The Jarquin World

Oscar & Paige's Summer 2009

2009-09-05T20:37:00.001-07:00

Oh My.... a few days ago someone I sent an email to said they were going to check out my blog because they saw the link in my signature. It dawned on me moments ago that it's been MONTHS since I updated my blog.... Crazy

So I thought I would sum up the summer before making the attempt once again to keep my blog updated at least every few days.... laughing quietly at myself......

Camping was the travel fun choice of the summer. We started June with a Jarquin Family camp at Winter CA Putah Creek campsite in a friends RV. Oscar's brothers with families, Mimi & Papi and special family visit from nephew Andrew was really fun. The creek is frigging cold so swimming was off my list but the less wimpy relatives went for a dip! I definitely love RV camping.

I know this because July brought camping with the Ewers family near Fort Bragg, CA and it was COLD! In July...COLD. This also happened to be Winter's first camp adventure as she and Justin joined us for the 5 day trip. The first night Justin's mattress deflated so the next 4 nights we all huddled in our tent. Winter got her first shiner on this trip when she fell down a short incline and bonked her head. Scraped up nose and a decent goose egg on the forehead to show for it! The food on this trip was great.... I had my first experience with baking in the great outdoors, I used left over eggs from Kristen & Charlies french toast breakfast and some goodies I found around the campsite. A little to brown on the bottom but tasted really good. We took our bikes on this trip and that was fun.

In August we made 3 trips. One to Sand Diego to see Jonathan's ship come back from it's tour and a camping trip with church friends in Winters again and a very fun houseboat on Lake Oroville. The trip to SD was a fun drive our first stop was Redondo Beach to see my dad for lunch and a quick visit. Then we stopped in Long Beach to stay the night with Oscar's brother who took us out to dinner for my birthday. Then next stop was SD where we spent the next few days at my brother Butch's house. We got to meet Elise, Jonathan's new girlfriend and of course greet Jonathans ship. That is a story in itself... maybe in a few days.... the ship not the girlfriend! Winters camp trip was a very relaxing time... it was nice to do nothing except spend time with friends. Going on the houseboat with the Mansell/Alexander family was an excellent time. Friends that know how to eat great food & wine and have a good time are always high on my list.

In between the travels there were picnics, volley ball challenges (which we lost badly but we are good sports), birthdays, a visit from Peg - Suzy's mom, a visit from my mom, my niece had her 3rd baby.... another boy!

The not so fun parts of life... I'm still unemployed and really wishing I had a job already. Oscar didn't get the opportunity to go on the Tiger Cruise with Jonathan because of a flu outbreak on the ship. However these things seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things!

The Winter update....

Walking, talking, dancing and wrecking general havoc in our lives.... But all done with the cutest smile, a devilish grin really! She is mostly talking gibberish but you can tell she has something to say! We spend lots of time in the back yard in her little wading pool, going down her slide and playing in the ball pit. The very cutest thing she is doing this past week is grabbing the car keys, waving and saying bye-bye and heading for the door. She holds the key exactly correct in her hand and try's it on every door to "open" it like we do on the car....

I'm sure I've left many things out but that's the gist of it. In a few days I'll post about Jonathan's visit home, Jason our former exchange student that has come back for a visit and the labor day weekend in general.....

Hugs to everyone

Hanging with Amy & Crew

2009-04-09T05:04:00.001-07:00

On Saturday 4/9 Amy brought the whole crew for a visit. It's incredible to see how much the twins have grown and what a great big sister Molly is. During lunch she would get up and run over to see what was wrong, every time the twins made a sound. It was so cute to watch her give them their Bobo's, at one point she made sure they had the correct one, Garreet needed blue and Paige needed pink, I had mixed it up but Molly fixed it for me!

We went for a walk on the greenbelt at the end of our street, down to the park where Molly played on the swings and slides while Amy and I took turns feeding the twins - it was their first picnic.

Everyone knows what a baby hog I am and Oscar was seriously cutting into my baby holding time. It was very fun to watch him though. He kept saying "when Winter was this small" and "When Winter first started bottles", it was obvious he was having Winter withdrawls since she is off with Suzanne in MI for a week visiting her Grandma Donia.

25 years ago today......

2009-04-03T22:48:00.000-07:00

It was 25 years ago today that Oscar and I married. Well depending on who you ask, the title of this post could have been "25 years ago tomorrow", because Oscar thinks we were married on April 4th not the 3rd as we have celebrated the previous 24 years.

Here's a little history...........

We had an original wedding date of March 16th, 1984 in Redondo Beach, CA. The Marine Corps decided to practice the old saying "if we wanted you to have a family, we would have issued you one in your seabag" by not getting his new orders to him in time to come home. We canceled an entire wedding in just a few days, got all the necessary paperwork and blood tests done and bought a plane ticket to North Carolina for me to wing my way east on March 16th.

When I arrived everything was smooth except in NC you need a full physical and not just a blood test to get a marriage license. It took two weeks to get an appointment and the certificate signed off. One afternoon I was sitting there and said to myself... "today seems like a good day to get married" so I grabbed my dress and a change of clothes for Oscar and went to pick him up from work on base. It was very late when we arrived at the local magistrates office, like he was trying to head home for the day, but he was gracious and stayed a few more mintues to marry us. We then went off with Kim & Randall Love, the couple also waiting for orders that agreed to be our witnesses on the spur of the moment, ate Chinese food and went home.

That happened on April 3rd but according to our marriage license that we ordered a copy of about 5 years ago, it happened on April 4th. I know it was April 3rd because I remember thinking how weird that my parents anniversary was April 1st, my sister's April 2nd and now mine on the 3rd without even trying. I think what happened is the magistrate wanted to get out of there so badly because he was running late that he didn't write it in the log book until the next morning. Oscar says I'm just crazy and it's the 4th.

So this year we celebrated both.... what woman wouldn't love to have TWO anniversary dates!?!

What have I learned in the past 25 years? I can tell my husband anything and he will still love and respect me. Sharing a life is so easy when you sincerely respect the individual you are sharing it with. It doesn't matter where you live, a trailer park in North Carolina or a 5 bedroom house in Natomas.... the house is much nicer and easier to live in though..... There is always enough love, time and money to do whatever it is your heart is truly committed to accomplishing as a unit. The most important part is that God is the center of our life together.

Today I am more in love with the man I married than I was 25 years ago.... no matter what day it happened on!

"We are Track Homes and Vacation... not Restoration Projects"

2009-04-01T06:32:00.000-07:00

Those words are little pearls of wisdom that fell from Becca's lips while she & I were driving the moving truck from our 1920's craftsman's bungalow to the new place in Natomas. How she manages to encapsulate an entire complex situation in one small phrase has always impressed me. We were talking about how owning a house that is almost 100 years old requires so much more work and attention then Oscar and I were willing to give it in this season of our lives and she made the statement above, it really does reflect where we are at in life.

And.... here we are in the new track home, planning a vacation (sort of... it's actually a conference that Oscar is speaking at in Oklahoma City and I'm tagging along for the free hotel) and loving the lack of water seepage, plugging in more then two items at a time and water pressure... lovely water pressure! Who knew we could be so happy about such simple things!

Because it's been a while I'm going to do another "sum it up" post for the month of March and try to be more current going forward.

The move is finished and there are no boxes in sight, as of yesterday at 4pm in the afternoon. This unpacking was longer than normal for us but I had so many options on where to store things, I guess I just wanted to savor the experience. I still need to hang some pictures but over all I'd say we are done. The best part is the garage... we can walk through it once again and park a car. Mostly due to the hard work Joe put in the last two days, he was my "heavy lifting guy" as I sorted through and put stuff away.

Oscar is really getting into his new GIS position in IT. One big downside to the move to Natomas was his easy commute and he was mourning the loss of the light rail at the end of our street on 48th. He found a bus route fairly close by but it's not very convenient and required rides and/or long walks to the bus stop. Then our new neighbor told him about a shuttle that picks up at the end of our street and drops him off about a block from work, it has 3 runs in the morning and 3 at the end of the day, not a great as the light rail with trains every 15 minutes but much better than the bus solution!

I'm still gainfully unemployed and starting to get bored with the novelty of having lots of time off. It's not that I'm "not busy", I have Winter on Tuesday & Thursday while Suzy goes to school and I've been able to spend time with friends during the day, especially time with the van Riessen's.... Amy still needs a bit of help with new twins and a very 2 year old Molly. I wouldn't be able to spend this time with people, if I was working full time so I fell that is a blessing. I easily fill my day with house chores, life errands, babies, family and friends but the need to do something professional is poking it's head to the surface of my thoughts. I have finally started my job search in earnest and the market is much less friendly then I've seen in years. In the past, I've sent out my resume been to one interview...two max... and been offered a job. Not so much this time, on the last call back the interviewer said they received 1000 applications.... crazy!

I did get away this past weekend for a Girls Weekend in Sonoma with 4 other lovely ladies, this is the first one I've ever been invited to and I had a great time. One was a very fun sweet person that I had never met before named Katy... She reminds me of well.... me. Usually I don't get along with people who compete with my talking time but she was just so funny that it was hard not to find her side splitting funny. We had some fantastic meals, went wine tasting and shopping... I definitely need to learn to drink slower and they went for nice walks while I sat and read books. I finished two of them in the 3 days and it was heaven! I'm especially grateful to our mutual friend that planned the weekend..... mucho mucho thanks Miss Kristen.

The neighbors here are very friendly, spend lots of time outside on the weekends and there seems to be many kids playing outside. A few have come over to introduce themselves, I've met more people here in our first 3 weeks, then I knew at the old place after 3 years.

Allergy season has hit Sacramento with a vengeance and while I normally do not suffer, I have been hitting the medication with the rest of the family. I think poor Oscar has it the worst!

Jonathan's journey continues and we have learned that he can only tell us "where he's been" not "where he's going", last stop was Qatar, which is located in the heart of Arabia. I looked it up on Google and there is some very beautiful places there. He did write home several weeks ago because his 50 cal team pulled a "dangerous" duty shift (read scary for the parental units) and he asked for prayer. I love that we can talk to him so often and get email updates on his status... I can only imagine how awful it must have been for mothers of those who served in the past when you had to wait weeks and sometimes months, for word on your child serving our country during war time.

Not much new in the world of Becca... she is working, going to school and working...... Justin & Suz are the doing the same. Joe had his truck stolen over the weekend from the parking lot while he was at work. The police found it yesterday which was kind of a bummer for Joe..... he had been hoping for new wheels.

Of course there's plenty of updates on Winter. Biggest news is she's walking! Started about two weeks ago, taking a few steps here and there but on Saturday she really took off. Now she can go from sitting to walking in the middle of the room. It's cute now but in another week we will be wondering if she will ever stay still again! She has also discovered that throwing food on the floor while eating lunch attracts the dogs and she loves the dogs! I thought she was just eating more until I figure out that half her snacks and meals were being tossed down to her adoring fans Frankie and Jack. It's kind of cute to watch her giggle when the dogs take food out of her hand and gross at the same time, I'm glad we are not germ squeamish in this house! It's been lovely that she has such a happy disposition, she also loves to look you straight in the eye smile and do exactly what you just said "no touch" too..... Chase is becoming a favorite past time. We are trying to teach her to go down the stairs safely.... she really likes the heads first way instead. She has started giving people stink eye and loves to scrunch up her nose, breath heavy and fast.... it's adorable to us of course. She plays Where's Winter when you hand her a towel by hiding her face and loves clapping her hands when we say YAY really loud.

Sad news in March..... Linda & Kevin, friends and pastors at our home church Sanctuary, have resigned for the financial health of the church. While I respect and support their decision, I'm sad they are stepping down. For now they continue on here in Sacramento but we are praying hard God directs them to a new position right here locally so we can continue to see them often!

All & All... it's been an excellent month in The Jarquin World

new stuff happening all the time....

2009-02-17T01:34:00.000-08:00

Well our house that we put on the market early December is in escrow and we now have less than 30 days to find a new place to live, pack the house... both of them.... and move! I'm excited! Okay not really, I'm more nervous than anything. I envisioned a nice long escrow and not moving until May... now bam here it is in my face! I guess I thrive on challenge so I best stop complaining and get my butt in gear.

Just to make things easy I'm also looking for a job planning a birthday party for my mom making several trips with Oscar out of town over the next few months. Oh yes, I was going to stop complaining.

I gave up writing multiple long posts about my trip. I will do just one in the next week or so.

Jonathan called from Guam and is having a wonderful trip although he is anxiously awaiting the girl scout cookies to be shipped.

Oscar and I are now hosting the life group in our home while Steve and Amy take a hiatus for the birth of twins Garrett & Paige. For the first time in my life I like me own name.... Thank you Amy for bringing it to my attention. The twins are little beauties with a capital B. Of course we know the van Riessens make good looking little ones... Molly of course is also a stunner.

Winter is moving fast these days. She says ma-ma-ma-ma and then looks for Suzanne so she is making the connection! She crawls like a speed demon for the dog water dish or food dish and then dazzles you with her chubby smiles before you can get the word "no" out of your mouth! Suz has started putting two little pigtails on the top of her head ans I swear she looks more like an elf than ever.... cute beyond description! She even has her own facebook account now with more friends than I have... I think that says something but don't' really want to take to close a look at that. We are hopelessly behind on her purple bunny monthly pictures. We took them I just haven't posted them!

Becca is still loving her new apartment although the lovely skunk spray odor from Blu has been a pain in the behind! Last week he decided that skunks were fun to bark at....until he got hit right between the eyes! The house is smelling better but Blu does have a distinct lingering odor about him. Oh yes... best stuff on the market for skunk smell removal is BON-CC-41, available only online and a bit pricey but works the best so far! It's much less expensive than throwing away all of Becca's clothing and bed linens that had a light spray of wet skunk oil that blu shook off in her room after the first bath with only shampoo!

Justin is off to work out of town for the next 3 weeks... between school, moving and single parenting Suzy will be tired for sure! Hopefully he will be back in time to help load the truck.

I'm happy to be home this craziness is what I know and love....

News from DownUnder part 1

2009-01-19T15:28:00.000-08:00

Day 1 to 4 – 1/14 to 1/18 US calendar

Time Flies when you are having fun or traveling like a mad person. Phone services and internet access has been amazingly difficult to get. The hotel didn’t have access that was reliable and then we have been so busy running from place to place I haven’t had time to sit long enough to write and the other thing is time is really off for me. Sacramento is 3 hours ahead of here but one day behind….. so

The flight from Sacramento to LA was smooth from check in at the curb to landing in LA. Of course meeting up with my family is when the crazy begins.

