November, 2008

There are a lot of pictures for you in this entry. You are SO lucky !

Nov 7 (Fri) Another day, another candy wrapper telling me I didn’t win. I did, however check to see what the prize is. It’s a trip for me & 9 of my friends to a major league baseball game somewhere. At least it’s not a NASCAR thing.

My hair is washed with shampoo now rather than conditioner. I feel much better, & I don’t look like a homeless person.

Went to lunch today & ordered soup. I don’t care for chicken so I took the big pieces of chicken out so I just had noodles, vegetables & broth. I bit my tongue. Couldn’t get it to stop bleeding. How do you bite your tongue eating SOUP? It’s not like I was chewing. My teeth should have been in resting mode, not tongue-chomping mode. It still hurts. I got a small cup of ice at work & put my tongue in it every once in a while until it got too cold.

The jewelry store called today to tell me they can go down some more on the price of the 2 diamonds for my wedding ring. It’s still not down enough. Considering how much one of Alex’s college funds lost within the last couple of months, maybe I had better jump into “responsible mom mode” & do some prioritizing. Diamonds are going to have to wait a few more years. This is not the economic climate to worry about that. Alex will start college in only 3 years !

Nov 10 (Mon) We went to Lewis’s parents’ house today to visit with them & some old friends who were in visiting from NY. Went to brunch at Corte Bella then back to their house for a while.
Alex spent the night at a friend’s house on Fri. On Sat Lewis & Alex went to a hockey game with a friend. While they were at the game, Nancy came over for dinner. We had artichokes for an appetizer & German chocolate cake for dessert. What’s inbetween doesn’t really matter.

On Sun night Alex played tennis with a friend for a few hours. I will call the tennis instructor on Mon to sign him up again. His tournament is next Sat.

I think I have a scar on my tongue. It still hurts. I’ve never had that happen before. And with soup !

I have to go back to the dr. on Tuesday to have more of my skin cancer removed. There are a few more places. But it doesn’t hurt. The scar of the one that was done already isn’t even a horrible scar. It’s about 2 inches long, but it looks like it’s already faded. All of these places where I have the skin cancer are not places where the sun has ever seen, so I'm wondering how it happened.

I’m going to pick up my wedding ring & the other stuff at the jewelers from the jewelry store on Mon after work. Repairs are all done, except on my wedding ring.

I’m out of dried mangoes. I’m eating croutons again, but I would prefer the mangoes. Next time I go to Costco I’ll get some more. The croutons are tasting a little too salty. Maybe I’ll just put them away & open one of those depressing candy wrappers.

To my cousin Mickey – Did you finish all of the stuff you needed to do to become a patent attorney? Are you official now? I was wondering if General Motors will be affected by the economy. If so, you will be able to open up your own patent attorney office & start all over. But you’ve weathered all kinds of economies through over 25 yrs there.

I heard on CNN today when I went into the breakroom that DHL is closing their USA operations. All of those people losing their jobs !
I also got an email from a Thai restaurant we like that they have just closed the restaurant closest to us, but the other one is still open. Another restaurant (Pasta Pomodoro) just closed all of their restaurants, except 1, within the last 2 months. Another grilling place at Desert Ridge also closed. All within the last 2 or 3 months. Better not take all of my favorite restaurants away!
Nov 12 (Weds) You won’t believe this, but my tongue is still sore. I’ve never had a tongue bite last this long.

I picked up all of my stuff at the jewelers yesterday. I am wearing my wedding ring for the first time in several weeks. It’s flipping around on my finger. It’s really beautiful now that it’s clean.
Alex & his friend Brian played tennis last night for a few hours. Don’t they ever get tired?! His tournament is this Sat. Brian is also in the tournament.

When I woke up this morning I was lying on my left side & the princess was curled up against my tummy with her head on the comforter. She is such a sweetie.

Lewis made a nice spiral ham last night. I took some for lunch today.

Alex starts another session of tennis lessons tomorrow.

Nov 17 (Mon) I’ve got my dried mangoes back. I love them.

Had some friends over this wk-end & made a brisket using Dirk’s recipe. I thought it came out very well. We have lots left over to take for lunch.

Alex’s tennis tournament was Sat. He was not happy with the outcome. He was up against kids who had been playing for yrs & who take lessons twice a wk. He’s only been playing for a couple of months, yet he thought he should have been able to win. He wasn’t discouraged. He wants to keep trying. He even asked if we could get him a coach for twice a wk instead of once. We said - - NO. Does he know what any of this costs? I don’t think so, even though we’ve tried to make him aware of it. He’s wiped that part out of his brain. Last night after we cleaned up after dinner, he wanted to know if Lewis or I would play tennis with him.

We were exhausted from everything we did this wk-end & just wanted an hr or so of down time before bed. He was not happy about our responses. This is what happens when you only have 1 child. No siblings to do things with. Then we start feeling guilty.

Jack & Jonella came over yesterday for a while. It’s been too long since we’ve seen them. They want Alex to spend a night or 2 with them over his winter break. He loves spending time with them.

Mom’s surprise birthday party is this coming Sun. I finally know what I’m getting her.

Nov 21 (Fri)
I stopped at Sports Authority a couple nights ago & got Alex one of those chin-up bars. Got home & found out it’s the wrong one. Took it back yesterday. Lewis found the right kind online so he’ll get him that one.

Lewis had poker last night, & Alex had tennis. I took that time to do a little shopping, which I hate to do, unless it’s online. But I got the gifts I was looking for. Some are for my mom’s birthday, some are for Christmas for a few people I work with.

Lewis cooked a whole turkey a couple days ago & got dinner ready for Alex & me for last night. The turkey was delicious. We’ll probably freeze most of it to take for lunch.

They changed our computer login procedure at work, so now I have to put in my password all the time. It used to be when the program timed out, I could just open it up again, but after so many minutes, it just closes itself. I have to fix this; It’s driving me crazy.

Had lunch with Lori a few days ago at the Elephant Bar. We had a nice time. I wish I could spend more time for lunch every day. While we were waiting for our meal, Lori untangled 2 of my shirts ! A true miracle worker. She told me they changed the age for a kid to get a driver’s permit. It’s now 15 & 6 months, not 15 & 7 months. She also gave me the name & number of a driving school. If Alex goes there it will affect our insurance rate for him; It won’t be as high.

This picture is Jonella, Lori & me.

I had several responses to my request for help on recycling prescription bottles. I feel much better now knowing they won't be wasted.

Did this ever happen to you? My index finger on my right hand is sore – on the top part, the underside of my fingernail area. It’s from using the scroll button on my mouse. Who ever thought that would happen? For all the years I’ve been using computers, why now?

Alex & 3 of his friends are spending the night at Chad’s again tonight. They’re all going to play tennis first & then go to Chad’s house to play ping pong. That’s Chad’s Christmas present – a new ping pong table. Sounds like those kids do some pretty nice partying. Then they’re playing a round of golf in the morning. Chad lives on the golf course so they can play anytime.
Sparky doesn’t seem herself lately. She seems like she’s not feeling good. Her normal personality (dogality?) is crazy & scampering. She’s sort of moping around. If she’s like this through the wk-end I’ll make an appointment at the vet.

Nov 24 (Mon) Yesterday was mom’s surprise 75th birthday at Cathy & Dennis’s house. She was really surprised. We invited all of her old friends who she sees about once or twice a yr for lunch – the whole gang she used to work with. Everyone had a nice time. We stayed at Cathy’s later than usual because of some football game. Lewis didn’t want to leave because the game was “almost over.” Ever notice how football games are ALWAYS “almost over.” Two minutes in football time is about 15 minutes to people in real life. They were watching the game in the media room on this huge screen on something called the RedZone TV (or something like that). It flips 8 football games on the screen at once & every time something is about to happen, it puts that game on full screen. It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. I sat in there for a few minutes talking to Alex or Michael. Seemed every time my eyes went back to the screen the teams were wearing different colors. It was snowing then it wasn’t snowing. Jeeezzzz. I couldn’t keep track of something like that. I had to leave the room. Could make me car sick.

Here are a few pictures from Mom's 75th birthday party.

Mom

Lewis

Me & Roxie (Cath's dog)

Cath, Dennis & Roxie

(Roxie is a Brussels Griffin)

Alex & me

My sisters & mom

I forgot my lunch this morning. I made a nice turkey meal last night & forgot to bring it. I also couldn’t find my car keys or house key, so I ended up driving the van to work this morning. It’s a good thing we have an extra car. I’m going home at lunch today to eat my turkey - - & maybe look for my keys again.

We went out with our chavarah on Sat. Went to Frank & Lupe’s for dinner with Patty & Eric & then to the theatre with all 8 of us. Saw “Capitol Steps.” It’s a political satire. We saw it a couple yrs ago. So funny! This one woman did an amazing Sarah Palin. The show changes periodically based on the political climate.

Because we were going out Sat night, I switched purses. Seems I always lose my keys when I switch purses.

