Vacation Recap - Part 1

I have been home for a week and a half and this is the first post I am making since. And I am going to recap my vacation and events since in more than one post. Because if I don't, it will be a crazy long post. And because it's my blog and I can do what I want.
We started out as planned early Thursday morning, June 12. My mom came over about 3:30am so we could get her car loaded up. I was pretty happy that I got to bed around 11, which was earlier then I had feared might happen. We headed out at exactly 4:00 and about 15 minutes later my boy realized that he forgot his retainer at home. I couldn't exactly buy a new one, so we turned around and went back for it. It set us back about 45 minutes, but all in all it could have been worse. The rest of the drive went as planned and the kids did great! My boy listened to the new Madonna CD almost the entire way and my girl listened to the Alvin & the Chipmunks movie soundtrack. They did some crafts that my mom brought for them and they slept. It went very smoothly. I drove the whole way there. We stopped once for breakfast in Grand Junction (about 4 hours into the drive) and the other times we stopped were for gas and we used these for bathroom breaks and snacks. It took longer then I had hoped; we didn't get to my sister's until after 9 that night, making the total time about 17 hours. But we did get there, with no car troubles, arguments or meltdowns. I think it was a success.

1.)The kids in the backseat 2.)Somewhere in Utah 3.)My boy - traveling is exhausting!

By the time we got there, we were tired and hot and so happy to be out of the car. We unloaded everything, put our jammies on and visited shortly before going to bed. I think we all slept very good that night. We spent Friday just hanging out. It was the last day of school for my nieces, so they got out early. All the kids went swimming that evening.

1.)Kisses! MONephew & MONiece 2.)What a big girl! 3.)All the big kids- swimming wore them out!

Saturday was pretty much more of the same except that early that morning we all went and had pictures taken by a friend of my sister. Considering the heat and the restless kids, they turned out pretty good. The kids went swimming again and then we baked sugar cookies and frosted them. It was a lot of fun, and kept them busy for a while. They spent a lot of time on the Wii also. What fun times they had with that! We played Scrabble that night. I had never played before, so it was a little difficult getting the hang of it. Then we played Scattergories which I LOVE! The kids all took turns playing with us, which led to some pretty funny answers.

1.)All of us 2.)Me with my kids 3.)With my mom & sisters

1.)CANiece2 and my boy on the Wii 2.)CANiece1 & MONephew frosting cookies

Sunday was Father's Day and after we all talked to my dad, we headed to my brother-in-law's parents house to grill carne asada and chicken. They have a pool and the kids were in it for hours. They had such a great time. The food was wonderful and we watched Tiger Woods play in the US Open. We went to high school with Tiger, so we really enjoy watching him do so well.

1.)All the kids in the pool 2.)My kids in the pool

The next day we headed to Orange County, and that's where I will pick up the next installment. As I've been planning these posts, I've been trying to figure out how to refer to my family members. I feel strongly about not putting the kids names on here, and I think I'm going to make that consistent with my sisters too. So I think I've decided what to do with them without it being too cryptic and confusing.

