Footprints in the Sand

Happy Mother's Day!

Sun, 11 May 2008 03:03:41 GMT

Have a wonderful day doing what you love best!!

Hubby gave me this, this morning, an early Mother's Day present.... He drew and painted it... Can you see what it says....

My name... Linda...

Happy Journaling...

Picture Entry

Sun, 11 May 2008 02:40:21 GMT

Son3 posing on the ladder... He said take my picture!

Hubby has almost finished the steps... Just needs a few more bricks to finish the top step...

Then he will remove all the old square bricks and relay them so that they are level with the new patio...

The Morning Glories are coming in...

The Peas are not doing too good... I don't think they are getting enough water and I need to get rid of the snails again...

Son2 on his way to his friend's paintball bday party today... Oops he blinked... and how do you like his bling, lol, he gets mad when I say that... He has since been home to change and then back to friend's house to hang out for rest of bday....

A few pictures of the yard.... Our backyard is an L shape... This looks to the front of the house...

Turn around and now you are looking the back of the house....

This is where the two sides meet....

Do you see that cat pretending to be a garden gnome....

And then turn around and this is the other half of the L in the back of the house....

I never did mow the lawn today... I did trim all the roses... And tons of laundry and made some brownies... and filled the birdfeeders. Cleaned off the island and dining room table... But then mostly sat on my butt trying to get caught up on journals... and then making sure I was getting all alerts, realized I hadn't seen a few journals in awhile, so that led to cleaning out journals that haven't updated in a long while...

So now making some bean dip to go with the tortilla chips... Hubby should be home soon... don't know when son2 will need to be picked up... hubby will probably crash early, he didn't sleep well last night... I'll just crash cause got to get up at 5am for work.... We'll watch these Netflix movies someday... I did finally get the watch Netflix movies online to work, so we watched a documentary on San Diego Zoo and Park this morning...

The tomatoes are growing... and we have two so far....

Happy Journaling...

We ran away....

Sat, 10 May 2008 02:01:42 GMT

Another week gone by... With ups and downs... Monday, Hubby and I ran away...

A couple of weeks ago son1 and girlfriend had asked to use our computer so she could get her insurance license for her new job. I was skeptical cause shouldn't the new job supply a computer, plus she had to pay for the course online... Her mom and her are not getting along at the moment so probably why she comes to us... But I wanted to be supportive so I said well Monday's are best. Son1 said she would have to check with her work to get the day off, notice I didn't type which day. So last Monday came and went, no calls, this past Sunday at 2pm son1 called, however I did not pick up cause I'm thinking he needs a lesson ongiving notice and thinking no one else has a life too. Plus I was still having second thoughts of her using my computer for this course. So around 5pm son1 calls again however we were outside and missed this call. So being bad parents we did not call back. I tell hubby how would you like to go out to breakfast, I never want to go anywhere so he is of course excited.

Monday morning 7:40am we are heading out the door to get son3 to school, phone rings, son1 leaving message to say that girlfriend will be over at 8am... Now no where did I ever actually talk to son1 and verify a day, it would be on my calander if we did, plus I had not cleaned the computer desk nor the bathroom. We did not have any details of how long this course would take her to complete on the computer and we did not want to leave her alone in our house so we would have to be home all day. Hubby had a dentist appointment at 4pm....

So we dropped off son3 and went to breakfast at IHOP. Very good! Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns and french toast with strawberries. We even decided where we are going on vacation, will tell you about that later... So then it is only 9am and I'm like where should we go now, hubby says to the service center to get a new dryer knob... OK, lol.... too expensive though, I found one cheaper online... And then we went to Walmart and arrived back home by noon... Did we feel guilty, yes... Do we think they got a clue, probably not... Have they called since, well not son1, although I got a Mother's Day card from him today... However when we got home there were 17 messages on our phone. 3 were the ones from son1, 5 were from hubby's work, even they can't live without him, 2 from some guy that had the wrong number and wanted to change his appointment, 1 from the dentist, 4 hangups and 2 from girlfriend... She called at 8am to say she was on the porch from her cell phone to our house phone, we don't have cell phones, for this reason, refer to messages above and the fact that hubby and I had to run away and we don't have that important of jobs or lives, lol.... And then she called again at 9am to say she had waited an hour and thank you and we must be at work or son1 got the day wrong in her most pathetic poor me voice, I know, I am being mean... Hubby and I both have Monday off and then each one day on the weekend and son1 can't remember our work schedules... Was I so much all about me at this age as they are, I hope not... But I probably was.... So meanwhile next weekend is girlfriend's bday, do I still make her a cake..................