Decided to go home for lunch because I had a nice lunch there waiting for me in the fridge. Then I took a 20 minute nap with Sparky curled up by me, then went back to work. When I was home I found my keys & took my own car to work.

Nov 25 (Tue) The parking lot at work today was about ¼ full. That’s unusual to see. Only around Thanksgiving & Christmas.

Nov 27 (Thurs) Thanksgiving at Cath & Dennis’s was very nice. Jane’s son, Roger joined us this year. He was visiting from CA. We had about 16 people. Adam will be leaving in Jan to go to NAU in Flagstaff. We’ll probably only see him during holidays then. I hate that. It’s difficult when the kids start moving away.

Nov 28 (Fri) Against his better judgment, Lewis decided to wake me at 9:00 am on the day after Thanksgiving. I asked him why he was home because he always goes out REALLY early the day after Thanksgiving for the sales – like around 4:00-ish. No kidding. I hate the sales. I prefer doing my shopping online. He told me he decided to try something different this year – He shopped online. Lewis NEVER shops online. Unless it’s eBay or Amazon or Fender Guitars or a sports memorabilia site. This was a major breakthrough for him - - joining this century & all. But that wasn’t enough for him. He was reading the paper & found a place that had sheets on sale. He asked me if I wanted to go. We didn’t really need sheets, but the price was good for that thread count. I said I’d get up if we could go for breakfast at this place I like that has French toast with strawberries & bananas with NO cinnamon in the French toast. You don’t find French toast like that anyplace else. Everyone else puts cinnamon in their French toast. So that’s what we did. We ended up with 6 sets of sheets. Two for our bed, 2 for Alex’s bed & 2 for the beds in the extra bedroom, as well as some extra pillowcases. Great prices. But then Lewis had to go to some electronics stores too. I knew he couldn’t just do it online. He loves that day-after-a-holiday sales energy. I had my book with me so I could wait in the car & read while he & Alex scoured the rest of the area for sales.

Nov 29 (Sat) Mom & I went to Martha’s to see all of her new house additions. Martha is so project-oriented. She has an entire room just for painting projects. Then we went to lunch.

Got home & wrapped all of the presents I bought for people at my office as well as some of the baby gifts for Tarah’s shower.

Alex spent Sat night at Samantha & Michael’s house. Lewis gave Michael a good bottle of tequila because he is a tequila guy. He loved it. Said it’s sipping tequila, not margarita tequila. On Sun afternoon Lewis, Sparky & I went to pick up Alex. Sparky finally got to meet her new cousin, Michael. She was very inquisitive in their house & had to go through every room, sniffing.

When we got home, Alex reviewed his homework. We watched a couple of episodes of “24” & then had dinner. We’re almost caught up on “24.”

Well, I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving - - a nice November. The year moves on quickly.

Dec 3 (Weds)
Another morning of driving to work with “Light My Fire” on. Sometimes I get chills when I hear certain songs – or even particular portions of certain songs. “Light My Fire” is one of those songs. When Ray Manzarek is featured on his crazy keyboard before it goes into Robbie. “Spooky” by the Classics IV is also one of those songs. There are others, but those are the 2 that come to mind now. So I’m thinking, maybe when I feel a hot flash coming on, I should just put one of those songs on. Better yet, since they are on my iPod, I can have it paused at that particular “chills portion” so when I need to play it, I will hit the pause button again. When my hot flash is just starting, I will play that portion of a song that gives me chills. This should be an interesting experiment.

Dec 3 & I still don’t have to use the car heater on the way to work in the morning. Even when I take Sparky out in the morning it’s not cold enough for me to need a sweater. Sometimes in the evening we open the family room door for fresh air. We don’t get to do that very often. It’s usually way too hot.

We drew names for who we get gifts for at Christmas in my family. I got Brandon & I’m already finished. Alex got his Aunt Terri. He has been so diligent in trying to find something she would like. When he’s been out shopping with his dad, he’s called me several times to ask me if I think Aunt Terri would like this, or if she’s seen a certain movie, etc. I’m very proud of the way he’s handling this. We’ve always gotten gifts for him to give to someone. (His friends’ birthdays, etc.), but he seems to be taking this very seriously. Said he didn’t just want to get her a gift card because he wanted to get her something more special. Do I have a great kid or what !

Dec 5 (Fri) Lewis had poker last night & Alex had tennis. I think the next poker game is at our house.

So how about that O.J. verdict !

We’re going to dinner with Rosalie & Henry tomorrow & their son is coming over to hang out with Alex..

Alex has told us he wants to learn mixed martial arts once his back is healed. I’ve been checking into it. Someone at my office has been doing it for 5 years so he gave me a good run-down. We’ll just have to see how his back heals after this summer.

Dec 7 (Sun) Had a nice dinner with Rosalie & Henry last night at Jalapeno’s. Time goes too fast when we’re with them. Seems we never have enough time to chat.

Lewis played tennis this morning although it looked like it was going to rain. It didn’t. I got out of bed around noon & folded some laundry then continued reading my book “What a Coincidence!” Really a good book.

When Lewis got home from tennis he said he found a huge scorpion walking across the bathroom floor. Said it was about the size of Sparky. It’s really too cold for scorpions now. Wonder where this one came from. He told me he noticed my back tire was almost flat so he put air in it.

Lewis & Alex are now in the family room watching some football game. While that is going on, Alex has his laptop on the couch so he can check his fantasy football guys while the game is going on. This is too much. That kid is certainly Sam Sturniolo's grandson!

Alex’s basketball coach called today to give us practice days & times. We’ll get more details on games later this wk.

Sparky is sleeping behind me on the couch. She is snoring. She has seasonal allergies.

Dad’s birthday is Tues. I’ll probably go to the cemetery at lunch.

Here we are into Dec. Better post this.

Hugs,
Candace

Post-Halloween

Nov 3 (Mon)
Halloween was fun. Each year we get less kids at the door than the last year, but we seemed to have a good amount this time.

Alex had 8 of his friends from school come over. Yes, 9 14- & 15-yr old boys. They played football for a while (in the wet grass), then basketball in the driveway, then they walked around the neighborhood with Lewis. Lewis got them 5 extra large pepperoni pizzas, soda & those ice cream drumsticks. They’re nice kids. Seemed like they all had fun.

The next morning I took Alex to get a haircut. He finally got it cut as short as he wanted it. Looks good. Then he spent the night at a friend’s house. When Lewis & I dropped him off we stopped at Eddie V’s Edgewater Grille for something to eat. Early dinner. We always seem to be the first ones in any restaurant because we go out early.

On Sunday I went to lunch & a movie with my mom & sisters. We saw that Chihuahua movie. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua”. Really cute. Sort of a modern day “Lady & the Tramp.” While I was at the movie, Lewis & Alex went somewhere & bought the Nintendo. Lewis was outbid on the one he was trying for on eBay on Fri night – at the very last minute. When I got home Lewis took Alex to a friend’s house to work on his biology project. This is the project that requires 200 gumballs. After work on Fri I went to the candy store in PV Mall & got the gumballs. They are supposed to make a cross-section of a cell using household items. I don’t know where the gumballs come in. Are gumballs considered a household item?

Speaking of household items, I am looking for someplace to recycle my prescription bottles. They are the Walgreen’s brown / amber ones. The Scottsdale & Phoenix recycling programs won’t take them. They are a different (harder) kind of plastic than the water bottles. They are a #5 plastic. The pharmacy won’t take them back. Neither will a couple other pharmacies I’ve contacted. I have about 200 of them. I’ve been saving them for a while in the hope of being able to recycle them somehow. I recently contacted a homeless shelter to see if they want them. Sometimes they use small containers for individual shampoos, conditioners, soaps, etc. But I haven’t had a response yet. I am willing to send them or take them to anyone who can use them. Suggestions? I found an article about making Christmas ornaments out of prescription bottles. Using cotton, ribbon, glue, & googley eyes you can make a snowman out of it. If I don’t find a way to recycle them soon, I will start calling pre-schools to see if they can use them to do Christmas crafts with their classes. Either that or I’ll glue them all to some board, paint them different colors, & hang it in my family room. “Candace art.” Won’t Lewis love that ! Trash as art. I’d probably make a million bucks. What kind of paint sticks to plastic & doesn’t flake off?

No longer eating the CranMango Cashew Crunch. I’m back to the delicious dried mangoes. But I need a Baby Ruth or something like that now.

Lori very kindly offered to untangle my pink & white tank top the next time we go to lunch. I really miss that shirt. It’s so comfortable. Lori is an amazing real estate agent, so if you are ever considering moving – even in this economic climate – she will be able to help you more than you think. It’s not as bad as it seems. Let me know if you need her number. (No, I don’t get a commission; She’s my friend.)

My mom’s 75th birthday is coming up. We’re having a party for her soon. It’s a surprise so don’t tell her. She does not have a computer and/or email so she will not read this. My sisters & I are having trouble deciding what to get her. What do you get a 75 yr old mom who has everything she wants?

