Name::Abq MomFrom::Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Monday, October 31, 2005
Introduction
(Okay, so while I was editing my original Introduction post, my son accidentally hit the delete button on my keyboard trying to help me. Help me he did, he deleted everything after april. So rather than try to remember what I wrote I am attempted to just rewrite it again. )
Introduction
I try not to post more than one entry per day on my blog. I feel it puts my readers at an unfair disadvantage; they miss the not so recent posts because it’s not at the top. But I really needed to write this one today. I had been saying for a week now that I would and now I am going to do it.Some family members and friends that have been reading my blog have been trying to figure out who all the people are that comment on my entries. Trying to figure out which ones I know personally, which ones I don't. The ones that I do know personally. Were they roommates or what? Well here you go.First let me introduce you to Proud Mum. She grew up in Canada; I met her when we were music majors at Ricks College. She and I were both theory tutors, and also commiserated with each other about our love lives. We'd often crash into each others practice rooms to discuss whatever dramatic thing had just occurred. After Ricks, she got married to Bald Dude, who I also knew at Ricks as a percussionist in the symphonic band I was a part of. They moved to Hawaii where she finished school, then moved to Virginia where He went to school and she Taught school. After he was done with school they moved to California for a job. They had a little boy nicknamed "Little Red" exactly 2 yrs and 1 week after my son was born. Proud Mum also writes a blog in her words but from her son's perspective. Throughout their many moves I have kept in touch with both Proud Mum and Bald Dude. Now that Proud Mum is home with Little Red she and I have talked via IM almost every day, multiple times a day for over a year. Some days it really feels like we're back in our practice rooms again when one of us would burst in on the other. We sometimes forget that we are in different cities. When one of us mentions that our kid is coming down with something the other wonders if theirs are going to get it too. Can they catch each others colds if they're both chewing on the mouse at the same time? Can germs be sent via Instant Messenger?
April's Quest for Happiness is written by April. She was a music major at Ricks with Heather and me. She was also a theory tutor. And also like us, was dealing with love life issues. Proud Mum, April and I had many classes together. April was also in the orchestra with my husband. We weren't dating then, but I would go watch the orchestra rehearsals just so I could see him. After Ricks, she got marrie...
...d and went to Utah State. She lived in Scottsdale, Arizona for a few of the months that we lived in Phoenix. I'm sad we were never able to get together for lunch. I just got back in contact again with her when I started the Ricks Music Ensemble Alumni website earlier this year. I enjoyed talking with her then, and I enjoy talking with her now as well.
Sariah's Universe is written by Sariah. Sariah was a music major at Ricks like Proud Mum, April and I but was one year ahead. I knew her because she was in a few of the same ensembles as I was. I knew her then fiance` now husband at Ricks as well. My most vivid memory involved painting the pep band float, a paint war that ensued, and paint getting on her ring, running to the bathroom to get it cleaned up. I really wish I could have gotten to know them better then. After the school year was over I traveled down to Orem, Utah for their wedding at the Mt. Timpanogas Temple with a few other music major band nerd friends. I have only gotten to know Sariah better since starting the music ensemble alumni website and through each other's blogs. Now that I know her better now, I wish I would have had the chance to get to know her better back then.
Alyson's Adventures in Wonderland is written by Alyson. She lives in Alberta, Canada. Alyson is Sariah's sister-in-law. Even though I don't know her personally, I still really enjoy reading her blog. She has been married a little longer than the rest of us, and has a little bit older children. I like reading her posts and hearing the experience that she has, as being a mom a little longer than me.
Feather Sky is originally from Utah, but currently lives in Alabama. She's a stay at home mom, and has those great little experiences to share with the rest of us too. I came across her blog by reading the blogs linked from April's page.
Jen The Mom is from Alberta, Canada. She is a Mormon girl just like the rest of us. I believe she is a close friend of Alysons. She is a Stay at Home Mom and like the rest of us has funny stories to tell relating to that.
3rd String, 4th Fret lived in Richland, Washington(one of the tri-cities where I grew up) for awhile and now lives in Arizona. She happened along one of our blogs and has been hanging around since. :-) I'm glad she did, I love her writings. It makes me wish I had a brain that works like hers.
Karen happened upon Proud Mum's blog while blog hopping and was then later introduced to the rest of us Mormon SAHM's. Karen lives in Ontario, Canada. She started with her gardening blog, but then started her philosophical blog because she had so many things she wanted to write. I love her gardening blog, I like going there and looking at all the pictures of her flowers. Her philosophical blog makes my brain hurt sometimes :-). Often times it is enjoyable reading and gives me something to think about. Its nice to feel like my brain is working now that I am not going to school or working outside of the home anymore.
Mike is Karen's husband. He is a busy guy and his blog is "a collection of odds and ends from a busy mind".
WifeandMommy is a fellow Albuquerque mommy. She found my blog one day while typing in albuquerque in the blog search box and has been commenting on my blog ever since. I'm really glad she found me, its nice to have someone else in agree with me when I write about Albuquerque and New Mexico. She often writes about her life raising her 11 yr old and 14 month old daughters. Her 14 month old is exactly one month to the day younger than my daughter.
A few people that have created profiles so they can comment on my blog posts that don't have blogs of their own. (yet)
KennewickGramMom is my mom.
UtahGreatgramma is my grandma. (my mom's mom)
Here are all the people that I have "met". Now that you have been properly introduced to each other please read and comment on each others blogs. (Most of you already do) I'm sure as I delve deep into the blogger's world a little more I will come across other blogs that I will want to read on an almost daily basis. If you are a silent reader, I welcome you, but of course would love to hear your comments as well. Create a profile like my mom and grandma. You don't have to create an actual blog page if you don't want to.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/31/2005 09:45:00 AM :: 8 Comments: 
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Saturday, October 29, 2005
Trunk or Treat
Last night we went to our Ward "Trunk or Treat". A Trunk or Treat is where everyone comes to the church parking lot with the trunks of their cars all decorated. Then the kids all dressed up in their costumes go trick or treating at every car in the parking lot. After the Trunk or Treat then you go inside for the kids carnival. Theres a cake walk, a football toss, a fishing pond, face-painting, a bean bag throw all kinds of fun little games for all the little kids.
I think it was originally created as a way for parents to feel more comfortable about their kids trick or treating. I remember the first year it started when I was a little kid. Parents were worried about the strangers doors the kids were knocking on, who knows if they are a child molester. Plus they worried about what their might be getting along with their candy. At that time there was a big fear of finding razor blades in apples, or drugs in the candy. I remember every year after trick or treating my parents going through and inspect every piece of candy to check to see if it had been altered in any way. Anything questionable, i.e. package open or not perfectly wrapped, or apples or candy popcorn balls, all got thrown away. I think most parents breathed a sigh of relief when the church introduced Trunk or Treat as an alternative to regular Trick or Treating. Everyone always invites their friends or neighbors to come as well. That way if they don't want to go out and deal with all the stranger's behind their doors they don't have to worry either, or they can just go trick or treating twice!
This is the first time since in our marriage or since my son was born that we have gotten dressed up and gone to Trunk or Treat. Last year we were planning on going. We even had this really cute ladybug bunting for my daughter. But we had just gotten back from our (the kids and I) trip to Washington, and had come back with a cold. The ladybug costume didn't even come out of the package. The year before, my son was only 11 months and my parents were in town, and I think he was sick then too. The year before that he was in my tummy. This year they had colds too, but they were pretty much over them by last night. The ladybug costume got used by someone else on their baby girl. Seeing the baby made me sad that my daughter never got to use it. It was so cute!
This year I was determined to go. I had borrowed a BYU cheerleader costume from someone else, and was desparately trying to figure out what my son was going to be. My husband has never been as enthusiastic about holidays or special events as I have. I told him all I wished was that he would love halloween and get as excited about it as I do. He told me, "you'll just have to be excited about it by yourself." But lucky for me there was a different plan in the works.
