Miracle Melon

This started out to be a pity plant but became a miracle melon.
My son asked me this spring "Mom, could we please grow a watermelon plant this year?" I told him yes we could try but it probably wouldn't grow. As a true testament to how many hot days we had this summer, he actually had 3 grow. C is holding his "small" watermelon which was very yummy.

5 days til the Auction

North County Rec Auction is Saturday in a new location and the weather is not cooperating. Donations are VERY VERY slowly trickling in and we're hitting the home stretch.. Hopefully, the Toutle football coach capitulates and they move up the game from 5:30 in Wahkiakum (1 hour down the coast) from here to 1pm in Castle Rock or Toutle. If not, it's going to be interesting seeing how many local parents come since those parents make up about 1/2 of the big supporters. Keep your fingers crossed and let me know if you want to buy a ticket to the dinner / auction / dance on October 3rd.

Today started with a 7am parent teacher conference and has been pretty non-stop til now. I've got scouts tomorrow night and I think I'm also supposed to work concessions out at the football stand. Wednesday night is a parks meeting and auction. I haven't even looked at Thursday yet, but I do know that Friday is a big football game (in the RAIN!!! - ugh!!) Saturday is setting up and actually having the auction. C is gone to webelo woods - weekend camping trip so I need to make sure he's ready and packed for a wet time in the woods. Sunday I'm in charge of the children's mass - The kids are doing all the 'jobs' - lectors, ushers, gifts, greeters and choir so I have to be up and at 'em very early.

I'm starting to get stressed. My life is so busy and hectic right now I can't even see straight. (I haven't even figured out anything for my daughter's birthday next week - including her party. sigh guess. I'll keep this short and get something figured out.)

The Ultimate

I saw the funniest sign the other day. I had to double check to make sure what I was reading was correct.

It was one of those the big lighted outside signs for an old grocery store in a “one horse town” on a little back woods state highway.

It advertised something to the effect that the “Go Get ‘Em” had:

Gas, Groceries, Tanning, Body Toning AND you could get your Chainsaws Sharpened there.

Now that’s what I call a Pacific NW small town one stop shop!!!

Fall Sports Abound

We are completely in the throes of fall sports. Most nights we don't get home until 7pm or later. (Well, I don't get home then but we're all on different schedules so it's really more accurate to say that we ALL don't get home until about 8pm.) The nice thing about middle school sports is that practices are right after school and NO GAMES ON SATURDAY!!!!




M is playing middle school soccer. All that conditioning with high school team over the summer has paid off and she is one of the starting midfielders and is one of the goalies. They've had a pretty good season so far. She is also reff'ing 3 or 4 of the recreation league games on Saturdays. (Just when I could chortle about soccer free saturdays! oh well, she gets paid pretty good to do it and she loves it so its good for her.)






B is playing middle school volleyball and is on the 7th grade team. This is a new sport for most of the girls so there has been a slight adjustment for them, but it hasn't really affected their record. Ithink they've only lost 1 match so far. B even got an ACE in Tuesday's game. She was very excited! B is also on the yearbook and school newspaper. She took this picture of her teammates at Tuesday's game.

C is playing Cowlitz League (youth football - NOT pop warner). He has been one of the starting linemen all season. In fact he has been playing almost every down (only break is when the 2nd string defense is out there.) He is the starting center and sometimes tackle on offense and kick offs. He is the starting nose guard for defense and kick returns. He's loving it and the coach would like to work with him a little bit on learning some new positions.

So sorry we've dropped off the face of the earth. Right now with the various committees I'm on and the organizations, activities and sports the kids are doing, we are super crazy booked. (Even Sunday's I've usually triple booked in the evenings and usually booked solid through the day.) Crazy Fall Schedule!!!

Government Summit III

Government Summit is tonight.

It has been nearly 6 months since the first Government Summit and our Parks subcommittee reported back to the Summit leaders our progress and made our recommendation which is to pursue the option of consolidating. We have met nearly weekly all summer long and have come to the conclusion that a Metropolitan Parks District is probably the best option. Since the devil is in the details, we would like to explore this more thoroughly and report back with a plan. Whatever we do will take another year to 18 months before it’s ready to bring to the voters. Most of the people on the committee think that a Metropolitan Parks District is a great way to go, except the largest city which already has a very good parks system (actually they are one of top small town parks and recreation programs in country) and they don’t want lose anything (which is reasonable) but they have the most voters. So we have to devise a way that it is beneficial to the most people in the county and provides each community with as much of their own autonomy as possible. (There’s too much civic pride to truly consolidate into one big parks system.) It’s not insurmountable, but requires quite a bit of finesse and figuring out how to make it work. However we structure this, the overall agreement/financing must be approved by the voters and the largest block of voters that are sympathetic to parks is in Longview. And so we dance….

Fall Funnies

Every morning, one of the local radio stations announces what are the “official designations” for that day are, such as Flag Day (June 14th) or Grandparents Day (September 9th), etc.,. I was inspired by yesterday’s designations. My inspiration is as follows….


September 22, 2009

Dear Diary,
Today, I saw a White Chocolate Elephant on this record setting First day of Fall.