After being picked up by my sister & dad, we waited around for a bit until my brother Ron arrived from Ohio, we headed off to do a “girls nail thing” with mom and Ron went to spend quality time with dad pulling pork or some such thing. It was nice to be pampered as my nails were looking a bit scruffy at that point. Dinner was some very yummy Carne Asada that Flora my SIL made…. Then it was a mad dash as my mom was still packing at 7pm…. Just 30 minutes before we were to be at the check in.

Tom Bradley (international) terminal at LAX is a mess. They are in the middle of a remodel and the lines were terrible. We had to stand in 4 different liens just to check in our luggage completely. Crazy… but lines seemed to be the order of the day! The flight to Fiji was warm…even for me who is cold all the time! The space was cramped and sleep escaped me for the majority of the 10 hours we were on the plane. Arrival in Fiji wasn’t much better than LAX, fortunately that seems to be the end of the gripe session I’ve been having so far. Our landing was one of the best I’ve ever experienced especially given the weather conditions…. Very windy!

Arrival into New Zealand was very nice, the weather was perfect not hot or cold, bit windy but still very comfortable. We found a cab with a huge trailer to take us to our hotel, all 14 bags! Check in was easy and we had a very lovely 3 bedroom apartment.

In Auckland we took the bus tour around the island the first day and then went back to get some sleep. Auckland was a very clean city and not crowded or gross. Very few homeless and people were very polite. We had a few meals, did a ton of walking and on our last night in port had Thai food that was excellent. On the bus ride to find the restaurant my brother asked the driver ot tell us when it was our stop. The driver replied it will be extra so Richard said “my mom will give you a kiss” The driver agreed and then flirted with my mom…flirted…amazing. When we made it to our stop mom went to give the driver a kiss in the cheek and he turned is head for a full lip lock! We were rolling in laughter….

My brothers did that bungee cage thing were you sit in it and it flings you in the air…. I took a video from our hotel room window…..

The next day we boarded the ship and I was running on fumes for energy. We figured out rooms, went to dinner which was average and then I fell asleep on the couch in our room. Nothing exciting at all happened.

I woke up this morning (Monday 1/19 in NZ & Sunday 1/18 in Sac) and things were very quiet. I laid in the dark because Mom & Pam were still sleeping. It was 4:30 in the morning and nothing on the ship was open. We pulled in early 7am to our first port Tauranga, NZ and on the dock we found a wonderful lady tour guide. She took us on a private tour to a city called waimoto.

Our first stop was the GloWorm caves, these are worms in a black limestone cave that glow in the dark. It was very interesting. We then stopped to at a place called the shear shack where they raise and shear angora rabbits…. Very cool place. They put the rabbits on what can only be described as the equivalent of a medieval torture stretch rack! But this rabbit was so calm the whole time and seemed to almost fall asleep during his haircut. Angora wool is so soft and fluffy, when shaved we got to pet the rabbit and it was like the softest of down….. Our last stop of the day was a show that did the history of sheep farming and shearing and a sheep dog exhibition… I liked this one but wished the dog part had been longer…. It’s incredible how well trained they are and everything is done on 5 whistle commands. The dog left the stage, went out into a field rounded up 5 sheep and a ram brought them inside a barn and onto the stage… then kept them there and they were calm….. I got to pet the dog and felt brilliant when the commands they used to control them…. Like “leave it” are the same commands I use with Jack….. if only he were so well trained.

Another time I will tell you about our table mates…. From the upper east coast…. It’s made for some interesting dinner conversation.

The even closed with a swim in the Hydro-pool. This is a salt water pool that runs about the same temp as a nice hot bath and has a huge jet system…. It’s the same size as a regular back yard pool…. After a soak in the pool and a shower, I’m jotting down my travels so far and thinking that one more early night to bed may just get me caught up in the sleep department! Slowing down finally has also made me realize how much I miss everyone at home. Hopefully Oscar has either mooched a few meals from family and friends or eating some of the ones I left in the freezer for him. I haven’t heard from Justin and hope his wisdom teeth extraction went well…..

Tomorrow is a sea day so I’ll check in with you all then.

Hugs from the sea!

Checking in....

2009-01-19T11:56:00.000-08:00

Sorry folks there's not much on this post.

I got here safely and wrote a very nice updating post on my laptop that now needs to be copied over.... trying to save minutes as access is super expensive.

will post later tonight with some fun stories so far!

love to all

T-Minus.... can counting

2008-12-30T06:08:00.001-08:00

There are two countdowns going on in our family right now......

The first is Jonathan's deployment for a 9 month tour on the USS Comstock. He has only 11 days left until the ship pulls out. I'm going to miss him being close by in San Diego but what an opportunity to go on a world tour. There's a slim chance we may be in Australia at the same time late January. Jonathan and I have been planning an email contact system so he can keep me updated on all the cool places he visits.

Australia is the second countdown, It's hard to believe that after almost 18 months of planning and waiting my trip is a mere 17 days away! I've been reading up on shore excursions and in Wellington, NZ there's one that is all the local foodie hot spots. The tour is centered on visiting gourmet food shops, wine tastings, cheese and fruit growers and tastings and a 5 star restaurant.... I'm so taking my fat jeans on this cruise! This morning it was a lovely 88 degrees in Melbourne, time to go dig out my summer clothes and get to packing!

Christmas Happenings

2008-12-29T04:36:00.001-08:00

Our holiday season has definitely been Merry & Bright!

Jonathan made it home for Christmas so we were very thankful for that. We were able to be part of Winter's first Christmas, which was a joy and blessing.

We spent Christmas Eve with Joe and his family in Woodland, Debe (Joe's step-mom) made a really nice meal and everyone had a great time. There were a ton of presents passed around and I received a killer pair of black boots.... Santa Debe was very generous this year!

Christmas morning started off early as usual, most of us up and about for stockings at 6am but Suz & Justin refused to wake up so we stole Winter and she played with Becca for a while. Around 7am everyone, except Joe and I, drifted back to sleep until 9am then the present opening started in earnest! Winter was the star of the show, she mostly just looked at the gifts and spent time pounding on the boxes... her new favorite past-time. Since she has started crawling and is able to pull herself up on tables & furniture, she spent a lot of time going to whoever was opening the latest gift and checking to see if it fit in her mouth!

After presents we had a yummy breakfast of french toast and sausage made by Justin & Suz then we all hung out in our PJ's and played with our presents. In the afternoon we got dressed for our annual tradition of a movie, this makes 21 years straight that we have gone to a movie on Christmas Day.

Back from the movies we kicked into entertaining mode as Oscar whole family came to eat dinner and and enjoy the evening with us. We manage to squeeze 18 people in our tiny little living room/dining room area for a sit down meal, it was very nice to have the whole family gathered around the table.

By 10pm guests had departed, the kids had gone off to their own homes or to visit friends, the food was put away and dishes were done. Oscar and I experienced a first in our married life... alone time on Christmas Day. A glimpse of quieter times in future holidays, as our children grow and start families of their own. I thought I would be sad when these days arrived but happily it was nice to be able to spend a few alone hours with the love of my life on my favorite holiday of the year.........

Weekend Happenings

2008-12-22T06:19:00.000-08:00

Saturday was very busy day around our place. It started early when Oscar and I took advantage of the fact that we wake up at zero-dark-thirty everyday and hit the outlets for those final 3 gifts we were looking for, a cup of Starbucks and then back home before the crowds made it an unpleasant experience. Speaking of which, Becca works in retail and has had full exposure to "the crowds" and her only comment is that people are robbing her of her Christmas spirit...poor kid!

Oscar and the boys took Andrew for one final fun time before he left Saturday night to go-cart racing. Everyone had fun and as always Oscar was kicked off the course for aggressive driving! It happens every time he goes, my mild mannered husband turns into a speed demon on the course!

We spent the evening alone together at home and it was a nice respite from the crazy holiday party circuit we have been on for the last 10 days. Parties are fun but there's a lot to be said for snuggling up on the couch with your hubby and quietly watching a movie while the weather outside is frightful.

Sunday was a bit of busy as well, Becca moved into her own apartment yesterday. Funny how much I want them to go out on their own and yet when they do, there's a feeling of emptiness when I look into the bare room they occupied. I must have look in there 100 times the last 6 months in exasperation thinking my daughter is a slob but the sight of the very empty, clean room brought me little comfort last night.

We were excited to spend the evening with our little friend Molly. Mommy and Daddy were off to a Christmas party so Molly spent some time with us. We met some church friends for pizza then drove around our neighborhood looking at lights. Once we were home Molly played ball with Jack and Frankie the dogs for an hour.... throwing the ball for an hour! The dogs were in heaven because we get tired of the game after 10 minutes! Winter came home after that and the girls had fun playing together. Molly was coloring and Winter just kept laughing at her. A deep belly laugh every time she picked up a crayon, it was so cute. Molly has twins siblings on the way so it was good practice to keep Winter away from her crayons and to play with her.

It's always fun time at Auntie Paige's house so we broke a few rules including staying up past bedtime, ate in the living room and watch all kinds of cartoons. Shhhh don't tell mom and dad!

I frequently find lovely things on other peoples blogs that I like to share. This is a Christmas song I found this morning that really touched me.

December catch up

2008-12-20T07:22:00.001-08:00

December has been full of good stuff. Last night at the family party we got a great picture of Winter with her auntie Becca.... Becca always gets red-eye in her photo's I need to figure out how to fix this.

The weather here in Sacramento has been crazy cold at least for this born and bred southern California girl. It seems like we went from 80's to 40's over night. I don't remember a change this drastic in the past 7 years we have been here. Of course I think I say that every year! Because it' so cold I frequently find Jack & Blue dog snuggled together on Becca's bed. They know they aren't supposed to be there but seem to just blow me off these days, when I tell them to get down. Normally these two are mortal enemies with Jack being the grumpy old dog he is..... but with Shelby passing a year ago Jack seems to tolerate Blue much better these days. I think he will be doggie lonely when Becca moves out this weekend and takes Blue with her!

In early December Oscar surprised me with a weekend away in Napa. Between the holidays and career changes for both of us and the fact that our house has tons of people in it.... we needed a little time away. We stumbled upon the 15th Annual Lighted tractor parade in Calistoga and it was so much fun! It got cold once the sun went down but totally worth the freezing bums! I think this will become an annual tradition for us, we had such a good time. We stayed at a lovely little B&B that Oscar found. Our room had a huge tub (room for 3) and we took total advantage with 2 baths in 12 hours... it was heaven to relax! We did a round of cheese tastings and found that brie is lovely with a light crisp toast and fresh honeycomb.... YUM

Winter had her first illness the first week of December we are thinking it was roseola given her 103 to 104 temp for 3 days and then a fun rash. She spent days just laying around looking sad, many of these hours on Grandpa's chest while he watched TV and cuddled with her. We figured out what a happy baby she normally is when her smile disappeared for 3 days, it was wonderful to have it back! She also managed to get a regular cold which she has passed on to every member of the household.... little carrier monkey that she is! She is back to her normal smiling self despite the lingering nose and chest congestion.....

Our life group pictured above had a fun time on Thursday with our Christmas party and gift exchange. The most traded item of the evening was the Jesus action figure, finally secured by the van Riessen's for Molly...or so Amy's says... I think she secretly wanted it for herself!....lol The event had somewhat of a bitter sweet feeling as this was our last official gathering as the van Riessen Life Group. Pregnant with twins Garrett & Paige, Steve and Amy have decided to take a break from leading life group to focus on their rapidly expanding family. We are very supportive of this decision as a group but individually we all will miss their leadership every Thursday night along with the yummy dinner Amy provided for us. WE all shared what we learned in life group the past several years and there was a common thread among the shares.... that was the feelings of family, closeness and love that our life group felt with each other. That speaks volumes about the leadership Amy & Steve provided.

At evenings end, Jesus was left paired up with Cinderella as we all departed.

Final notes without pictures....

Jonathan came home a day early for leave and we are so glad he was able to be here. I've yet to have a Christmas without my children, I know now that they are all adults, some in the military and others with children of their own these holidays will change in the years to come but for now I'm thankful to get at least one more year together!

Thanks to the little carrier monkey, everyone in the household is fighting a cold but we are winning the battle with lots of Theraflu and Vicks vapor rub.... amazing stuff really.

Just 5 more days until Santa comes....... and I only need two more presents! Then I'm hoping the wrapping fairy will come...man I hate wrapping gifts!

Meet Andrew...

2008-12-20T05:55:00.000-08:00

This past week has been an exciting time in our extended family. Our nephew Andrew came to visit for the frist time ever here in northern california. It's actually been years since we spent more than an hour over breakfast during a quick visit to Redondo Beach with him. In fact last night when we got the family together we realized it's the first time since July 2001 that all 8 of the Jarquin grandchildren were together at the same time!

I dont' have a digital picture of the last time but here is something to see........

This photo is a little older than 2001, it was taken before the last 4 grandchildren were born. The kids were all under the age of 10 here.

This is the newest photo... it' lacks Amy's photo quality but what a great picture of all the kids. Back Row: Justin, Andrew (tall one in very back), Alejandro, Jonathan, Esteban. Front row: Kaytlynn, Becca & Breanna.

The Lord has been faithful in providing a great week for all the Jarquin family!

Recap to catch up!

2008-12-18T08:19:00.000-08:00

Since I've been off of work I have been a very bad blogger.... Who knew how much I had to do when not working!

For halloween we spent some time at the Greenhouse Harvest festival... Winter just liked the pumpkins!

The big deal in Novemeber was our trip to LA for my Dad's surprise 75th birthday. The weekend focused on doing things from our childhood with dad. So on Thursday night we showed up at his house at 10:30pm and went to a local 24 hour resturant called Norms. He used to work two jobs when we were littel kids on and Fridays he got off late and took us to Norm;s at 11pm for fries and a coke... it was fun Coffee at dad's favorite coffee meeting place on Friday. Friday evening we all went to a football game at Redondo Union High... the alma mater for all 5 of us Young children and 3 of the in-laws. The announcer gave a yell to dad for his birthday during half time...very cool!

Then we went fishing... my brothers have not stopped being obnoxious older brothers.... still... at 50 years old they are still mean to the baby... that would be me!....lol

The big part of the weekend was a late lunch at Cheesecake factory with dad's friends on Saturday. He was so happy... it was very cool. Sunday drew the festivites to and end with brnuch at my brother Richards house and dad's gift. Oscar spent many hours satruday night putting all the photo's from 5 different cameras on a digital frame. My hubby rocks! Now dad has a lastign memory of all our events

Some f the girls from the family L to R Paige, Suz, Becca, Winter, Sam - my niece, Flora her mom, Erika - the newest member of the family. She is engaged to Sam's older brother Richard.

