Sweet Story – And My Kid!

Okay, the bigger part of this is that many of you have heard me complain that courtesy and care are harder to find nowadays – especially when younger people are concerned. (Oh my gosh, when did I become my mother?!!?!!? LOL) Anyway, the varsity football players at Canyon High in Santa Clarita Valley proved me wrong. They took their spring break and offered a FREE football camp to elementary and junior high students! They also FED them! My son, Josh, was one of those kids and I can tell you that neither I or his Dad would have been able to afford the camp otherwise. And that just blesses me.

Check out this story/video to see for yourself. Josh is in there VERY QUICKLY at the beginning and the end – he is the quarterback for the yellow team wearing black shorts with white stripes. I am told he was one of the best passers and earned the name “Cannon”. 

Let this be a lesson to me……good things do happen!

I Am Excited…..And Bummed!

So, what part first?  Let’s see……

Okay, the bummer part….tomorrow, Zack is turning 7.  Why is that a bummer?  Well, he is growing up!  I mean, he was just 4, almost 5, when we met him and now he’s PRACTICALLY AN ADULT!  All week I have been telling him, “Zack, your birthday is cancelled – you have to stay six.”  Of course, he said even if I cancelled his birthday, he would still turn 7.  The smart bugger!

I don’t know, 7 sounds SO much older than 6!  But, I guess he is right…..I can’t stop the hands of time!  So, Zack will be 7…..

But the GOOD news – we are going to Disneyland tomorrow!  Yep, that’s right!  Zack gets in free and the rest of us are getting passes!  WHOOT WHOOT!  I am SO excited!  I haven’t been to Disneyland since August and I am SO looking forward to it!  I want to go on the rides, act like a kid, SEE GOOFY (my love), eat junk food, laugh, and celebrate Zack’s birthday!  I feel like a kid the night before too, not being able to sleep!  YIPPEE!!!!

So, on that note, I best get my stuff together for tomorrow.  Hope to post pics after the big day!

An Interview with my Other Kid

~I interviewed Josh, my youngest- age 8 1/2

1. What is something your mom always says to you?
I love you

2. What makes mom happy?
Me saying I love you

3. What makes mom sad?
When we don’t listen and are naughty

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Tickling me

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Well, how should I know? I wasn’t alive then.

6. How old is your mom?
41

7. How tall is your mom?
I never learned that

8. What is your mom’s favorite thing to do?
I think you told me and you said you like being with me and Kenny

9. What does your mom do when you are not around?
Work

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
By being in a movie

11. What is your mom really good at?
There are so many things…..you’re good at singing

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Uh, eeeeee, I’m thinking, don’t rush me…….what if I say something but it’s kind of rude?……Balancing or something? ‘Cause you do everything really good

13. What does your mom do for a job?
Do, like, you do job to job……I forgot how to say it.

14. What is your mom’s favorite food?
Brownies? (Nope! Too sweet!)

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
She finishes what she starts. And she does stuff like get on a scary ride and that makes me so proud of her.

16. If your mom was a cartoon character, what would it be?
Goofy

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Sing

18. How are you and your mom the same?
We both have the same nose. (Sorry about that Josh!!!)

19. How are you and your mom different?
I’m a boy and she’s a girl

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Well, because she’s my mother and I am her son. And she says, “I love you Josh.”

21. What does your mom like about your Dad
How he acts – he makes her laugh

22. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go?
Anywhere with me.

Bad Words from the Kids

The other day, Deana, Zack, and Sophia visited me at my work. Over dinner (Sophia LOVES Du-par’s chicken noodle soup!), Deana was telling me that she was shocked that The Power Puff Girls movie had several bad words in it. Here is how the conversation went:

D: Yes, it was very shocking!

G: Well, what sort of words are we talking about?

S: It was like “shut up” and “stupid” (at this point, Zack looks at Sophia with an incredulous face, as if to say “Oh my gosh, she just SAID those words)

Z: Yeah, and then they said “can of whoop ass” (seriously, I started laughing so hard at this point because I never expected him to say this)

Z: What?!?!!?!!?

G: I didn’t expect you to say “whoop ass”

Z: Well, Sophia said the other words, so I figured I could say that one.

Days later, I have used the “whoop ass” comment on many occasions – mostly to be ornery and to see how the kids would respond. My favorite response is from Sophia. Here’s an example:

G: You better watch it Sophia, don’t make me get a can of whoop ass out!