I ate a 100 Grand bar. Once again, the inside of the wrapper told me I am STILL not a winner of whatever prize they are offering. Why do I even bother to read it? I mean, is there even the slightest chance in this lifetime that I would win? And if I did, it would probably be something like a trip to a NASCAR event. Something I would not want. Doesn’t even matter if it’s a game system because we have them all now. All except the Sony one, but Lewis & Alex don’t want that one. They don’t think the games are good enough.
This whole wk & next wk Alex has basketball try-outs at the school. Try-outs start at 6:00 pm & school ends at 3:00 pm, so he will go home on the bus with his friend, Dakota. Then Dakota’s mom will take them back to the school after they eat. Then Lewis or I will pick them up to go home. Dakota lives pretty close to us, but we won’t be able to get him to the school on time, so this works out very well. It’s about a half hr drive from our house. We thought he might be able to stay at school from 3:00 to 6:00, but not only is that a long time, but they don’t allow it. They close & lock up the school until 6:00 when try-outs begin. Also, he would be hungry.
My friend, Rosalie & I are always seeing signs that bother us. Right on a main road, a big sign that says: Condo’s For Lease or something else written by someone who has no respect for the English language. Not only did the person who initiated the sign use the apostrophe incorrectly, but the printer went along with it. Also, I’m thinking the comma just doesn’t have any rules anymore. I read about 4 books a month, & it seems the newer ones (the ones written in the ‘90s & later) use the comma a whole different way than the way I learned. I’ve even attended Comma seminars. Yes, I know, I lead an exciting life, but stuff like that really DOES interest me. (I also have several books on word origins). Everything I read about grammar & the comma, everything I hear & then everything I read which includes the comma confuses me to no end. Where are the rules? Whatever I read contradicts the last thing I read. Of course when I was in grade school I learned you were never to start a sentence with “and” or “but”. Also, you were never to end a sentence with a preposition. Sentences should be sentences, NOT fragments, but novels use fragments all the time. The rules of grammar don’t seem to apply anymore. Maybe there aren’t any rules anymore.

Here are just a few regional differences in the English language that I’ve noticed:
AZ vs NY (the first line is AZ)

I am going to have a party
I am going to make a party

She was standing in line
She was standing on line

We have to go shopping today
We have to do a shop OR I just did a shop

Director (der rector)
Die rector (dye rector)

Either ( ee ther )
Either ( i ther )

May I have a fudgecycle ?
May I have a fudge ekl ? (all one word, no “cycle” )

When you are at your home you would say:
I need to take my car to the dealer (me)
I need to bring my car to the dealer (Lewis)
I don’t know if this is a regional difference.
I will have to check on this. I'll get back to you.

But if you are at the dealer without your car you would say:
I need to bring my car in (me)


AZ vs PA (the first line is AZ)

Did you eat? (3 words)
Jeet? (didjaeat) (1 word)

Clean up your room
Redd up your room

Would you like a wash cloth?
Would you like a warsh rag?

Washing machine in PA is
warsher

I need a rubber band
I need a gum band

We need clean towels (2 syllables – tow els)
We need clean tiles (1 syllable – towls )

Use the vacuum cleaner
Use the sweeper

I’m going to take a shower now
I’m going to get my shower now (& usually get is pronounced “git”)

In PA a bath towel is a tile (towl)
& a floor tile (ty el – 2 syllables) is a tile (towl)

In PA, the word “get” is pronounced “git”.

Oh, & let’s not forget how some people in ANY region pronounce nuclear (even Bush & McCain). Nucular. The word is nuclear ! Why is that so hard?

This is not regional, just awful:
It doesn’t matter (correct)
It don’t matter (WAY incorrect)
This is one of the worst travesties of the English language I’ve ever heard. I actually cringe when someone uses “don’t” instead of “doesn’t.” It’s like listening to fingernails scratching a blackboard. Even listening to someone use “ain’t” isn’t as bad as hearing “don’t” used in place of “doesn’t.”

Irregardless - - Let’s not even go there ! I don't think that's even a word!

Bi-weekly: Shouldn’t that mean twice a wk? Instead, it’s used to refer to every other wk in the month.
According to Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (10th edition), bi-weekly means: 1) occurring twice a week; & 2) occurring every 2 wks.
Okay, so how can that be? But there it is, right in the dictionary. In essence, bi-weekly means whatever you want it to mean, & the person you’re speaking with had better know which way you are using it.
Also, a publication issued every 2 wks is semiweekly. Wouldn’t that be the same as bi-weekly? These 3 definitions came from the same dictionary.


11/4 (Tues) Election Day - - Hope you voted!

Went out the day after Halloween & got lots more decorations for next year. I’m really happy with my new supply. But I forgot to buy another couple of those huge Rubbermaid bins to store the stuff in.

Alex & his friend worked on their biology project & used the gumballs, but there is more than half of them left over. What are we going to do with all of those gumballs? I guess I could put them back in the gumball machine & have them sit there another 20 yrs.

I am finished with the Dean Koontz book & have started the James Patterson book in the Womens’ Murder Club series. It grabs you right from page 1. Inbetween I am continuing to read “A Good Boy.”

Rosalie, you’ll be happy to know I just picked up another book about synchronicity. You can read it when I’m finished.

The jewelry store called. Two of the items I took in are done. They gave me an estimate on the 2 larger diamonds I want to have put in my wedding ring. I am not happy with that estimate. I think I will check with my friend, Jonathan’s friend who is a wholesale jeweler. I always intended to check with him anyway, but I figured since I was in the jewelry store to get some stuff done, I might as well get an estimate. I want to have my large diamond moved to the side, put another one on the other side the same size as that one, then put a larger one in the middle. This will require removing all of the smaller diamonds on the band. Probably rebuilding the whole ring.

Nov 5 (Weds) The DOW is down 400 points. I was sure it would be up the day after the election. Most of the people & propositions I voted for have won.

Alex is still in the running for the basketball team. The first group was cut this morning. He’s still in. I think he may be a little worried because most of the kids trying out are SO TALL. Alex is not a little guy, but he’s not 6’3” either!

Yesterday after work Lewis & I went to the Tealight Café for dinner. Nice little place. We haven’t been there in a long time.

Well, the princess has her own blog now. It’s sort of a Facebook for pets. Here’s the web address: YouPet.com
When you open the page, go to dogs, & then Westies (West Highland White Terriers) & you will be able to find Sparky & the 2 pictures of her & her little blog if you click on her name or picture. You can even put your own pet on there.

Here is a picture of Miss Sparkelstein, incognito, with a little bling.

Seems like most of the running around has stopped. We’re just picking Alex up from basketball try-outs every night & from tennis once a wk. Once try-outs are over we’ll either be picking him up from practice every night or not picking him up at all.

Darn candy wrapper still won’t allow me to be a winner. I hate seeing that “Sorry” when I open it up.

I guess I should get my wedding ring back from the jewelry store. My left hand feels naked without it.

It’s about time to take down the outside Halloween decorations. I will do that tonight when I get home.

Nov 6 (Thurs) - Tonight would be Alex’s last tennis lesson of the session, but he will miss it because he’s still in basketball try-outs. I feel like I don’t see him anymore – and he doesn’t even drive yet. He’s at try-outs for something or at practice for something else or lessons for something else or at someone’s house working on a project. I start wondering what kind of a mother I am when I see my son so infrequently. We do seem to have some good talks in the car, though. And there are plenty of times when a kid is at our house working on a project. Of course when they’re working on a project, they’re holed up in a room so I don’t see him anyway.

I accidentally grabbed the conditioner for my hair this morning when I meant to grab the shampoo. This was the morning I was going to rush & NOT use conditioner after the shampoo so when I was finished & working on my hair right after I got dressed, I noticed it felt kind of gloopy. I thought I didn’t rinse the shampoo out enough, so I did more rinsing. But it was still not like it should be. I then noticed the conditioner bottle was where I keep the shampoo bottle. I washed my hair with conditioner. And then I was out of time & had to leave for work. So my hair looks kind of scrungy today. Is scrungy a word? If it isn’t, it should be, because that would describe my hair perfectly for today. It’s limp & kind of shiny looking. And not the good kind of shiny. So I had to go through an entire day looking like I never wash my hair. I tried to stay at my desk as much as I could & not get up & run into anyone.

We’ve talked about elevators before: You get on, you get off, but inbetween, if you’re not on with anyone you know, you most likely aren’t talking. If other people know each other & are talking, you listen. What else could you do? I prefer looking at people’s shoes & purses. I’ve seen some very nice purses & shoes in elevators. Then, the elevator stops on your floor which happens to be the last one. Who takes a teeny step forward first – just waiting for the doors to open? Usually the person closest to the doors, but sometimes it’s the very rude person in the back who smashes his way through. This is not a person who knows good elevator etiquette. Even less so if that smashing person is a male. I try to tell myself he’s not really rude, maybe he just has to go to the bathroom & is in a hurry.

