I'm Baaack (insert scary music here)

I admit, I went on a very long hiatus. My desire to try and write small snippets here and there failed miserably, and now I am going to have to try and catch up on 4 months of happenings. To save you all from boredom, I promise not to try and put you to sleep with the conundrums of my life for the last 120 days.

The school year is off to a good start with the girls at a new school that has an amazing curriculum. It is called University Public Schools, and they attend Polytechnic Elementary. It is associated with ASU, and the teachers (who are NOT students, but rather "well qualified teachers") utilize resources at ASU (such as distinguished professors as mentors) to help shape their lessons. The goal is not to simply pass AIMS tests with flying colors, but to assist them in preparing for university type learning. I probably didn't describe that as eloquently as I should have, but the overall experience has been amazing so far. The girls absolutely love their new school, and I can already see a positive change in their approach to schoolwork.

Things at Boeing have been rather slow lately. We are in between projects and everyone is milling around looking for work. I have been able to stay at home (unpaid, of course) and tried and get some projects done around the house (along with a few naps thrown in). Thank goodness I sold several houses in the last couple months, or we would be on a strict diet of Ramen noodles. As far as the projects go...I guess you could say I am well rested.

Jessica started playing the flute this year, much to my chagrin. I would have much rather her taken up an obscure instrument with no competition. Secretly I am pleased because she seems to be doing well, and she really enjoys it. Their new school does not have a band or an orchestra yet, being that this is their first year in operation. Instead, Jessica is taking private lessons from an instructor who I put through a rigorous interview process. I tried to teach Jessica a little myself when we first brought the flute home from the music store. It went a little like this:

First lesson: Putting the instrument together without breaking off any keys. 

Result: No broken keys. Excellent. 

Second lesson: Attempt to blow into the mouthpiece and make a sound. 

Result: A few weak sounds followed by a tearful protest, "You just don't understand how hard this is!! Life is so unfair!" 

Needless to say, I quickly started in on researching and interviewing local flute teachers.

Alisa resumed piano lessons after a 2 year sabbatical. She is doing amazingly well. For the entire two years off, she begged to resume lessons. My well intentioned, but highly failed, attempt to teach her myself resulted in finally locating a local piano instructor who could pass the aforementioned interview process. Alisa loves the piano so much, that when she finally added up all the minutes that she practices throughout the day, it totals to approximately 60 minutes each day. Keep in mind, this is a 9 year old, playing at a basic level. Whoo hoo! Maybe she'll be my gravy train. Oh wait, pianists don't make very much money. Shucks. Maybe I need to refocus her attention to her sewing skills and studying the anatomy of the heart.

On top of music lessons we have soccer, swimming, and girl scouts, so needless to say, we are poor and busy.

Until next time, thanks for checking in.

~cc

One's a Spender, One's a Saver

Do you find that in your marriage or in your relationship with your significant other that one's a saver and one's a spender? With Felipe and I, we seem to take turns. Sometimes it changes on a daily basis and sometimes it changes annually. Lately he's been the saver and I have been the spender. It's probably good that one of us balances out the other.


On Saturday I went to Costco. Felipe asked me how much I was going to spend before I left the house. He also asked me what I would be buying. I listed off some things, all of which he shook his head to. In case you were wondering, I did not tell him I was buying the Lexus that they have parked outside. I said I was buying laundry detergent, napkins and dental floss to name a few. He gave me a hard time about buying those things, being pretty clear that I was not to buy anything we don't "need." As I was at Costco throwing a 50-pack of dental floss into the cart I felt a minor twinge of guilt. I calmed myself by remembering that I would probably save about 12 cents for buying this in bulk.


When I got home, I was sure to unload the car by myself and put everything away so he didn't unpack the boxes making little comments about every purchase. "Oh, you think we need toilet paper? Why can't we use the leaves I have in the trash barrel outside instead?" Felipe arrived home shortly after I had put everything away and he had the girls tell me that I needed to come outside right away. As I stepped outside, I heard a noise like a lawn mower, thinking Felipe was mowing the lawn (again). Nope, no yard work going on, but rather Felipe and the girls hit a Sidewalk Sale at Autozone and bought this kids' motorcycle/scooter thingie. Huh?? Besides the fact that it wasn't in Felipe's budget, did he think that we suddenly were transported to a trailer park in West Virginia? I don't raise kids with motorcycles and Nascar. But back to the budget thing: I couldn't buy dental floss? Go figure. Anyway, that's a picture of Alisa with her biker game face.