The Young Family Pam, Butch, Dad, Paige, Ron and Richard. This is fishing on the REdondo peir. I hate touching dead fish!

Winter Elizabeth gettign into the RUHS tradition. The kids may have to move bakc to LA just so we can have another RUHS graduate and keep the tradition alive!

This is my big brother Butch... He's the oldest and I'm the youngest. I love my big brother!

Winter with her 6 month purple bunny picture. I've been very re-miss in getting these photo's online. Bad Yis-Yia.

Sorry I've been so bad about this posting thing......

New shopping place

2008-11-25T05:54:00.000-08:00

I love a good bargain..... This website I found has some very cool stuff. It only offers one bargain at a time and changes frequently. Go check it out!

http://www.mamabargains.com/

GO VOTE

2008-11-03T19:09:00.000-08:00

The woman's suffrage movement was one primarily run by working-class women. These women were frustrated by their social and economic situation and sought for an outlet through which to initiate change. Suffragettes carried out direct action such as chaining themselves to railings, setting fire to mailbox contents, smashing windows and on occasions setting off bombs. One suffragette, Emily Davison, died after she stepped out in front of the King's horse, Anmer, at the Epsom Derby of 1913. Many of her fellow suffragettes were imprisoned and went on hunger strikes, during which they were restrained and forcibly fed and had reached the height of their campaign by 1912.

What started in the United Kindom came to our shores in 1869 when Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton started National Women's Suffrage Association (NWSA), an organization dedicated to gaining women's suffrage. Anthony was vice-president-at-large of the NWSA from the date of its organization until 1892, when she became president. The Nineteenth Amendment was the culmination of the work of many activists in favor of women's suffrage. It was specifically intended to extend suffrage to women. It was proposed on June 4, 1919 and ratified on August 18, 1920.

A women's right to vote is a hard won victory by many that have come before us, so take advantage and go vote today!

Just for enjoyment.......

Gas prices a droppin...

2008-10-31T09:10:00.001-07:00

Today best gas price is $2.39 a gallon at Costco on Expo.... Can you believe it?

Christmas Music

2008-10-28T14:55:00.000-07:00

I love Christmas music, all kinds of Chirstmas music! I had an old CD called Twisted Christmas by Bob Rivers.... lost it..Boo. Found a bunch of them on youtube last night and this is one of my favorites!

Thumbprint poem

2008-10-21T09:50:00.000-07:00

Thumb Print

Your thumb print
Embedded on my soul
My heart in your hands
Your hands, a hole

Branded in love
By the sword in your side
Never trying again
From you to hide

The blood from the thorns
Placed upon your brow
I come to you, Lord
And humbly bow

Your hands reach down
Gathering up my soul
Leaving a thumb print
That will make me whole

Lifting me up gently
From my knees
In the palm of your hand
You now place me

You lovingly caress
Whispering away the pain
Bound up in your love
Peace and joy I gain.

Macaroni & cheese Recipe #2

2008-10-07T08:01:00.000-07:00

This is called Ultimate Macaroni and cheese and it's a copycat recipe from an Atlanta Georgia resturant called The Horseradish Grill. It was good, I uppped the cayenne to 1/4 tsp and used heavy whipping cream and fat free 1/2 & 1/2... hey it's what I had in the frig.

There was 3 Yummy's, 1 didn't like the texture and 3 it's good but no the best. Doesn't reheat well but when fresh out of the oven it's very smooth and creamy.

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups small elbow macaroni
1 1/4 cups extra-sharp cheddar cheese, cubed (5 oz.)
2 2/3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/3 cups half-and-half
1 1/3 cups whipping cream
2/3 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 1/4 cups packed extra-sharp cheddar cheese (5 oz. grated)
Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350. Lightly butter 9x13x2 inch glass baking dish. Cook macaroni in boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain and transfer to prepared dish. Mix in cubed cheese.
2 Whisk flour, salt, mustard, black pepper, cayenne pepper and nutmeg in medium bowl until no lumps remain. Gradually whisk in half and half, then whipping cream and sour cream. Add eggs and Worcestershire sauce; whisk to blend. Pour over macaroni mixture and stir to blend. Sprinkle grated cheese over.
3 Bake macaroni and cheese until just set around the edges but sauce is still liquid in center about 25 minutes. REmove from oven and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

The Jarquin World - in print

2008-10-06T21:45:00.001-07:00

From our picture taking in the park.... Amy is a genius!

Our beautiful Becca and Joe

Justin, Suzanne and Winter

Hansom men don't you agree?

The two that started it all!

From left to right..... Oscar, Paige, Justin, Suzanne, Joe, Becca, Jonathan and front center is Miss Winter Elizabeth

Weekend highlights.....

2008-10-06T15:30:00.000-07:00

In the Jarquin World we have been enjoying some good old fashioned family time.

Friday - Jonathan arrived late, like close to 10pm that's late for us old folks! Justin picked him up at the airport with the baby so Jonathan could get his first peek at his new niece! He thinks she's beautiful of course.....lol. It was great to have my baby home, we visited for a couple hours and then it was off to bed for us and out to visit friends for Jonathan. Always nervous when they are home from the military and take our cars out!

Saturday - We started the day at 4am, Jonathan just coming home from his friends and me not able to sleep. We enjoyed a cup of coffee on the front porch together and caught up on life stuff. It's hard to believe that my baby is just weeks away from his 21st birthday. That he is in the Navy, serving his country, it's like he's a grown up or something? Crazy! We still had normal life stuff to accomplish so Jonathan caught up on his sleep while Justin went to class. We went to visit Becca at work since she didn't' see him on Friday night. Oscar's parents came by to spend the afternoon, the boys went off to the movies and the girls went shopping. Dinner was very nice, his favorite of Ham, a new mac and cheese recipe and steamed broccoli. I'm on the hint for that great homemade macaroni and cheese recipe..... tried two so far and they were both good but not wicked good, so the search is still on.

Sunday - Was truly our best day so far. Everyone stayed home Sunday morning, so there was a lot of bodies laying around watching movies, eating breakfast, napping, drinking coffee. Mostly it was just wonderful to watch my 3 kids be siblings together, like they were before the teen years. They laughed at private jokes... kind of like they actually "liked" each other again! We took the dogs to the park for exercise, went shopping to get some outfits for family pics, met Amy my photographer friend at Land Park for photo's. Then it was off to Marie Calendars for dinner and our final stop was Laughs Unlimited in Old Sac.

We have two days left until he heads back and life is back to the usual work and stuff but I have to say it's wonderful to have all my babies back under my roof for a few days!

Pictures to follow when I find my cord to download them.....!

Oscar had a Birthday

2008-10-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

Another year, another candle! Oscar turned 44 this year and we celebrated with dinner at our place... a few extended family showed up. Oscar's mom's birthday is just one day before him so they shared a the celebration.

The birthday boy and his mom Eugenia.

Can you belive all 18 of these people actually fit in my house! This is mostly Oscar's family with Scott and Alex (joe's dad and brother) thrown into the mix. Jonathan wasn't there and Deb was taking the pictures....

Happy Birthday my wonderful husband!

Jonathan is coming home

2008-10-01T10:56:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it... he got his leave approved and will arrive either late Friday night or first thing Saturday morning... I"m going to see my boy... I'm excited! He hasn't been home since the kids wedding last December and at that time we didn't even get to visit... it was non-stop wedding stuff for the entire 7 days he was here.

I can't wait to cook all his favorite foods! Whoo-Who mom is doing a happy dance!

Life is moving fast...

2008-09-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

It's been many moons since I have posted regularly so here are the highlights.....

Here are the highlights:

Spent two weeks working Sausalito. Sitting at my desk and watching the boats come in & out of the harbor all day was so distracting...sigh! I found that I only love hotels when I'm on vacation, otherwise they are just a drag.
Made a new friend at the home office, Mr. Meza is pretty darn cool! Also got to spend time with my friend Cathy that lives close by... that was great.
Learned a lot and it was a good two weeks to give me some space to decide if my career had me staying with my current company or moving on. There's a plan in place now, I feel good about that... yeah it's gonna be okay.
Oscar did an awesome job hosting the love and respect class in our home on Tuesday nights without me... I'm super proud of him for doing that!
Now that I'm home Oscar has scooted off for a conference in some far away state and is gone until Thursday......
Oscar had a birthday and the whole family came for dinner on Saturday night. Who would have every thought I could fit 17 people semi-comfortable in my living room!
Oh Yeah.... I moved the furniture around...shocking but true! It looks great as I swapped the living room / dining room!
Church this Sunday was nice but it was sad to see so few people in the chairs.... pray for Sanctuary we need a pastor and some wind back in our sails!
Winter is laughing... it only happens once in a while but I love it! her eyes twinkle when she smiles... I still think she will make the cutest christmas elf!
Becca is doing so awesome in school this semester...truly excited about how hard she is working at graduating.
I had so much fun cooking this weekend. I love it. New turkey recipe coming this week.

I think that's it... the high points anyway...

History Lesson......

2008-09-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

For those that don't know about history ... Here is a condensed version:

Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.

The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups: 1. Liberals, and 2. Conservatives.

Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.

Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative movement. Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing the sewing, fetching, and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement.

Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as girlie-men. Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy, group hugs, and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that conservatives provided. Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass.

Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare. Another interesting evolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't fair to make the pitcher also bat.

Conservatives drink domestic beer, mostly Bud. They eat red meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, athletes, members of the military, airline pilots and generally anyone who works productively. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to work for a living.

Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to govern the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America . They crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a business of trying to get more for nothing.

Here ends today's lesson in world history:
It should be noted that a Liberal may have a momentary urge to angrily respond to the above before forwarding it. A Conservative will simply laugh and be so convinced of the absolute truth of this history that it will be forwarded immediately to other true believers and to more liberals just to tick them off.

Winter 4 months old

2008-09-29T13:14:00.000-07:00

Better late than never!

Winter at 4 months with her purple bunny! Hand in mouth is her favorite thing right now. She has hit that fun stage where everything goes in her mouth.

She is using all different level of vocals now.... and last night when she was in her new excer-saucer from Auntie Carmen, she was laughing at all the toys.... There is so much going on with the toys on those things I thought for sure she would go into stimulation overload but she was just loving it. Her attention span has increased, which means it's now longer than a gnat's.... we are getting to the fun part of being around littel babies!

I was working out of town the last two weeks, I would talk to Oscar on the cell phone when he was holding her. He said she would hear my voice and look all over the room for me. She just couldn't grasp the fact that she could hear but not see me.

Perfectly Moist boiled chicken

2008-09-20T19:58:00.000-07:00

I use a lot of cooked chicken in meals.... everything from chicken salad for Becca to a killer Zucchini casserole to use up all the stuff I grow during the summer! I was buying those roasted chicken for the last couple of years because I could never get my boiled chicken breast to come out moist enough....

I have found the perfect method to get moist chicken breast from boiling.

Use fresh or frozen breast meat but if using frozen make sure it is completely thawed. Fill a pot with just enough chicken broth so it will cover the meat by one inch. Bring the broth to a boil and add the chicken and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook for 10 minutes. When 10 minutes have passed, put a secure fitting lid on the pot and remove from the heat.

I let it sit in the pot for about 30 minutes with the heat off. Use a thermometer to check the internal temp make sure it has reached 160. If ti's still not there, i turn the heat back on just till it starts to boil and then off again with the lid on. That time I check it after 5 minutes..

This is the only method I've used that gets the best results especially with previously frozen chicken breast.

To Amy Van... it's your birthday

2008-09-11T13:33:00.001-07:00

Today is Amy's birthday .... to you my friend.... may today be everything you want it to be.... but with Cake on top!

See I didn't tell everyone how old you are!

The 80's

2008-09-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

I'd like to say I remember the 80's but mostly I was pregnant,giving birth or rasiing little ones for most part. So when some friends had a Totally 80's birthday party I was excited. I have to say I think I looked better now then I did in the 80's because I NEVER dressed liek this back then!

Becca just kept shaking her head and using that snarky humor she got from her mother!

Ever peel a hard boiled egg?

2008-09-08T17:02:00.000-07:00

My sister is a whiz in the kitchen... she shared this with us this morning via email...

You don't have to be a Sous Chef to appreciate this video tip that really does work. Instead of the slow boil the video suggests, see my tip for cooking the eggs. Removing from the heat helps prevent the green sulfur ring.

Cover eggs with 1-1/2" cold water and 1 t baking soda. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Once it boils, cover and remove from heat for 15 minutes. After about 5 minutes of standing in the hot water, uncover, gently stir the eggs, recover. This helps reposition the yolks. After 15 minutes, drain and immediately cover with cold water. Then onto the peeling tip. Be sure to make the holes big enough - you'll see what I mean.

Here it is folks..... oh yeah he says a bad word... there should be a low level profanity label for this, cuz Paige Never says bad words.... laughing at myself...

Hey just a thought... this will work with my tip on deviled eggs.... I'm a genius

Quicky Labor Day Video

2008-09-03T17:10:00.000-07:00

We went to Kevin and Linda's place on Sat for a BBQ and they have a donkey! This is a video of Winter. More details later but she sure is cute!

More details and pics from the weekend later!

Missing a good friend already

2008-08-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

Today is a sad day for me. I have a good friend at my company, we'll just call her Miss C., today is her last day and I'm going to miss her terribly. Granted she is going on to something bigger and better, an advance in her career that is amazing and which she totally deserves but.....

I'm still here and she makes my time at the office bearable when things get un-bearable. It's not like I'll never see her or talk to her again but it will be different somehow.....Mostly because she isn't in the thick of it anymore, she is done dealing with all the things about this place that drove both of us crazy on a consistant basis.

Have you ever had a person in your life that is just good, honorable, beautiful inside and out? Miss C is all those things and occasional more. She is my best snarky pal, we just have fun together.

I'm not a fem-nazi by any measure but I sincerely hold the belief that women are the core to our society, we are what makes the world go'round, in a way that isn't easily put into pretty words. Helen Reddy did a great job however in her song "I am woman"...

Miss C is this song..... She leads and teachs in action, not just words. She is an amazing single mom with a daughter that is not surprisingly one of the best teenagers I've ever had the pleasure to know. She believes in people and has a true desire to see them succeed.

This is Miss C holding her flowers esnt by a friend on her last day...she will be greatly missed!

At least now we have an excuse to get together more often.....

Winter at 3 months

2008-08-27T05:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is a late one.... Where does the time go? Oh yes I worked for 13 straight days, that's where it went!

