[summer break in 80 days] day 76

/
09franny-1

6:56 Showered dressed and starting the oatmeal. I have already made tea, cut up a melon, started the laundry and fed Andy. Only Ryan questioned me, "You're cooking early?" Meanwhile Andy was happily eating his sausage about 90 minutes earlier than usual.



8:52 Andy lost his recorder this morning. We checked Poppa's room and the boys' room and then moved to the playroom. I had forgotten about making them clean it this week so I got each one started on a section. Ryan was picking up the dumped legos in the closet and proceeded to dump the box twice. Andy was picking up under his desk where all those thing fall when he sits down. It is the land of forgotten crap he picked up to fiddle with and then dropped when he lost interest. He was picking up one thing at a time instead of just sweeping the stuff out and then separating. Finally they were done with their tasks ans Ryan was asking for a quarter. sigh We had forgotten about the recorder but then Andy had it 10 minutes after finding it in my bedroom.



Jenna's card is in the mail. I photographed the last 2 cards I made then played with the number clock. First I used a colorful vest as a backdrop then I moved on to quilts andAndy's rash guard shirt. I think the shirt looks the best since it is tie dyed and already abstract. I didn't try any paper since that might take all day.


09lois-1

12:55 Home.

We went to Target to pick up the things we forgot. We were ready to leave and no Andy. We came in through the green doors so we went to the blue doors to check. Nope. Ryan waited in the car while I went in again and found him walking with Kathi, an employee. He has been good all summer and it was our last trip... sigh.

Next I got a black tea latté from Starbucks had to correct them 3 times as they kep saying chai. I don't want chai! sigh

Then filled the tank. Please tell me why they ask if you want a recipt and then say you have to go inside to get it?

Then off to Weightman. I think we went in the side door so missed the directions and such. Ryan stuck very close to me but Andy bounced around the gym. We were told that the bus will NOT be picking up Andy at the house but on CLR & Stetson. WTH?! So I have to walk him up there with Ryan then go back home for Ryan's bus. ugh! At least Andy's bus is scheduled to stop at 8:00 am.

We finally got done and walked to Andy's class. But the classroom was dark and locked. So we drove home and had grilled cheese for lunch.



4:23 Andy finished cleaning his room and wanting to vacuum. He did a few passes but it was hard trying to keep his ears blocked at the same time. I think we need to invest in some headphones that airline workers use. Anyway, I ended up vacuuming his room and the hallway. It should make me feel better but it just shows me how stained the carpets are. Yuck!



I weeded my photos down. The ones of the numbers clock are not as good as I would like. More experimenting! I took my camera to school but gym lighting is horrid! What a waste.



6:17 Breakstone cottage cheese is gross.

[summer break in 80 days] day 75

/
081709 blog

8:11 So much for getting up early this week in preparation for next week. Actually I did get up at 6 despite not setting the alarm, the problem is that I then went to the computer and time warped to 7:15 before I got up again. But at least I got the mosaic done and posted.



11:40 In the car. Lianna and her kids were at the playground. She was meeting her über skinny friend and her 3 kids. Good grief! We all went swimming and Matthew and I had some great splash fights. He is tenancious and doesn't get upset when he loses.


081709 blog-2

Swimming makes you hungry! Coletta said it is the water making your body temp which makes you hungry. I just thought it was because it's lunchtime.



Oh! Nice motorcycle. Broadway? I have never heard of it. Then again my knowledge is limited as I call it a motorcycle and not a hog or a bike.



1:25 Home. The lawn guys are here early. Oh they must be hot! The car temp showed 100 on the way home.



After getting school supplies for 3 weeks, Ryan went that way in Target but we are done. Whew!



5:43 I just learned how to whiten teeth in lightroom. Easier and better results than photoshop actions.



8:49 I called Bonnie to tell about my "new" skill in Lightroom. Then it was almost 8:00 and time for baths. I realized I never got around to reshooting the clock so I found another photo to work. I did get a card done for Lois and her birthday is in another week! It feels good to be ahead of schedule. I must remember this feeling. But then I remembered the things I forgot at Target and Andy failed to mention that he used up all the AAA batteries.



