sit n spin

Josh had Thursday and Friday off due to school meetings so we've been spending more time with Sherri and Amber. When they were over at our home I remember that Amber loves to go in circles so I found our old Sit n Spin which both kids pounced on immediately.

Josh and Amber have a little competitive streak so everything has the potential of being a "race". They are really cute together and they have lots of fun playing.

Color

I bought this great, bright, colorful yarn by Regia which you will see is self striping. I made a pair of baby socks for the girl who cuts my hair but I unfortunately forgot to take a picture of them. I thought about making a pair of adult size socks but I saw a pattern for fingerless mittens and found the perfect blend. Socks are wonderful but this yarn needs to be seen and enjoyed not only by the wearer but also the general public. I think this pair will be perfect for a young girl (pre-teen or teen) but Josh agreed to model them and even asked if these were for him! :)

I might have kept these for myself but they are a little too small for me. I'll just have to make another pair for myself maybe in a more subdued color. I'll reference the pattern later but it was super simple to knit. Cast on x stititches, join round, knit 3, purl 2 until desired length to thumb then follow pattern back and forth to form the thumb opening then join round and continue pattern until desired length and bind off.

Actually I cast on a different pattern of fingerless mittens with Noro Kureyon Sock and still waiting if I like them to continue. I'm knitting from 2 skeins of the same colorway and an getting 2 different mittens. It's kind of fun in a mismatched sort of way. :)

Today I was in heaven because at the park where Sherri and I hang out with the kids after dropping the older ones at school I was able to enjoy meeting Maple the only French Bulldog that I've seen in our neighborhood. Her owner and daughter were very nice and they live in Sherri's apartment complex. Yay...now I have a French Bulldog connection! Maple was really sweet and gave me little nuzzles and snuffs. Awwww...now I really want one more than ever.

Phase I

The tile portion of the bathroom is now complete. Hector will seal the tile in a few days but our tile guy did a really nice job. We're pretty happy about the whole experience.

The grout is in and the tiles are wiped down make a big impact. The original color I chose for the wall was out of stock so Hector picked the next color closest and he did a good job. It looks great.

Tile

A quick post: the bathroom tile is placed and tomorrow the grout is applied. Yay!




I couldn't really get inside so I had to hold the camera as far as I could to get the bathroom pic. The shower tile came out as best it could considering I didn't take into account the size of the tiles to fit in there properly. The tiles are 13 x 13 so he had to cut the tile down to a smaller rectangle then even smaller for the corners. Oh well...live and learn. I guess that's why wall tile is shaped differently than floor tile. :) Okay, that's it for now since blogger is scheduled for an outage at 4pm...

Hey

It's only Tuesday and it feels like the week is dragging on. First of all, Tyler did great at his baseball game yesterday. He managed a double although it was more of a single because he runs pretty slow but the first base coach waved him on to second base which Tyler over ran. The ball was somewhere in the vicinity and he didn't know to hurry back and stay there so we were screaming and yelling at Tyler to get on the bag. :) He did make it back so that was thrilling for all of us. Even the other parents were cheering Tyler on. He made it first base again when he got hit in the foot by a pitch so he was happy about that too.

I'm taking a mini break from knitting. I'm so slow at knitting socks so lately it seems pointless and neverending. So I've invested my free time in Guitar Hero (the 80's version) and I'm having lots of fun. I'm trying to get 5 stars for all the songs on Medium; I've discovered the practice area where I can slow down the entire or just part of the song to get the fingering right then play it again at regular speed then go to Career and play it for real. I'm accomplishing slowly but surely and my wrists are feeling the pain. Time for a break so maybe those socks will get some attention after all.

The bathroom is coming along. The shower wall is tiled and we're waiting for the bullnose portions to be made which takes about a week. In the meantime, the cementboards are put in now and sealed. Hector and I have looked around at shower heads, faucet fixtures, paint chips, light fixtures, and bathroom accessories. We're making do of the 2 bathrooms and the kids don't seem to mind.

Hector's shoulder is feeling better but now he feels very tired and achy. Uh oh, I hope that he doesn't get the flu or better doesn't get any of us sick too. Keep your fingers crossed. I'm going to the Rincon area for my friend Kat's birthday for some gambling and fun in the sun next week.

so far behind

I've been lagging in the blogging department. I don't think I finished telling the rest of our vacation. Oh well. Here are some pictures of the Homewood suites....

It was very comfortable and looked to be pretty new. The bed was soft and comfy.

The kids can't resist a great pool and this one had some pool toys which made it so much more entertaining.

