Thursday, December 07, 2006

Saturday, December 02, 2006

This is wrong...

This article was in the register today. I have total respect for most law enforcement officers. But planting evidence like a loaded gun for "training purposes" is just asking for trouble. And police officers wonder why people don't trust them???

Here is the link
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/abox/article_1371805.php
and the article.

Police admit planting evidence


Huntington Beach chief says officers routinely employ tactic with civilian vehicles as part of training exercises.

By JENNIFER MUIR
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
HUNTINGTON BEACH – A Huntington Beach police officer's exoneration for planting a loaded gun in a suspect's car has led to the revelation that police routinely plant evidence in unsuspecting civilians' vehicles for training exercises.

Chief Kenneth Small said Friday that police plant contraband – including unloaded weapons, fake drugs and drug paraphernalia – in suspects' vehicles after they're arrested as a method of training new officers in searches.

The training practice came to light Friday after a Huntington Beach man said he learned that an officer who planted a handgun in his car during a traffic stop was exonerated of wrongdoing. Thomas Cox, who was later convicted of traffic and drug violations, said he watched in horror as another officer found the gun in the trunk of his Hyundai, igniting laughter among officers.

News of the training technique sparked surprise and criticism from police officials across the county, who said planting weapons in civilian vehicles is "inappropriate" and a "bad idea."

"I've never heard of anybody doing that," said George Wright, chairman of the Criminal Justice Department at Santa Ana College. "You're using someone else's property, and that can lead to other problems. … What if someone forgets about the gun and just leaves it behind?"

Police in Las Vegas abandoned a similar training tactic for drug-sniffing police dogs last year, when a man was falsely charged with drug possession after a canine officer forgot to retrieve drugs planted in the man's car, according to published reports.

Still, Small said the exercises teach newer officers how to search vehicles in realistic situations.

Performing the exercise in a parking lot with a police vehicle would not be as effective because the officers would be expecting to find contraband, he said. The training is usually done after suspects are arrested and the cars are being readied for impound, Small said.

But Cox said he was feet away from Officer Brian Knorr that January evening when Knorr flung the gun into the trunk.

"I was thinking, 'what the hell is this?'" said Cox, a 45-year-old construction superintendent. "I thought I was going to get a weapons charge. I thought I was going to get my ass kicked."

An officer found the gun minutes later, Cox said.

"That's not my gun!" Cox said he shouted.

Cox had been pulled over by police after a witness said he saw Cox hit another vehicle and flee the scene.

Cox said he was never told the officers were performing a training exercise.

He filed a complaint with the police department in August against Knorr and another officer, who he said barreled questions at him and called him names like "Slick.''

Several officers testified about the incident during Cox's October trial. Knorr testified that he planted the loaded gun because he "saw an opportunity to create a realistic search of a vehicle."

He said he and another officer "had a little chuckle" that night because the gun was found by a veteran police officer instead of the intended subject of the exercise.

Cox was convicted of hit and run, driving without a license, driving under the influence, reckless driving and possession of marijuana. He awaits sentencing Dec. 15.

Last month he received a letter from the police department saying the officers in his complaint had been "exonerated" of wrongdoing.

Small said Friday that using a loaded weapon during training – as Knorr testified he had done – is against department policy, and that performing the exercise in front of Cox "could have been done in a better way."

But he said Knorr was exonerated because the policy was not widely understood.

"I didn't feel comfortable holding one officer accountable for it when others were doing it as well," Small said. "I think the department did something wrong because we didn't make sure people understood what our policy really was."

The department doesn't have a formal protocol for using the public's vehicles in training exercises, department spokesman Lt. Craig Junginger said. However, vehicle owners typically aren't told their cars are being used for training because they're not usually present when the training occurs, Small said.

The training exercises are "designed to be very controlled situations, planned … and discussed with a supervisor in advance,'' Small said.

Ed Pecinovsky, bureau chief of training for the state's commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, said that no matter how careful officers are, using an arrestee's car in a training exercise is "asking for problems."

Cox said he's considering a lawsuit.

"This is police abuse," he said. "Huntington Beach used to be my dream home. Now, I'm moving away."