Back to the matter at hand... our beautiful granddaughter is a month older.... Babies are like Chia pets.... give them a little fluid and they just grow at an amazing rate!

It was hard to get a still photo this month because she is very committed to putting her hands in her mouth every moment she is awake. The problem being she hasn't figured out that her hands can go UP to her mouth and prefers the method of taking her mouth DOWN to her hands which usually hang out in the middle of her chest.... makes for great shots of the top of her curly little head!

It happens so fast

2008-08-14T14:46:00.000-07:00

they just grow up before your eyes! I thought this was a cutie picture....

Did you know.....

2008-08-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

I love superfluous information......... so here are asome fun facts for you!

Pac-Man, Namco's 1979 arcade game, was originally called "Puck Man". The name was changed when they realized that vandals could easily scratch out part of the letter "P".
Don Mac Lean's song "American Pie" was written about Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper), who all died in the same plane crash.
Dolphins can look in different directions with each eye. They can sleep with one eye open.
God is not mentioned once in the book of Esther.
In 1863, Paul Hubert of Bordeaux, France, was sentenced to life in jail for murder. After 21 years, it was discovered that he was convicted of murdering himself.
Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.

And for the bonus point....Does anyone know that past tense for the word "dare'... try before you google it!

Happy reading

Chicago Mom's Blog - Saving a marriage

2008-08-12T11:42:00.001-07:00

I was surfing the blogs and came across a great post titled "How to Save your Marriage"

http://svmomblog.typepad.com/nyc_moms/2008/08/how-to-save-you.html

It's a great read with some excellent advice. While I don't agree with everything the author says.... there's some real jewels of information that apply to the everyday workings of a relationship..... Enjoy!

Church of Oprah?.... She's full of Poo!

2008-08-12T08:21:00.000-07:00

I found this youtube video rather distrubing. I've never been overly fond of Oprah but this video really tops it off for me....

San Diego Day 1 -Visting Jonathan

2008-08-10T07:10:00.000-07:00

Oscar and I have been very excited about this weekend because we are in San Diego visiting with our youngest son Jonathan, who is stationed on the USS Comstock LSD 45, at this link you can read a little about the ship http://www.comstock.navy.mil/site%20pages/history.aspx

We have had a great time so far. After breakfast we took a cab into base, we couldn't get a pass for the car it's a long story, and took a tour of his ship.

I haven't figured out how to add captions on the slide show so you know what everything is but here are the highlights!
Oscar and Jonathan with the ship in the back... it's a big ship!
There are pics of the hold where they store the L-CAC's and huge yellow forklifts that are rated over 6000lbs.
The bunks where they sleep, with Oscar standing next to it so you can appreciate just who small the space is! Also theres one with white straps... they put those up so you don't fall out of the rack whiel sleeping.
The galley where they feed all 400+ personnel (sometimes 800 when the Marines are on board), 3 times a day and they are less then 100 seats!
On the main upper deck... I forget the real term, Jonathan and I posed under the ship crest.
The motorcycles in the hold belong to the CO & XO... very cool!
You can see the cavernous hold from a few different angles and decks on the ship. Along with the massive cranes... it's was very interesting.
There was a station to sign in, there's a pic of Oscar & Jonathan doing that.

We also got to see where he actually works everyday but because of it's classified nature, I wasn't allowed to take any pics in there. We met a few of his friends on ship and co-worker Tinga.

Mostly it is just nice to spend time with my son...... I miss him a ton!

Today we are off to Sea World... more on that tomorrow.

Farmer Joe's Corn

2008-08-08T21:28:00.000-07:00

The corn is ready to harvest after a long wait. Joe planted these lovelies as seeds and has diligently watered and cared for them all summer long... his first crop! He even named a few of the plants. The big bummer was when the water was left running for a few hours one evening by accident and over half the stalks fell over. So at 9pm, with one small flashlight Becca, Joe and I set about saving them. With some twine...okay a lot of twine and ingenuity we got them set straight again!

The corn is so sweet.... now what to do with 37 ears of corn all ready to pick the same week?

Winter video

2008-08-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

New camera for my birthday so I thought I'd try it out the video feature on Winter. She had lots to say and I obviously needs lots of practice centering and holding it steady!

Hard to believe she is almost 3 months old already.....

Blog game

2008-08-07T05:42:00.000-07:00

Normally I get these types of things in emails but instead I found it on a blog.... it seemed to be a fun game.... Copy and paste the questions and answer on your blog. Then leave me a comment and let me know where I can read your responses. Invite others if you’d like!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 4:32am - Yes it's a stupid hour to be awake!
2. Diamonds or pearl ? Diamonds of course
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Mummy - ummm good but busy with the graphics.
4. What is your favorite TV show? I have many... Grey Anatomy, Closer, Saving Grace, Boston legal to name a few
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Coffee w/ chocolate Unjury, banana & egg w/ cheese but this takes me about an hour to eat.
6. What is your middle name? Allison
7. What food do you dislike? raw onions and raw fish.
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? CD? I make my own of songs Oscar has on the computer
9. What kind of car do you drive? the land yacht - Suburban
10. Favorite sandwich? Grilled PB&J
11. What characteristic do you despise? Snotty
12. Favorite item of clothing? A new long denim dress
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Australia Oh wait I am going there!
14. Where would you retire to? Costa Rica most likely
15. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Turning 40 last year Pizza & beer with friends.
16. Furthest place you are sending this? Good Question! I'm guessing Australia since I know a friend there reads this blog.
17. Person you expect to send it back first? Probably no one... who else has an hour with nothing ot do but me!
18. When is your birthday? Jul 31st
19. Morning person or a night person? Morning..did you see my answer in #1?
20. What is your shoe size? 7.5 to 8
21. Pets? Of my own, just jack the dog...but we have 2 guests dogs for now.
22. Any exciting news you’d like to share with us? Nothing.... seriously nothing.....
23. What did you want to be when you were little? a Truck driver.. I know it's weird to many episodes of BJ and the Bear.
24. How are you today? ok, I guess.Darn pain in my side is bothersome as usual
25. What is your favorite flower? Don't have just one.... I like spring bouquets.
26. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to seeing? Whatever the next holiday is that I get to have off work!
27. What are you listening to right now? The garbage truck as it rolls down the street and Winter crying downstairs.
28. What was the last thing you ate? Raisin toast with peanut butter at bedtime.
29. Do you wish on stars? Nope
30. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Red
31. How is the weather right now? Sunny and warm
32. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Becca
33. Favorite soft drink? No soda for me thanks....
34. Favorite restaurant? I wish I could find a new Chinese place I loved.....
35. Favorite color? I like all kinds of colors but I'm partial to pink/purple/red in clothing.
36. What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbies... I loved Barbies.
37. Summer or winter? Winter
38. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate any day of the week!
39. Coffee or tea? Coffee
40. Do you want your friends to email you back? Yes!
41. When was the last time you cried? Monday at work out of sheer frustration with my boss.
42. What is under your bed? Shoes and storage of winter clothes.
43. What did you do last night? Picked up friends from the airport and played with Winter.
44. What are you afraid of? Death of one of my kids.
45. Salty or sweet? Sweet
46. How many keys on your key ring? 2 car & office
47. How many years at your current job? 18 months.
48. Favorite day of the week? Saturday - I get to lounge around the house and puts in the garden.
49. Do you make friends easily? friends - no, acquaintances- yes
50. How many people will you send this to? At least 5 people read my blog...lol
52. How many will respond? not sure… Let’s find out…. Leave a comment if you played along!

A break from Starbucks?

2008-08-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

It's hard to imagine but Starbucks is giving us a break on our afternoon caffeine fix!

You can read teh details here http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,397624,00.html

To sum it up.... if you go in after 2pm AND take your receipt for a morning purchase of coffee, then you get your afternoon iced drink for a whopping $2... this is exciting for me.... it means I can afford to have my fix twice a day...Whoo-hoo!

Snoozing......

2008-08-02T04:32:00.000-07:00

Remember that post about all the things I had to do this week... well yesterday afternoon I needed a break as did Winter, so "The Girls" took a nap. We both had a much better attitude when we woke up!

Oscar is doing okay.... he seemed better on Thursday than he was yesterday. There wasn't much pain while he was at the hospital but its been a bit bothersome since he got home. Overall, he is doing good, takes lots of 20 minute naps throughout the day.

My birthday on Thursday was very nice.... Oscar & Becca bought me a digital camera... point & shoot Kodak easy share... it's purple and super easy to use, I'm very excited about that! I've been dropping a ton of not so subtle hints for the last couple of months about wanting a digital camera! I also received two figures for my precious moment's collection... I love those things. And a toddy maker... I'm gonna do a whole post on that thing... it makes a killer cup of coffee! Winter brought me Starbucks and flowers at the office Thursday.... We ended up at Sushi Cafe for dinner one of my fav restaurants... they have the best Miso in Sacramento. It was a fun & quiet celebration of my 41 years on this earth. On Sunday, I'll figure out how to download pics from my camera so you can see the celebration!

This weekend will see the end of the moving.... finally! Just a need to get everything out of boxes now!?! Everyone has been putting in some long days to get this accomplished, so I'm glad the hard part is over! The upside is we see a lot of Winter because the best help we can give Suz & Justin is to entertain her while they move stuff.

Gearing up for baby shower now. I did some prep work yesterday while Oscar napped and the orzo pasta salad was a disaster! I'm one of those cooks that does a pinch of this, snip of that... "Oh I wonder how that will taste in here".... the answer to the last thought... not good! I used a raspberry walnut vinaigrette on it.... Yuck. I ended up tossing the whole thing! It doesn't happen often but when I make a bad call on an ingredient it's a doozy!

Oscar is a free man!

2008-07-31T10:33:00.000-07:00

They gave him the nod this morning to come home. He is definitely feeling better because he is complaining about the hospital and his 3 roommates and being bored.... He says very little pain, mostly just sore. His appetite is good, which is wonderful.

Now the challenge is to keep him from over-doing it the next few days!

Oscar is Finished!

2008-07-30T12:35:00.000-07:00

UPDATE @ 4pm: Oscar is in his new room. It's the Truama Nursing unit room 1039 Bed 1. Said he feels okay but is very tired and ready to sleep! I'm going to stop by for a few minutes on my wya home and then let the poor guy get some rest.

I couldn't stand the suspense so I headed to the hospital around 7am.

They took him in right at 7:30 and he was done at 10:15ish.... it was longer than expected because once inside they found he still had a slightly inflamed appendix and residual gunk from the rupture last month. They were able to do everything LAP so that is awesome news!

He is still in recovery until between 5 & 7 tonight and then they will send him to a room. The doctor said that as long as there's no fever and he can keep down solids tomorrow morning he can go home!

They let me go in for about 15 minutes... he looks great. Seriously, he has good color, is breathing well and has some pain and nausea but it's minimal... he looks so much better than when he had the rupture. He made a few jokes, wanted a few kisses and then I left so Becca could come in to see him.

We decided to go home and back to work because they won't let us stay in there with him for more than a few minutes at a time....

Side Note: the waiting room for recovery is shared by the trauma ICU. There was a family there this morning of a young man named "Brandon". He is in an extreme critical condition and his family is devastated. There was so much grief and sorrow, you coudl feel it roll aroudn the room. I didn't ask for any details and only had the opportunity to pray with them for a few minutes but please take a moment now and ask God to protect this family.... they are hurting in a huge way.

Ready......

2008-07-30T05:58:00.001-07:00

I dropped him off at UCD this morning at 5:30am. Surgery is scheduled for 7:30am. Becca plans to arrive around 6:30 to sit with him until they take him in. She will call when that happens and then again as soon as the doctor comes out to say he is in recovery. Praying for a simple lap procedure, in & out!

Living it... We definately are doing that

2008-07-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

This is not a feel sorry for Paige, she is so busy post. Just a peek into my week... the title of my blog says it all... Jarquin world....Livin it!

Yesterday Becca finished off her stuff downstairs and is completely moved into the extra bedroom upstairs. She is being such a good sport about all the changes.... Giving up the apartment downstairs to Justin & Suz was a great help. She worked her butt off getting it move in ready! I'm really very proud of my girl.

Last night was completed with a trip to Urgent Care for my 4th bladder infection this year! Whoo-Hoo those are always so much fun. The upside is that the doc gave me a liquid antibiotic this time so maybe it won't take 2.5 rounds of Cipro to cure the infection. Having a gastric bypass belly means I don't absorb many medications well and liquid form of anything is much better so I'm really hopeful one round will get it! Stuff tastes gross... no wonder my kids never wanted to take their medicine when they were sick.

Today Oscar is officially off work for one week as tomorrow is the big surgery day. So far we haven't even heard what time the surgery is scheduled for, this is driving me crazy cuz how can I plan if I don't have details!?! He is helping Justin and Suz get the rest of their stuff over to the house. The move is going pretty good, except yesterday Oscar and Justin decided to move a piano by themselves.... crazy.

Becca plans to be at the hospital all day with Oscar tomorrow and will call me as soon as the surgery is done, so I can get there to see him in recovery. We've talked a lot about me being there and given that we don't even know what time the surgery is.... I'm going to work until he hits recovery.

Thursday I suspect will be very boring..... a lot of watching Oscar sleep and helping the kids get settled assuming everything goes well and they let him come home! We are definitely praying for that. Justin and Suz will spend the day with him. In the evening, I'll probably do some cooking for the the baby shower on Sunday. I'm super excited about that. I love cooking! Our good friend Marianne has offered to come play with Miss Winter while we are all working... I think I will take her up on that!

Friday I have the day off to take care of Oscar at home. Again probably lots of sleeping and/or video games.

Saturday is all baby shower prep! I'm so excited about this... Jennifer such a sweet lady and a good friend!

A bit on Miss Winter. She is getting so big, she had her first set of shots last week and apparently cried less than her mommy... She weighed in at 11.5 pounds but doesn't have a lot of fat on her. She is a very lanky kid, not from our side of the family for sure... that's all Donia. Her grandpa Rick and uncle John are both over 6' so it's not surprising that she will likely be a tall one. Last night I was singing a song to her and she started cooing back at me. It was so cute...this long soft sounds. Makes me smile to think of it.

That's it folks... the rest is all normal stuff. Please keep Oscar and his surgeon in your prayers tomorrow. Again I'll post as I know things but dont' be surprised if you hear nothing until evening.

Hugs all around!

Oscar Surgery Update

2008-07-25T04:56:00.000-07:00

Can I just say that I hate the UCD system... information doesn't seem to be a priority for them!