Our weekend was uneventful. We had the usual baseball game (they lost) and while the kids went to visit Grandma, Hector and I went to dinner at Gyu-Kaku which is a Japanese restaurant where you cook your food on a barbeque grill. We chose the Geisha menu with various meat, shrimp along with soup, salad, rice, garlic noodles and dessert. It was tasty and yummy although Hector was not completely satisfied. He likes bigger portions of meat. Overall, it is a very good restaurant but a bit pricey and you have to cook the meat yourself. Later I had a stomach ache so I'm not sure if the food caused it or not.

Hector hurt his shoulder somehow so he has been saying, "Ow" a lot. I get to rub Tiger Balm on him which reminds me to do that now.

catching up

Where to start?? I'll begin with the bathroom since I haven't posted any pics from that yet. Today Hector went to get the tile and supplies and the tile guy will start tomorrow. He will do the underlayment for the tile, backers for the floor and tiling which will take about a week. My part will be picking out fixtures, lighting and paint. Yay. Phew...I have the hardest part to do! :)

Okay here is what the ugly bathroom looked like before Hector demolished it which I must say is a vast improvement already.

Goodbye..ugly brown carpet which was hiding ugly beige/gold glittery linoleum. Bah.

It might be kind of hard to see the glittery beauty of the floor but you get the idea.

Here is the tile I picked out... Columbia Bone for the shower wall...

and a darker Ferra Brown for the floor.

I got a bit of time to say not much is going on. Hector removed all the old bathroom stuff except the tub (He-man had to help haul the cast iron tub down the stairs). They went to buy a new tub and waited for another friend to help haul it up the stairs. Yikes, what a big job! Hector is feeling the pain today (oh, my lumbago).

Josh and I did some much needed grocery shopping this morning. Now, what shall I cook for dinner? I think some steak, rice and broccoli might be in order depending on when Tyler's baseball ends so maybe that can be on hold till tomorrow and I'll make the Boboli pizza instead. Very quick and easy.

I got to run and take some more pictures of the bathroom transformation...it's coming along. The plumber came by to do some connections and other plumbing things and the tub is in place. The tile guy will come by to give an estimate and we are on our way. So far so good.

what's up

Okay, we're home...the weekend in San Diego was a blast. The weather was very warm so the water areas at Sea World and Legoland were a welcome relief. Well, the water area at Sea World isn't quite finished but it was so freakin hot that we went over to the Journey to Atlantis ride which is a combo water ride/roller coaster so the kids could get splashed in the wet zone. Josh was upset because he thought we would ride the roller coaster but once he figured out that we were there to cool off, he totally dug it.

Legoland was lots of fun too with the added new area and rides. There is a ride where you get laser guns and shoot targets, a bouncer/free fall kind of ride, airplane ride and play area with foam balls to shoot at unsuspecting parents.

We stayed at the Homewood Suites this time which is a Hilton hotel so we earned our points. It was just the right size for us and the kids loved the pool. I have pics somewhere and will load them eventually.

I finished a pair of baby socks (pics later) and this time I used the magic loop method where I knit 2 socks at a time on one circular needle. Hector took me to The Black Sheep in Encinitas where I went crazy buying more sock yarn and some Addi turbo needles with a 47 inch cable. So far I really enjoy this method..I can keep track of which side I'm on because usually if I don't document where I'm at in the pattern...I'm lost and I'm not so good at recognizing the previous stitches to refer back to the pattern. Anyway, I bought lots of sock yarn and will eventually knit a pair of socks for Hector to use while motorcycling. He did mention at the store that I never knit anything for him...well, that's because he wouldn't wear any of the stuff I knit like hats, scarves or sweaters and he knows this. It would just be wasted. But everyone wears socks so that is what he will eventually get.

Okay, we're back home and Hector is demolishing the kids bathroom. The cabinet/sink is gone, so is the carpet, wall around the tub and whatever else. The plumber is coming tomorrow to hook up the shower pipes/tub connections. Hector is taking lots of pictures so we have our memories of the old yucky bathroom. He has already unearthed the old linoleum which is gold and glittery! Now why would people want to cover that up with yucky brown carpet in the bathroom???? :)

I'm just happy to pick out tile for the floor and wall, paint color and fixtures. Knit and do laundry too which I have to check on...

first video and more

I am attempting to post my very first video on my blog. This shows Tyler after riding his first poma lift and then skiing the slalom course. Be prepared for the blinding speed at which he finishes the course! :)

We're in Carlsbad right now; traffic was really smooth. The Homewood Suites are very nice...pictures to follow. It is a nice layout and pretty comfortable. Hector already super glued his sunglasses together so they have seen their last snowboarding days. He is scouring ebay for potential frames to transfer his lenses to...so if you by chance have any original Ray Ban Wayfarers laying around...drop us a line!

