Monday, March 30, 2009

Monday's Memories - April Fool's Day



April Fool's Day can sometimes be fun. I loved the year when I tricked Mike to be believe we had a leak under the kitchen sink. He had just repaired a leak about a week before. Mike dislikes working on the plumbing, but won't call a plumber. I knew he would NOT be happy with another leak. When he came home on April Fools Day, I told him that we had yet another leak. He didn't believe me at first, until I told him come look. I had conveniently placed a bucket under the sink and filled it with water. I am not sure how I managed not to giggle. The water in the bucket convinced him totally. It was so fun to tell him, "Got Ya!"

Sometimes, however April Fools jokes can go a little wrong and backfire. Like the time that I helped to trick Katie's high school track coach. Katie is known for, shall we say, injuring herself rather frequently. (She will deny it, you wait and see.) So it didn't seem to far fetched that she could be hurt. April Fools Day happened to be the same day as a track meet. Katie went to school uninjured but with her arm in a sling!! At first, Coach Tucker thought she was just kidding, until she provided a note from her mom. I can't believe I did that. It's one thing to trick a member of your family, and something totally different to trick a coach. Anyway, Coach Tucker ended up scratching Katie from the race before she could tell him, "APRIL FOOL'S!!". OOPS!! That was not a good thing. It did get worked out before the end of the day and she did get to race. At awards night Coach Tucker had to share the whole incident with everyone. Oh, my, I felt like crawling under the table!!

So what are your plans for this April Fool's Day??

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Picking Myself Up

I participated in event this weekend, and was willfully unprepared for the task at hand. At first, I tried to blame others, but then took a hard look at myself and realized the problem was totally my own responsibility. Soul searching can be so painful at times. But, I know that I can be forgiven, both from those my actions or lack thereof proved to be a disappointment and most importantly from my Heavenly Father. Now it is time to just pick myself up, forgive my self (why are we hardest on ourselves?) and make it right!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Is That Snow on the Central Coast Or Is It Just Spring??



While walking along a local bike trail yesterday, we came across an unusual sight. I exclaimed, "It looks just like snow". Just then a young boy on a bike rode by and exclaimed, "It looks just like snow"!! Where have I heard that before!!




It does look like snow, doesn't it??






But, it's 70 degrees outside, so it can't be snow.




Oh, take a closer look. It's Spring, the seeds have sprung and are flying all over. How amazing is nature??





Further up the path we played peek-a-boo with a heron hiding in this tree!!




When we returned home this cute little dove was waiting for us. His companion got spooked and flew away. This pair of Mourning Doves have been frequenting our front yard. I'm surprised he let me get so close. Do they know I'm the one that fills the bird feeder and I'm happy they came to visit??

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

GOODBYE FOIL, HELLO SUNSHINE!!




Woo Hoo!! Mike is done with graveyard shift. The foil that has been covering my bedroom windows for the past two months is now gone!!






The sun shining in warms my heart!!



Monday, March 23, 2009

Monday's Memories - Stitches

Isn't it funny, that growing up as the only sister among three brothers, I was the one with the most stitches. Actually, I'm pretty sure I was the ONLY one who ever got stitches. And not just once, or twice, but three times!!

The first time I was in third grade, maybe fourth. It happened in school, in the bathroom of all places. There was a door missing in one of the stalls, and I thought it would be fun to reach my hands up to the bar that was over the missing the door and swing!! I guess the monkey bars in the playground did not satisfy my urge to swing. Well, when my shin made contact with the door hinge that was sticking out, it wasn't a pretty sight!! I had to go back to class with a bleeding shin, was sent to the office, parents called and off to get stitches. I was embarrassed it happened in the bathroom.

The second time, I was in high school. My brothers had locked me out of the house. I was mad and wanted to get back in immediately!! So, not thinking, I banged on the glass part of the door instead of the wood!! Not a good thing for my hand. I had three lacerations that required stitches that time. Actually I looked like I slit my wrist. I learned, never, ever knock on the glass part of a door!! Find the wood!

The third time, was about a year later. I was up on stepping stool getting down a glass jar of pickles, and somehow stumbled on the way down, broke the jar and cut my hand again. In fact the same hand as last time.