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Library Time

Before I was a mommy, I was a nanny. I was always so into educational activities. With most of the families I worked with, I could do whatever I wanted with the kids. I wasn't just a caregiver, I was the activities coordinator, with petty cash. I planned play dates, we had regular trips to the zoo and chidren's museum, we attended "mommy" and me classes, we took swimming classes, I worked in classrooms of the older kids.

Now that I'm a mom, I'm not as into that stuff, and sometimes I feel bad about that. Is my kid going to miss out on something? So lately, I've been trying to get us doing more activities outside the house. So far I'm failing miserably. LOL The latest thing we tried was the library story time. I had high hopes but low expectations. It was a toddler story time for kids 0-2, which is perfect for us.

First mistake was not letting the kid run a few miles before we got there. She was so full of energy, she would not hold still. I'm sure part of that was that it was a new place.

Second mistake was arriving early. In my typical anal style, we were 15 minutes early. I hate going to new places and being late. So, the kid had already reached her attention span when it was time to sit down and listen to stories.

I was impressed with the turnout, there were probably 20 or more caregivers, mostly moms, a few grandmas and at least one dad. One woman appeared to have triplets! The librarian doing story time was great. She knew and understood toddlers, said she would do mostly songs, rhyming games and fingerplays, with a few books thrown in the mix. Amelia loved all the other kids, but she would not stay with me. There was a big stage behind the librarian, and a big sign that, of course, said, "Please stay off the stage."

Amelia took that as an invitation. SHe listened for about 15 minutes, then the pull of the stage just couldn't stop her any longer. After the 3rd time, and a few screams from the kiddo, we left. I didn't feel so bad since there were two other moms leaving with their kids because they also wouldn't stay off the stage.

We left the library and went to the park. She ran and played and made some new friends. It's so cute to see little kids who don't speak the same language communicate. There were two women at the park with a group of kids, I think they did day care. Anyway, there were 3 little girls who only spoke Spanish, they were adorable. Amelia kept talking to them, and they talked back. They communicated just fine, even though they were not speaking the same language.

I think next week we'll try the park first to wear here out, then head to the library.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Are you kidding me???

DENVER - A homeowners association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti-Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan.



Some residents who have complained have children serving in Iraq, said Bob Kearns, president of the Loma Linda Homeowners Association in Pagosa Springs. He said some residents have also believed it was a symbol of Satan. Three or four residents complained, he said.

"Somebody could put up signs that say drop bombs on Iraq. If you let one go up you have to let them all go up," he said in a telephone interview Sunday.

Lisa Jensen said she wasn't thinking of the war when she hung the wreath. She said, "Peace is way bigger than not being at war. This is a spiritual thing."

Jensen, a past association president, calculates the fines will cost her about $1,000, and doubts they will be able to make her pay. But she said she's not going to take it down until after Christmas.

"Now that it has come to this I feel I can't get bullied," she said. "What if they don't like my Santa Claus."

The association in this 200-home subdivision 270 miles southwest of Denver has sent a letter to her saying that residents were offended by the sign and the board "will not allow signs, flags etc. that can be considered divisive."

The subdivision's rules say no signs, billboards or advertising are permitted without the consent of the architectural control committee.

Kearns ordered the committee to require Jensen to remove the wreath, but members refused after concluding that it was merely a seasonal symbol that didn't say anything. Kearns fired all five committee members.




**Remind me not to visit Colorado any time soon.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Christmas is coming...

Thanksgiving is over,so I can officially begin to celebrate Christmas right? Maybe it's because I have little kid, but I am so into all these holidays this year. Thanksgiving was good, I didn't take pictures... sorry! We had lots of food ( still have lots of food thanks to the 17 lb pound turkey Jeff bought! lol)

I have decided I'm going to get one of the organic free range turkeys next year. I wish I'd thought to get one this year. Oh well.

My house is totally decorated for Christmas now. Amelia is having a ball with the tree. She wants to take everything off the tree. The only things within her reach now are candy canes.

Here she is with a hand full of candy canes...

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Lillian Faith



Isn't she just the cutest little thing?

