Angie and Bunny

I moved!

2008-04-08T22:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't been slacking, I've been moving. Thanks to a little help from my friends, I'm over here in Wordpress country now.

So change your links and welcome to The Gidget Times. Please excuse the dust, it's a work in progress. See you there.

Easter

2008-03-25T11:36:00.000-07:00

Jer, Kyle and I drove up to Redlands for my family's Easter dinner. It was a beautiful day and we drove into the San Bernardino mountains to visit the famed daffodil gardens in Running Springs; 50,000 bulbs planted by one woman who began in 1958.

I wish I had taken more pictures of the daffodils, but I found someone else's you can look at if you like flowers. It smelled heavenly up there and it was such a pretty day.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter.

My Will vs. Chocolate

2008-03-20T10:05:00.001-07:00

It's a losing battle here. People keep dumping chocolate on my desk and I'm being tempted beyond my limits. It started with one guy who comes in every other week. The first time I met him he told me always carries chocolate in his car and if I ever wanted some, to let him know. I didn't let him know, so he's taken it upon himself to drop a handful of chocolate on my desk every visit.

I've called him the "evil chocolate guy" so many times now, that he now announces his arrival by walking in the door singing "the evil chocolate guy is here!" while I hex him. I still don't know his real name and I feel very guilty, but it's too late to ask. I'm pretty good and limit myself to one small piece a day (one should never deny themselves chocolate altogether) but it's a daily battle to stick to my ration.

My boss, Tony, true to his British nature, finds it greatly amusing to watch me struggle with my chocolate urge and so early this week went out to Smart N Final and bought 2 large bags on chocolate and plopped them on my desk. They're now here staring at me, or maybe I'm staring at them. One is a bag of mini snickers bars, the other a bag of Hershey's extra dark chocolate with cranberries, blueberries and almonds. I've been inviting everyone who comes in to grab some, so I'm crossing my fingers that they'll be gone soon, but yesterday I faltered and ate 3 pieces.

And just to send me over the edge, yesterday, one of our salesmen brought me another bag of chocolate, ..."for Easter", he says. Not just any chocolate, but Reeces peanut butter chocolate cups. I think there's a conspiracy here.

Dear Lord, save me from myself, for my enemies surround me. Literally.

So Handsome...

2008-03-19T10:31:00.001-07:00

And he's top of his class with the best marks in math. You'll have to forgive my bragging, but I'm one proud mama.

Lunch at Costco

2008-03-14T08:13:00.000-07:00

Shopping day is not my favorite day of the week, but Costco isn't such a bad stop because they have samples on the weekends. All kinds of samples too; tamales, roasted pork, chicken nuggets, shredded beef, ravioli, pie, berries, ice cream, cheesecake and the list goes on, so I usually head to Costco around lunch.

The downside: Everyone else has the same idea, and with hundreds of people behind oversize carts, getting to those samples can be challenging. First you locate the food carts, (it's where the highest concentration of people are) and then begins the not-so-small feat of maneuvering your way over there.

Everyone has that same pained smile on their face like, "I'm trying my darnest to be polite, but all these incompetent cart drivers are driving me crazy", and you dodge, crash, smile, and apologize until you've gotten a little closer. You see there are two samples left on the tray, and 3 other people making a beeline to the food cart so you figure you'd better step up the pace.

That's when out of nowhere, a giant woman, or tiny Asian man cuts in front of you, nearly sending you flying, and scoops up that mouthful of shrimp scampi you had designs on. After you've recovered from the disappointment the question comes; should I be on my way? Or should I wait till the next batch comes out? There's something embarrassing about waiting around for a mouthful of food while people are forced to maneuver around your stopped giant cart, but you've come so far already and the anticipation and smell of deliciousness make you choose the latter.