So, there you have it. I'm just a clumsy person!! I have had a few stitches here and there as an adult too!! Just keep me away from sharp things!! I have never broken a bone though!! Have you ever injured yourself??


Sunday, March 22, 2009

I COULD HAVE....

written so many things in my blog the last two weeks. But I didn't.
Funny, how the daughter that doesn't even keep a blog complained that I hadn't written in mine!!

Anyway, to make up for not writing in my blog here is the short version of some of the things that have been on my mind for the past two weeks.

I don't like cold ugly purple feet. It's hard for sores to heal. And it doesn't help when the scabs get rubbed off by a towel. Will they ever heal??

Deviled eggs placed under driver seat and then forgotten smell bad after two weeks.

Our van doesn't go any where when the battery is dead.

Why do jerks steal peoples cars and don't give back the baby car seat and camera with baby pictures ??

What a surprise there is MLA in front of my name in Skype??

It was great to see Cori home from her mission to Finland!!

Uncle Jay just makes me laugh.

Why do the crows steal the blue jay's peanuts? How rude!!

Spring has sprung and the flowers are beautiful and the jasmine smell wonderful!!

The light is at the end of the tunnel!!



Monday, March 9, 2009

Monday's Memories

My Hitchhiking Story for Laurel
and anyone else who wants to read it.


We were still just dating in 1971 when I flew up to San Francisco early one Saturday morning to join Mike in his drive back to Southern California. Still in the Navy, he had just completed Electricians School at Treasure Island. His next station was going to be the USS Juneau out of Long Beach. This was going to be a fun day trip enjoying Highway One along the Big Sur Coast. We were expected to be back home late in the evening. The scenery was breathtaking as we drove along the narrow, windy road. There were steps cliffs on the right leading down to the ocean below and mountains to the left, in some places covered with coastal redwoods. We took our time and stopped here and there to take in the sights. We were just happy to be together.

Then it happened, the car started overheating. So Mike stopped his car, looked under the hood and realized right away that the fan belt was missing. We were just on a little turn-out, basically in the middle of nowhere. Well, we couldn't go any further without a fan belt, so we decided to hitchhike to the nearest town south, San Simeon. Having never hitchhiked before, I was rather nervous. But we really had no choice. We couldn't go any further and it was too far to walk. Luckily, a very nice couple stopped and took us to a little garage in San Simeon. By then it was very late in the afternoon. We realized that by the time we got back up to the car with the fan belt it would be too dark to install it. So, we decided to spend the night at a hotel in San Simeon.

There was one very big problem with that solution. In one word. MONEY. There was no ATM, neither of us had a credit card to our name, and we only had enough money for one hotel room. Remember, I said we were dating. My parents were expecting me home that night. Instead, I had to call them and say..."Guess what, I'm spending the night in a hotel room with my boyfriend. No worries!!" To say my Dad was mad is an understatement.

By the way, nothing happened that night. Poor Mike, I made him sleep on the floor!!

The plan the next morning was that Mike would hitchhike back up alone, install the fan belt and come back down and pick me up at the hotel. We could be on our way by 10 am at the latest. 10 am comes and goes, 11 am comes and go. Noon came, and I had to check out of the hotel. Still no Mike. I had visions of him driving fast and flying off the cliff unto the depths of the ocean below. I felt very alone. I wasn't sure what to do. I was far from home, didn't know anyone around. I didn't know who to call, I didn't have any money and I didn't know what happened to my boyfriend. Finally, by 1pm or maybe it was even 2pm, Mikes pulls up. Was I ever happy to see him!! It turns out when he got to the car, he found out the fan belt he had was the wrong size. Something, about his make and model had two different size engines, with two different size fan belts. Who knew?? Anyway, this time he hitchhiked north. It was a little further to go, but he found the old fan belt, so he would know the correct size. It was a long very frustrating morning for him, and a long very scary morning for me.

So, that is the one and only time I have hitchhiked. By the way, my dad didnt' stay mad for too long.