I also got the mosaic done for fall 2006. They are rather fun.


081709 blog-3

Oh and what with all the storms this afternoon? Yesterday they expected NO rain for today. This morning they said 30% which usually means no rain. But we got his which a bunch of small storms. Lots of noise.

[summer break in 80 days] day 74

/
9:17 I thought it would nice to sit out front and catch up on twitter. I hadn't expected a steam bath. Actually there is the occassional breeze. But it is moist otherwise. The skies to the west are dark gray and there are some good storms out in the gulf. (Little did I know that there was a tropical storm out there!)



I have 2 very basic compost barrels. Well, actually they are more like recycled plastic hoops with vent holes. I got them when I first started composting. I used the for just plant material until I had more room in the composter. I think I might set them up again in the back. It seems better than throwing it away in the trash.



10:20 Ten more layouts done. Only 10 to go. That will be huge weight of guilt lifted off of me when they are done and sent.



Hank was too busy to talk this morning. It sounded crowded. I was not sad to be missing it.


081709 rind

11:03 I'd really never used my melon baller until the other day. I don't care about fancy shapes and thought it was easier and quicker to slice and dice. But it's messy and sticky especially when the melon is so juicy. So I tried it and found that it is just as easy and quick without a lot of mess. The only thing I don't like is the other side of the doible baller biting into my hand. Anyway, when I got done with a half, I saw what a cool pattern it made in the rind. I knew I wantes to photograph it. I put half in the fridge for later. That was 2 days ago.

This morning I was cutting up another melon, they were 2 for $5, and decided I would shoot after I was done with the melon. Must shoot everyday! I decided to see which rind had the best patterns. I took the older one out of the fridge and found that it had dried out a bit amd shrunk. Oops. Good thing I had another melon.

I did take some photos and I'll edit them later. I need to reshoot the numbers clock as I didn't like what I got from yesterday.



11:42 All done! And a good thing too as my back is starting to protest. I will sort and package them later.



01:46 Crap! I went to sort all the layouts and realize I only have 5 for Fall 2006 and Spring 2007. What happened? Did I do the layouts and mail them or lose them? Did I think I had done them? Either way, it means I have to put together some layouts for that time period. It also means going back to the photos done with my point & shoot. Yikes! (This was not fun. A lot of shots I thought were good are crap when looked at 1:1. Hopefully they will look OK when made smaller and put into a mosaic.)



081609 blog

3:32 Mud. I looked outside and saw Ryan playing in the mud. Because I cleaned up the weeds, he had a perfect spot to muck around. I grabbed my camera and took some shots from inside. I thought he would quit if he saw me but he didn't. I went outside and it's a good thing I did because my camera settings were all wonky again. It was a bit tricky just using my 50mm but I made it work.

081609 blog-3

At one point, the little creep jumped and it splashed on me. I was on the other side of the short fence but I still got hit. And I was wearing my light tan shorts. Of course I was. I tried not to get too mad but then Ryan had the nerve to laugh. Still, I did keep my control.

081609 blog-4

I wanted to write "wash me" on his legs and use that for my photo of the day. He wouldn't let me. I tried to get him to write letters on the fence with mude but he couldn't make it work. Oh well, I got a lot of shots and I'm sure there is something I can use for this month's contest. Last month was numbers and I although I didn't win, I was one of the top 10 finalists.

081609 blog-2

I loved watching him play. As much as he liked the feeling of mud between his toes, he doesn't like to get dirty. H e was careful not to get his clothes muddy. And he had to really think about getting his hands in the mud.

I used these photos for Mosaic Monday.


So... take a nap or shoot some pics for potd?



9:03 I did start to edit then it was time for dinner so all I got done was the rating, weeding, renaming and keywording. Nothing has been processed. I had intended on going back after dinner but then I had my 2 chocolate crackles after the meal and I was in heaven and my short term memory just vanished until I saw the Mosaic Monday post in google reader. How was that for a run on and on, on and on sentence? Oh and after I cheated on using and old and processed photo for potd, two peas has been down so I couldn't post. Is this my penance? I thought the stained shorts were enough?

