Dave's Home (Again)

Daylight Saving Time

Spring Ahead Tonight

Dave got home last night around 9 - 9:30 pm. Aaron was the one that headed for SeaTac Airport to pick him up... then they got something to eat... and then they came home. We watched a little TV but I was so tired I ended up going to bed soon afterwards.

This morning we slept in to 7:30 am. As I am getting older, I hardly ever do that any more but I am thankful when I do. Guess I need it. Most of the time now I am out and about with people older than I am (52). Dave, Aaron, Brady (who stayed over last night), and I went out to our local little restaurant that is "kid friendly" for breakfast (even though it was a late start). Kari and Riley soon joined us. Kari had a cup of coffee before heading on to her job at Red Robin. I had oatmeal just to keep to my diet.

Riley and Jame's boy, Alex, had a little slumber party night last night at her house. I guess the two 4 year olds really had a grand time. They are the best of friends now. Riley fell asleep on the way home from breakfast. However, he hasn't taken a nap today at all. I have him on the couch resting while I write this. Brady is taking his nap and so is Dave. :-) Riley is waiting patiently for his rice to finish cooking in the rice cooker. It is his favorite dish... rice with butter on it and a glass of milk. He doesn't like too many things so I try to fill him up as best as I can. I try to get him to eat fruit and vegetable too with the rice. Wish me luck. Believe me, I need it.

I have been going through Kari's stuff... boxes, clothes, papers etc... today. It has been stored in our garage and on our deck. With her now having a place of her own she is able to now take back her things. However, there is a catch. Because of her ADHD, we can't just "dump" the things off on her. Dumping would be just how it would feel to her. She has things that she doesn't need there and will have to go to the goodwill. We laugh (because that is all we can do) about how many shelves she bought when she didn't know that she had ADHD and she would try to organize but make more of a mess. What I am trying to do is help her get things put where they should go and help her have a more decorated and functional apartment. I have been studying up on ADHD since she was diagnosed and those with ADHD need assistance with these things. An organizer buddy. I don't always have the time to be right by her side but I try to piece mill it all to her, little by little. The plan is that she takes what I have given her and does something with it so that I can then give her some more. This week it hasn't helped that she was sick so she is a little behind and I think I might be a little ahead. My plan is to keep this up all spring so that it will be done and we can enjoy the great weather in the summer. If we get done earlier, then that will be great too. At times like these I wish that I had some type of super power... like Jeanie in the old 60's show "I Dream of Jeanie". How nice it would be to be able to just blink or wiggle my nose to make things happen or disappear. I think of how Superman could move so fast to get something accomplished. I guess that is how those characters were created, by someone wishing that they could have a super power to get something done that is a difficult task. I do have the power of prayer, but it also means that the good Lord has already given me what I need to make something happen. (I just would like it to go FASTER... you know what I mean?)

I don't have anything planned for this evening. Just letting Dave get adjusted to our time zone again... and it will help that we "spring ahead" tomorrow morning.

Everyone I know has always complained about making an hour time change on the west coast 2 times a year. In order to remember what we are suppose to do, there is the saying "Spring Ahead" for the spring and "Fall Back" for the Fall. That is how we remember. We also talk about how we will lose one hour of our weekend... but gain an hour on a weekend in the fall. Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 09, 2008 and ends Sunday, November 02, 2008
this year. It is a strange idea that we are suppose to turn our clocks forward at 2 am in the morning. (It is more scientific than just a plan.) Yeah, right... no one is up at 2 am in the morning just to turn their clocks ahead (I don't think). We just turn them forward before we go to bed or after we get up in the morning. We have to watch out for not being late to church tomorrow.

Hugs

Zones and Rhodes

Washington Rhode

The official state flower of Washington is the Rhododendron, shortened to Rhode (road ie). Rhodes bloom in March... and they are starting to bloom now. It is so much fun to see them start to come out... first the pink ones and later there will be lots of colors. I like the salmon colored ones because they are such an unusual color.

Cherry Blossom

Normally Cherry and apple trees don't blossom until April but they are also beginning to bloom now around the city. It seems like each of the trees have a white or pink blossoms. They will stay for a couple to four weeks in bloom and then they drop their petals. The ground looks like it has pink snow all over it. I like it when a tree with white blooms are intermingled with a tree with pink blooms. As you probably know, Washington is known for their apples and, of course, we have an Apple Blossom Festival which you can see HERE.

There are also Apple Country Tours of the apple orchards on a bus for those of you interested in learning more about our Washington apples.

Today I went to Zones to do an education fair. It is in a city near us so it wasn't too bad traveling to the event. Afterwards, Susie and I went to lunch. I only had an hour before I had to be back to the office for a meeting with the web designer. We are going to be launching a new website soon so we have to have meeting on calendars and what we want on our page etc.

Kari still isn't feeling well. She doesn't look good either. She is so tired and she was so sad today. So she came by my work and I took her to the doctors. They took blood and gave her chest x rays to see what is going on. The x rays seemed to be fine and we will see on Monday what the blood test results are. She took Riley with her since James will have his 4 yr old son over tonight too. I have Brady which leads me into another story that just happened...