It's raining...

well actually it's really just barely sprinkling, but I don't care. There is water falling from the sky. Yes I'm wierd, but I love the rain. I didn't realize how much until I moved somewhere that went 10 months without rain every year! lol

I love the fresh smell that happens after it rains. And the sound of rain coming down. Now if only Californians could learn to drive in the rain, so I wouldn't have to be afraid to go out on the roads today. :-)

Monday, November 13, 2006

I should know better..

than to take a nap. That what happened yesterday. I took a 3 hour long nap in the afternoon and couldn't sleep last night. If you noticed the time stamp on the last post, it was something crazy like 11:30. I'm usually in bed by 930, but after my marathon nap yesterday, I couldn't sleep. I stayed up until after 1AM playing on the computer and then I still laid in bed unable to sleep for a while longer.

But hey at least I actually posted more than one paragraph, maybe I should blog in the middle of the night more often!

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Home

Home is an interesting thing. They say home is where your heart is. As a child, it's where you live, where your family is. As an adult it changes. When I was 21 I changed where home was for me. I quit my job as a preschool teacher and made the move from Astoria Oregon ( population less than 10,000) and moved to San Jose which had a population of over 900,000. It was a huge change. I had a lot of reasons for leaving which I won't get into now, but it was time for a change. Time to step out of the familiar small town life where I knew just about everyone, and go find out who I was. I left behind my family and everyone I knew. I had a job and a place to live and that was it.

I have never regretted the decision. However, I do sometimes miss the small town life. I miss the familiar. I miss having my family close by. I miss open space. I miss the trees and the rain. I miss the slower pace. When I left, I had no intention of staying in california. I was just going off to have my own adventures and see what life had to offer. I always planned to go home before I was ready to be a "real" grown up. I assumed I'd be back home before I got married and had children. I pictured myself raising my kids in the same small town environment I was raised in.

Then I met Jeff. We got married. He was transferred even further South, to Orange County. Then we had Amelia. It was hard. I didn't have any family around to help out and just be supportive. I didn't want to raise my kid in the middle of Suburbia. I tried so hard to convince Jeff to move to the NW. I just so badly wanted something familiar. I'm glad he didn't give in, I have grown to like living in the OC. I have a great group of friends, we live in a nice little place and Jeff has a good job. This is my home now. But, it doesn't mean the other places can't be home too. I will always feel like the peninsula and Astoria are home as well.

Who knows maybe someday my daughter will go off to have her own adventures, and change her perspective on home.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

My accent?

This is pretty accurate, since I have only lived up and down the west coast.

What American accent do you have?
Your Result: The West

Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.

The Midland
North Central
Boston
The South
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have?
Take More Quizzes

Sunday, November 05, 2006

I'm done!

I am done with all of my Christmas shopping! I have a couple of things I ordered online that haven't shipped yet, but everything else is done. It's the beginning of November! yay me!

My kid is seriously getting spoiled this christmas. She is getting doll stuff, dress up stuff, and a bunch of toys. I can't wait to see her little face on Christmas morning. The only bad part of shopping ahead of time, is now I have to wait so long. LOL

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Happy Halloween!

I'm excited for Halloween. Not for me, but for Amelia. She loves to dress up. She has been wearing her minnie costume a lot lately. But tonight she will be a giraffe. If it was just her, I don't think we'd even go trick or treating, but we're going to Kathy's so we can trick or treat with Jack and Aunica. I'm sure Amelia will have a blast chasing Jack around. :-)

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Thanks for all your good thoughts and prayers. Earl passed away this morning. At least it was a peaceful passing, and he is not in pain anymore.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Just a quick note, my family could use some prayers or good thoughts right now. My mom's step dad Earl is in the hospital(He's the one with lung cancer). He's been there for a few days now. Anyway it's not good and it will probably all be over soon. He is being taken to a hospice place today. The doctors think he only has a couple of days, as he is not eating. He has already said he does not want to be resuscitated or have a feeding tube. So, there isn't a lot they can do for him. He's 87 and I think he's just done fighting. This is so hard on my Grandma.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

The 32nd of Juvember!

This morning my administration released the budget numbers for fiscal 2006. These budget numbers are not just estimates, these are the actual results for the fiscal year that ended February the 30th." *
-- Dubya releases budget numbers for a fiscal year that apparently ended on a fictional date, Washington, D.C., Oct. 11, 2006

Check it out here.
















