Lindsay bought the internet...

It's the End of the Summer as We Know It, and I Feel Fine.

2009-08-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

Holy Crapoli, I haven't blogged in for-eh-ver.

This summer I...

worked as an office manager for 3 weeks
wine tasted in Temecula
went on a week long vacation to Yosemite with my family
danced my pants off
traveled to San Onofre and surfed it up for 4 days
spent a day at Glen Ivy Hot Springs with the girls
inter-tubed in Big Bear on the lake for 4 days
drove around in a yellow Yaris
relaxed by the pool
drank coffee
got a killer tan

Oh, and I also started and finished an art project. It's 15" x 45". I'm pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. Here's some pictures...

I enjoyed these last 2 months off, but now it's time to go back to work.
Yeah for a job.
Yeah for a mortgage to pay.

Suri, is that you?

2009-05-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night I went to see my former student, Miracle, perform in Hollywood with her very talented group, Kids on Stage. This group has really boosted her self esteem and it has been really good for her. She has a great voice, and she can sure bust a move in her chair! It was held at the Scientology Center (that's a whole other story!!) and I could have sworn that I saw John Travolta...
I'm really glad that I drove an hour and a half in traffic (grrrr!!) to see her perform. It had been too long since I've seen her. I was her aide in 3rd and 4th grade, and now she is already 16! I feel old!

Time flies.

I have a temper and I'm not afraid to use it.

2009-05-17T15:22:00.000-07:00

HOLY CRAP!!!

I was walking through the Cerritos mall this afternoon minding my own business, wearing a pink dress and silver flats, and some idiot yells out to me, "What's wrong with your leg?"

Now, this wasn't just any idiot, this brainiac was working at Verizon kiosk in front of Yogurtland. I stopped, looked over at him and said, "Really, you just asked me that, REALLY?" He stopped dead in his tracks and shut up right then and there. Problem solved.
So, I think if I'm ever faced with a situation like that again, I'll simply respond, "What's wrong with your manners?"

I've had people say the same exact thing to me before, but never like that! Oh man, was I pissed!!

Gotta love ignorance.

Yam Experiment Day Forty-Seven

2009-04-24T17:16:00.001-07:00

It's a REAL plant!! How exciting is that?

What a success.

My Newest Endevor... Complaining.

2009-04-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

I sat at the computer on Thursday and wrote this letter to the Frito-Lay Snack Company:

I've never written to any company before about a product, but I feel that you might actually want to hear what I have to say. I love Sunchips and always have, but this last bag that I purchased from my local grocery store was different. The chips inside are very tasty, but it's the bag I have a problem with. It's noisy. I mean, really noisy for a chip bag. I can't enjoy my Sunchips directly from the bag when I watch TV or a movie, because the bag's noise distracts me. Maybe it's the 33 percent recyclable material that is causing the bag to be so loud. I'm not sure what it is, but I don't like it. I work at a middle school and am around loud kids all day long, so all I want to do when I get home is enjoy my Frito-Lay Sunchips in peace. Hopefully your quest for a eco-friendly bag will ultimately result in a quieter one as well!

Thanks!
Lindsay

This was my (very prompt) response from them yesterday:

Hi Lindsay,

Thank you for writing to us. Your comments are important, and we're glad you got in touch with us. Feedback like yours is greatly appreciated and will be shared with the appropriate teams within our company.

We will definitely pass your comments about the Sunchips bags along to headquarters.

We consider you a valued consumer and hope you will continue to enjoy snacks from Frito-Lay.

Best regards,

Linda

I must say I was a little disappointed with how generic the letter was, but who knows, maybe they will send me coupons!!

Yam Experiment Day Twenty-Six

2009-04-03T17:37:00.000-07:00

We have sprouts!!!

I didn't want to post pictures every day, cause that would have been way boring, so every 3-4 weeks will have to do. Apparently, my little science project is working. Nothing but water, a little morning sunshine, and some love!

Now we wait for the green....

I guess it's kinda the same...

2009-03-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

I had a conversation on Friday that went just like this...

Me: Did you watch the news for your English homework last night?
Student: Yeah, I watched TMZ.
Me: Seriously?? I don't think that counts.
Student: Aww, why not?Is this what the world is coming to?
I'm depressed.

Dude Where's My Van?

2009-03-21T23:03:00.000-07:00

Jason and I went on a date last night (no way, I don't believe it either), and when we got home this is what we saw. A true to life, hand crafted Marvin the Martian Van. Someone must really love this cartoon character. It's really hard to see, but the paint job is amazing. Black glitter! The interior was lined with awesome fabric curtains and it had red upholstered seats. It also had a little Marvin flag attached to the antenna, but I cut it off in the picture. This was by far the coolest thing I've seen all week.