Another day, another candy wrapper that insists on rubbing in the fact that I am, once again, not a winner. One of these days I’m going to look at one of the wrappers & see what it is I might win. Or maybe I shouldn’t do that, because if it’s something good, I might be disappointed every time I open a wrapper. Not knowing is better because I can still convince myself that the prize is a trip to a NASCAR race somewhere so if I lose again, I don’t care. I would actually be happy to lose, if that’s what the prize is.

The DOW closed down almost 450 points today. One of Alex’s college funds lost a LOT of money. We only have 3 yrs to recoup that amount.

Sparky is doing her little “pay attention to me” dance, so I’d better go & do some tummy-rubbing & then get the green ball out of her toybox.

Hugs,
Candace

Happy Halloween - End of October

Mon (10/27) Went over to the Kowals’ yesterday to celebrate Sam’s birthday. We took them to lunch at a place in Sun City called Kokopelli. Good sweet potato fries.

The day before, Sat, we had another “24” marathon. I also put up the Halloween decorations outside. It looks pretty good - - very spooky.

Alex & his friend, Brian played tennis on Friday night. He plays whenever he can now. He’s looking forward to that singles tournament he’s registered for next month.

Yesterday Lewis called me at work to ask me if our one big skeleton only had one leg. That was the big one I hung in the front of the house. I told him, no, my skeleton does indeed have both legs. He told me when he got home the skeleton was down on the ground (it had been windy) & he only had 1 leg & Lewis couldn’t find the other leg around anywhere. How strange. When I got home I saw the skeleton on the ground. His leg had just been twisted behind him making it look like he only had 1 leg. Creepy. I think I need to make some more ghosts for the front tree. It’s looking a little sparse. I’ll put the witches’ caldron out by the front door on Halloween. It has this cool mist that spreads out over the ground. Alex & I should carve the pumpkin tonight. Bake those pumpkin seeds too. We all 3 love the pumpkin seeds.

There are 8 houses total in our cul-de-sac. Four of us are decorated for Halloween & the other 4 are not. Every yr the day after Halloween I go out & buy more decorations for the next yr. I still need a lot more. Tonight I will put the Halloween tablecloth on the table & take out the Halloween napkins & dish towels.

We got “hit” last night. That is, someone came to our door & dropped off a bag of candy with a note in it. Then the person ran away so we don’t know who it was. Now we (or Alex) are supposed to make up 2 bags of goodies, put the notes in them telling the other people what to do, take them to 2 friends’ houses & do the same thing the kid did last night. For some reason, Alex doesn’t seem to be into it. I think he may think he’s too old for fun. Well, I told him I’m doing it anyway - - with or without him. I love that stuff.

Tomorrow my office is having a Halloween party & costume contest. I will not be able to be here because I am scheduled to have some skin cancer removed tomorrow. I have it in 4 places, but they can only do 1 procedure per day due to some insurance weirdness. So I have to take 4 whole days off of work to have them all removed. And yes, this procedure takes 6-8 hrs. I was told to bring a book & some food. I’ll be prepared. I’m just glad it’s not on my face. My eyes seem to be my only good feature anymore & I wouldn’t want any scarring to detract from that.

Speaking of books, I just received the 2 James Patterson books that I ordered recently from Amazon. They are the Womens’ Murder Club series, numbers 6 & 7 (the only 2 I haven’t read yet).

Santana fans, have you heard any Abraxas Pool songs? Abraxas Pool is the Santana group of the 70’s with everyone except Carlos Santana – all of the original band members. They sound really good – much cleaner & crisper than Santana of the 70’s. Better produced. Eric R, you can borrow it.

Just when we thought our sweet princess couldn’t be any more spoiled, this happened: Sparky is now a little diva. She seems to not want to eat her food anymore ( sweet potato & venison). So a few nights ago her daddy got down on the floor with her, picked up a couple nuggets of her food, put it to his mouth & pretended to eat it. She just looked at him. So he did it again. Finally, she took a bite out of her bowl. Then she looked at him again & wouldn’t eat anymore until Lewis pretended to eat also. He did this until she was almost finished with the food in her bowl. I know what people would say about this: “She’s a dog. When she gets hungry, she’ll eat. Stop babying her.” And to that I say, “To us, she is more than a dog. I don’t want her to be hungry. And I will always baby her. For all the joy that little dog brings to us, we don’t mind doing weird things like that for her.” So there. I said it.

Lewis took Alex to the doctor yesterday for his physical that the school requires to try out for any sports teams. He is now 5’9” & weights 134 pounds. I would have sworn he was taller than 5’9”.

Still haven’t found my sunglasses. They are the best sunglasses I’ve ever had. Now I’m really getting worried because 1) I loved them; & 2) They were very expensive. I borrowed a pair from Alex for now, thinking I’d find my Maui Jims soon. I even looked in my other purses. Nothing. I’m getting nervous about this. Thinking about it makes me want to cry. (and I’m not a crier). I want them back!

I remember asking my friends this a long time ago (July, 08), but no one said anything. I was talking about one of my favorite songs of all time. It’s by Sopwith Camel. Called “Fazon”. I never knew what fazon meant so I looked it up on the Sopwith Camel site. This is the non-answer I got:

Many people ask what Fazon means. The story goes that when you go into the future, what we might find ourselves in, will enhance our perception that Fazon explains. Fazon is the sound of it all. And if you were in the past and this is your future, then-same thing.

Got that? “Fazon is the sound of it all.” ? Huh? I have no idea what that says. Can someone tell me what that REALLY means? Gibberish. I still love the song, even though it makes no sense whatsoever. Dan R., you must remember that song.

Well, I guess I’d better think about putting my skeletons back up before it’s time to decorate for Hanukkah. I just don’t want to put them up tonight & have the wind blow them down again. And the big ladder I use is VERY big & it scares me to be on it, but the smaller ladder isn’t tall enough.

I just talked to Cath. Both of us are complaining about how little we see each other. We’re going to try to make a monthly date for lunch. We seem to only get together at monthly family birthdays & holidays.
Still munching on my CranMango Cashiew Crunch. Delicious!

Thurs (10/30) The surgery went fine yesterday. They got it all, but I still have to go back to have the other 3 spots removed. It’s a long, boring day. I got there at 9:00 am & didn’t get to leave until about 3:30 pm. I didn’t have the Percocet prescription filled. I want to try to go with Extra Strength Tylenol before I take more drugs. I’m not in a tremendous amount of pain, so I don’t think I’ll get it filled. I brought celery filled with peanut butter. That was really good. Had some other snacks with me too, including CranMango Cashew crunch & a little container of applesauce.
I missed the office Halloween party yesterday. Yesterday also was the American Express annual charity book & CD sale. I love that! But I missed that too. Like I need more books! I have about 4 cases of them in the garage – unread. I call that my library.

I’m just finishing a Dean Koontz book now. When I’m finished with that I will continue with a book called “A Good Boy” by a family psychologist. It’s about raising boys & what they go through, getting them to remain true to their morals & integrity through each stage of their development. The sections are divided into years: 10 & 11 yr olds; 12 & 13 yr olds, etc. I started reading it yesterday while I was in the doctor’s waiting room. Seems very good. I just need to finish this Dean Koontz book, “Odd Thomas” first before I pick it up again.

I drove Alex to 2 friends’ houses with the Halloween bags. I parked down the street, he went to the front door, dropped the bag of goodies, rang the bell, & ran to the other house which was 2 houses away & did the same thing. Then he ran to the car & we went home. Ah, Halloween!

I found my sunglasses ! Just when I thought there was no hope. I was very excited. And today after work I plan to stop & pick up my distance glasses. But the jewelry store still hasn’t called about all the stuff I took in there. I’d better call them today. Just as I took off the aviators Alex loaned me, the stem broke off. Great. I borrow his sunglasses & break them. I will get them repaired for him. They’re nice glasses. He’s also got some nice Harley Davidson glasses he wears.

Cath, Terri, Mom & Jane & I are going to see that Beverly Hills dog movie on Sun. We’ll have lunch first. We don’t see each other often enough. Aunt Bertha has gone back east already.

Alex is having about 5 kids over tomorrow night (Halloween). They will play a little bit of football, then they might go trick-or-treating. Then they’ll come back to the house & probably eat. I’m so glad Halloween is on a Friday this year. I’ve got to get my scary movies lined up. And always – “Rocky Horror Picture Show”. That’s a fun Halloween movie.

For some reason, Alex has been looking on eBay for Nintendo 64s again. We had a Nintendo 64 a long time ago. Lewis traded it in. Now Alex has the Game Cube, Xbox 360 Live, & the Wii. I don’t see why we need another one. Lewis is looking into it for him. (Lewis was playing golf on the Wii a few days ago). We have the Wii set up on the big tv in the family room. One system is on the tv in Alex’s game room & another one on the tv in the computer room. Game systems everywhere I go. Plus - - He has the PSP to take in the car with him to watch movies or play games.

Fortunately, he is more into sports than video games. He has tennis lessons tonight. He always tries to find someone to play tennis with the other 6 days of the wk. He is also trying out for the basketball team at school next wk.