July 30th Oscar will have his appendix out. The doc told him they will go in lap and depending on what they find, he should be home in 24 hours. The concern is scarring on other organs from the massive infection he had when it ruptured. He has been nauseous fairly often since the rupture and they hope this will subside after they remove the damaged appendix.

Specific prayer requests..... For the surgical team, a minimum of scar tissue so they don't need to do an open incision and quick recovery.

We will keep you posted!

Winter 2 months July 15th

2008-07-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

People have the best ideas! This one I copied from Deanna the photographer. We are going to take a picture of Winter every month with her purple bunny so you can see her growth progress. The bunny was a gift from her Grandma Peggy who lives far away and doesn't get to see Winter as often as she would like. When Amy did her birth photo's we used it so I thought it would be a great way for everyone to see her growth progress and have a special tie to her Grandma Peggy.

She wasn't so sure about the whole bathing suit and boots thing.

Grandpa bought these boots on his trip to Houston

Where does the time go - Justin

2008-07-23T06:38:00.000-07:00

Justin turned 24 and we celebrated at home with a cake and gourmet pizzas.

I remember the day he was born 24 years ago... well most of the day because I was on huge amounts of drugs and slept a lot but that's a story for another time. I remember bringing him home and being so in love with this little creature. At 5lbs. 3oz. he was definitely "little"! In the last 24 years this baby has grown to be a good man. It's weird and amazing to write that.... man. He is one though because my first born child has a first born of his own and is very happily married.

Justin requested a pizza with caramelized onions, roasted chicken, goat cheese over a light spread of Alfredo sauce, all this on wheat crust for his pizza. There was also a veggies pizza with toppings from my garden and I made a chocolate cake that is normally wicked good but for some reason the cake itself didn't rise correctly so it was a little to dense for me.... still tasted great with fresh strawberries. The frosting is one of my favorites although it's definitely not diet food!

Presents are easy when your kid like fine alcohol.... One very large bottle of Grand Mariner that he cracked open and shared with everyone. It's really a very nice drink.

Happy birthday son....

Mrs. May's Trio bars

2008-07-19T17:41:00.000-07:00

Every once and a while I hit on a new product that I really like, this is one of those days. I sampled them at Costco a couple of weeks ago when I was shopping with Pam and Jean. I brought home a box of 20 and they lasted exactly one week. The kids didn't even have any!

http://www.mrsmays.com/index.php?main_page=index

The great thing about these is the sugar content, they are almost a prefect food for me. The upside is they have protein and less than half the normal sugar of almost every bar out there.... including the ones from Trader Joes.

Ingredients:Cashew, Almonds, Pistachios, Blueberries, Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Dates, Raisins, Rice Malt, Natural Flavors, Evaporated Cane Juice and Sea Salt.

Calories: 170 Sugar: 6 Protein: 5gr

I think if your kid likes nuts... they will love these things. There's an link on the website that shows where you can get them, right now Costco is the least expensive. Try Smart and Final, they usually have good prices. So far I've had the almond Crunch and all the trio bars... I'm going to try the Cashew Crunch next.....

Join Us at Lake Natomas

2008-07-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

Our church is having a family day at Lake Natomas.... it's described in the paragraph below. We just spent the day out there on 4th of July with my family and had a blast on the hydro-bikes! It great inexpensive fun so come on out and join us!

Email me directly if you feel like coming and I'll RSVP us as a group!

Sanctuary's Day at the Lake- Aug. 17th
Be invites the whole church body to join us for a day of fun, relaxation, and, of course...food! We will be heading out to the Sac State Aquatic Center on beautiful Lake Natoma. There we will be enjoying a day at the lake which will include swimming, use of the canoes, kayaks and paddle boats, volleyball and more. We will provide an amazing dinner for everyone as well. Last year this event was for women only, but we had so much fun...we decided to include everyone!!!
Date: Sunday, August 17th
Time: 4:00-7:00pm
Place: Sac State Aquatic Center, 1901 Hazel Ave., Gold River
Cost: $12 adults, $5 kids, (children 2 and under are free) (cost includes use of watercraft, swimming, dinner and more..)
What to bring: Swimsuit, towel, sunscreen, beach chairs... and a friend or two!

Questions- Contact Kristen Ewers 213-0868 or Laurie Kubicek 835-4724 or laurie@sanctuary-church.com

Camping Fun

2008-07-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

Roger and Nancy Ewers invited us to their annual family camping event at Russian Gulch near Fort Bragg. We had so much fun, everything about it was memorable but the best part by far was the company. Nancy and Roger were incredible hosts, conversations around the campfire, laughter, good food, cards games, lots of little kids to play with and Mexican train... what was not to love about the weekend!

Every trip has at least one memorable moment... ours was this.... Saturday morning Oscar and I were up sith the sun, well before the sun actually. I desperately wanted coffee but all we had with us was a small one burner stove thing a friend had loaned us. Never having used it before we stumbled around in the dark, finally got it lit and boom, white gas everywhere. Table cloth on fire, Oscar grabbed it and it kept burning. Into the dirt it went, while I dump the pot of water to stop the flames..... Attempt #2, yes I was that desperate for a cup of coffee, we got it to boil and when I went to grab the pot it spilled all over the table. Attempt #3, yes still that desperate, I finally got my french press full and had my coffee.
Side Note: Sunday morning we drove to town at 5am to find a Starbucks... no way in heck I was going through that again!

Roger and Nancy "The Host's with the Most"

Oscar and I on Saturday Morning after a little scenic hike

This is pretty much what I did all day Saturday

Kristen and I spent hours on the beach watching the kids.

Oscar with Roger and Charlie after breakfast on Sunday morning.

Never admit guilt

2008-07-16T11:39:00.001-07:00

I got a moving violation this morning it's been something like 10 years... this totally blows.

I'm driving to work and I get about 6 blocks from my house and there's flashing lights in my rearview mirror. First thought..."I'm not talking on my phone, why is he pulling me over?" Then comes the standard question... "Good morning Ma'am, do you know why I pulled you over?"

First why does he call me ma'am... that's for old people, I'm not old! I'm young and sassy! So Miss would have been way better! Second our police friend has always told us to not answer those questions just say "No, I have no idea" and to just take the ticket and fight it later... Come to find out he pulled me over for making a California rolling stop at a flashing red light.

I did stop this morning.... I DID! But I don't always completely stop though, so I'm thinking I'm due this ticket and shouldn't fight it. But that means traffic school...boo!

Cooking tip #2

2008-07-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

Bell peppers are in season folks and they seem to be on special in one of the store ads every week right now...so here's a little info!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking. There's also the sweeter varieties like red or yellow.

I've really starting liking bell peppers of all colors so I have learned to grill them. a couple of things make it super easy....

First heat your grill well, get the coals really going, then put the peppers on there and let the side that is touching the grill turn black and bubbly. Keep rotating them until all the sides and even the top and bottom are burned. Put them in a paper lunch sack and roll it closed for about 30 minutes. When you pull them out the burnt skin will just rub right off...

Once the skin is off, slice them open and remove the seeds and cartilage. I like mine in long strips. If you like the "grilled" look you can spray your grilled with a bit of Pam and put them back on but be careful they dry out quickly.

I serve these babies with a little salt sprinkled on them and just about any soft cheese or in salads or as a garnish for Chicken burgers or just eat them off the plate....

she's a super star

2008-07-14T09:00:00.001-07:00

The kids sent this to us this weekend as we headed out of town to go camping... more on that part of our week later.... She is just to cute!

Short cut cooking tip #1

2008-07-03T07:45:00.001-07:00

I like to find things that make cooking and cleanup much easier...

Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal,
mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of
ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing
thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture
into egg.
Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Our deviled egg recipe is handed down from my mom. There's no measurements because we always just eye-ball it but here's an quick list based on 12 eggs

Best foods mayo just enough to make the mixture moist but not to mushy because you add other liquids.
Lawry Salt, Garlic Salt & black pepper, just a dash otherwise they end up tasting like a salt lick!
Worcheshire Sauce, like 1/4 teaspoon.
Red wine vinegar, half a capful.
Yellow Mustard 1/2 tablespoon.

These go like hotcakes at family gatherings......

Justin & Winter

2008-07-03T07:40:00.001-07:00

Last weekend the kids took Winter on her first road trip... to Redondo Beach. Suzanne's dad was getting married on the beach and this is a picture of Justin and Winter at the wedding... I don't miss much about Southern California.. but the sunsets are beautiful!

A new look....

2008-07-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

Did you notice my new look? Pretty snazzy huh? I know you are all thinking "wow, Paige has developed some mad blog skills" but nope! My motto has long been "It's not what you know but who you know"...

In the side bar you will also notice a new link to "Headers by Calliope", she is the genius behind my blogs fabulous new look! She is fast, it took less than 24 hours to do it.

So shameless plug coming.... if you want to have a pretty header for your blog, all the cool kids are visiting Calliope.

Where the hell is Matt?

2008-06-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

I've been surfing blogs these days. It started on the Himmels blog through links and I've found a whole new universe. I'm learning new stuff about links, formatting, putting pics and videos... it's turned into a major education.

I found this video and had to share.

Not sure why but watching Matt and his travels caused me to get emotional. Not the welling up with tears maybe a little tightness in my throat but also a warm feeling and smile. I wonder if it's the thought of sharing something so silly and simple as a dance all over the world or if it reminds me that I want to see all those places and not sure if or when that will ever happen.

A longing for youth? Perhaps regret, for starting parenting at the ripe old age of 16and never having the opportunity to be a free young adult.

Then I think about my son serving his country on a ship off the Hawaiian coast, my daughter who's working her way through college, my married two taking off on this great adventure called parenthood and of course Winter... how can I for even a moment regret the awesome human beings that I brought into this world and who everyday, 20+ years later surprise and awe me at their incredible goodness?

Not regret for sure...

I hope this video makes you smile like it did for me.

Good Grief Charlie Brown

2008-06-27T14:50:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've bitched and complained about my health post-RNY. It's definitely not because I don't have anything to bitch about... in fact I have plenty. But since October 07 there's always something pending.... wedding, baby, summer vacations and this stretches out to my trip to Australia next January. I keep thinking, I'll just get through this next thing, then I deal with this health issue. "Dealing" means I need to find a surgeon that is willing to operate on me, making sure we have the finances to cover us in case it turns into another 11 month recovery and most importantly that I have the emotional wherewithal to handle another 11 month of puking. Right now the answer is no to all of thee above. Plus who really wants to put their family through all of that again...the first time was plenty ugly enough for a lifetime!

I'm ashamed to say that it's been a year plus since I had my blood work done and almost that long since I went to complain once again to my surgeon about the pain when I eat just under my left rib cage, the obnoxious and abnormal amount of gas, the ever present nausea...yes it still happens daily...and the hypoglycemia that I've been final able to control with diet. There's a few other fun things but I won't gross you out.

In self reflection I have to admit that I look pretty damn good right now and with some exercise I will stay that way. Does that make me shallow... willing to put up with a myriad of complications just because I look thin? I think it does...

Weekend travels....

2008-06-25T11:10:00.000-07:00

Oscar is Mr. Plan It and I'm more of a Fly-By-The-Seat-of-Your-Pants kinda gal. So when we sat around Thursday night thinking what would be great weekend fun, running off to LA seemed a little to spontaneous to him but his near brush with death is changing his attitude a bit so he gave his stamp of approval on my plans. It was that or the many hours of sitting and watching TV he had originally planned for the weekend just wasn't doing it for him! He is feeling much better...much better but is still a little low on energy so he figured the drive is still sitting but at least he will get to see family and friends.... which is exactly what we did!

It started Friday night with a stop at his best friend Mike's house. I always love stopping to see Mike, Margaret and Julia.... they are just fun people to be around. Margaret is an artist and seeing her stuff in progress is like a sneak preview of a genius at work. This weekend she showed me a huge piece she is doing on peonies. I realized that in 16 years of friendship I had 1 picture of us as a group, so I took a new one....this is the 4 of us at their place in Manhattan beach. I look sleepy in this picture yuck.

Then it was off to Otto's house. We got in late and famished around 10pm, so we hit a 24 hour cafe in Belmont Shores Long Beach... excellent food. Back to Otto's to sleep... I don't like blow up mattresses they are incredibly uncomfortable! We stayed with him both nights and it was great to just relax and visit.

My nephew Robert recently graduated from UCLA... Go Bruins! The big party was Saturday in San Diego... jello shots are a lot of fun.. thank you niece Amanda. Rob has done so well... graduated with a 3.6 GPA, I am so very proud of him. Next stop for him is law school, he will hopefully be coming to visit in July and I'm going to take him to tour McGeorge School of Law. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll choose to go there and be near us for the next 3 years!

After breakfast Sunday morning we made a quick detour to the Orange County swap meet...man I miss shopping there. They have such cool stuff and it's usually so inexpensive. Bargain find was 3 t-shirts for $9. After that we hit the road, it was a peaceful drive but why does the trip home always seem to take so much longer then going there?

Winter 1 month old

2008-06-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe it's been a month since this wonderful little person entered our world. I have been accused many times of being a "baby hog" and it's true... no doubt there. Oscar however is giving me a run for my money when it comes to spending time with her. Because he's home in recovery I find that he visits with her several times a day...yes I'm jealous!

Last night we took a little walk and ended up at the kids front door. She was a bit fussy when we got there and Suz had a fairly righteous headache so we fed her a bottle. She was so awake after that. She is cooing now, making those wistful little noises that babies make. She defiantly knows who we are and will track to our face if she hears the sound of our voices. I can calm her by singing the single verse of a song in Spanish, that I know. It's a family joke now that I sing the same verse over and over...guess I should learn the rest. I'll have to hit up my two Spanish speaking sister in laws for that!

Oscar is good today... Thinking about making an appearance at the office for a few hours. Jonathan is also doing well.....

It's like a miracle.....

2008-06-17T15:05:00.000-07:00

Oscar said he feels 110% better since they pulled the drain this morning at 9am. He is completely off the pain medication. Still a bit tired occasionally, takes a few cat naps thorough out the day but is already talking about going to the office for "just a few hours honey"!

Crazy!

The surgery to remove the appendix has not been scheduled but a pre-op appointment is for July 19th. The way it was explained to Oscar is that the appendix after it ruptures, will scar over like any other part of the body, so the urgency to remove it has passed. It will heal and the chances of another infection in the next year are the same as someone who hasn't had a ruptured appendix. So he is seriously considering waiting until after the summer is over.

I guess we will know more after July 19th.

Thanks to everyone for all the prayers, it's a huge comfort. Hopefully my sister in law will be sending pictures from this weekend so I can post to show everyone how much fun we had with his family!