As You Wish update

I finally took photos of our hand painted pottery from As You Wish. I did the brown and blue flower pot, Alisa did the mermaid, Felipe did the Gecko and Jessica did the red vase. I was surprisingly happy about how they turned out, with the exception of Alisa's. Hers sort of looks like a pre-op transexual. But she's only 8, so I guess I can cut her a break. Also, be sure to check out my countertops (I took the photos on my kitchen island). The counters are my absolute favorite feature of our house.

Sometimes Less is More

I am going to try to jot down short notes throughout the month instead of feeling the pressure to catch up on everything in one entry. You people would probably rather read the short entries anyway. Who has time to read a novel?

This week there is a pretty big event at Boeing. It is when our design has finally come to its culmination and we get to officially test it. I have always been the primary caretaker for the family by switching around my work schedule for the kids, which I never minded. But this week I can't afford to miss any part of this event. I told Felipe that for 3 days this week he would have to step up his game and get the kids off to school, which means he would have to go into work late. "No problem," he says. Whew.

Monday night he tells me that he can't stay home to help get the kids off to school on Tuesday. What?? Neither can I. I am *not* backing down on this one folks. His solution? Let the kiddos get themselves ready and off to school alone. Oh, but not alone; with a telephone call from him every 15 minutes to prompt them along. Yikes! I almost gave in and stayed home, but I decided to let him do it his way. Sure enough, they actually woke up, made breakfast, did their hair, brushed their teeth, packed their snack, fed the dogs, and locked up the house while leaving for school. Although I still think they are too young for this sort of regular routine, it is nice to know that they can handle it in a dire emergency (note: bad planning on Felipe's part should not constitute "dire emergency").

Today, still the same important week at Boeing, I get a call from an unknown number on my cell phone. I ignore it. 45 minutes go by before I can check my voicemail. It's the school calling to let me know that Alisa (the 8 year old) is sick in the nurse's office and can someone come and pick her up. Awww. Guess who I can't get a hold of (Felipe, if you couldn't guess). So naturally I have to leave work during this all important Review. Not that I minded, I really wanted to be with my baby (she'll always be a baby - even at 55). I felt horrible that I kept her waiting for as long as I did.

There is no way she will be able to go to school tomorrow. A temperature of 101, upset stomach and constant sleeping (which is unusual for her) convinces me that she is truly sick. I badgered Felipe into manipulating his work schedule to stay home with her tomorrow since I still have this big work thing going on. When I told Alisa that her dad was staying home, she got upset and cried that she wanted her Mommy the most. Well, that seals it. I am calling in sick and I don't care what happens to my job. I am a Mommy first, right? Right. Plus, she is a complete Daddy's girl so I saw this as my chance to possibly elbow my way to the #1 spot in her heart.

I hope that when she is 25, pursuing her PhD/law degree/MD, and she gets the stomach flu, she will still want to come home for 5 days to sleep and recoup on my sofa until she feels better. I'll cover her up with her favorite blankie, read her a bedtime story from a scientific journal/Supreme Court case law/medical journal and rock her to sleep.

Speaking of always being my baby - have you heard David Cook's (from American Idol) version of the song, "Always Be My Baby"? I downloaded it from iTunes. It is the studio version so it's full length and professionally recorded. I love it! I listen to it all the time. Go David Cook! Rock on (picture devil horn hand gestures here).

Until next time (so much for this being short).

~cc

May Flowers and Miserable Allergies

For some reason, the last several weeks have just wreaked havoc on my sinuses. I can't stop itching my eyes, blowing my nose, and sneezing. I suppose the constant yellow pollen blowing around the ASU campus from the Mesquite trees doesn't help my allergies at all. I take my Claritin daily, and even decided to try and switch to Zyrtec (it's over the counter now too). Neither one does me any good.

I am typing on my Mac today. Hurrah for Macs! I really love this keyboard. It is very easy to type on and I have limited typos. I love the tactile feedback and the low profile design. So far I am happy with my Mac but haven't really utilized it for more than web surfing. I just received Office for Mac in the mail and haven't yet installed it, so maybe my productivity will change things once it is installed. I love the screen and the fact that the computer doesn't ever freeze up on me. I hate the lack of a right click on the mouse, but once I find Mac's version of a right click I will probably be fine. The Jaguar OS has this awesome built in function of text-to-speech. In any program I can highlight text and hit command-S (I created this particular command combination) and this very nice voice reads aloud what I highlighted. His fluency and cadence is practically perfect. I don't know why I need that feature, but I do like it. In the latest Popular Mechanics they did a Mac vs. PC test and found that Mac out-performed PCs in every test. I wouldn't consider Popular Mechanics a great research magazine, but it was interesting none-the-less. Their tests looked mostly at speed and operating system reliability. They even went so far as to install Vista on a Mac and testing it against Vista on a PC. Of course the Mac won. So far I am happy with my Mac. The only downside is the portability. It is pretty easy to carry it from one room to another, but I want it to be even EASIER. I am ordering a laptop cart online and I will let you know how that goes. Although my Mac isn't a laptop it is pretty slim in design, so I believe the laptop cart will work for my needs.

