Friday, June 24, 2022

Wow, time sure did fly!

 I have to be honest, I forget this blog even exists at times. So here we are, 2022. Let's see, the kids are now 22, 20, 18 and 15 years old. How did that happen? I don't even know. I blinked and all of a sudden, I've got 2 in college, 1 just graduated HS and one becoming a sophomore in HS. All is well, I can't complain because who would listen anyway ;) 

I don't know how many times we've moved since my last post because I forgot to look at the date of my last post. Anyway, we moved out of the "city" that wasn't the city when we moved there years ago. We have relocated to a small rural town where we are on 3 acres with a horse, 5 blm donkeys (that's bureau of land management for those who don't know) and 4 adopted pitbulls. One of our horses had to be put down a few months ago, she was 30+ years old and had started to decline rapidly. It was so sad but we gave her the best 4 years we could since getting her from a rescue. I had pet cows (Holstein steers) that I adopted from a dairy at 60 days old but OY VEY they got big and destructive and after many tries, they had to go. I do miss them and I'm sad they are gone but I do enjoy not having things destroyed. 









Tuesday, July 18, 2017

My Impala

I have very little to say other than I'm in love with  her more every time I drive her! Yes, transformation will begin in the near future but for now I just love her in her original state. 26K orig miles on her, not bad for a '68! I'm still working on my custom license plate...it's harder to decide than I thought it would be. A great problem to have!

So, less talk and more pics..









Sunday, June 18, 2017

Random June 2017

Well, it's hot. Damn hot! 112 degrees to be exact and they are anticipating 120 degrees on Tuesday!


In other news, I finished 10 days of Real Estate school! I have a couple of mandatory exams to pass and then I can be a licensed Realtor :) I'm pretty excited about this new adventure! There was a lot of information to absorb over those 10 days in class and I haven't studied that much since college, this was definitely an eye opener at this stage of life. The housing market is hot and I've been interested in this for quite some time but I wanted the kids to be a bit older before I attempted this type of profession. I hope that I'll be fully licensed by the time school starts for the kids on July 25th.

Speaking of the kids....HOLY WOW, Alyssa just turned 10! I can't believe this, we've got all double digit kids now. I remember thinking about this years ago and it seemed so far off...wrong. It was here in the blink of an eye. Alyssa  had a great party, we did a pool party at my parents' new house. She received some wonderful gifts and had some delicious food!  She will be in the 5th grade this year, last year of elementary school...don't get me started...I'll sob all over the keyboard!

Griffin is doing well, he's 13 and going into the 8th grade...last year of middle school. He still enjoys helping my dad in the metal workshop. He's still gaming on XBOX and WoW. He's got a nice group of friends and they're all good kiddos which gives me hope as he moves towards high school. He loves his weight lifting class at school and hopes to do some with Shane over the summer although summer is ticking away rather quickly, I'm afraid. It happens every year. these 8 weeks fly by.

Savannah is 15, going into 10th grade. She's going to get off her ass and study for her learner's permit this month! I can't believe this kid can start driving now. She's very nervous and doesn't really want to start but we learned the hard way with Cassandra...don't wait to get the permit, even if you don't use it right away! You have to have it for 6 months even if you don't get it until your 16 or older. I don't blame her, I was nervous as hell to drive too and I didn't get my license until I was 19 and that was because I had to! She still loves her anime, writing, drawing, binge watching her favorite shows. She has an amazing circle of friends and I'm grateful that they all are so accepting and loving with each other, at that age it's just not that common!

Cassandra is 17 and going into her senior year. She's handling it pretty gracefully but there are times where she get's that glassy eyed "what the fuck am I doing" look. She's still torn between the Navy or college first. I think that she needs to figure that out before 1st semester ends so we know what direction to plan for. She has a nice boyfriend, they met at work. I keep my fingers crossed that he says nice!!