[summer break in 80 days] day 73

/
081409 blog

7:06 I love iTunes but every so often I lose music. And the sad thing is that I don't it's missing until I am reminded of it. See, I have a lot of music. You don't even want to know how much. OK you probably do want to know but I don't want to tell you.

Anyway, back to my point. I was going through Google Reader and there were a post about Talking Heads This Must be The Place and 3 versions of the song. First off, I had to buy the Shawn Colvin album Cover Girl. Then I went looking for the original Talking Heads version. I could find no Talking Heads at all in my library. Huh? I went to the EHD where my music is stored and didn't see the folder either. WTH?! It's not a big loss since I do have the original CDs but still... I finally did a spotlight search and found the errant folder. How did it get there?!



7:50 No gardening today. I think I strained my back yesterday. Ironic that all summer I have been gardening with the bending and such and no back problems. Yesterday I was sitting and strained something to make my hip hurt today.



8:28 When we first got the piano (electric keyboard), we set it up in the family room so I could make sure was not abusing it. He had to ask to play since he couldn't be trusted to make sure no one alseep or on the phone. Eventually, I moved it into his bedroom because I needed the space for more scrapbook inventory. Andy continued to ask to play even though he was told he didn't need to ask. (He still asks to go potty despite my efforts...) But since last week's call with Poppa, Andy doesn't really ask. He will say somerhing that I don't quite catch and then, "I'll practice now." and waits for me to OK it. So silly.



9:54 I would really love a black tea lattè from Starbucks. If I thought Ryan would say yes, I would ask him to go for a ride just so I could get one. I ate a cookie instead but that has not stopped the craving. And now I want more cookies and the lattè.

I know there are places I could apply for respite care. But I don't feel the need to take advantage of the system. See if my kids were neural typical there would be no respite benefits. My kids are different but not difficult. I can hire a babysitter like any other single mom. I just hate spending the money just for some me time. Only 9 days until I get my time paid for by my taxes.



081409 blog-3

10:11 I found a forsythia bloom on the floor. 1) It's wait too late in the season for them to bloom. 2) They don't grow down here in Florida. Therefore... It must be from my silk branches at the front door. I called Andy over asked him if he took it. He said yes so I had to explain that any flowers in the house are off limits. They aren't real and they won't grow back. Odd that it took him so many years before he even tried to eat one.



12:55 Whoa! I just scrapbooked! And... I made 10 layouts in less than an hour. OK, get your jaws off the floor. First off, they are 8x8 size so they don't count as much as 12x12. Second, they are a hybrid digi scrap where I did the photo mosaics and had them printed. So all I had to do was find a cardstock which was the hardest part because my stash has dwindled so. Then I trimmed to 8x10 photo to 7.5x7.5 and mounted that onto 8x8 cardstock. So Summer Break 2008 is done. There are 4 more layouts x 10 so it might take me a while. Then again, the photos have been sitting here for over 2 weeks.

I have to give away 8 of these to aunts and uncles. I made an extra thinking I would give an album to dad. And I guess the last one is for me. But then I got thinking that dad doesn't need an album since I have been making him the photo books. Perhaps the boys will like albums of their own? So I grabbed what colors I had of 8x8 albums and had the boys choose one. Andy chose the yellow with dots, yellow is his favorite color! And Ryan chose the more masculine brown with dots called earth. I had expected him to choose the blue one.



1:50 Ten more layouts are done. I stand when I do the trimming as I can see better and hold the straight edge firmer. Tgis makes my back a bit sore and makes me wish I had a standing desk. Oh well.



I grabbed an envelope to keep track of the cardstock I take from the store. It was something from school regarding Ryan. I opened it figuring it was a survey I forgot to take. But it was his FCAT scores. He did OK in reading and writing and had a perfect score in math! Well done little booger!



5:41 It's probably too late for a nap now. Oh well. I did get some things accomplished: a birthday card, an order pulled, 30 layouts done, photo of the day for today and tomorrow and the ever regenerating laundry.



7:14 We had a big storm come through this evening. Ryan his on the cough while Andy ran around happy as could be. Lots of water in the back yard.



9:27 I ate a lot of melon today. I peed a lot. Time for bed.

