Pie Day, ACAP and Senior Portfolios

This morning I was up and at the Grace Community Church in Auburn for a benefit breakfast at 7 am for ACAP which stands for Auburn Christian Action Program. It is a special daycare program in the south Seattle area.

Then after that event, I went to a local high school were I was expected to listen to and evaluate Senior Portfolios for their graduation requirements. They were interesting... but I thought they could have been better. What I mean by that is they could have put more effort put into them. It was the first year for this high school to require it (and now it is state law) so they are going to have to get the "bugs" out. In the Senior Portfolios they are required to introduce themselves, talk about their grades in high school, show three of their best works in high school, have a resume, letters of recommendation, present what their plans are for education after high school and also what their 5-10 year plans are at this moment. Then we ask them a few questions before they are "off the hook". They have to dress in professional clothes etc. But they were not taking the time they should have taken to really do a good presentation. I bet next year the high school will have more requirements in place. This is also the first year that each student must pass the WASL. You can tell by this wikipedia article about the WASL that it is need of more work and that there is a lot of controversy about it. But for now, it stands... except Aaron doesn't have to pass it because for some reason those that attend a private high school or has home schooling doesn't have to meet those requirements to graduate. Only those that are in the public schools... which seems unfair to me. I am so glad it is Friday. Did you know it is "Pie Day"? It is 3.14 so the some of in the office brought a pie to share. And I have the boys tonight and into tomorrow until Kari gets off of work. Dave and I are off on a overnight get away tomorrow afternoon. I will save that for tomorrows post though. It involves a bed and breakfast... just to keep you interested. (I have learned from Denise. :-) Hugs

A Quick Post

Not all that much to post about tonight. I will tell you more about the weekend I have planned tomorrow or Saturday. Stay tuned... Hugs

Happy Birthday Lindsey!!!

Lindsey is one of the other representatives to the college in our office. She turns 24 years old today. A few years ago she was attending classes, and now she does this job. She is great as a recruiter because she has been a student at the college and enjoyed her experience so much that she works for us now. Life for her is all up ahead... has a boyfriend, wants to have a house someday, etc. She is going to weddings left and right because she is the age that her friends are getting married and starting to have children. Her brother this year is getting married too. Anyway, the others in the office had fun decorating her cube yesterday and making her wear a birthday hat. I got her a little cake when I was out delivering yesterday and kept in the small refrigerator for when we saw a good time to bust it out and sing "Happy Birthday". Most of the time we are not all in the office at the same time, so we take what opportunity we can when we can.

Renee giving a presentation;

Doing what we Do.

Today we had a lunch visitation at KR. Renee was a part of the small group of college representatives. When I get the chance, I like to have lunch with her and catch up on what she is doing... which is having an other baby. She is now 6 months along and we now know it will be a girl. She is having touble deciding on a name for the baby, which we are all trying to help her on deciding... each having their ideas. In her husband's family, they have this "thing" to have the initals spell out a word. For example, their son's name spells out CAN. OK... I "can" tell you this isn't as easy as you would think. I have decided that names that start with T would be good. Cody, another rep, has come to the same conclusion. I gave up and got out the Baby Name book... online.

We had lunch at Chang's, which is Renee's favorite restaurant around that high school. We all know the restaurants around each area because of being on the road so much. It was nice being there again... it had been a long time since we had been there together. By the way, I got the birthday cake at Renee's favorite bakery... I walk in the door and they are asking me how Renee is etc. She is known for getting a particular donut that is specially done for her.

Have a great day... Hugs

Love Being a Grandma

I love being a grandma. I get to do so many great things. I did them as a mom too but now when I do them it is different somehow. Guess I was in training. When your older, you seemed more relaxed and you enjoy even buying shoes. Last night Riley's shoes had come apart. Well, that wouldn't do for the next day at school. So I took him to Target to get new ones. I let him choose what character was on the shoes and to my surprise he chose Transformers. I didn't know it but little Alex that came over to spent the night the other night had Transformers on his shoes. Kids. I am afraid that branding is something that even four year olds pay attention to... and I help too by doing my grandma gig. I also bought him a Mickey Mouse T-shirt, and got a pair of Thomas the Train pajamas for each of the boys.

