Comments from my other blog

I know I announced my other blog a few posts back and that I didn't expect a huge response. It seems that the more serious posts elicit fewer responses than say a disgusting photo of a million-year-old super skinny woman with a boob job.

But since I started it, I haven't gotten any responses... or so I thought. Just today I realized that I had in fact been getting comments, but they are not forwarded to my email like this blog. I hadn't set it up correctly. So now I have read your comments and future ones will be forwarded to me. Thanks for your wonderful thoughts. It's so nice to know others are taking this journey with me. Also, I took off the annoying word thing and anyone, even anonymous, can post. So now all of you have NO EXCUSES not to chime in with your brilliant wisdom.

Shameless plug: Today I did a post on Leviticus 25 - Jubilee! Good for all you stay at home moms...

Greg Laurie on his son

This is long, but very inspiring... What a man of God!

How could I not report this?

Shoot, I'm coveting...

Andy Stanley talks about how here in America, we have so much stuff available to us that it leads us to need stuff we didn't even know we wanted.

Well, I really try to keep my covetiousness in check (exception: my neighbor's pool). I appreciate nice things, but I don't instantly think, I NEED that!!!

Today was different...

I think I NEED this. I'll have to talk to Tim...

Jenny disclaimer: I am not pregnant.

Backpack Giveaway

Here is wonderful opportunity for you and your kids. The Long Beach Rescue Mission needs supplies for their backpack giveaway. The girls and I headed over to Target with their super-cheap supplies and had some fun. The girls had a few dollars to spend and they could choose the cheap generic stuff or the fun stuff they liked.

We're heading over to Staples later this evening because they have some things for $.01 or even FREE! I'm sure Walmart, Office Depot and other places have similar great deals.

Below is a list of supplies needed:

2 Packets of college rule notebook paper
Three-ring binder
Box of No. 2 pencils
Box of blue or black pens
2 Red pens
Large eraser
Pencil case
2 Spiral one-subject notebook
Subject dividers
Covered pencil sharpener

I'll be giving all it to Jenny Uribe Wednesday, July 30th at the equipping night. So if you are interested in helping out kids far less fortunate than your own - go shopping!

Summer Movie Opportunity

Prince Caspian is playing at the Starplex Cinemas - La Mirada Movies 7 which is the cheap theater. It only costs $1- $2 per person. (I know there are free movies in the summer as well, but they are PACKED!) So we will be heading there this Wednesday for their 1:00 showtime.

Anyone who wants to join us is welcome!

This is wrong

I saw this today and actually thought it looked cheap. How wrong is that?

dipsomaniacal

In my never ending pursuit to learn new words, I ran across this one -

dipsomaniacal
–noun
a person with an irresistible craving for alcoholic drink.

I need to figure out how I can incorporate this one into my daily vocabulary...

Regan is learning to ice skate

Poor Regan, she has begged me for ice skating lessons for so long. But I HATE the ice skating rink! It's too cold. But I finally relented and she started her lessons. Fortunately I have a wonderful husband and he takes her!

She is doing so well and loves it. I'll have to sign her up again in the fall.

Birthday Celebrations Continue!

I love having a Birthday Season! I like that I get to keep on celebrating it. I'm not sure my thighs appreciate it however. Oh well, it's only once (twice, three times...) a year!

We went to this tiny restaurant on Pine Ave in Long Beach that Jenny had heard so many good things about. They specialize in mini burgers and paninis (called mininis), and yummy desserts.


Although tiny, they really fill you up. We all shared their one remaining cupcake and a couple of homemade ice cream sandwich made with peanut butter cookies - DELICIOUS!!

We took the kids along and made it a family celebrations. I'm so glad my girls have had the wonderful opportunity to grow up with Dylan. We are so blessed that Chandler and Dylan almost share a birthday. This way, they are stuck to us! and we definitely benefit from that connection.


Emma got more than her fair share of pictures, but seriously, who can blame me? She's so cute!

Nice Guys apparently DO finish first!

This from a study published in the Journal of Family Psychology: women seeking happily-ever-after should opt for Mr. Average instead of Mr. Perfect.

It appears that when men are more attractive than their wives, they are more negative about their marriages and more likely to cheat. When women are more attractive than their husbands, they experience better marriages and more faithfulness in their men.

I guess this make sense. Mr. Perfect Guy figures if he got one attractive woman, why stop there? There is so many other fish in the sea. Mr. Average Guy figues he's pretty darn lucky to have the one he's got, so he has to work hard to keep her.

So single girls, now you know.

BTW, I did NOT marry Mr. Average Guy! We must be the exception.

Dodger Tickets - cheap!

