Open WIDE!

It amazes me how big of a bite of food that a teenage boy can put in his mouth. . . even while using chopsticks. Yes, if you are noticing Wyatt is eating Chinese food in an Italian restaurant. We had gone down for our last day at the hospital visiting Lou Lou and Jeff, Bill and I wanted pizza so Wyatt went across the street and got his own dinner and brought it back to where we were eating.

CREATE

This year I have promised myself that I would do this photo challenge from a website that I
L-O-V-E, it is a one word challenge on Shutter Sisters. This month's challenge word is create. I was doodling and water coloring yesterday with my class and as I rinsed out the watercolor pods they created a beautiful rainbow of colors in my sink.

The Birds!

Each afternoon/evening as I am driving down to the hospital or to pick Wyatt up from school I see these birds thousands of them, flying northeast I don't know where they are going to sleep or what it is but it is so cool. They fly, drop down, swoop around free and flying back home for the evening. It took me several times to realize that this is a regular occurrence so I am now armed nightly with my camera sitting in the passengers seat so I can snap a picture of birds or any other site I may see.

Better days are on there way. . .

I LOVE sunflowers! Look at them. . . how can you not be happy looking at them?
These last 6 weeks have been so crazy for me!!! My mother in laws 88 year old cousin, Lou, was in a car accident, severed her spine, had surgery and is now having to leave the rehab hospital.
Yesterday was so crazy I NEVER want to be in a hospital or get old. She was scheduled to go to a skilled nursing facility near my house, but 3 hours prior to the ambulance getting her the facility called and said they were worried about her insurance not paying. Then Karen (Lou's niece) and I were racing around to find Lou a new facility. We find her one 40 mins from my house. On my way to pick up Wyatt from school I stopped by the hospital to visit, I was thee when the ambulance called the Pineapple Express came to take her away to her new facility. YEAH!
You might think that is the end of it. . . well you are ohhhh soooo wrong. Lou gets to her new facility only to find out that they do not have her listed as coming to this facility nor do they have a room for her. Karen was a little upset ok a lot mad. Lou was so upset and unhappy and oh so confused. Back in the ambulance she went back to the hospital another 40 mins in the Pineapple Express.
Karen said this morning when she arrived at the hospital Lou was so happy and said the nurses love having her at the hospital. . . she did not remember anything about yesterday. Thank you gracious Lord You are so good!
Finally after looking at two more facilities today we found a new place for Lou to move too so she can do her rehab. And it is 2 minutes from my work. God has a plan and we never know what it is but He does.
Did I mention I love sunflowers? I do they are so bright, sunny and cheery!

Good News!

Today I found out that Wyatt was invited to travel with his robotics team to competitions. He is the only freshman invited to travel. . . I guess all his hard work and endless hours of volunteering paid off. I am one proud mom.

Here is my town

I love my town this sign is a replica of the one that use to hang over the street way back when. Most of the time many letters are not lit up but its ok and as you can see we get a lot of traffic, even if its winter.
I love my little town!

Pacific Ocean at night

My neighbor had their spot lot on the ocean tonight so I snapped this picture of our stormy sea with no flash on my camera. I just left it open as long as it needed and its a really cool picture. I love living by the beach!

Wyatt

Wyatt working on his POL oral presentation for Monday. He has to stand up before a board of teachers and peers and speak for 5 - 10 mins about 2 of his projects he has done so far this year

in school. Then the panel asks him questions. Good thing he doesn't have a problem speaking in front of people.

YUMMY ! ! ! ! ! !

Tonight I went down and had a much needed margarita with a friend. I spent the day checking out skilled nursing facilities and was extremely sad at the conditions some of these people are placed in. . . I do not ever want to get old.

I L-O-V-E the rain!

It rained again and I love love love the rain! :) It is a nice change for me here, all except our leaky roof.
The rain just washes away all the dirt and crap, it leaves everything bright and clean, its like a new start. It amazes me how strong water is, it is something that can just pass through your hands and yet it can knock you over in the ocean, it can move large stones and you can catch it on your tongue. My favorite thing about water is rain! I love to slash in puddles with my kid and I love to dance in the rain, it makes me feel like a kid again.

Another Rainy Day in San Diego

Again for the 4th day in a row we had rain, not a little bit of rain but major heavy duty rain, el nino rain. Last night it took me 2 hours to drive to pick up Wyatt, normally it takes me 40 minutes. It was so nasty.

This morning at drop off I took these pictures of all the kids and their umbrellas and shorts.
Heavy afternoon rain with gray, gloomy skies.

I have been wearing my wonderful L.L. Bean clog bootsall week, I love them!
Tonight I had Wyatt ride the train home so I didn't have to drive down in the storm. Unfortunately for him the train stopped for 35 mins while they fixed something. So the train arrived an hour late.

