Thankful Thursday

Wow, 2009 is literally almost over! It's 11:17 pm on Dec. 31. I have found myself alone for a change. Larry is working and Cameron ended up staying the night at my parents. I can't believe that 2009 is over. I keep trying to think of where the year went and even more, where the decade went! I was listening to the radio today and they were talking about the 20 things that became obsolete this last decade. And even though, it's obvious what we no longer use, it's still shocking to think that these once depend-upon-everyday items are gone, finished, obsolete. That future generations may never even know what those items were. They may never in their lives see one working. Things like Walkmans and VHS. Now I know that as all technology things come and go and there are things that in my life I never saw working. But I don't think to the degree that my generation has seen. Over the last decade, as a society, we have become two contradictory things at the same time. We have become a disposable nation and a "green" nation. Everyone is so concerned with being "green" but we live in a technological society which makes this "green" living impossible. Our computers are out of date before they are plugged in. A new camera is being released that is smaller but more powerful then the model before it. We used to have to use things like floppy disks to store extra computer information and now we have external hard drives that look like books, so they can be placed on a shelf and go unnoticed. At the same time actual books themselves, are being replaced by devices like the Kindle and the Sony digital reader. Our phones can now do everything that a decade ago wasn't even possible on a computer. And at the same time we have given way to text messaging and a new language developed just for that type of conversation. Social sites have made it possible for people to get reconnected or stay connected. And even though I think this is great and love that I can remain in contact with people I would have otherwise lost contact with, I wonder how many people use that as a sole method of communication?

So as 2009 wraps up and I contemplate the upcoming year and all the changes that will be coming my way, I'm thankful for many things.

First, I'm thankful for my family. I have been truly blessed in this department.

I'm thankful for Larry. He is my best friend and I don't use that term. He is the person I turn to to laugh, cry and complain. I'm thankful that during all of the hullabaloo of keeping up with this or that he has remained my constant companion in the drive to stay low-key.

I'm thankful for Cameron. As I look to this next month and finally get the surgery my body needs I know for a fact that it will FOREVER close the discussion of children. Even though that discussion has been had there will be no more what if's. Cameron will be my only child. And there are days that that makes me sad. He will never know what it's like to have a sibling. But at the same time, I'm so blessed that I at least have him! He is my little man. The person I spend the most time with. My greatest irritant and my greatest joy maker all at the same time! I am truly blessed to be his mama!

I'm thankful for my friends. God has blessed me with some truly amazing friends. They don't blame me for my craziness or my busyness. I'm thankful that they understand me and love me for who I am.

I am thankful for my simple ways. I'm thankful that I don't have a selfish heart. I'm thankful that I'm frugal and would rather "make it myself" than "buy it from someone else". I'm thankful that God has blessed me with enough talent and patience to learn knew things.

I am looking toward 2010 for so many reasons. But I'm thankful for the time I've had! The good and the bad, I wouldn't be who I am today without the experiences from my past. I do not look back at this last year or any other year previous and wish things had been different. I'm thankful for every laugh line. I'm thankful for every frown. I'm thankful for the good and the bad.

So Happy New year! I hope you have a blessed and prosperous year! I hope you are healthy and happy and most of all thankful!

The Christmas Carol

On Friday Dec 4th, we had the opportunity to see The Christmas Carol at The El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. We were able to get these tickets through Cameron's charter school, Julian Charter, as a field trip. The movie was playing in 3D so we got some special glasses to sport! We learned that going to The El Capitan is an experience! They have performers out front before the show, a man playing the organ (with no sheet music) before the show, then a stage show with Mickey, Minnie and friends! When the movie started, I had almost forgot why we were there! It was a brilliant movie! Scared Cameron pretty good, but I sure enjoyed it.



Waiting for the show




The man playing the organ


Cameron was wondering why Mickey and Minnie and friends were at the theatre and not at Disneyland.. .

Thankful Thursday

I have many things to be thankful for! We have a very blessed life. But sometimes it's the little things that bring us great joy. This week, I got my hair cut. It was long over due. My hair is very thick and very heavy. I often get headaches and after a while there is just no style to it. I called up a good friend of mine, Sadie, and she was able to cut my hair. For some strange reason, I'm a freak when it comes to my hair. I don't nescessarily have a style, I don't dye it, I don't use products and I own a blow dryer but can probably count on one hand how many times I've used it. But my hair is my thing. And even though I do nothing with it, I'm always kind of nervous to cut it. In the past I have donated it to Locks Of Love. In fact I dontated 36 inches of hair in about 2 years! But I was ready for a actual style. My girl Sadie even talked me through scary terms like "serum" and "curling product" and even scarier "flat iron". I think that with my new found confidence I might actually be able to do something with my hair (if the opportunity presented itself) instead of just falling into my "I'll just braid it and put a hat on" routine. Here's hoping!