CASis - my sister who lives in California

CANiece1 - my 13 year old niece; oldest daughter of CASis

CANiece2 - my 10 year old niece; youngest daughter of CASis

MOSis - my sister who lives in Missouri; also the older twin of CASis

MONephew - my 13 year old nephew; son of MOSis

MONiece - my 1 year old niece; daughter of MOSis

Thank you Hillary

I feel a lot of things about the Democratic primary process. Sadness. Pride. Anger. Relief.I am in awe of the history we Democrats have made. I voted for Hillary Clinton in my primary. I will vote for Barack Obama in the general election. That will represent two first in my voting lifetime: my first vote for a legitimate female presidential candidate and my first vote for a legitimate African-American presidential candidate. Thanks to them, American presidential politics looks a little more like America.And while the significance of this moment in our nation’s racial reconciliation will be written about in history books from here until eternity, I can’t help but feel a lingering ache about what the history books will no doubt ignore. And what they will ignore is this. Many, many women in America feel hurt by this primary process. We feel berated. We feel marginalized. We feel – as Hillary mentioned in her final primary speech Tuesday – invisible.And as news of Hillary’s impending concession on Friday makes the rounds, we can’t help but think that many, many men in America are thinking: “Yes, we’re finally rid of that woman!” Or to put their sentiments less charitably (but possibly more accurately): “Thank God, the bitch is gone!”The misogyny that has existed in this campaign is not a question. There is no, “Was there sexism in the primary process?” That is simply a part of a large chunk of the rhetoric and coverage we were bombarded with every day.It was there in the depiction of Hillary to every man’s first wife in probate court. It was there in the oh-so-charming Hillary nutcracker. It was there in the she-devil graphics. It was there in the comparisons to Glenn Close’s psychotic stalker in “Fatal Attraction.” It was there in the insistence, for months and months, that she should quit even while she was still winning.She handled all of that with grace and strength, just as Obama handled the racist attacks against him with grace and strengths. I refuse to play the “my otherness is more important than your otherness”-game. No African-American or woman has ever run as the major party candidate in a presidential election, let alone been elected. Yes, both made mistakes and, at times, played the otherness card. Yes, there was mismanagement and missteps in Hillary’s campaign. But no amount of strategizing can overcome a problem that people simply refuse to admit exists.I feel the media’s coverage and presidential primary became a de facto referendum on the question of whether we still have gender discrimination in this country. And I feel like we lost the argument. It’s not they’re right and we’re wrong. It’s that too many people just didn’t want to hear it. What are you talking about, woman? You’re equal enough, honey. Love the paintsuit, babe.What I mostly feel tonight is exhausted. I feel emotionally drained and I feel a little ashamed at my relief. Yes, I wanted Hillary to win. But after seeing the bruising, relentless, unabashed negation of the very concept that there might still be sexism in our culture, I’m tired of fighting. I know I shouldn’t feel this defeated by the bludgeoning blowhards who insists it’s our problem, not theirs. But I am.While emailing back and forth with friends Tuesday about Obama’s clinching the nomination, one mirrored my feelings perfectly. She said at least they won’t have Hillary to kick around anymore. I’m glad she won’t have to face the assault anymore. I’m glad I won’t have to hear it anymore. But I hope that amid her own disappointment she has the time to feel proud of what she has accomplished. Record-breaking turnout. Unprecedented number of votes. Nearly half of all Democrats. She has earned the right to celebrate her successes and thank her supporters. She has earned our respect.Often, while reading about Hillary’s supporters and successes, I was surprised by my own visceral reaction to each accomplishment. In a way, it felt like Hillary’s success was my success. That her triumph was our triumph. Maybe that highest and hardest glass ceiling she spoke of could finally be shattered. I can’t tell you the number of times I got a lump in my throat thinking both of her supporters born before women even had the chance to vote and the next generation looking to her as an example of the limitless possibilities of our gender. When done right, politics is and will always be deeply personal.What the history books will probably fail to mention is the incredible impact her candidacy has had on women in this country. While I feel disillusioned and worn out today, I hope that ache soon will be filled with a pride and determination that a woman can and will be president in my lifetime. And when she takes the oath of office, if it’s not Hillary herself, I hope she thanks Hillary for blazing the trail and taking the hits.I’m proud I got to vote for her. I am proud of her. Thanks, Hillary.

http://dorothysurrenders.blogspot.com/index.html

I couldn't have put this any better.

Less Than A Week

By this time next week, we will be on the road. The plan is to leave about 4am. It's going to take us approximately 15 hours to get to my sister's house in Indio. It's close to Palm Springs. IN THE DESERT. IN JUNE. I am not a lover of the heat, this should be interesting. We will be there for until early Monday when we will set out for Orange County and my grandma/aunt's house. We will ALL stay there until I leave to go to Eric's on Thursday night and then I fly home on Saturday. And by ALL I mean: me & my 2 kids, my mom, my sister & her 2 kids, my other sister and her 2 kids and then of course my grandma & aunt. It's a 3 bedroom house. It's going to be an adventure. Plus, Eric is going to come stay too from Tuesday night through Thursday. CRAZY! But fun I'm sure. I'm really looking forward to it.

