Happy Belated Birthday Tracy - and fun at work

Last night we went to a tepanyaki style restaurant where they cook for you at a table for 10, for Tracy's birthday.  It was the first time we have brought Emma with us, she liked it pretty well, but she's not a big fan of asian style cooking.  Anyway, I was very pleased to find out that Tracy is creeping her way to 40 - she's 38 this year! - although she quickly reminded me that the closer she is to 40, the closer I am to 50.  For crying out loud.  BUT... here's the fun part... both Carl and I got carded at the restaurant last night!!!!  And not only did I get carded after Carl, but the cute little, young, kimono-clad waitress actually giggled when she read my birthday and said "you look so young!" :) :) :)  I'm sure this restaurant probably got raided by ATF recently and was cited for serving underage drinkers, but hey, I'll take the compliment anyway.

Again, notice the complete lack of interest on Kenton's face - seriously, what is it with this kid lately?  He wanted no part of me and my camera - again.
So at my job, we use these colored tabs for lots of things in the files:  blue = judgement/sentence, green = bail posted, and red = a no contact order filed.  But when we close out files, we "recycle" these tabs because my boss thinks we can't afford to buy new packages. Or new file folders. Or more than one box of copy paper at one time. But I'm off topic now.  Anyway... so as we save them, my co-worker Shannon starts to get creative to how she lines them up - she starts out strong with her patterns, and then gets lazy.  Notice to the left how she created a smiley face for Jon as a surprise one day.  Well, yesterday I told her I was disappointed in how she let the lower half go, and to clean that mess up dammit! :)  I told her I wanted to see an improvement by the time I got there the next morning (she starts at 6:30, I get there at 8:30). 
This is what I arrived to this morning - isn't she just the best??? :)

It was a nice relaxing weekend - punctuated with Taco Night!

We had a lazy, rainy weekend. Soccer practice both days - Emma came in first on the run, she was very proud of herself. We made a gigantic donation to Goodwill yesterday (and cleaned up the upstairs landing) and I cleaned the dining room table from all of the scrapbooking "stuff" to set it for a Sunday dinner. Actually, I just moved the "stuff" aka "crap" to the buffet - but shhhhh... Carl didn't notice. I put it in a bunch of baskets and now it looks organized :)

I love homemade tacos.  Although they weren't really homemade. They were Ortega stand-n-stuff shells, but I did cook the meat. And I baked some El Monterey taquitos. But I did bake them. And I did cut up the lettuce and tomatoes, so that's technically culinary skills. And doesn't Kenton look overjoyed? I didn't poison him, truly I didn't. Oh and we ate on my new tablecloth from Target - love it! 

We had a busy week... and a sick one too.

Remember that spring clean-up we did? A few days later we had snow. Quite a bit of it actually. Enough to make me laugh that we spent time doing it to have another hard freeze.

Also took Emma to the doctor (yes Carl, I know you were right, it wasn't pneumonia or a kidney infection or a deathly strain of ebola) but I was worried. My baby has only had 2 fevers in her life and she just wasn't breaking through. She is giving me that look of "really? a picture on the examining table?" Really!  I'm a scrapbooker!  Emma was out of school Weds-Fri and Carl is now showings signs of something.  He's double-dosing with Nyquil, his drug of choice, so hopefully he's nipping it in the bud.

Last night we went to Emma's school's dinner auction and had a great time.  We brought Brian and Tracy with us, and then had 2 other couples join us - Brad and Bev (I work with Brad) and Matt & Kissi - their son carpools with us every day.  Thank you all for your generosity in supporting our school.  A little mix-up in the silent auction times though, it said registration started at 5:00 and the next thing listed was the dessert auction at 6:30 - so we all arrived about 5:56.  Well the first tables closed at 6:00!  Krissi, Bev and I scurried around that room so fast trying to find something we wanted.  I did get a Starbucks basket I forgot that I had snuck a bid on (until later and I found out I won!), and then we moved on to the 6:15 tables.  The picture below is from my MAJOR SCORE of my item!  Krissi did the honors of capturing my fist pump in the photo :)  We got a stadium/sports package that included a 9x9 pop up tent thing on wheels (good for soccer in the summer heat and rain in the fall), stadium folding seats for bleachers - very cool, stadium blankets, giant umbrellas, Marmot raincoats, a coffee mug/thermos set, rolling soft sided cooler, and more!  It was a MAJOR SCORE I tell you!  I left the evening $517 poorer than when I arrived, but I'm happy to support the school and they were funding the track/fields this year.  All in time for when Emma arrives to Jr. High in a few years.