[summer break in 80 days] day 72

/
081409 blog-4

8:03 Get up earlier next week? I think it's time I started going to bed earlier even though I enjoy the time when both boys are asleep.



9:40 No gardening motivation today. I did go out but didn't get much done. I was working on the north bed which is moslty muck and weeds at the moment. The sprinkler head had come unscrewed and was flooding the area. There is soil erosion.

I had to sit and pull weeds as my tools wouldn't work with the muck. I would stop a moment and contemplate what to do with this bed. There are 2 hibiscus plants under the windows. There are 3 indian hawthorn by the short fence. But those hawthorn grew too big. I didn't know there was more than one variety and these are the bigger ones.

I was thinking it would be nice to extend the patio to the end of the house and get rid of the short fence. This might be a nice place for one of those covered swings. I would then want to extend the walk between the houses. And have a proper patio laid out in front of the dining room window. If I hadn't had that one palm planted so close to the drive, I would extend the walk there.

Of course I am just fantasizing.


081409 blog-2

1:56 Was just closing my eyes adter lunch when UPS came to the door. They dropped off KI Memories and I had to open it up right away. KI is one of favorite scrapbook companies but not everyones loves them. We didn't have enough interest to get anything from the last show. I had to locate Bonnie to see what she wanted from this order. She is on her way to a 3 day crop. She has decided to not crop so much but work in organizing photos in Lightroom. Instead of a laptop, she took her desktop with the 24" screen!

I have uploaded the new product and deciding what to do next. It's turned into a cloudy rainy day which makes me very lethargic.



8:22 Uh oh, I sat in that chair again. The next thing I know it's 5:00 and I have little to show for the day.

[summer break in 80 days] day 71

/
081309 swingers

9:44 At the park making the boys let me take photos of their hands. I had been trying to get then unaware but they actually let me pose them. Too bad I only need 3 more shots and I had few ideas. Ryan asked about next week's theme. I always forget to look until it's too late. Why don't I have the list except on my blog? Oh sure if I had an iPhone instead of just an iPod Touch... (It's ABC or 123 and I did put the list on my iPod so I don't need wifi to check)



11:30 In the car. The boys have switched spots. Then Andy wanted to sit next to Ryan & Ryan complains. School can't start soon enough.



Both Gail and I were blonde when we were little. I expected the boys to be blonde. They were born blonde but have quickly darkened to brown. Hmm...



There is the cutest girl at Chick Fil A. She is a cross between a young Katherine Hepburn and Ann Margaret. Skinny as heck but so pretty in a perky way and I love her auburn hair.



The best part of baking cookies is giving them away to the staff at the chiropractor. Paula and Yvette especially love the chocolate crinkles.

I forgot the backpacks full of school supplies do I will have to go next week. What cookies should I bake? (Martha has a recipe for chocolate sugar cookies, looks yummy.)



I had to deposit money into my checking account. Last year it would be instant but now it takes a day. I had only $12 for groceries. I oulled out my emergency stash and that was only $86. The groceries came to $73. It feels weird to pay with cash.



3:37 I just got done weeding today's photos. 263 down to 89. I will do another pass later then label an keyword them. Even though I don't love the weeding as my 3 year old computer is slow to render 1:1 view, I love being able to shoot as much as I want without cost. With a film camera, I would have really had to think about my photos and no way would I fill up a roll let alone 20! I would have gotten some OK shots but probably nothing special. I consider it a miracle when I get a sincere smile from Ryan now. Imagine only being able to shoot a half dozen shots.



Ugh. My popcorn did not come out well. The bag was sealed shut so not much room to expand and some kernals are scorched.



6:45 Poor Andy has the hiccups. I suggested he jump on the trampoline but that didn't help. I usually hold my breadth but getting him to understand is another matter. I told him to pretend he was swimming underwater but he didn't get it.

[summer break in 80 days] day 70

/
081309 crinkles

7:50 This is third day in a row Andy has lost his recorder. He will say, "I have to look for it." Which really means "Go find my recorder because I don't know how to look." And it drives me batty.