I wish I could take advantage of this, but I live in a mixed marriage with an Angel fan...

For you Dodger fans, here is a great offer:

The Travelzoo Newsdesk has found this outstanding offer from the L.A. Dodgers:

LOS ANGELES--JULY 24, 2008-- The L.A. Dodgers have slashed ticket prices for games against the Washington Nationals,San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks to $4. Wow!

Tickets for games on July 26, 28-30 and Aug. 3 are:
- Reserve seats ... $4 (Reg. $16)
- Lower Reserve seats ... $6 (Reg. $20)
- Infield Reserve seats ... $9 (Reg. $28)
- Field seats ... $20 (Reg. $50)

To purchase and for more information, click the link below. IMPORTANT: You must manually enter "TZOOJULY2" in thePromotions and Special Offers field after selecting your game date from the pull-down menu. http://www.travelzoo.com/Newsflash.asp?441243

On to the next book...

I just finished this book. I highly recommend it to those interested in American History and the current state of our Union. It made me sad to see how far we have come from our founder's original intentions.


It was also very enlightening regarding the myths that have become facts. I'm not sure how to combat this for my own children. After all, how do I know that conventional wisdom is not based on the facts?

Here are some examples of the 33 questions posed:

Did the American Indians actually live in harmony with nature? Not really. In fact many Native Americans of today are not happy with being lumped in with radical environmental groups.

Was the "Wild West" really so wild? Nope. It was in fact safer than many cities today. Why? Citizen (not government) run institutions enforcing law and order and widespread gun ownership!

Did Martin Luther King Jr. oppose affirmative action? Not at ALL! In fact, he was actually quite a socialist.

Did capitalism cause the Great Depression? No. It was actually the LACK of capitalism that led to the Great Depression. The fed monkeying around with interest rates (as it still does today) masked market indicators that could have save us a decade and a half of misery.

So, there's a small summary. I enjoyed it so much, I'm going to get his newest book:



Seems like a little light reading. I think it's a murder mystery.

The Funeral Version of Your Life - Remixed

I was recently struck by Romans 4:18-20 and the revised version of Abraham's life.

Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.

Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.

What? That isn't the way it happened! Abraham wavered. He had a child with another woman when he lost hope. He threw his wife under the bus twice when it was expedient to do so. Did God just forget?!? Apparently, yes.

I needed verse 5 to explain this conundrum: But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.

Now you have to know something about me. Judmentalism and holding a grudge are two of my spiritual gifts. I have no problem recognizing sin and calling it such. I have a serious problem with condemning a person and writing them off from here on out.

But I began to see that there are two versions of our lives. There is the day to day, factual version. The one we read about usually in the Old Testament. Then there is the New Testament retelling. This second version omits the mistakes, sins, faults, bad judgement. Just look at the "Hall of Faith" in Hebrews 11 - Noah (got naked and drunk), Abraham (fathered a semi-illigitimate child), Sarah (laughed at God's promise), Isaac (strongly favored one child over another leading to a very dysfunctional family), Jacob (name itself means deceiver), Moses (forbidden from entering the Promised Land), and David (adulterer and murderer). All are held up as models of faith and righteousness.

So what's going on? The grace of God. Through a belief in the death and resurrection of Christ, we have the opportunity for the New Testament remix version of our lives. In this version we are counted righteous and all is forgotten. That certainly doesn't mean we can live our live in a spiritual pig pen and roll around in the mud of sin thinking it'll all wash in the end. That kind of a life indicates a heart not actually committed to Christ. But today is not the final word. My screw up and failure today is not what will be written in my obit.

So I thought this should go on my other blog, but I think this is something we all need to think about. It hit me at a funeral I attended recently. I thought, no one says anything bad at a funeral about the deceased. If you are a truly awful person, no one show up anyways. Everyone else gets the funeral version of their life - the remix.

But right now, in this present time, we are all living the actual version of our lives. What is extremely cool is that God is already seeing us through the funeral version! God sees the righteousness of Christ when he looks at me. That's grace.

Now it's my turn to extend the same kind of grace. I want to see people as the funeral version of themselves - the remix. So even though everyone is screwed up in one way or another, I want to see the New Testament retelling. Because apparently this current version is simply the working copy. When I am disappointed in someone's actions I really want to say to myself, I wonder what this looks like in the funeral version. How is God going to turn this around and use it?

Have a New Kid by Friday

Every parent MUST read this book! I thought I probably didn't need it because my kids are very well-behaved. I got to page 1 "Are You a Candidate to Read This Book?" when I got my answer... Every parent is a candidate.

The heart of parenting is actually very simple. Yet we have made it complex to the point of impossibility. Dr. Leman spells it out day by day in only 74 pages how to have a new kid by Friday.

