adorn Miss Lula Bell. Here she is out to pasture:

Until We Meet Again

2011-01-12T21:21:00.000-08:00

You come into my life as the leaves begin to fall in October.

We spend the holidays together. You greet me each morning yellow as the summer sun amidst the dark dreary Seattle days.

The creamy sensation as you touch my lips overwhelms my senses. I awaken with your spice.

And as the New Year rounds the corner, we settle into January knowing that our time together is short lived. I question the day that I must ask you to leave. It's not fair, but it has to be done. And sometimes it is not my choice, but rather left to others affecting our relationship.

Know that I love you; everything about you. Don't be sad.

I go through a range of emotions as I know you are soon departing. I get angry and what you've done to my body; but I am a willing participant. It's a vicious cycle we go through. The push and pull of oneness.

I put up walls to defend myself and show my strength. I won't let you see how lonely I'll be without you. Part of me wants a gentle goodbye, you waving and not losing eye contact with me until the distance is long between us. But I know what's best for me.

Don't let the door hit you EGGNOG!
See ya next year.

Fuzzy

2010-08-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

The mangy cat sauntered up the driveway on Wednesday evening as I pulled in after work. He looked back at me over his shoulder, paused and then kept walking.

It's the van cat. The one that James saw in the good old black van. Surprised that James hadn't scared the cat away, the scruffy thing has slept in the van for a few weeks now.

I feel bad for it and throw some dog food out on the driveway for it to find.

James comes home and I tell him that I think I'll be buying some cat food for the van cat.

"Probably a good idea."

Thus the Granthams may very well have an outdoor cat.

I put food and water in the van last night. The seat is COVERED in mangy cat hair. I'm surprised James hasn't closed up all the entry ways into the beast; there are probably too many to deal with.

I check on the cat this morning before work. He is resting on the seat, the food bowl knocked over and the water dish still intact. I sneak up on it and open the van door. He looks at me and slinks off the seat and exits from the engine compartment.

The food is eaten.

Reyde and I give him more sustenance tonight. He's drank plenty of water.

I suggest VAN CAT as the name of our new pet.
Or Vanny.

"No Mom, FUZZY."

Welcome Fuzzy the Van Cat to our world. Enjoy your new digs.

Unmerciful Master

2010-06-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

We had a guy in for an interview last month.

One of the team members asked him the question, "How would your employees describe your leadership style?"

"Unmerciful Master."

Things that make you go hmmm.

Sounds like a GREAT band name.

1 800 Pet Meds

2010-06-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

A little bit like the post from last year, "425 2 Ply Sheets."

We had a prescription filled for Nitro at 1 800 Pet Meds. I delayed getting the refill as I figured I would have the hassle of getting the prescription filled, needing to have Nitro visit the vet, etc.

I brought the bottle in my lunch bag to remind me to call the vet. Looking at the bottle I see in the lower right hand corner that I have one refill remaining.

Woo hoo, no $300 vet appointment. We are good to go.

Looking all over the label I try to locate the phone number to call and place my order. I must have searched a good minute, constantly turning and turning the bottle.

This is ridiculous. Why wouldn't they have the number on the top like human prescriptions? Getting ready to go online and search for the number, I realize how silly this is.

Duh, 1 800 Pet Meds. The pretty large RED logo in the upper left hand corner. I personally think they ought to write the number in the small font too. You know, for those folks....

In Honor of Art Linkletter

2010-06-01T18:53:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago James didn't get a real good night's rest. A neighbor of ours has a truck and trailer that gets parked on the side of the road from time to time. James always hears it pull up, gets out of bed, zips the blinds up (nothing slow, get those blinds up NOW,) opens the window and listens. 2am.

Yes, it's the truck and trailer. But he doesn't go back to sleep. Poor guy.

In the morning the conversation goes a bit like this:
"James, when I drove by the trailer it looked like the guy parked it pretty far onto the side of the road."

"Yeah, it's leaning pretty good into the ditch."

In the afternoon, Reyde and I are driving home. As I round the curve I see the truck and trailer on the side of the road. This is odd, it is usually gone by the time I get home. The guy is rocking the truck back and forth. Seems he got it stuck. But as I drive closer, I realize that "that guy," is my husband with our truck and race car trailer.

I roll down my window and casually say, "I'll park my car and come push."

"What good will that do?" Comment and tone said it all.

Instantly I judge the situation. We just talked about that other guy almost getting stuck. It rained and the ground is soft. I look over at our neighbors long gravel driveway next to the other neighbors long asphalt driveway. Why didn't James just park there? Well that must be a girl way of thinking.

Reyde and I get in the house, I change my shoes and walk over to "help."

James is driving the excavator along the side of the road. Chains up the front end of the truck and tells me to ease out of the ditch steering to the right.

Mind you, this is the first time I've driven the dually truck and let out the clutch. And what do you mean steer to the right? How far?

"Okay, I'll do it. "

"#$^!&@ I hope this doesn't roll over."

"James, if it does it does. No one is hurt and it can be fixed. That's what you would tell me."

I get in and move the seat so I can press the clutch down. Leaning to the right pretty far, I decide that a seat belt might be a good thing. Don't want to roll it over and find myself in the passenger seat.

Clutch release and steering to the right and we are out of the ditch. Thank God.

Now what does this all have to do with my title, "In Honor of Art Linkletter?"

Saturday morning Reyde and I head out to the race track. As we drive by the drainage ditch and see the freshly graded dirt, Reyde asks:

"Mom why did Dad go rock crawling in the creek?" I laughed out loud.

"Oh, he didn't mean to."

A simplified explanation...

2010-01-07T20:47:00.000-08:00

Of my new favorite subject.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwNRd1jrE0k

A shout out to my sister's co-worker for sharing this with Amy.

New Year, New Words

2010-01-03T07:58:00.000-08:00

Had dinner with my in laws last night. A few of their neighbors were in as well. Certainly a different mix of people for James and I to interact with.

After dinner, we retired to the living room to visit. A variety of subjects came up. I don't know how we got to "plate tectonics," but a neighbor went on about this subject for a very long time. It's science and I started to glaze over. Absolutely no interest. And he continued on. Finally, a break in the conversation and I said, "you know my interest in science ended back in elementary school wth the litmus paper turning blue and red."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics

On Dasher, On Prancer, On Donner, On Nitro?

2009-12-23T20:40:00.001-08:00

Don't compare your inside with someone else's outside

2009-12-14T22:11:00.000-08:00

Saw this quote in a book today. Love it. Must remind myself of it every day.

Umbrellas and turtlenecks

2009-11-19T21:16:00.001-08:00

UMBRELLAS
I am 40 and 11/12ths. Why is it that I begin using an umbrella now? It is beyond me why I am concerned about being wet now. I've lived here all my life. I'm using a $1 dollar umbrella from China. It's as random as my train of thought here.

TURTLENECKS
I want my neck to be warm. It's cold outside, and I sit in the convergence zone at AMMEX. Right smack in the middle of the two zones of heat. Lots of cool area buzzing about and a little like playing, "HOT/COLD". As I walk to the conference room, I hear in my mind, "you're getting warmer, warmer, warmer, HOT." Same deal walking to the ladies room.

So I head to the mall tonight to get a sweater that I saw on a gal at lunch. No such luck. Plenty of sweaters with V necks, scoop necks, exposed necks. Okay, no need to show my cleavage in November, December, January. I think I'll pull out my $2 scarf that I picked up in 06 at the Great Wall.

Nothing fashionable about my umbrella and scarf. Functional? Check. Affordable? Check.

You never cease to amaze me kid

2009-11-06T05:55:00.000-08:00

Reyde's artistic talent continues to flourish. He joined Art Club at school; we are thankful that a local artist is donating her time to teach children the basics of art. Theory, types of brush strokes, shading of color, styles of art. What a blessing.

Last night, Reyde drew these pictures at Miss Vicky's. I asked him if he'd learned this at Art Club. Nope. Did you see it in a book at school? Nope.

"Mom, it was in my mind."

Hmm. Art has never been in my mind like this.

So I thank God for giving Reyde the gift of art. He'll be the last kid on the block to have his own computer, probably won't touch email and instant messaging like his Dad, but he'll have nurtured his creative talent.

Baby Got Back

2009-09-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

Out at Grandma Betty's this past weekend. She shared some of her baby photos.

Baby Betty Got Back.

I'll have to scan James and my photos in the same pose.

Family. It's the greatest.

Breaking Up!

2009-08-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

I hate the way you make me feel.

I am a strong woman and can live without you.

The awful feeling I get in my stomach after I've been with you is too much to bear.

I'm sorry, I know you've been a part of my life for a very long time, but it's time to say goodbye. We'll probably have those awful, "I can't live without you, let's try it one more time" dates.

But I will grow stronger. It is for the best.

Bye bye beef. I can't do it anymore. Chicken, it's what's for dinner.

Kellie Daisy

2009-08-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

Pretty name. One that I will use.

My night didn't quite go as planned. James and Reyde were to be out of the house, running an errand. As I left the office tonight, Natalia asked me what I was doing tonight.

"I don't know where to start! I've got three hours to myself and so many things to do," I replied as I headed out the door.

1 task completed that was not on the list and my phone rings.

"Where you at? Are you close to home?"

"Yes, just coming through Des Moines, why what's up?"

"Reyde doesn't want to go tonight."