So you pretend you're simply shopping and browse the shelves around the food cart, reading and re-reading labels, checking cans for dents, sniffing for freshness, all the while keeping a close eye on the food cart and the competition surrounding you who are all doing exactly the same thing. After many long minutes of anguished anticipation, the attendant puts out the tray. While trying to appear as nonchalant as possible ("wow, what do you know? There's a sample tray next to me"), amid a flurry of hands, you deftly and swiftly snag the best looking piece of shrimp and scurry away from the crowd to enjoy it. Bliss!

Then there's always the people who decide to purchase what they sampled and with a smug smile place a package in their giant cart. You know they're thinking "I'm just a little better than the rest of you sample fiends because people like me are the reason samples are served. You are all welcome." But you don't let that bother you because after all, spending $25 a pound on All Natural French Carved Leg of Lamb is just downright indulgent.

All the calories you burn getting to that mouthful of food cancel out the calories you consume, but yes, sometimes you wonder if it's worth all the trouble and strategizing. But then you see the samples of bleu cheese crusted Angus steak and you're ready to face the next horde of giant cart-wielding-sample-addicts because you're a seasoned Costco hunter and lunch isn't over yet.

It's a Girl!

2008-03-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

That old stork was just teasing. Ruben and Jenna had a second sonogram and found out he's bringing them another girl. Yay!

Jenna's safe from the slime and bugs, ...for now.

Happiness is...

2008-03-11T12:59:00.001-07:00

2008-03-07T14:06:00.000-08:00

Please keep John, Maria's brother, in your prayers as he shipped off to Iraq a couple weeks ago.

And if you happen to read this John, it was fun having you around. Thanks to you, we have a better understand of what life is like in the marines. Take care and come back safe.

2008-03-04T16:31:00.000-08:00

Yes!!!

Just a warning to any moms following this link: It'll very likely put you in the mood.

So cute!

2008-02-29T09:24:00.001-08:00

I found these water bottles at World Discoveries and just had to get them for the kids. Kyle and Ashley were thrilled.

Notice Kyle clutching his scary eel and Ashley her pretty pony. I can't wait till Jenna has her little boy and she's introduced to the world of slimy, creepy and weird stuff.

It's a Boy!

2008-02-26T10:14:00.001-08:00

My first nephew is on the way! Jenna and Ruben found out yesterday that they're having a boy. Yay!

Lame, lame, lame

2008-02-25T13:55:00.000-08:00

Watch the video and find out just how depressing winning $270 million can be. I don't care how sleep deprived or shell shocked I am, if I won $270 million dollars I'd be wearing a permanent, face-splitting smile, if I wasn't giggling non-stop.

It must be the water in Portal, GA.

Across the Universe

2008-02-21T10:58:00.001-08:00

I'm hard to impress when it comes to movies, but I really liked Across the Universe. It was very different, visually stimulating and left me with that great just-got-off-a-rollercoaster-wanna-ride-again feeling.

It's a musical love story set in the 60's and the soundtrack is all Beatles songs with cameos from Bono, Joe Cocker and Eddie Izzard. I felt nostalgic even though I never saw any part of the 60's. I think you'll like it.

Little Kanuck

2008-02-15T15:54:00.000-08:00

I just got ahold of some pics of my brother Vin's baby girl, Cleo, and I just had to post them. Have you ever seen a more beautiful baby? I just want to squeeze her in all her pink cuteness.

To My Valentine

2008-02-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

I'm not tucking you into bed tonight, but He is
I can't kiss away your tears but He will
I can't soothe the hurt you feel but He does
I can't wrap my arms around you, but He can.

Please understand you never leave my thoughts
And I miss you like you'll never know
This pain inside cuts deep into my heart
And prayers for you flow out of the wound.

He's making us strong, so He's sent the wind and rain
But it's hard to see you shaken, you're so young and tender
I want to shelter you and hide you from the storm
I have to trust He loves you more than I ever could.

You try hard to be brave, though you cry when it gets tough
Don't worry baby, it's ok to sometimes fall
Grown-ups do all the time. Even mommy cried today.
Just don't stay there, you're so beautiful when you smile.