This van brings me back to the good old days on Karmont with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Van. That van is part of the reason that I wanted to live on this street when I was little! Does anybody remember that one? Who knows, maybe the same person owns this van, too. They probably have a collection of cartoon vans in a museum somewhere.

This was such a nice surprise when we pulled up last night, that I had to share it with all of you. I tried when I woke up this morning to take better pictures of it , but it was gone. Who knows, maybe it was all a dream.

If anyone knows who owns this van, let me know, because I want to meet them!

I hope that this van makes you all as happy as it made me.

Yam Experiment Day One

2009-03-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

We went over to the Yost in law's house yesterday and Gayle had this beautiful plant in her kitchen window. It was a yam with leaves! I couldn't believe how healthy and nice the plant looked. It was a pretty good size and she had been growing it for only a couple of weeks. Now, I am going to try it.

Wish me luck, y'all.

When was the last time you...

2009-03-02T21:08:00.000-08:00

enjoyed a chocolate dipped vanilla ice cream cone from Mr. Pete's Patio?

It.
Was.
Fantastic.

Am I a closet packrat?

2009-02-13T17:03:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows me knows that I love to organize EVERYTHING. But I have a secret. I am unorganized in a certain part of my life. Get ready folks.

Pictures.

I have a couple boxes of old pictures that are divided up into lovely sections that have been around even before I got married, and I only have one real photo album besides my wedding album (which I rarely look at). But the majority of the pictures that have been printed since our wedding are literally shoved in a drawer in my hutch. Just thinking about it makes me cringe! Okay, I'll clean that out this weekend. I'll just put it on my to do list.

So, when we got ourselves a digital camera in December of 2006, I thought my problem would be solved. Oh no, not even close. I think my first problem is that I only download a couple pictures at a time, and that's only to put them on myspace, facebook, or this silly blog. I've only ever taken the pictures off of my camera and onto my computer twice. I have a "hard copy" of these pictures somewhere, but they do me no good if they are not in any order. I also only print out picture one at a time, and that's usually to send to Grandma Bonnie or Aunt JoJo. That doesn't help, either.

I really am embarrassed about this problem I have, since I don't even have that many pictures. I have two folders on my computer, one that is named 2007 and the other is 2008. That is pretty pathetic, if you ask me. I need to figure out a system to get all of my digital pictures organized so that I can find what I need easily.

Jason Parks had just helped me download my 2008 pictures on to the computer a couple of weeks ago , and my camera suddenly died. It has an irreversible "lens error." Jason and I don't need, or want anything fancy, but we do need to get this picture situation under control before we buy a new camera and do the same thing.

Do any of you guys have any suggestions on how to get me started? I need some assistance in this area of my life. I think that most of the problem is that I don't want to sit in front of my computer for more than an hour to do it. I don't even know how to create folders, rename pictures, and do all that hard stuff.

Computers!!!! I don't like them!

And no, I'm not getting rid of my wooden leg.

I'm gonna puke.

2009-02-09T09:39:00.000-08:00

As I was watching The Grammy's last night, I couldn't help thinking that Lil' Wayne and Flavor Flav have to be related. Do you see a slight resemblance, or is it just me? I think Lil' Wayne might be Flavor Flav's long lost son.

How in the world are people like this rich and famous? Who would pay money to see these people perform?

A couple of nights ago I saw a Katie Couric interview
( I could only stand to watch about 30 seconds) with Lil Wayne. He is the most disgusting person I've seen on TV in a really long time. He is SUPER conceited, and his tattoos make me want to throw up. At least Flavor Flav is somewhat entertaining, but they are both pretty nasty.

There is no reason in the world that people like this should be making as much money as these two guys.

They make me sick.

Buy Two, Get One Free!

2009-02-01T15:48:00.000-08:00

Last November I bought 2 Maidenform bras. There was a special tag on the bra that said, "Buy 2, Get One Free." I pulled the tag off, made a copy of my receipt, wrote my check for $6.95, and waited.

What do you think I got in the mail yesterday? Oh, yeah, my FREE bra.
I'm ecstatic.

And padded.

I have a ham. His name is Wilbur.

2009-01-22T15:43:00.000-08:00

It weighs at least 25 pounds and is waiting to be smoked by my husband. I think that I'm going to throw up.

Charles and Greg went hunting on Sunday and brought home a 300 pound wild hog and an 150 pound Russian boar. Nice work, boys.

