Basketball Season is Here........

.....and I have only made it to one game so far.

The cheerleaders always do a dance at halftime and on Monday they did their Christmas dance.
The video is a little too big for blogger to I put it on youtube instead.

LINK TO CHEER DANCE

I really wish I could cut the end of this one off, I taped way too long, but have no idea how to edit a video.

2009 Winter performance to Snow

cheergirl is in dance again this year and they had their winter performance on Saturday. Of course I forgot to charge my camcorder so couldn't tape all the dances. I did manage to get most of cheergirl's number. She is pretty hard to spot because the lighting has a reddish tinge. Any other color to the lights would make it easier to spot her because her red hair would stand out. Sigh, but they didn't ask my opinion ;)

The video is just a little too big to upload directly to blogger so I just have the youtube link.....

Snow Performance

I had hoped to get a picture of her after the performance in her costume but unfortunately that didn't happen.

It's that time of year.....

for parties and gifts and and pretty lights etc. I worked my fingers to the bone getting a few things ready for origami girls party today.

Aren't these just the cutest little marshmallow pops? I got the idea from Suzanne McMinn over at Chickens in the Road

Pecan Pie.......

I am on a mission. I am looking for a pecan pie recipe for hubby. My hubby has always been a fan of Mrs. Smith's pecan pies. Nothing else compares in his mind. It has a smooth, creamy and light colored texture to the filling with just a light topping of pecans on top.

We can no longer find Mrs. Smith's pecan pies and looking at their website they no longer even have the pecan pie listed. I have tried many recipes over the years and none have been quite right.

Finally, yesterday I came closer. Hubby even requested I make a second one so he could give it as a gift. How is that for getting closer to success LOL.

Most recipes I have found call for equal parts sugar and corn syrup. The recipe I tried yesterday called for a higher amount of corn syrup over the sugar. I am afraid of going to high on the corn syrup because it might get runny, maybe I should use more egg in that case. Recipe also called for dark corn syrup but I just used light instead. I just don't know what else to change . If anyone has any suggestions they are greatly appreciated

2009 Christmas Light Parade.......

I am so far behind on blogging.

Cheergirl was in the Christmas Light Parade a couple weeks ago. I try and I try and I try to get decent nighttime pictures but it is so difficult. Combine the challenge of getting a good night time picture and add motion into the problem. I only have a couple decent shots lol

Oops, forgot to update about the movie.........

Everything went fairly smoothly. We were one of the first groups in line so were seated in the first theatre. In all they opened 6 theatres for the movie. We were in a theatre that seats 300 and it was completely filled.

Luckily they didn't make us stand in line for hours, they allowed people into the theatres to sit and relax (and purchase from the concessions of course).

The movie.... well it was ok. As an adult it probably wouldn't be my top choice on my list. But the girls really enjoyed it and that was what the night was all about anyways.

Hmmm, what luck........

Competition practice is cancelled tonight so we can line up for the movie extra early.

"New Moon" release tonight.......

and I can not believe what we are doing. Cheergirls request for her birthday was to go to the opening of "New Moon". It opens at midnight tonight which just happens to be a school night and a work night. But I relented and bought the tickets a few weeks ago.

So I work 10 hours today, hope to get a short nap in after work, line up for the movie probably a couple hours before it starts, movie at midnight and work 10 hours tomorrow. Cheergirl swears she won't miss school tomorrow. If she has perfect attendance she doesn't have to take finals and she has a couple classes she dreads finals.

Oh and one monkey wrench in the plan... cheergirl has competition practice tonight from 7:30-9:30 :( . So origami girl and I will line up at the theatre and daddy will have to pick up cheergirl and bring her to meet us. It may be totally unnecessary but I think lining up early is the way to go to make sure we get seats together. But can I really handle a couple hours in line with a bunch of squeally teen girls...... ugh!

To be in your children's memories tomorrow you must

be in there lives today.

Cheergirls Blood Donation Experience..........

Cheergirl is a big wimp who barely meets the weight requirement to donate blood, but she really wanted to donate this year.