Wednesday night he got a phone call asking him to help out with one of the booths at the carnival. He hangs up the phone and says "'D', what can I dress up as?". I looked him square in the eye and said "You're springing this on me the night before?!?" But I quickly came up with something.I told him he should put on his tux, but look really sloppy. Make him look kinda ghostly, or skeleton like and if people ask him who he is he can say he's "Mozarts Ghost".
If you're wondering, he has a tux hanging in the closet on a regular basis. He has always been a part of an Orchestra were a tux was required. Now he's part of a String Quartet that plays at weddings and things.
I decided I would dress up as a "Make-Believe Stay at Home Mom." In my p.j's with my robe, my hair and make up are all done up. I have my t.v. remote and my Soap Opera Digest, and my box of Bon-Bon's.
Last year while we were in Washington I had called home and asked my husband to go to Goodwill and get a pair of Overalls for my son's costume. I wanted him to be a farmer. When I got back I discovered he had actually purchased a way too big pair of overall shorts (shortalls). In desparation this year I decided he would be a "Rodeo Clown." Isn't he the cutest Rodeo Clown you've ever seen?
This is the "BYU Cheerleader" costume I had borrowed from someone else. She had some little pom-poms as well but she could never keep hold of them. The way she looks as a cheerleader as a 15 month old there's no way I'm stopping her if she wants to be a cheerleader in High School. She's dang cute.
I love seeing families running with a theme for their costumes. I've never been one to do that, but I definitely think its cute. Who knows maybe I will do it sometime in the future. One family went with a Peter Pan theme. The mom was "Wendy", her two older sons were "Peter Pan" and "Capt'n Hook", and her two younger daughters were "Tinkerbell" and "Princess Tigerlily". Another family had some very creative costumes. The dad was "The Jolly Green Giant", and their 20 month old son was "Sprout". The 4 month old baby was a "loufa" with rope to hang dry and everything, and the mom was "ready to take a bath". She had a robe on, a shower cap on her head, a rubber ducky under her belt and of course her "loufa". The cutest!
We get so much candy, and its such a great experience we are not planning on going out Monday night on Halloween. We have no problem handing out candy to those kids that do knock on our door. We already had our Halloween. We went "Trunk or Treating"!
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/29/2005 09:18:00 AM :: 5 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Friday, October 28, 2005
Talk about Coincidence!
Yesterday I was feeling a little bit nostalgic.
After writing the post about the baby blue bobcat and remembering Jennie and Sariah I had started wondering about how they were doing. Even though we lived in the same town, Kennewick, and were in the same ward, we went to different high schools. They graduated in 1995 and I graduated in 1997.
I set out into the big wide world web in search for them. First they both had odd spellings for their last names, so I had to find something about them or their family that I recognized as being them so I could at least start my search with the right spellings.
I stumbled across a Kennewick high school alumni website. (I went to River View high school, too small to create our own alumni site, nor anyone care enough to do it). As I was looking at the roster's of the different years I had friends graduate I decided to check out the guestbook. On there someone had posted a message asking about the Class of 1977. I thought, thats the year my dad graduated. He went to Kennewick High School. So I copied down the email address of the person that posted the message.
After I rested the search for my friends, I wrote to this person. I said "I noticed you had posted a message on the kennewick high website guestbook. You were asking about others that graduated in 1977. My dad graduated that year. Do you remember ______? Anyway, just thought I would let you know."
Well this woman wrote me back today. Not only did she know my dad, my dad was her foster brother. I had always heard about the two foster children (native americans) that my grandparents had taken in for awhile but I had never met them, seen pictures of them or even known their names. She was an Alaskan native and the L.D.S. church had a placement program for Indian children. She had lived with my dad's family for awhile. She even walked with my dad at graduation. She asked me to say Hi to my dad and pass along her email address to him.
I wrote her back. I asked her if she knew my other aunts and uncle. I told her my uncle lives in New Mexico and I live about 3 hrs away from him. She wrote back saying she did know my aunts and uncle. One of my aunts had married a man named Carl, her sister had married Carl's brother but have since divorced. She said the younger brother was a good friend with my dad and they all used to cruise around in this friends dune buggy. She shared with me a memory of a dress my grandma had made for her and that my other aunt had an identical dress. She said she remembered my aunt and uncle being younger than her but being quite the teases. (They still are!) She then thanked me for answering her post on the guestbook and how great it was to have all those memories flooding back.
She told me a little bit about her life in Alaska. The small community she lives in. Its a native american village on the waterfront. She has two daughters (both quite younger than me) and that she and her 3rd husband of 11 years have just built a house.
Who would have ever thought that a simple reply to someones plea for information about her graduating class would have blossomed into finding the equivalent of a long lost aunt. I forwarded the messages from her on to my dad. I'll have to call him later and find out if he got them.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/28/2005 02:56:00 PM :: 4 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Thursday, October 27, 2005
One Word
ONE WORD
Describe me in one word - just one .Send it to me ( only me ), then forward this email to your friends and see how many strange things people think about you. Reply it's fun!
I did this forward. I wanted to post all the words that people had said about me. Keep them all in one place so I can go back to them any time I need a boost.
Cheerful!
true
Danika - unpredictable
"S" - admirable
(these two were sent by the same person, his old mission companion/ Ricks Roommate. He's always called me danika)
generous
thoughtful
Motivated
thoughtful
Mysterious (sent by my grandma in utah)
(good) Mom (sent by "S"'s grandmother, she said she wanted two words)
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/27/2005 08:18:00 AM :: 6 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Something I saw today
I saw something today while driving that struck ODD with me.
I was driving down the road. I pass a Ford F-150, I look in my rearview mirror and a beaten up Toyota Tacoma came up behind me very quickly. After I pass the F-150 the Tacoma quickly passed me as well. Across the top of the windshield was the word YAMAHA, and sticking out of the back of the pickup box were two poles with two flags, one with a United States Flag and the other was a Confederate Flag. I'm all for the United States Flag, nothing wrong with that. The Confederate Flag, though, always makes me think of KKK members, white supremists or Southern Pride type people, someone that would never be caught dead buying or using something not made in the U.S.A. But here this man was driving a foreign made Toyota Tacoma sporting the word Yamaha across the windshield. Usually a truck with a confederate flag would be an old beaten up Ford or Chevy.
Just something I noticed that struck me funny.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/26/2005 08:27:00 PM :: 8 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Red or Green?
When in New Mexico there is only one phrase you need to know: RED or GREEN?
Your preference for:
Color Crayons? NO.
Lights on your house at Christmas time? NO.
Leaves on the maple tree? NO.
Favorite balloon at Balloon Fiesta? NO.
chokecherries you want to eat? NO.
your underwear? NO.
bruised knee? NO.
Once you have become familiar with this phrase, know what it means, are accustomed to it, and have learned to expect it then you have truly become a New Mexico Native.
RED or GREEN?
When you are asked this question you know they're asking you what kind of chile (i.e. enchilada sauce) you want. Everyone has their preference. My husband likes green chile. I like Red. This is such a big deal there is even a chile pepper institute, this is New Mexico's main agriculture produce, 2nd is the frijole(or bean). In New Mexico you can go to ANY hamburger joint (McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's) and order a green chile cheeseburger. There is just no getting away from it, and when you want your chile fix you'll just about put it on anything. Anyone for a green chile chicken sandwich?
We have said that our preferences were determined by heat. He said green chile is hotter, I said red chile is hotter. But really I think my preference really comes from texture. I have a big issue with textures in food. It was always a joke with anyone that knew me really well that I can't stand my food touching on the plate. My parents always joked that they were going to get me an entire set of cafeteria type dishes. I don't like eating green peas because the way the centers squishes out of the outside shell.
Green and Red Chile is the same way. Red Chile is usually a smooth consistancy, like any enchilada sauce you'd by in the store. Green Chile on the other hand is more chunky, the chunkiness is what always turned me away.