Fri (10/31) Halloween

We carved the pumpkin last night. It’s the most perfectly round pumpkin I’ve ever seen. Tonight I will put the skeletons back up & make their eyes blink. Then I will bake the pumpkin seeds.

I am sick of CranMango Cashew crunch. I am going back to Rolos. Or croutons.

After work today I have to hurry up & pick up my glasses & buy gumballs in bulk for Alex & his friend for their biology project. They’re making a cell or something & it’s going to be covered with gumballs. He thought we still had gumballs, but they’re gone. Lewis threw them out about a yr ago. And here is why - - - -

Before Lewis & I met, I bought a gumball machine at an antique store. It’s a really nice old one that is metal, not plastic. I bought a bunch of gumballs to fill it up. That was 1985. Because the colored gumballs looked pretty, I just always kept it. At our last house I kept it on the big windowsill by the kitchen sink. When we moved to this house 11 yrs ago, there was no place for the gumball machine so it ended up on the top shelf of the extra bedroom closet.

One day Alex’s friend, Mark came over to play. They took the gumball machine down, grabbed some pennies & started eating the gumballs. (I mean chewing). A little while later, Mark’s mom came to pick him up. We talked for a while & then she went into the playroom to get Mark. She came out chewing gum. So was Mark. So was Alex. I asked them where they got the gum in that room. Alex told me. I told them that gum was over 20 yrs old & I only kept it because they were colorful. They all said the gum still tasted fine. But Lewis went in there & threw them all away. So now when I could use 20 yr old gumballs for non-chewing purposes, I find I don’t have any. See, this is why I save everything. I knew that someday those gumballs would come in handy for some biology project.

I went to the tennis courts yesterday after work to pick up Alex from his lesson & saw Lewis just arriving with Sparky. They had walked down the path from the house & she was loving it. She got to sniff another dog, & she let a little girl pet her. Then she went to watch her brother play tennis & sat on my lap while she watched. She’s okay with Lewis & Alex when someone tries to pet her, but if she’s with me & someone comes close to us, she gets angry. I think she might be trying to protect me from all the evil little 5-yr old girls at the park.

The big gauze bandage on my skin cancer is hurting. I’m not supposed to take it off for a wk. My skin is turning red around the edges of the clear bandage. I pulled the adhesive part off of that red portion this morning, folded it under so it would stick to itself, put some aloe vera gel on the red part & put another gauze bandage on that. When I put the aloe on it really burned. What the heck!

My new headset is no longer working. I don’t know why. I’ve tried all the buttons. According to the little amber light, it’s fully charged. But no sound comes through. Better get the instruction booklet out again.
Have a fun Halloween.
Hugs,
Candace

Last part of October - Already

Oct 10 (Fri) Yom Kippur is over. Wednesday night, the new caterer brought some wonderful food. And dessert. And challah. And soup. But there were still complaints. I give up. I’m just going to order what the 3 of us want from now on & stop trying to please everyone.

Robin & Dan’s Annual “Break the Fast” party was great, as usual (last night). Tons of food & about 50-60 people. Shannon, Patty & I had more of a chance to sit down & talk than we normally do when we’re together. It was very nice. The kids played basketball & ping pong & poker. I look forward to that party every year. Alex actually did fast this year. Last year too.

Today is Alex’s last day of fall break. No tennis either this wk because of Yom Kippur. He was hoping to try out for the tennis team at school next year, his sophomore year, but the back surgery killed that.

Okay, this wk-end I absolutely HAVE TO decorate for Halloween.

We’re going over to Cathy’s next Sun to celebrate the October birthdays. Alex is an October birthday. Terri too. I don’t think Brandon & Tarah will get there until after 4:00, & we’ll be gone by then, so I won’t get to see the ultrasound of the babies.

We had game night last Sat at Jan’s house. Played Scene It movie trivia. When we have game night at our house we’ll play the Scene It music trivia. I love that stuff. Jan made beef burgundy & a Grand Marnier dessert. Tons of food & drink. (I think we should have game night more often). The next time is at our house – in a few wks. I was trying to tell someone who never wants his name mentioned that the Grand Marnier reminded me of years ago when I was young & stupid & used to drink B-52s. It is a drink containing a shot of Grand Marnier, a shot of Kahlua, & a shot of Bailey’s Irish Cream. A very good tasting drink you can sip for a long time. But if I recall correctly, I believe we just downed it in one gulp. Stupid waste of money & good alcohol.

I’ve been noticing lately that my left eye is smaller than my right eye. It looks sort of closed. I’ve been watching my electronic photo frame that I have on my desk at work & I see pictures of me in groups. So I’ve been able to notice about when it started. It’s been about 2 years. Why didn’t anyone ever tell me? Maybe they didn’t notice. I didn’t notice myself until recently. Now I’m wondering what happened to make my left eye different. I also notice when I open my eyes when I’m waking up from a short nap or just resting for a while, that the right eye opens just a fraction of a second before the left one. Wonder if I should mention that to anyone. (or this might be one of those minor things I should just blow off).

This will be a nice, relaxing wk-end. No plans for Saturday. On Sunday Lewis & Alex are registered to walk/run in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race in downtown Phoenix. Alex’s biology teacher said anyone who participates in it gets extra credit. Maybe she’ll give Lewis extra credit too.

Oct 14 (Tues) Getting my flu shot today. American Express Health Services in my building gives them to Amex employees at no charge. Lewis & Alex got theirs last wk.

Drove to work this morning with my windows down & no air conditioning on. This is only the 2nd day I did not use the air conditioning since it’s “cooled down”. Had the windows down, the nice, cool breeze in my hair, & “Light My Fire” playing very loud on my CD. What a great way to start the day !

When I got in, I went into our copy room / service center in my area & dropped off some mail for Lewis. Looked like they were bills. No, he still doesn’t pay the bills online. But one of them was a big envelope which was his early voting ballot. I will fill mine out later tonight & mail it tomorrow. I was a little hesitant about dropping his ballot in the Amex mailbox, but it IS secure, & I’ve never had any trouble with the mail here.

Lewis & Alex participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure this past Sunday. They said it was nice & cool at 7:30 in the morning. Alex raised a decent amount of money for the cause.

I had to stop at Borders after work yesterday to pick up a book for Alex for school “Romeo & Juliet.” Then I met Rosalie for a margarita. Seems we never have enough time to catch up.

Just went to the cafeteria & got some fruit & vegetables. I think they didn’t wash the grapes. I just ate 1 & it tasted funny. The skin. Sort of dusty & funny tasting. Yuck. I will not eat the rest. I brought a banana with me today that I will eat instead of my grapes. My lunch consisted of cheddar broccoli soup, 3 small side dishes – baked butternut squash with butter & brown sugar, brussel sprouts, & a mix of zucchini & mushrooms (not deep fried or breaded). Delicious !

Oct 17 (Fri) You’d better be sitting down for this announcement: The closet is cleaned – FINISHED. Done, finally. I did it. You can actually walk in there now without tripping over stuff. Rosalie, who thrives on organization, would be so proud of me.

Speaking of Rosalie, we met for a margarita a few days ago after work. The place we go raised all of their prices, including happy hour prices. And they now charge for chips & salsa instead of just bringing them to the table. We are going to find another place to go from now on. A Mexican food restaurant charging for chips is just downright cheap.

Lewis & I met at Benihana of Tokyo for lunch yesterday. He was working at home. It’s nice to do that once in a while.

I got my new glasses. Yes, there are MORE new glasses. Three pairs, to be exact. One pair is strictly computer glasses. The other is for reading, & the other is for distance & mid-range – movies, driving. I’ve never worn glasses for distance, only for reading. (My reading prescription changed). Once I put those distance/driving glasses on yesterday, I couldn’t believe it. Opened up a whole new world for me. I didn’t realize my vision was not as sharp as I thought it was. Now I can actually see better. What a surprise. I keep my computer glasses at work. The other 2 pairs I carry around with me in my huge purse.

I have my former manager’s laptop. I’m supposed to be trying to get into it to retrieve some documents, but the passwords I have don’t work anymore. Also, the encryption key doesn’t work. I’m waiting to hear back from her. (She’s in Australia now). I need this information. My new manager needs the information that is locked up. The laptop is an IBM T-42. No one uses a T-42 anymore. The thing is ancient. I can’t believe it’s still on the Amex warranty list. Can’t replace it until it drops off the list. I had to go digging around in all the drawers for a power cord. (The T-61 power cords don’t work with it.)

Tonight Alex & his friend, Brian are going to the high school football game. Lewis & I will go too. It’s at another school, not his, & that school is way too far to drop them off & then come back & pick them up, so we’re going to stay. Brian’s mom took them last time. Tomorrow Sparky is going to the beauty shop, then we are going to Lewis’s parents’ house to spend some time with them. After that we are going out to dinner with our chavarah. It’s at an Italian restaurant we haven’t tried before.