Yesterday was donation day at the high school.

So cheergirl is sitting in her chair awaiting her turn and across from her is a lady being prepped for her donation. The needle of course is larger than they use for a standard blood draw at the dr's office. They couldn't find the lady's vein so of course they are rotating and digging in. All the while poor little cheergirl is sitting there watching and cheergirl suddenly breaks out crying.

Counselor "don't worry hun, they are just having a hard time finding her vein"

Cheergirl (to self) "I can do this, I can do this"

Mean Nurse to cheergirl "Okay it is your turn. If you jump....... you are outta here, if you cry....... you are outta here"

Cheergirl "Is it a big needle?"

Mean Nurse "Yes"

Cheergirl "I'm outta here"

The end.

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men..........

(quote from John Steinbeck novel)

My best laid plans always go awry. Tried to get into the groove of blogging in October but was just way too busy. High school football is over now so maybe I can catch my breath.

Cheergirl is busy as always, regular cheer practice is a bit more laid back for the moment but competition practice is in full swing.

Origami girl tried out for soccer a few weeks ago and didn't make it but isn't really disapointed. She is busy as always with her writing and drawing and watching youtube singers for hours. The kid has a strong artistic streak.

Pizza boy..... sigh...... has hopefully given up on the one job he really wanted and is finally starting to put in applications again. Everyone keep their fingers crossed for him that he can find something soon.

And for your veiwing pleasure today................. I know it is kind of dark but origami girl would have know I was there if I turned on the light LOL......

Link # 2 for Breast Cancer Awareness

http://ww5.komen.org/

Link #1 for Breast Cancer Awareness

October 1st

http://www.cdc.gov/Features/BreastCancerAwareness/

Cheergirl's cake.........

Cheergirl is practicing her husband catching skills......

Friday Night Lights..........

It is that time of year again. This year cheergirl is a varsity cheerleader so this is officially her first varsity game.......

I loved this picture, the sky came out so pretty. It just screams Friday night High School.Hey Band! Let me see you get down, let me see you get down!

Ice, Ice, Baby......

Dinner is served.............

While daddy and pizza boy were out hunting last week they added a gourmet item too their catch of the day. Daddy and pizza boy were the only ones to eat this, although origami girl did take one nibble. Cheer girl and myself were too smart.

Fashion Show......

Cheergirl's team participated in a fashion show at the local hot spot in our city. Before the show began her team got to perform. Unfortunately from my spot I couldn't get the whole team so I just had to aim the camera at the section where cheergirl was.

Camping August 2009..........

Better late than never on this post I guess. We went camping up at Wood Canyon Lake last weekend and it was one of our best trips.

I really needed to get away. Lots of stress on the homefront including the death of our neighbor.

This trip was pretty much a last minute decision. When it comes to vacations camping is up there with one of the most frugal things you can do as long as you already have all the equipment you need.

We left for our trip on Thursday afternoon and arrived back home on Sunday before noon. I had totally forgotten that Friday was my birthday until hubby pulled a flowering weed from the ground and wished me happy birthday. We wanted to arrive home pretty early on Sunday since Monday was the first day of school and we wanted the girls to be well rested and ready to go.

It took us a while to decide if we would be going fishing on this trip. Originally I said no, let's just relax and sleep in and take it easy. We finally changed our mind and decided to go ahead and buy two day fishing licenses because some peeps in the family were afraid they would get bored.


Thursday night we took it easy but Friday morning we were up bright and early and bushy tailed at 4 AM (you can decide yourself how much sarcasm is in that sentence). I made a nice hot breakfast and we headed off. I usually don't make a hot breakfast before heading out for fishing as we like to be at our spot when the sun rises, so cooking this time did delay us a bit.

Friday morning we went to Willow Springs Lake. Ugh it was windy and cold. We didn't see any fish jumping like we usually do at our regular spot at Woods Canyon but we hung out for a few hours anyways. It was a total bust, no nibbles at all. As well as fishing being a bust cheergirl was suffering. She didn't sleep too well and when she got up (at 4 AM) her neck popped and she ended up being in pain all day Friday and early Saturday.