Sigh. "Okay, I'll be there in 2 minutes."

I selfishly set Reyde up with the small DVD player in his room and told him that I want to watch my TV and get on the treadmill. He is cool with that, bless his little soul, and I continue watching the movie, August Rush.

Good story, a bit predictable, love the actress who played Felicity, and the love interest is cute with a fab accent. The gist of the story being two adults who have unrealized dreams. Music. (Okay, there is more but I am not spoiling it for you.)

Love it when a book, show, movie, song, makes me cry. Not loving it so much as I am walking on the treadmill, at an incline, huffing and puffing, crying and wiping away the tears at the same time.

There is a quote out there, let me see if I can find it...nope, can't find it. But it is something along the lines of all of us have stories inside of us. It is the precious few that put pen to paper and share them with others. Don't take yours with you.

I am a bit sqeamish about writing that sentence. Fear that I can die tomorrow and not accomplish my creative goal.

Watching the movie, I am inspired to create. I've got the book name, the first sentence, the story, and now possibly my pen name. So where is the segue to the post title?

I can't recall how old I was, I'm sure Amy remembers. Standing in the section of vendors underneath the stadium stands at the Evergreen State Fair, I ask Mom if I can get a silver identity bracelet, and she says sure. The vendor takes the bracelet and asks me what name I want engraved. Standing and thinking, Amy asked me if I was gonna give the gal my name. I replied, "well I don't know what name I want on it." My thinking was to have it be a pretend name so I could pretend I was someone else, not Wendy.

Yes, you guessed it, Kellie got engraved that afternoon, and my sister rolled her eyes. (Mind you not for the first time and certainly not the last.)

And I just like Daisy. Good pen name. Maybe I'll add a surname. Maybe I won't.

If only...

2009-08-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

Okay so I see this video link on a gal's facebook page that I went to school with. See? See I tell you. This is the exact reason why I suffered my John Hughes moments thinking I am not normal. That I should have friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

I love this video.

You know you're tired when....

2009-08-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

Your thought process goes something like this!

As I unwrap a new roll of toilet paper last night, I notice under the Kirkland brand logo,

"425 2-PLY SHEETS."

Wow, that's kinda cool. Costco puts their phone number on the wrapper for any consumer issues. Nationwide, they use the "425" area code. Cool, that the brand touts the local area code. Wonder if they have had so many issues that they need to put a phone number on the wrapper.

Duh.

Under the wrapper, please find 425 pieces of 2 ply toilet paper sheets.

While I know some great thinking CAN occur on the toilet, this is not one of the better epiphanies...flush.

Alone

2009-07-06T21:32:00.001-07:00

Scary word for most.

I have a friend struggling with an ugly divorce situation. She's a great blogger, sharing all the venom in her veins for us to bear with her. I do know it is helping her as I've seen her heal over the months.

She posted a blog entry on being alone and how she struggles with being alone.

I too struggled. Thought that I should have a group of friends like the ones in John Hughes movies. Many a year I'd say to James that our New Years Resolution was to "get friends."

But I came to a fine realization in 2006. Amidst a crappy moment in our marriage, we sought counseling. The counselor suggested we do a quick test about personalities and traits.

Low and behold, I tested out as an introvert. What a relief to find that my inner struggle to create "normalcy" in my life was over.

I judged myself for years, since junior high and highschool, for the lack of a circle of friends.

Now I know. All those years of yearning for a big group of people to be with, have dinner with, have parties with, go camping with, yatta yatta yatta is over.

While I thought I wanted friends, I really didn't. Game over. Calming effect really. Quite freeing.

So here's a shout out to my friend. Embrace your inner introvert. She's quite nice.

Thankful

2009-06-30T21:43:00.000-07:00

It's a crazy world. This economy, crappy human behavior, people without, people with too much, trying to keep up with the Joneses, trying to do more and more every day.

I think I heard Tom Petty singing "Life is a Highway,"you know, that "Cars Movie" theme song.

....life is a highway and I wanna ride it all night long... Oh, it's a Rascal Flatts song. At any rate, I am ready to take the next exit and stop at the diner for pie and ice cream.

It's June 30th and I keep thinking to myself, I can't wait for summer. Summer doesn't usually start til mid July in Seattle. But we've had a great June and I have to remind myself to be in the present and remember that tomorrow is not summer, it is today.

I am thankful for all that God has provided. I go to sleep each night saying "Thank you God. For today and all that you provided. And for taking care of my son and my husband. For my health and shelter. Please continue being with me."

Noteworthy Blogs

2009-06-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

I worked with Sara for a couple years. Great person. Her blog is so funny, poignant, and just so Sara. I highly recommend you mark it as a favorite:

http://www.jimsaramiller.blogspot.com/

Another blog I follow just so happens to be a Wendy. Unknown to me, her blog came up as a top blog for blogger.com. This gal has it going on! Mark it too:

http://wendysees.blogspot.com/

The Hunter

2009-06-08T20:31:00.000-07:00

Seems Turbo wasn't the only hunter in the family.

James and I were standing at the garage doors tonight and Nitro walks down the driveway. She's gingerly stepping and I asked James if she is hurt.

Nope, she just walks that way down the hill....over to the tongue of the boat trailer. Sneaking up on the tongue of the boat trailer. And casually lifts her front left paw.

"James, she's on point."

"Yeah, been doing it all day. I think there is a bird nesting in the trailer tongue."

Atta girl. Bring momma home some din din.

Zoom zoom ZOOM

2009-05-31T09:48:00.000-07:00

It is hard for me to decide the title of this post. Torn between "Zoom zoom ZOOM" (which in the end I picked,) or "RJ's first ride," or "I'm okay with this gene handed down," or "Here we go Aunt Amy."

Yesterday was a beautiful family day. Went to visit our friends at their cabin they are building in Ashford Washington. Continued down the highway and up to Paradise at Mt. Rainier. Fun, relaxing day. As we headed home, I suggested to James that he call Jimmy and see if they are at the Quarter Midget Track in Graham. Jimmy had said they would be practicing. James said he'd just stop by and if the gates were open we'd drive in and see if Jimmy and Jim were there.

(queue Jaws music for Aunt Amy.)

Sure enough, the Fergusons were there and had Jim's car out. We visited, played, fed Nitro, watched Jimmy (who IS Mr. Goodwrench) work on the cars.

Then it went something like this:

(queue the DUH DUM DUH DUM louder for Aunt Amy.)

Jimmy, "So Reyde do you want to try and drive the car?"

Reyde, "No thanks."

Jimmy, "But listen, I can make the motor sound really quiet and go slow. Like this."

(queue quarter midget motor sound starting quietly.)

James, "See buddy, it's pretty quiet."

Reyde, "No thanks."

Jimmy, "I think you should try it, it would be really fun."

Reyde, "No thanks."

Wendy, "Reyde, look at Mommy." (For when Mom wants full manipulation techniques to engage you must have eye contact.)

Reyde, "Yeah Mom?"

Wendy, "Remember in Sun Valley how you didn't want to go skiing?"

Reyde, "Yeah."

Wendy, "And remember HOW MUCH FUN you had after you tried it?"

Reyde, "Yeah."

Wendy, "And how you wanted to ski every day after that first day?"

Reyde, "Yeah."

Wendy, "Reyde, do you want to try driving the car?"

Reyde, "Yeah, okay."

Wendy, "Jimmy, he said okay, let's get him in the car."

And a racer is born. No, he was born December 14, 2002. 12-14-02. Numerology. 12+14+2=28, his Daddy's race car number.

No, I haven't used my ice cream maker yet

2009-05-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

Still missing Turbo. Went looking for a journal entry in Reyde's journal about Turbo and came across this one. I laughed out loud. Needed that.

1/26/03

As I try to get the hot food issue resolved with Reyde's homecoming, I am planning meals more than I ever have and making use of leftovers.

Tonight's meal is split pea soup. It's a great recipe I received from my friend Tamara and pretty quick to put together. It involves a lot of chopping, so I decided to pull out the wedding gift from Auntie Gogo and give the Cuisinart Food Chopper a whirl.

Now this is the second time I've used it in 6 years, although I'll use it more now that time is of the essence right? Pulled out the box and had to cut through the packing tape I used to move it from West Seattle to here. Sad sad story. All the pieces are in the box, save the directions on how to use it. Not a problem, I can figure this out. To be on the safe side, I do go through all my paperwork in the kitchen and recipe books to see if I've placed the manual somewhere else. No luck, not a problem. This can't be Wendy proof.

I cut up my ham to be chopped and put all the pieces together. Thunk, goes the first piece of ham and I press the "on" button with confidence. Nothing. Hmm...it can't have quit due to no use. Oh, I see this button that looks like it needs to be pushed to engage the motor. Unplug, move the bowl, plug in, and wallah! Power chopping. So much power chopping that my ham is in very very small pieces. No worries, it will still taste good.

I let my soup simmer while I entertain Reyde during his alert time. We check out websites online to see if I can figure out how to greenhouse garden. Not too entertaining for wonder boy Reyde, so I decide to put him in the swing I just re-arranged the living room furniture to accommodate. Get him buckled in, turn the swing on and go to check on my soup as I need to chop my carrots and onions to complete the recipe.