The plan is for Sea World on Saturday; the park is offering admission for the rest of the year when you buy a one day admission. We did this also last year and it worked out for us. We usually come down about 3-4 times a year for Legoland so we extend our stay for a weekend and hit both places. Sea World revamped their water play area so I hope the kids like it.

I'm still waiting for the video to upload...only 17M of 45M so far. Ugh, this will take a while. At Mammoth I watched the San Jose Sharks playoff game 1 the other night against the Calgary Flames. The Sharks lost that night but won game 2. I really don't like the Sharks too much and I don't really have a good reason other than their fans are super annoying.

Okay, it's not at 24M of 45M...oh I can finish telling you about the rest of our Mammoth trip. On day 2, the weather was cold (around 45 degrees and gusty). Because Hector broke his sunglasses the day before he needed to wear his regular glasses and put his goggles on top to protect them. That meant I had to buy another pair of goggles because somehow I misplaced mine. Also we had to get Josh another pair for mittens for skiing. I went into Footloose where the salesman was very nice and helpful. We found a nice pair and since it was the last pair he gave me a sweet deal of 50% off so it came out to $43. Score for me. I also bought some face/neck warmers for Tyler and me. He refused to wear it at first but I convinced him and I think I saved myself from a lot of whining and bellyaching for the rest of the day because, man it was COLD.

This was the first time that Tyler was with the both of us for the entire day. He usually is in ski school but we felt that he can handle the intermediate runs now although we have to go slower. Well, Tyler managed the runs but with lots of complaining of his feet hurting etc and we took several breaks. By the end of the day he was doing much better and it started to snow!! It was blowing so hard the snow was going sideways and being on the lifts were miserable. See, now Tyler wasn't complaining about that face warmer ...on the lifts we could see little tornados of snow whirling around and we ended up going through one of them. Boy that made Tyler's day that he went through an actual tornado. :)

Almost finished...we're at 42M of 45M and it's time for dinner. We're close to the outlet stores and lots of restaurants so we have plenty to choose from. More later.....

mammoth pictures

what now?

We are having a blast in Mammoth. Our condo is very spacious about 1700 sq ft with 1 bedroom, loft with bunkbeds and 3 bathrooms. The kids had a great day on the slopes and Josh did super for his first day.
Our day on the slopes started out good. A little blustery but not crowded at all. I think the majority were kids on spring break. Think Tyler's age and vicinity. Anyway, we had lunch but when we went to unlock our boards, the combo would not open. Hector tried and tried but no luck. Finally he just kept bending and twisting the wire cable until it broke. Okay we head down Stump Alley a few times and Hector was lagging behind a bit. As he got closer I asked if he fell because he usually beats me down and he had snow on his jacket. He says look and his presciption glasses are broken at the bridge a la Harry Potter. He was fine but that ended our day. That was fine since I was getting tired and wanted to check on the kids. Just had to blog via blackberry but we are having fun and we will see what happens tomorrow.

Ready To Roll

First of all, I need to wish my darling hubby of 11 years a very Happy Birthday. Of course we had another crazy, busy Saturday. Hector had a 7am appointment for drug screening for his new job. He said it was extremely strict where the bathroom had no running water in the sink, no soap in the dispenser and the water tank on the toilet was locked. These people don't mess around!! He also had to empty his pockets, leave items like cell phones etc outside and get patted down. That must have been a nice way to begin your birthday....oh and pee in a cup. :)

Tyler had an early game so we had to be at the field at 7:45 am and I was trying to get the kids ready, then I had to locate his baseball cap and then we zoomed off to the field. We were only about 10 minutes late and I noticed that everyone is out on the street hanging out. I guess there was some mix up as to who was supposed to unlock the gate. Someone drove up in a couple of minutes so it worked out fine. The game was okay but we lost big time 7-0. Tyler hit the ball but it was towards 1st base he was thrown out. He did seem to run faster and another parent commented that he is improving which is all I can ask for.

Then Hector and I headed out for our last hockey game of the season....uhhhh, we lost 4-3. Not much to say but there are lots of giveaways and we didn't get squat. Oh a couple of coupons for iced coffee at McDonalds that I have to use by early May.