While at the lake Friday morning cheergirl didn't even put her pole in the water. She instead found a nice soft rock (more sarcasm inserted) curled up and slept. Not even her Twilight book could get her attention and that is saying something.

Darling big brother, always ready, willing and able to antagonize.Message for the ducks ........"Go ahead, make my day"
A couple morning shots at Willow Springs Lake

Get lost mom..... Sleeping beauty has awakenGuess I was wrong, she did pop her fishing line in the water for a bit....Friday afternoon at camp is spent, reading, eating, napping, and target practicing. No injuries reported. Friday late afternoon, headed back to our favorite fishing spot at Woods Canyon Lake. Victory was mine. Momma proved to be the fishing queen, I caught the one and only fish that evening.
Can you see the choppy waters in the pictures from Friday? Ugh is was such a terrible windy day. Almost a deal breaker, it wouldn't have taken much to convince us to pack and head back home. But we persevered......

Saturday morning we awoke to a much more calm day thank goodness. We again woke at 4 AM and I hustled to make breakfast burritos to take with us to the lake. We arrived at our favorite spot at Woods Canyon lake just as the sun was rising.


Look how still and calm the water is...

Origami Girl, kicking back and enjoying her burrito.

Cheergirl was fascinated by these two oak trees smack dab in the middle of all the pines. She liked the way they leaned towards each other making somewhat of an arch and feels it would be a great place for a wedding. No more pictures of the fish being caught, just a couple pics when we got home. Drumroll please. Momma ended up being the master fisherwoman this trip around. I caught THREE fish, the two biggest were mine, and then one of the smaller ones. I also reeled in origami girls fish as she was busy reading. Hubby brought in a fish and pizza boy brought in a fish. The debate is still out on who's fish was bigger. Poor Cheer girl, didn't catch a thing. By Saturday afternoon she was feeling much better and the kink in her neck was almost gone so she was eager to go back to our fishing spot again. Alas we had no luck on Saturday evening, not even a nibble. I think we were at the lake a little too early, should have waited a little closer to sunset.

One more side note....... Saturday afternoon hubby and Pizzaboy drove down to get water and chit chatted with the attendant about fishing. The attendant stated that people were reporting very poor fishing results, nobody was catching anything. HMMMMM, guess I was lucky or skilled.

Geocities is closing...

so my solar cooking site will soon no longer exist.

It took a bit of work and I am finally done moving my site over to a blogger page.

http://solarcookinginarizona.blogspot.com/

Cheer Girl has returned.....

Well Cheer Girl made it home safe and sound on Saturday. She has had bits and pieces to share with us but for the most part has slept a lot. She is simply exhausted, so much so that I am a bit concerned. I am thinking spinach served with liver and onions would be a great meal until she feels more like herself.

There were a couple very exciting happenings at camp.

The first exciting happening is that Cheer Girl was nominated for the All American Team. During camp the representatives from NCA keep their eyes open for girls that catch their eye and nominate them. The girls tried out on Friday night. Cheer Girl didn't make it but she was already in a state of exhaustion and had no voice. Kudos to her for trying anyways. If she had made it she would have been going on a trip to Hawaii and a few other places.

The second exciting thing is that Cheer Girl's varsity squad won a trophy. Out of about 30+ different squads only five trophies were given. By winning the trophy they have to option to go to Florida and participate in the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade. Kinda of scary thinking of one of my kids being all the way on the other side of the states but I have already talked to the coach and I am confident with her plans. It is her goal to have one adult chaperon for every 2-3 girls. Now comes the fundraising. The girls will be working their hiney's off the next few months trying to raise money for the trip. They will be learning what it means to work for something you really want.

New Name Assignments.......

Wow sixteen days since my last post, shame on me.

Henceforth new names will be assigned to the characters on this blog. Oldest child, son, 18 year old creature from the planet Talkbackalot, shall now be called Pizza Boy. Middle child, daughter, 16 year old creature from the planet Textalot shall now be called Cheer Girl. Youngest child, daughter, 12 year old creature from the planet Moodyashell, shall now be called Origami Girl.