Monday Oscar Update

2008-06-16T10:50:00.000-07:00

The weekend started pretty good. Oscar woke up Saturday feeling better, so we went for a drive to see Becca at work, then to the thrift store to buy two x-large shirts, so he can hide his drain a bit better, the fever had broken and he was "comfortable" with the pain meds only 1 tablet every 4 to 5 hours. All his brothers & families joined us for a nice BBQ in the afternoon and then around 3pm a small pain he was having in his right shoulder blade area went from small to major discomfort. We increased the meds again which sent him back into comatose land but the pain got ahead of him and we couldn't get it back in control.

We talked to the doc and the symptoms sounding very much like a pulmonary embolism, we made our way back to UCD ER and spent from 9pm to 3am figuring out that he just over did it, there was referred pain from the drain and he cut back to quickly on the pain meds..... 3 doses of Morphine got everything back on track.

Fathers day was very simple since he slept about 75% of the day. He and I had breakfast in the backyard around 9am and he spent some time with Becca & Joe. Then took a long nap. Around 11am Otto came over and spent a few hours with him both talking and watching him sleep...lol. Winter made an appearance with her parents in the early evening. I had a nice day, took a walk in the afternoon with Otto and Winter, while Oscar napped.

All the rest on yesterday must have been the ticket because he woke up this morning feeling "better". He is cutting down the meds more slowly this time. Hates the dizzy/loopy feeling he gets while taking them but is taking them. I'm at work so hopefully he will be good and rest today. Suz and Winter will be checking in on him at medicine time.... and possibly going for a walk today. You can tell he struggles with the inactivity of being ill.

I finally got a hold of the clinic and he has an appointment to get the drain pulled tomorrow. He is looking forward because he thinks that will really help him feel better.

Hope all the fathers out there had an awesome day!

Friday was a day....

2008-06-14T06:11:00.000-07:00

Oscar is doing okay.... he is still feeling a lot of discomfort which I wasn't expecting at this point. There has been a constant low grade fever since he came home, that hasn't subsided even with all the antibiotics he's taking. Also I cut his pain meds from 2 tablets to 1 every four hours. This seems to work better for daytime than at night. he wakes up every morning in pain. So today I gave him 2 tablets in the morning and we'll see if 1 works the rest of the day. I set my alarm at night to take it on time but last night he turned it off and took it 1 hour late, that might be why it's not working as well.

There is still that window of feeling "good" that lasts about two hours and he really wanted to get out of the house yesterday so I found a movie that fit our two hour window and off we went. He did okay for a little while but you could tell by the end of the movie he was uncomfortable again. We took a little drive and picked Becca up from work and he spent several house in the afternoon with his brother Pedro and family.

Dinner last night was great, my friend Lori made us some chicken and salad...thank Lori very yummy! Yajahira, my sister in law also made some black beans that were sooooo good. I ate them last night and this morning will make eggs to go with them. Black beans are a great staple for the frig and in Costa Rica they have them frequently... you can pair them with anything or eat them alone. Excellent for an easy meal, lots of protein.... I can never make them as good as his family does.... I make a mean southern casserole though!

The Hulk in case you are interested was okay. It reminded me of the movie Transformers in that with computer animation is so heavily used the fight scenes turn into this noisy blur of action. I don't really know how to explain it, except that I miss old fashion stuntmen and editing.

The topper for the week is my burb died. Just plain old died when I was driving it to work yesterday. I had it towed to the repair shop and it's the fuel pump that needs to be replaced. I've never heard of such an expensive fuel pump.... $498.00 for the part and $295.00 labor. Obviously Paige will be doing some bargain hunting to get that puppy fixed! Oscar keeps saying "I'll do it myself", as he struggles to stand up straight ....lol Such a sweet man. At 87K miles the car is feeling the miles.....

I was having a bit of a pity party yesterday afternoon over all the stuff that is happening at one time and a good friend reminded me that it's really just life and the Lord is there for us no matter what. I read the story of Job and I have to say that a sick spouse and a broken car really aren't that big a deal in the grand scheme of things....

Oh yes... our friends Jennifer and Donovan were able to make use of the camping spot this weekend! I'm so excited that they are having a family weekend out in nature.

Camping Anyone?

2008-06-13T06:35:00.000-07:00

We reserved a premium campsite this weekend for two nights, starting today. Anyone interested in using it? We have paid $53 of the $80 charge and it's non-refundable. So someone might as well use this, since we are home bound for this weekend!

It's a tent site at Lake Point Campground, very close to Lake Berryessa. It the premium site in the campground. There's a river about 20 steps from our site, there canoes and paddle boat to rent very close by. So if you are one of those people/families that can do things on a moments notice then I say go for it!

This was supposed to be our "practice" camping trip for the longer trip we are taking in July. It's been at least 6 years since we went unless you count a very disastrous overnight we did at Folsom lake, when we rented a trailer and there was no electricity and the temp was 100+ at 11pm.... that was definitely not fun.

Call me if you want to use it so i can email or fax you the recipt and directions to the place. It took us about 45 minutes to drive out there from our place.

He's Home...

2008-06-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

I picked him up at noon but only because he threatened to walk home if I didn't get there soon! Excited to get home I guess...

We picked up prescriptions... like 7 of them, got to the house and all he wanted was his pain meds, a shower and to see Winter...in that order. Well he got 2 out of 3 because Winter is visiting with her grandma from Michigan today. But the kids promised to bring her by soon.

He is still having a bit more nausea then he would like and definitely hits the 4 hour window on the pain meds right on the dot. Seems to be in a really good mood and moving well when the pain meds are on board but you can tell he's hurting about 3 1/2 hours after he takes them. So he's still the same at yesterday but at least its at home where he is comfortable.

Tomorrow his brother Pedro is coming over to "hang out" with him while I'm at work...this means hours and hours of uninterrupted talk of land surveying. Oscar will be like a kid in a candy store. Today Jenn from church brought us some very nice dinner, it smells wicked good in the oven.... can't wait to taste it! What a life saver it is to have dinner ready after the long week we've had. I'm so looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and so it Oscar.

UPDATE ON JONATHAN

Well much like his father.... once they got in his mouth there was to much infection to do the extractions. he didn't get into the gory details but they cut away some infected gum and drained some places and are plugging him full of antibiotics for a week. Apparently there's serious risk of blood stream contamination....or something.

Does this not sound like a bad daytime drama series...what are the chances?...

For those of you wondering about our friends the Himmels.... Drew is still in the hospital. Mom and Dad are tired and stressed as one would expect after 20 days in the hospital with a 4 year old. Please continue to pray for this family.....

Prayers for Jonathan

2008-06-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

Our son Jonathan, the one in the navy stationed in Hawaii right now, just called to say that he has a huge infection in his jaw due to his wisdom teeth and will be having them pulled in the next 45 minutes.... Please pray that all goes smoothly.

It appears the theme for the Jarquin family this week is "infection"!

He also said that while it hurts and he's nervous to have it done, he gets a week off to recuperate on the beach! Maybe I should ship his dad over there so they can get better under the sun together!

Thursday Morning update

2008-06-12T07:20:00.000-07:00

This might be the big day.....

Oscar was feeling much better last night. He was out of bed for a few hours in a chair, took bunches of laps around the floor and got to take a shower! That was the highlight of his day for sure.

This morning the Foley comes out, the IV's have been disconnected and he is on oral everything. So the goal he needs to make is going pee on his own and they will spring him.

Unfortunately it's not over yet. The doctors say that he will need oral antibiotics for two weeks and then another CAT scan to make sure the inflammation and infection are gone. Then they will schedule him for the appendectomy, which means another 2 day hospital stay and another round of IV Antibiotics and drug coma for about a week.... that's the part he hates but at least we get to pick the timing this time around!

We have several mini-vacations planned for the summer, camping with the Ewers Family, my uncles 95th Birthday weekend in Reno, Family in town for 4th of July and finally a big BBQ at the end of July for family and friends.

I want to say thank you to everyone that has called, written emails checking on us, visited Oscar in the hospital, made us meals...yes the hospital food is terrible.... and prayed everyday! As usual, our family has been incredible support through all of this... Oscar is obviously well loved!

I'll post tonight once we settle in.

Wednesday morning Update

2008-06-11T07:54:00.001-07:00

Sorry I didn't check in last night, it got late and I was feeling very tired. He fell asleep early so I tucked him in, straightened his room a bit and went home around 9pm to unwind.

Yesterday morning the doc wanted to put in a Foley catheter and he just wasn't convinced that he needed one. So he fought the good fight but eventually lost around 2pm yesterday. They figured out that the infection had "frozen" the bladder and he just wasn't moving enough urine. He was a fairly unhappy camper when I arrived after work around 4pm. He is having fevers on and off still and the IV antibiotics are up and running. The drain is doing it's job and the output is small, they said this is a good sign. They did take down his IV in between doses, which is great because he has a little more freedom to walk around. He is off the CPA and Dilauted and they have him on oral meds now. He started eating yesterday and is glad although he is not very hungry because all the antibiotics they pump into him. Even with all the pain meds he seems to be having trouble sleeping so they gave him something for that last night as well.

Becca took the morning shift with him, he really enjoys when she reads to him so they did that for a while and then took a few laps around floor. He tires easy right now and gets nauseous a lot so it was back to bed after that. She is willing to make the trek for lattes several times a day.... she definitely become his main supplier! Kevin stopped by for a visit as well and Oscar enjoyed that.

Last night there was a little party in his room, the van Riessens stopped by, Jennifer and Kaya, Joe & Becca, Kirk and of course Justin Suz and Winter.... fortunately the guy in the next bed is taking some really good drugs and slept through most of our rabble rousing....

He seems to have a few good hours right after taking the pain meds but overall is still very uncomfortable and grouchy... poor guy. He has his computer and is able to play his favorite video games..... something to do with subs and blowing things up... must be a "guy" thing. He hates the hospital food, admittedly it's not very good but if he asks you to bring him a burger .... just say no! Trying to keep him on healthy proteins and veggies....

During rounds this morning (Wednesday), the doc said that if he continues to improve he can go home tomorrow afternoon. They are leaving in the Foley for now and will evaluate it again tonight. They didn't really say what has to be happening for it to be removed. He will continue to receive IV antibiotics until he leaves and oral meds for pain and sleep.

I think that's everything.....

Tuesday morning

2008-06-10T05:54:00.000-07:00

He has a fever, it's been about 101 to 102 most of the night. They added another antibiotic and we'll just have to wait and see how it goes. He is up and walking which is excellent! They are supppose to let him start having full liquids this morning and if he tolerates it well food by dinner time.

I did get 3 hours of sleep last night so that part is good. Must go to the office right now but the kids will be hanging out with him for the better part of the day. A few friends will be with him this afternoon.

Everyone have an excellent day!

Pictures from the hospital today

2008-06-09T21:51:00.001-07:00

The newest in drug control.... Winter keeping grandpa's PCA working effeciently...

The comatose couple... oscar wanted to hold her while he was in the recovery room but they both kept falling asleep.... Suz and Amy stood close by so no one got hurt.

This is oscar right after the pain meds kick in... he thinks it's all good for a few mintues before he falls asleep.

This is the best in pain management ...baby therapy! Winter visiting her grandpa and giving him some love.

Oscar update for Monday night

2008-06-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

The drain procedure went really well! They took a long time and ran late of course but the drain was very successfully place and they were able to draw out an initial 50cc of "stuff" and the drain is still doing its job. He says the pressure pain has decreased a lot and now it's mostly residual pain from the drain being placed. He still has his PCA with dilauted running but needs it less as the night goes on.

I definitely had to work this week so it has so nice that Becca was here early this morning and read to her dad between his drug induced cat naps....lol Doug came by around 10:30 and stayed with oscar all the way through pre-op, hitting his PCA every 20 minutes if Oscar slept through it. Suzanne and Winter came around noon and stayed until 7:30 with me. Oscar was very happy to see Winter...baby therapy is an awesome thing! Suz took the camera home to upload some of the pics she took today, I post those later.

he had a few visitors today, Our friends Amy and Molly came by and brought some fun stuff for Oscar to read, a game puzzle book and Chocolate... everyone feels better after chocolate! We ended up spending some time over dinner in the cafeteria together... Molly and I painted with condiments... Then Rick and Carmen, my brother in law and his wife, stopped by for a few minutes to see him.....overall it has been a very good day!

Next step is to get Oscar drinking and eating... that starts in the morning. The doc was noncommittal as to when he could go home but said Wednesday or Thursday seemed possible. A lot depends on how he does over the next 24 hours.... Fever should be going away, the pain should very steadily and rapidly decrease. Add in a few meals and he's homeward bound.

I'm sitting here watching him sleep peacefully for the first time in many days and feeling very blessed by all of this. God has certainly been gracious to the Jarquin Family these past couple of days! Thanks for all the prayers, they are working!

Yay... finally a plan...

2008-06-09T10:08:00.000-07:00

They are giving him contrast to drink right now and plan the procedure for 1pm today. He has to drink this wonderfully thick and tastes a lot like chalk, liquid so they can make sure they do not hit any of his bowel or stomach when doing the procdure. It will take about an hour for the procedure so I'll let you know later this afternoon how he's doing. They will be giving him some stuff to knock him out completely.

pray for great results and steady hands of the surgeon!

Monday Morning Update

2008-06-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

Not much new to report. He is still in considerable pain but the medication is helping a lot. Makes him very sleepy. They still haven't put in the drain...not sure what is taking so long but if they haven't done it by 10am, I'm going to start putting some pressure on the staff to make it happen. It seems so silly when the doc said he would get almost immediate relief from the drainage to make him wait almost 24 hours before doing it. Becca is there with him now, reading and keeping him company.

When awake he is asking when Winter will come for a visit...seems to care more that he hasn't seen his granddaughter for 24 hours than he does about the drain placement... the man is smitten!

I did find out that he will have Internet access once he's awake enough to use it so that will be nice. Something to kill the boredom of days of IV Antibiotics he has in store for himself.

end of day update....

2008-06-08T22:58:00.000-07:00

They moved him to a very nice room in the Davis Tower. The nurse on duty when he got there was only okay.... not even okay really as it took her forever to even get him a pillow, let's not even talk about how long it took to get actual Morphine! Finally after 2 hours I reminded her that the surgeons had said he could switch to Dilauded...stronger with a longer life than Morphine... and she called to verify. Still took another hour because she put it off on the night shift. Can we say Lazy? The night nurse is the exact opposite and has been very helpful. Got the new meds right away and Oscar was finally pain free for the first time in 3 days!