I did manage to find a couple of gifts for Hector who seems to be hard to shop for. He is not interested in clothes; comfort is a must for him. I did get his a Hawaiian shirt and another casual button shirt. My mom had the same idea and got him 2 Hawaiian shirts. I also got him an electronic dart set from the kids which looked cool. We had fun playing on the Wii so when I saw this, I thought it could be fun to have. He set it up pretty fast so he must have liked it and the best place with the right amount of room is in the dining room. Don't be alarmed...our dining room is rarely used for dining purposes. There is a table but it is set up for Tyler and his homework. The room is a combo dining and living room which has been devoted solely for the kids. We have all their toys, a Lego building table and Kangaroo climber in there and even a adult sized tent during the summer. So having a dart board in the dining room is perfectly normal for us. We spent about an hour throwing darts later in the afternoon when we should have been packing. :)

Okay, the kids are now in bed and we are 90% packed. Hector just needs to round up the PS2, games and DVDs, put the racks on the Pilot tomorrow and we should be set. I'm going to bring my video camera to try and get footage of the kids on skis. We will be back briefly Thursday night and head to San Diego the next day so have a nice spring break.

Spring Break Here We Come

We'll be doing a little bit of this.....

and that.........

I don't think I will be blogging next week but be sure to check back for the latest when we return. Or try amusing yourselves in the archives.....

April 4th

Ugh, we leave for Mammoth on Sunday and I still need to pack! So what do I do? Sit at the computer and blog for a bit! Hehe...Okay tonight I'll start I promise.

Oh here is a big shoutout to Becky:


Happy Birthday!!!!

Not much else is new...Tyler received an E on his oral presentation which is the highest grade he can get. This week he had to pick a newspaper article and summarize it into a 2-3 minute speech. I wanted to find something lighthearted and fun so we chose the story of Dorothy the skunk. This is a skunk in Torrance that climbed into a truck headed for Canada where she was discovered when they reached their destination. Toronto authorities wouldn't allow her release into Canada because they said she couldn't survive there and there were no airlines or trucking companies that would transport her back to California. In the end, 2 people from a radio station near LA offered to drive her back with prearranged stops along the way to care for the skunk.

I was kind of stressed out on Tyler's presentation because he needs to be able to tell his story in a concise and interesting manner. I made a little outline for him too and at home he would tell the story in stops and starts so I gave up after a while. It turns out that this was his best speech yet. Go figure. His teacher wrote that it was a great speech, good voice and interesting personal note. The personal note was because we had 3 skunks living under our house a few months ago.

Now he has to start preparing for his famous person speech which is Christopher Columbus. At least we have a month to prepare for that.

Spring Cleaning

Today Hector and I headed out to Home Depot and Lowes to check out bathroom items. We wanted to redo the kids' bathroom for some time but all the estimates we got have been $10,000 and up. It's hard for us to take because we redid our kitchen which is 4-5 times bigger for about $25,000 and that includes appliances! So we put off their bathroom until now because we figured that it would be in our best interest to do the bathroom ourselves. For the month of April, Hector is for the most part off work so we decided to tackle the bathroom. Home Depot didn't have the vanities we need but Lowes had several along with the vanity top. I like granite but this is for the kids who will not appreciate the details so we will settle for a prefab top of cultured marble in solid white. Basic items for the kids but I get to pick out the tile for the floor, shower wall and paint. Yay! We hopefully will get started on this when we get back from vacation.

Also today I tackled the spring cleaning on my computer. I have about 1 1/2 years of photos on my computer which needs to be copied to the portable hard drive and DVD. I'm also trying to transfer my itunes library over also but that will have to wait till tomorrow. Then I'll be able to make room which should free up about 30GB of memory. Phew...I need that space too.

You Make The Call

Yesterday Tyler's baseball ended in some controversy. The A's (Tyler's team) were the home team and the Marlins were the visitors. It was a good game each team getting hits and scoring runs and towards the end of the game the Marlins were ahead 3-2. Before the last inning one of the Marlin parents yelled out that the time limit of 1:45 was coming up in about 10 minutes and that the game should be over. Our coach wanted to play out the last inning and there was some grumbling but the game went on. The Marlins went down without scoring and the A's were up. To summarize there were 2 outs and the bases were loaded and the next batter was our best hitter. He starts walking toward the batter's box and the Marlin parents tell the umpire to call time limit/game over. Oh, you got to be kidding me! The coach tried to get the last up at bat and finish out the inning but no. IT"S IN THE RULES!! Games are 1:45 long and that's final.

It was really hard on the kids to see/hear the parents arguing over something so trivial. Yeah, technically we were out of time but it was awful for the kids to not be able to finish their inning since we're the home team. It was unfortunate that some of the parents could not be have more sportsmanship to allow the home team to complete the inning. I was disgusted by some of the parents and kids' behavior on the Marlins because the main complainer is from Tyler's school; it's just a game and these kids are 8-9 years old. So the coach was nice and told the A's that in his opinion, they won the game. Oh well, I'll just say what comes around, goes around. Karma.