Shane is doing well, work is keeping him incredibly busy. It's not unusual at all for him to not be home until 8pm or later. Between work and all of the committees he serves on, he's running in circles a lot. I'm very proud of him though, he gives a lot through volunteering in those committees and now at the hospital ER once a week. We celebrated our 19 year wedding anniversary this month. It's hard to believe it was that long ago but at the same time, I remember the wedding like it was yesterday! I guess this is just how life works.

I'm doing well, still keeping busy with the school board! We were at the 2017 High School graduation where we (board members) were the ones to hand the diplomas and shake the hands of the graduates. I was not prepared for what that meant to me, emotionally. There are some pretty amazing opportunities we are afforded as board members and graduation night is truly one of them.  This coming school year I will be one of the speech givers at graduation because Cassandra will be a graduate. I'm told that's the tradition on the board...if your kid is graduating, you get to give a speech in front of those thousands of people. Can you tell I'm a little nervous already? Not just the speech, I'm actually less worried about that and more worried about how I hold it together when I shake  her hand and give her diploma? I tear up about it now and it's nowhere close to time! I guess it's one more thing I'll just have to toughen up on and remember to enjoy the moment because not every parent gets that opportunity!

In other news, we sold my Tahoe because I got....a 1968 Impala! Holy hell, I've wanted an Impala for so long (Yes, I'm a huge Supernatural fan and YES, I know that the Impala on SPN is a 1967, good luck finding one that isn't either trashed or ridiculously expensive!) So, I'm super excited to make some changes on her like paint update, maybe some interior changes. We'll see. She has 26K original miles! It's like she was parked and put in a bubble for a very long time but I just love her. I haven't been able to drive her much as she's been at the mechanic shop getting some kinks worked out that are typical with a 49 year old car that has also sat for a very long time.

The dogs are doing well! Growing, learning more manners and just full of love, in general!

Totally forgot to add about our epic trip to Disneyland and about the new house construction coming along...oh well, next time!































Monday, January 16, 2017

More 2017

Does anyone out there know how to change the blog background? The method has changed and no online searches have helped :(


Anyway...more pics













Hello 2017

What a kick in the ass it's been for 2017!

We had a wonderful Christmas! We celebrated with our family and extended families throughout our two and a half weeks off!

Prior to Christmas, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We also enjoyed a week on Coronado Island for Shane's water conference at the Hotel Del Coronado. That has got to be one of our favorite places in the world.

I successfully campaigned for a seat on the QCUSD Governing School Board. There were 3 seats available, 6 candidates. It was an ugly race but we won! I was so thankful to have so much love and support throughout the whole process. I was sworn in at the January 10th Board Meeting and have enjoyed my board member training with the ASBA and look forward to my Board Retreat at our school district office this week. We have a lot to face with overcrowding and hypergrowth in our area!


The kids are great, Cassandra is 17 and a junior, Savannah is 15 and a freshman, Griffin is 13 and in 7th grade, Alyssa is 9 and in 4th grade. Cassandra got her license in October, over fall break. She's doing great driving! She drives to school daily with Savannah and to work. She's signed up to take the ASVAB test this month also. Exciting times!

The dogs are doing well. Kira is doing awesome on her meds for her allergies! She still LOVES snuggling and cuddling whenever possible. She has hilarious short bursts of pure puppy fun (although she's 3 and had a hard 3 years) to mix in with all that cuddliness!  Gypsy is 9 months old, we just survived her first heat (OMG) and she's still in obedience training every Friday. She's doing well, she's super smart and starting to be more confident. Major improvements! Dean is 6 months old and just a moose right now. He's in EVERYTHING and despite training, listens to NOTHING at this point. I just keep working with him but it's obvious that he will need more extensive training in the near future.

I'm going to stop rambling and just share some pics now!

 Baby Dean 3 months old
 Dean 3 months, Gypsy 6 months
 Dean 5 months, Gypsy 8 months, Kira 3 years
 Shane and Alyssa for the Daddy/Daughter Dance at her school
 Griffin, Alyssa and Gumpy for the middle school Veteran's Day celebration

 Home from work!
 The hotel del coronado




 Seaport Village