P.S Now it's Laurel's turn to tell about skinny dipping!! See comments here.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Genealogy Day

It's the last day of Celebrate Your Name Week!! Genealogy is one of the fastest growing hobbies around. It's a celebration of the people behind the names, our ancestors who came before us. I love researching my family history, to me it's not just names. The names represent people. People who are a part of me. Here are some of the surnames in my ancestry and where they come from. Maybe you know some one with one of these surnames.

Crowley, Finnicane/Finnegan, and Powers from Ireland

Constantineau, Raymond/Raimond, Ploufe, Plantier, Gelineau
Jourdain, Tessier, Bechard, Robert, Lapierre, Danuais, Bourdeau, Janot, Poyer and
Bombardier from Quebec Canada

DiMaggio, Colarulli, DiProspero, and Capponi San Felice Circeo, Italy

Giannetti, Morlani, L'Aurora,and Voleri from Terracina, Italy

Maybe we are distant cousins. How cool would that be??

Want to know more about your ancestors. Here are some great genealogy web sites to get you started: Family Search Internet, Cyndi's List and Rootsweb . Have fun!!



Saturday, March 7, 2009

It's Alice


Today is
Middle Name Pride Day. The challenge we were given was to tell three people, who didn't already know, our middle name. So, hopeful there will be three of you, at least, reading this who didn't know.

I have never known anyone named Alice, have you?? I'm still appalled that my given name comes from a pin-up girl. However, my middle name is the name of my mother's best friend mother, Alice Nelson. Alice was like a mother to my mother. I wonder what ever happened to her. I don't remember ever meeting her, but I am sure that would have been lovely.

Friday, March 6, 2009

The Name Game

Today for Celebrate Your Name Week, we were suppose to celebrate our name by wearing it proudly, as in wearing a nametag. I wasn't about to do that. I'm dorky enough already. So, I have two idea's for today. One serious and one just for fun. First the serious.

Have you ever thought of what names get tagged on to people just because they maybe different then you. Maybe they take a little bit longer to speak then some of us. Or maybe they need a little more time to learn new things. Maybe they have a intellectual disability. There is a nasty word that has been tagged on people in the past. It's the "R" word. Will you join with me and the Special Olympic's Program to Spreading the Word to End the Word? Thank you.


Now, just for a little fun Here is a game I found on Holly's Facebook.
Here goes.


1.YOUR REAL NAME: Cindy

2.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME:(mother and fathers middle names)
Casey Leo

3.NASCAR NAME:(first name of your mother's dad, father's dad)
Peter John

4.STAR WARS NAME:(the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)
Prici

5.DETECTIVE NAME:(favorite color, favorite animal)
GreenTiger

6.SOAP OPERA NAME:(middle name, town where you were born)
Alice Rochester

7.SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning)
The Blue Lemonade

8.FLY NAME:(first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name)
Cice

9.STREET NAME:(fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie)
Moosetracks Chocolate Chip


10.YOUR GOTH NAME:(black, and the name of one of your pets
Black Whitie


11. COWBOY NAME: (your middle name and street that you currently work on):
Alice Margarita

Thursday, March 5, 2009

I Am A Goddess



I bet you didn't know that the name Cynthia means "goddess of the moon".
Celebrate Your Name by looking up the meaning.
What does your name mean?

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Unique Names

It's day three of Celebrate Your Name week.

It's unique name day. Do you know someone with a unique name?

In my heritage there are some very unique names. Take Nelson for example, I think that is a rather unique given name. Added to that he has a somewhat unique surname, Constantineau. No wonder he would just go by the name Teno.

Then there is Outchibahabaokoueou Manithabehick, who married Roch Manitouabeouich. They were members of the Huron Nation. You can read about them here and another interesting item about their daughter here. One day while play around in Family Tree, this couple showed up as my tenth great grandparents. I have not verified yet that they are indeed my ancestors but it's all very intriquing to me.

As an amateur genealogist I have to say that I love unique names!! It makes it so much easier to find your ancestors.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Fun With Names

In honor of Fun with Names Day, I present to you two songs about Cindy.

I can remember my Dad singing the chorus of this song to me when I was little.


Cindy Oh Cindy

Cindy, o Cindy!
Cindy, don’t let me down!
Write me a letter soon,
And I’ll be homeward bound!