Jason told me that Charles and Greg wanted to give him some pork, and when we stopped by the house, I thought I was going to die. I walked into the backyard, and I swear it looked like a CSI murder scene. It's a good thing that I knew these young men, because if I didn't, I would have probably called the police.

I asked them lots of questions and they answered them for me very respectfully. If you don't know these guys, they are some of the nicest people that I know. They explained everything to me, and even showed me pictures of these piggies that they had "harvested" that day. How sad.

Now we have this big footless ham leg taking up space in our freezer, so get ready for a big Yost barbecue sometime soon.

I'll bring the corn.

What A Deal!

2009-01-10T14:07:00.000-08:00

I just got back from shopping at The Salvation Army, where I bought two pairs of jeans. Everything was half off, of course, so I ended up paying $3.50 for a pair of GAP jeans, and another pair from J. Crew for only $4.00. I really don't care about the brand names, but I know that jeans from these two stores fit me well.

So I came home and did my research. I looked up both stores, and found out that the pair from The Gap would have been $59.00 and the ones from J. Crew... $98.00! Who in the world would pay a hundred bucks for jeans? Not this thrifty girl.

I just saved my husband 150 bucks!!

Now I don't feel so bad for spending money on getting my hair done.

Take that, Jason.

My coccyx hurts.

2009-01-06T08:16:00.000-08:00

I'd love to be posting about what a wonderful Christmas vacation I had, which I did, but my coccyx really hurts. I was supposed to go back to work on Monday, and I would have if I wasn't so freaking unstable. Darn you, cerebral palsy.

During the break, Jason and I went ice skating and had a great time. I figured that I need to be more active this year, and because I have roller skates and a sidewalk, which is free to use, I'd take up rollerskating.

I was inspired to put on my roller skates after Jason Parks took me to two roller derby games this last year, and on Saturday I visited a little shop on 4th street down in Long Beach owned by a real live roller girl. The owner of the shop, Jen, or Estro-Jen, told me about the monthly community skates they have around Long Beach on the second Friday of each month. She gave me a flyer for the skate in January, and I was determined to participate. Just meet at the store, and off I'd go! How fun would that be to roll down the streets of the LBC in skates, right?

So Sunday afternoon I strapped my skates on and took off down my street. I got in a good hour of really fun skating... until I fell. Hard. Like really hard, right on my tailbone. Holy crap it hurt. A very nice lady stopped in her car too see if I was okay (It must have looked bad) and I assured her that I was fine. I got up slowly and skated home, not really realizing how much pain I was in.

I called for Jason and started crying. He brought me ice for my bum and some motrin. I stayed on the couch for the rest of the evening and all of yesterday barely being able to walk. Or sit. I did make it to urgent care and I had some x rays taken. The two x rays that were taken straight on show that my tailbone was not broken, but on the one that was taken when I was laying on my side looked like my coccyx could have been moved. It , according to the doctor, looked as it had been pushed up, out of place just a little. And it's bruised, a lot.

Now I sit at home watching all of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals that I can get my hands on, because I ran out of books to read last week. Hopefully my butt will feel good enough to go back to work tomorrow.

Until then, I'm off to finish the rest of Carousel, Oklahoma, and South Pacific. I won't, however be watching The Sound of Music. I will not watch it. Nope, I won't get sucked in. I've tried, and just can't sit through the first ten minutes.

I need to go. My medicine is calling.

This is why I love my niece.

2008-12-27T08:39:00.000-08:00

Mosaic Madness

2008-12-21T18:37:00.000-08:00

My aunt Diane used to live in Los Angeles, and when the Northridge earthquake came and went, she and Dorian lost a whole dining room full of china that belonged to Dorian's aunts. After the earthquake hit, they ended up with a two foot thick pile of beautiful china in millions of pieces. Everything from plates, vases, even super cute gravy boats. Diane had always wanted to send the broken pieces to my grandma so that she could make her a mosaic, but she never got to it.

So there it sat in huge tubs out in the garage, just collecting dust. Finally back in June, we had a yard sale and Diane brought the boxes to me. I had just gotten started with this whole mosaic thing, and she told me that I could do whatever I wanted with it, and to throw away whatever I didn't use.

I then had this great idea to make something for Diane and have it be a surprise to her and Dorian. Diane's birthday was in August, and I figured that it wouldn't take me very long. All I wanted to make is two wall hangings, 15" x 30" to go on either side of her hutch in her living room. Super easy, right? I think not. I worked so long on this project, and I thought that I'd never want to see another blue and white plate ever again. Her birthday came and went, and I didn't have it done.