While I have been writing this post, Brady has been sitting next to me in his high chair. He had been eating a few things while watching me and watching TV. He finished eating and was telling me about his finger. I wasn't really paying attention but I realized that something was wrong. He doesn't speak clearly yet so I thought that he had pinched it or something. I went to kiss his finger but my nose (clear now from my cold last week) told me NOT to and so I backed up for a closer look. Yes... it was what you are thinking it would be. It was a close call. He used his finger as a "dip stick" to see what was in his diaper. Luckily ladies I did not kiss it. However, a lesson in paying attention. YUCK He went right into the bath tub and is now in bed. YUCK again. Don't just kiss anything you grandmas.

Hug and Kisses :-)

A Two Tacoma Events, plus one... And Good Reads.Com Day

I have to admit, I am really tired and after I put up this post I am going to bed. I don't have any kids tonight and I have to be at work about 7 am again. Dave is due back tomorrow night; close to midnight. Aaron will be going to pick him up tomorrow... I will probably to asleep then too.

I went to one event at the Tacoma Wastewater Treatment plant... doesn't that sound exciting. Wait, it gets better! The second one was at the Tacoma Solid Waste Center (or whatever they call it). We were never by anything "bad" but were there to give out information to the employees about education and opportunities. Many come to see us at these fairs, not for themselves, but for their spouse, their kids education, their neighbors... for anyone they have heard of that is thinking about going back to school. That's cool... they get the information.

In the evening, I went on the Mt Rainier High School were the middle school students that will be coming up to the high school next fall come with their parents to a program. We are there to show that thinking about what a student doesn't beyond high school is important. Two other community college representatives from our area were there too.

I dropped off at Kari's (which was a couple of miles from this high school) a small table and shelf with pegs that I painted black. She has only white walls so the black paint adds contrast and is popular these days. We add solid primary colors to accent it. The best way to describe the look is Mary Engelbreit's designs and decor. Check it her website out if you are not familiar with her. Kari loves the cherries too... and it is very easy to work with in decorating. I will take pictures of my project when it is totally complete. OK?

While I was at the high school event, I was talking with Cody... one of my younger outreach friends (she is the same age as Kari). We were talking about what we like to do such as going to movies. I mentioned I would like to be a member of a book club... and she mentioned to me Good Reads.com . I joined it as you would a blog... and you have a page too. So if any of you join or are a member, I would like to be added as your friend. Check it out too. I bought a book the other day that I started reading... you will have to go to the website to see (or wait til I post it here :-) And speaking of good reads, I did the quiz on Cindy's post in regards to what Austen character I would match in personality and I am an Elizabeth Bennet. That is not a surprise really. It is a fun quiz so I put it up on my page too if you would care to see which Austen lady you are compared to in character.

Have a good day. Hugs to all!

Rainforest Cafe and Art Deco Day

Tonight James and Kari took the boys and I to the Rainforest Cafe. It has been around for years but for some reason I have never been to it before tonight. If you would like to see the website you can find it HERE. Riley found it fun while Brady wasn't too sure about all the moving animals. I didn't realize at first just how bothered he was with the moving gator that is in the front of the restaurant in a pond of water. I forgot that he has never been around Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm animation. It was James that realized that Brady could be bothered by it. James is very good with children I have observed. We all, including Brady, had a great time. Thanks James! I think the boys might have dreams of moneys, elephants, and gators tonight.

I spent some of the day on the 7th floor of the Tacoma City Hall is a building that was dedicated to the public in 1931. I did a little research on it and found that it was designed by an architect by the name of John Graham Sr who was well know for the art deco of the time. As I walked into the building, it was like I had stepped back into the 1930's and couldn't help but admire the beauty of the details and art of the building. I tried to find a photo online that would do it justice, but I couldn't find any thing that could show you how beautiful the building is on the inside. Even in the ladies restroom the wooden doors had inlay designs. I really appreciate the time spend creating and making, the art itself, and the care for detail that they would use during those times. It is something that isn't found in our fast paced world. Also, it would mean more cost to have something like that done now. But one can tell, that creating something of beauty and of art was valued highly back then. The only place that I have been that shows the same art deco quality and detail was on the Queen Mary that is docked in my home town of Long Beach, CA. You can get the idea of the decor and fun of that period of time on the Queen Mary HERE at an Art Deco Ball on the Queen Mary on YouTube.

Two very different places... a jungle and the 1930's art deco... I have explored today. I better get some rest. Hugs

No One at Home

This is a rare thing... no one is at home. Aaron will be in but Riley and Brady are with their mom. Dave is still in North Carolina for the remainer of the week. I went to the grocery store and got a few Lean Cuisines for nights like this one so that is what I had for dinner.

Dropped off Riley at the daycare and went to work. I didn't have any events today but I will for each day for the rest of the week. Tomorrow I go to an event for the City of Tacoma. I have no idea where I am going or how I am going to park there. I guess I will research it in the morning because I am just too busy tonight to figure it out.