We finally figured out our car situation. We decided that we needed to have one large passenger vehicle with towing capacity, since our Toyota Prius is our second car. From our research there is no doubt that the Japanese vehicles have great resale. We couldn't find a Toyota or Honda SUV that had more than 5 passenger capacity within our budget. Felipe's preferred budget was $6,000, but I was able to raise it slightly, arguing against the ridiculousness of a $6,000 SUV. I refused to drive a Suzuki Samarai or something of that sort. Anyhoo, we started looking at Ford Expeditions since that is what we had before our last vehicle. Low and behold, we found a 2000 model with only 60,000 miles in amazing condition. Strangely enough it was the exact same color and option package as what we had before (our other one was a 2001, but same body style). It feels like we stepped back in time. Plus, we got it under budget so you can't beat that. Our old Expedition was a total gas guzzler, but this one has a smaller engine so it isn't as bad. I feel sort of bad for buying such a gas guzzler in terms of environmental responsibility, but I guess our carbon footprint is offset somewhat by the Toyota Prius. That's how I justify it anyway.

I am so happy that school is almost over. I am ready for this statistics class to be over. I should be working on my take home final, but after a week of not working I still haven't even cracked it open. I am almost done with all my coursework after this semester. I have two electives and one more class. I recently found that my electives can be a 400 level, which is great. I wonder if they have a 400 level Beatles class online. More importantly, I wonder if there is some sort of restriction guideline to the electives I choose. Overall, the hardest part is determining and writing my thesis. That will be the brunt of my work for the next year or so. I have half a mind to quit and just beg Boeing to hire me with only a bachelor's, but I know that I will regret it if I quit now. I wish I had picked a Master's program that only required coursework. That seems so much easier than a thesis.

We have guests coming for dinner tonight (as usual for a weekend), so I better go and clean the house so it looks like I am the perfect wife and mother who strives to live in a sterile and pristine environment while juggling my two careers, school and family.

Thanks for checking in.
~cc

Blogging along

Wow, I am doing pretty good keeping up with this blog thing. Sometimes something exciting will happen and I think, "Ooh, I can't wait to blog about this!" I suppose that means that I am finally getting the hang of this. It's sort of my own Doogie Howser online diary.

So I finally made the computer decision. Drum roll please...It's an iMac desktop! I know, I know, don't you hate those people who ask you for your opinion and then completely disregard it? Well, I actually was pretty darn close to getting the Dell M1330 that Bob recommended (see comments from earlier post). It had some great specs and overall seemed like a fab computer. To top it off, I found out that Boeing gets an 18% discount on Dell computers, so it was going to be a really good savings. However, I was really struggling with the desktop/laptop debate, and I decided that I really wanted to try the desktop route first. Keep in mind, this is now our 3rd desktop (in addition to one laptop) so it's not like I am new to the computer shopping game. However, I really wanted a sleek sexy desktop to keep in the kitchen or tote into my room to do my work on. The nail in the coffin was that this desktop was listed on Craigslist for a pretty good deal. It is the latest iMac version so it is no different than what I would get in the store (box and all), but for much much cheaper. So cheap in fact, that its origins are somewhat suspect. While we were inspecting the laptop in the Arizona Mills parking lot (the location was our first alarm) I called Apple to confirm the warranty (read: determine it wasn't reported as stolen). Everything checked out, so after we were able to plug it in and inspect it, we handed the guy his money. My rationale is this: if I don't like it after 30 days, I'll sell it on Craigslist or eBay for exactly what I paid for it. So basically it's like a free trial version. So far though, we are *loving* it. It has one cord to the power outlet, a super slim keyboard and a sleek mouse. It is connected to our internet and printer wirelessly, which is very cool. In the meantime I am now shopping for software on Craigslist, and so far I can only find Office for Mac on "burned discs" with "guaranteed key codes". Hmmm...I think I will stick with the idea of buying the software new from the Apple Store with my student discount.

We had some friends over for dinner tonight, and as we were playing on our iMac in the kitchen watching YouTube videos, I remembered I have a Stats exam tomorrow. Yikes. I am supposed to be studying for that right now, but I need a break from strange greek letters and theoretical concepts.