*I know I shouldn't make fun of our president. But I'd probably make fun of anyone who said that...
I miss my other weight tracker. (You know, the one that shows some progress?? LOL)I think I'll put it back up. I'll leave the new one too. I weighed in this morning. I was a little ( a lot really) scared, but it wasn't bad! I haven't gained or lost. I succesfully navigated the move with no gains. Yay me.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

My butt is going to fall off...

Seriously. Kathy came over with Jack this morning so we could walk. We walked all over my neighborhood. I just mapquested it and we walked 3 miles! Then Jeff got home and we went for another walk after dinner. We did 1.5 miles this time. Thats 4.5 miles. My muscles hurt! lol Hopefully we'll be walking every day, and I'll get used to it and not be in pain! On the good side, Amelia had so much fun with Jack today! She didn't really want to share some of her toys, but she did pretty good. After they left, she kept going to the front door yelling "Jack! Jack!" then she'd turn and look at and say "where he go?" and put her hands out to the side. I've got to get a picture of that....

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

My new favorite store...

...is Home Depot! That store is amazingly full of so many things I didn't know I needed! I went today to get some hanging rods for Amelias room. There is a great closet organizer in there, but it has shelves, no rods. I hate hanging the clothes on the shelves because they don't slide. So anyway, I bought the rods and installed them myself. Woohoo. yes I'm easily amused. I saw so many other things I would love to buy! I tried to restrain myself though. I did get some cool pads to go on the bottom of the chairs and table since the dining room is hardwood and I don't want to eff it up.

I took these this morning of Amelia in front of our house. We were trying on her halloween costume. Isn't she a cute little giraffe??



Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Some pics from the new house

We're in the new condo now. I love it already. :-)

First one is Amelia in the living room, next are roses I cut from our yard this morning, then is my little gardener playing in the dirt, and the last one is the patio outside my bedroom.













Friday, October 06, 2006

My silly kid

Amelia likes to scream. Not like I'm pissed and crying screams, but just a loud scream to hear her own voice. The screaming really bothers Jeff and he is always trying to get her to stop. So her new trick is to shush herself. She will do a loud shriek, then put her finger up to her mouth and say Shhhh. So funny.

Oh and we could use some good thoughts again for Earl. (He's the one with lung cancer) Anyway, he's not doing great and it looks like he might have to go into a home. Grandma just can't take care of him on her own. She's 75 and can't lift him if he falls. They have stopped the chemo since it was making him so tired, but even with that out of his system he doesn't seem to be getting any better.
So what do you all think? Should I leave my blog with or without music? I turned it off for now, for Sophia so can read in peace. :-)

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Only 2 days to go until move day! The house is coming along pretty well. I'm working on packing still but it's getting there. I'm just about out of boxes so hopefully I'll be done soon. The new carpet is in at the condo, it looks great. The carpet dudes left a lot of marks on the baseboard in Amelias room, I'm hoping there is some paint floating around still so I can touch it up. I'm taking a break from packing and reading blogs. I found this and had to share. LOL

Only 2 days to go until move day! The house is coming along pretty well. I'm working on packing still but it's getting there. I'm just about out of boxes so hopefully I'll be done soon. The new carpet is in at the condo, it looks great. The carpet dudes left a lot of marks on the baseboard in Amelias room, I'm hoping there is some paint floating around still so I can touch it up. I'm taking a break from packing and reading blogs. I found this and had to share. LOL

Only 2 days to go until move day! The house is coming along pretty well. I'm working on packing still but it's getting there. I'm just about out of boxes so hopefully I'll be done soon. The new carpet is in at the condo, it looks great. The carpet dudes left a lot of marks on the baseboard in Amelias room, I'm hoping there is some paint floating around still so I can touch it up. I'm taking a break from packing and reading blogs. I found this and had to share. LOL

Monday, September 18, 2006

First week weight loss

I love how when I get back to eating healthy, I lose a huge amount the first week. 6.6 pounds. wahoo. Now if only I could lose like that every week. I'd be at goal in no time. lol

new house pictures

I know everyone else is just as excited as I am that we are moving. We went and measured at the new condo yesterday, and I took a few pictures. The green carpet in the pics will be gone before we move in, it will be just a nice neutral color.

