my soft spot

just a mom who plays hockey and knits

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

The final throes of the birthday.

We were on vacation last weekend, and it was fabulous. It began at the buttcrack of dawn with my friend Allison (how do you make a halo in emoticons?) who picked us up at FIVE THIRTY IN THE MORNING to take us to the airport. As she dropped us off, I asked her to wait one minute while I made sure I had our boarding passes, etc. She began reciting her list of travel essentials (she travels several times a month), and got to "ID..." when I realized I had thinned out my cards/IDs--and left them in the other fanny pack. I had NO ID/credit cards whatsoever. She sweetly made a beeline for our house to get them, while I waited with G. Finally, I couldn't take it any longer and asked the guy if I could check our bags, as I had our boarding passes with me. Sure, I could. ?? But he did let me check them, so at least when Allison returned (bless her!), we just got right into the security line, and actually got to the gate with time to spare before boarding.

The flight was uneventful and blessedly brief (it's been a while since I've flown, well, anywhere but Portland, actually!), and getting the rental car was pretty easy. I had arranged to meet our friend JoAnne at the rental car place, as her other car was in the shop and driving together was way easier, anyway. The only hassle at the rental car place was a little extra pressure to get a larger car. "Just $5 a day more," she said with a practiced air. Since my rate was already about $20/day, a whopping 25% increase seemed extreme to me--even though the budget/compact cars did seem really sparse. No auto door locks? I finally bargained her down to an extra $2 a day and loaded our luggage into a Pontiac Vibe. Not a bad car (for an automatic, yech). Visibility was very good and gas mileage was, I think, excellent. We drove Ontario-Anaheim-around Anaheim quite a bit-Riverside-North Hills-Burbank on less than one tank of gas. I love Unlimited Mileage. I well remember the limited mileage of rental cars when I was younger.

JoAnne arrived just after I had set up the portable DVD player for G that I just picked up at Costco recently. She and Mary installed Ryan's carseat and off we went to Disneyland. We had a great day. I can't remember exactly what we did that day, as it blends into the next, but we did go on Autopia, where G really drove quite well, after he made it clear to me that he was trying just as hard as he could to drive well (curves are hard). We also went on the Buzz Lightyear ride, where JoAnne trounced me on points but we all had fun. (To see us, go here and enter 7E234083A44DB70E251124665C6293F2 .)

JoAnne had managed to get us a room at the new Doubletree Inn and Suites--she got us a suite, actually!--so we headed there about 3PM to get the kids to nap so that we could go back and stay until the fireworks began at 9:25. After much resistance, they both dropped off and slept nearly 2 hours. Dang, that room was nice. Not only good coffee and tea, with actual mugs, but also a separate "lounge" room with a hide-a-bed couch and its own TV. We chatted while I knitted on my mom's Christmas sock (last Christmas, for those of you keeping score at home). When the kids woke up, we stopped at Buca di Beppo for a very tasty dinner, and headed back to Disneyland for some more fun and the incredible fireworks show, including an actual flying-looking Tinkerbell (not just a straight shot, but flying up & down and back & forth. I said to JoAnne, "You couldn't pay me to do that"). What was especially lucky was that we managed to stay that night for the fireworks, and the next night, when we weren't planning to stay--they were canceled (too much wind). They really were incredible.

Oh, we also went on the rocket ride, after which G vehemently stated that he would never go on that again, ever! I'm with him. It was damned scary. (Hint: keep the rocket level for minimal fear. Lowering makes you think you're going to fall out to the left, raising makes you think you'll fall to the right.)

Friday morning, we had a reservation for a Character Breakfast in the Grand Californian. OMG, that hotel! It is so gorgeous. I kept saying, "I want to win something where I stay here." JoAnne kept saying, "Yeah, at Christmas." I'd answer, "No, anytime!!" It is just like Disney to omit no detail. It is just beautiful and warm feeling. Even the pool is absolutely charming.

After breakfast, we walked into California Adventures (I had gotten Park Hopper passes so as not to worry about going back & forth). Since we were there anyway, JoAnne thought we should get FastPasses for Tower of Terror. The ropes were going to drop in 15 mins anyway, and the kids wanted to see the fountain. The fountain has water that is constantly changing--a growing waterfall, a surflike wave, all sorts of patterns. They got a kick out of throwing pennies in.

When the rope dropped, we went straight to T of T, but the FastPass machines weren't working. We asked about the Parent Swap, and they gave us a blue paper to do it. I went right into the line, which wasn't long (estimated 15 mins but I think it was less), and went through the ride. Screamed, screamed, screamed. I held onto the metal handhold on one side of my seat and kept thinking, "I should leave the other handhold for the lady next to me..." but every time the thing dropped, I grabbed for it. Very exciting.

Came out, found the strollers, but no kids nor JoAnne! I forgot to ask her where she went--bathroom, or to see a character? Anyway, she came back soon with the kids and went right in.