Clean my veggies and go check on Reyde in the living room. I bust out laughing and have to turn the swing off. Reyde's just a little light in the weight factor to slow the swing down, and he is swinging fast and furious. I am surprised he didn't spit up. The chair stops and he appears to be okay with just sitting and pondering the underside of the marble table. Back to chopping veggies. (Perhaps I should have weighted him down with a potato in the swing.)

So knowing that there is water in the veggies, I know I don't have to chop them as long as the ham. Trying my darnest not to, I still puree the heck out of the carrots and onions. The onions actually become paste. Aahh, not to get upset, I figure the food should still taste the same.

James comes in the house, takes over Reyde duty, and I am off to the store. I double check and taste my soup before I leave, just to make sure it is edible. Yes, tastes like split pea, just a bit on the smooth side.

Upon returning from the store, I turn the oven on to make biscuits. As luck would have it, since we are going to have leftovers, I purchase a couple extra cans of dough. I knew I had one in the fridge and pulled that one out. Hmm, use before December 30th. Has it been in the fridge that long? Do I toss it and use a new can, or try my luck at old dough? I pop it and use them anyway, figuring that they won't be that bad and if anything is growing on them, it will be killed with the heat of the oven.

Since being on bed rest since November and all the hospital time, my cooking skills have gone by the wayside. I overcooked two meals last week, so tonight I am careful not to over cook the biscuits. The buzzer goes off, the biscuits look fine, and James and I are dishing up dinner at 7.34pm. And it's hot. And Reyde is asleep. And I get to eat my meal while it is hot. I am careful not to ask how James likes the meal. I wait for his comments as I am sure he will notice that tonight's split pea soup, while not overdone, doesn't require a lot of chewing and isn't quite as chunky as the norm.

I enjoy my food and try not to laugh as I look at the 35 mph swing in the living room. That whole event is one where I think my son is looking at me and saying, "What are you people trying to do to me?"

I scoop up the last of my silky soup and James makes just one comment. "So the next time you make this, you don't have to put the ham in the machine." "Oh, you'd rather chew it than sip it?" I reply. "Well yeah, unless I need to eat it through a straw!" We bust out laughing.

All's good at the Grantham household. Week three begins, and by the way, pureed split pea soup tastes just fine. I think I'll pull out the ice cream maker and see if I can put that to use this week. No, haven't even used it, but I hear that plastic is best aged at 6 years. Wouldn't want my ice cream to taste bad as the container wasn't seasoned well.

Versus

2009-04-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas Friedman

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

A customer came by on Friday. I walked her out to her car and as she opened her trunk she asked me if I'd read any of Meyer's books. Nope, sure not. Until now. On page 90 of Twilight. I have book 2 & 3, with an offer from a guy at work for book 4. So here's the conundrum. I should be reading Friedman's book for work. REQUIRED reading due by April 20ish. He's so wordy and so much information to understand and absorb. My reading rate is 20 pages per hour on this book. Yeah, about 45 pages per hour on Twilight. I know what I should be reading. But isn't there some famous quote about never shoulding yourself?It's not like I can fake knowing what that last 200 pages are about in Hot, Flat, and Crowded. But I just want to get to the part when Bella figures out Edward is....

The Adventure Ends

2009-03-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

Wow. This week has gone by so very fast. It seems as if it were weeks ago that I flew into Manila, out of sorts, low on blood sugar and out of my element. It took just one shift in the office to feel at home again.

My co-workers saved their photos on a disc for me so I can upload a few pictures. (My IT department updated my work lap top prior to my departure and now I don't have camera wizard!)

A quick run down, and perhaps why the week went by so quickly.

Friday was a 24 hour day. Funny how you can stay up all night when you are surrounded by people in an office environment with bright green walls and fluorescent lighting. Headed to the beach on Saturday morning after a quick 2 hour "power nap."

7 hours later, and only 270kms, (150 miles,) we arrived at the beach. Had wonderful food prepared by Vanessa's Mom, met Vanessa's baby, and cooled off in the pool and the South China Sea.

Yes, that's me in the photo. Reina took this shot on her phone. We had such a good time at the resort. Not only did I come to Manila to train on the art of selling gloves, but I might have exposed some folks to basic, rudimentary synchronized swimming skills. Wait til you see the videos I upload when I get home.

Slept soundly Saturday night. So soundly. That's what exhaustion will do for you.

Sunday was filled with sightseeing in Agoo, visiting the Catholic church where attending services is an event. Concessions stands, toys, cotton candy, a carnival atmosphere. Hiked to a tourist hot spot of the 90s where a man said he saw the Virgin Mary and that she said rose petals would fall from a guava tree. (The tree is dead now.)

Back to the beach resort to have a wonderful picnic prepared by Vanessa's Mom and Dad. Grilled mussels, fish, crab, prawns. Papaya coleslaw, fresh mango, watermelon, rice, veggies. Incredible.

Monday was another 24 hour day.

Wednesday morning after shift, had a quick "2 hour power nap" and went to the mall with Vic, Reina, Melody, Czarina, and Neil to get my hair cut. $7 cut by a super senior stylist. Not just a senior stylist, but a super senior stylist. Too funny. Went shopping for handbags for gifts. Found a really cool one, bought it in 7 colors. Now I am coming home with11 bags and 15 scarves from China. Christmas shopping done early.

Got some better sleep before shift Thursday. Now it is 9.30 am Friday morning and my flight leaves at 7.30 Saturday morning. Still need to walk to Glorietta and see what's new there. Gotta get one of those power naps in again and pack and get ready for work tonight.

The time has gone by so quick. Hopefully I come back again this year. So much fun in the office and really good training sessions. I miss Manila.

Wish me LUCK!

2009-03-05T04:56:00.000-08:00

So, this will probably be way too much information.

Maybe I should not have eaten that lovely snack Phil brought me at the booth yesterday.

And I have been exposed to the crud. All three kids have it and Norma and Fred.

I awoke today knowing that I have a stomach and the length of my intestines as gas moves through every nook and cranny of it. Blah.

I pray I do not get the crud. Especially tomorrow as I fly to Manila.

China Update

2009-03-04T04:50:00.001-08:00

Thought I'd show you where I stay when I am in China. I'd call this house design confused.

Must include a picture of food, right? Had this snack at the trade show. My co-worker Phil brought it back from the"7-11."

"Wendy, would you like to have a try?"

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

Bottoms up.

And lastly, some of the cool products I've seen at the show.

The Flamingo has landed

2009-03-01T03:02:00.000-08:00

Technically, I can say I've been to Japan. I don't know that the Holiday Inn at Narita Airport really counts...but having missed my connecting flight last night I got to stay in Japan and have my passport stamped.

I do recommend in having a change of clothes in your carry on. Me, not this time. I had 12 pairs of socks though.

Trying to stay up a couple more hours to get into this time zone.

At the last minute, I took out my Sun Valley sweatshirt as I figured I wouldn't need it. Wrong wrong wrong. The house has no heat. It's colder in the house than outside!

Maybe, just maybe

2009-02-02T20:23:00.001-08:00

I've found my artistic inner child. Went to a baby shower and we decorated onesies. Or perhaps, my inner artistic child has always been with me, just now I know she doesn't do well with hot glue sticks, baskets, and christmas ornaments!

Top Comment for 2008

2008-12-30T20:57:00.000-08:00

Oh I think this is the top comment posted to my blog in 2008.

Anonymous said...

Now that you have shared with the world your chilhood hand licking practice, what will I use to confirm that you are you should aliens infect our world with pod people?XO, Amy

Amy: Any alien sightings? Slurp, lick.

Can you tell?

2008-12-21T21:39:00.000-08:00

Which Dinosaur was created by a 6 year old?
Which Dinosaur was created by a 40 year old?

"Mom, let's do a project."
"Okay, what do you want to do?"
"Let's make Dinosaur puppets. I'll go get the paper and the scissors and the PASTE!!!!!"

Oh boy, let's create on demand.
"Reyde go get a dinosaur book too. I need to see a picture."
"No, that's cheating. You just have to cut it out. "
"Can't I draw it first?"
"MOM, no that's cheating."

Mine's the one on the right. Yes, the pink one with orange stripes.

Hmmm...I'm recalling a moment back in history...sitting in Auntie Joan's garage with all my cousins...making holiday baskets.

My creation once again looks like a 7 year old did it.

No. I didn't eat any paste.

Is it snowing?

2008-12-21T14:38:00.000-08:00

Okay people, are we just a little itty bit excited about the snow? My phone has not rung so many times in a day in years.

"Is it snowing there?"

"Yeah, it is, is it there?"

"Yeah, well, it's been snowing for at least 20 minutes and I don't see it letting up."

"Well, maybe the forecasters are right this time...."

The next day...

"It's right on time, is it snowing there?"

"No, not yet."

"Well Channel 4 news said it would start about 2pm and it's snowing here."

4 hours later....

"Is it snowing still?"

"Yep, how much do you have...." You get the picture. Cuz we've all been having these conversations. Go on, admit it.

We've had fun in the snow.

No, Turbo's self esteem is not affected by his winter wardrobe.

Where's Reyde?

Oh, here he is, in the video:

Chestnuts roasting by an open fire

2008-12-21T14:20:00.001-08:00

Do I need to have a consent form signed?

2008-12-19T02:14:00.001-08:00

Not that I think we'll get any royalties...

They are so darned cute.

Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow

2008-12-14T21:46:00.000-08:00

A trace of snow and we dig out the snow clothes and play. Even brought the sled out. Maybe we'll get lucky and have more snow dump on us overnight. Although I have a ton of work to do, I'd be okay with being stuck at home again. Glad we had Reyde's party yesterday instead of today. And James took the piece out, (a lovely 74 Chevy pickup; my ride to work tomorrow if we don't have more snow.) and got Reyde his cheese pizza for his birthday dinner. Roads are slick in Burien. But when you NEED cheese pizza...

Reyde and his friend Kaden had good fun trying to get James with snow balls....

Bakugan

2008-12-14T19:20:00.000-08:00

It's what Reyde wanted for his 6th birthday.

It's what Reyde got for his birthday. SAVE FOR THE FACT that we bought all accessories, failing to by the frigging BAKUGANS themselves.

((sigh)) At least I didn't forget batteries for this game.

And I have no idea what it is, but I think it involves cards and strengths and powers, and goodness, I never played Dungeons and Dragons. Yeah, James didn't either.

I'm sure Reyde will get his parents up to speed.

After we buy the frigging parts to play the game.

Birthday Festival

2008-12-10T22:49:00.000-08:00

What a fabulous birthday festival I had. First my dear friend Colleen and I went out for dinner and tried new foods we wouldn't do when out with the boys. I don't recommend tofu fries. I don't think Colleen will either.

Then on Friday the 5th, a group of us went to Buca di Beppo's for some pasta. I sent a quick email that said, "Good God I'm turning 40, let's go eat some pasta." So we did.

This next photo is for all my Filipino co-workers. Andrea noticed me eating with my fork and big spoon. Said I had a lot of experience with a big spoon in Manila. Very comfortable. Just like old times. (In the Philippines, it is common to eat with a big spoon, like a serving spoon, and a fork. No knife. Just shovel in with the spoon. It's quite efficient, right Mom?)

Lot's of laughs, thanks to all of my friends. I'd have to say that Andrea stole the show. She is so funny. And being around her inspires you to take life less serious, laugh at yourself, and laugh at the crazy pretentious society we've become.

That's Andrea on the left, Dawn, and well, you know.

Andrea thought of the idea to send my camera recording a video around the table on the lazy Susan. Yeah, so when you watch it, she's the gal at the end. Said that maybe she'd stop doing that now that she sees what it looks like. Okay, right. Doubt it. But it was a brilliant idea.

Prior to her brilliant idea was Sherrilyn's to ask Vicky and Larry to drive the daycare van. 8 of us piled into the new van and did a pub crawl after having dinner. Hadn't planned on staying out til 1.30am. Finally went to the Bull Pen on Pacific Hwy. Wow. That was an experience.

And while we had a bit to drink, it was not one of the adults to christen the van with the upchucks. We left it to one of the daycare children. Seemed a bit more appropriate don't you think?

So here's to turning 40 and putting some glitz back in my life. So says the card my sissy la la gave to me.

Does the glitz count if it comes in the form of glitter on my new blue and white snowflake flannel sheets? Woops. Didn't realize I bought them with glitter. Hmmm...did they somehow adhere the glitter super fabulous. Nope.

"James, make sure to wash your face real good. Otherwise you will go to work with glitter on your forehead."

"Thanks Wendy."

Discovery

2008-11-30T22:55:00.000-08:00

Sitting at dinner a couple weeks ago Reyde asks me, "Mom do I have those hairy things on my face?"

You mean these, as I point to my eyebrows.

"Yeah, do I have those too?"

"Sure enough. Dad does too."

The Artiste

2008-11-30T22:36:00.000-08:00

We truly don't understand where Reyde get's his artistic talents. It definately skipped a generation. He can create in all different mediums. And the stuff he comes up with is just plain amazing. Off to find some art classes to encourage his talents.

So here's what we have so far....on the way to Grandma Betty's for Thanksgiving Dinner, Reyde is drawing in the truck. We hear him tell us, "I'm going to draw you a picture of a motorcycle."

We wait and I envision a side profile of a motorcycle. Instead we get a head on view of Dad riding the motorcycle, with intense tread!

This morning Reyde worked with his Kids K'Nex. These are the larger pieces for kids under 4. He comes into my office and says, "Look Mom I made an Apatosaurus." Yes, Reyde, you sure did. A couple weeks ago, Reyde made these 3-D dinosaurs. He cut them out free hand, no drawing and then cutting. We love tape, so the heads and legs and very secure. You can't tell with the angle of this photo, but Reyde even cuts out the belly shape with the legs. So if you were to look at the paper animals head on, the belly is rounded.

And another creation today. It's been about 2 weeks now that letters are coming together for him. He is sounding out words and spelling signs while I am driving and asking what they say.

I said the letters to write for the Rooster. His letter form is really good in this picture. And look at the rooster and baby rooster! He just drew this while sitting at my desk. No picture of a rooster around. Check the detail of all the different color feathers on the body of the rooster.

And finally, he is taking after Mom, in that he participated in the PTA's art contest. I did back in elementary school, playing my flute.

So when this came up, and I received YET ANOTHER PIECE OF PAPER FROM THE SCHOOL, I casually asked Reyde if he wanted to participate. Sure, he said. I told him we'd have to do something special on special paper. I looked for cardstock, he saw this stationery and wanted to use it. Being that he is 5 and it is supposed to be all the kid, I said okay.

The theme for the Reflections contest is "Wow!" He drew the picture, I re-read the contest rules. I could matte and frame the picture if we so desire. Again, it's supposed to be about the kid, so I thought, heck no, we'll just submit it.

Asking Reyde how the picture relates back to the theme, he simply stated, "Because dinosaurs are cool."

Love it. Completely 5 year old.

Advent Calendar

2008-11-30T22:30:00.000-08:00

Went to Bartell's last night, in search of a Dial foaming soap refill and spent A LOT of time in the toy aisle.

Well that's a bunny trail.

Found an Advent Calendar with stickers. Stickers??? So at the checkout stand, I asked the cashier if they had chocolate ones. We sure do and she took the time to go get us one.

So today has been a bit like the Groundhog's Day movie, explaining to Reyde that we wait until December to start eating the chocolate.

But here's the question. Should I do a survey with blogger's nifty survey option? Nah. I'll just go with my gut instinct.

What do you think we'll do? Do we count down and open the door with the number 25 on it tomorrow? Do we open the door with the #1? Why don't they have directions on the back of the packaging?

Outsourcing

2008-07-24T17:02:00.001-07:00

Finally getting to some way old stuff. Watched this movie in Shanghai with Fred. Very odd moment. Watching a movie with the boss. Nothing I have ever done in the last 10 years with him.

Very funny movie. I highly recommend it. For an insight into the Grantham's Philippines experience check out:

www.outsourcedthemovie.com

Kingston Beach Fun

2008-07-07T22:21:00.001-07:00

It was just so special to be with family at Grandma Betty's this year.

Gotta be safe and wear your life jacket in the boat. Meanwhile Reyde is pretending to be a dinosaur with the driftwood as his horn. Reydeasaurus.

"Mom, come in the boat with me!"

Kaden, Reyde and Tyler. Ahhh, the memories of playing in the sand.

Oh my goodness. Yes, sand EVERYWHERE. And life got busy. No bath until Monday night. Euughhh. Bad mommy.

4th of July Parade

2008-07-07T22:11:00.000-07:00

This year was pretty special. James with his cousins and their children. Enjoying the cheesy small town parade. Family is so important.
Me, Reyde and Kaden (a cousin of a cousin 2nd or 3rd or once removed.)

James and Reyde waiting for the next parade entry to come down the road. James has been working so much that Reyde wanted to be close to his Daddy. Had to wear a hat just like Dad.

We all need a goat walking the parade route right?

Biker chicks, as far as I know, no relation.
The clan. From left to right as best as I can. Triena, baby Katelynn, James, Reyde Kaden. Back to the back row, Nicki, David, Jesse, baby Ashlyn, Tyler. Back up to the back row, Chris, Caleb, Ryan, Miranda.

Reyde's Last Day of School

2008-06-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

I choked up a bit when I hugged Mrs. Hardy and said thank you for all that she has done for Reyde. I might be crying the day he goes to Marvista.

Had fun, went to the Cove for a great end of year picnic. Then we came home and he made "pillows" for dinner. So excited to roll out the frozen dough and put it in muffin tins. Throw some cheese and ham, and more dough on top. Nut don't fall far from the tree here. Plenty of bread, oohie gooey dough, melted cheese. Yummy. He set the table too. And made sure Dad was coming to the table. What a joy.

The next patient

2008-06-12T20:24:00.001-07:00

Turbo just the week before....

It's a toss up as to who was the better patient. Although I had much more control over the dog. And while I didn't have to wrap Nancy's pills up into pieces of ham... well you know. You pick.

Something was wrong with Turbo last Monday. For the amount of money we just spent, he should feel like he went to Hawaii. (Cuz that's the amount of money we spent!) Ended up having a tumor and it was cancerous and so we don't know how much longer he'll be hanging with us. He's so stoic, it's gonna be years.

Glad he is back to his old antics.

Drawing Dinosaurs

2008-06-01T21:36:00.001-07:00

This is for you Auntie Joan and Amy!!!! See I have finally found my artistic niche. Remember when Auntie Joan invited us all over to use up her arts and crafts supplies in her Puyallup garage? We all picked out baskets; chose ribbons and artificial flowers, to create this most beautiful holiday basket???