9:34 Short gardening session today. One bag only half full but very heavy. Getting the weeds and racking brings a lot of dirt. I am too lazy to separate so it all goes. Ryan and Andy came out and played for about 5 minutes. Yep, it's too hot.



11:18 Andy's sneakers came today. There isn't much room and I got a half size larger than what I thought he needed. Good thing they were on sale. I might get the next size or 2 now since the slip-on sneakers are hard to find in the winter.



3:42 Chocolate Crinkles are my favorite cookie. They are messy & gooey and take while. But they are SO worth it. I used to use a recipe similar to this one by Betty Crocker. Did you know that the original non-pc name was Widow Faces? Martha calls hers Chocolate Crackles and they are the better version. This is one recipe where I actually get less cookies than Martha calls for. I prefer to use the cookie scoop. (I just realized while Martha calls hers crackles, because they are like crack! So addictive!)



Someone came to our door while I waa getting the cookies out. Andy opened the door and it was a solicitor. WTH?! There is no soliciting in this development and there are signs posted. But no one cares. She goes on to tell me who she met with like that would change my mind. No! Please leave! I try to be polite. They keep talking as I say no and shake me head and start to close the door. I am amazed that they don't stick their foot in the door!



4:53 I deserved that last cookie. I just spent the better part of an hour helping (?) Andy clean his room. He did some but needs to be prodded along. I let him use the grabber but he was taking so long that you would have thoight he was playing the arcade game for a prize. I still have to dust and vacuum. The recorder is not in there.



I like looking out at the back yard these days. The beds I can see are clear and it gives me a peaceful feeling. I am proud that I did it myself and didn't soend the money to have someone else do it.



8:24 I actually started to pick up the playroom in hopes of finding the recorder. It wouldn't have bothered me for it to be lost for a while but since we are going out tomorrow, Andy will need something to listen to. And since his iPod headphone jack is broken, that leaves his recorder. Andy was going to set the timer for an hour since I found it but I said it was too late. I cannot give him the recorder at 9:20 when he should be in bed. He can wait until tomorrow. He thought about it and was OK with it, "Then I should just go play."



Though I do love my chocolate chip cookies, they just don't taste as good knowing there are chocolate crinkles in the house. This has to be my best batch yet. I used Dutch process cocoa which left them flat like I recall. Crispy on the outside and soft and gooey inside.

[summer break in 80 days] day 69

/
081109 blog-3

8:21 Day 69... you know what that means? We are heading into the home stretch! Yay! Next week I will set my alarm to 6:00 and bounce out of bed and get dressed for the day. No more dragging myself into the dark kitchen to grab some tea and then wake up by the light of the computer. I will have to get breakfast ready at 6:30 so Andy has enough time to eat before the bus comes. After the bus picks him up at 7:30, I will have some time to relax until 8:30 when Ryan's bus will come. It will be odd and confusing have to separate schedules. We haven't had to deal with that since 2002.



The photo I posted of Ryan may be a bit over processed. But I love his freckles. Maybe I will try it again and no over boost.



The dishes came out clean! And one of the plates had dried egg! I ran Finish through today and the dishwasher sounded so much better. The racks slide easier and it is less yellow. The bottle was tossed out of the silverware crate so not all of the liquid got out. I just tipped it over and am running a light cycle again. (I prefer Dishwasher Magic, it doesn't smell like Finish does.)



My left ring finger still hurts. It only hurts when I grip something or close my hand. An excuse not to garden?


081109 blog-4

9:48 I did weed. I only felt a twinge of pain once so it's good that I didn't allow my flimsy excuse to take hold. The east bed is as clean as it is going to get. The ants were in full force today. I killed 2 I saw crawling on my gloves. One did manage to get me on the inside of my elbow. And just as the other bites were finally settling down. sigh

I sprayed more round up on the south bed and on the north bed. Andy walked right through in his bare feet. ugh! I told him to wash then so he walked in the back door, through the house, out the front door to where the watering can is sitting. big sigh


081109 blog-5

3:01 Orders are pulled. I could be more productive, but...