The last photo is of my hot husband and me - my hot, on-the-edge-of-getting-sick husband and me :) Ready to start a new week, a DUI emphasis this weekend will have a TON of tickets and people in jail for me tomorrow, getting up early for that.  Carl also decided to umpire for the Cal Ripken boys' baseball league here, so he will have more training and some games starting next weekend.  It's gonna be fuunnnnnn :)

I've got a sick baby

Emma's down with a fever and sore throat.  Sounds like we'll all be home tomorrow at some point in time, Carl in the morning and me in the afternoon.  It's not like Emma to be immobile and quiet, so you know something's up :)

Finished project

My friend Kristy and I took a knitting class in February.  It was only 2 weeks long to complete this rolled brim hat.  Seriously - we both cast on way too many stitches - I guess we can't count. Kristy's was so large it ended up looking like a beret - too funny!  We finally got together tonight with the guys for dinner and a movie, and had to take pictures of our finished projects. By the way, we saw Slumdog Millionaire - very good movie.

Honor Roll and Responsibility

Emma has made the honor roll each quarter for as long as I can remember, she made the A's & B's honor roll this quarter and is striving to make the 'all A's' roll next quarter.  However, this past quarter she was recognized for a very special award.  Her school revolves around the "three R's": respect, responsibility and relationships.  All of the subjects are taught with those principles in mind - from math, to reading, to bible study.  She was chosen to receive the Responsibility award for 4th grade - and didn't know she was going to receive it.  She was thrilled when her name was called and I was sitting with her.  She is so lovely, inside and out.

Pre-Spring Clean Up

The days have been gorgeous and clear, sunny but cold, the past week.  Rain is a-comin, so we decided to get out now while we had the chance.  We still had dead stringy fall plantings sitting in the beds!  Emma got to saw down a little diseased tree today, and we raked and pulled and buzzed the bushes.  Lookin' good! (Notice Carl's natural yarmulke? :))

Today we have our last indoor soccer game for the season (Emma is ready for that portion to be over), and then Carl is heading to a UFC fight w/the boys tonight.  That means scrapping and crafting for me!  Tomorrow is an outdoor soccer practice game with the developmental team that Emma has been practicing with, it's up in Carnation - hope it's a nice drive :)  The weekend will be over before you know it, and my week is jam-packed coming up - I have court all 5 days!  I see a few glasses of wine in my future in the coming nights :)

March's Earth Kit - Coordinates Collections

So if you aren't a scrapbooker, this video won't do much for you - except to check out my cute new hair cut :)

March Projects

Here are my projects using Coordinates Collections March Earth Kit.  They are soooo my colors, the colors of our downstairs of our house too - so it was very easy for me to work with.  Emma decided in early February that she wanted her new "look" to be long shirts, skinny jeans, and Converse tennis shoes.  So she got the shoes the day after Valentine's Day.  A little shopping excursion with she and I.  Oh my, she is growing up.

This next layout highlights her cousins Skyler & Christian that live in CA and whom we were able to visit for a weekend in late January.  They had a lot of fun playing together and although it had been 2 1/2 years since they last visited, it was like it was just yesterday.  I love those types of connections.  

This last photo is just a few cards I made with the kit.  I like having them on hand, and the papers in the kit really leaned toward elegant for me.  Something different, but I like them.

I believe that Emma played her last indoor soccer game yesterday, although someone things there is one more, but her team didn't make the playoffs.  It's okay, she's a little burned out.  Between playing for the indoor team on Saturdays, and then the ongoing practices for the select team on Sunday, she has been attending a soccer clinic on Sunday nights from 6-8 the past 4 weeks.  She is pooped!  And add softball to the mix that starts in April, she needs a little break.  Today inbetween all of the commitments she's finishing a book report and writing assignment.  She has such great organizational skills, really on top of deadlines and being prepared. 

After soccer yesterday we met up for lunch with a friend from my 911 days that I haven't seen for about 9 years.  The last time was when Emma was in a baby carrier.  Soooo good to see him, David you haven't changed at all!  Memories of the laughs and fun we had just came flooding back - let's do it again sometime soon.  Carl went to an umpire clinic for the local Cal Ripkin boys baseball league, he is VERY excited to participate this year!  He will be a little busier this spring than normal, as he is coaching Emma's softball team as well, but he has wanted to do this for a long time.  And it pays $40 a game - can't beat that :)  I finished the day off with a massage at my chiropractor's office last night - I felt like $100 bucks when I left, but man am I sore today.  Lots of icing and Advil in my future I think.  Hope you all had a great weekend!