Back in September when we had our "Vacation from the City Life" we had purchased a bushel-full of whole fire-roasted green chiles. I thought "great, a whole lot of chile that I don't like to eat".
But I've discovered in the past month that it is possible to like green chile. After we peeled all the roasted outside part of the chile you're left with the fleshy part of the pepper. Thow 8 or 9 into a ziploc bag and thow them in the freezer. Take out a bag, let it defrost and pull out a few chiles for that evening's meal. Cut off the stem, cut it open, scrape out all the seeds and rather than chopping them into big chunky pieces like they do in the restaurants I throw them in the blender with a little water. Putting them in the blender gives it the nice smooth consistancy that I like, the green chile flavor that my husband likes, and the hotness that we both have become addicted to.
"S" just reminded me that Red Chile isn't available yet. It's the green chile left to ripen on the vine longer. And you can request it fire-roasted as well.
What would you choose? Do you know which you like better?
RED or GREEN?
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/25/2005 12:24:00 PM :: 11 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Monday, October 24, 2005
Week in Review
My kids are sleeping right now. How great is it that they're sleeping at the same time. I've been using this time to read through others blogs, feeling a little sorry for myself, while I've been gone for a week the world has continued to revolve without me. But I did give notice of my absence so I guess its okay that I wasn't missed.
This past week has been fun and very eventful. My dad arrived last monday afternoon for his planned week long visit. He walked in and "W" was very excited. "Sy" on the otherhand wasn't too sure, papa is a big, tall, darkhaired, deep, low-voiced, mustached man. Everyone (as a child) thinks he's scary, and my daughter was no exception. It continued throughout the week as well. If Papa talked to her or even looked at her she'd start crying and searching for me.
We got a lot done while dad was here. We stumped my insurance guy. My dad's insurance person had requested that it be done a certain way and my guy had never heard of it before so had to call the office in Washington to get it figured out. He took the passenger rear door apart in search of the hiding penny. But he didn't find a penny, he discovered the slider that the window goes up and down on was broken and a spring had popped out and that was what was making the horrible noise. Its covered by warranty so he put it back together and I need to get it fixed this week. He cleaned the oven and the plates under the burners. He didn't do the microwave though, he said he cleans the microwave every time he's here and he refused to do it this time.
Wednesday morning he came in and said his visit would have to be cut short. He would have to leave the next morning on thursday rather than on friday like originally planned. He had to meet my mom in Salt Lake. My grandma's brother had passed away. That night we went out to dinner. Will had a wonderful time visiting with Papa all week. After we were done eating "W" got down from his chair and stood next to Papa. Very quietly, almost a whisper, he asked if we could go to the "tractor" store next. Papa said, "No, buddy, I don't think so." My son just said "Oh", but looked like he had just been deflated. He didn't ask again, he didn't whine, he didn't start to cry. Just looked crushed. I almost cried for him.
At 9pm that night my husband and I decided we were going to go to Salt Lake for the funeral as well. I had only met my great uncle a few times, my memory of him always involved Family History work. my husband had taken Thursday off anyway and already had friday off (he works 9 hr days and had every other friday off). We had been going a little stir-crazy for awhile and been wanting to go somewhere for months.
Thursday my son woke up with a runny nose. Doesn't that ALWAYS happen on vacations? Thursday involved mostly driving. Set up the DVD player and the kids watched movies. We stopped in Farmington, New Mexico to have lunch with my brother and then caravaned with my dad up to Provo. My dad continued on up to Salt Lake. As we were driving around Provo in search for my sister-in-law's or brother-in-law's apartments "W" declared he was ready for a nap. He was so tired. As he listened to us talk about Aunt "Br" and Uncle "G", and Uncle "St" in Provo, and "Auntie" "C" and "Uncle" "B" in Sandy, he started to cry almost hysterically. He wanted to see "Peoples". Meaning his aunts and uncles. I couldn't get him to calm down, so I finally just told him to close his eyes, and he would see them when he woke up. We were still driving around town looking for food and a hotel, he finally fell asleep.
We checked into a hotel, layed "W" down on the bed and called "S"'s brother and sister. We had left so suddenly that they didn't even know we were coming. "S" went on and on with his brother asking him what he had planned for the weekend, etc. his brother had no idea we were in town till he couldn't keep from giggling anymore and told him we were there in Provo.
Friday involved spending time with "S"'s brother and sister and her husband. His sister came by our hotel around 9am. We went and walked around the mall while trying to figure out what to do with our day. Both his brother and sister both work at Olive Garden so we decided to all meet there for lunch. His brother wasn't able to come because of a "Math Lab", but his brother-in-law was able to meet us. After lunch we checked into a different hotel with an indoor swimming pool and took the kid's swimming. "W" was a little cautious. My daughter on the other hand threw all caution to the wind. I had to keep hold of her at all times or she would just walk right into the pool if she could. Man was she mad when we left the pool!
"S"'s brother and sister showed up at the hotel a little while later, and we decided we would all go out to dinner and then putt-putt golfing. We went to my sister-in-law's husband's favorite place. A Chinese Buffet. It wasn't the buffet that was appealing it was the Mongolian BBQ Grill that was in the restaurant! Oh Yum! "W" ate Egg Drop Soup, "Sy" ate my Super hot(spicy) stir-fry, and jello and mandarin oranges with her fingers. After dinner we went to the Minature Golf Course. My son got his own ball and putter. He had a great time! He loved trying to hit the ball, and actually did a pretty good job, every so often though he would think that one of us would need some help getting our ball into the hole. He'd pick up our ball and go drop it in the hole. My daughter would get passed around between uncles and aunt, mom and dad, but even she got a hole-in-one. At one of the holes she took her binkey out of her mouth and chucked it. It landed kerplop right in the hole!
Saturday was the funeral for my Great Uncle. We met my parents at my grandparents house and followed them to the church. It was in Holladay, Utah which is pretty much as close to the mountains as you could get. The service was very nice, my grandma sang "Abide with Me; Tis Eventide" with my mom accompanying her. After the service everyone loaded up in their cars to follow to the cemetary. While walking out to the car my son decided to run up a grass hill. I ran up the hill after him, picked him up and started walking back down the hill. I was wearing an empire waist type dress and dress boots with a 4 inch heel. I tripped near the bottom, held him out in my arms so he wouldn't get hurt, and fell to the ground. I heard a rip as I fell. My grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, and parents had all witnessed this event. I stood up, made sure my son was okay, and looked for wear my dress had ripped. The seam that makes it an empire waist had torn from the middle of my back around under my left arm and almost around to the front of my dress. I couldn't believe it! I quickly got my jacket out of the car and wore it the rest of the day. After the cemetary we went back to the church for a luncheon. It was really nice to visit with family members I had never even met before. So many of them had only last seen me when I was a toddler myself.
Later on that evening we met our friends for dinner at Macaroni Grill. They live pretty close to my grandparents house so we try to always get together whenever we're in town. We sat down at the table, and ordered our food. As we were chatting, "W" got out of his chair and crawled up into my husband's lap. He put his head on daddy's shoulder and immediately fell asleep. He was a very tired boy, he was completely out the whole time we were at the restaurant. After dinner we went back to my grandparents house. We got the kids dressed in the p.j.'s, and said goodbye to my grandparents and my parents. We were heading back for Albuquerque that night. Will realized we were leaving and his papa and grandma were not coming with him when we were getting loaded up in the car. He started crying for grandma and papa. Nothing they or I said made any difference. All he knew was he was leaving grandma and papa. We closed the doors of the car and drove away, encouraging "W" to wave bye-bye. He continued to cry for a good 5 miles down the road. I cried with him. I know how hard it is to leave grandma and grandpa. Once his tears had dried up, he fell asleep.