I remember mine looking like a 2nd grader's art project, failing miserably with wisps on glue overlapping the pretty things that were supposed to be affixed.

But alas, with all the dinosaur books and coloring books, I perhaps might have an inkling of artist in me.
I drew this dino baby on the back of the paper placemat at the VFW hall in Westport, waiting for breakfast. I'm so darn proud of it, I had it laminated at work. Reyde can treasure it for a lifetime.

And here is Reyde's baby dino, in chalk.

My little boy is growing up...

2008-05-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

He comes in from his room tonight and says "MOM, my tooth came out of my MOUTH!!!!" Eeeeuuhhhh...so glad he did this on his own. Cuz I don't think I can handle this part of parenting. And God knows James can't. We'll have to rely on Uncle Roger to work with the ones that don't come out so easy.

So we said that we would get the tooth ready for the tooth fairy and he freaked out. Goodness knows we don't need to add fuel to the fire of the "I don't want to go to bed" so we left it that we'd learn about the tooth fairy and when he is ready we can write a note to the tooth fairy and let him know it's ready.

Now that's a run on sentence.

Supposedly we bought it for Reyde

2008-05-13T21:35:00.001-07:00

An Observation and Confirmation....

2008-04-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

of the observation. My mother in law and I discussed the Dali Llama's visit to Seattle on Sunday. About how we must be peaceful on the inside, and that contentedness will project on the outside.

"You know Wendy, you are much more calm now that when you and James got together."

"Really?" (my favorite pause word to gather my thoughts.)

"Really."

"Hmm, that's an interesting observation. Because my stress level has only increased throughout the years."

"Well, that's not good, you're not supposed to be hiding that from me."

"Hmm."

So I asked for a reality check with my sissy la-la and she concurred. Wild, so looking up the antonym of calm I find:

—Antonyms 2. tempestuous. 3. agitated.

Really.

A commitment to lotion

2008-04-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

As part of my travels, I feel it's my "value added perk" of hotel stays to abscond with all the travel bottles of shampoo, conditioner and lotion. Over the last trip to Salt Lake City and Chicago, I came home with a crapload of the bottles.

1) Hospitality suppliers must get with the ball on recycle. Where's my triangle to recycle the darn things? Hello?????
2) While the rectangular bottles may seem fancy and cool, the plastic they decided to use is so rigid you can't get the product out of them.
3) James doesn't like glycerin soap.
4) I appreciate the "at cost" salon quality shampoo and conditioner that has been part of my entire life.
5) The shampoo and conditioner empty much quicker than the lotions.
6) I have never in my life been so committed to lotion.

For the first time in my life, I can't say that I've done my good ol kid trick of licking my hands to moisten them.

Aren't you proud of me Amy?

The Patient and the Surgery Site

2008-04-08T19:28:00.000-07:00

Mom's doing well, 5 days after back surgery. She's back to looking like herself. And yes, she knows that I am posting this photos SANS MAKEUP.

Modern medicine at it's best. Back surgery site, 4 bandaids and you're good.

Chicago Deep...

2008-03-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

Dish pizza and Lake Michigan.

More later. But I must admit. Even for this bread lover, the Chicago deep dish pizza I ate had too much crust for me!

And holy cow batman. The shuttle from the convention drove past Lake Michigan. The enormity of that body of water took my breath away. AMAZING.

Can I tell you how AMAZING I think my child is?

2008-02-27T22:20:00.000-08:00

Well, his preschool teacher tells me his drawing is advanced. But I am amazed at his 3-D abilities. He creates dinosaurs, cars, planes, trains, trucks. It blows me away.

And when I make something, he cocks his head to one side, and says, "oh that's good Mom." Pauses for a few seconds, and then fixes my creation. He tells me I'm a genius. I tell him to tell everyone he knows. Perhaps I can wow him with some genius abilities when it comes to math.

Dad can take care of art class.

Oh, I and I can take care of the fundraising, selling candy bars, magazine subscriptions. I'll begin immediate practice on overcoming objections.

Spring!!!!

2008-02-27T22:16:00.000-08:00

When I returned from Shanghai on Saturday I was greeted by Spring. Wooo wooo, wippee, praise the heavens and God above.

It's outside time for us! The dogs and Reyde helped James work on the garage. Might go a little
quicker with a more mature and... ummmm... human workforce.

China Trip- Be Kind to Frogs

2008-02-27T22:02:00.000-08:00

Quick buzz across the big pond last week. Watched 6 movies on the plane. Now let's see if I can remember them all...

Elizabeth- The Age

Michael Clayton

Eastern Promises

The Things We Lost in the Fire

Gone Baby Gone

The Assisination of Jesse James by Robert Ford

Good timing. So many of these had Oscar nominated performances. Fresh in my mind for the Oscars on Sunday.

Got to experience the Lantern Festival. It's the last day of the Chinese New Year, where families have dinner together and spend the eveing together. My co-worker Lily, was kind enough to take me to dinner with her family. We went to a temple in Shanghai where massive amounts of people gathered to celebrate and wave sparklers all over. I think I only have 6 or 10 burn marks in my clothes! (just kidding.)

Lily's husband and her friend that joined us were quite impressed with my chopstick skills; even more so because I am left handed. Cheers to that! Had wonderful spicy food. Even tried beef tongue...on accident. I asked what the food was and they said beef....so as I am putting it in my mouth, they tell me beef tongue! I now know to delay my bite until I am sure of the translation and that my friends have found the right English word!

Had a very odd, never would have thought, moment with my boss. We were walking to the mall to get some dinner. There is a pretty good size frog trying to cross the sidewalk in front of us. First time I've seen a frog in Shanghai, no less in winter. It was moving slowly. Boss says that he better get going quick, someone is liable to come grab him and eat him for dinner.

Then the boss grabs a piece of paper off the street, (he is an addictive instant hand sanitizer guy so this catches my attention,) and scoops the frog up and places him in the shrubs.

"I think he's hurt Wendy." A whole new side of a person I've known for almost 10 years.

Can you guess what this is....

2008-02-27T21:58:00.001-08:00

Went to a microfiber towel factory in Shijiazhuang China. (a few hours drive east of Beijing.)

This dish was served at lunch. And you know it's disrespectful to not partake of food offered...so I did ask. It was black mushrooms.

Quite tasty indeed.

Sometimes I think I take really good photos...

2008-01-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Not that reptiles are my favorite subject...but it's a bit artsy fartsy don't you agree?

Really, is that what is holding you back?

2007-12-31T17:09:00.000-08:00

I mean really. Wendy, can you think of a better LAME ASS excuse for not writing your novel? How many more hints must be dropped before you write?

2 of my classmates from highschool have followed their creative dreams.

http://www.frayedthemovie.com/

http://www.magicboxmusic.com/

2008 is your year.

All things Chinese....

2007-12-09T19:09:00.001-08:00

The things you see in China. Hmmm...let's just keep building up the road. No worries if we build completely over the top of the fire hydrant. Love the resolve. Let's just put a sand pit in front of the hose fitting. The fireman can dig it out if there is a need to use the hydrant.

Got Reyde some "training chopsticks." Started practicing with potato chips when I got home on Saturday. Headed out to dinner with family at Bucca di Beppo's Italian that evening. Reyde wanted to bring his new sticks to practice. I had to tell him that we don't use our chopsticks at Italian. We can practice at home, at the Vietnamese Pho Noodle restaurants and of course Chinese.....

Seattle

2007-12-09T18:56:00.000-08:00

My bad. Oh so bad. Took my camera to China and found a ton of photos I haven't saved nor printed.

Went to Seattle a couple different times. Always take my camera. Got some good "touristy" shots of Reyde.

And gotta love the one on the bottom. Woops. Shot too wide and you can see how I got the photo of Reyde in the orange tube.

A new level to friendship...

2007-10-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

Got a friend who's been through hell and is coming out of the coals. We have little contact but I check her blog regularly to see if she's posted. It's a whole new side of friendship, to just check in anonymously. Love the technology age.

Quite the writer she is....I love this excerpt. So had to copy and paste. Enjoy. Raise your cup to the heavens, close your eyes, and bring life to those hopes, dreams, and aspirations.

....I also like this quote from John Nash she uses in her book. John Nash is the main character in the movie Beautiful Mind. Later in his life he was asked if he still saw the people who were not there. His reply, "See them? Oh yes, I see them, but I choose not to acknowledge them. Because like all of our dreams and all of our nightmares, you have to feed them for them to live."

So here's to feeding our dreams and starving our nightmares. Stilling the voices who keep us from being who we were created to be. And celebrating the voices which us lead us to the place where our dreams come true.

I want my hair like this...

2007-10-26T10:48:00.000-07:00

Reyde clasps his hands together on the top of his head.

"Go ask your Dad," I tell him. I'm okay with it, but let's see what James say.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, like this," Reyde again puts his hands together over his head.

"Wendy, if that's what he wants..." (Notice a re-occurring theme here?)

I thought long nose hairs were just for old men!

2007-10-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

From time to time I'll stop in to Mom's shop and she'll be trimming an older man's hair. When finished, she'll buzz the neck line, and trim up long hair growing out of their ears and nose.

NEVER THOUGHT about long nose hairs (why is the plural hairs instead of hi?) and me.

So we went to the beach last weekend with Amy and Katie. Amy and I are in the bathroom and we revert back to the teenage years vying for mirror space.

