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Thursday, April 16, 2009

Our week - so far!

This week (so far) seems to be full of accomplishments. Some more grandiose than others. Thought I'd take a moment while I'm on lunch to just give you a brief rundown of what's been going on! I suppose yesterday's biggest accomplishment - can you call it that? - would be mailing off our taxes (and respective checks) to the IRS. Always a joy. But they are done. No extension here. Guess that's good.


One of the BIGGEST is Cameron brought home his report card yesterday. If it seems like he's always getting one, it's because he is. The charter school he is at focuses on assessment and weekly tests to maintain an accurate "view" of each student's progress. So, they actually have 6 grading periods throughout the year, meaning 6 report cards. Quite a bit, but it really does make sense. It gives us an idea of what he needs to work on, before it's actually too late! So with that said, he made HONOR ROLL again! We are really proud of him. He brought a couple of not so great grades from his progress report up, and ended up with all A's and one B. He is POSITIVE that his final report card will be straight A's. I believe him. Needless to say, he was very excited and that was the first thing he said when we picked him up. He was ready to burst! So ... good job Cam! Obviously he's doing great in school, but more important, he is enjoying it. The switch has proven to be successful. In fact, he came home Monday and in response to the daily question of "How was school today?" His response was "It was one of the best days ever!" Wow - that must've been some ravioli at lunch, eh? He said that they got their tests back from Friday and he did awesome, they played baseball in P.E. - real baseball, like on the field, not just playing catch with each other - and he got two people out!, he got his name on the "EGG LIST" meaning he had great behavior in class, he finished his math homework in class (almost never happens) and he finished his book for his report. Sounds like one of the best days to me too. :)


Moving right along ... Bryan got rid of his truck - the rented E-Z lift can be returned because it will no longer be necessary for me use in order to to get in. Unfortunately with the amount of wear and tear he brings to his trucks, with pulling a loaded trailer and the distance, every couple of years or so we come to this point. Spend a crapload to fix the "little" things that are beyond warranty coverage and beginning to surface (ie: transmission) or spend a crapload to just get rid of it and start over with a warranty. He chose for the latter. A white Ford F-250 is the newest member of the Peterson family, and #59 on the list of vehicles owned. Not really. Although I wouldn't doubt it. It might be more. At any rate, he's a happy camper.


And some not so exciting happenings, but nonetheless, important parts of our week:


  • With our 40+ mph winds yesterday, we retrieved the umbrella from our patio set from our neighbors yard. It was nice of him to babysit while we were out.

  • The 40+ mph winds are gone and it is BEAUTIFUL today! Looks like we're slowly heading into the 90's. It doesn't need to be that warm yet, but I won't complain.

  • Work is VERY busy, and I couldn't be happier. So thankful that I have a job, for one, and that it is secure.

  • Watched the Suns win their final game. And hope they can be a bit more successful next year. Now it's Go Cleveland for Bryan and Cam, while I'll happily root for the Blazers.

  • Trimmed the front bougainvillea bushes. Now the pizza guy can deliver again, and nobody loses an eye coming to the front door.

  • Finally read the five magazines sitting in the magazine rack that I've been meaning to get to for a month now.

  • Planted a new gardenia by the front door since Bryan forgot to water the other one when I was in Vegas.

  • Found a pair of Bryan's shorts that we had been missing - for probably a week. It was tragic. He thought someone might have come in and taken them. I don't think so. It got to the point where he was offering 10 bucks for the safe return. He finally found them in the first place that I suggested - in the folded clothes pile. Hmm. Go figure. And no, he didn't feel I was deserving of the 10 bucks. Whatever. I'll just take it out of his wallet anyway.

  • Learned how to play NBA 09 on the XBox. This was a HUGE accomplishment for mom. I can proudly say that I am able to beat Cameron. For some reason he just doesn't think that's very cool.

  • Bought our tickets to see George Lopez in June. Very excited. Cam was bummed because he wanted to go, had to explain that it's not quite the same as what he sees on Nick at Nite.

  • Finalized my lunch date tomorrow with Kerry - yay!

  • Working on our summer vacation plans. Hopefully Bryan will be able to take a long weekend - preferably to San Diego. It's been a few years since we've been able to head somewhere for at least a weekend. Otherwise Cam and I will be making the trek to Vegas - our last trip didn't quite provide the visiting time that we had hoped for, and another potential trip to Oregon. :)

Well that's about as detailed as I can get. Not real exciting, but if we were chatting on the phone, some of this would come up, right? So just think of it as nice chit-chat. :)





Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Math Logic

*This was an emal I received. It comes from 2 math teachers with a combined total of 70 yrs. experience. I think it's indisputable mathematical logic. This is a strictly mathematical viewpoint ... it goes like this:


What Makes 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 103%? What makes up 100% in life?


Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:
If: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

is represented as: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.
Then: H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K

8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98% and

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E

11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But , A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E

1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

And, B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T

2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%

AND, look how far ass kissing will take you.

A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G

1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%

So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty, that while Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it's the Bullshit and Ass Kissing that will put you over the top.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

WildEarth.TV - Bald Eagles

This is an incredible website! WildEarth shows live broadcasts of various animal habitats. For example, there are webcams positioned near bald eagles' nests. One particular nest is located at Saanich, Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada and had been recording a mom and dad and three eggs that were laid! The eggs hatched, the first eaglet was born April 8th, and the last of the three was born this morning. You can see various recorded segments of the eaglets, or watch them live. It's pretty amazing. This is the link to watch the nest/eagles/eaglets live ...

Here is the link to the first sighting of the eaglet that was born April 8th.

About 30 seconds or so into the seekpoint, you can see all three little bobbleheads briefly

This link is from a video on Monday that shows both Mom and the Dad. Mom is sitting on the eaglets and Dad arrives on the nest. You can see how different they are. Mom is bigger and Dad's head is smaller. Dad has some white feathers on his back that Mom doesn't.

This picture was posted on the website ... It was taken today around 2:35 pm. Mom is feeding fresh prey (fish?) to 1 & 2, and #3 is apparently living on yolk.

Just thought I'd pass this info along. I thought it was interesting and Cam was pretty excited to see the little eaglet when he got home from school. :)

Monday, April 13, 2009

The straight poop on your health

"Poop should swoosh into the water like a diver, not go in like belly floppers."

Redbook Magazine, April 2009 issue


Just so you know, I didn't research this. I hadn't been thinking about it and then decided "Ooh, maybe I should really look into this?!" It just happened to be an article in the April issue of Redbook, so I thought I'd share some facts.

What to watch for: Listen as you sit on the toilet. (I'm not making this up ... I swear it's part of the article.) Poop should swoosh into the water like a professional diver, not go in like staggered belly floppers. Then peek into the bowl (again, it really says this, and there's even a side note that it is gross, but important). You should see large, firm, S-shaped pieces. Dry gumball-size pellets mean constipation. "To keep stools plump, boost fiber intake by eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and drinking more fluids," says Susan Lucak, M.., a gastroenterologist at Columbia University Medical Center. By contrast, diarrhea is usually a reaction to food poisoning, dairy (if you're intolerant), caffeine, antibiotics, or stress. Persistent diarrhea could also indicate celiac disease, colitis, or another serious condition, so see your doctor if your divers don't reappear after two weeks.

If this left you hanging and you are dying for more info about what's going on in your body, I know you are, well maybe you should pick up the issue. Page 98 also gives you the scoop on pee, earwax, and boogers.





Sunday, April 12, 2009

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a wonderful day, ours couldn't have been better! Cam started off the day by hunting down his Easter basket ... finally found it in the office under the desk - silly rabbit! Breakfast and mimosas followed, of course, and then a bit of yard work. The weather was gorgeous! We headed over to Mike and Denise's for dinner and had a great time! The food was fantastic, the dessert was even better (we had quite the selection of cheesecake, and each one was delicious!) and Mike and I polished off the wine with no problems. :) Cam had some Easter eggs to find in Grandma and Papa's backyard, not the most observant little fella, that's for sure. It took a while. Then Bryan had an itch to fish, so he dug out the fishing pole and hat and went to work. He and Cam had fun fishing, and skipping rocks across the lake. Cam needs some practice, as he so eloquently admitted, "I suck." All in all it was a great day!


The Basket



Mommy's Easter breakfast




Looking for those hidden eggs ...




I thought you guys said I was close to one?




Glad the eggs have all been found!




Certainly not the most flattering picture of mom, but ... Cam took it of us, so I thought I'd include it.




Bryan and Cam shootin' the breeze




Daddy/son bonding moment



Shucks Honey! I'm fishin'! Can ya git me anotha' beer?




FINALLY!
Cam was laughing because the fish's tail kept batting around and he was just waiting for it to smack Bryan in the face. Bryan's smiling because he FINALLY caught a fish. It was a carp, and Bryan thought it to be about 6 lbs. Mike's laughing because it was more like 2 lbs and he's just thankful we weren't waiting for him to catch our Easter dinner.