Back to my purchasing fun. I ended up buying a scanner as well - it is the Canon Canoscan 8800f. Our previous scanner was an Epson, which was okay but the software would always crash and I would lose about 2 hours worth of work. I did some reading on the Internet and found that's a common problem with Epson scanner software, even with today's newest scanners. So I decided to steer clear from the Epson and try the Canon. As soon as I get a chance to breathe I will be scanning photos onto our computer and a portable hard drive for back-up.

Some friends of ours had a fire in their house last week. Their fish tank had an electrical short while they were gone. There is significant smoke damage throughout the house and some of the house will need to be restored. They are super lucky because they have ADT and the special smoke detector that calls the fire department was right above the fish tank. The fire department responded quickly so the burned things were confined in pretty much one area. Because of the smoke damage though, most things need to be replaced or specially cleaned. This made me think twice about our fish tank and our fire precautions. We decided that we need to have a fire drill with the kids, especially one from the basement. We also are reconsidering the idea of a monitoring alarm system. And to top it off, about a month ago we bought a fire proof safe, but still have yet to place our important documents into it. I guess if we have a fire in our house the house could burn down, and we could have a perfectly good empty safe. So, first things first: practice fire drill, important documents in the safe, scan photos and put hard drive in safe, and reconsider using a home monitoring system for burgler and fire safety.

Oh, we got our pottery back and it looks really nice! Even my piece which was pretty questionable turned out okay. The miracles of a kiln. Felipe's looks amazing, of course. I will take photos and post them. I promise. Really. I will.

Last Friday I did my mom good deed and joined Jessica's class on a field trip. I really dislike doing stuff like that for some reason. I always think that on my Friday off I should be home cleaning. This field trip was at a place called JA Biztown and it basically teaches the kids life skills in one day. You have to book the place as a group (such as a school or a church) because all the kids work together in a mock situation to learn life skills. The place reminded me of New York New York Casino in Las Vegas. Without the slot machines. It had little street signs, and faux store fronts. It was very cute. The kids worked in groups and owned different stores. Each person had a role in the store. They had to take out a loan, sell merchandise, pay off their loan, and do other adult-like tasks. It was pretty cool in theory, but the kids had little supervision and were running around like crazy. Maybe it was just the kids under my charge, which was probably the case. I kept trying to get them to work in their store (I was supposed to just supervise them, but not really do any of the work) yet many times I found myself alone in the store and couldn't find any of my workers! Jessica was not in my group, so on top of it all, I didn't even get to interact with her that day. I must say, I was very tired at the end of the day, and I don't know how these amazing teachers do their job day after day. I could not be more appreciative of these leaders in our community for what they do.

To top it off, after spending all day with 150 screaming 10 year olds, I went to a 2-hour mother/daughter event with Alisa for girl scouts that same night. It was held in a high school gym where we wore pajamas, ate junk food, and danced all night doing the YMCA, The Macarena, Soulja Boy, the Bunny Hop, and more. I definitely didn't have insomnia that night. I fell asleep with my feet jittering to the Electric Slide and thoughts of 10 year-old CEO's in charge.

So here's our next big purchase: Our Pilot lease is up and we want to get something less expensive. We are thinking of buying a used vehicle with low or reasonable miles. Felipe wants a truck, I want a Mini Cooper or a sporty little coupe, or we are thinking of getting another hybrid (currently we have a Prius). Naturally the hybrid is the most practical, but not any fun! Your thoughts?

~cc

Hippity Happity Hoppy Easter!

For some reason, my mom canceled our Easter get together. I am not quite sure why she did that, but I feel guilty for saying that I was sort of relieved. Maybe I was sending her subliminal negative messages when we were initially planning the celebration. She said it was because they needed to get ready for a wedding they were attending out of town. Which they won't be leaving for until Thursday (4 more days) and will only be gone for the weekend. Either they are just getting old and need more time for planning, or that was a very weak excuse.

Instead, some of our neighbors planned a little celebration at the neighborhood tot park near our house. We each had to bring 10 eggs for each child the night before to the organizer's house. We arrived at the park today at 11, and there were lots and lots of eggs all over the park area scattered around. I don't know if you can count eggs lying in the grass two feet away from each other as being "hidden", but the little kids had fun running around and acting surprised. Everyone was supposed to bring some food to share for a pot luck. Apparently we don't go to pot lucks very often because the girls were baffled as to what a pot luck was. They kept wanting to call it a pot roast. I guess it is good that we are starting to socialize with more of our neighbors.