We decided we wanted to go a different way back to Albuquerque rather than going through Moab, Utah and Shiprock and Farmington, New Mexico. Saturday night we left Salt Lake at 9pm, we got to Grand Junction, Colorado at 12:30am. We found a hotel and stayed there for the night.
Sunday we drove through Southern Colorado. Beautiful snow capped mountains, a crystal clear mountain lake, rocky passes, aspen groves in every direction, and areas that reminded us of Idaho. They even grow potatoes. We finally got into New Mexico and went through Santa Fe on our way to Albuquerque. We pulled into our driveway at 6:30pm after leaving Grand Junction around 9:30am.
My daughter caught her brother's cold Friday night. My husband started complaining of a sore throat friday afternoon, and I started to get a sore throat around Saturday night. Thursday night at the hotel in Provo, "Sy" wasn't tired so was wandering around the room. She tripped and fell and hit her mouth on something. She cut her gums (she still doesn't have any front teeth on top), and the little flap between your gums and your upper lip. So the whole weekend she was quite the cranky, sad, teary little pill. She had a cold, she was cutting 4 teeth all at once (the four upper front teeth), she cut her mouth so it was all bruised and sore, and she had stranger anxiety. My son on the otherhand was wonderful. We agreed that this was the best he has ever been on a trip.
I'm pretty sure we got our road trip fix now. We go on these long road trips and say we're not doing that again till the kids are 13. But we forget and got on a long trip and then remember why we don't go on road trips. Even now we're planning for our next road trip up to Idaho at the end of June for his other sister's wedding and his brother's missionary farewell. Hopefully by then our daughter will have cut a few more teeth and will be the happy girl we love. Cause baby, she wasn't on this one! :-)
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/24/2005 12:17:00 PM :: 9 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Monday, October 17, 2005
Visit with Papa
For weeks now my son has known that his Papa (my dad) would be coming down for a visit. At the most random times he would ask "Where's Papa"? I know he doesn't have concept of time so understanding "in a few weeks" has been hard for him, but he's excepted it and done well. Papa's visit begins today. My son is very excited, for the past few days he's been asking even more, along with "Go to tractor store when Papa gets here". My dad actually left Washington LAST monday but he spent a few days in Salt Lake with one brother, in Farmington, NM with my other brother and then he'll be here with us till Saturday. He's expected to arrive today between Noon and 1pm so between now and then I have to get the kids dressed and take them to their well check appts ("Sy"-15 month, "W"-36 month though his birthday isn't until NOV), do dishes and laundry, and maybe if I have time a quick vacuum.
Last Wednesday at the park, "W" saw this kid on one of those Big Wheels riders. Ever since then he's thought that when Papa gets here he's going to the "tractor" store and getting one too!
My dad is not one to just sit around and relax. Believe me I know! The first year we were married and my parents came down to visit, along with me my husband also learned that my dad can't just sit on the couch. He has to feel useful and he has to be busy. We now draw up a "List of Things Dad can do if he gets bored while visiting". We save any little projects we need to do for while he's here. This week because he's coming by himself he may be bored more often or less. We'll have to see. But just in case:
"Things to do to keep Papa busy this week"
~ get out of the door the penny "W" dropped into the car window.
~replace the bathroom sink faucets. (one is broken, they match, might as well replace both of them)
~go to the grocery store
~drive up to Sandia Mountains and take my son' 3 yr pictures
~go to "tractor" store.
~make a trip to the dump with garbage and fall yard clean-up
~get the truck he brought down for us insured, licensed, and registered
~reclean all the things I already cleaned (or cut corners on cause I don't care THAT much). (around the burners on the oven, the catchplates under the burners, around the kitchen sink, etc)
~vacuum (my dad loves to vacuum)
~get the kids winter coats ??
~eat lots of New Mexico Green Chile
~and if we're REALLY lucky replace the master bedroom window with a patio door!
Because we are going to be keeping Papa busy this week I will not have a lot of down time to write posts here on my blog. Try not to miss me too much while I'm away, and keep your fingers crossed for my son, he really wants a "tractor"! :-)
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/17/2005 07:25:00 AM :: 3 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Friday, October 14, 2005
Long Live the BBB!!!
I figured the last line of my last post would incite a lot of questions. I had originally planned on writing Been Water-skiing, but thought that Been Pulled Over for Drag Racing might get more of a response as to wanting the rest of the story.
Now for the Rest of the Story...
In the Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Richland, Pasco) there were(are still?) 5 L.D.S. Stakes. Every two weeks there would be a youth dance held at one of the stake centers in each of the cities. Kennewick-2, Richland-2(I think?), and Pasco-1, rotating throughout the year.
It was a warm summer night back when I was in High School. I was driving my 1980 Baby Blue Bobcat(BBB) hatchback. (Mercury's equivalent to a Ford Pinto). In the passenger seat was my best friend, Michael, (Proud Mum you know him) and in the back seat was my brother. (And possibly another friend. Kevin if you ever read this you'll have to remind me if you were there or not, for the life of me I can't remember.)
We were on our way to a church dance. Since it was summer and the BBB didn't have air conditioning, we had the windows down and the music blaring. We pulled up to a stoplight right before crossing the bridge over the Columbia River to go to Pasco. (You cannot go anywhere without crossing a river in the Tri-Cities. Seriously!) As we were sitting there singing along to the music a car pulled up next to us.
I looked over and it was a Yellow VW Bug. Driving was a friend of mine, Jennie(6 months older than me, but 1 grade ahead), in the passenger was another friend Sariah(3 months older, 1 grade ahead) and in the backseat was Sariah's younger brother David. (6 months younger, and 1 grade behind). Jennie and Sariah were dropping off David at the dance before going to some school band function. We recognized each other immediately and Jennie and I started revving our motors.
When the light turned green we both floored it! We started racing each other across the bridge into Pasco. Turned left immediately after crossing the bridge and continued racing down this long stretch of road without any stoplights. I was winning! Michael and my brother are laughing like crazy, and joking that the squirrels running on the wheel that IS my engine are doing a great job but are sure going to be tired. I slow down to turn right onto another street when suddenly a police car comes squealing around the corner to my left and cuts me off.
The policeman saw Jennie and I racing and immediately pulled us both over. Since I had won our little race I was in front so he came to my window first. As he approached my window I was scared to death. He asked me where I was going in such a hurry. I told him a church dance. He then asked me for my license and registration and then went to Jennie's car. I rolled up my window and with my hands clenching the steering wheel said quietly, "I can't get a ticket. If he gives me a ticket I'm going to cry." Quickly in response Michael who knew me so well said "If he DOESN'T give you a ticket you're going to cry." I made them both promise that they couldn't tell anyone when we got to the dance what had happened. They made that solemn promise, but reminded me that David in the other car was known for blabbing.
What seemed like forever later the officer came back to my window. Handed me my license and registration and told me he was going to let me off with a warning. Told me to not be in such a hurry and walked back to his car. Jennie had already driven away. I did start to cry, just like Michael had predicted, he said "See, told ya!"
When we get to the church building and walk inside, David had already spilled the whole story to our group. Some felt bad for me (the girls), some where laughing (the boys). I found Jennie waiting for me to arrive in the parking lot. She said that after the officer had taken her license and registration he went back to his car. She said she looked in her rear-view mirror to see if he was writing up a ticket or whatever. She said he was sitting there laughing. LAUGHING! While I'm sitting in my car trying not to cry the officer was laughing!
If you think about it from his perspective it is pretty funny. Here is this seasoned officer in Pasco, used to dealing with hardened criminals, gangsters and drug dealers. He sees a Baby Blue Bobcat and a Yellow VW Bug DRAG-Racing! When he pulls the cars over its two teenage girls on their way to a church dance. I still think about that story and laugh to myself.