Purple anyone? This is the master bedroom and bath. It's pretty bright. The colors are okay, but I'm not sure how I feel about them in my bedroom. I'm not sure if i want to mess with painting though.

IT's not as bad in real life as it looks in the pictures, and it is a nice sized bedroom. I also love the two closets.






here is a picture of the livingroom entry way.

Friday, September 15, 2006

I have been a bad blogger ever since I got back home. Not sure what thats about. And now I have an excuse, my computer died. I'm going to try and reinstall windows, but I'm not real hopeful that will work. I think my hard drive is toast.

Onto another topic, since I'm back home, I'm back on track with my diet. I know I shouldn't call it a diet, it has to be a life style change, but I still call it a diet. Even when I'm not strictly following my diet, I can tell how much my eating has changed. I'm about 5 pounds above the lowest weight I got to, not bad for a month of stress filled eating. It's always hard for me when I'm away from home. It was hot at mom's so I wasn't as good at cooking as I am at home. ( Mom doesn't have AC, so when it's 98 degrees out, the stove does not come on.) At home when it's hot I just turn on the air when I turn on the oven. LOL So anyway, I'm going to start over with my eating. I'm going through all the beginning weight watchers stuff to get my head in the right place. Monday will be my weigh in day. I'm also going to start a new weight loss ticker. I see that I'm down 60 pounds, and I get complacent. Maybe seeing myself starting at 0 will make me less so. I did some yoga this morning. It's a great one to do with Amelia helping, much easier than doing kickboxing with a toddler.

I'm hoping that once I get moved, I can go walking with kathy and maybe Stacy more often. It's always so much easier to work out when I have someone I have to meet there. Who knows, maybe we'll even get to the gym together.

I'm really excited about our upcoming move. Well I'm excited about the condo, not excited about actually moving. Moving stresses me out. I keep trying to get jeff to understand that it really overwhelms me and I need his help. So far thats not going so well, but I'm sure at the last minute he'll have all this energy and be throwing stuff in boxes like a mad man. Which is a good thing, by then I'll be so sick of boxes and packing tape that I won't even mind. LOL

I'm stuck home during the day right now, Jeff got into a car accident. Insurance is taking care of it all, but right now I"m stuck home carless, since he has to have a vehicle for work. I'm contemplating renting a car, but it seems wasteful since I don't HAVE to drive anywhere. And stuff is close, in theory I could walk to the grocery store with Amelia in the stroller.

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Yes we're still alive!

Amelia and I are still in Oregon. The trip has gone really well but we both miss Jeff a lot. At least Amelia is able to talk to him every day on the phone. Sarah is finally going to be induced on Saturday so we should be able to head home a few days after that.

I promise once I get back I'll check everyone's blogs, and get caught up on my reading. :-)

Monday, July 31, 2006

Sick kid

My poor kiddo has been sick. Not sure what she has, one of her playgroup friends has hand foot and mouth disease. Amelia had the high fever and the not wanting to eat, but she has not developed any soars. She is getting better each day, and the fever has gone down. I'm hoping to get her into the doctor tomorrow just to check her out.

In other news, I worked out Sunday and today. I did weights for 30 minutes today, and did 30 minutes of cardio yesterday. Yay me.

Friday, July 28, 2006

It's Friday

We had a surprise shower for two of the mom's from playgroup today. It was a lot of fun. I love going to Kathy's house because I know it's really kid friendly, and Amelia has so much fun. Kathy is such a good hostess, she's the mommy to all the other mommies.

The kids all did such a great job today, (even without the pool in action) and I loved getting to hold baby Chance. He is almost 3 months old, and such a little doll. I ate a lot of krap today. Thats alright though, I'm starting over right now.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Working out

I actually worked out yesterday. I did 30 minutes of cardio (kickboxing thanks to FitTV)

Let's see how I do today.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

I'm melting...

I am so over this heat.

It was 107 on Saturday. One oh seven. According to this site with humidity it felt like 115. I live pretty close to the beach. Imagine how much life sucks for the poor people further inland. Up in the valley, it was something like 119. And it's been humid. Humid and sticky. Bleh. I think I'm moving to Alaska.