"Let me get closer. Time to check out the pimple situation." I say to Amy as I shoulder my way into the vanity area.

"Yeah, the lighting is really good at the beach for that."

Raising my chin, I achieve the optimum angle for analysis, only to find I have long dark brown nose hairs inching there way past the flesh of my nose. Hmmm...do I have scissors and home to take care of this? I'M GETTING OLD.

As we drove home on Sunday afternoon, I am still bothered by this fact. Then I chuckle, remembering when I found my tear ducts in highschool.

Sitting in the cafeteria with a little lipstick mirror, I find an enormous black head in the corner of my eye. I spent the entire lunch period trying to get rid of it. I spent all afternoon worrying it away. My eye was so red. Mom got home and I showed her.

"Wendy, that's your tear duct."

Prime Numbers

2007-10-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, I am quick to point out prime numbers in daily life. More than anything, I like to tell people, "you're in your PRIME," when their age is a prime number.

So hat's off to my sissy la-la (AKA Amy,) for finding this excerpt for me. I can't wait to read the book.

Excerpt from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. Mr. Haddon used to work with autistic young people and the main character of this novel is a 15 year old boy with autism name John Francis Boone. Chapter 19 is about prime numbers.

"Chapters in books are usually given the cardinal numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6 and so on But I have decided to give my chapters prime numbers 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13 and so on because I like prime numbers.

This is how you work out what prime numbers are. First you write down all the positive whole number in the world. Then take away all the numbers that are multiple of 2. Then you take away all the number that are multiples of 3. Then you take away all the that are multiples of 4 and 5 and 6 and 7 and so on. The numbers that are left are the prime numbers.

The rule for working out prime numbers is really simple, but no one has ever worked out a simple formula for telling you whether a very big number is a prime number or what the next one will be. If a number is really, really big, it can take a computer years to work out whether it is a prime number.

Prime numbers are useful for writing codes and in America they are classed as Military Material and if you find one over 100 digits long you have to tell the CIA and they buy it off you for $10, 000. But it would not be a very good way of making a living.

Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them."

What Reyde Wants, Reyde Gets...

2007-10-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

ORANGE
James asked Reyde in February what color he wanted to paint his room...orange. So while most Moms would steer a young child to a more appealing color on the paint swatch...not James.

"It's what he wanted Wendy."

Those Special "Firsts" in a Child's Life

2007-09-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

I wonder what Reyde will think when he is a grown man, and we go through those special "first" moments in life...I wrote down the date of his first ice cream headache...and now this...his first experience with a whoopy cushion. Oh the adventure of being my offspring.

Now that was impulsive

2007-08-22T21:31:00.001-07:00

Are you kidding me? Nope. Had an impulsive moment and went with it. It all started with Uncle Rex offering up, yet another, 70s Chevy truck. I stomped my foot and said, "the next vehicle that comes onto our property is going to be a sports car for me!"

Had no idea the Pontiac Solstice was in existence until we drove to the Mazda dealership to test drive a Miata. James casually mentions as we drive by it, "What about that one?" I figured it was out of my price range. (When did I acquire a price range?)

What more can I say? VROOM VROOM.

Yes, what they say is true...about...

2007-08-19T21:07:00.000-07:00

20 year highschool class reunions.

Stand up comedians crack jokes about walking up to people and staring at their chests before talking to them. Yup, I did it and people did it to me. Ugh.

Cliques still around. Yup.

Odd memories come flashing back? Oh yeah. And knowing that I probably wouldn't see these people again, I shared the memories with them.

James and I went to my 20 year class reunion last night. We ran late and arrived after dinner had been served. More people showed up than expected and we dined standing up. $90 buffet of pasta with red or white sauce, a roast beef station, salad, and appetizer veggies. Had I known we could just show up and drink, I would definitely have done that.

Words can't describe what I witnessed. 16 Candles Revisited.

The girls who didn't fit in still didn't fit in and painfully stood out in the crowd.

We stood around and stared much longer than anyone should stare at one another attempting to figure out who you are/were. And then if you couldn't figure it out, you walk up really close to see the name tag and the picture from 1987. Reunion etiquette (never spoken mind you,) is such that if you realize you don't know this person you are intimately acquiring close up knowledge of their chest with, you simply walk away. Or you can start a conversation and talk about nothing until you move on to the next person. But know that you have to immediately begin looking for that next person if you start the conversation.

So while I am glad I went because I reconnected with a guy that I was very curious about, I tend to think I won't attend again. The $2000 question I have now is if I fly across the world to attend a reunion if it gets organized in Australia or do I pass?

Highlights of the evening?

Seeing Billy who I went to school with since kindergarten. I say hello to him and he goes to his wife, "this is the girl I was telling you about, who had a ghost...SEYMOUR DELPHI DARIUM!" I can't recall Billy being at our house. Makes you wonder what other memories people have of you that you haven't a clue about.
Telling another guy that I was so afraid of dropping one of my really long fingernails for fear that he'd make a voodoo doll with it. His wife laughed. He commented that he probably did make voodoo dolls. And when James and I excused ourselves from the table, he said "now don't leave any of you here." I wiped the table. Hopefully no hair or saliva remained behind.
Seeing Ronnie from kindergarten as well. Wow, 4 children and 20 years of marriage.
Seeing Kim and reminiscing about 2nd grade and showing her how to use the water fountain. Oh, and telling James that this was the sleepover that I had the panic attack at and left at 6pm instead of 6am. Kim remembered that.
Catching up with Kevin. The only classmate that I gave my business card to. I flew out of the office on Friday without grabbing more. I told him that I only had one and he was the one I wanted to give it to. James and I will have he and his wife over for dinner. So while the event was not as I had hoped it would be, I am thankful to have reconnected with Kevin. An intelligent, nice guy, who genuinely seemed interested.

Those silly directions on product packaging...

2007-08-14T05:52:00.000-07:00

It went something like this...

"Wendy, are you afraid of spiders?" And before I really have a chance to answer, "Because there is a spider in the lunchroom and it's holding my popcorn hostage!"

So Amber and I walk into the lunchroom. We are temporarily distracted by the smell of burning popcorn. I open the microwave door and a poof of yellow smoke billows out of the door.

"OH MY GOD. It's on fire!"

I replied to Amber, "No, I don't think so, but maybe you should get the fire extinguisher," and I close the door of the microwave to contain the yellow smoke.

Amber runs back in the lunchroom with the extinguisher and Michelle, our safety committee person.

"YOU cannot use that extinguisher, you haven't been trained." Michelle emphatically states.

I walk past the spider, who caused the incident, get a paper cup and TRAP him!

We are fanning the sprinkler heads to make sure they don't go off. Hmmm. I decide we must take the popcorn out of the building to get it doused with water and get the smell removed.

So I open the door again. The yellow smoke is gone. Walking gingerly through the warehouse I begin to giggle. The popcorn producers do say to stand by the microwave, do not leave popcorn unattended.

I'd tend to agree.

I douse the popcorn with water, leave it out on the loading dock and head back to the lunch room.

Grabbing a pseudo fan, a laminated warning card about the lunchroom being for AMMEX employees, I slip it under the cup, and take the criminal outside.

I fling him with gusto out into the shrubbery.

"Oh, Wendy, you are so nice."

"There's nothing nice about it. I just don't like to hear the spider body go CRUNCH when you step on them."

Okay, so let's resume working. But alas, I have my camera. So I head back out to the loading dock to take a picture of...."WHEN POPCORN GOES BAD...."

While it looks like black beans on corn tortilla chips...it's popcorn.

"I feel like calling the company, I am so upset right now." Amber rambles on in the sales pit.

"Uh, calling them because you didn't follow their directions about not leaving popcorn unattend?"

"But there was a spider!"

"Yes, you should tell them to address aracniphobia (or however you spell it, I'm gonna be late for work, I'm not spell checking) on their packaging for sure."

Today's lunch is all raw foods, or ones that don't need re-heating.

Pics from the weekend

2007-05-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? I finally sit down to upload my photos onto Flickr and I get the message, "Flickr is having a massage." Huh? From 8-10pm tonight, Flickr is down for updates.

So here's a snapshot of some of the fun in Westport Washington. COLD COLD COLD. It was sooo cooooold, as Vanessa in the Philippines said, "your mouth is smoking." Uhhh, no we say that you can see your breath! Very cold and windy and rainy. The typical Westport Memorial Day Weekend.

Highlight of the event? Would have to be all the grilling we did. Thanks James!

My attempt at being artsy fartsy with the marina in the background and crab pot in front.
Wesport harbor
Trying to capture a picture of Turbo jumping in the air.
So James thought Reyde would enjoy sleeping in the tent. Hmmm, looks like Nitro and Turbo enjoyed it more.
Reyde on his battery powered ATV. So cool.
Helping Dad clean up the trailor.
Cousins.
Gotta take a picture of look at that an ORANGE truck.
Seagulls for Mom.
"Dad drive your tractor and we'll be a train!"

Isn't he cute?

2007-05-17T05:55:00.000-07:00

Just had to share some of my favorite photos of Reyde.

A word that should be eradicated from every language

2007-05-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

WORK-AROUND.

I just want to work.

How'd I miss posting this?

2007-04-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

Cleaning up my email inbox...how'd I forget to post this? Conversations on the floor from February 23, 2007

We are having some fun at work. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I’m going to miss working in the environment in the Philippines. We all have fun, the individuals support and encourage other’s success, and yet the competitive atmosphere still exists. The camaraderie is something else.