Today I am blogging for some ideas and opinions from the three of you that read this thing. We are shopping for a couple different things and I am in the research phase. First, we are thinking of getting a Mac. Gasp! I know, moving away from the PC platform is a big risk. I tried to do it in 2000 and ended up selling my iMac on eBay 2 months later. I really want to try this again. I want to use the Mac for photo organizing and archiving (more on this later) as well as web surfing and school work. We will continue to keep our PC, but I want a computer for my very own. Which brings me to the next question - desktop or laptop? I am leaning towards a desktop because if my goal is photo driven then I need the guts that come along with a desktop. However, I did want it somewhat portable so I could surf the internet in bed or on the kitchen island. Lucky for me, the iMac desktop has integrated wireless so I won't need to connect to the wall for internet. It is also basically one cord for power and nothing else. I won't be plugging it into the printer because our printer is on our network. So, if I was feeling brave, I could carry the 20 lb monitor around the house praying that I don't drop it and break it. Strangely enough, this is what I am leaning towards. Ah, but then I see those amazing commercials for the MacBook Air and think that I really have to have a laptop that can fit into an envelope. That thing is so cool and small. I could literally carry it around in my purse like an oversized wallet. So maybe I should get that instead...your thoughts?

Since my goal is to organize all our old photos, I need a new scanner. I have one that is about 8 years old and it is an Epson Flatbed scanner. For the most part it works okay, but the software it comes with is AWFUL. It crashes all the time, overwrites photos it just scanned, and all around makes me want to throw it into a wall. I thought maybe I should look into a new scanner for the upgraded pixels that are available and hopefully better written software. Unfortunately all the reviews are about 6-8 years old and it seems that with each new model, Epson hasn't fixed their software problems. So, if any of you out there have a fantastic scanner (I need to scan photos, 35mm film negatives, and slides in one machine, if possible) I would love to hear it!

I guess that is enough ranting about the Caballero frivilous buying frenzy. On to more interesting gossip and insights into our strange household.

The girls were on Spring Break all last week. About two weeks ago, Felipe mentioned to the kids that he wanted to do something fun with them over spring break and maybe take them to California to Legoland. Unfortunately, there were some big things that happened at SRP and he was unable to take the time off. Wise woman that I am, I foresaw this happening light years away. Back when he told the girls he might be able to take them to Legoland, I told him it wasn't a good idea to get that into their head. He insisted that the kids understood that he said *might* and they wouldn't get so wrapped up in the idea. Uh huh, right. Needless to say, we had to do some damage control since Californ-I-A was off the table. I told the kids that on Friday we could all go and do whatever they wanted for the whole day. We called it an Arizona Vacation Day. We went to new places (so it felt like vacation) and basically let the kids decide what to do. For breakfast we went out to eat bagels and then we proceeded on toward Tempe Marketplace. We had never been there and thought it would be fun to try. It is an outdoor shopping plaza and the day was just beautiful at 80 degrees. As soon as we got there the kids saw the Harkins theaters and decided that they wanted to see a movie. We saw Horton Hears a Who in the Cine Capri theater. I hadn't been to the new Cine Capri, which is a revised theater from the original Cine Capri in Phoenix, but it didn't disappoint. It was beautiful with all the seats laid out in a manner so that everyone had a good viewing angle. The large velvetly curtains made it seem regal and old fashioned too. Felipe didn't have a clue that the theater was any different than any others he had been to, so I guess it didn't make much of an impression on him. Anyway, the movie was adorable. I hadn't seen any previews are any ideas of what it was about, so I had no expectations. I really liked it.

After the movie, we wandered around to As You Wish, which is one of those pottery places where you paint pottery and leave it with them to put it in the kiln. Each one of us picked a piece to work on. Sadly, of all four of us, mine looked the worst. I rather expected it, as I am NOT creative at all. Worse yet, I am impatient, which makes for a terrible artist. I think Felipe had the most fun. He is the artist in the family and he really enjoyed spending a lot of time on his project. He is as excited as a little boy to pick up the finished pottery. We pick them up on Tuesday, and if I remember, I will post some photos of our work.

After painting, we went to dinner at a new restaurant and went shopping for toys and clothes. I think we spent at least two hours in one store so the kids could stare at WebKinz to decide which ones to buy. For those of you parents who don't know what WebKinz are, you soon will. And if it isn't a WebKinz, it will be something else.

One super long day, all about the kids. In the end though it was all about our family, because for a very rare moment in time we weren't trying to balance work, answer our cell phones, rush the kids through their projects, or hurry home to do chores. I think we all had a great time.

~cc