On Sunday we’ll be at Cathy & Dennis’s to celebrate the October birthdays. We never know what to get Alex. The kid gets whatever he wants or needs. Tennis lessons, the new tennis racquet. Lewis just got him a new basketball a couple days ago. He has his laptop as well as a desktop computer. We buy him things as he needs them. We should stop doing that. One time (about 2 yrs ago) he actually told us to quit buying him things because he doesn’t want to end up being spoiled. Whose kid is this?

I got a new wireless headset at work. I make very few calls, & no one ever calls me (except Lewis but he calls on my cell), but if I am going to be on the phone for a while with the help desk (American Express), it’s best to use a headset. I love getting new stuff. I still can’t find the instruction booklet for my new chair, but I’m sort of getting used to sitting this way.

My other manager is in Australia now. I have to change his flight to get him back to Phx earlier. Weird time difference.

Oct 20 (Mon) We changed plans for this past wk-end. We wouldn’t have enough time to see Lewis’s parents, so we postponed that until next wk.

In the morning, I went to the book store to get Terri a gift card, then I stopped at the jewelry store to see about getting my necklace & Alex’s chain repaired. This is the same jewelry store that made my ruby ring when I turned 40 (13 yrs ago) for my birthday present. We’ve had other things made there too over the years. It’s a family owned & operated business – since the early 70’s. I decided to get a new chain for Alex. It should be in sometime this wk. So as one of his birthday presents, I wrapped the old, broken chain. When he opened it he just said, “Gee, thanks, mom.” I explained to him that it was just symbolic of what he is getting next wk. Cathy said, “Why are you giving Alex broken jewelry as a present?” She wasn’t there during the first part of the conversation. Surprisingly, Michael understood it right away, even before I said anything.

I also took a pendant to the jewelry store with me. It was one I found on the playground of a school I worked at about 5 yrs ago. It’s a blue topaz surrounded by diamonds in gold. It’s beautiful. No one claimed it through the whole school year, even after I sent notices out to all of the parents. So I ended up with it at the end of the year. I thought it might be one of those nice, but fake pieces you buy at those home jewelry shows. But the jeweler said it is all real – diamonds, blue topaz, & gold & that it would retail for about $500.00. That was a nice surprise. It’s really beautiful & will look nice on me! They are soldering the clasp shut so I won’t lose it.

Lewis, Alex & I saw a movie on Sat afternoon, “Eagle Eye”. Kind of a strange “big brother” type of movie. Lots of chasing & explosions & cars rolling over. While we were at the theatre, I was trying out my new long distance glasses. A lense fell out before the movie even started. I’m taking them back today after work to get another frame because this one looks took weak.

Sat. night at Marco’s Italian Bistro with the chavarah was very nice. After dinner, we sat out on the patio near the fire pit. Although it’s still very warm, it wasn’t uncomfortable there & we had the patio to ourselves & lots of time to just sit around & talk. I asked the busboy to take a picture of our group. He took 2. They’re okay with one exception: The kid is pretty small so everyone was looking down at the camera which makes our eyes look closed. I will have to get another picture of the 8 of us when we’re together next month for dinner & a play.



The 8 of us (chavarah) at Marco's Bistro.

Shannon & Jonathan, Patty & Eric, Robin & Dan, me & Lewis.

My Maui Jims are missing. How do you lose a pair of sunglasses when you wear them several times a day? ! They are always either on me or in the protective case in my purse. Maybe I just didn’t look hard enough when I dug through my purse yesterday. Hope I find them soon. I really love those glasses. I’ve never had sunglasses so absolutely perfect. I feel like I’m not wearing any glasses at all when I have them on. They are my miracle glasses. No glare – ever. I would like to be a spokesperson for the Maui Jim Company.

Yesterday was Alex’s 15th birthday. It’s so hard for me to believe my little boy is - - well, NOT a little boy. We spent Sunday at Cathy & Dennis’s house with the family to celebrate the October birthdays. The only other birthday was Terri. She just turned 47 last Weds. My son is 15, but my baby sister is 47. Cath & I decided since Terri is 47 & doesn’t look that old, & mom is 75 & doesn’t look near that old, that we will both be 47 as well.

The October birthdays.....Alex & his Aunt Terri (my sister).

Alex doesn’t understand why I keep taking pictures of him - - first day of school every year, all through the day on his birthday, every holiday, any other time he looks cute, when he’s playing with Sparky, when he’s playing his guitar, anytime really. And he asked me why we have to re-hash Oct 19, 1993 every year on his birthday. Wants to know why I always tell him what happened that day, who came to see us when we were in the hospital, what the nurses said, how cute he was, what he wore. He actually said, “Mom, why do we have to re-hash this every year on my birthday? I’ll bet my friends’ moms don’t do this.” He’s such a guy!

Samantha & Michael - Wedding. Aren't they too cute!

Michael & Samantha, the newlyweds, seemed extremely happy. They told us about their trip to San Francisco & everything they did there. They are so good for each other.

Brandon & Tarah came over later because Brandon was working. Tarah showed us lots of ultrasound pictures of the babies. It’s so exciting! Her ob/gyn is making a DVD of each ultrasound for Tarah so she will have their growth on record to keep forever. My ob/gyn did that too but she used a VHS tape because it was “the olden days”. Recently, I had it transferred to a DVD so it will last. I know no one will ever want to look at it again except me - - or maybe Alex’s future wife. But I don’t even want to think about that.

Today, Oct 20, would have been Jonathan & Stephanie’s 2-yr anniversary.

We got Alex’s report card on Fri, in the mail. He’s doing very well. We’re very proud of him. He seems to be working extra hard since he started high school.

The 3 of us are still OD’ing on “24”. Can’t get enough of it. We’re still renting them from Blockbuster because we just started watching season 5. We won’t watch them on TV until we’re finished with the seasons we’ve missed. Then we will record them & watch them on wk-ends & skip past the commercials. There are 4 1-hr episodes on 1 disk, so each season is 24 episodes, 6 disks. That show just never loses momentum. Once we finish watching 1 episode, we look at the clock & wonder if there’s time for another 1 before we have to go to bed. Without the commercials they are about 40-41 minutes each. Wk-ends is when we can watch the most. Most wk-nights we don’t watch any.

I’m going to make egg fu yung for dinner tonight. Lewis bought the ingredients, & I did all of the chopping last night, so the hard part is over. Washing & cutting all of those vegetables. When I start it tonight I’ll just have to throw all of the ingredients together with the eggs, fry it in canola oil & serve it with rice & brown gravy. Yummmmm.

My friends & family know that I go through binge snacking. For about 3 months I snacked only on croutons. Another few months it was only Trader Joe’s cheese crunchies. Another month it was Rolos. For the past 2 months it was popcorn only. But now I’m on to a new snack. It is clusters of oven roasted cashews & dried cranberries & mangoes. Cut into little squares. Delicious. My mouth waters just thinking about it.

It's Mon eve. now. The egg fu yung was wonderful. Now I'm snacking on my CranMango Cashew Crunch. Life is good.

Hugs,

Candace

Moving on in the Year

Sept 25, 2008 (Thurs)
Last night after work I took Alex to Sylvan Learning Center. Homework program. Afterwards, at 7:20, we drove by the tennis courts to see if anyone was using them. If not, Lewis & Alex would go play. There are 4 courts; Two of them are presently being re-surfaced. When they went yesterday to play, they came home in 10 minutes because the remaining 2 courts were in use. We got to the courts & saw that 1 was available. Alex called Lewis’s cell – He was at Blockbuster. Lewis told him to reserve the court, he would go home, change, get the tennis balls, racquets, water & be there in 15 minutes. 15 minutes! And he was. Alex & I sat on the bench on the court under one of the lights that seemed to be attracting about a zillion bugs, mostly grasshoppers. I was trying to read my book & Alex was watching the 2 guys on the other court play. Grasshoppers kept flying at us. Finally, we went over to stand under the one light that was not working. No bugs. But it was too late by then. I had little bugs in my hair. When Lewis got there, he was carrying his shoes & socks. He really hurried. Then I left. As soon as I got to the parking lot I shook my hair to get bugs out of it, but I still had that creepy feeling. Went home to Sparky while the guys played tennis. I was able to go to bed early, but I had a weird dream about scorpions. The white scorpions were crawling on walls & they were “jumpers” - - like grasshoppers. There were big brown scorpions that were really fast. There were also little scorpions that were all over the place. It was a horrible dream. Fortunately, I woke up before any of them stung me. In reality, Lewis has been stung by scorpions about 3 times since we’ve lived in this house – in the middle of the desert. Since he isn’t allergic to the sting, he just takes Tylenol to ease the pain. Within a couple of days he’s fine.

When I got home from the tennis courts, I noticed our front lights were out. That was weird. They’re on a timer. I couldn’t see into the front entryway because it was all black so how could I get my key in the lock? I turned the car to face the entryway to light it up. I was pretty proud of myself. Then I dug around in the outside pocket of my purse for my keys. That’s where I always put them. They were there alright, but the little key ring was somehow caught on the lining of my purse. Man ! Why does this stupid stuff always happen to me.? I set it down in front of the headlights & tried & tried, with no luck. So I just took the purse, almost inside out at that section, took the key ring & tried putting the key in the door. It took a really long time, but I finally was able to put it in & then turn it. All the while I hear my little Sparky scratching at the door, waiting for her mommy, wondering just where the heck I am. I got in, set the purse down, & then took care of the car. Grabbed Alex’s backpack (which must weigh 50 pounds) & went inside. Played with Sparky for a while, took her out, played with her again & then tried to get my key ring off of my purse lining. I finally managed to get it off, but it took a while.