Later that night after the dance I dropped off Michael, my brother and I went home. I knew I had to tell my dad what had happened. I knew he would be more mad if he heard if from someone at church the next day rather than from me. Luckily he was up watching t.v. when we came in. My brother went to bed and I sat on the floor next the couch where my dad was sitting and told him the nights events. When I was finished I thought he was going to yell at me or ground me or something. Instead he giggled, then laughed out loud. He asked me if I had learned my lesson and if I would ever do that again. I said NO way, and then kinda laughed with him. The next day at church he did hear the story again. I'm glad I told him first!
The Baby Blue Bobcat had a glorious history. So many great stories occurred in that car. Poor thing is now probably sitting in some junkyard. Even still, I say Long Live the BBB!
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/14/2005 01:38:00 PM :: 6 Comments: ---------------------------------------
I'm guilty of...
I saw this on Mike's blog.
Bold all those that you ever were guilty of doing. When you are done, add one thing that is true about yourself to the end, and then post the list to your journal or blog.
(Comments in the parenthesis are just my thoughts, they're not included in the Meme.)
I’ve run away from home.
I listen to political music. (Indigo Girls - though I don't always agree)
I collect comic books.
I shut others out when I’m sad.
I open up to others easily.
I am keeping a secret from the world.
I watch the news.
I own over 5 rap CDs.
I own an ipod. (a MP3 just not an ipod )
I own something from Hot Topic.
I love Disney movies.
I am a sucker for hair/eyes. (my kids')
I don’t kill bugs.
I have “x”s in my screen name.
I’ve slipped out a “lol” in a real conversation.
I love Spam.
I bake well.
I would wear pajamas to school/work.
And I probably have too.
I own something from Abercrombie.
I have a job. (Mom 24/7/365)
I love Martha Stewart.
I am in love with someone.
I am guilty of tYpInG lIkE tHiS.
I am self conscious.
I like to laugh.
I smoke a pack a day.
I loved Go Ask Alice.
I have cough drops when I’m not sick.
I can’t swallow pills.
I have many scars.
I’ve been out of this country.
I believe in ghosts.
I can’t sleep if there is a spider in the room.
I am really ticklish.
I love chocolate.
I bite my nails.
I am comfortable with being me.
I play computer games/video games when I’m bored.
Gotten lost in the city.
Saw a shooting star
I have had 2 serious surgical procedures.
I have kissed a stranger.
Hugged a stranger.
Been in a fist fight with the same sex.
Been arrested.
Laughed and had milk/soda come out of your nose.
Pushed all the buttons on an elevator.
Made out in an elevator.
Sworn at my parents.
Kicked a guy where it hurts.
Been skydiving.
Been bungee jumping.
Broken a bone.
Played spin the bottle.
Gotten stitches.
Drank a whole gallon of milk in one hour.
Bitten someone. (when I was 17 months old...)
Been to Niagara Falls.
Gotten the chicken pox.
Crashed into a car.
Been to Asia.
Ridden in a taxi.
Shoplifted.
Been fired.
Had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back.
Stole something from my job. (accidentally taken pens home)
Gone on a blind date.
Had a crush on a teacher/coach.
Celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
Been to Europe.
Slept with a co-worker.
Been married.
Gotten divorced.
Saw someone dying.
Driven over 400 miles in one day.
Been to Canada.
Been on a plane.
Seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Thrown up in a bar.
Eaten Sushi.
Been snowboarding.
Been skiing.
Been ice skating.
Met someone in person from the internet.
Been to a car show.
Gone to college.
Done hard drugs.
Taken painkillers. (only after a c-section)
Met a celebrity.
I like playing practical jokes.
Once swore Disco would never die.
Seen a ghost.
Attended a professional sporting event.
Attended a live rock concert.
Stayed up all night. (white glove at college)
Lied about my name. (Not correcting when someone says Dayna)
Dressed up like a Star Wars character
Been part of a police lineup
Been pulled over for drag-racing
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/14/2005 09:22:00 AM :: 6 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Thursday, October 13, 2005
MY DADDY!
Since the day his little sister was born my son has had to stake claim of everything he thinks belongs to him. The one thing hardest for me to help him understand is that his daddy is also his sister's daddy. (I know that isn't THAT uncommon, right?)
Before my daughter was born I would always tell my son to go get daddy when he came home. You could hear the garage door open and know he was home. Soon he would recognize the sound and know it meant daddy was home too. He'd always get very excited.
Once his little sister was born, no matter where I was in the house I would announce for her and my son that daddy was home. Big brother would get very upset by this. He'd say "No! My Daddy, NOT "S"'s daddy!" I was always telling him, "Yes he is your daddy, but he's her daddy too" and again he'd say "NO! My daddy!" There was NO winning that argument. It continued for a few weeks(seemed like months) after she was born and then it stopped. I thought, "Yes, that phase is over!"
WRONG........
The argument has been resurrected! Now that my daughter is walking.
Every night when my husband comes home from work, I say "Go get Daddy!" I'm teaching her to greet him when he comes home. How to recognize the sound of the garage door opening and know that is daddy. My son has decided he doesn't like that again. Its the same line over and over... "NO, MY DADDY! NOT "S's" DADDY!" I can't seem to get him to understand that they are brother and sister, so therefore have the same daddy.
I think part of this stems from my son being very attached to daddy right now. He absolutely doesn't want anything to do with me. "..No Respect, I get No Respect around here..." He wants daddy for bathtime. He wants daddy for toilet visits. He wants daddy for bedtime. He wants daddy to get him in and out of his carseat. If he wakes up in the middle of the night crying, I go in. (My husband is dead to the world! Doesn't hear a thing.) But as soon as I open the door to his room he practically yells "Go Away Mommy! Want Daddy!" My husband keeps reassuring me that this phase will end, that he will love mommy more than daddy soon. But it makes me a little sad for my little infant baby boy that always wanted mommy and would cry as soon as daddy held him.
I know the "want daddy" phase will end. But until then how do I convince an almost 3 yr old boy that his little sister has the same daddy as him and he has to share? Theres no arguing logic with a little boy that uses the same line in response to anything you say to him. "No, MY daddy!" Kids don't care about logic or facts.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/13/2005 12:12:00 AM :: 3 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Balloons Done
It's so sad. Balloon Fiesta is over for 2005. The only balloons we'll see for the next year are the Albuquerque Natives that are out for an early morning joy-flight.
Friday October 8th we decided to go to the "Glowdeo" instead of the Early Morning Mass Ascension. We did the early morning thing last year but haven't done the night show.
We told the kids we were going to go see balloons and fireworks. They were way excited. We don't like dealing with traffic and the kids love riding the bus so we went to the mall to the Park & Ride. We went to the food court in the mall to eat dinner and dessert (cinnabon) before going and being tempted to pay way too much for food at the balloon field. We then went back out to the parking lot and got our jackets and stroller out of the car and walked across to the buses. "W" wanted to push his little sister in the stroller and wouldn't let us help. But let's face it; an almost 3 yr old doesn't have that great of steering so I had to help him avoid the parked cars.
They use school buses for the Balloon Fiesta Park & Ride. My son sees the different buses around town and knows that the yellow ones are for "big kids going to school" and "daddy rides the white buses to work". He was very excited that we were going to ride a school bus! We got on and my daughter was bouncing all over. Laughing, banging on the window, she even hit her head on the window and didn't even care. She loved going on the bus. The buses (and their passengers) got special privileges.
The buses got their own special route into the park and didn't have to deal with the traffic. As we got close to the field my son could see the Wells Fargo balloons on the field. When we got off the bus we walked under this huge air filled arch. The kids thought it was the coolest thing ever. That is till the saw the balloons on the field...
The Special Shapes events are always sponsored by Wells Fargo. Their balloons were filled up first I think, because they are the sponsor but also to test the wind speed. It was kinda breezy that night. After we got the kids eyes away from the arch and they saw the balloons they became very excited. We walked along the boardwalk where all the booths are but it was just so crowded we were starting to get claustrophobic. We headed out for the grass where all the balloons were laid out.