Tomorrow we're going to a park with the playgroup to play in the water. Hopefully it goes well. It should be cooled off a bit from the weekends temperatures.

Things are not going so well for me with my dieting. No matter how well I eat, if I don't work out, I don't lose very well. I have to work out more. It's hard to get motivated when it's over 100 degrees outside though. I need to start working out earlier in the day. Right now I try and do it at nap time, which is the hottest time of the day.

Saturday, July 22, 2006

I'm stealing this from football widow's blog.

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops? No

2. Do you close your eyes on roller coasters?Yes, when I ride them. I'm not a rollercoaster gal.

3. When's the last time you've been sledding? In Junrior High.

4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone? With someone else.

5. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes

6. Do you consider yourself creative? Sometimes.

7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife? Yes

8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie? Jen

9. Do you stay friends with your exes? Other than the sporadic email, nope.

10. Do you know how to play poker? Of course. Gotta love playing poker in Tahoe to see who gets to sleep in the good beds.

11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight? Yes

12. What's your favorite commercial?The identity theft ones, I think they are citibank.

13. What are you allergic to? Stupid people

14. If you're driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around do you run red lights? Nope

15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you? Nope

16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees? I'll say the yankees to make my hubbie happy.

17. Have you ever been Ice Skating? Yes

18. How often do you remember your dreams? A lot

19. When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? I"m sure it was with my sister. We always get each other going.

20. Can you name 5 songs by The Beatles? Sure.

21. What's the one thing on your mind now? I don't want to have to pack again. LOL

22. Do you know who Ghetto-ass barbie is?Yes

23. Do you always wear your seat belt? Eventually, sometimes it takes me a mile or two to remember...

24. What cell service do you use? Cingular

25. Do you like sushi? Yes.

26. Have you ever narrowly avoided a fatal accident? Yes.

27. What do you wear to bed? Pj's

28. Been caught stealing? Nope.

29. What shoe size do you have? 9 or so
30. Do you truly hate anyone? Yes.

31. Classic Rock or Rap? Classic Rock.

32. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be? I don't know

33. Favorite Song? I don't know.

34. Have you ever sang in front of the mirror? Of course.

35. What food do you find disgusting? olives.

36. Do you sing in the shower? Yes.

37. Did you ever play, "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours"? Yes

38. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back? I'm sure I did when I was younger.

39. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew? Yes

40. Have you ever been punched in the face? Yes. By my sister. LOL

We're moving...

We got that condo we liked. We'll move in the end of September if all goes well. We went and saw it today and loved it.

She has all of the rooms in the house painted, and it looks really nice, hardly any white walls. :-) The living areas are bigger, and Amelias room is smaller than what we have now, which is perfect for us. There are ceiling fans in both bedrooms and the dining room. There is also new hardwood. No more carpet in the dining room. Yippee. :-)

The owner was going to repaint the smaller bedroom anyway, so she said she will paint it for me if I just pick out a color. Yay. Now I have to decide on a color.

Friday, July 21, 2006

More Amelias room

I'm having fun looking at stuff to put in Amelias room. I know I'll probably change my minds 20 times before I'm ready to actually do her room, but thats okay.



I like this bed.


...and this bed as well.


and I really like this rug. ( Thanks Robyn!)


My kid is still tiny so it will probably be quite a while before she is ready to move out of the toddler bed, but thats okay. :-)

Keep your fingers crossed...

I think we found a place! It's a condo in Orange, and we're going to go see it tomorrow. It's 2 bedroom 2 bath and in our price range. It looks nice from the pictures, and it's closer to my friends and to Jeff's work. Think good thoughts for us! :-)

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Today is my blah day. Jeff has been working a ton, in the last 3 days he has done at least 19 hours of OT ( he's still at work now) and it's messing with my routines, and Amelia. She's used to seeing Daddy every day, and I know she misses him. And for some reason I've been thinking about my Dad a lot the last few days. Thats bringing me down some too. I'm getting ready to go to Oregon for a few weeks, that's always full of drama. Bleh.