S: G, you said the b word! (She says that after ANY bad word and I find it endearingly hilarious!)

What?!!?! Kirstie moved OUT?!!?!!?…..and other Amazing Stories

Well, hello! It’s been a while since I’ve written and for that I apologize. I have plenty of excuses for this lack of action here, but I won’t put you thru the boring steps of reading them……

First, some business:

• Today is my Aunt Kay’s Birthday! Special shout out to my favorite Aunt! I pray that today is filled with myriad blessings at that 2009 turns out to be one of the best years of your life!
• This week I had two positive experiences on the job front (but no offers) and also prepared and presented my first business proposal through my new consulting firm, Minard Services. To learn more about this step I am taking, check out my site.
• For a few years I had an avid reader of this blog, someone who snuck to it during class and often made the best comments. Now, she has started her own blog as well! Check it out here.

Now, for the formal update!

Kirstie Has Left the Nest!

Kirstie, who turned 18 this past September, has been attending college since August. She is a nice blend of me and Edgar, being somewhat shy but outgoing at the same time. Around Christmas she mentioned she had made some friends at school who shared an apartment very close to the campus, and was considering moving in with them. I listened, as a good mother does, but I seriously didn’t take what she was saying to heart because, well, she had it made at home. So, when she brought it up again this past week, and when doing so had more details and very detailed questions, my little mother ears popped up. Suddenly, I KNEW she was serious! My first reaction was YES, she’s moving out! But as the reality of the situation manifested itself, I began to think……OMG, my baby is leaving!

I ain’t gonna lie, this has been a tad hard for me. I worry about her – not that she will be hurt or anything……more like, “Does she have all the staple items she probably takes for granted? Is she washing her clothes? Will she have enough money for rent AND food AND fun? Will she clean her room?” The list goes on. What is hilarious about this concern is that it started about 2 hours after she moved out. LOL

So, yesterday I stopped by her place to see it and hang out. It IS a nice place and her set up is cute. We went to dinner together and then went shopping. She bought a bike so that she can ride it to school, thus saving the VERY HIGH parking fee for school. I gave her a bit of money so she doesn’t have to stress and then I left. And I felt better but maybe not completely. This whole thing is new for me so I know it will take time to adjust…..

Restoration and Peace

In the last few months, I have eluded here that I lost a very close friend. I did, and it was based in large part on my own actions. Well, actions that I knew would upset her. I think there were more factors on both sides that lead to the ending that occurred, but it is what it is.

What was hard for me, though, is that I missed her very much. She and I melded in ways hard to express here. I didn’t know how to deal with that loss and figured she hated me. I thought about contacting one of her daughters to figure if there was even a chance we could talk, but then I decided to go straight to the source. So, I sent the following text:

“Hey hope you’re doing well. Is it unreasonable for me to request dinner or meeting for a cocktail?”

A quick moment passed and I received the following response:

“Yep”

Honestly, my heart dropped as I realized the damage I had truly caused. I felt the realization of my loss yet again, then chastized myself for focusing only on my feelings. As I drove (yes, I am now breaking California law…), I responded:

“Ok sorry”

I continued to absorb the reality of the situation, envisioning the years of friendship from the past and the potential emptiness of the future, when I received the following text:

“Oops, I said it backwards! I meant I’d be open”

Wow! So, although it is fair to say that there are always consequences to our actions and relationships can be altered by things we do, we met and it went well. I was concerned about the initial interaction, but it amazed me that sitting down with her was COMFORTABLE. It’s like when you are wearing new shoes all day and they are rubbing your toes wrong or too tight around your heel, and then you get home and put on your favorite pair of shoes and go, “aaaggghhhhh!” So, at least for me, the night was much about that “aaaggghhhh!” feeling.

Wow, That is a Cool Story!

I missed much of the hoopla during the day regarding the plane crash into the Hudson River as I had an interview and then went to see Kirstie. So when I walked home and saw interviews and heard the details, I was amazed and happy that no one was killed. So, it is with this reverence and appreciation that I share this story about the pilot of the plane, Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III. The story made me smile and I hope you enjoy it!

Okay, I have TONS of homework to get to, so GINA OUT!

Next time, I will share about my Academy Award plans!

Kenny, my boy….

Yes, people, school has begun and Kenny is beginning his first fund raiser!  His goal is to sell 20 online magazine subscriptions so he can get a Sector Nine long board skateboard.  Oh, and of course raise funds for his school!  So PLEASE consider subscribing to one (or two) or your favorite mags through this fundraiser!!!