Then we headed over to Disneyland and took the train all the way around to ToonTown to see Mickey in his house. Dang, that line is long. G was really having trouble controlling himself and we almost stepped out. But we got in, G handed Mickey a note that said "I love you Mickey," I snapped a photo of them hugging, and he got his notebook signed. "Mom, it says 'Your pal, Mickey Mouse'! I'm his pal!" Yeah, that's why we go to Disneyland. He was thrilled. (Ryan preferred to climb all over the set and drive the boat. Too funny.)

We also finally did the canoes I've been jonesing for for years now. The last time I went, the guy leading the canoe kept up this banter that was so funny, I had to stop paddling. (You provide all of the steam power in the canoes.) This time--no banter! I was so disappointed. It just seemed like a lot of exercise this way. Exercise is OK, but witty banter, way better.

We managed to catch most of a fantastic parade through Disneyland that evening, after eating at Cafe Zocalo, and headed out, only to be consumed by crowds leaving after the no-fireworks announcement. I got some stuff at the store (new card holder for me, and gifts for Katie for her birthday!) and we got in the car and drove to Riverside.

More later...

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

First Spring/Summer game

The season's first Green game was last night. It was SO great to know Susan's always going to be on my team, rather than last season's squad shuffling--sometimes I'd play with her, sometimes against her...!

Several former Green players showed up (Sue Coakley, Steph, Andrea with Liz). So great to see them all! I'm almost done thinking, "Dang, Andrea's really late this time. When's she going to get here?"

We had full benches on both sides, but only one goalie (ugly visions of last season looming). Argh. The game went very well, though; even though we could not put a puck in the net, we took tons of shots. I tried my hardest to lift the puck over Nora's stick into the net, but most of the time, there were just too many bodies in the way! At one point, though, I had the puck in the corner and put a sweet cross to Susan, who took a gorgeous shot. It is so fantastic when things click like that--having someone be exactly where you want her to be. Yeah!

Nora's team is very strong. Several 'new' players have clearly played, or at least skated, a lot before. We'll see how the season works out. It should be fun. I was pleasantly surprised by several of our new players that I picked without really knowing who they were. And next time, I'll actually arrive on time, with a full roster in my hand!

First, the birthday weekend

I'm just going to cut & paste my note to the April 2000 board here. Some of you already know much of this... sorry if it's dull!

Friday, G's class enjoyed mini muffins to celebrate his birthday with him (store-bought, because choir practice is Thurs night and I knew I'd have no time to also make muffins!). That night, I baked 2 dozen chocolate cupcakes. Saturday started out with some rain (ugh!), but I'd bought a pop-up canopy on Friday just on a hunch. As we arrived at the park, the rain had completely stopped, and G and I tried to set up the canopy. We got pretty far, but at some point, you just need 2 adults setting it up--and that's when my uncle and aunt arrived. Yay! We got it set up and pivoted it over to cover the table. I set out the tablecloth, cupcakes, frostings, and sprinkles, plus fresh fruit and muffins for the adults. The kids started arriving and spent the whole party checking in at the table and running off to play on the play equipment. It did rain steadily (but softly) for about 1/2 an hour at one point, but the canopy really sheltered... the parents. The kids were in raincoats and didn't care!

After the rain really let up, I broke out the kites. All the kids got choices and really tried to get them up. Not enough wind. G's kite completely broke at one point, so I went back to the car and got out his fish kite from Costco that I'd just bought on a whim. It's a clownfish (but not Nemo) and is really cute--and nice! It took a while to figure out all the wires that needed to be connected up,and I got it up a few times, but the wind just wasn't enough. (and my toes were getting swampy, and G had lost interest)

As the kids left, I handed out sidewalk chalk and bubbles and a little 99-cent stuffed beanbag toy from Walgreen's. They were a big hit! One kid stayed behind and did bubbles and sidewalk chalk with G while his mom helped me clean up and collapse the canopy. One of the kids declared it the best party she'd ever been to. I was glad I'd packed a bag full of scarves, hats, and raincoats!

We went home and relaxed, and went to bed early. Sunday morning, my alarm went off at 5AM and I got up, got ready, and was picked up for Sunrise Service at a local church. I had grabbed G's pants, shirt, and sweater... but no shoes! I just carried him to the car in his PJs, strapped him in, and tucked a blanket around him. We've done this a lot for car trips. It wasn't till I was dressing him at the church (in the car) that I realized his shoes were not with us. Oops! So I carried him into the church. Service was beautiful, sunrise was hiding (fog, again!).

Then we went home, I changed to a dress I liked better, and went to church to prepare for our church's Easter service. It went well--we sang two songs with the choir and played 1 song on the handbells that went very well. Afterward, we had a cake from Costco and sang Happy Birthday to G. Then, we packed up quickly and went off to a "swap"--a group of gals and I get together maybe once a year with our perfectly usable things that we just don't care for any more, and go home with new (to us) stuff. I unloaded my gold lacey dress and went home with some clothes no one else wanted but now realize *I need to donate, as I don't love them*!

We came home and I baked probably 7 dozen mini cupcakes for Y-kids today. I made a batch of frosting this morning and iced 3/4 of them, and then took out the store-bought frosting to ice the rest. Woke G up, and he was THRILLED with the "sleep set" I had bought & had monogrammed from Disney (blanket, pillow, eye shades, and bag with Mickey on them). Then he got his precious Lucky Charms cereal for breakfast and I took him to Y-kids, to celebrate his "real" birthday with the kids there.