On a better note, I'm starting to find some rental listings in our price range up in HB and LB. Woohoo.

My kid is going to be up in 7.5 hours, I gotta go to bed. Why oh why must she wake up at 6 am every morning? It's kind of cute, she gets out of bed and sits inside her bedroom door and she knocks. I hear knock knock knock. Then, "Hi mommy. Hi mommy. Hi mommy." Then knock knock knock. Then we go back to Hi mommy. Then she starts jiggling the door knob when she gets really mad. I know it won't be long before she is escaping from her bedroom on her own...

Time for a change...


I got my hair cut this weekend, what do ya think? I think I like it, it always takes me a while to be sure. LOL







This picture cracked me up. I took it while driving on the freeway ( actually Jeff was driving, no I wasn't trying to drive and snap pictures) anyway, it's a housing community right on the freeway.














Here is a closeup. Check out the starting prices. Only in SoCal, does a housing community in Santa Ana that has views of the freeway, cost this much. ( You might have to click on the picture to get a clear view of the price.)


































... I looked at the website, that starting price of 1 million, will get you a 3 bedroom 3.5 bath house. With a compact 2 car garage. And judging by how close together they look, they will probably have next to nothing for a yard. And a huge HOA fee. Am I the only one who thinks thats just rediculous??? Why do people pay that for a house?

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Amelias bedroom

If we stay in this apartment, I'm trying to figure out how to decorate AMelia's room. I'd like to paint her room, but I'm not sure what to do. We have vaulted ceilings in both bedrooms. I think it goes from 8 feet on one side, to 14 feet on the other. I think I'd have issues trying to paint all the way up to the 14 foot side. I'm thinking about doing a border at chair rail height and only painting up to the border.

I really like this green color but I'm wondering if it's too boyish. Anyone have any advice or ideas on decorating a kid's room? I'm clueless! I think I want to avoid a pink room.















Although, this pink room is cute. Maybe pink isn't so bad.



















This is cute too.

The cost of living in SoCal

So I know that all of you know, that I love to bitch about the cost of living in SoCal, especially here in OC. It's just rediculous. The median home price is something like 650k. The things we can afford, are not places I want to live. I don't want to pay $350k to live in a 900 square feet condo in the ghetto. Or move so far out that Jeff is commuting 2 hours each way and we don't see him.

So, we know we'll be renting for a while. Right now we live in South OC, and I was really hoping to move further north, closer to our friends, and closer to LA for Jeff. But so far, it looks like it's just not going to happen. Since we've been in this townhouse, I've gotten a bit more picky. I like my washer and dryer. I don't want to give it up. I like having 2+ bathrooms. When I look in HB everything is small (we have 1250 square feet now) and no washer and dryer hookup. I was hoping to find a house to rent, but most of what Im finding is way over the 2k a month mark. Sorry but I refuse to pay over $2000 a month in rent. If it was a house payment of our own it would be different. It's bad enough paying nearly that much for our townhouse now. We thought we might be able to find something suitable in Long Beach, but so far nothing up there is under 2000 either.

Oh well at least I don't have to pack and unpack right???

Thursday, July 13, 2006

It's hot

Now, I realize I live in Southern California, and part of that is heat. That being said, why does it have to be so hot? I didn't think Aliso Viejo would be that much hotter than HB was, but apparently it is. In fact it's usually about 9 degrees hotter according to weather.com. At least we have central AC here.

Saturday it's supposed to be 96. And according to the weather guy on channel 9 it's also supposed to get really humid on Saturday.

I've decided I'm moving back to Oregon. There are some hot days there, but then it cools off in between. I don't like this hot every day stuff. Now if I could just convince my husband... LOL If certain members of my family didn't live in Oregon, he might be more agreeable. ( No mom I don't mean you!)

Whining over.

On another note, I got my first electric bill since we started using the AC. It was only $50 above normal. Wahoo. Now I can crank that baby up without feeling guilt. I try to leave it set at 78 and only turn it down when necessary. The problem is the thermostat is downstairs, which means if it's 78 downstairs, its about 85 upstairs. Which means I never really leave it at 78. LOL Shhh don't tell Jeff though.