It’s very easy and can be handled 100% online!

If you are interested, please comment or email me at gmdimples@gmail.com.

Boys’ first day of school!

Well, Gina kind of blew the first day of school because she is SICK!  So I don’t have cool “first-day-of-school-pictures” to show y’all!  NOT that Kenny would let me, he is now in JUNIOR HIGH after all!  Sheesh!  He had planned to walk to school with a friend, but said friend’s mother wanted to take him to school…..so I ended up taking Kenny.  Yes, picture this……”drop me off here, Mom!”  And he didn’t look back!

Go back 4 years……me and Kenny dropping Kirstie off at JH…..Kirstie doing the same thing……and Kenny saying with disgust, “Oh my gosh Mom!  I can’t believe she didn’t say I love you, goodbye, or ANYTHING!  I will NEVER be like that!”

I reminded him of that today, and he said, “Well, I wasn’t in JH when I said that Mom!”

Ah, teenagers!

Josh is happy with his new teacher and class as well.  All his friends from last year are in his class now, so he is cool.  He says his teacher is VERY cool too.  I couldn’t get much else out of him because he found is PSP in the car and he gets into video zone when that happens.  I am a HORRIBLE mother!

I see the doc tomorrow about my shoulder and cholesterol.  Sigh.  I will let you know how it goes.  So Teddi, no more yelling, ‘k?

Gina OUT!

More Disneyland Vacation…..

Okay, so I had intended on showing some awesome pics this morning……but you see, something happened.  Before I left on vacation I asked myself, “Should I bring the cable for the camera?”  And I can’t remember what I answered and now can’t find the dang thing!  Am I dumb?  YES!  So I hope to resolve this little fiasco soon, but for now I will just bore you with my witty writing…….

On Tuesday, we were brave little travelers and got up early to take advantage of being able to access Disneyland before it opens to the public.  My boys woke pretty quickly for sure but this body was so-so.  Hannah is so cute – we would say, “Hannah, we’re going to Disneyland!” and she would respond, “We’re already here!”  (This conversation was a staple for the entire trip!)

I have to say that I haven’t been to Disneyland with a little one for quite a while, so it was neat to see her get enthralled by so many things.  The boys still get excited too, don’t get me wrong, and we had so much fun.  Nemo was one of our first rides, and it was cute.  We drove Autopia and Kenny was not as thrilled as we are now regulars at K1 Speed, lol.  The boys and I went on Space Mountain and it was a blast!  All the time was great and the boys love Hannah almost as much as she loves them.

Okay, here’s an honest moment from Gina – I am too tired to write more!  So I will do this later!

Update on Gina – yeah, I know- HOW EXCITING!

Some updates to my loyal readers. You know who you are!  Special shout out to Martin – “I’m a Man” by Chicago I think of you!  (Note to other readers:  Not that I need reminding Martin is a man or anything like that, but he LOVES this song and told me about it once and yeah, so there you go.  It’s a great song, BTW).

THE SHOULDER – Okay, remember I hurt it about 2 weeks ago surfing? The doc at the time kind of blew me off. Said doc was a man. Now, I am NOT trying to be mean or over generalize, but women I have a question. Have you noticed that male doctors often blow off issues we have? It seems to be a trend with me…..at the time he was like, “Yeah, you probably pulled a muscle. Wear this sling and take some motrin and if doesn’t get better come on back.” (Incidentally, my male Chiro moved it all around, said “yep, you hurt your shoulder” and nothing else!). So, since it was NOT getting better at all, I went back yesterday. The FEMALE doctor was much more attentive, asked about 100% more questions, actually TOUCHED my shoulder, took x-rays, and determined I had a partial rotor cuff tear. She prescribed steroids, showed me some physical therapy moves to make sure my shoulder doesn’t lock up, and was cool. So yeah, I guess I will NOT be surfing again this summer…….lol.

HANGING WITH KEN – Kenny called me at 11:30pm Wednesday night asking if he could hang with me and spend the night Thursday. Yes, he was awake at that time and calling! LOL So we did hang out. We went on a “date” too – dinner at Red Robin and tooling around the Brea Mall. Of course we had a blast at the Apple Store, checked out the animals at the pet store (“Why didn’t you pet the rabbits, mom?”), went to Radio Shack (he loves this store and likes the remote control anythings….), and ending the fun at Champs where we got two caps for him.