Once we got home after dinner it was raining so hard then it started to hail and wind blew so strong I thought our single pain sliding glass door was going to break. Later we had my favorite thunder and lightning it was so beautiful!

My Story

I was given a challenge and now I challenge you as well. . . This is what I know for the next new decade 2020.

Wyatt will be 24 years old and in the engineer field

Jeff will be 33 years old and traveling somewhere I am sure

I will be 52 years old

Their will still be sunshine in Encinitas almost everyday.

As far as the rest of my story who knows. . . I have so many opportunities to create My Story, this decade will be the biggest and most important decade of my life, I cannot wait to see where they take me. Follow along and see where my story takes me.

Silver lining

We got a lot of rain yesterday and such strong winds that our 40 pound teak chairs were blowing around our deck. I love the rain! . . .

We are suppose to get a really big storm this afternoon with a lot more rain luck for me I have been able to get my class out side for a run and then for recess. They are not trapped indoors all day.

This morning as I was driving to school I say this beautiful sunrise and had to drive to the top of the hill to get a picture of it.

Wyatt Sunday

Yes, I know it is late but better late than never. I had a super busy weekend, I spent 12 hours Saturday at the hospital while Lou had her spinal surgery. So most all of my weekend was spent at the hospital trying to figure out where she was going to go after she left the hospital.

I took this picture of Wyatt at one of our favorite frozen yogurt places. I hope the orthodontist doesn't see this. . .braces and gummy worms.

I love to crochet

I just learned how to crochet a short while ago, my wonderful girlfriend Gloria taught me and now I am addicted. Yes, my Gandmother tried to teach me many years ago but I never got it. I love the colors of the yarn, the texture and all the things I am able to make, but most of all I love to make flowers!

2010 Getting to know you e-mail

I got this cute e-mail today today it is from my friend Cherilyn in Florida so I decided to take it then post it on here. Hope you enjoy if you do copy and paste it to your blog and change the answers.

1. High heels or boots? boots
2. What time did you get up this morning? 5:00
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Blind Side
4. What is your maiden name? Mason
5. What is your favorite TV show? Biggest Loser
6. What do you usually have for breakfast? Oatmeal

7. What is your middle name? Ann
8. What food do you dislike? CatFish
9. What is your favorite CD at the moment? A mixed CD

10. What characteristic do you despise? bad work ethic, taking advantage of your boss
11. Favorite Clothing? Jeans & T-shirt
12. Anywhere in the world on vacation? anywhere as long as its warm and peaceful.
13. Are you an organized person? Yes, in my own weird way (no one gets it)
14. Where would you retire to? Downtown San Diego or maybe to the woods where I can
have a farm and garden.
15. What was your most recent memorable birthday? 40th
16. What are you going to do when you finish this? crochet a beannie
17. Furthest place you are sending this? North Pole
18. Person you expect to send it back first? Deidra
19. When is your birthday? July 1
20. Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning but turning into both
21. What is your shoe size? 10
22. Do you own any animals? Yes, a cat that thinks he's a dog
23. Any news you'd like to share? Well, I'm NOT pregnant! (Me either but I am staying away
from the water at work)

24. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? Teacher & mommy
with 12 kids
25. What is your favorite flower? Sunflowers & Gerber Daisy
26.. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? every day
28.. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? yellow
29.. How is the weather right now? Warm and sunny but rain is on it's way YEAH!
30. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Gloria
31.. Favorite soft drink? dIET cOKE
32.. Favorite restaurant? el Zarape
33.. Hair color? Depends on my mood right now reddish brown

34.. What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbie Dolls
35. Summer or winter? both
36. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate
37. Coffee or tea? Coffee
38.. Wish you were still young? I am, aren't I?
39.. Do you want your friends to email you back? yes please
40. When was the last time you cried? watching Blind Side

41.. What is under your bed? drawers

42. What did you do last night? Went to the hospital, then picked up Wyatt from school at
8 then the eliptical for 60 mins.

43.. What are you afraid of? not much, I don't like to live in fear.
44.. Salty or sweet? both more salty right now
45.. Best quality you have? Dependable, cheeful, and a great friend

46.. How many years at your current job? 5 years
47.. Favorite day of the week? all of them
48. How many people will you send this to? Haven't gone through my list yet, but a bunch
49. How many will respond? ?

50. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? Absolutely

Remember when. . .

How much fun is Silly String? You cannot help but have fun and laugh when you spray it. Being a kid at any age is great, sometimes we get caught up in our day to day life we forget how much fun it is to spray each other with Silly String or shake up a soda bottle and spray it at each other, some times it is good to just let go and have fun.
A few years back Wyatt use to wear his sneakers untied and I was about to yell at him and I yelled "Wyatt!. . . ." he said "what?" I was like I totally use to do that and my dad would get so annoyed so I said " I use to wear my sneakers untied too when I was young." he thought that was pretty cool. Guess what he never tripped or fell over from his shoes untied and now his shoes are tied.