So for vacation we are going to San Diego, hopefully if hubby gets his vacation approved... We are going the end of June... We are going to the Wild Animal Park, Balboa Park, La Jolla maybe or any beach, and the San Diego Zoo... Son3 says when we go on our field trip if we can go to Denny's, lol... I'm contemplating getting the boys a portable DVD player for the car, they watch so much tv as it is, but last time we got stuck in traffic in LA and it took us almost ten hours to get to San Diego, when it should only take maybe six.... Son2 said he would do all the chores I wanted if I got them the player, lol...

The drama with the drumline teacher is almost over... Remember we had paid $50 for uniforms but only got $5 tshirts and then $5 drumsticks so anyway since last October poor son2 has been reminding the teacher to pay us back the money, seems only son2 and another student paid money for the uniforms and then for about a month now the teacher said ok but he could only get the money from the office on Thursdays... So I finally emailed the teacher on Tuesday to let him know that I was concerned about running out of Thursdays in the school year and getting the money back and all of a sudden he says ok you'll have your money this week, so son2 brought it home today... I honestly think he was hoping we would forget and he could keep the money for the music department...

And now son2 is having a performance this month and I said we would support him and take him so he could participate but did we have to stay, we went to the last one... The drums perform for all of five minutes and we have to be there from 5:30-8pm and son3 would be so bored. So anyway come to find out it costs $10 to pay for the dinner which you are able to pick up curbside, so what he's not expecting us to watch just give money... And then the form to order the dinners is mandatory to bring back to school and since son2 didn't bring it back the next day, he lost 25pts off his grade. So I signed it and put zero dinners and his teacher was mad.... Fine.... Then son2 wants to be in the drumline in high school next year, well the teacher just told them yesterday that there was a meeting last night and son2 found out today that the meeting was mandatory and if you didn't attend you couldn't be in drumline... I told him we will handle the high school in the fall and I am sure if he talks to the teacher there he will understand, son2 had already talked to him when the high school teacher came to visit them at their class now and he was very nice and very much needing them in drumline in 9th grade...

Work wasn't too bad this week, except for Wednesday I was quite grumpy... Next week should be interesting as we have no hours, I am floor coverage til 1pm and then I am off at 2pm so won't be getting many boxes opened next week.... So that dent I made in the mountain in receiving will be growing back in....

Still haven't watched our Netflix movies... We did watch all our shows so far this week except for CSI and I need to rewind CSI NY and Smallville back a bit as I fell asleep, lol... Tonight is Ghost Whisperer and Moonlight and Numbers... Yay! And I don't like that they moved Bones to Monday cause I keep forgetting to watch it, so hopefully I can catch up with reruns this summer.....

Son2 is off at his friend's... Son3 and I had corndogs and french fries for dinner... Now he is showered and onto his computer games.... I have lots of journal alerts to read and lots of chores to do this weekend... Son2 has a bday party to go to tomorrow... And Sunday I only work the morning to set the ad and then I am home for Mother's Day... The boys will probably still be getting my cards and such ready, lol...

Happy Journaling...

A-Z Photo Challenge

Sat, 10 May 2008 00:45:08 GMT

A-Z Photo Challenge-D

To Play Visit Martha at Perceptions...

I was going to be creative and only find things in the backyard to go with the letters....

So I found some Driftwood

And some Dirt

But since those weren't too exciting,

thought I would throw in some DVD's

Happy Journaling...

Getting to know you

Thu, 08 May 2008 01:48:48 GMT

Do you have any pets? one cat: Raisin

What was the last book you read? I'm currently reading Duma Key by Stephen King

Do you like to cook? no

Are you good at cooking? I'm able to throw stuff together

Are you married or single? married

Do you have brothers and sisters?

three brothers

Are they older or younger than you? younger

Do you like baseball? not really

Do you live alone? no

Do you live in a house or an apartment? house

Have you ever lived in another country? no

Have you ever met a famous person? George Takei and David Cassidy

How do you spend your free time? journaling

How many languages do you speak?

two: english, spanish

How old are you? 44,it's almost my bday

How tall are you? five foot six inches

Tell me about a favorite event of your adulthood. marrying hubby

What are your hobbies? gardening, photography, reading

What countries have you visited? Mexico

What do you do on Sundays? got to work and then have a family dinner and watch a movie

What's your job? Retail

What is the nearest bus stop or train station to your house? I live next to the train tracks

What is your motto? Nothing surprises me

What two things could you not do when you were a child, but you can do now? I'm still waiting to grow up and do whatever I want

What's something you do well? yell, son2 agrees

Who do you respect the most? my elders

Who has had the most influence in your life? family

Would you like to be famous? no

What do you think you will be doing five years from now? the same thing we're doing now

Where do you think you'll be living five years from now? in the same place we are living now

What is your goal in life? to find my purpose

Are you a 'morning' or 'night' person? morning

When do you feel best? when I'm not at work

How many cities have you lived in? about ten

What jobs have you done? salesperson, display, supervisor, pricing, signing, stocking, baby furniture assembly, everything in retail except automotive...