Designation Translation: It was Dear Diary Day, White Chocolate Day and Elephant Appreciation day. Yesterday was the first day of Fall and it set a new record for the Portland Metro area. This year, we have had more 90 degree days than ever before. Yesterday was the 25th day that was 90+ degrees this year with a BUNCH of 89 degree days which didn’t count. (I must say that I was VERY happy to come home to my nice cool house yesterday evening. – I’m very grateful that finally my air conditioning seems to be working correctly.) Though I must say a 93 degree day in late September feels differently than a 93 degree day in July. (It seems to cool off quickly now days.)

One Down, 99 to Go....

It is September. Fall crispness is in the air. School has started so it is time for me to somewhat belatedly wax poetic about another milestone….. I started my blog this time a year ago. It’s been fun to go back and look at all the entries. I think that the first day of school, cookies and my blog will be forever intermingled in my mind.

This school year has been so crazy ~ busy that I haven’t even had the opportunity to bake my kids their 1st day of school cookies yet. YIKES!!! I feel like such a fraud this year. The store bought cookie dough is still sitting in fridge – guess we’ll just have to have a surprise tonight after I get back from working in the concessions stand.

Although, I’m not as proficient as I would like to be, I’m happy to say that I’ve kept up with my blog. I just read that well over 70% of all blogs created are abandoned within the first couple months. I have been getting annoyed that I haven’t been able to carve out more time at home to post each day.

( Rats! I’ve learned the hard way that people really DO need sleep, AND unfortunately I’ve come to realize that I am not 20 years old anymore. ~ Shocker I know!! ~ Unlike when I was in college or even 10 years ago, I can’t burn the candle at both ends for weeks and months on end. Now I get burned after a week or so of hard core, all out “go go.”)

So… I had a marvelous inspiration during a brain storm session while waiting for football practice to get over. Since I’m trying to save money to pay for my roof repairs and fix my stupid GE oven’s clock, I’m planning on staying in my office most lunch hours. I can write my entries during lunch and then just send them to my home email so that I can upload them from there. Hurray!!!

Oh this is Sooooo easy! I love this!!!

Who Ya Gunna Call?

All I could think as the ongoing media hoopla was reaching deafening pitches regarding the stray cougar in the Seattle park was "Why didn't they just call my soon-to-be, brother inlaw, Kevin?"

He has a way with animals...especially unwanted wildlife.


Click on the link to get the whole story....

Cougar Caught in Seattle Park

I hate allergies!!!

Ugh!!!
Whatever is in the air right now (probably pine tree pollen and grass) is killing me!!!!
(Stirring up all that dust while cleaning the garage this weekend didn't help either.)

For the want of a nail....

You've heard that old saying... For want of a nail, the shoe was lost...For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. And on it continues until the entire kingdom is lost because of something so small and insignificant as a little horse shoe nail coming loose.

Well, I had a shoe nail incident today. My second oven (absolutely decadent I know, but a huge selling point for me when we bought this house) has been having trouble heating up. (Basically, it won't.) So I called my buddy, Lowell at Lukken Electric (Say that out loud. "Lowell at Luck In Electric" It's very fun to say.) As I was saying, I asked Lowell at Lukken to come out to the house and look at it. By the way, they are fabulous!! I highly recommend Lukken for any appliance repairs or parts you might need. They have been able to fix almost all of my appliances that have had problems and when it's not in my best interest, he'll tell me to "stop repairing it" and that I "should just replace it." I appreciate that kind of customer service and honesty.

So Lowell's crew came out and diagnosed the problem with my little built in oven. Sigh....

For the lack of a clock, the oven was lost.

Yep!!! There is some little interface 'master chip thingy' in the clock (which works very well by the way) that must be functioning properly or the heating element won't turn on. Well, it should be a very simple fix. Just get the new part and slap it in there. Except GE doesn't make my oven any more or those parts. RATS!!!!! Since it's a built in appliance, I'm looking at between $800 - $1,000 to get a new one installed. All I could think is that I will have to go back to being like all other mere mortals and really coordinate my cooking for Thanksgiving dinner. Because although I love my 2nd oven, I can't afford it just right now.

Right before I talked with my friend Lowell at Lukken, I learned from the "Roof Doctor" that to repair the flashing around my chimney so that it won't leak any more will easily be $700 - $1000. (If they don't get in there and find a lot of problems - which could get very spendy very fast!!!) So I'm saving my pennies (what few are left after this very expensive 1st week of school!!!!) so that I can get my roof fixed before the Winter storms hit.

So since I'm in cheap mode right now and would REALLY like two ovens if we have Turkey Day at my house, I talked to Lowell about trying to scavange on the internet and around for another GE oven profile clock. So he gave me a parting "good luck" and promise to keep his eyes open for the part number which is..... WB27K5040. So if you happen to run across one, let me know I would be eternally grateful and you will have a favored seat (and your own basket of Grandma Sutton's rolls) for any and all major holidays!

First Day of School - 2009

It's that time of year again. (It seemed to sneak up on us this year. We were good until the weekend and got so focused on all the "little projects" that it seemed to all of a sudden "Bam!! School is here.)