To-Do-List status: The kids have almost all of their laundry done. All they have left to do is their white clothes, which I still do for them. After having them try it and ending up with clothes that either smelled very strongly of bleach or the clothes they were wearing getting ruined when bleach got splashed on them, I decided it would be ok to take that back from them. We went through their dressers and closets last night and pulled out all the fall/winter clothes to go for donation. I did the same with my closet, but mine just go in a box to be pulled out after summer. I vacuumed the family room with my new vacuum and am in love with it. It is a Hoover Self-Propelled Bagged WindTunnel. I haven't had a vacuum with a bag in a long time, but this one uses a Hepa Filtration bag and has filters all over it, so I'm ok with it. I used almost all of the attachments just in the family room and on the stairs leading to to the family room. I LOVE IT. It has so much suction. Did I mention how much I love it? I wanted to get the living room done last night, but by the time we got home from Karate I was ready to climb into bed.

That's all for now. Time to get to work.

One weekend down...

...and one to go before we leave. I feel really good about what I got done this weekend. I mowed the back and side yards and went back over the front yard. I got all of my laundry done and the kids new clothes are done. My girl & I washed out Noel's cage (her chinchilla). We bought a new vacuum cleaner. Ours died a couple of months ago and although I've been taking the one from work home occasionally, my carpets really haven't been vacuumed properly since. I put it together this morning and am going to break it in tonight.

The tickets to Madonna's concert went on sale Saturday morning and I got tickets for Eric & I. I am so excited about seeing her. When I was 13 my mom went to see her in concert. She was going with a group of people and there was one person who ended up not being able to go at the last minute. I begged and begged my mom to let me go, but they ended up taking someone else. I was so upset, I can still remember crying when my mom left for the concert. But now it's my turn! And I get the added bonus of Eric going with me. It's like my birthday and Christmas all wrapped up in one. The show isn't until November. How crazy that the tickets went on sale 5 months ahead of time! Oh well, it's Madonna and I'm going!!!

My remaining To-Do list is not so overwhelming. The kids are out of school now, so they are responsible for the rest of their laundry. I still have to get my boy's fish tank cleaned out. I want to get the house vacuumed - with my new vacuum. Need to get the remaining incidentals for the trip: sunscreen, toiletries, etc. I really should start a list so we don't forget anything. I have 9 days left before we leave. I think this is do-able.

2 Weeks

Two weeks from right now we will be driving to California. Two.Weeks. I am actually starting to feel a little better about this and letting the excitement take over for the anxiety. It's a good thing. What got me to here?

This last week has been really busy. On Saturday, my boy had his normal early Karate class, but because it was the Memorial Day weekend and the other classes were cancelled they started it at 8:30 instead of 7:30. That was nice. I mowed the front yard and thought I was going to die. Seriously. After I was done, I sat down and couldn't catch my breath and my heart was pounding so hard and fast I thought I might pass out. Needless to say, I didn't get the side yard or the backyard done. That is still on my Must Be Done Before Leaving list. We went out that night for a goodbye get-together for a friend of Shell's that is moving out of state. We went to a straight bar downtown. Now, I don't go out that much and when I do we go to Charlie's which is a gay bar. I think I'm going to stick with gay bars from now on as much as possible. I am so thankful that I am not doing the "dating thing", and that I don't have to be subjected to the meat market that is straight clubs too often. I guess I'm just too old and too married to appreciate it. But it was fun to see people from Shell's work that I don't usually hang out with. Usually I dance when we go to Charlie's, and I did a little but I just wasn't as comfortable.

The kids spent the night at my parents, which was good since we didn't get home until 3:30am. Willow woke me up at 6:15 to go outside, and then I went back to sleep. Joe decided it was time to get up at 9. Oh well. I woke Shell up about 10:30 and then we got ready to go shopping. My mom went with us, which was a first. Shell, as usual, spent so much more than we should have, but the sales were really amazing. We went to Fashion Bug, J.C. Penney's, Lane Bryant and Torrid. We had lunch at Long John Silvers (I wasn't impressed). My wife worked her usual magic and picked out clothes that looked really good on me. I am so glad that I have her, because otherwise I certainly wouldn't have the patience to find anything. We were gone for 6 hours. Whew! When we were done, we went back to my parents house (my dad kept the kids while we shopped), got takeout Mexican food and then went home. Monday, we went back to Penney's so Shell could get a few things then back to my parents house to BBQ hamburgers and hot dogs. We played two games of Shanghai and went home. Now I have so much laundry to do before we leave. The kids and I all have new clothes to wash.