6:33 I didn't get around to making cookies. I lost my momentum right around 3:01. I did get my blogs updated to wordpress 2.8.3. Of course I forgot about the old google analytics plugin and once I reactivated got a fatal error. At least I knew how to fix it quickly. I switched the front page to a simpler theme with just 2 columns. I am thinking about switching this and the photo of the day as well. I just need to decide how/where to put the links. I do not like it when the links colums goes on forever and is longer than the posts. I sometimes wish I knew code and could design my own.

[summer break in 80 days] day 68

/
081009 blog-2

9:00 Andy turned down the volume on the radio so Ryan woke up late. Not a good way to start the day. I had to fight Ryan all night from rolling into me, I am tired and dragging.



I ran Dishwaher Magic. I hope this works and I can put off buying a new dishwasher for a while. (While the insides are not white, too much rust, the trays slide effortlessly once again and it does sound better.)



9:55 At the park. Ryan is driving me nuts today. We had words. He refused to brush his teeth because he woke up late. And he won't wear his rash guard shirt because Andy has one. He think it makes them look like twins. I'd had enough and made him brush his teeth and cry. Sometimes I just have to prove to myself I am in charge. In control... not so much.

There is a too tan woman at the pool. She got in the water with a magazine?! What does she think she is in her bathtub? At one point, she was doing some weird moves like she was having siezures. I think she might have been doing some kind of exercise but it looked goofy. When she got out, I managed to look just as she was bending over. Ack! Lady! Put those buns of flab away! She is neither small nor young.

11:06 Done with swimming. Andy is drying off. Ryan is whining about Andy looking at him and which direction Andy is sitting. Ryan was fine when Andy was swimming and I took countless photos of him playing Trains.



11:45 In the car. Altoids Cinnamon are hot! And these are just the smalls. I cannot imagine eating a regular sized one. (Yes, I blog & tweet at red lights. At RED lights.)



081009 blog

2:16 We pulled into Target and Ryan said he wanted to go to Lettuce Lake Park. Huh?! We don't go to the park on Monday. I though about it for a second and saw that it was 95 and I only had on sandals. I was not prepared for the park. I said we could go Thursday but that's not good enough. Luckily the pout only lasted until we got in the store.

I saw a Blue's Clues - Blue's Biggest Stories and showed Andy. He got excited and started singing "Steve is going to college..." So I let Ryan pick out a DVD and he chose You're A Good Sport, Charlie Brown.



3:48 Good grief another wedding invitation! Can't these people spread them out through the year? No, we aren't going but gifts cost money.

[summer break in 80 days] day 67

/
09ashleymatt-1

9:39 Being a homeowner sucks. I hate the repair and maintenance. I need a new dishwasher. For months I have listened to it slowly dying. Not that you could really tell but the sounds just haven't been the same. But the dishes were getting clean so I ignored it. The dishes are no longer getting clean.

I went to Consumer Reports (thanks Stephanie!) and checked on appliance repair. Basically anything over 8 years old (except higher end models) should be replaced. This dishwasher is 9 1/2 years old. CR has 3 models they reccommend. One is a Bosch and I have heard good things about them. I looked online at Famous Tate and Sonny's. Both are local chains and they both use the same appliance web site. They have contact forms where someone will contact you. Cool. I just wish I didn't have to spend the $600+. I still haven't had the dryer repaired.


09jeremykellie-1

5:53 I can't seem to teach the boys how to looks for things like a lost recorder. Even with their great memories, the don't understand how to think back to last place they had something. They draw a blank. So maybe the solution is to teach then to keep their rooms clean then a dropped object can be easily seen. Or perhaps they won't even just drop something when they are done with it but out it away. OK I am obviously delirious. I shouldn't have skipped my nap.



9:14 I decided at 7:30 to start my mosaic. I cropped all my photos and adjusted the white balance in Lightroom then moved them over to Photoshop. None of the changes came over. I think it is because they were jpegs to begin with. Oh well, I made it work.



My left ring finger is really achy today. I have no idea why. It hurts at the joint where it meets the hand. Arthritis?


09katiejohn-1

9:28 When I saying goodnight to Ryan he said, "Your shirt is different." it has stripes whereas everything else is solid. I was putting away a couple of the new shirts that are still a bit snug and found a few older shirts that used to be very snug. I pulled them out and the fit again!