Pannikin

This is the Pannikin, a very popular coffee spot right down the street from my house. It has a long line every morning, yes longer than Starbucks. This building use to be an old train depot here in Encinitas, the feeling when you walk into is a rush of excitement, maybe its the smell of old wood and coffee or maybe its part of stepping into a part of our local history. If you haven't tried the Pannikin you should stop by some day for a yummy cup of coffee but don't come if you are in a hurry.

My Hometown

moonlight beach, originally uploaded by schulz_cathy.

I live in such a beautiful place and decided I need to start photographing it more. Here is a beautiful picture I took at Moonlight Beach facing North. This past weekend the waves were so big and amazing. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

Yes sir that's my baby . . .

Here is this weeks Sunday picture! Have you been taking a weekly, bi-weekly or daily picture of your child? It is a great way to document how much they change over the 365 days of 2010.
For me trying to get a picture of my 14 year old son is much more of a challenge but he is willing to let me shoot him once a week. My family knows me as the stalkaratzi. . .so be it, I love my family and want to capture their life as they grow up, I want to have their life story caught in each photo. . . WHY DON'T THEY GET THAT?

Some day they will thank me or at least their wives will thank me for capturing their life. Keep creating those wonderful story pictures so in the future you will remember what each and every day was about. Have fun, and enjoy.

Another beautiful sunset

Tonight was just another one of those beautiful sunsets you try to capture with your camera but you know in your heart that is just will not do God's creation justice. I am just so loving all the orange and purple shades these winter sunsets give us. it is truley amazing.

First week of 2010

So the first week of 2010 is finally over, it has been a long week! This week started out with Jeff's fantastic art show, which is where I took this picture of he and Dahlia.
I went back to school this week and I visited the hospital nightly to see Jeannie's cousin Lou. We found out this week that she is going to have to have surgery for her severed spine next Saturday. All this because someone was driving to fast and ran into the back of the car she was a passenger in 3 weeks ago. I had 2 students out of school this week for a cold and pink eye.
Tomorrow I start back at my 1/2 marathon walk training. Yikes, I am so out of shape, I have been walking the stairs at the hospital and even did the 7 floors of stairs to meet the surgeon. I was so winded.
I hope next week is slower but I doubt it sine tomorrow is the big First Robotic Kick off for 2010 season, so I seriously doubt that my life will be easier next week.

Send me good wishes for the next 7 weeks of robotic season. I will be making dinners and taking them for the team so am gonna be a busy momma.

Fun Picture

I found this fun website and had a great time with the pictures.

My word for the year is . . .

FUN

FUN is my word for the year and I need to have more of it!
More FUN with Wyatt and
More FUN for myself.

I love life and sometime like the view from my house I take it for granted, I get hung up on day to day things and forget to stop and have fun. Wyatt is a freshman and I don't have many more years to have him with me everyday. So I am hoping to capture fun to capture us/me having fun this year.

Fun with my new fish eye lens

OK I got this great new fish eye lens for Christmas and it is so much fun. I took great pictures of my class and we all laughed so much as we played the slideshow over and over yesterday afternoon.

Caps for Sale

So my friend Gloria was getting on me today because I have not blogged since Sunday. . . well I have been a little busy. I made 2 beanies and went back to school Monday so I have an excuse . . .right? Gloria and I are hoping to get a booth at this amazing craft fair next December and so I am making these cute beanies to sell there as well as some cute scarves I am going to make.
So I do have a good excuse for not blogging.

Wyatt Sunday

I will be lucky if I am able to pull this off but one of my goals for 2010 is to take a picture of Wyatt every Sunday and post it. It is difficult because he is a teenage boy and doesn't want me to take his picture all the time. I am a mom and don't want to miss an opportunity to capture his life. I love this guy and don't want to miss a thing.

This challenge is a super fun way to watch him change and grow this year so wish us both luck.

I love this giant water bubble! You can almost feel the water flowing just looking at this picture. I think if I could have one thing in my yard it would be this giant water bubble, I love water, Wyatt loves water it calms us both down.

Jeff's Art at Trash Pretty

Jeff has some of his art hanging at Trash Pretty in Laguna Beach, each one is a print using homemade stamps, carved, printed, carved deeper re stamped over the previous stamp. They came out so cool, he is so talented as an artist, I was so excited for him. Now is wants to get out and create stamps for people.

Happy New Year!

Last night I went to dinner with my friend Gloria then after dinner we walked down 101 to STARBUCKS the one thing I wanted before I hit my weight loss again was a chocolate frosted cupcake from Starbucks. When I walked in and saw the shelf empty my heart sank then I saw 9 cupcakes on a plate and the man told us they were free. . .I asked him if we could have ALL of them. No not all for me, to take back to Gloria's for the kids and Lina. They boxed them up and we got our coffee and off we went back to our cars.




Here is my yummy chocolate Starbucks cupcake.