Over the last couple weeks, we’ve been joking around about the differences in Filipino and American pronunciation. The banter back and forth yesterday left us all “busting a gut.” The whole floor laughed so hard we had to take a minute to compose ourselves.

I know it’s a “you had to be there moment,” but nonetheless it went something like this.

“We should have a crazy hat day here. What do you think Drew,” Loree says. Drew is ignoring her and she says to the team, “He’s ignoring me.”

“I’ll wear my purple tutu,” comments Ryan.

“He didn’t just say purple tutu did he,” I ask. So I pipe up over our half cube walls, “I double dog dare your Ryan to wear your purple tutu to work. I’ll bring my camera and put your picture on my blog.”

The giggling on the floor starts up. Kristian sits to my right, a very quiet guy who I love to joke around with. It’s so hard to get him to lose his professional composure. So I ask, “Kristian, what color is your tutu?”

Loree pipes up, “It’s PHINK!” (Yes, PHINK, not PINK. Filipinos have a hard time pronouncing the Puh sound in pink.)

And at that point we are all laughing so hard we can’t help it.

Weekend at the Beach....not Boracay

2007-04-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

The guys look a little sad that I left Manila...

And these boys look a little glad that I am back in Seattle...

Went to Westport Washington this weekend. We awoke on Saturday morning and let Reyde know that we were headed to the beach. He asked if we could go to Boracay. Ummm....it's not in the cards this weekend, we'll just have to settle for Westport.

A BALMY 4 DEGREES CELSIUS. Ouch. I get an email from Fred tonight that it's cooking at 35C in Manila. (Translates to 45 and 95 fahrenheit.)

The Flamingo Has Landed

2007-03-28T21:13:00.000-07:00

Back in the USA....quite the adventure has ended. I suppose a better way to phrase this is an eventful chapter has ended and a new one begun.

Got home from the Philippines on Tuesday morning. A wee bit tired but stayed a awake most of the day.

James made dinner. TACOS. WOO WOO. Brought me back to the Philippines when I asked for lettuce to stuff in my taco and he says, "oh I forgot to buy that at the store." Translation, "I know it's on the menu, but sorry it's not available."

I made up my own to Philangish word. (Philipino and English.) QUESAMADA. James couldn't remember what Reyde likes to eat. I thought I could remember. I said quesamada. A combo of quesadilla and ensaymada. WOOPS.

And probably the funniest thing happened when James was browning the hamburger for the taco meat. I was cleaning off the counter to make space for cooking. I put a bunch of bills and paperwork and keys and wallet and glasses and whatever else spilled out from my purse when I came home.

I am in the living room with Reyde and he asks me what I did with the taco seasoning.

"Nothing."

Belly laugh. "Yeah right Wendy, you put it in your purse." Woops.

The Great Wall of China

2007-03-19T01:37:00.000-07:00

Mom and I on the Great Wall of China. This part was steep. With all the tripping I've done in Manila I had a wee bit of anxiety going down this part of the Wall.

So may not have any more posts. I've got over 1000 photos to put into albums so we can all go on my trip over and over and over again. And I'll probably be paying for extra luggage. Didn't think about how heavy photos would be. Oh Well.

Nanny K in China

2007-03-19T01:18:00.000-07:00

Hello all. I know been too long but I have so much to do before I leave that I haven't spent time with my blog. After Baguio, Loree, Keyo and I went to Puerto Galera and then last weekend, (March 10th) I stayed home for some much needed sleep.

Mom arrived on Monday night and we headed to Beijing on Thursday. OMG it was SOOO COOOOOLDDDD. What am I gonna do in Seattle? It was a balmy 45 degrees Fahrenheit. I guess I am acclimated to 90 degrees in Manila.

So here are a couple quick photos from China. Got a lot to wrap up and pack during this next 7 days. Then back to Seattle. Can't wait to see my boys.

Mom with her two best Chinese friends.
Noodles anyone?
I can take just as big of a bite as my Mom.
In the Forbidden City. The architecture is just overwhelming.
See I was SOOO COOOLLLLLDDD. This photo was taken at the Summer Palace. Man made lake to enjoy in the summer. Reminded me of Seattle and got a bit homesick. Ready to come home to my family, friends, dogs, and stuff.

I will so miss the people in the office at AMMEX I-Support. I keep telling them that I'll just be at a different extension. But I know it's not going to be the same. For me or them.

Back from Baguio

2007-02-26T01:13:00.000-08:00

Another quick out of the conungle trip. 52 hours in all. Went to Baguio, the summer capitol of the Philippines. I'll have a much longer entry later, must go take a nap before heading into work tonight. There were so many funny moments...I hope to capture them all in writing.

Went to the parade. How funny was that! I have maybe 2 clear pictures of floats. It seems the thing to do in the Philippines is to run up to the float and get your picture taken with it. So while this is the not most flattering picture of dear Wendy....I'm doing as the natives do...

We headed to the mall after the parade, and look here's a chicken....

And we laughed our heads off at this sign....

Loree our newest Ifugao princess...

Now how's this for hospitality? A welcome sign to the toilet!

Basketball anyone?

2007-02-22T19:03:00.000-08:00

Basketball is the game in the Philippines. The guys play quite often. First time for me to check out the action.

They ran fast in the beginning. Got a bit slower as the play ensued. I'd have slowed down too; playing on a court in the basement parking garage of the Makati Stock Exchange. Nothing like breathing in stale hot air with exhaust fumes every so often.

So here's the still photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/glovegalgab/sets/72157594551255491/detail/

So the first movie is the guys playing basketball.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23WZOk09Qac

And the second is the spectators, then Markie Mark and then Mandrake. Those two always pose.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bvttaO6H8E

There's another one to come but I am too tired to wait. I'm headed to bed.

Okay, so I waited. Here's the 3rd one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MA_NJxOkNw

Pressure is off Reyde...

2007-02-21T21:18:00.000-08:00

to carry on the Grantham family name. Chris and Miranda had a baby boy on Tuesday February 20th.

Here's the link to their blog.

http://soundbalance.spaces.live.com/

Joy's gonna love this next sentence....

MAKES ME WANT TO HAVE ANOTHER.

I must be tired. It's 1.20pm. I'm going to bed.

My Boys Have Gone Home

2007-02-19T22:18:00.000-08:00

It’s been 5 days since I put James and Reyde on the airplane to go back to Seattle. Day 1 passed with the help of Tylenol PM. Slept from 8am to 4.30pm. With that much sleep I was quite productive at work. Still at the back of my mind I worried until I called James’s USA cell phone and heard his very tired voice. Day 2 passed with the help of “Rexy Sexy.” Took a nap, went to Rexy the hair dresser and had my hair colored, foiled and cut. Went to work a bit tired but with incredible hair. Day 3 (Saturday) I took a nap and set the alarm to go to the gym. Very hard to wake up, snoozed for a half hour before I dragged myself out of bed. Got back from the gym about 1.30 and promptly went up to the pool and laid out in the sun. AAAAHHHHH I love the sun. The heat is kicking back up, it’s gonna be killer here in April and May. Went shopping with Loree and met up with Rico and his girlfriend at Greenbelt. At 9.30pm I had to crash. Day 4 started at the gym, then off on an adventure to Santa Rosa in Laguna for Rico’s birthday. It was so nice to be in a neighborhood and not in the conungle (my new word- concrete and jungle combined.)

So while I’ve kept myself busy, I really miss my boys. And I am in the countdown to departure. 35 days to be as effective as I can with training, working with “team Wendy,” seeing as much as I can of this beautiful country that I have come to love, with feelings conflicting of the sadness of leaving such great people to work with and happiness in really looking forward to seeing my boys, my dogs, and getting on with life in the USA.

I look at my Reyde and James pictures. I watch my Reyde videos. And put my game face on at work .
(post script…just got off the phone with James and Reyde. Reyde talked about getting on the airplane, and going to the airport, and going to Boracay. James tells me that he talks about going back to Valero to most people he sees. Perhaps Reyde will remember more than just Starbucks and chocolate donuts, elevators, taxis and asking me “What’s that smell?”

Yes, we went to PARADISE again

2007-02-12T20:53:00.000-08:00

We look like a happy married couple! Here's the sunset at the resort
James getting on the boat to come home.
Tasty adult bevie. Been up for a long time at this point.
You might see this again...can we say Christmas Card?

Here's a link of Reyde getting on the boat. Just a glimpse of the fab beach and water and water noise. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P22B79yqqYw

I tell you what. I would sell everything and move to Boracay if they had a good medical facility. Yes, sell lock stock and barrel. Who cares about retirement planning. Life is that beautiful in Boracay. Oh and by the way, James agrees.

Just not me saying this.

We went for two nights and 3 days, stayed at Fridays Resort and enjoyed the beach. Enjoyed the quiet serene beauty, the people, the pool, the water, the tasty adult bevies. All around great time.

James is a bit bitter about my going one more time with Mom in March. I said we'll just have to plan to come back in 2008.

The Roneys in Manila!

2007-02-03T04:55:00.000-08:00

What a lovely time we are having. Amy, Roger, and Katie arrived at the condo on technically Friday morning at 1.30am.