I had lunch with Renee today. She met me at the Sub Shop in Auburn. It is always great to see her. I really miss her not being around every day. She can be comic relief when things are tense.

I didn't see American Idol tonight. I saw the last few minutes of it but not enough to vote. I want to see if I am more interested in the girls without the guys influence.

As I write this I can hear in the other room that Clinton did well today and the race between the two Democrats is still going strong. Each of the states believe they will be the one that will make the difference at their primary. I know that in Washington there was more interest than ever before in voting.

Well, I better get to bed. I woke up very early this morning and couldn't get back to sleep... I need to catch up. So until tomorrow... HugZzzzzzzzz

Different Types of Rain

It was different weatherwise today than yesterday. The clouds are back and there was a little rain. When you live in Seattle, rain is something that one gets use to seeing a bit and when it is sunny then you spend your day accordingly and don't waste it. I have gotten so use to rain that there will be days that I can't remember if it rained or not. There is a gentle almost mist rain here that one doesn't need an umbrella. In fact, you hardly ever see a person here with an umbrella in hand. It has always amazed me that I can walk to the car from the college buildings and seemingly never get wet even though I am walking in the "rain". I named that type of rain "Seattle rain" because I am sure that it only Seattle's special brand like it was Starbucks or something. Then there is a type that is the "pouring" rain that we here will refer to... it is the rain that might require an umbrella if walking any great distance. However, any good Washingtonian with any worth will do just fine with or without an umbrella... we just walk faster and we don't mind being a little wet. We do mind being soaked but not a little wet. It can be a close call between the two... but you live and you don't get sick by being in the rain (like I was raised to believe and totally amazes me to this day even after 15 years of living here). Workers build houses and work on roads even if there is rain... also something I didn't know could be done until coming here. Kids play outside at play time even if it is cold or a little misty... and being raised thinking the way I do about rain and cold weather, that is still hard for me when it comes to children. I would have got excused for not being outside if I was in school and it was cold or rainy but not here... the kids are made of sterner stuff I guess, cause I don't "get it". In my rule book, a person especially a child, should be inside where it is warm and dry. But it just is the way it has been long before I ever got here and it has never is a bad thing (unless someone has a cold already then they go home). Well, enough of sharing my cultural differences on weather between my Californian ways and beliefs and my Washingtonian. It was just something I think about sometimes when I am passing workers on the road a lot working in the rain. I also realize that somewhere in the USA there are probably people working outside in the snow and colder conditions yet and that alone is a good reason for Spring to come early. Our niece in Kansas, Amy, said on her blog the other day that she has seen more snow, ice, thunder snow (whatever that is) etc than she ever cares to see again this year. This year so far we have escaped the snow that keeps you from being to get out or go to work but it seems that Kansas didn't miss anything. Come Spring quickly...

Not much going on today. Kari has the "not so wonderful cold" that is being passed around so I have Riley with me tonight. He is more of a chore to care for when one doesn't feel well. He seemed so tired tonight and fell asleep on the way home... he told me he didn't take a nap. When asked "why?" (personally I would love that option) he said he "didn't like to take naps". He ate a good meal and was more lively towards the time he usually goes to bed, so he got his second wind. I let him stay up a little longer than usual just to balance the nap out a little, but then it was lights out at 9 pm.

I took some pictures of the flowers in the front that I put out. Maybe tomorrow I can post them. Hugs until then friends.

March Flowers

This morning I took Dave to the SeaTac airport at 7 am in the morning so that he could go back to North Carolina again this week. He hasn't had to go out of town on business for a few years unless it was Portland OR. This is different for our family for him to be gone. But as you know, he and I have only been married for 2 years. We dated for 6 years before we were married. So I know how to survive without Dave around. Except, now that I think of it, it was Dave that I would see almost every night.

Anyway, after I dropped him off at the airport, I went to the Starbucks near a Lowes Hardware store... the biggest in the area and did I have FUN! All the garden things are beginning to arrive. My bulbs in the garden are growing and I can't wait to get started with some project. So, just get my hand in it a little (because it is still cold here and not much can be done) I bought some primroses to put in the window boxes out front on the fencing around the patio. I bought some for Kari as well to bright up her balcony. We went to church together at Jame's (her boyfriend's church) and went to lunch at Azteca, a popular Mexican restaurant in the area.

I took both the boys home with me so that Kari and James could attend a dinner without having the kids tonight. While they took a nap, I planted the primroses and daffodils in the front yard as planned. I found a clip art of them both together up above.

Soon we will get ready for bed and the weekend will be over. On to another week. I guess this week will go quickly... I am planning things so I don't miss Dave or the boys if they aren't around. Some of the things on my list is to do more activities... get my DVDs out and exercise to them. It is March, there are no more excuses. The light is out longer and now is the time to get moving. Other thing is to read before going to bed... I am going to get into the habit of doing that again.

Can you believe Easter will be here in 21 days (3weeks)? I think time passes too quickly... more than it has ever in my life before... and though I just mentioned I would like this week to go by quickly so I don't miss anyone, I would like to slow down and enjoy life more. Hmmmm

Hugs