Monday: Why do your kids do what they do... and continue to do it? Your response has a lot to do with. Children are masters at manipulation. From day one, they're only job is to learn how to play us parents to get exactly what they want. And they are very good at it! So, say it once, turn your back, and walk away.

Tuesday: Focus on Attitude, Behavior, and Character. Let reality be the teacher (Sometimes natural consequence work the best). Learn to respond rather than react. (Stop and think first. ) B doesn't happen until A is completed. (After asking a child to do something ONCE, nothing else is said, but nothing else good happens until the first thing is done.)

Wednesday: Discover your parenting style and determine your long-term goals for your child. Then parent in such a way that will get you to those goals. Evaluate your own Attitude, Behavior, and Character.

Thursday: Learn how to build self-worth into your child. Respect them by never doing for them what they can and should do for themselves. Don't repeat instructions. Expect the best of them. don't praise them. Encourage them. Build their self-worth on Acceptance, Belonging, and Competence.

Friday: This is fun day. The day you get to put it all into practice.

Here is the summary:

The Top Ten Countdown to Having a New Kid by Friday

10. Be 100 percent consistent in your behaviour

9. Always follow through on what you say you will do.

8. Respond, don't react.

7. Count to 10 and ask yourself, "What would my old self do in this situation? What should the new me do?"

6. Never threaten your kids.

5. Never get angry.

4. Don't give any warnings (If you warn your child, you're saying, "You're so stupid, I have to tell you twice.")

3. Ask yourself, "Whose problem is this?"

2. Don't think the misbehavior will go away.

1. Keep a happy face on , even when you want to... do something else.

I believe the principles in this book are invaluable. If you find yourself struggling with your child AT ALL, get this book. It could quite possibly change your life. If you are like me with very well-behaved kids, it will reinforce what you are doing right and where on the path you have strayed.

I can't emphasize this enough: PARENTS - READ THIS BOOK! It's at your local library. Get it! Get two copies!

New Blog

I have started a new blog, an additional blog to this one. I need a place to write down all the things God is showing me through the study of His Word. I have realized that so much of what I am learning is likely to be lost if I don't commit it in black and white.

I don't expect that many of you will be interested, but just in case, here is the link. I'm not preaching, I'm thinking!

Campland on the Bay

So here's my REAL post on our camping trip.

We really had a great time. In fact, the only complaint I have at all is that we had to leave! The campground is beautiful. The spots aren't necessarily huge, but they are big enough. We had a picnic table and nice grassy side yard. Best of all, we were about 100 yards from the beach. Everyday, it was put on the swimsuits and decide... pool or beach.

The beach featured a dock we could swim out to. The girls really got a kick out of jumping off it. With the warm water, they were rarely out of the bay.

The kids made some half-hearted attempts at doing a back dive. Well, of course, being me... I had to show them how it's done!

So what else did the adults do? Well, I accidentally ended up taking EIGHT books, of which I read 3.

Tim finished a couple himself.

Dawn read...

Rick read (kind of...)


Even the kids read from time to time...

Of course, when they were out of the water, they were still having fun. Regan and Ashley put on their goggles and rolled through the sand.

Or spent their time away from the bay at the pool.

Being that the purpose of this trip was to celebrate my birthday, we spent the first evening at Chili's. We had the shrimp fajitas with jack cheese, bacon, and grilled portobello mushrooms... DELICIOUS!!

We didn't spend a ton of time in the coach, but when we were there, the kids were great about entertaining themselves.

One of my favorite things about the campground was how many people rode their bikes. There were constantly kids riding by off to... who knows. But I loved being able to tell the kids, "Get on your bikes and ride around!" And they would. I love kids acting independently and having fun outdoors.

I caught these shots just as the sun was setting. We caught up with the kids right in front of the campwide talent show. Watching fellow campers get up and show off their talent, a beautiful sunset, the beach to our right, and the kids on bikes... it was PERFECT!

Tim spent some time fishing, and Regan begged him to take her with him. I followed along, not to fish, but to capture some memories. The sun was just setting, so the lighting was beautiful. The camp had a narrow, grass-covered jetty that was perfect for fishing. How awesome is a girl spending time with her dad!

The campground featured a huge playground that was suitable for both younger and older kids. I loved the rock climbing wall. It was straight up and at the top you had to climb over it and land a couple feet down.

I wanted to take advantage of the setting sun and the gorgeous location, so Rick and Dawn "volunteered" to model for me. I got some very fun shots. I am very happy with how they turned out. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Now I know I jokingly said Rick wore a speedo... well, here's the truth!