The drain has not been put in, they think early tomorrow morning at the latest. To be honest I'm not sure what the delay is, I assumed from what the surgeon told us at like 1pm today it would happen soon... much sooner than the next day anyway. Oscar is hungry, he hasn't eaten since around 7pm on Saturday. Once the drain has been put in he will be able to have food so that will be nice.

Thank you to all our friends and family that have been calling, emailing and visiting, your prayers are a huge comfort. 3:30am to 11pm makes for a long day and I'm ready for bed..... I'll keep this blog updated with how he is doing.

Hugs....

Oscar has an appedicitis

2008-06-08T17:19:00.000-07:00

On Friday Oscar called from the train to say he was in a lot of pain, thought he had gas really bad. Just last month he had a problem just like this and it went away in a couple of days. Most of Saturday he just sat around the house, taking some vicodin he had on hand.... just positive this was like last time and would go away soon. Fast forward to Sunday morning, i left early because it was our week to tow the church box and my last week of working for Liz and I needed gas desperately and the power point hadn't been done.... My point is he got much worse.... bad enough to have Becca drive him to the hospital while i was out. I got a text from him that said he was at UC Davis ER. I told Kevin our pastor that I needed to leave and he took care of everything.

Well instead of gas, its an appendicitis that ruptured sometime on Friday they think. Either way it now has a huge "pus pocket", the doc started out calling it an "encapsulated something or other" but finally switched to pus pocket in every sentence. They can not operate and remove the appendix right now because there is so much pus, it just to dangerous. So they will surgically insert a drain into this pus pocket and give him copious amounts of IV antibiotics over the next 3 days. He will get to come home at that point still with his drain for a week. Then it's a wait and see game for the next several weeks for the area to calm down and all the infections to go away. then they will schedule a surgery to remove it.

He is in the Davis Tower Level 14 Room 14743 bed 2....

I'll keep you updated....

Fathers Day Brunch

2008-06-07T05:47:00.000-07:00

Some friends asked for a recommendation for a good place to have Fathers Day brunch and I couldn't think of any. I find this kind of strange given that I love to eat out. Maybe we will try one of the suggestions ourselves since we will be just returning from camping that day and I will definately not feel like cooking!

So all you long time Sacramentans... any great suggestions?

A thinker already...

2008-06-06T22:03:00.000-07:00

Winter is busy thinking serious thoughts on her car ride to visit daddy at work for lunch!

The chubby cheeks are back, at her 2 week checkup she was back to her original birth weight. She lost a pound trying to figure out the breast feeding thing! She came to visit Grandpa and YiaYia today for an hour.... She can seriously slug back a 3 ounce bottle when she is hungry. I've noticed that whenever she eats she curls her right fist up against her face... it's so cute.

I love Fridays....

2008-06-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

because it means the weekend is at hand!

I've got many plans and yet not really. Everything is up in the air but I know I need to finish a few of these chores...

Tie up the tomatoes, prep and paint the front porch, there's a majito party Satruday night and clean out one closet. We have so many that I need to make a list and get to one a week.

maybe another BBQ on Sunday, board games and music... hummm who's up for it?

A fun casual Sunday

2008-06-02T05:29:00.000-07:00

I took a spiritual gifts test a couple of months ago and ranked very high in the "hospitality" and I really love hosting get togethers. So when Pedro, Yajahira, Esteban and Alejandro called to say they were stopping by and friends Steve, Amy and Molly weren't busy, the party was on!
Becca and Joe helped me set up, the backyard is already looking great from several weekends of yard work and primping by joe and myself, all we needed was to set up a few tables, turn on the music and throw something on the grill.

Grilled chicken breast sandwhiches with gauc, red onion and cheddar cheese, macoroni salad, BBQ corn and fresh fruit. Steve van Reissen makes a mean grilled chicken breast, he's invited to all our get togethers from now on.

We had 4 kids running around, well Winter doesn't run yet, she just looks pretty when she sleeps and it was really nice to spend the afternoon with everyone. There were a few games of Yatzee and the kids and I checked out the garden. Jack the dog was sick of little kids before they even got here but was a good sport while Molly and Alejandro gave him tons of hugs.

Justin and Suzanne came by and boy do they have the "new parents lack of sleep" look on their faces! Oscar the good compassionate dad that he is, spent a few hours before everyone got here to finish a fence project at their house. Justin was working all day and still needed to finish the fence, on several days of only 2 or 3 hours of sleep.

Family, friends and a nice spring afternoon BBQ.... is there a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon?

Baby Sitting is fun....

2008-06-01T07:32:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that Winter is already 16 days old and yesterday we got to babysit her for 3 WHOLE HOURS at our house! Justin had work and Suz needed a good nap since Winter is still not sleeping much at night. Of course we were more than happy to help out.....

She is really a good baby, still very much in the sleep and eat part of life. But for a little while each day she sits and stares at us with wide-eye wonder. I even heard a bit of a coo out of her... well at least I think I did. The full cap of black hair at birth has slowly lightened and now you see shades of brown. Her eyes seemed to have settled for now at green/blue.... there is definately a baby hog living in our home and it's not me surprisingly! oscar scoops up this little girl the moment she enters the room and spends tons of time smooching on her.

My big find for this week was a brand new swing at the bargain price of $10. Such a steal! Watching me put it together was very much like watching a monkey do a math puzzle. After Justin and Oscar had a bit of a laugh, they stepped in and finished the job. She loves it! Suz said she stopped crying and sat for an hour when they put her in it that night.

Winter is here....

2008-05-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

I know this is long overdue but life has been a bit crazy for the last 3 weeks. The baby has arrived in all her splendor and glory. Being a grandma is "all that and a slice of pizza!"

So here's the story of the birth, I want to write it down because it's only been 15 days and already the details are blurring together. It started... the labor pains on Tuesday morning May 13, Justin took her ot the hospital and they sent her home because the contraction were regular at 5 minutes apart but not making progress. I got home later that afternoon and I walked her little legs off. She went back at 10pm that night the contractions were stronger and once again was sent home because now she was at 2 cm but that's it.

Wednesday at noon I left work because she was having the strong contraction but not regular anymore and was doing her "suzanne" thing, which translated means sleeping. No baby if you sleep all the time so off we went to walk around Target. The car was a good thing, I think we bounced a few things loose in there! She was having some very strong and close contraction and when they checked her at the hospital, she was 3cm and the contraction were very close...like 3 minutes apart. They finally decided to keep her! Yea!

The night wore on and by 7am the next morning still having contractions, still strong she was STILL 3cm. We were cheering "bring on the pitocin" at that point and the Suz was very tired and cranky. She was doing a great job with meds and breathing but heck it had been so long!

The doc gave her pit at 6:30am Thursday morning, at that point she had been in early labor for so long that she was tired and sleeping between contractions. The first doses were not much and she made no progress until around 10:30 they gave her a significant amount and an epidural. She was very happy and sleepy after that! She started to twirl her hair on her finger...that's how I knew the epi was working!

around 11am on Thursday they checked her and she had made it to 7cm and it was going good. At1pm she was 10cm according to the doc. The nurses started to prep the room for delivery and checked her at 2pm and she had gone back to a 7cm! Also around 11;00am shortly after they broke her water, the baby started to decel with each contraction, I forgot to mention that and so they tried putting water back in the sac but that slowed down the progress....

Anyway, once the nurses checked her, both of them, thy called the doc in and surprise surprise she said the best option for baby was a c-section. I figured it was coming as soon as they said she was 7cm again. it happened rather quickly and fortunately I was able to go in with them.

Winter was born at 2:55pm, she was very quiet coming into the world and had very bright alert eyes... and looked so very much like Justin did as a new born. The hair is amazing!

So that's the story...... and now my blog will probably be all about the amazing little girl who the Lord has seen fit to bless my life with.....!

A child of the 80's?

2008-05-28T08:46:00.000-07:00

Take a look at this list. If you can identify with more than half of them, you are a child of the 80's like me!

You know what "Sike" means.
You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, Wax off".
You know that another name for a keyboard is a "Synthesizer".
You were only cool if you hung out at the Roller Rink and actually knew how to skate.
You can sing the McDonald's Big Mack Filet-o-fish, quarter pounder, French Fry song while jump roping.
You wore 3-8 different colored socks in layers and thought that the more you could wear the cooler you were.
You know who Mr. T is.
You actually believed for a minute that K.I.T. (The night rider) actually was real.
You know who Fat Albert is.
You wore fluorescent, neon clothing.
You could break dance, or wish you could.
You wanted to be The Incredible Hulk for Halloween.
You believed that "By the power of Greyskull, you HAD the power!"
Partying "like it's 1999" seemed SO far away.
You thought that Transformers were more than meets the eye.
You wanted to be on Star Search.
You can remember Michael Jackson when he was black.
You wore a banana clip at some point during your youth.
You remember the garbage pail kids, and owned some.
You knew what Willis was "talkin' 'bout."
You HAD to have your MTV.
You always wondered why Tootie always wore those skates.
You actually thought "Dirty Dancing" was a REALLY good movie.
You watched Purple Rain over and over again.
Your all time favorite movie was Footloose and you actually thought that Kevin Baconwas HOT in it!!!
You remember the episode of Good Times when Flo broke down after James' funeral.
You remember when ATARI was a state of the art video game system.
You own any cassettes.
You were led to believe that in the year 2000 we'd all be living on the moon.
You remember and/or owned any of the Care Bear Glass collection from Pizza Hut or any other stupid collection they came out with.
Poltergeist freaked you out.
You carried your lunch to school in a Gremlins or an ET lunch box.
You have pondered why Smurfette was the ONLY female smurf.
You know what leg warmers are and probably had a pair.
You wore biker shorts underneath a short skirt and felt stylish.
You had a Swatch Watch with the Swatch Guard.
You thought UTFOs "Roxanne, Roxanne" song was the bomb!
You remember when Saturday Night Live was funny.
You had Wonder Woman or Superman underoos.
You know what a "Push Up" ice cream is.
You had to come in the house when the street lights came on.

Praying for The Himmels

2008-05-28T05:28:00.000-07:00

This is Drew and his parents Dan and Andrea, they are friends of ours. Drew just had his 3rd open heart surgery at the age of 4. There is a link to thier blog here on my blog where you can read all about why Drew needed the srugery and how everythign is going. The short version is that he is doing well, this is an awesome answer to prayer!

Take a minute to read the story and please keep the whole family in your prayers!

Monday Meanderings.....

2008-05-12T14:46:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure I get to meander at all this week... life is full of happenings! I woke up this morning and realized I have a ton of stuff to do before the baby comes. I've spent so much time focusing on other things that I didn't clean my own house. I've also decided that no matter when the baby comes, I'll take my vacation days next week. The update on Winter Elizabeth's arrival is an induction on May 18th if she hasn't seen fit to arrive on her own by then. This means working long days this week to get everything done so I can relax next week.

Bible Study/ Devotions: This Tuesday marks the final time I get together with my Pastor of Disaster and the two lovely ladies she is mentoring along with myself! I've been reflecting on this journey and how I've opened my heart and life to God in the past 18 months... it's scary and joyful all at the same time. The Lord has definitely seen fit to bless me with these three women. Journaling is also something new that I'm enjoying so much, even when I read back and find I"m not liking what is coming out onto the paper... some pain I need to deal with.

Must-do List:
Go to Home depot and get compost and some kind of liner to finish the back yard by Wednesday.
Put an outfit in my car just in case I get "the call" from the kids and need to go directly to the hospital.

Find a new internist within 3 miles of home and make an appointment by Friday!

Homekeeping: I want to get the bed set up in what we currently refer to as the "office" in the upstairs. My mom is coming to visit next Monday(5/19) and she doesn't care for the terrible "Barking Blue Dog" that lives downstairs... A bed is a must. Plus we never use the desk in there excpet to pile our mail on! Hummm need strong men to move things...should have put that on my Must do column...find strong men!

Menu Planning: My plan for meals this week are to find whatever food is available and try not to eat out to many time! No time or energy left for meal planning. Thank the Lord for putting Amy in my life on Thursdays!

Personal Health: I'm happy to report that I have reached my goal weight of 120lbs. I'm a solid size 4 now and very happy with it. Decided this morning that the surgeon, no matter how wonderful she is, isnt' really the right person to help me stabilize my life/health issues. So as you read in the must do column I will be using Lori's advice & direction and finding a good internist this week. One closer to home, read not in Elk Grove and not just a GP but someone who understands the delicate balance and issues of a post gastric bypass patient.

Blessings to All!

Mother's Day 2008

2008-05-11T07:02:00.000-07:00

I looked up the word "mother" on Dictionary.com and found 35 results for this word...go figure! I think mom's have at least 35 job descriptions but that's a post for a different time.

So here we go.....

moth·er1
Audio Help /ˈmʌðər/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[muhth-er] –noun
1. A female parent; especially, one of the human race; a woman who has borne a child.
2. a person or thing that is very large, powerful, or impressive.
3. a term of address for a female parent or a woman having or regarded as having the status, function, or authority of a female parent.
4. a kind of game at cards played by several persons.
5. a stringy, mucilaginous substance consisting of various bacteria, esp. Mycoderma aceti, that forms on the surface of a fermenting liquid and causes fermentation when added to other liquids, as in changing wine or cider to vinegar.
Also called mother of vinegar.

Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother. ~Oprah Winfrey

One of the very few reasons I had any respect for my mother when I was thirteen was because she would reach into the sink with her bare hands - bare hands - and pick up that lethal gunk and drop it into the garbage. To top that, I saw her reach into the wet garbage bag and fish around in there looking for a lost teaspoon. Bare hands - a kind of mad courage. ~Robert Fulghum

It's not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it. ~From the television show The Golden Girls

My mom is a neverending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune. ~Graycie Harmon

The phrase "working mother" is redundant. ~Jane Sellman

We do make the world go round. We are the glue that holds it together. There is no harder job although there are better paying ones, unless you count those moments when you look into the sleeping face of your child.... that feeling never changes no matter how old they get. After 23 years all my children still look sweet and peaceful like they did that very first time I stood over their bassinet and just watched in awe at the beauty and wonder of the life I been given to raise.

To all the mom's out there, enjoy your day of celebration.

2008-05-08T05:59:00.000-07:00

What's the point? I give up........

Trust

2008-05-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

Today is not a good day... this is all that is holding it together for me.......

Trust in the LORD with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will direct your paths.
Proverbs 3, 5-6

Old and free.....

2008-05-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

It very weird for me to have such freedom.....