We'll get through this I promise, and we'll be better for it
I know there's a brilliant day just around the corner
Until then, remember I love you wherever we are
And you can always, always call me mama.

Transformation

2008-02-11T14:12:00.000-08:00

Never underestimate the power of makeup. And good hair.

Now if they would just smile...

Pimpin' Ride

2008-02-01T14:45:00.000-08:00

Every since we've been here, right across from our apartment there has sat this old, black cadillac that looked like it had been sitting there 20 years, and we had no idea who it belonged to.

The other day there were 2 black men looking under the hood and cleaning it up. The young guy with his fro and Nike duds, and the older guy with his loafers, cap and much bling.

Maybe the young guy was dissing the car because I walked outside and overheard the older man say, [insert ebonic speak] "back in the day, dis was the ride! You drive a cadallic and you laid! You LAID!"

Ahhhh! It made my day.

Happy Birthday!

2008-01-28T09:27:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to the twinners! 21 finally! It's about time you picked up the beer tab. ;)

Jer, you're warm, funny, cuddly, strong, caring, tender, honest, intensely curious, creative and driven. Happy Birthday Baby.

I love you.

What the in world........?

2008-01-27T19:44:00.001-08:00

I went online and ordered some playing cards for Kyle (Go Fish, Old Maid) that were labeled "child size". I was happy to find them because he has a hard time holding regular size cards so smaller ones would be perfect.

I got then in the mail a week later and are they smaller than regular cards? NO, they're larger! Now Kyle has no hope of holding a hand and he makes me close my eyes half the game as he has to spread his cards all over the table to organize them.

I have since discovered that most cards labeled "child size" are larger than regular cards. I don't at all understand the logic of that. Children's hands are smaller, so why would larger cards be beneficial? It's not like children can't see as well as adults so the print and pictures need to be bigger either, if anything if should be the other way around.

It makes absolutely no sense to me.

It's Black Monday

2008-01-21T15:29:00.000-08:00

In more ways than one.

1. It's dark and rainy outside
2. The Chargers lost yesterday
3. It's Martin Luther King Day

And I'm in the same place I was last Monday although I think the heels and smile effect is wearing off.

Hey, the sun's peeking out...

Life is good and I need content.

Happy Monday

2008-01-14T15:59:00.001-08:00

My boss fractured his ankle yesterday and so left the office to me all day. With it being Monday and me being a fresh water fish in this industry, I had to fake my way through today and I'm so glad it's almost over.

Lesson of the day: Wear a cute pair of heels, be generous with your smile and you can get away with being ignorant. To a certain extent anyway.

A Good Read

2008-01-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

If you want to gain some in depth insight into the history of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict in novel form, Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour is a great read. I'm halfway through it right now and it's hard to put down.

It's an autobiography of sorts written by a Palestinian Christian
so it comes from a very unique perspective. He and his family go through so much, but they have a very simple, strong trust in Jesus and amazing forgiveness throughout which is very beautiful to see.

So if you're looking for something worthwhile to read and trust my recommendations, Blood Brothers is definitely worth your time.

Vacation is Good, Vacation is Fun.

2008-01-07T13:45:00.000-08:00

Just got back from vacation and had a very nice, relaxing time. We spent New Years in Mexico. Thanks TEAM for throwing the great party.

New Year's Day we drove up to Big Bear and spent a few days up there in a cozy cabin eating, sleeping, puzzling and gaming. I pushed back my fear of the slopes since I fractured my wrist 2 years ago and did some snowboarding. Conditions weren't amazing as most of the snow was man made, but it was still fun.

Typically, right after we left a big storm came through and dumped on Big Bear. Now that there's some natural snow, we'll have to go back up and take advantage of the fresh powder. I swear I'll learn to carve this year.

But until then, I'm vacationed up and ready to get back to the daily. For now.

The Aftermath

2007-12-26T12:02:00.001-08:00

I hope your Christmas was wonderful. Here are a few pics of ours. Enjoy.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T09:14:00.001-08:00