Which do you prefer, sunrises or sunsets? sunrises...

Did you get along with your neighbors? yes

Happy Journaling...

Favorites

Thu, 08 May 2008 00:30:34 GMT

What is your favorite animal? Cats

What is your favorite city in the United States? still researching....

What is your favorite color? Purple

What is your favorite country?Australia

And why? cause I like the way they talk...

What is your favorite day of the week? SATURDAY

Why? NO WORK

What is your favorite drink in the summer? Lemonade

What is your favorite food? Ham, no fried chicken, wait teriyaki burgers, I could keep going.... oh lasagna....

What is your favorite kind of food? edible kind

What is your favorite holiday? CHRISTMAS

Why? celebrated the longest...

What is your favorite kind of book? Horror...

What is your favorite kind of ethnic food? Mexican

What is your favorite kind of movie? Action Adventure

What is your favorite kind of music? Christian

What is your favorite magazine? Good Housekeeping...

What is your favorite memory of childhood? Family vacations, going fishing, birthdays...

What is your favorite movie? True Lies with Arnold and Jamie Lee Curtis

What is your favorite radio station? KLOVE

What is your favorite season? Fall

Why? Cools down

What is your favorite sport? Ice Skating

What is your favorite time of day? When I'm not at work...

What is your favorite TV program? Supernatural and Moonlight

What is your favorite Web site? DoubleDay, IMDB and Netflix

What is your favorite vegetable? Peas

Why? cause they are tasty

What's your favorite smell? Pumpkin Pie or Lavender....

What's your favorite word in English? Bedtime

Why do you like it? cause I'm tired...

Who is your favorite actor? Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Sean Connery, Harrison Ford....

Who is your favorite actress? Sandra Bullock, Jamie Lee Curtis...

Who is your favorite athlete? don't have one...

Who is your favorite baseball player? don't have one...

Who is your favorite soccer player? don't have one...

Who is your favorite character from literature? Jane Eyre...

Who is your favorite musician? Phil Collins...

Who is your favorite singer? Chris Rice...

Who is your favorite super-hero? Wolverine

Explain why. cause he's cute, have you seen that eyebrow...

What is your best friend's name? Bill

Who was your favorite teacher? Mrs. Surguy

Why? she was nice...

....in high school? too many teachers to remember I went to three different high schools...

...in junior high school? can't remember....

...in elementary school? Miss Polsak

What was your favorite subject in school?

....in high school? BOYS

...in junior high school? BOYS

...in elementary school? Spelling/Reading

Who was your favorite singer when you were younger? Shaun Cassidy, Kenny Loggins...

How about now? Chris Rice...

Happy Journaling...

Stop the Clock...

Sun, 04 May 2008 02:18:49 GMT

Oh my gosh time is flying... the days are anyway, by the minute... For the last few weeks I have felt so stressed and grumpy and just plain angry... And I am just racing the clock trying to find a minute of peace... I go to work all day not feeling any sense of accomplishment and just being angry at the other co-workers and me and supervisor just grumbling, everything negative that we have decided to not speak to each other, lol... we still do though of course... Then just driving home I am angry at other drivers for not following the rules of driving.... Pick up the boys, race through making dinner while checking email and catching up on the boys day all at the same time... Race through eating dinner to get to homework so we can get done to get showers to hubby getting home to getting the boys in bed, to watch five minutes of TV, to fall asleep and wake up and do it all over again... And don't forget some dishes and laundry and feed the cat and water the plants, which all don't get done every day...

The view from my computer desk....

Today was family breakfast and hubby off to work... Son3 had a bday party to go to at the neighbors... I read the invitation wrong though and thought he was to be there at 11:30 but it was 1:30-3:30, although he got home about 4:30... He had fun but while eating dinner had a bit of sadness after all the excitement and then it was over.... Son2 and I did a bit of shopping online for hubby for Father's day and his bday next month, he'll be 50... I've also been looking to see where we want to go on vacation next month but most everywhere is already booked for the week we are on vacation... Hmmmmm... I am really needing a beach fix.... And I made a few cards for the month, and did a few loads of laundry and fixed chicken quesadillas for dinner and vacuumed and now it is already 7pm... I didn't even make it outside today to mow the lawn or work in the yard or just go outside...