I joined the navy to see the world;
But nowhere could I find
A girl as sweet as Cindy,
The girl I left behind.
I’ve sailed the wide world over,
Can’t get her out of my mind.

Cindy, o Cindy!
Cindy, don’t let me down!
Write me a letter soon,
And I’ll be homeward bound!

I see her sweet face in ev’ry wave,
Her lips kiss ev’ry breeze.
Her lovin’ arms reach out for me
Though calm and stormy seas.
At night, I pace the lonely deck,
Caressed by memories.

Cindy, o Cindy!
Cindy, don’t let me down!
Write me a letter soon,
And I’ll be homeward bound!

I know, my Cindy is waiting,
As I walk the deck, alone.
Her lovin’ arms reach out for me.
Soon, I’ll be headin’ home.
Then, my sailin’ days will be over,
And no more will I roam.


Cindy, o Cindy!
Cindy, don’t let me down!
Write me a letter soon,
And I’ll be homeward bound!


I love it when the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings this song. It's fun to watch the clap at the end!!

One, two, three, four…
I wish I was an apple
A-hangin' on a tree
And every time my Cindy passed
She'd take a bite of me

Get along, home, Cindy
Cindy, get along home
Get along home, Cindy
Cindy, I'll marry you some time

Cindy got religion
She had it once before
But when she heard my ole banjo
She's the first one on the floor

Get along, home, Cindy
Cindy, get along home
Get along home, Cindy
Cindy, I'll marry you some time

She told me that she loved me
She called me sugar plum
She throwed her arms around me
I thought my time had come!

Get along, home, Cindy
Cindy, get along home
Get along home, Cindy
Cindy, I'll marry you some time
Get along home

Wished I had a dollar
Wished I had a dime
I'd buy a jar of cider
And stay happy all the time

Get along, home, Cindy
Cindy, get along home
Get along home, Cindy
Cindy, I'll marry you some time

The last time I saw Cindy
She had a funny look
She opened her mouth and then she said
Ya'll sign my autograph book

Get along, home, Cindy
Cindy, get along home
Get along home, Cindy
Cindy, I'll marry you some time
Get along, home, Cindy
Cindy, get along home
Get along home, Cindy
Cindy, I'll marry you some time



Do you know a song with your name in it??


Monday, March 2, 2009

Celebrate Your Name Week

I just learned that it is




So why not celebrate??

"Today is Namesake Day: Today is for thinking about where you got your name and if you were named after a particular person, place, etc. Also, to identify (e.g., via a search engine such as Google) people with the same name as yours, if any."



My name, Cynthia, came from a redhead girl on a pin up calendar. My dad like the name, and my mom agreed. Oh, well!! I like Cindy much better. Cynthia seems too sophisticated for me.

Did you know that you can go to http://wink.com/name/
and you can find all the people that have your same name and see where they live. Pretty cool!! Check it out!!


To see fun ideas for Celebrate Your Name Week go to http://celebrateyournameweek.googlepages.com/

Monday's Memories

Adventures in Moving!!

U-Haul doesn't use that motto for nothing!! Our move in January 1980 from Rio Dell to Santa Maria was definitely an adventure. Why so adventurous? Well for one thing we had a three week baby, a 20 month old and 3 year old. Yes, we moved over 500 miles with a 3 week old baby, crazy I know. But, when your company transfers you, and you will be closer to family, you move whenever you can. Funny, I don't remember packing. I think I tried to do much of it before Christmas and the birth of little John.

In some respects leaving Rio Dell was hard. We bought our first house in that tiny little city that is surrounded by redwood trees. Two of our children were born while we lived there. And this was where we joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The Fortuna Ward will always have a special place in my heart.
However, the weather was difficult for us. It was very, very foggy. The sun never shone at our house the whole month of July. That is NOT an exaggeration! The fog grows great redwood trees, but can be rather depressing at times. Also, the power plant that Mike was working at shut down it's nuclear power unit and that is were his expertise and training lies. So, the time felt right to make a move.