I started wondering why I’m always in these inept situations. I get my lanyard, sunglasses & iPod caught in my necklace, I get my 4-strand necklaces tangled into each other, I have a 2 layer tank that I still can’t untangle. I roll over my skirt with my chair at work, and I can’t get the right size shoes to save my life. Now I started looking at my life. I never considered myself clumsy. Or inept. I just wonder if this stuff happens to everyone. Maybe not as often. Or maybe I can just focus on it more since I don’t have any REAL problems to focus on. You know, I have a pretty decent life. I have a great husband, great son, great dog, family, friends, & a job. We can afford to buy food & a have roof over our heads. I guess what I’m saying is: If tangled necklaces & clothes are the worst things I have to complain about, life is pretty good. I should just shut up & be happy. And I am. When I look at my life, I see everything I have to be thankful for. And there are a lot of people & things to be thankful for. So I’m going to try not to focus so much on the negative things – like the wrong size shoes, or keys getting stuck in the lining of my purse -- & focus on the positive.

Alex loves tennis lessons & playing with his dad (& he even likes playing with me)
Alex seems to genuinely love high school & gets A+s in everything
We’re all healthy
If my shoes don’t fit, I at least have a different pair I can wear
Lewis loves his job
I have a good job
My sisters are the best
My friends are the best
The rest of my family is the best
My niece is pregnant with twins (& very healthy)
My dog is gifted
August is over

There are a lot of other reasons to be thankful, but I’m going to move on now to something not so mushy.

Samantha, my other niece, is getting married this Sat. To Michael, of course. He is such a nice guy. A really good kid. Kid ! I call everyone a kid anymore. Probably because I have somehow gotten old over the years. I still don’t know what to wear to her wedding.

High holidays are coming up. Rosh Hashanah starts on 9/29 eve; Yom Kippur starts 10/8 eve. I’m in charge of getting food for the dinners. I’ve been contacting various caterers. Most of them have those dates booked already. But I found 1 who can do it. She just hasn’t given me a price yet. But she does deliver, & that’s important.

Listen to this: This one person I work with has one of those little boxy cars that looks like a toaster. Yes, a toaster. I can’t remember what it’s called, but that actually describes it perfectly. Another person here has a car that I think might be a Murano, or something like that. But I think it looks like a big loaf of bread. So when I was walking in from the parking lot this morning, I saw both of those cars & thought that the bread car & the toaster car could make toast. Then I thought how stupid that sounds. I also thought only my 2 sisters would see any humor in that. That’s another thing - So often, it seems, only my sisters have the same sense of humor I do. Is that weird? Sometimes I’ll say something that’s funny, but no one gets it. Then I end up wondering if something is wrong with me. I know a lot of the things I refer to in my potential jokes (or quips) are old – like referring to something in the 70’s or 80’s, & no one gets it. Another reason I know I’m older than everyone I work with. (How often do you hear the word “quips” used in daily conversation?)

Example 1: When Alex was in the 5th grade, his teacher asked Lewis if he would come in, bring some Beatles albums & tell the kids something about the Beatles. He did. I went too. The teacher brought a turntable. First of all, the kids had no idea what a turntable was. Then they saw a vinyl 33 album. Another mystery to them. When Lewis asked who had heard of the Beatles & I thought “What a stupid question” only 3 kids raised their hands -- & 1 of them was my kid. What?! We couldn’t believe that. I really felt out of it then. But we did have Alex late. I was 38 & Lewis was 39 when he was born. All of Alex’s friends’ parents were in their early- to mid-20s when they had their kids. So Alex’s friends’ parents wouldn’t even know most of the stuff we would be talking about because it’s kind of like they were almost a different generation in themselves. They listened to different music & didn’t know about the older tv shows. Okay, I can live with that. But we are also much more experienced. Yeah. We like to tell ourselves that. We’ll just keep it at that.

Example 2: One time when Lewis & I were in downtown Phx for an Eric Clapton concert, we were having dinner at a restaurant before the concert started. Our waitress, a college student, asked us if we were going to the basketball game or the concert after dinner. We said the concert. She said, “Oh, that’s that Eric guy. My parents are there too.” Yikes. When she went away, I asked Lewis if we were old. He said, “Apparently.”
“That Eric guy” happens to be one of the greatest guitarists on this planet, & he’s been reduced to “That Eric guy” by a college student.” Pretty disrespectful.

Because I’m so old, I got to experience the era of Steely Dan. There is no music in the world like Steely Dan. It got me thinking this morning when I was driving to work how lucky I am to live in a world with Steely Dan’s music. The last song I was listening to as I drove into the parking lot was “Pretzel Logic.” What clean guitar on that song! I could listen to it over & over. Oh wait. I DO listen to it over & over. And to think – there are some people in this world who have never heard their music. Pretty sad for them. I listen to music in a strange way. I listen to the whole song first. Then I play 2 or 3 more times & listen to just the words, the next time I play it & listen to just the guitar, the next time I focus on only the keyboards, etc. I am not a person who should listen to music while driving because I focus too much on the separation of sound.

Sept 26 (Fri) – Well, just when I was thinking nothing bad was going to happen anymore, we got news this morning that Alex has to have back surgery. It will be the last wk of school because he’ll have to recuperate for 4 months. Two of his vertebrae are fused together & the 2 above it are almost fused. We take him to the pediatric back specialist every 6 months to see if it’s progressing or staying the same. It’s gotten much worse than it was 6 months ago. It’s better to have the surgery as a child than to wait until he’s an adult. Now I’m a nervous wreck. We always get a second opinion. We’re taking him to the other specialist in Oct. And we have to make sure the most experienced doctor operates on him.

We were planning on going to Hawaii this summer, but we won’t. I don’t care. I have to be with my baby. They’ll have a hard time getting me out of the hospital. I hope they know the mother will be staying there with the child.

Let’s think good thoughts. Like - - Samantha & Michael are getting married tomorrow. That will be fun. Gotta love a wedding.

Sept 29 (Mon) It’s over…..Samantha & Michael are married. I have never seen Samantha so radiant. She was positively beaming. And Michael - - well, Michael is always beaming. He’s one of the happiest guys I’ve ever seen. Always laughing about something. He’s a very warm person. The wedding was a lot of fun. I got some great pictures.

Yesterday (Sun) Alex had his friend Chris come over so they could work on their biology project together. When they were finished, Lewis brought his guitar collection out for Chris to see. Chris is supposedly this amazing guitarist - - especially for a 14-yr old. He played 3 of the guitars & decided he likes the Fender 50th Anniversary Strat the best. So Lewis let him play with it for a while until his dad came to pick him up. And get this - - This 14-yr old kid played some Joe Satriani like it was a breeze. Satriani ! Incredible. I just sat there with my mouth hanging open looking like an idiot, not believing what I was seeing / hearing. Lewis too. We were both in awe of this kid. He’s offered to coach Alex too. Alex is already taking guitar, but I think he could really benefit if Chris took some time with him. Alex has always told us about how good Chris is, but it’s hard to be impressed until you’ve actually seen & heard him play.

Tonight at sundown Rosh Hashanah begins. I’m going to leave work a couple of hrs early to get home in time for our meal. Then we’ll go to temple. Sam & Sevilan will be with us. I took care of the dinner this time. Ordered it all from AJ’s. And that is as close as I will get to cooking a big holiday meal. Same thing for next wk – Yom Kippur. I ordered the meal already. So I’ll be off tomorrow - & at temple for a while. I’m getting the challah from 2 different places because it seems wherever we get it, someone complains that it’s not very good - - They tell me I should have gotten it at the other place. So today I’m picking it up from both places.

I intend to put up the Halloween decorations when we get home tomorrow. I need to put the little ghosts & witches in the tree in front of Alex’s bedroom. I have tons of Halloween decorations. It’s my favorite holiday. I decorate the inside of the house too.

I’ve been looking at those little digital handheld recorders for Alex. He’s always coming up with ideas for a book or screenplay & he doesn’t write it down. He’ll come in & tell me the whole story. I tell him what I think of it, we discuss it, & then I tell him to write it down so he doesn’t forget it when he’s ready to put it all together. He says that’s why he tells me – so I’ll remember & he won’t have to. Ha ! Only a male could think like that. So I’m getting him a recorder. I told him we’ll just turn it on when he’s running his story by me & then he’ll have a record of it. I’ll probably end up typing it for him because he doesn’t like typing. He does it every day for something, but not for his own stories. And he’s come up with some really good ideas. (You should see his little fingers fly on that keyboard when it’s Fantasy Football or Baseball time!)