Phew! And we still leave for Disneyland Thursday!

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Latest update to the grand water saga

So my neighbor finally came home, didn't see my note (apparently always comes in the door), and I told him the deal. I had finally bought a good pump (and returned the first one, as it didn't pump water but preferred to spend its time getting really hot and humming ever so slightly) and pumped out the area, twice (sigh).

He got a little agitated when I stressed again that it had never been this bad, even at the height of El Nino, and finally said, "OK, I get it! It's my fault!" OK, so we can get past this now. He had a great idea of having a buried pipe with the outputs of our two sump pumps going all the way to the street. Works for me. We'll see how far we can get with that this weekend. Yay!

And now that he's moved his sump pump's output, I only had about 1 inch to pump out tonight. What a freakin relief, I cannot tell you.

Dark spot: When I was delivering the note to the neighbor, Maddy got out, in the sneaky way she does. And she crossed Buena Vista, again. Not just on any day where there can be plenty of trucks, but on trash day, where at least 3 trucks visit our street (garbage, mixed recycling, and greens recycling). Yikes. But as I was sure I was going to find her lifeless body next to the street, I was glad to find her alive. Damn dog. I love her, but argh.

Mystery solved

It did seem odd that the water table was so high. As I finished pumping out the basement the second time, I noticed water seeping through my foundation into the front of my garage. Went outside. Yep, there's a big puddle right next to the front of my garage. Went around to the side. Yep, all the grass next to my house is swamplike. Walked farther up the driveway. Oh.

My neighbor had told me about changing the way his sump pump water goes--that it had been going right next to his house, which was getting his foundation wet. I thought he'd redirected it farther down the driveway.

Nope; he's redirected it across the driveway so that my foundation is soaked and my basement floods spectacularly.

Fortunately, he's a good neighbor and I'm sure my note will completely solve this (asking him to get a longer plastic hose and redirect it down the driveway to the street). But since he's completely saturated all the area around that side of my foundation, my pumping career is not over.

sigh.

My Ahab

Was about to take G to school this morning when I looked down and realized that the 1-2" I had left last night had grown to easily 5". It did not rain between 3AM and 7AM, I don't think. This must have seeped UP from the French Drain. Need I rail against French Drains again???

I restarted the pump and it pumped very poorly. Took G to school, called in to work, and went down to investigate. Pump is completely clogged with rose leaves. Unclogged it, and voila--full capacity again. Till it gets completely clogged with a rose hip.

Next, I'll go price sump pumps.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Noah's freakin ark.

Came home tonight to find that my basement is flooded by about 6" of water. Argh. This is even worse than during El Nino, which prompted me to get my little pump that is pumping its little life out trying to empty my basement. I'm frustrated that I didn't even notice when we stopped home after work/school. I think it'll take at least 3 hours to pump the water out. Heck, there might have been a few inches of water this morning I could have pumped out.

Why did people plan driveways that slope down from the street, and then only put crappy-ass French Drains in them? Because French drains are crap. Why didn't I get a sump pump put in last month? I think I have/had a bag of plaster of Paris in the cabinet at the back of the garage. It's now, surely a hard lump of plaster. (sigh) At least I already moved the twin box spring out of the car area and up on saw horses.

ARGH!

Friday, April 07, 2006

Who's in charge here?

Just heard last night that a teacher in Ventura had an unexploded 40mm round on his desk as a paperweight for years. He'd found it and thought it was an interesting paperweight. Well, two days ago, the thing blew up, and he lost part of his hand.

My question is--where was the principal when this schmo brought it into his classroom in the first place? What part of "no weapons in school" does he not understand?

Here's the story.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Anglo-centric anyone?

Because I follow Liz around like a leetle puppy, here are my visited countries:



create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands


And where am I going next year? France. I'm so dull.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Now that is stupid.

I got the Citispank Dividend card after SoopahViv raved about it. It's pretty sweet; I get a 5% cash rebate on gas, groceries, and drugstore purchases, and 1% on everything else.

I have been paying off the balance in full every month so as to accrue no interest charges. Unfortunately, this involves a silly dance wherein I go to the C'bank website to find out the total balance on the last statement, and then I go to my bank's Web Billpay to set up a payment for that amount less the minimum (it pays the minimum automatically so I never get late charges).

Well, this payment cycle, I forgot to set up the payment. Just checked it, and it's due today. Oops. Poked in the numbers to Web Billpay and the payment set up automatically for tomorrow. That won't do.

So I go to the credit card website and try to do their fancy schmancy Click To Pay. Glitch: your first time doing Click to Pay, you can only pay the minimum due or $1000, whichever is greater. My balance is more than that.

"Fine," I think. "I'll just call and do the payment." I call up and enter my account number in full twice (WTF?) and finally get a human on the phone... and its a fourteen-dollar charge to do any payment by phone.

That's a fourteen-dollar charge... to pay them. They are charging me money... to pay them.

HUH?