What a wonderful trip. We're talking about going back for a week in September, after school starts. That would be fantastic! I'd love to make this a birthday tradition!

Camping Trip

This week, we went to Campland on the Bay in San Diego to celebrate my birthday. I knew Rick said he wore a Speedo, but I thought he was joking.

Nope.

So even though it was awkward for me, he stripped down each day as we relaxed at the beach. I managed to sneak in a picture though. I knew my faithful blog readers would NEED to see this.

Careful parents...




























A Photoshop Disaster, I know. But I thought it was funny!

Real vacations photos and trip details to follow...

Vote for ME!

I don't ONLY float in my pool all day!

The other day, I had this half-awake, half-asleep moment of fear. I thought summer was almost over and I hadn't gotten all the stuff done that I wanted to do. I thought, Oh no, I have so much to do and I am out of time.

Well, when I started thinking rationally again, I remembered that I don't have a lot I want to do. I just want to enjoy summer with the kids. Actually the only project I have assigned myself is this mirror.

My friend picked it up for me at a garage sale. Since I trust her taste implicitly and she knew I was looking at mirrors costing in the hundreds, she gave me a call when she saw this. I asked if it had potential. She assured me that it did.

So my project was to paint it. It's probably oak or something softer, whatever it was, it had to go.

The sanding and painting went very well, but apparently I hadn't quite put everything out of the way of the car... I left a can of primer in the middle of the garage. When I pulled in, I ran over it. It kind of exploded! Fortunately nothing was damaged (except the can) and for once in my life, I had bought water-based primer!

Here is the finished project. I LOVE it! It's a creamy white to contrast with my bright, white wainscotting. I'd love to paint the bed too. Maybe next summer.

More Summer Reading...

I love the Cerritos Library because it's beautiful and I'm cheap. I don't like to pay for books. They have stocked their shelves well and it is a joy every time we venture there. However, they don't stock EVERY book. So I am forced to go to our local library, which is part of the Los Angeles County system and put the book on hold.

We headed over there recently and found out two things... our cards had expired a year ago and they have a new computer system that lets you put books on hold from home! I am so excited!!! I have a list a mile long of books that have been recommended to me, but that the Cerritos Library doesn't carry.

So I hopped on their website as soon as we got home and put these four on hold. I can't wait until they notify me that they are in. Maybe I went a little overboard with four, but I had a hard time choosing.

So here they are...

I'll be spending some serious time floating in my pool with this list!

Girl Sues Father Over Grounding

This story is amazing. Apparently a 12 year old girl got in trouble for her internet usage. So her single-dad father grounded her and did not allow her to go on a year-end class field trip.

Her mother urged her to SUE! The worst part of the story is that she WON! Fantastic, just what we harried and stressed parents need... lawyers breathing down our necks about our child-rearing methods.

I better not let my kids see this!

Peach and Plum Season!

It's that time of year... I'm in a mad race against bugs and birds to salvage my precious peaches and plums. This year, the haul has been better than ever. In fact, it is the first time in many years that my plum tree has bloomed at all!

I don't even like peaches and plums! But the absolute sweet, juiciness of a fresh-picked, ripe plum or peach is heaven!

So now I've become one of those people we hate... the ones trying to pawn off their agricultural yield on any willing victim, er, recipient...

Oh well, I still love checking my tree each day for the latest fruit ripe for the pickin'.


Unfortunately, I can't pick them all! Look at this BEAUTIFUL, ripe, beautiful plum way out of my reach - about 10 feet off the ground.

Then there's this gorgeous, ripe peach about 8 feet up and through some very painful branches... I'm sure the birds will enjoy it!


P.S. The first shot was taken with my new lens. My dad bought an F1.8 50mm lens for me to play with. I know that doesn't mean anything to 99% of you, but the 1.8 allows me to take pictures that are even blurrier than I could before with my 2.4. The lower the number, the less that is in focus. And the 50mm means it is small and doesn't zoom. My huge camera looks PATHETIC with this tiny lens on it. But I will be able to get shots I couldn't get before, in lower light, so I'm excited to use it. THANKS, dad!

New Phone

I love my current phone, a Palm Treo 700p. But unfortunately it is trying to die. Perhaps some of you are thinking, You shouldn't have dropped it in the toilet. Well, it recovered quite nicely from that!, and except for a temperamental letter "a" it seemed to bear me no ill will.

But lately it has been, well, stuttering for lack of a better word. I always sound like I'm in a bad spot and it has been notorious for dropping calls.

So, because they are wonderful, my parents ordered me a replacement, a Treo 755p, for my upcoming birthday! (or rather the anniversary of my 29th). It's on its way. Can't wait to load my millions of podcasts on that!