One upside to the hot weather is I have been just hanging a lot of our clothes up on the drying rack in the laundry area. It's so hot out there stuff dries in a couple hours, which is great for the gas bill, and it's better for the clothes too. Amelias stuff seems to hold up better when I don't dry it in the dryer every time.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Her hair is almost clean!

We actually got most of the gunk out of her hair. I'm going to try washing it again this morning and see if we can get the rest out. Click here to see pictures of Amelia covered in the cornstarch we used to absorb the aquaphor.

Saturday, July 08, 2006

My daughter still has a totally greasy hair. I'm sure someday I'll think it's funny, just not yet...I have washed her hair 7 times since yesterday. I have tried selson blue, dish soap and then just her regular shampoo. I tried combing it out with a small comb. I'm not sure what else to try. It's really driving me crazy. I'm sure people who see her think I don't bathe my child. That or I just take her out with wet hair. Cause her hair, pretty much, looks wet.

Then, we got home tonight and couldn't turn onto our street. There was a big old wreck, they think it was a drunk driver that caused it. An older couple's caddy had gone clear up on the sidewalk the front end was up on a decorative wall...they were still getting people out of that car when we got home. I can hear them out there now trying to get the cars on to the tow trucks. It's very loud.

Toddler for sale... Cheap!*

Some days are better than others. Yesterday we had playgroup. I love playgroup. Amelia gets some great interaction with the kids, and we have a great group of moms. We get to sit around and BS and try to not eat the cinamon rolls that people bring, while the kids have a great time. The first half of the day was good. Then we got home.

The princess was supposed to be asleep. Apparently she has figured out how to open drawers and climb up her dresser. When I went to get her up from her nap she had covered her body in aquaphor. (a diaper cream thats like vaseline.) She had also covered her hair, and her closet door, and her bathroom door and some of the carpet. She was in her room for no more than an hour, and I never heard a peep. She usually starts hollering or yelling Hi Mommy when she wakes up. I was in the living room below her and didn't hear her walking around or jumping on and off the dresser. So I have now washed her hair 4 times. She is currently in there getting her hair washed again. I don't know how to get this stuff out. I think I'm going to try the selson blue dandruff shampoo. Thats what the doctor had us use when she had cradle cap.

After the aquaphor incident, we had another one involving the cat tree. We have a big cat tree, kitty condo, whatever you want to call it in the living room. Amelia has been trying for a while to figure out how to climb up to the first level. Well yesterday she pulled one of her toys over and got up on the first level. Then she tried to climb down through the hole and got stuck. Not a little bit stuck. but completely stuck. She slid down and had her arms and upper body sticking out the top and her belly stuck below. I had to turn the thing over on it's side and pull her out. It took me at least 10 minutes to get her out. Jeff was off in LA working and didn't get home until after she went to bed. I think I need a vacation...

*This is a joke. I do not want to now, nor have I ever seriously considered wanting to sell my child.

Friday, July 07, 2006

More 4th of July pics

So for some reason, only a few of my pictures went up in my last blog entry, so here are a few more. Sometimes I think blogger just doesnt like me.





Thursday, July 06, 2006

4th of July






We had a pretty good holiday weekend. Jeff was off all 4 days so it was nice to have him home. We spent a lot of time outside playing. We went to one of the local parks on the 4th and Amelia had a great time. She was running all over the place. We left before the fireworks, she was pretty tired. Oh well, we had fun anyway.

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Here kitty kitty...

We went for a walk tonight after dinner, we just wandered around our complex and let Amelia lead. She loves to walk along all the sidewalks and stop and look at plants and leaves and stuff. We were almost back home when she saw a lizard. For some reason this lizard wasn't scared of her so much, and he just sat there. She even sat down on the ground next to him, and started calling him "kitty". All animals are called, kitty, puppy or baby. She was pretty excited and just kept yelling kitty and pointing at him. I was envisioning her trying to pick it up when Jeff finally shooed "kitty" off the sidewalk. She stood there for a minute calling him to come back but he didn't so we continued our walk.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

In the Mirror

My pregnancy group does a "Theme Thursday" picture every week. So, I thought I'd start posting some of the pictures here. This weeks theme is in the mirror.