Haven't heard from son1 all week, glad he is busy with his new job.... Son2 and son3 had state testing all week so no homework, yeah right... Son2 didn't anyway except finish up his projects and he had early day all week and then a carnival at school on Friday... We had Cloverfield and Alien vs Predator 2 come in the mail and I told him he could not watch them til his school projects were done... Came home Thursday and found he had watched Cloverfield, so he was sent to his room for the rest of the day... Safer for him anyway as I was grumpy, lol.... And he did get his English project done while he was in there... And son3's no homework was to right 24 sentences each night for his sight words and study all 226 sight words... argh then I was really grumpy.... and it's not even my grumpy week.... Then Friday I was actually in a bit of a good mood knowing I had today off but of course came home to phone call from vice principal for son3...... Talked to son3, vice principal hadn't left reason for call, just to call him, it turned out son3 and a friend were sword fighting with their pencils and son3 accidentally poked friend but no harm done, and he lost his fun Friday privileges, but must tell parents because of zero tolerance at schools....

Hubby has not even got back to the patio with his work and dentist appointments... they haven't even fixed his broken tooth yet, he goes back again on Monday.... I think too I am having trouble adjusting to hubby's new schedule of working earlier and being home by 8pm... I feel like I have to have everything done by time he gets home and or there is no time for me cause my me time use to be from 9-10pm and now hubby is home... Poor hubby he understands but yet still hurts his feelings... And now since they have had some people quit and move at his work again, he has to go back to closing at 10pm for the month of May except now on Thursday he will be home at 6pm... And even though he has been home early we still don't get to watch all our shows... or our Netflix movies... So seems they are all saved for the weekend to watch and it becomes a chore to hurry up and watch everything instead of enjoying them... Of course also hubby works Saturday and I work Sunday so we don't really have the weekend off together and Monday is spent catching up and running errands instead of just sitting around watching our shows.... We still have Fingerprints, Shrooms, and now Cloverfield and Aliens vs Predator, and CSI, Smallville, Numbers.............

Son3 off to his party today....

And work... Everyday I go to work and say ok I am going to relax and just do what I can and ignore all the negative and not get mad at the customers and let the other associates worry about their own selves.... But no..... The floor is a mess cause one, the customers don't care and don't pick up after themselves, two, the associates don't care and just wait for the time to pass and then pick up their paychecks and three, even if we did all care, we cannot get it all done on the amount of hours and associates we have.... Our shoe department is a million dollar department with 26 aisles of shoes and only one person usually scheduled at a time to take care of cleaning and assisting the customer and then me in the back opening all the boxes and covering breaks and lunches... So yes I am a bit stressed, and when a customer starts banging on the wall/door and yelling hello into the stockroom, I tend to get a bit annoyed, lol.... Where does it say bang/yell/ring bell for service.... It's self serve, all the shoes are on the floor..... or they will be if I stop getting interrupted all the time.....

Ok I thought a rant would be good but I am getting a headache....

I'm fine really, just wound a bit tight lately....

Tomorrow it's back to work at 6am but I think I get off at 12:45.... So maybe then I can do a bit of yardwork and make some ribs for dinner and watch a movie or two....

Now I am off to get the boys in the showers and hubby will be home in forty five minutes...

Happy Journaling....

Silly Saturday...

Sun, 04 May 2008 01:32:36 GMT

Do you have a photo(s) this week that would go along with a Friday theme -- Freaky Friday, Fun Friday, Famous, Funky or just plain Friday Favorite?

No rules here as usual, and if you don't post in time to make it a Friday photo how about a Silly Saturday photo? If you're really pushing it, how about a Serene Sunday or a Sunday Sunset? You get the drift -- you can make almost anything fit. Come on and play along!

To Play Visit Martha at Perceptions...

Got this pool at Walmart a couple of weeks ago... Actually I saw it on a Monday and it bugged me all week that by Friday I had to go back and get it before they were all gone, lol...

Son3 keeps asking when we can put it up... Not til school is done or maybe Memorial weekend.... I think it will just fit on the patio next to the 8ft round pool we have...

I just hope Raisin doesn't like it too or it will be pop, pop, pop...

Happy Journaling...