Here's some pix of the kids before the first day of school. Wow! They have really grown up.

M is a 8th grader this year and is one of the Orientation Crew Leaders. Wow! She's got a lot of stuff. I bet she's going to be very smart by tonight. We already put her Sax in the car - I'm taking that since there was too much to bring on the bus.

B is a 7th grader this year. Doesn't she look so pretty!!!!

She's pretty excited for her journalism class.

C is a 5th grader this year. He is sooo excited for school to start!!! He almost did a back flip when he found out that 3 of his 4 best friends are in his class. (Pray for those teachers.)

Miracle at Home Depot!

Yes Virginia, it's true! I experienced a modern day miracle Friday afternoon!!!

I went into Home Depot for a couple quick items and ACTUALLY had 4 (count them FOUR) male Home Depot associates stop their conversations, walk up to me (a mere woman in a business suit) and ASK if there was anything they could do to help me or was there anything they could help find for me.

It was SOOOO weird! Actual customer service!! It was so amazing that I didn't even have to go hunt one down and drag him off by the ear to help me, I almost went out to check and make sure I was in the right store. (All I could think was "Wow! The building business must be REALLY REALLY down if they are actually waiting on me at Home Depot.")

North County Recreation Association

Castle Rock is a small town. Offially the census says there's a little over 2,100 people in the city limits. But there's probably 5-10k people in the school district. Neighboring Toutle Lake is even smaller. Needless to say, the Castle Rock / Toutle areas are very tight knit communities and life revolves around school and kid activities. There was a huge need to replace our decrepit old baseball fields and create some new soccer fields. So a dedicated group of local business leaders and parents had a vision to create the North County Recreation Association. They raised money, negiotiated for land to be donated and use agreements with the school district and city, applied and received several large grants to build the North County Recreation / Sports Complex back behind CR's high school.

It is truly amazing what they have been able to accomplish with almost total volunteer labor (fairly recently they did hire a baseball concessions manager but other than that its all volunteer support). There is a awesome sports complex with a 2 story club house, 3 or 4 very nice little league baseball fields (part of the state tourney is held there for the last 2-3 years) and 2 girls softball fields. There is a huge area for the soccer fields. In a addition, there is a mile long path that circles this part of the complex and excercise equipment is being installed along it so that you can get a complete workout on the circuit. In addition, work on the new boat launch into the Cowlitz River is going at a frantic pace. (After several years of review, they finally got the necessary permits from the Corps of Engineers late last week. All 'in river' work must be completed by September 15th so not to affect the salmon. If they miss the deadline, they will have to wait until next August to resume.) I walk the loop most nights and it's been impressive to see the progress is going. (They truly are working dawn to dusk.) There are also plans for a campground and playground and paving the parking lot to be put in future phases.

Obviously, all this costs money. So every October, North County hosts a big dinner/dance auction event which raises a lot of money to support all upkeep and maintenance of everything we've built so far. (I've been helping with it for a couple years and it is a lot of fun and has a lot of great items.) So mark Saturday, October 3rd on your calendars. (Place TBD - which is the subject of another post.) So if you know anyone who would like to donate items for the auction or would like to attend, let me know. If you want to donate that would be even better. NCRA is a 501c3 non profit and its tax deductible.

Early morning First Steps

Bob Ingalls, one of my FB friends is always posting inspirational sayings. I really liked this morning's quote.

"The two important things I did learn were that you are as powerful and strong as you allow yourself to be, and that the most difficult part of any endeavour is taking the first step, making the first decision.” Robyn Davidson"

May you be as powerful and as strong as you allow yourself and may your first steps be small and quick.

Hit and Miss

I honestly have been trying to write more on a daily basis, but "LIFE" seems to carry me away. It seems like lately I don't get home most nights until after 8pm (on a good night) or the late nights are after 10:30. I work on computers all day long so half the time when I do have time, I have zero interest. Blah blah blah... reminds me of that new country song where this guy is at the bar bemoaning his troubles and his buddy turns to him and says "I'm sorry to say this, but that sounds like Life to me." Its a good reminder to us all not to get too wrapped up in ourselves and our petty concerns. My dad used to say that "In a 1,000 years from now will they give a damn about (insert whatever was the topic of discussion)?" It was a good reality check.

Now that school is starting up soon and we're full in the swing of extra curricular activities, I've realized that I need to carve out a little time in the morning to jot down my ideas. I've been so on the go, that I got in the bad habit of sleeping in until 6:15. Now that I'm waking up the kids earlier, I've noticed that I'm starting to go back to my normal wake up time which allows me some peaceful time in the morning to pick up the house, organize the "to-do" list, write out the activity/ride schedule, or get some computer stuff done while I'm fresh. It's funny - I'm such a "night owl" and its at such odds with my required "early bird" status as a mom. (That reminds me...Why are all the expressions about time related to birds?)

With all that said. I'm going to try to go to bed early tonight so I can start my new habit. Tomorrow I'll probably elucidate on all the fun and craziness we've been up to.