Japanese Garden Field Trip

Too sick to write much.  These pics were taken at the Japanese Gardens on Friday with daughter's honors lit class.  Absolutely stunning, I can't wait to take Mother-in-law and Grandmother to see these gardens!

M's Beat Giants 5-4

Dad is here visiting Grandmother for the long weekend but I managed to steal him away from her for a few hours to take him to a Mariners game on Sunday.  It was a GORGEOUS day for a baseball game!  Dad and I watched the M's beat San Fransisco including a 2 run homer by Griffey that reminded me of the old days when Junior was everybody's kid brother on the team instead of one of the old-timers.

Our seats were right down the right field line, second row, behind the ball-girl.  Stepmonster's brother scored them for me - he's a sports ticket pimp - and they were KILLER seats!

Here's Dad grinning at the awesome view we had of the field.

Here I am with my boyfriend Frankie Gutierrez.  I've mentioned what a hot tamale he is, right?  Drool...

And here is Frankie's hot butt.  Obviously it's the butt on the left, the one on the right isn't hot at all - it's attached to Wlademir Balentien - but he is a damn good player.  Just not as hot as my Frankie.

There's nothing better than a sunny afternoon at the ballpark with my favorite baseball fan in the world.  I can't wait to do it again.

He Was Pushed

This story is just too good (funny) not to share.

"Chen Fuchao, a man heavily in debt, had been contemplating suicide on a bridge in southern China for hours when a passer-by came up, shook his hand -- and pushed him off the ledge."

Calm down, the jumper didn't die, there was an inflatable cushion on the ground under him so he ended up with spine and elbow injuries instead of his head squashed on the pavement like a watermelon.  If he had died, I would never have posted this.  I'm sick but not THAT sick!

This is a semi-regular occurrence in Seattle, with the bridge of choice among the suicidal being the Aurora bridge.  And it almost inevitably is during rush-hour traffic causing some frustrated commuters to holler "JUMP" at the suicidal individual trying to decide if they do indeed want to go through with it.  The man in China who pushed the jumper off immediately made me think of the Aurora bridge traffic snarls the last time this happened and if any of the people who yelled "JUMP" would really have gone so far as to push the poor guy off the bridge.

I sure hope not.

But it's still funny.  Since the guy didn't die and all...

The Usual End-of-Quarter Freak Out

Papers due, finals to study for, group projects to finish and only two and a half weeks to get it all done.

***

Just found out Mother-In-Law will most likely be arriving early in June.  Like at the end of finals week.  OMG THE HOUSE IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO BEING CLEAN!!!  And the yard, ay-yi-yi.  It is a complete and total disaster.

***

Daughter is failing science and, because I am an idiot, the penalty for failing science is going to summer school.  Every weekday for six weeks.  To which I have to drive her to and from.  Early in the morning.  In the summer.  ARGH!  This whole being a responsible parent thing sucks big hairy ones sometimes.  I sure hope she can get her act together in the last five weeks of school that is left.

***

I am now going to call a housecleaner, arrange for yardwork to be hired out and have a nervous breakdown.  Thank GOD Dad is visiting this weekend because he can keep Grandmother happy and entertained so I can get all this other shit done.  Cracking the whip on husband and kids starting NOW....

Tamarack

On Saturday daughter and I went to a Spring Celebration at our friends getaway home - Tamarack - on Puget Sound.  It's on a bluff overlooking the sound and is an absolutely stunning property.  They have hundreds of different varieties of rhododendrons on the property and this is the perfect time to see them in bloom.  It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

Unfortunately neither daughter or I had on the right kind of shoes to shimmy down the "path" to the beach (It was almost straight down a cliff I swear to God!) but we did go all over the gardens and property exploring.  There is even a secret room in the house hidden behind a bookcase with a spring-open door built into it!

Here is daughter holding onto a hook that hangs in front of an old barn on the property.  Notice the hitching post on the left!  I couldn't decide if the barn was scary or cool but daughter said it was definitely cool.  She spent Spring Break here last year with her friend and her family and they had all kinds of fun.  Days like this make me glad I live here!

At least until it starts to rain again...

I Apologize

I believe the fact that I find this TOTALLY FUCKING HYSTERICAL qualifies me for "sick person" status.

I am deeply and fundamentally sorry.

BUT IT'S REALLY FUCKING FUNNY!

Sucker

At the end of daughter's kindergarten year I went to the monthly Parent Teacher Organization meeting (when you spend all day every day with a 5 year old and two 4 year olds you get your ass to as many evening meetings like this that you can because it means ADULT COMPANY and you get to leave the kids at home) and they were looking for someone to be the chairperson of the School Carnival the next year.  This was in May and the next School Carnival would be one year away.  A whole year.  Enough time to plan forty-eleven carnivals!  

I volunteered.

There was a very good reason I chose to volunteer for this job, I didn't know anyone.  I figured if I signed up to chair this humongous event then I would meet everyone, make lots of new (GROWN-UP!) friends and get to know the staff at the kids school better.  It worked like a charm.  I met every parent of every kid at the school.  (Mostly because I called all of them looking for people to sign up to work shifts at the different games.)  I had a lot of fun, made some friends I'll have for life, and earned a label that has stuck to this day.

SUCKER.

After that I chaired the carnival - with a lot of help from several people who are now dear friends - I signed up to be on the board of the P.T.O., I signed up to go to the Parent Council meetings at the district office once a month, I helped at dances, teacher-appreciation luncheons and every other school function known to man.  I'm on the email list of every volunteer coordinator in our school district and the Superintendent knows my name and suggests it if another parent is looking for help with a carnival, a volunteer for an event or notes from something we've done in the past.

It's gotten more complicated as the kids have gotten older.  Now I have daughter at the high school, Thing 1 at one middle school and Thing 2 at another middle school.  Three parent groups, three meetings a month, three "opportunities" to help out whenever something is going on.  I managed to distance myself for two years.  Well, by distance I mean that I wasn't on the board of any of the parent groups.  Until now.

Wednesday was the parent group meeting for the high school.  I had told them I would be the co-secretary for next year.  Secretary is easy, you just go to the meetings and take notes.  Now that I have a laptop it would be even easier because I could take the minutes on my computer and not have to type them up later.  Another Mom who has been Secretary for a year was staying on so we could take turns, share the responsibility!  Awesome!

At the meeting it turned out that they had two people for every position except President.  For that position they had nobody.  And before I knew what happened I was elected President of the high school parent group for the 2009-2010 school year.

SHIT!

But there is a silver lining.  I will get to know the Principal.  I'll get to know the staff, the Vice-Principal who is the GOD OF DISCIPLINE and all the secretaries who everyone knows really run the school.  In a student body of 2000 this is a very good thing.  I'll have one whole year to kiss up to everyone before Thing 1 and Thing 2 enter the school as Freshmen and wreak havoc and destruction upon the school's hallowed halls.

Bribery via hours and hours of volunteer time is a very good thing...