We walked out onto the field pretty far to get away from the mass crowds of people and to be close to a balloon for when they started inflating. We found a nice patch of grass and declared it OURS. We sat down near a balloon all laid out on the grass. A few minutes after sitting there we heard the announcement that the balloons could start inflating. The balloon near us got ready to inflate. First they tip the basket (gondola) on its side then they turn on this motor that sounds like a lawnmower. It blows air into the balloon to get it filled up.
Once the balloons are half filled, like in the above picture then they can start burning the propane. The burn is what makes the air inside the balloon hot which makes them rise. The balloon we were near started to inflate but it got laid out twisted and there was a bit of a breeze so the balloon started to move close to us. Our son got very concerned. "Oh, NO! Watch out!" He almost started to cry. It made us remember how last year he was so upset when the balloons would lift off. We moved back away from the balloon so he would feel better. As the balloon inflated more the breeze pushed it closer to us. Our daughter was in the stroller and was the closest to the balloon. Big Brother started yelling "Oh, No! "Sy"! Oh, No! Watch out! He quickly grabbed the stroller and pulled it away from the balloon. We decided it was time to wander around and see the other balloons.
The kids were just entranced with the big balloons and the loud noise of the propane burner and to see the huge flames shoot up into the balloon. It was pretty cool even for us as adults!
It was so amazing to see so many different balloons.
It was fun to see the devil and the angel set. Right after I took the picture my husband said I should have had our kids standing in front of them.
Over the speaker system they would count down from 10. The crowd would get involved in the counting and 3-2-1-BURN!!! All the balloons would start their propane burn. It was SOOO COOL! After about 45 minutes of on and off balloon glows they called it done for the night. And just like that the land of giants was flat again. They quickly started rolling up the balloons and a few minutes the fireworks began.
Our son thought the fireworks were amazing. Our daughter got kinda scared; she tried to climb out of the stroller until I finally let her out. She climbed into my lap and sat there with her back to the show. Eventually she started to say "ooh" and "aah" with the crowd.
We rode the bus back to the mall parking lot. On the way back "Sy" was sitting with me and behind us sat my husband and son. My daughter would stand up and make a face at her brother. They were both laughing so much it got everyone around us laughing too. My son likes to make these high-pitched laughs, every so often one would squeak out and it would kill our eardrums and we would try to shoosh them to no avail...
These past few days have been pretty tough on my son. He's been going into Balloon withdrawals. Every time we have been in the car since Friday night he's asked if we're going to see more balloons and fireworks. Saturday morning he even talked to my parents on the phone and told them all about the balloons and fireworks. He hasn't talked to anyone on the phone since April!
Yesterday on our way home from the grocery store he was sad when I told him that balloons were all done. He wanted more balloons and fireworks. He wouldn't accept that there were no more balloons. I finally asked him in desperation whether pictures of balloons would be okay. He agreed that would work. I have printed off tons of pictures of balloons in the past two days. He takes these printed pictures and lays them out on the floor like a big jig-saw puzzle. If I try to pick them up he says "Puzzle broken, Mommy. Fix, it!" His little sister can't touch them or he dissolves into tears.
If he can't go to Balloon Fiesta anymore, he'll have to resort to bringing Fiesta to his own bedroom! No one in our house can wait till next year. It's a good thing we live in Albuquerque so that there's a pretty good chance we'll see a few more balloons on early mornings between now and then.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/11/2005 09:23:00 PM :: 4 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Saturday, October 08, 2005
BYU Wins 27 to 24
I tuned in for the last 6 minutes (on the scoreboard) of the game tonight. BYU was down 19 to 24. While I watched UNM lost the ball and had to punt on the 4th down. BYU got it and in 1:08 made a touchdown and then a two point converstion. There was 1:40 left on the clock and UNM tried to make another touchdown, they got over zealous and the quarterback threw it away. BYU got possession of the ball again with :40 on the clock and just stalled the game till the clock ran out. Just thought I'd let you know!
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/08/2005 09:36:00 PM :: 2 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Friday, October 07, 2005
Top 100 of 1997
I've seen this in a few different blogs now (Mike and Sariah) and thought I'd play along. Plus I was a little curious as to what was considered the top 100 the year I graduated from High School. Plus I want to beat out a couple of friends that I know graduated the same year. One mentioned on someone elses blog that she's not ready to admit what year she graduated. I think theres nothing wrong with it so I'll tell the world. Yes, World I am a youngin'.
1. Go to http://www.musicoutfitters.com
2. Plug the year you graduated high school into the search engine at the top left of the page
3. Copy all of the songs from the Top 100 list.
4. Bold the ones you actually like.
5. Italicize the ones you never heard of (or don't remember)
6. Slap it in your LJ or Blog
There sure was a lot of R&B, Hip Hop or Rap or whatever its called that year. I never have liked that music, so I'm not surprised that I didn't even recognize a lot of those songs.
1. Candle In The Wind 1997, Elton John
2. Foolish Games / You Were Meant For Me, Jewel
3. I'll Be Missing You, Puff Daddy and Faith Evans
4. Un-Break My Heart, Toni Braxton
5. Can't Nobody Hold Me Down, Puff Daddy
6. I Believe I Can Fly, R. Kelly
7. Don't Let Go (Love), En Vogue
8. Return Of The Mack, Mark Morrison
9. How Do I Live, LeAnn Rimes
10. Wannabe, Spice Girls
11. Quit Playing Games (With My Heart), Backstreet Boys
12. MMMBop, Hanson
13. For You I Will, Monica
14. You Make Me Wanna..., Usher
15. Bitch, Meredith Brooks
16. Nobody Keith Sweat
17. Semi-Charmed Life, Third Eye Blind
18. Barely Breathing, Duncan Sheik
19. Hard To Say I'm Sorry, Az Yet Featuring Peter Cetera
20. Mo Money Mo Problems, Notorious B.I.G.
21. The Freshmen, Verve Pipe
22. I Want You, Savage Garden
23. No Diggity, BLACKstreet Featuring Dr. Dre
24. I Belong To You (Every Time I See Your Face), Rome
25. Hypnotize, Notorious B.I.G.
26. Every Time I Close My Eyes, Babyface
27. In My Bed, Dru Hill
28. Say You'll Be There, Spice Girls
29. Do You Know (What It Takes), Robyn
30. 4 Seasons Of Loneliness, Boyz II Men
31. G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T., Changing Faces
32. Honey, Mariah Carey
33. I Believe In You And Me, Whitney Houston
34. Da' Dip, Freaknasty
35. 2 Become 1, Spice Girls
36. All For You, Sister Hazel
37. Cupid, 112
38. Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?, Paula Cole
39. Sunny Came Home, Shawn Colvin
40. It's Your Love, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
41. Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit, Gina G
42. Mouth, Merril Bainbridge
43. All Cried Out, Allure Featuring 112
44. I'm Still In Love With You, New Edition
45. Invisible Man, 98 Degrees
46. Not Tonight, Lil' Kim
47. Look Into My Eyes, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
48. Get It Together, 702
49. All By Myself, Celine Dion
50. It's All Coming Back To Me Now, Celine Dion
51. My Love Is The Shhh!, Somethin' For The People
52. Where Do You Go, No Mercy
53. I Finally Found Someone, Barbra Streisand and Bryan Adams
54. I'll Be, Foxy Brown Featuring Jay-Z
55. If It Makes You Happy , Sheryl Crow
56. Never Make A Promise, Dru Hill
57. When You Love A Woman, Journey
58. Up Jumps Da Boogie, Magoo And Timbaland
59. I Don't Want To / I Love Me Some Him, Toni Braxton
60. Everyday Is A Winding Road, Sheryl Crow
61. Cold Rock A Party, Mc Lyte
62. Pony, Ginuwine
63. Building A Mystery, Sarah McLachlan
64. I Love You Always Forever, Donna Lewis
65. Your Woman, White Town
66. C U When U Get There, Coolio
67. Change The World, Eric Clapton
68. My Baby Daddy, B-Rock and The Bizz
69. Tubthumping, Chumbawamba
70. Gotham City, R. Kelly
71. Last Night, Az Yet
72. ESPN Presents The Jock Jam, Various Artists
73. Big Daddy, Heavy D
74. What About Us, Total
75. Smile, Scarface
76. What's On Tonight, Montell Jordan
77. Secret Garden, Bruce Springsteen
78. The One I Gave My Heart, w Aaliyah
79. Fly Like An Eagle, Seal
80. No Time, Lil' Kim
81. Naked Eye, Luscious Jackson
82. Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix), Los Del Rio
83. On and On, Erykah Badu
84. Don't Wanna Be A Player, Joe
85. I Shot The Sheriff, Warren G
86. You Should Be Mine (Don't Waste Your Time), Brian McKnight Featuring Mase
87. Don't Cry For Me Argentina, Madonna
88. Someone, SWV
89. Go The Distance, Michael Bolton
90. One More Time, Real McCoy
91. Butta Love, Next
92. Coco Jamboo, Mr. President
93. Twisted, Keith Sweat
94. Barbie Girl, Aqua
95. When You're Gone / Free To Decide, Cranberries
96. Let Me Clear My Throat, DJ Kool
97. I Like It, Blackout Allstars
98. You're Makin' Me High / Let It Flow, Toni Braxton
99. You Must Love Me, Madonna
100. Let It Go, Ray J
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/07/2005 02:32:00 PM :: 6 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Pet Peeve
There seems to be a bug running through the blog world right now. Its writing about your pet peeve. I had been thinking about writing about this specific one for weeks and then I noticed others writing theirs too.