Lots of pictures to share and stories to tell. When I brought Amy to work last night, I asked one of my co-workers, "Don't we look alike?" She replied, "No, she's more Chinese." Well now isn't that a new way to assess the facial character of deepset eyes?

Here's the Roneys at San Agustin Church in Manila. We spent the day being tourists, visiting Intramuros, San Augustin Church, and the CCP. (Cultural Center of the Philippines.) They have a total of 103 hours in Manila. The first 45 hours have been fabulous. I love my sister.

Keyo's Beetle Nut Experience

2007-01-28T01:06:00.000-08:00

Wow, only an hour to upload. Editted the video to make is 99.5 MB under the You Tube limit.

You can get an idea of the tasty treat...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P_Oqp01c1M

And the second half...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UY7NZLr3GY

Half way round the world

2007-01-27T17:36:00.000-08:00

Just got off the phone with James. Made it to Sun Valley Idaho. Ready to start his skiing vacation. We'll be able to chat by Skype to cell phone, and then he'll walk over to the public web cam so we can see him in a still snap shot.

If the Banaue Rice Terraces are truly considered the 8th Wonder of the World…

2007-01-26T08:16:00.000-08:00

And I have been fortunate enough to walk on the Great Wall of China, then I have been to 25% of the most amazing sites created by man. That’s heavy.

Went a little overboard on the number of photos uploaded in the set. It is so hard to convey all that we saw.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/glovegalgab/sets/72157594499022112/

Quotable quotes:
“This is Keyo…” Rey introduces Keyo to a pretty tollgate girl.
“It smells like s*#t but tastes good…” Rey explains some other dish after we try papaitan.
“I know this sounds strange, but I feel like we are being so efficient driving all day…” Backwards been up 20 hours thought process of mine.
“Does that really say AMAZING BUTT FUEL?” You’ll see the photo. It was an optical illusion. I swear it said that. You tell me what you think.
“Would it be inappropriate to lick the bag?” I ask after eating the roasted peanuts and garlic.
“What did I see you lick last week?” James says after I state the aforementioned question.
“I want some gum Mom…” Reyde asks while Keyo is trying Beetle Nut.

The sound of Reyde’s toy airplane now saved as Rey’s ring tone.

Loree, Keyo, James, Reyde and I left Makati on Saturday morning for the grand adventure. James and I have been on day tours with the driver and felt very comfortable to make this long trek with him.

Banaue is roughly 245kms north of Manila. You’d think it should take a few hours…but no…8-9 hours. The highways are packed, the roads off the beaten track, sometimes narrow, sometimes bumpy, and sometimes crazy. Taking your life in your own hands.

Loree, Keyo, and I thought we’d sleep on the way up as we’d been up all night working. We were far too excited to see the land and ended up staying awake the entire time. Lot’s of laughs and silliness ensued with the fatigue factor.

It does a body good to get out of the concrete jungle. As we headed north and began to see the hills and valleys of the Philippines, I was reminded of home. The tropical vegetation still abounded, but additional trees were evident to make it feel a bit like the Pacific Northwest. For as far as the eye could see the valley of rice paddies, mango groves, and other crops continued. Amidst the farms, the homes with palm trees for shade sat in the middle. Carabao, dogs, goats, and chickens along the road. It’s the type of scenery that I envisioned the Philippine Islands to be like. So peaceful, so beautiful with dozens of different shades and textures of green. I now understand why people go home to the province and leave Metro Manila whenever they get a chance. Manila is nothing but another big city in the world.

Amazing that we didn’t see any road kill. Rey said that the drivers are very careful to not hit animals, especially chickens. The owners will come out and negotiate payment for the dead chicken, the number of chicks that it might have laid, and the number of eggs that the said chicken and possible chicks might have laid for their life spans. Could get expensive.

The highlight of the afternoon in my mind? The absolutely fabulous roasted peanuts with dry roasted garlic that Rey bought from a guy by the gas station. We see many vendors walking around with pots of food, and have never been daring enough to try the treats. These were out of this world. Almost had Rey turn around to buy more.

We arrived at the hotel about 4pm on Saturday night. Reyde and James roamed around while I took a much needed 2 hour nap. The climate was perfect; cooling for the night with a slight breeze and chill in the air. We would all sleep good.

We met up for dinner at 7pm. The oddest thing happened; I had asked for Mexican food for lunch only as a joke for there is no Mexican food here. I’ll take that back, there is a chain in Manila, but not like food in Seattle. Our guide Ina was trying to accommodate all of our requests and took it to heart that she couldn’t provide Mexican food, only to find it at the beginning of the buffet line. We laughed so hard. Had a soft stale hard shell taco with unknown meat, cheese, salsa, and lettuce.

After dinner we watched the native cultural presentation and headed to bed. The next day would be big.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6L4GCMfUu8

Slept so soundly. The windows were open, we had a cool night breeze coming in, and the sounds of crickets, chickens, and dogs.

Met up for breakfast on Sunday and off to the first viewpoint. Up to 4800 feet to see the awe inspiring rice terraces. The terraces have been built over the last 2000 years, all by hand. It is believed that people from China traveled down to the islands thousands of years ago and brought with them the knowledge to cultivate the mountains. If the walls of all the terraces were put end to end, the wall would be half way around the world.

UNESCO now pays families to maintain the terraces of the ancestral lands and keep the way of life intact. So much of the land is still food bearing. The main crop of course is rice.

As we drove around, we would come upon sections of the road covered in rice. The families just lay the rice out to dry and the drivers know not to drive over it. Nothing like having a little extra fiber in your rice right?

The next part of our adventure was a Jeepney ride to a native village to interact with the natives. So said the itinerary. A bit canned I thought, like these people would be dressed up in native clothing and we’d pretend that they live the way their elders did…

The ride was crazy. Jeepney’s need suspension. In a bad way. Reyde kept hold of James’ hand the entire ride and kept on saying, “we’re going to be okay right Dad?” I only hit my head once with a big bump. From time to time we would gather extra riders. Kids would run and jump on the back. Hold on for dear life and hang off the back of the Jeepney until they got to where they wanted to go. I have no idea how they didn’t hurt themselves dismounting because the driver didn’t slow down. The boys were pretty funny. As they held on outside, they serenaded us with American pop songs. I should have gotten some video of their singing.

We arrived at the village, only to find out that we needed to walk down to it. Walk down to it is an understatement. This was a 25 minute hike down a steep hillside with uneven stairs, no safety handrails, and plain crazy in some spots. Knowing now what we do, James and I wouldn’t have taken Reyde. It was quite an adventure for a 4 year old. (And 36 and 38 year old!)

The last part of the walk was on the walls of the rice paddies. About 12 inches wide with drops down to the next paddy on one side and the water of the other paddy on the other side. Ina the guide lost her footing and stepped in the water/mud/muck as well as James and Reyde on the way up.

Once down to the village, we visited with the families that do live there. Crazy to have to do that trek to go to the store and school, and whatever else you need. I am saying it’s all about planning and questioning if you really need what you think you need. And no overweight people living in the village. No way could they get overweight with that walk.

The huts are made of bamboo and grass; raised off the ground to prevent rodents and insects from coming inside, as well as protection against the enemy in old times. Inside the huts, which are maybe 12’ x 12’ there is a second story to store the rice. The 20th century has come to the village. Electricity, refridgerators and TVs inside.

So as the itinerary stated, we did interact with natives, but not natives in the true sense. They wore 20th century clothing, no loin cloths here.

The people let us look into their homes and showed us how they prepare the rice. Reyde had a go of it…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1pU9KSB5M

James was very taken by the culture and bought up a storm of souveneirs. I purchased 2 handmade woven cloths, he purchased a spoon/rice cutter, cow horn, drum, necklace. I guess we are about even; I also bought a necklace and a wooden figurine of the rice god.

Took us about 45 minutes to walk up the stairs/hillside. Another 45 in the Jeepney to get back to the hotel. We could have had lunch in the village but the guide and driver recommended we eat at the hotel because of food quality and not being sure of the safeness of what we would eat. Nice to have them looking out for us, especially Reyde and his virgin belly.

After lunch we headed back to the market in tricycles. Which is your standard motorcycle with a sidecar. Reyde loves taking rides in trikes. We arrived around 4pm with not a lot going on. Went to a few shops but didn’t buy anything. Ina, the tour guide, always one to please, “scored us some nut.” Keyo wanted to try the native Beetle Nut chew. From what I gathered, it is a spicy nut dipped in dried lime, then wrapped in a tobacco leave and banana leaf. The nut stains your lips and mouth red. Some of the people we saw had stained teeth as well. I suppose the effect is a bit addictive but probably more than anything something to keep people warm up in the mountains. It causes you to sweat profusely.

Couldn't insert video from You Tube. Too large of a file.

Had dinner and to bed early. Needed to head back to Manila bright and early so we could take a nap before work on Monday night.

Left at 7am, and safely turned onto Valero street at 3.15pm. Have to admit that my spirit brightened being outside of the city. It makes the concrete jungle a little bit more bearable. Two more weeks to go until the next escape. Back to Boracay for the weekend.

Merienda

2007-01-25T01:15:00.000-08:00

YUM YUM. Ms Puring brings suman and mango for a philipino snack. Reyde loves it. The mango is incredible and I now know how to prepare mango without mangling it. Suman is rice with some sugar wrapped in a banana leaf. The leaf has coconut oil in it so the rice doesn't stick. Steam and it's ready to eat.