Here is Ken with one of his new caps

MY CAR - Okay well my cute little car has been a little sick. When I accelerate especially, it won’t shift and then I can’t go faster and – well – that’s bad on two fronts. First of all, I could get killed. Secondly, I like to drive fast so it really crimps my style! So I took it into the shop yesterday. Since I hadn’t made an appointment, I figured I wouldn’t get a rental car so had planned to get one on my own. Sure enough, they told me they could get me one Monday. ANYWAY, turns out it is NOT my transmission, but rather my catalytic converter! I don’t know enough to really understand that, but this fix will also take until at least through Monday. They are getting me a rental car Monday morning so that is cool. AND I am having my 30,000 mile service – this is an American car people! Not dissing, but I have found you need this sort of thing to make sure they don’t die……

MY RENTAL CAR - So, I had made reservations for a car through Thrifty……it was a good deal actually. Kirstie was nice enough to pick me and Kenny up at the dealership, take us to breakfast, and then take me to John Wayne Airport to get my rental car. We get there and it’s empty except for the LONG line at Thrifty Rentals…….a line that moved about 5 feet in 30 minutes! I am NOT exaggerating! So, about that time two guys that were behind us decided to check with Avis. One guy left and then came back saying, “Hey, they have a car now and its cheaper than our quote here!” So Kenny decides to go on his own to ask them if they have a convertible! He comes back, tells me to go with him, asks Kirstie to stay in line “just in case”, and we head back…….YEP! They had a convertible for LESS money than Thrifty and I didn’t have to wait any longer in line! Kenny was SO excited because we got a Spyder and its very sporty and FUN! He cant’ wait for me to come back today to drive him around! He even hopped into the car without opening the door and was STOKED! And truth be told, I am having a blast with it too! Special thanks to Kir for calling Thrifty to cancel the reservation – LOL! AND being my taxi!

Here is my car for the weekend!

MY MAC – for some crazy reason, but CD burner is dead! I am sad! It seems the problem I am experiencing is a BIG problem for many peeps and I am sad. I have an appointment today at 4pm so we shall see.

KIRSTIE – many of you know that Kenny and I are very goofy. At times Josh joins in the ranks and lets loose a bit in the goof factor. But Kirstie? Not so much. She is more serious in nature and is usually one who is bemoaning the way we act, especially in public. It’s kind of fun to embarrass her sometimes (shhh, don’t tell her!). But yesterday she surprised me not only by putting in these gag teeth, but also letting me take a PICTURE of it!

MY UPCOMING MINI-VACATION – I was sitting here this week kind of sad that summer was coming to an end – maybe Josh’s song put this sentiment in my mind. Anyway, I got a bee in my bonnet and thought it’d be fun to take the boys to the Disneyland Resort. It morphed into getting a package and staying at the resort for a few days! Woohoo! So we are doing that next week and they are EXCITED! I am looking forward to it, too! So yeah, woohoo to summer!

Okay, that’s it for now! And hello peeps, where are the comments???? LOL

Holy Crap! The Countdown Begins!

Should I say “excuse my French”?

Today marks one month before my BABY GIRL turns 18!  Hoooooly, freaking CRAP!  LOL.  At least I know I was very young when she was born (ahem, 22.75) but still…..to have an adult for a child is a bit chilling!

These pics were taken yesterday as Kirstie, Kenny, and I went to sushi for lunch!

The almost adult…..

I have NO idea where he gets his silliness from!

My Joshter

My Aunt Kay mentioned a while ago that she like the boys having longer hair now.  Me too!  It is a little messy right now (have to get it cleaned up soon), but I like the longer look.  Kenny used to have HUGELY curly hair when he was little – that hasn’t shown up yet.  Josh is showing more curls and he had less when he was little!  LOL

Kirstie?  Well, she colors her hair and it is much darker than her natural color.  She had blonde hair when she was little and then it slowly turned to light brown.  Yesterday, her Dad said, “you should lighten your hair……like your Mom’s.”  She said, “I would look ridiculous!”  I guess the look on my face was like, “What?!!?!” because everyone laughed and then she had to clarify that it looked good on ME, but she didn’t think it would work for her!  LOL……..Reminds me of a comment Rona made before going to the eye doctor.  I will keep THAT one to myself!  Ha.

Okay, I am going to wrestle with Josh now, at least pretend to as I am not wanting to aggravate my shoulder more!