When I got home I gave them both a bath and put them in their new "spring" pajamas (not as hot as the blanket pajamas). They both ate well and sleep well. My job was done... and I was pleased with the results. As I said, I love being a grandma.

Guess what??? Riley and I are going to Southern California in May. I spent my awards mileage on my ticket and bought him a ticket while the airfare was still affordable. Who knows how long that will last. He is thrilled because he knows he will be able to see Mickey Mouse. With my mom being in the hospital this week, it made me think about getting a ticket and making memories. We will also be in Sacramento in June for my cousin's daughter's wedding. So, I am really trying this year. There was about 5 years once where I didn't go down to see family... not because of anything bad. I just was busy. I know better than to be too busy for family. I lost my sister in 1992, my grandma in 1993, and my dad in 1999. I learned in those times that waiting to do or say things you need to do or say needs to come at the times when there isn't a crisis. I guess what I am saying is that I don't want to get to a place where I take things for granted.

Hugs

Yucky Finals

Kari is at home with her books surrounding her with her marketing project. This is her last week for her Marketing class. I picked up both boys tonight so she could focus and get her homework done. I remember those days when I had finals.

I went back to school about the time Kari was 6-7 years old. I finished earning my BA in 1992 when she was 11. It took me 5 years to get my BA and I had already earned my AA in January of 1976. When I decided to go back to school, I had to retake some classes to meet the requirements that had changed. I had taken Spanish but then had to take Spanish with a lab. I had taken Biology class but I had to take a science class with a lab. I took Geology and spent some time out in the CA desert in a lava tube. I was never great at math and I had to back up and take classes until I finally finished math the university level. (I took each class by the same teacher. I went to Chaffey College in Alta Loma, CA and luckily that college knew that math students needed to keep with the same learning style to get through math.) In 1989 I was admitted to Cal State University, San Bernardino. I graduated in 1992 with a BA in English Literature. My plan was to become a high school English teacher at the high school I was working at the time in Special Education but God had other plans.

In 1993, I moved to Washington with my ex-husband Rusty. Rusty had lost his job because he had a little bit of a temper and knocked some papers out of the supervisor's hand. He worked in the container industry and it wasn't doing well in CA but it was in WA. So, he came up here and got a job at the first place he applied. He went to work in WA six months before I did because I had to sell the house and get Kari through that year of school. I got the fun part of packing too but I was OK with moving out of So California at the time. Kari was getting older and I always wanted to live in an other place (I had Northern California in mind). Well, we moved north but further than I had planned.


Do you remember a popular show at the time named Northern Exposure? Well, that show was filmed in a town named Roslyn, WA. In the show Roslyn was a woman... but here it is the town itself. Roslyn is a quaint and charming former logging and coal mining town in the Cascade Mountain range in. Nestled in the hills at an elevation of 2366 feet, and with a population of about 800, it's a mere 90 minute scenic drive over Snoqualmie Pass from Seattle. I remember when I first moved here that I couldn't wait to go see where Joel and everyone spent their time. If you are interested, check out the Moosefest Days website created for fans. I don't know if they still meet annually but I wouldn't be surprised. It was very popular and is now rerunning on TV. The Brick Tav is actually there as well as the General Store that RuthAnn owned and ran. The mural that the moose would walk in front of is actually there too. I believe it was there before the series ever began as a part of the actual town and an actual sign for the Roslyn Cafe.

One can download these images from their website which is cool. I don't know if you were a fan but it was one of the shows that I really loved. Well, that was a journey down memory lane.

Mom and my stepdad, Ron

Hey, before I sign off the post, please keep my mom in your prayers and thoughts. She was hospitalized Sunday because her legs began to swell up. She had a heart value transplant about 6 years ago and one never knows how serious things can be when there has been a heart condition. She is being released tomorrow from the hospital with new medication. She is alright. It is difficult for me to be 1000 miles away when these types of things happen. I am thankful that everything is alright. But good thoughts and prayers can't hurt... only help. Thanks