Magical Monday's

October 10, 2009 Jessica, Cameron and I

Walk Down Memory Lane Wednesday

Cameron has always like to sleep with stuffed animals but he's never been particular about any one animal. He rotates them often or will pull them all in his bed. He was about 2 when these pictures were taken.

Sea Life

On Labor Day we went down to Sea Life at Legoland. I had never been, but Cameron and Larry had been once before. It's a really cute adventure! Also they have an emphasis on learning, so the whole adventure is a learning experience. They give you a test at the entrance. One thing that is really cute is that all of the decorations are Lego's (naturally). It was a lot of fun and I would go again!



So Cute!



the decorations may be lego's but the animals are real!








In the month of September the Surfrider Foundation was benefiting from a auction that Legoland helped sponsor. Several celebrities made mosaics for the auction. Peter Facinelli, who plays Carlisle in the Twilight movies

Magical Monday's.

On September 10 Larry and I went to Disneyland just the two of us. It was the day after our anniversary and Cameron was still with our friend Jen. It was the first time in a long time since we had gone without a child. I think our bike ride the day before wore us out that we were too tired to really enjoy being there. After a few hours we left, but I did manage to get a couple of pictures taken first.

Cricut Clothes

I have always considered myself somewhat on the crafty side. I have always been the type of person who won't pay full price for something and more often than not I also feel that I can make that too. My friend has a really cute cover for her Cricut that she bought online. I took one look at it and thought, "I can make that!"

So using my trusty Kenmore sewing machine


I took a bandanna that I got from a Komen run. It was fortunate that the bandanna was slightly longer than my Cricut, which allowed for a seam.


I measured the sides of my Cricut and created a pattern on paper. I used a basic cotton muslin. Using my trusty Kenmore I sewed the sides onto my bandanna and viola! A cute outfit for my Cricut!

Cameron's Harvest Pictures

For the third year we had a Harvest Picture event. Cameron was very excited for Halloween this year, because we bought him some VERY nice firefighter turnouts. He was so excited he wore them everyday leading up to Halloween. Fortunately I was able to get him to take some pictures in it.





He also let me get these pictures too

Crafty Cameron

Cameron is starting to really enjoy being crafty. I bought him this pumpkin cutout from Joann's hoping he would like to paint it. He was very excited to paint it! He even worked so hard and concentrated to make sure that he stayed in the lines. We plan on putting up in the backyard for display.

Thankful Thursday

I think that it's appropriate to do a Thankful Thursday today, because today is in fact Thanksgiving Day! I can't believe that it's already Thanksgiving! I started this blog a year ago in November. A year ago, i was wondering where the year went. A year later, nothing has changed. We are busy busy buys. Larry is working, Cameron is in sports, I'm running the business and Cameron is still home schooled.

So what are we thankful for? This year I decided to make a craft for the whole family. Using my Cricut, I cut a tree trunk and 21 leaves. The leaves are in three colors, red for Cameron, orange for Larry and yellow for myself. Each night leading up to Thanksgiving, we have written something that we are thankful for. It was fun and interesting to hear the things Cameron was thankful for. Dad and mom were the last two things he was thankful for. He was thankful for turkey and his toys. He was also thankful for his dog. Larry and I were a little more traditional each being thankful for each other and Cameron and then of course thankful for work, family friends etc. I was thankful for caffeine and Larry was thankful for these coffee blended drinks I make that we call "Kamachino chillers". All in all it was a fun craft that I hope to turn into a tradition. I mounted the tree and leaves (which Cameron insisted some should be falling off the tree. It worked cause I think there may have been too many other wise) on a 12x12 piece of card stock that I will put (someday) in my chronological scrapbook.



our finished tree

Walk Down Memory Lane Wednesday

Look ma no hands! For Cameron's second birthday he got a scooter from a friend of mine. We also got him a helmet, knee and elbow pads, they were definitely a good investment.






Apparently all that scooting is exhausting and he needed a break