I was reminded of this specific peeve of mine a few weeks ago while out on a date with my hubby. Somehow in the conversation the topic of MY driving record came up. I don't know if we saw a close call while driving, or we were talking about my brothers, or if it was that my dad is coming down with a truck for us that he just rebuilt in a few weeks.
I told him that I had only ever had two accidents and one speeding ticket.(my husband added in at this point, "that were reported to insurance") Yes thats true, those are the only incidents that were reported. NOT THE POINT!
The point is remembering one of those accidents reminded me of my pet peeve. Maybe its a peeve I inherited from my dad, I don't know but it gets me upset, thats for sure!
My pet peeve is seeing cars that are not fixed after an accident! I guess to truly show you my anger I would have to tell you about my experience.
I was at Ricks, it was winter time in Rexburg. Anyone knows that equates to dark, cold, frozen, snowy, slick, short days, and long frozen, snowy, slick, very cold nights. Its so cold its referred to as "boogar freezing weather"! I had a car at school during this semester. A 1976 Ford Pinto! No power breaks, no power steering...
Anyway in our apartment complex we had a weird shaped parking lot. You were only able to park in the designated spots or else there wasn't room to pull out. It was kinda shaped like a V. Well one night I went out to my car to go to a dress rehearsal for the Symphonic Band. I looked behind me and saw someone parked along the V NOT in a parking space. I backed out very slowly wrenching on my no power steering wheel. I tried to avoid the other car but I couldn't. I barely bumped into her. I was so upset! The car alarm started sounding and the owner of the car came running out. I got out and went and looked to see if there was any damage. All I had done was break the little reflector on the front passenger side of the car just a few inches behind the bumper. She saw it too. I noticed there was a dent and I worried I had caused that too. She reassured me that had occurred in a previous accident. I was relieved, a reflector is an easy fix. No need to report to insurance. Just go to the local auto parts store and get a replacement. Instead, this girl insisted that she needed to call insurance. Since I was in a hurry to get to my rehearsal I gave her my insurance (we were both with State Farm) and I left. That was it. A few weeks later I noticed her car with a nice, bright, shiney, new, black "Le Bra" on the front. Out of curiousity I checked under it to see if she had gotten the reflector replaced or the dent fixed. NO!!! With the payout she received from reporting to insurance she went and bought herself a nice cover-up! She ruined my driving record by reporting it to insurance just so she could buy a "Le Bra" for her car. I was LIVID! I wanted to go storm down her door. Tell her to return her Le Bra and use the money that had "black-marked" my record and get her car fixed correctly. But I didn't. I called my dad instead, I got this peeve from him I might as well vent to him about it! All he could say was it was her puragative to do whatever she liked with the payout. AHHH!!!!
I drive around town and it just makes me angry to see cars with windows covered in a plastic bag, or a tail light taped up with red duct tape. The other day while on a walk I saw a car that had the passenger side mirror dangling from a wire down along the passenger door. If it had just happened yesterday and she was on her way to getting it fixed I wouldn't care. But no, there on the passenger door was a big pendulum swing scratch where the mirror had been swinging back and forth for probably years. AHHH!!!
My dad always taught me to take care of my vehicles. Taught me how to change the oil, fix a flat, wax it correctly, put a dash cover on to protect the leather on the dash... I even helped replace the transmission on my car when it finally died, from an automatic to a manual. Okay, Okay... so maybe I learned a little more than the average daughter learns about car maintainance, but having a car fanatic/car mechanic on the side as a father you learn more than whats considered normal.
It drives me crazy to see cars treated so poorly, and on top of that, to see cars that have been in an accident but the driver is too lazy (or greedy for the cash payout) to get the car fixed properly. Isn't that considered insurance fraud? It has to be! Anyway, the random rant of a car lover's daughter. I'm done now, I feel better...
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/06/2005 10:48:00 AM :: 4 Comments: ---------------------------------------
reward
I've lost another two pounds since I posted my Half Way Mark post on Sept 29th. I am now at 12 pounds lost. I figure that is close enough to my half way mark (of 15 pounds) to schedule the appointment for my free massage I got for christmas from my sisters-in-law. I opened it up to discover that it expired June 30th!!! AHHHHH!!!!!! One day after my Half Birthday and the day I decided to start this goal! I called anyway and told them it was a gift, someone paid money for it and I was saving it till I reached my half way point in my weight loss. That they have to let me use it and I promise to give an extra big tip!
They're gonna let me use it! I'm scheduled to get a massage at 5pm on Monday!
If thats not reward for loosing weight I don't know what is!
Also I'm really tempted to take my skinny jeans down off the wall and see how they fit. I hung them up when I started this whole thing as a motivation and reminder to do good so I could get back into them again. One of these days I'm gonna do it. See how they fit now!
I'm only 5 pounds away from reaching my pre/post pregnancy weight with my first and my pre/post pregnancy weight with my daughter. Its not that I gained the weight while I was pregnant and couldn't loose it. I gained it while sitting at home doing nothing with a toddler and a newborn. When I reach that point I'll feel good about what I've accomplished even if I can't/don't loose anything else after that. But of course I will keep working. I still need to loose another 10 pounds after reaching my pre/post pregnancy weight.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/06/2005 10:18:00 AM :: 5 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
BYU vs. UNM
It never occurred to me when we moved to Albuquerque that we had entered a "BYU Haters Zone". I always assumed BYU was loved by all anywhere you went. I was quick to learn that wasn't true in New Mexico.
Next to UNM vs. NMSU games, you haven't SEEN a bigger rivalry. (at least from the UNM side). Games against BYU are the most talked about of the season. Whatever sports season that might be. I know for a fact that there are a lot of BYU fans here, and I know that there are a lot that COME here for the game. Its just interesting to see how riled up UNM fans get about the upcoming game against BYU.
Right now its football. Not a big fan of football, could really care less, but its funny how much I start to care about it when I know BYU is coming to town. I bring this up because BYU is playing UNM on Saturday here in town. Everywhere you go there's a buzz about it. During the weeks leading up to and following a game against BYU (especially if BYU won) you're almost afraid to mention that you ever attended BYU let alone have visited it or support it. Its kinda funny. Do we deny our roots, tied to BYU or do we support our new "home team" and root for UNM? As for me and my house, we'll support BYU...