The rest of the week...

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 02:17:37 GMT

Son2 and I watched Sweeney Todd on Wednesday night... It was really good. Johnny Depp can sing, kinda has a David Bowie sound about him like in the Labyrinth... And it was a love story to the end....

Thursday it was off to work, not getting much stocking done but opening lots of boxes, of course eventually I will run out of places for them to go in the stockroom if I don't get more to the floor... Son3 had tons of homework; 4 pages of math class work to finish, 2 pages of English homework, 1 page of math homework, timed reading, reading for the week we had put off, write a story, and spelling words 3 times each... So I was lucky to get the dishes done and water the plants... We had hot dogs for dinner... Then hubby was home but too late to watch Smallville so we talked til Supernatural came on... I was so disappointed in Supernatural, it was a Blair Witch reality show project of some sort, and I have been waiting for them to return since the strike... I'm sure it will be better next week... So we still have to watch Smallville and CSI that are taped...

I finished reading the Circle Trilogy by Nora Roberts about the vampire Lilith and the war of the worlds and the six who would defeat her and save all the worlds... It was so good and of course had a happy ending but I didn't want it to end... I am now back to reading Duma Key by Stephen King...

Friday son2 and I had to be up at 5am so he could be at school by 5:45... Of course I was up and showered by 5:20am only to find him still asleep after getting up and turning off his alarm and going back to bed... Grrrrr.... lol.... So he was up and out the door in ten minutes with hair barely combed and teeth barely brushed, but hey he was only going to be on TV.... so I drop him off and get home and turn on the TV at 5:54am and there is the drum line, panning over, half of son2 and pan back... the permission slip said 6am... I put in the tape and tape the rest of the morning news show, where I'm sure I got the guitars and the band and maybe son2 standing in the background somewhere... We still haven't checked out the tape yet... Also son1 called on Friday, he started his new job today, Saturday... He's working at Cycle World... He was nervous... I told him that was a good thing and to be polite and do what you are told... We have a new associate that started in our department this week with experience, however I am not impressed with him, he is so cocky and arrogant and about the same age as son1... and already is requesting time off, and changing his availability and couldn't even work his full schedule this week... I'm thinking he is gone.... Also girlfriend got a new job at an insurance company... So she will work both jobs through the summer and then when school starts in the Fall, leave here restaurant job... So Friday night son2 hogged the computer all night, so I was on the game computers playing Rollercoaster Tycoon and then I watched Ghost Whisperer and Moonlight... Both so good.. Can't wait to watch Moonlight again with hubby and then we also have Numbers to watch...

Now today after having a family breakfast and getting hubby off to work I have been on the computer all day... I had over 300 alerts and still have about 90... but I did make a roast with potatoes and carrots for dinner tomorrow and cleaned my bathroom and did tons of laundry... and watered the plants and washed off the patio... Son3 has been pajama boy playing computer games and son2 has been working on his history project, he has to write a journal as if he is a soldier in the Civil War... he is procrastinating and not done yet... It's due Monday... And now it is 7pm and hubby will be home within the hour, so the boys are setting up camp in the family room and we are going to watch the last of the Tin Man... This has been a really fast week... We also have Shrooms and Fingerprints to watch... Barbara, Fingerprints is based on the story of the school bus that was hit by the train and the children leave hand prints on cars now as they pass over the tracks....

The above picture is the cherry tomatoes that finally are coming up, unless they are weeds, lol...

Ok off to fix a sub sandwich for dinner...

Happy Journaling...

One Word

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 22:41:02 GMT

One Word

1. Where is your cell phone? none

2. Your significant other? attentive

3. Your hair? blond

4. Your mother? Mom

5. Your father? Pop

6. Your favorite thing? books

7. Your dream last night? fading

8. Your favorite drink? coke

9. Your dream/goal? happy

10. The room you're in? sunny

11. Your ex? annoying

12. Fear? dark

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? organized

14. Where were you last night? asleep

15. What you're not? patient

16. Muffins? pumpkin

17. One of your wish list items? disneyland

18. Where you grew up? Texas

19.The last thing you did? laundry

20. What are you wearing? capris

21. Your TV? enjoyable

22. Your pets? Raisin

23. Your computer? addicting

24. Your life? exhausting

25. Your Mood? content

26. Missing someone? no

27. Your car? van

28 Something you are not wearing? socks

29. Favorite Store? Book

30. Your summer? HOT

31. Like someone? hubby

32. Your favorite color? purple

33. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday

34. Last time you cried? wednesday

Happy Journaling...