This week is the last week of school. yesterday was Field Day and as usual, my son got a sunburn. The back of his neck is lobster red and very sore. So we skipped Karate last night and I got a start on the laundry. All the new stuff and the clothes already in hampers is very overwhelming right now. Two Weeks to go. I told Shell that other then Karate, I can't leave the house this weekend. I HAVE to finish mowing. I HAVE to get through the laundry. The boy and I HAVE to clean his fish tank. Oh boy.

I have stayed up until after 11 the last two night trying to make a dent in the laundry and getting some shows cleaned out of the DVR. I am a bit tired. I am hoping that I can get so much accomplished this weekend that I just have to do a little every day next week to stay on top of it. Next weekend is going to be pretty full. Saturday we have our hair appointment and Sunday is Pedicure and Manicure day. I'm very excited for this, and mom is getting her hair done and nails too. Can't wait!

Oh yeah, the other thing that helped me feel a little less anxious about the trip. I was telling Eric about how bad it makes me feel that I am so heavy, even heavier then when I was there just last spring. And because he is the best, he said that nobody cares how much I weigh. AND he found the pictures he took at my wedding and I get to see them finally. I know that in my mind somewhere I know that the people who I love don't care what I weigh, but I know that it is noticed. I know that I notice when someone I know gains a lot of weight. I don't judge or think bad things about them, but I do notice. I've come to terms with the fact that I can't do anything about my weight in the next two weeks, but I am definitely not going to make it worse. I broke out my Walk Away the Pounds DVD and walked 2 miles on Tuesday night and one mile last night. I haven't bought any fast food this week and am committed to following that through until we leave.

That's it for now. Here is a picture of Shell and I Saturday night at the bar.

Counting days

I feel like that's all we're doing around here lately. The kids have 6 days of school left...Madonna tickets go on sale in 10 days...22 days until we leave for California. The last two weekends have been busy, and the next 3 before we leave will be as well. I am starting to panic and feel very anxious when I think about it all. I have not taken any pictures since the de-bracing of my boy. I think I have been somewhat depressed, probably for a couple of months. I'm not familiar with depression, so I kept thinking that I couldn't be because I am not always sad. But I don't think that it is a continual sadness, so maybe???

Anyway, the lowdown on recent events:
Mother's Day was nice. My Willow dog waited until almost 7:00 to wake me up to let her outside. So much for sleeping in! Well, I guess it was since I get up at 5:45 during the week and 6:00 on Saturdays. Shell & I exchanged gifts while the kids were sleeping. They slept in until almost 10. I got Shell a Pancake Puff Pan (she saw it on an infomercial), and the Martina McBride Live CD/DVD. She got me a gift certificate to get a manicure and pedicure before our trip. She got one for my mom too. She's awesome like that sometimes. After the kids got up, we made Pancake Puffs and it actually worked the way it did on the infomercial. I was so glad. And they were really good too. We went over to my parents for barbecued steaks, twice baked potatoes and salad. Yum! I LOVE BBQ steak. That was pretty much it for the day.
Last weekend was a blur. There was no 7:30am Karate review class on Saturday, so we got to sleep in. Willow woke me up at 7:00, but then I went back to sleep until almost 10. It was lovely. My girl had spent the night at her friend's house the night before, and after the boy woke up he decided that he wanted to meet them at the park. So off he went. They all trampled back just in time to get ready to go to a birthday party. That night, Shell & I went to see A Chorus Line. It was so great. I was a little nervous because she is so in love with the movie and I wasn't sure if the stage show would live up to that. But it did and she loved it as well. The kids stayed the night at Dana's, so after the show we went to Denver Diner to eat and then went home. Sunday was a rough day. After picking up the kids, we headed to my parent's house. Their Asia dog had become considerably worse in the last couple of weeks and they decided that the best thing for her was to put her to sleep. My mom asked me to go with my dad, she knew she just couldn't be there for it. After Shell & the kids had a chance to love on her, we headed to the vet. It was heartbreaking to see my dad so upset. She was an amazing dog and everybody loved her. I told my mom that after she was gone, she seemed more at peace then she hadbeen in a long time. It was a good thing, but so hard. Shell & the kids had stayed with my mom while we were gone, so after my dad & I returned, we just hung out for awhile. My girl had a very hard time with it, she is very sensitive when it comes to animals and although she understood why, it still hurt. I am glad that she is exposed to these things, but her tears broke my heart. I hurt for her still.
Moving on... I got our Wicked tickets in the mail. I am so excited to take the kids to see this while we are in CA. Eric is going too. We are not going to tell them about it, at all. They will be told that we are going to a nice restaurant for dinner with Uncle Eric and then just end up at the theater instead. I can't wait! To be honest, it's the one part of this trip that I am really looking forward to. Well, actually I am very much looking forward to seeing everyone, I just wish I was going to be doing it in a different body. It's so irritating to me that I have obviously known about this trip for months and yet have done nothing to try to lose weight. Quite the opposite actually. On too many occasions to count I have woke up in the morning telling myself that today is the day that I'm going to start. And then I end up at Taco Bell or McDonalds for lunch. And I wasn't eating a salad either. I am angry and frustrated and disappointed and sad. There are only 3 weeks left before we leave, and the cute clothes that we spent a fortune on last spring when I went out there don't fit me now. I don't know what I am going to wear this time. I don't know what else to say. So I'm done on that topic for now. Because really, what else is there to say?