Oct 2 (Thurs) Alex has tennis lessons on Thursdays. He loves it. He & the other kids exchanged phone numbers so they could call each other to play during the wk.

Ever notice other people when you get in an elevator? Everyone tries not to look at the other person. They look at the numbers on the side. I usually look at people’s shoes & purses. If I like them, I tell the person. Then we end up talking. If we see each other around the building again, that person usually smiles or says hello to me. Such little things.

Oct 3 (Fri) Anyone watch the vice-presidential debate last night? Most unusual. I won’t comment further, as I know it’s not a good idea to discuss politics or religion unless you’re really in a fighting mood. Which I am not.

Oct 4 (Sat) Took Alex to the other back specialist for his review. He concurs with the other dr. Alex will need surgery. We have to go to the pediatric orthopedic hospital in Los Angeles to meet with the surgeon & then schedule the surgery, which will take place there also. But the surgery won’t be until school is out.

Alex & I played tennis today. We picked up his racquet from the tennis store. It just got re-strung. The courts are beautiful now. He really loves that game. Bad news is - After his back surgery he can't play any sports for a year. That will drive him crazy.

Samantha & Michael’s wedding photos still aren’t posted on the internet on the photographer’s site yet.

Rosh Hashanah food from AJ's was pretty good, but not everyone thought so, so this week, for Yom Kippur, I have it ordered from another caterer who does just catering. She is not also a grocery store. She is also getting the challah. Her prices are higher, but maybe this time no one will complain. Ha! Who am I kidding?!

Guess that’s it for now.

Hugs, Candace

Welcome, Autumn

Lewis & me at my 35th high school reunion - Sept, 2008

This entry was started on Sept 2, 2008. I am so glad August is over. Nothing good ever happens in August.

Although this entry is titled "Welcome, Autumn" that doesn't mean it's cool. It's still in the high 90s & 100 every now & then. But at least we're getting there.

Yesterday (9/1) was Natalie’s 13th birthday. We’re celebrating it this coming Sunday at Cath’s house with the whole family.
Today (9/2) is the 4-yr anniversary of my dad’s passing. Four years!

Tonight is Cathy’s re-election party at her house from 6pm. I’m going over there right after work.

We went to the hospital to visit Lewis’s mom on Sunday. Lewis made a picnic for her – lox, bagels, cream cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh crab salad & cantaloupe. He made crab legs for us for dinner on Saturday. They were delicious. So sweet.

Sunday afternoon Lewis & Alex went to the tennis courts to hit the ball around. Had trouble finding Alex’s racquet. He ended up using a VERY old racquet, but afterwards, they went to Big Five Sports & bought him a new one. When Lewis got home he went online to read the reviews on the racquet & couldn’t find anything, so he’s going to take it back. Yesterday we went out for lunch & stopped at another sports store on the way home to get him another racquet.

Last night I went to The Improv with Rosalie to see Frank Caliendo. He’s the guy who does the impressions / voices. We had a table right at the stage. Great seats. Stopped at Carlsbad Tavern for dinner first. It was a beautiful night, not hot at all.

Yesterday, Labor Day I played tennis with Alex. I can’t believe how bad I am. I’m going to call the McDowell Mountain Ranch Tennis Club to sign him up for lessons. He took lessons when he was little, but that doesn’t stick. He really had fun yesterday. Asked if we could find lessons for him.

This morning, I have a doctors appointment so I didn’t have to leave the house so early. But I did have to get up to take Alex to the bus stop. We were late. I just ran to the car with no shoes, no purse (which contains a driver’s license), & no house keys. Got him to the bus stop, but the bus had just left. Knowing I had to take him to school, we had to drive back to the house to get my purse with my driver’s license, then leave from there. Had to take him all the way to school – about a 25 minute drive. 25 minutes coming back. There goes my “back to bed before the doctor” time. I took Sparky with me so she wouldn’t be alone since I was coming right back. She was very happy to sit on her brother’s lap & dig her little nails into his legs.

This Sat we’re going to a CD release party. The person is the daughter of the Director of Lewis’s agency . We’ve been to several of her shows & have all of her CDs. This should be fun.

Lincoln dealership called. It’s going to cost a LOT of money to fix the air suspension on my pretty little car. Lewis isn’t happy about that, but we really don’t have a choice. Then the car will be back to riding like a magic carpet again.

Sevilan’s out of the hospital now. She had a little set back. Chest pains. They moved her to the cardiac unit & did tests, but she’s fine.

Sept 6 (Sat)
Went to my 35-yr high school year reunion last night. Lots of fun. Saw so many people I should have kept in touch with but didn’t. I did get a lot of good pictures. I’ll put them on the reunion website soon. Tonight is “part 2” of the reunion, but we aren’t going because we’re going to the CD release party instead. Rosalie is going with us tonight. Rosalie’s son, who is a friend of Alex’s, is coming over here so they can spend the evening together while we’re gone. Their pizza has already been ordered.

Yesterday my department (at work) did a volunteer event at the Childrens’ Center in Phoenix. Then we all went to lunch, so I got home around 3:00 pm instead of 5:20.

On the way home I stopped & got some zucchini. Came home, cut them, & fried them in that canola butter. They didn’t fry very well. I didn’t know why. Then Lewis saw them & said they didn’t taste right. We took the rest out of the fridge & they had the bumps on them. I bought cucumbers instead of zucchini. They were in the zucchini bin ! I swear.

Alex is scheduled to have a one-on-one meeting with the tennis instructor next wk so she can “place” him. He’s very excited about finally getting lessons again.

Picked up my car this morning. My beautiful little car is back were it belongs - - & yes, it rides like a magic carpet. They washed it too. (For the kind of money we had to spend on it, I’d expect they’d wash it every wk ! ) On the way back from getting my car, I bought some real zucchini & dropped off another pair of shoes at the UPS store to exchange. This should be the last pair. The other ones came & they fit. So once I get these, that will be it. I will never buy shoes again. (Yeah, right ! )

I went to Cathy’s house on Tues for her re-election party. Lots of people there. The whole family, the mayor, lots of people from the council, & tons of people I don’t know. She won by a wide margin. We knew she would. Another 4 years !

Sept 7 (Sun)
Lewis & Alex are out playing tennis now. Alex loves his new racquet.

We went to Cathy’s today to celebrate Natalie’s birthday. Terri brought pictures from Samantha’s shower & I brought the bar mitzvah photo album to show everyone.

Last night Lewis, Rosalie, & I went to Nick’s (Italian) for dinner & then to the CD Release party. It was a lot of fun. Cute little place called The Bungalow. There were about 75 people there. Lots of people from Lewis’s office. Perfect night to sit outside. While we were gone, Rosalie’s son was here with Alex playing basketball & video games.

I just spent some time sorting my photos into files (on my computer). Sent some of the reunion pictures to the Paradise Valley High School reunion site & to some friends who were there with us.

Tomorrow (9/8), my new (interim) manager starts. That means this will be a very busy week. Hope I don’t have to stay late. I don’t like doing that.

Lewis has poker here on Thursday. Alex & I will stay out of the way (except for grabbing some of the food).

Sept 11 (Thurs) I’m wearing a red, white, & blue today - - a pretty scarf.. 9-11.

I like my new boss. She’s very good. She will still work out of our Florida office, but she’ll be in Phoenix every now & then, but for the most part, she will be in Florida.

Lewis has poker tonight – at our house – so I’m taking Alex to his basketball scrimmage at the high school. It’s from 6:30 to 8:30 Tues & Thurs. While he’s there I’ll be having dinner with Martha at Ajo Al’s.

Found out today that my niece, Tarah is pregnant with TWINS ! Everyone is so excited. She & Brandon didn’t want to tell anyone until she was through her first trimester. This is so cool !!! (You can tell I’m really excited because I never use more than 1 exclamation point. It’s not proper grammar.)

Our friend Jessica had her baby today. This is just a good day all around. Notice it is NOT August.

Sept 12 (Fri) Didn’t take Alex to the scrimmage last night. He’s coughing & has a sore throat & wanted to go to bed early. So I cancelled dinner with Martha. Then he asked me if I would play tennis with him. The kid’s a die-hard. I said NO – Go rest.

Sept 13 (Sat) Lewis & I took 2 of the cars in to have the oil & lube done today. Also to have them washed. We had lunch at a new little Thai place while we were waiting.

I went through the closet today & organized my books. Pretty exciting stuff, I know.
Lewis made falafel pitas for dinner. They were really good. Not sure if I spelled falafel right, but I probably won’t have to use it again. Then we had leftover chocolate cake from poker night.

Sept 22 - The strangest thing happened: This morning when I was putting on a pair of my new shoes for the first time, I noticed they were way too big. That is one of the pairs I exchanged for a half size larger because the others were just a bit too tight. When I tried them on when they first came, they were fine. But now, they're too big & I slip out of them. Just what's going on here?!

Alex has weekly tennis lessons now. He's very happy about that. Wants Lewis or me to play with him every night after work.

Well, that should do it for now.

Hugs,

Candace