On to the adventure. It started the morning we planned to load the truck. Our home teacher had jokingly told us that they helped people move in, but NOT out of the ward. Well, I guess the joke was on us. He meant it. Only one elderly gentleman showed up. We had to call to get some strong men to lift the heavy stuff. That gave us a very late start for our 500+ mile trip.

We had two vehicles so we towed the smaller one behind the U-Haul. Mike drove the moving truck and I drove our van with the two youngest children. I had a difficult time at first because I was so sad to leave and was bawling like a baby. It's hard to cry and drive at the same time.

Now, this move was in the days before cell phones. So, we could NOT communicate with each other. That made it hard when the person following, which was usually me, needed to stop to tend children or get gas or whatever it may be. The plan was to try to drive the whole way there but with such a late start that idea flew out the window!! That first day we drove about four hours. Then wearyingly found a hotel to get some rest.

The next day started bright and early. We drove an hour or so, and all of a sudden Mike pulls over. I stopped behind him, low and behold he had run out of gas!! Funny thing the gas gauge was still registering quarter of a tank of gas. Thank you U-haul for accurate gas gauges. We were pretty much in the middle of nowhere. But, we had a gallon of gas somewhere in the back of the truck!! We were able to retrieve that, empty what gas was in the can into the truck and were on our way again! Low and behold, the U-haul ran out of gas again, this time on a hill with not much room to pull over. Mike climbed in our van and we forged ahead to the nearest city to find some gas. Well, it was still early in morning and the closest gas station wasn't even opened yet for the day. We decided to wait, the few minutes, filled our gas can and set off back to the truck. Headed back up the 101 highway we get close to our truck and see a caravan of cars parked behind it. Our hearts sank, did someone hit the back of our car that was being towed behind the truck. As luck had it, the caravan had nothing to do with our truck/car. Apparently, someone in the group had car troubles. Phew! Finally, we made it with the truck to the gas station and got filled up and continued down south.

Oh, I have one important thing I forgot to tell you about this move. We hadn't sold our house yet, and the home we tried to buy had fallen through, so we really had no place to go once we got to Santa Maria. So, we headed to Lompoc, where Richard (Mike's brother) and Laurel were willing to put up with us for a few days. By the time we got there, I was sick as a dog!! Yikes!! It is very hard to be sick and not be able to go sleep in your own bed. We were able to keep our belongings in the U-haul for a few more days and found a house to rent. Then came the next problem. We had to unload the truck on Monday night!! Monday night can be sacred to some people, it's Family Home Evening, where Latter-Day Saint family spend time together. The Elder Quorum refused to help us move. Luckily for us, the Bishop of the ward had a different vision of Family Home Evening. He brought his whole family over and they helped us to unload our truck. What a great Family Home Evening activity!! Thank you, Bishop Jones!! You are one of my all time favorite Bishops!! It is nice to know some people can look beyond the letter of the law and understand the spirit of the law.

Well, that was our big move. The next time we moved we it was six blocks away!! That was fun and very easy!! The next time it was 15 minutes away. And here we are, with a garage full of stuff because we need to move again to clean it all out!! I wonder what adventure the next move will bring!!


Sunday, March 1, 2009

The Derby Details

The pinewood derby 2009 has come and gone. Mike, Evan and I each made our own car. Building them was great fun. Brother Bob was a great help. He shared his great pinewood derby expertise with two scheduled workshops in his garage. He also helped a lot of people one on one. He says the best thing about working on pinewood derby's is getting to know other people. I agree. The derby last night was great fun. Evan received third place in the men division.



Here's my naked car.




Mike and Bob hard at work.



Evan spray painting the "Green Flash"!!



The Price Family from up the street. Brother Bob, helped them too!!




Here is a line up of some of the cars. See the piano car, that won "most unique". Mike's is the white one next to it, "Going Down in Flames". Mike put a lot of detail into the flames on the side of his car.




"The Green Flash" number 21!!! It came in number 1 in two of it's heats.



I thought the flip flop car was very clever.





More cars!!





Can you believe all these pinewoood derby cars??





Evan and his third place ribbon!! Way to go Evan!! You beat Dad, Woo Hoo!!




I'm already thinking about what do for next year's pinewood derby!! Got any ideas???

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