We have a static cling decal on a window of our car. It says "BYU-Idaho Rethinking Education". We received it in the mail one day as part of the Ricks College Alumni. (If you don't know Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho changed from a 2 year JR college to a 4 year university and became known as BYU-Idaho)
We have had the vinyl sticker on our car for three years and now sometimes we forget its even there unless of course someone mentions it. Well one day that is exactly what happened...
We pulled up into a parking lot of a local plant nursery. My husband started to get my son out of his carseat and I was getting my daughter out of hers. Meanwhile an old woman(80's maybe?) pulled up next to us in her car. As she was getting out she noticed the decal. She stood up as straight as she could and in a rather commanding voice said "I KNOW BYU is NOT in Idaho!" Obviously a UNM fan! We informed her that yes there is a BYU in Provo, Utah; but there is also a BYU in Idaho and that actually there is another in Hawaii too. She looked a little dumbfounded and I think a little scared. "uh oh, her UNM had just been outnumbered."
It gave us a little chuckle.
Saturday's game will be interesting to see the outcome. The current head coach of BYU's football team was the assistant head coach at UNM just last year. Thats stirring up a little more emotion around here...
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/04/2005 01:16:00 PM :: 6 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Balloon Fiesta
Today was the official opening day of the 34th Annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. This time of year is always exciting. For weeks prior to the actual start you can see the city starting to prepare for the 100's of thousands of visitors to flock to Albuquerque from all over the world. Banners being hung in front of restaurants all over town proclaiming "Welcome Balloonists".
Yesterday was the un-official opening day. But ask any elementary school student and they'll tell you there's nothing better. The Friday before Balloon Fiesta begins balloons take off from local elementary schools all over the city. Yesterday was no exception. 100 balloons lifted off from the ground of elementary schools all over the city. 4 flew over our house alone yesterday morning, and when I saw them all together on the horizon I knew that Balloon Fiesta had begun and a sudden joy and giddiness came to my heart! This is such a big event that the schools get Fall Break this time of year. Next week all the schools will be out Wednesday-Friday for Balloon Fiesta. (Reminds me of spud harvest in Idaho, but they get two weeks...hmm...)
The Balloons are made of silk. Over 700 balloons filled the sky this morning. 91 of them being special shapes, 17 more special shapes than last year! There are balloons from Canada, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Japan and others. Plus from States all over the country. The crowd is down on the field right next to the deflated silk balloons laid out neatly on the grass. You can walk right up to them. You stand near the balloons as they are being filled with hot air, and after about 20-30 minutes the balloons start to lift off the ground. Everyone around that balloon cheers as if floats into the air. The local NBC news station broadcasts the Mass Ascension. This year we sat on the couch and watch all the balloons rise.
My very first memory of Balloon Fiesta would have been October 2002. We were living in Phoenix. I was pregnant with my first baby due in November. My husband had just been offered a job in Albuquerque, but we wouldn't be moving till after the baby was born. We needed to find a place to live first so the second weekend of October we drove to Albuquerque to look for an apartment. The company helped us out by booking a hotel room for us for the weekend but had informed us that it was difficult because there was a big event happening the same weekend so rooms were scarce. But they did find one for us. We drove to Albuquerque on a Friday night. Saturday morning we woke up and opened the curtains to see the sky full of hot air balloons. It was a really amazing sight! We found an apartment and then drove back to Phoenix. But as we drove back we knew we were looking forward to moving here and seeing all those hundreds of balloons again.
Our first year of actually living in Albuquerque during Balloon Fiesta our son wasn't even a year old yet. It was a very cold, wet and rainy October weekend and we felt better just watching the balloons on t.v. and running out into the front yard to try to see them all. On the morning of the Special Shapes Rodeo we drove to a road overlooking the field and watched all the special shapes fill the sky. Certain nights through out the week they do a “Night Glow”. That’s where all the balloons are on the field, and after sunset they just let out the burn but don’t leave the ground. We haven’t been to that yet. Maybe this year we will. I’ve seen pictures of it, and seen it on t.v. but I doubt it does it justice for being there in person.
But last year we went to the field. (And we plan to do the same thing this year, just it wasn't today). My parents and my mom's parents had come down for a visit specifically the weekend of Balloon Fiesta. We drove to the mall at 4:30 am, loaded up on a bus and went to the Balloon Park. It’s completely dark. The dawn patrol was about to lift off. That's 5 balloons that lift off right before sun-rise to check the wind speeds. One also has the American flag dangling down beneath the basket and the National Anthem is sung. Quickly the field begins to fill up with people. Everywhere you look there are balloons draped across the land. As the sun begins to rise balloons begin to fill with air. My daughter was only 2 1/2 months old and was strapped to my chest in a Bjorn. My son was placed on top of my husbands shoulders. He was about a month and half away from turning two and didn't really have too large of a vocabulary. Every time a balloon lifted off from the ground he'd start screaming and shouting "ball! ball!" We never could figure out if he was scared, excited, didn't want the balloons to go or what. By the time the last balloon lifted off 3 hours later he seemed to be fine with it. My parents and my grandparents were like little kids. They had never seen anything so amazing. To be on the ground right next to the balloons as they filled with air and lifted off was an experience to remember for them.
Every balloon has a "chase team". This is a group of people that help the pilots get the balloon off the air and then once the balloon is in the air they all load up into their truck and chase the balloon around the city ready for its landing. Once the balloon is in the air it is at the mercy of the wind direction. Yes there is something called the Albuquerque Box which allows the balloons to travel in one direction then rise in elevation and then go back to where they started, but a lot of pilots like to travel a little. Some like to dip the basket into the Rio Grande River and then rise again. Some just like to float on the breeze. The Chase crew has to be ready for the balloon at any minute. There are areas around the city where they are not allowed to land, so sometimes they have to quickly let the air out of the balloon in order to land in a safe place. In 2003 we saw a balloon take a hard landing right on our street. Everyone was safe, but when that basket hits the ground you wonder.
Of course there are accidents, but the percentage of those is quite slim. The most memorable was last year on the very last day of Fiesta. Smokey Bear balloon got blown by a sudden gust into a radio tower. The balloon was ripped to shreds and the pilot and two children had to climb 1000 feet down the radio tower to the ground. Happy ending to this story though, Smokey Bear was repaired and he flew again today.
Last night on the news they interviewed visitors from other countries. Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium. They all said that there is nothing in the world like Albuquerque, and nothing like the Fiesta that they throw here every year. This is something that we want to share with our family and friends. It is such a unique experience that we want everyone we know to have been a part of it. They said today that many people that come to Fiesta are people that once lived in Albuquerque but have moved away. But every year they plan their return visit during Balloon Fiesta. There's just something about seeing 700+ balloons in the air. I have a feeling that if we ever do move away from Albuquerque we will come back to visit during the first week of October! Tonight is the Gordon Bennet Gas Balloon Race Competition. They use helium in these balloons. It’s an endurance race. Two pilots per balloon. The race is to see how far and how fast each balloon can fly. Every year we hear a few days later of balloons landing in different areas back east. It will be exciting to see how far the winner travels this year!
As we watched the balloons ascend into the sky on t.v. this morning my son grew more and more excited with every one. Pointing them out, telling me the colors, or for the special shapes the animal, or shape it was. The crowd favorite of course is the Cream land Dairy Cow. It’s the biggest balloon on the field measuring 120 ft long and 80 ft tall. It has the best smile seen on a cow ever!
We plan on going this week down to the field and be among the balloons. Even though we see balloons on an almost daily basis throughout the year, this is something that you have to be a part of. Something we must have our children be a part of. They will treasure these memories of images of brightly colored balloons floating through the air for the rest of their lives! As will we, as will we!!
(All pictures were taken by me during Opening Day of Balloon Fiesta 2004)
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 10/01/2005 08:46:00 AM :: 12 Comments: ---------------------------------------