Friday night on the spur of the moment, we ended up with some friends at 58 degrees had a glass of wine or two and then made it to bed by midnight.

Saturday we woke up a bit late... 8am okay i know but that's late for us... and then rode our bikes to breakfast down town, dropped off the dry cleaning on the way. Back home we sat around and read for a bit... just relaxed you know. Then it was off to a BBQ with friends from 1pm to 8... spent some time talking to a couple from Brussels, very interesting people. Had Mint juleps in honor of the Kentucky derby... it was a lot of fun.

Sunday we headed off to church and then decided right after to head to Napa and come home the back way to find this camping spot we looked at last spring, when we did all that driving to take my mind off how sick I was. We found it, booked a premium site for the weekend of June 13Th and headed home. We did at that point have to be slightly responsible and do a little grocery shopping and house cleaning for the work week but hey it took maybe 3 hours. Then Doug came over and the kids joined us for BBQ turkey breast...so yummy in an Asian ginger marinade... more wine and lots of laughter. Oscar is very loose with a few drinks under his belt... heck I'm more loose with a few drinks if you can imagine that!

My point in all this... it hit me that we are basically like a young married couple. No kids to worry about, just make decisions/plans and go. I was talking to my brother in law Otto explaining that we wanted him to go camping with us in June but that we weren't' asking other family because they had kids and we wanted a kid free weekend. He laughed at me and how I've changed over the years... I was so kid oriented and now I'm all about no kids.

Which isn't exactly true but being completely honest I've never had a time in my life when I've been old enough to drink and party and do things like run off and have fun spontaneously..... until now. While I love children.. little kids and babies are just so sweet and wonderful... I'm also liking my non-kid space.

So if you are friends/family with kids reading this post and you didn't recieve an invite to go camping in June please dont take offense! We are going again in August and you can totally go then! I'll even watch the little ones while you take a break and hike and commune with nature!

Life has so many seasons and I'm really enjoying this one!

2008-05-03T07:04:00.000-07:00

Time flies when you are having fun....

This has been a busy week. My great nephew Oliko has been in the hospital with possible RSV so please pray for him and his parents. My niece Laura is always amazing to me, she seems to never panic and take things in stride, she needs sleep so pray for that please.

Still no baby for Suzanne.... She is so ready to have Winter, she tells us on an hourly basis just how ready she is! Honestly she is a trooper, still going to class and getting the school work done, even if she does feel "Like a planet"...her words not mine.

Work is interesting...experienced a bit of discrimination for the first time...female in the male world of construction... I guess I'll leave that one alone since I'm still rather ticked off about it. I'll blog later when I'm more reasonable on the subject.

My daughter is going on 4 weeks of no smoking... I'm so proud of her. She is already looking a bit healthier to my bias maternal eye...

Last night we spent a few hours at 58 degrees a wine bar downtown and embarrassingly I admit that just 6 ounces if wine is enough for a nice buzz. After gastric bypass the alcohol hits you must faster because you no longer have a stomach to buffer the release into the blood stream. Upside...I feel it very quickly, so I'm a cheap date.... down side is it fades almost as fast but I guess that's good since I can drive sooner.

Fun times on Wednesday night when I went with a couple of friends to 31 flavors ice cream. They had a fund raiser going on that was a scoop for .31 cents. We stood in line for an hour and twenty minutes....in 3 inch heels! I dont' even eat ice cream! It was great to spend that time just visiting and catching up with my friends and my kids were very thankful for the ice cream so it was a good thing for everyone.

This week everything seems right with the world... things are moving forward with Oscar's job, I got a raise and an extra week of vacation from my job, our church family is still grieving the loss of our pastor and his family but we are moving forward, any day now we will be grandparents and I am loved by many...... the list seems long on the plus side!

Happy Saturday to all... it appears that this week was a blessed one!

Almost there...

2008-04-24T13:16:00.001-07:00

Not the greatest picture but this is Suzanne my daughter in law and grandchild Winter. Winter Elizabeth Jarquin, I've really grown to love that name.

Today we started the countdown to delivery only 15 days to go. The official due date is May 9th and we are getting ready...Suz is already ready...way ready... in fact we hear daily that Winter could put in her appearance today!

You can throw a dart at a calendar of May and hit a birthday for some member of our family! My mom, sister, brother, uncle and that's just my side.

We tried to do one of the 3D ultrasounds last weekend but the baby was to far down and facing the wrong way so no fun pictures. The upside is that means we will see her soon.

Paige fun fact #6 - I share a birthday with my brother-in-law Bruce and Laura (my niece - his daughter) I love it when that happens because then I don't usually forget their birthdays! I vote for May 10... I think that's Ronald's birthday

Bad news and a test

2008-04-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

Sad is the feeling of the day....

The baby kitty died last night. It went to sleep around 4 after a feeding and potty, then around 6 Suz noticed it wasn't moving or mewling for food so she reached into it's box and it had passed. She and Justin had already grown quite attached to the little fellow so its' was a sad night for them. Thanks to Marianne who was so very supportive not only with advice but willing to help foster the little one... Is there a kitty heaven? I've been wondering since Shelby died last summer what happens to animals... Not really sure I want an answer I guess I'm just hoping she will be waiting for me in heaven and hopefully hasn't ruined any of the rugs before I get there.

But the there's another sad thing on the horizon....

See the very first church we went to, North Redondo Chapel (NRC) was a wonderful church. We had gone to visit on an invitation from my brother who attended there. We loved it when we walked through the door. The pastor Greg was a brilliant speaker and I really liked him. To make a long story short... he went a little bonkers and over 90% of the church membership left in a mass exodus. One pastor down.....

We spent a few short months at a church called Community Baptists Church (CBC) with fellow NCR refugees as we affectionately referred to ourselves. They were very welcoming but it didn't make a good fit for us. We visited many churches and ended up at Oceanside Christian Fellowship (OCF) where we found a pastor that spoke right to our hearts. We decided after a few months that OCF was to be our new church home. We were just getting ready to commit to membership and the Pastor decided to step down because of personal issues with his wife and the need to focus on his family. That made two.....

I spent many years out of the church. Not apart from God but tired of feeling like every time we found a church home something crazy happened with the pastor. Occasionally over this 5 year period we visited different churches but nothing stuck.

A little over a year ago, my sister who live in CO called to say she had just heard a visiting pastor speak and met his wife and they were so nice! His name is Eric Bain and his church is somewhere in Sacramento... "do you know where Natomas is?". I thought "Natomas". I'm so not hauling my cookies all the way to Natomas every Sunday. But we did and that was a year ago. We have found many new firends and gotten very close to many. Eric is a great pastor, gifted teacher/speaker and just this month we finished the process for membership... Can you guess what happens next? That's right folks Eric has been offerred a postion as pastor in Colorado. That makes 3, seeing the pattern yet?

This is awesome for our pastor Eric Bain and his family but really sucks for me. I don't feel like "looking at the bright side" of the situation... I feel like being selfishly sad and disrupted. I'm wondering if this is a new test from God. A good friend told me as I complained and whinned about change.... that "church" isn't about the Pastor, it's about God. God is still at Sanctuary.

This doesn't make me any less sad to say goodbye to the Bain Family and I really am happy for them!

2008-04-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

Trader joes is fast becoming one of my favorite places to shop. They have been expanded their selection of ready to eat foods in the past 6 months but I think I've found a new food love... mini chicken asada burritos with fresh salsa. There's two in a package ($2.99) for me that translates into two lunches, add half an apple and hunk of cheese and baby you can't beat it!

Its made with thigh meat coursely chopped, fresh cilantro, the onions are small and look to be the re-hydrated type and spices... not excited about the onions...nothing better than the fresh onion cut and cooked to tender/crunchy perfection but for this application it will do. The enclosed salsa cup is of the "El Fresca" variety and mild enough for me to enjoy.

I definately encourage you to pop it in the nuker for a minute or so... heat brings out the flavors but in a pinch cold will do.

Lunch at my desk really blows but since the food is good I guess I'll survive!

Eat well friends

Happy Endings - The Kitty Tale

2008-04-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

On Saturday driving home from work, my oldest son Justin noticed a poor kitty had been run over by a car and he stopped to help it. Those of you who know Justin well, will not be surprised by this because it's a very "Justin" thing to do.

Fast forward past the grisley details because it involves some very mean & hungry crows... yuck. There was a liter of kittens fromt his poor dead momma kitty and only one survived until Justin showed up... He scooped up the little guy and rushed home.

Fast forward again to my 8 1/2 month pregnant daughter in law comes running through my front door asking for a heating pad. After I heard the story we rushed down the street to their house, while I called my friend, a Davis vet student on the cell phone to find out what to do. Warm it up and stimulate it she said.... I found a very cold, non-moving, seemingly non-breathing kitten that looked only a few hours old.

I'm happy to report that after many hours of rubbing, warming and a late night visit from my friend.. the kitty is doing well. I'm so surprised, I really didnt' think it would live past the first few hours. Justin has been doing the all night feedings...every hour and a half.... I think it's good practice for Winter's arrival personally......

Today Justin works and Suz has mid-terms so the kitty is staying with me at work. Man it brings back memories... so helpless but cute! Kitty needs a name.... any suggestions!

Thank God for babies....

2008-04-15T12:28:00.001-07:00

I'd like to introduce the newest member of my extended family... Oliko Ikaika.

This is big brother Akahai Zadok.. handsome young man!

My niece Laura lives in Hawaii with her husband Ikaika and their two boys pictured above. Akahai (A-ka-hi) is about 17 months now and Oliko(O-lee-ko) was born on April 2nd.

2008-04-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

I'm totally stoked! We just booked a 14 day cruise from Auckland New Zealand to Sydney Austrailia. "WE" is myself, 3 siblings and my mom.

In 2000 my mom re-kindled a tradition from her parents to take her children on a vacation. Teh first trip was everyone, Butch the oldest, Pam my only sister, Ronald and Richard, the boys in the middle and of course me the "baby". We went to Ireland, London and Paris... two fun filled weeks. There was so many B&B in Ireland and plains, trains and automobils in all 3 countries, while very excitign it was exhuasting!

Trip 2 2005 was a great time, we took a 17 day cruise in the Mediterranean. We started in Barcelona, Spain and touched many places in Italy, Greece and almost Turkey! There is the whole broken boat engine story that I won't tell now. We got to our final destination of Venice Italy...stayed overnight and flew home... It was wonderful to just unpack once and still 11 different cultures. The only downside to the trip is that my oldest brother decided not to join us. We missed him a lot. he had his personal reasons and I respect that but boy it just wans't the same without him.

Now the fun is about to begin again. We fly into Auckland NZ on Jan 15th, well we leave the USA on the 15th but with long flights and crossing teh international date line... we get there on the 17th.

Here's a link to the cruise
http://www.celebritycruises.com/search/vacationPorts.do;jsessionid=00001R-st7C9G7DwNiTMdTeRnpf:12hdebebp?packageCode=ML14K011&backPageName=Itinerary+Search+Results

More later...but just wanted to share how excited I am.....

French Onion Soup

2008-04-13T17:51:00.000-07:00

Hands down this is the best onion soup I've ever had. I used to say that you could only get truely great onion soup at The Kettle in Manahattan Beach, Ca near my hometown but I'm now a believer that it is made right here in my own kitchen.

It's importantt that you use the correct amount of salt for the onions to carmelize corrrectly but adjust to taste witht he salt at the end. Also, don't skip the balsamic, red onions can make the soup cloudy without it.

INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 large red onions, thinly sliced
2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
1 (48 fluid ounce) can chicken broth
1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
1/2 cup red wine
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 sprigs fresh parsley
1 sprig fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 thick slices French or Italian bread
8 slices Gruyere or Swiss cheese slices, room temperature
1/2 cup shredded Asiago or mozzarella cheese, room temperature
4 pinches paprika

DIRECTIONS
Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in salt, red onions and sweet onions. Cook 35 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized and almost syrupy.
Mix chicken broth, beef broth, red wine and Worcestershire sauce into pot. Bundle the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf with twine and place in pot. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the herbs. Reduce the heat to low, mix in vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep over low heat to stay hot while you prepare the bread.
Preheat oven broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and broil 3 minutes, turning once, until well toasted on both sides. Remove from heat; do not turn off broiler.
Arrange 4 large oven safe bowls or crocks on a rimmed baking sheet. Fill each bowl 2/3 full with hot soup. Top each bowl with 1 slice toasted bread, 2 slice Gruyere cheese and 1/4 of the Asiago or mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle a little bit of paprika over the top of each one.
Broil 5 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown. As it softens, the cheese will cascade over the sides of the crock and form a beautifully melted crusty seal. Serve immediately!

Eat well all!

Baby Showers

2008-04-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

Celebrating the birth of a new baby is an exciting time. Suzanne was blessed by family, friends and Church family with 3 baby showers welcoming Winter Elizabeth into this world. Each shower was very lovely and meant a great deal to Suzanne for different reasons.

On March 1st my sister-in-law Flora, my sister Pam and good friend Erica held a shower in my hometown of Redondo Beach. This shower also served as an opportunity for famiy that couldn't make it to the wedding in December, to meet our new daughter-in-law.It was great. Oscar's extended family arrived and it was so wonderful to see them all! My sisters culinary skills as always, were greatly enjoyed, Flora did an awesome job hosting and Erika on the games....a fun time was had by all.

On March 30th Riena Williams, Suzannes' fathers fiance and I co-hosted a shower for family and friends in the greater Sacramento area. The food was great but I have to say the mimosas were the hit of the party! Watching My daughters Becca & Suzanne interact with their friends from Chico and old high school firends was fun. The games were played, gifts opened and everyone had a great time.

On April 5th, Amy van Riessen from our church hosted a lovely Saturday luncheon for the moms of our church to introduce Suzanne to other mommy's for advice and support. This shower was so unique in that the advice was so sound from all the new moms and the gifts so practical.... just like a new mom would give! I learned a few things myself.

As I unloaded the car from this final shower and helped Suz start to put things away... I looked around the nursery and was amazed and humbled at the generosity and love of our friends and family..... Everywhere I turned I saw gifts.... bedding, boucy seats, a bumbo, blankets, clothes, shampoo, lotions, rocking chair, crib, sheets and diapers...yikes so many diapers! But it's more than the material aspect.... for every item I realized that the gift giver is someone important in our life as a family. The bulk of these items came with words of wisdom, money can't buy wisdom.....

So to everyone who shared a piece of their heart and wisdom, who helped plan games, cooked food, sent out invitations and took part in this wonderful time in our lives...welcoming the newest generation of "Jarquin".... thank you from the bottom of my heart!