Catching Up

There is no easy or quick way to do this, so I guess I'll just jump in. A lot has been happening, and whenever I think I'm going to write about something I decide to wait to include the next event and so on. To make it less painful, I'll make it more about the pics and less about the dialog. We'll see how that goes...

On April 11 & 12, my boy endured 2 days of intense testing in front of master instructors to earn his High Brown Belt. He passed. It was awesome and I was (am) so proud of him. The day after was for rest and relaxation.

On the left:Hanging out with sis & the dogs. On the right: The boy and our Willow dog

On April 26, he had a progress check and then the official graduation where he got his new belt.

Top Left: A high side kick. Top Right: Does he look nervous to you? Bottom: Check out those freckles!

Top two: Getting his new belt from his instructor. Bottom: Proudly wearing his new High Brown Belt

The 26th was also my niece's 10th birthday. She is 3 months older then my kids. Happy birthday to her!

On May 3rd, we saw Margaret Cho at the Paramount Theatre. She cracks me up, we really enjoy her humor. Ian Harvie opened for her. He is a FTM transgender, and is hilarious! We had such a great time. The 3rd was also the 5 year anniversary of our wedding. I should blog about that! From that day..

May 5 was my 34th birthday. Shell made me a delicious dinner when I got home from work, and I opened cards & gifts from her and the kids. I got the new George Michael CD, a Bruce Sprinsteen Greatest Hits CD, and a Starbucks gift card. We are going to see A Chorus Line next week, which was partly for my birthday as well. So Happy Birthday to me!

On my birthday. 34's not so bad.

And then to wrap it up, my boy got his braces off this morning. He'll get his retainers in 2 weeks, but until then, he's got naked teeth. They look great. Here is a comparison to show how far he's come. Keep in mind that he has lost about 3 teeth in the last month, so those are still growing back in.

Before... And After

So that about wraps up the fun we've been having. I have purchased all 3 return trip tickets for next month and have put away the rest of my stimulus check for the trip. I really really want to buy Wicked tickets for the kids and I and Eric. I have to do that soon. Found out today that Madonna is coming to Denver on her tour. Shell has no desire to see her, so she recommended that we fly Eric out (the concert is in Nov.) and buy him a ticket to go with me. We planned a trip once before that centered around him & I going to see Tina Turner in concert. Madonna tickets go on sale May 31. I hope we can get tickets, I'm sure they will go fast.

Other than all that... Mother's Day is Sunday. We don't have any plans yet, but I'm sure we'll end up over at my parent's house.

This was a fun post. I should definitely do it again sometime.