So Pizza Boy has now graduated from high school and is working. You guessed it.. at a pizza joint. He has already learned that there is a big difference from sitting at a desk for 7 hours compared to standing in a kitchen for 7 hours shaping pizzas, tossing wings, salads, etc. etc. He has been exhausted.... and usually quiet after his long day, which is a good thing. Pizza Boy has officially now opened his first checking acount, now he has to learn the joys of budgeting and trying to save for a car.

Cheer Girl, well we packed her off to cheerleading camp yesterday. This is her first time away from home. She has been to a few sleepovers with friends over the years but never any extended stays away with family or friends. Soooooo Cheer Girls highschool squad rode a schoolbus for 4 1/2 hours yesterday to their destination. I can only imagine what a miserable ride that was. They had been told they were getting a charter bus, no idea what happened with that. So here are all these cheerleaders, at least 40 girls, who each have a large suitcase, sleeping bag/bedding, and stuffed carry on bags. All of that stuff that would have fit nicely into a large compartment under a charter bus now has to be crammed into a small compartment under a school bus and in the back seats inside the school bus. I have been informed by Cheer Girl that the drive up to camp was pretty miserable too. As they climbed mountains the air conditioning had to be turned off on the bus, imagine, hot Arizona, hot sticky seats, two girls to a seat, no air, ick! So they finally get to the college where camp is being held and they arrive at their dorm rooms. The girls are on the fourth floor, no elevators, so they get to lug all their heavy gear up 3 flights of stairs. They get to their little rooms, they will be two girls to a room, and they find the rooms have no air conditioning. Not sure of the logic on that, this is still Arizona. Guess they figured nobody would ever stay in those rooms in the summertime. Luckily the cute little dorm rooms do have refrigerators so they can chill or freeze their water bottles. And frozen water bottles do come in very handy since Cheer Girls roommate has already been injured...... sigh fingers crossed everyone that Cheer Girl stays safe and unharmed because she is prone to being a bit of a clutz.

Now a bit on Origami Girl. It is a bit harder to come up with a paragraph on this kid. She isn't involved with any sports, no special interests except for origami and she is actually getting pretty good at that. She whiles away the summer hours, computer time, nintedo ds, and she is quite talented, sometimes she can do both of those at the same time. She did state yesterday that she will be happy when school starts back up, poor thing is bored. School does start in just a few weeks so that should make all of us happy.

Welcome to the Good Ole USA.........

where speaking English appears to be optional......... Case in point, stop by your local motor vehicle department to pick up a learners manual so that your teen can study for their permit, only to be told..... sorry they don't currently have any manuals available in English, they only have Spanish available.

I am at a loss for words!

Walk cautiously and carry a big stick...........

yes I have taken some liberties with Teddy Roosevelt's phrase "speak softly and carry a big stick" but when you read this little tale I believe you will forgive me.

Last night I had to take my oldest up to Phoenix to start his training for his new job. He was only scheduled to be there for a few hours so I stayed in the city. Some time during the evening I received a text from my oldest daughter. The message was something roughly like this "MOM, little sis just saw a snake in the house". Ok! That really got my attention, but really don't you think that was deserving of a phone call rather than a text?

I really, really, really wish I had a picture to add to this post, but the bad news is, hubby couldn't find the snake. Daughter saw it slither under the furnace door. So my ever creative hubby stuffed books around the opening of the furnace door in hopes of blocking it from coming out (shaking my head in awe, wonder, confusion, laughter).

Memories......

End of May garden............

And my favorite picture of the day, I love my Mexican Bird of Paradise

It is Official............................

I never again have to ask him if he has done his homework!!!!!!

Notice anything missing over there - - - - - - ->

The little floating baby in a box is missing because baby Wyatt was welcomed into the world last Monday. We are so happy for Tom and Stacey but really sad we live so far away.

Another layout.......

these are addicting....