Then I learned that my Grandma Bonnie was coming into town at the end of September. I had to have it done when she was here. So, another goal was set. Finish these things by the time she came. I spent countless hours painstakingly placing every piece in its place.

Hallelujah! I got it done by the time Grandma came, and presented the wall plaques to Diane and Dorian. Diane had no idea that I was doing this for her, and she was moved to tears! It turns out that every piece that I picked (and there was a lot to choose from) was her favorite. I then had Dorian tell me the history of some of the pieces, and that was really fun for me to hear. Dorian hung them the next day, proudly displaying my artwork for everyone to see. I really like the way they turned out.

Happy Birthday Diane!

What a Deal!

2008-11-29T18:24:00.000-08:00

I just sold Jason's electric drum set to a professional poker player. Impressive, huh?

I posted the pictures of our drum set this morning on craigslist, and it's already gone. It was that easy. So, I thought it would be fun to google the name of the lucky new drum set owner, and it turns out that he is a pretty good poker player. The guy just recently won over 12,000 dollars at the Commerce Casino.

He must be famous, his name is on the internet.

I am now 200 dollars richer. Yeah!

I love Marissa!

2008-11-18T17:58:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Jason, Marissa, and I stopped by an Estate sale in good ol' Downey, and came across this amazing sofa bed. I had to have it. It was only 20 bucks! The bed part is really cool, it folds out length wise, so it saves space in the bedroom when it is pulled out. Pretty good technology for being made in 1957.

This silk fabric picture was hanging in this woman's living room, and I couldn't buy one without the other!! This woman has great taste. Estate sales are strange things. On the one hand, it's cool rummaging through a whole house full of stuff, but on the other hand, it's under pretty sad circumstances that people have the sale at all. In the woman's master bedroom was her wedding dress from the early sixties, and next to the dress and veil was a picture of the woman on her wedding day! That was pretty neat.

I talked with the woman's daughter for quite a while when I was there, and she was just glad that her mom's things were going to a good home.

I. Love. It.

Putting the "Fun" in Fundraisers

2008-11-04T17:35:00.000-08:00

Last night, Jason and I spent the evening with our favorite niece, Madison Nicole. She is growing into such a super little girl!

She had recently sold some stuff for her preschool's fundraiser, and so Jen bought a couple of items to support the cause. When we got there, they were in the kitchen playing with the cookie dough that looked like Play Dough. It even came in the plastic tubs just like the real thing!

So we made a rattlesnake,

and I helped Madison create Harry the Canary.

Surprisingly, the cookies tasted pretty darn good. I was impressed.

Kids are fun! Maybe someday I'll have one.

Olive Oyl, Popeye, but sorry, no Sweet Pea!

2008-11-04T17:18:00.000-08:00

I LOVE HALLOWEEN.

This year, though I procrastinated a little. Halloween was on a Friday, and I didn't even get started on my trunk until Tuesday night. But I am pretty impressed with myself. I glued on hunreds of bottlecaps to make my Octopus look as "lifelife" as possible. I also painted and glittered my waves in the span of about 3 hours. Not bad for two evenings of work.

I did force Jason to dress up as Popeye, and I think that the only reason that he agreed to do it is because I bought him a pipe, made from a real cob of corn. Pretty cool, huh? I didn't even know that those things really existed. I think that we make a pretty cute couple, if I do say so myself.

We had a great time at church handing out candy to kids, babies with no teeth, and Grandmas. I had nachos with the cheese sauce from a can, and I loved every bite of it. I can't wait to do it all again next year. Or maybe I can.

2009- Punky Brewester and Henry (or Brandon)

Joanne Kozovich, will you be Cherry?

Pictures with Paul

2008-10-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

"Hey Paul, could you please take a picture of the three of us?"

I then hand Paul the camera, and this is what I get...Thanks Paul, thanks.

Here's what it should have looked like.... the first time!!!

Just for that, I'm posting this picture of us.

Paul loves hanging out with me. Look at the expression on his face.

Pure joy.

One in Twenty-five.

2008-10-09T16:43:00.000-07:00

My aunt Debbie was down visiting from Boston last week, and she was reading this book called "The Sociopath Next Door." She gave it to me to read, and now I'm beginning to think that everyone I know is a sociopath. This book claims that 4 percent of people are sociopaths. That's a lot of whacked out people, don't you think?

Just to clarify, my next door neighbor is not a sociopath. She has a conscious. I know it.

Me theenks I wuz a kat in uh formr life

2008-10-05T20:11:00.001-07:00