Saturday, March 06, 2010

More Than Spirit!!!!!!





Let me hear you clap your hands.

Does anyone know how long the drive is to Atlanta from San Diego?

I cannot say more.

Seriously.

Joy this big is unreal.

I LOVE THIS TEAM.

GO ROBOTICS!

Okay, so I said *more,* but this is so huge... oh, man.

Oh- yeahhhhhhhhhhhha!

Mini Parrot-Ox



Seven in the morning, until eight o'clock at night... she kept going, and going and going. She is the energized, spirited, little sister-big fan of FIRST, and Robotics, and FUN!

And yes, a three day robotics competition is fun. Hey, like Mark says "Do the math, save the world." The way I see it, Maria was making every moment count!


Meeting teams from around the world, learning to shaka with aloha.


Groovin' with her teammates. Cheerin' in the stands, dancing in the arena.


Team San Diego has big stars and Maria was thrilled to meet all of them.


And when you've got Spirit, like this team does, you are bound to have a good time.

Friday, March 05, 2010

BREAKAWAY!

Here we go... GO ROBOTICS, GO ROBOTICS!



Penants :: Check
Feathers :: Check
Colors :: Check
Snacks :: Check
Mentors-Teachers-Parents :: Check-Check-Check
Tools :: Check
Gracious Professionalism :: Check
Winning Team Spirit :: We've Got Spirit, Yes We Do! We've Got Spirit, How About You?!


Funky Monkey Robotics, San Jose.


Team 599 Robodocs! Granada Hills.

FIRST now, sleep later.

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

What? These Ol' Things?

I'll pretend to be coy... My kitty-kitty shoes? You like? They're just something to slip on when I am pussyfooting around.


Here kitty-kitties, come to mama.

Oh, yeah. Had to have them. I saw them at Happy Zombie's house, and then I traipsed over to Calamity Kim's place and sure enough, there they were again.

Meow!


I hope you can adopt a pair too. With any kitties you bring home there is a period of adjustment... they were a bit tight across the top of my feet. Monica, is that why you removed the strap? But, beauty hurts, as the saying goes, so I wore them for a little bit at a time every now and again, and I find they are loosening up and getting comfortable. I know that when Nikkipolani brings home kitties, they get the best, and Aunt Carol would give them her utmost love and devotion too.

It's funny. Most places I go, I am like the invisible woman. Quiet. Low-key. Mousy. Dressed to kill mildly irritate. But the kitties they Meow and whenever I take them out on the town, they turn heads. It kind of throws me off-guard, when they call attention, purring like they do. They get a lot of compliments. Many, many comments and nods of approval.

Tara, if they came in Chicken I'd faint.

If they came in Maria's size, she would leap, fly and slide down a rainbow.

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

The List
This is not to be confused with a bucket list. This is a list meant to kick my posterior in to immediate action. A reminder. An organizer. A contract. My destiny. The ugly truth. A dare. High priorities for the month.

*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>Update*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>
I did cross some things of the big list. And so I will add my "Best Foot Forward."



1. buy freezer paper, and shoe laces
2. buy food for dinner, breakfast, lunch, dinner :: repeat X 3
3. package and mail all kinds of stuff
4. prepare Greengoose for regionals 1 & 2
5. pick up Max's homework packet
6. get snack calendar for Maria's classroom
7. schedule parent conference with Ms Jane
8. turn men's medium T-shirt in to a dress
9. trim the ends of Maria's hair
10. email Daniel and get hair cut appointments for Max and Alex
11. get dishwasher repaired
12. find Japanese language tutor (He couldn't take Spanish?!)
13. incorporate yoga in to routine
14. incorporate routine in to life
15. pay bills
16. get Odyssy Odeyssy Odyssey car repaired
17. carve out personal time to contemplate navel
18. see # 13 :: find navel
19. learn French
20. find users' manual for the camera
21. read users' manual for the camera
22. apply knowledge to use of the camera
23. decipher Google's intentions for urls hosted by Blogger, but not using Blogger
24. rescue Chcieknblog C h i c k e n b l o g from Google-Blogger destruction mission
25. create new Chickenblog label for items that should be filed under "Disturbing, Yet Captiavating, But Mostly Disturbing"
26. host a discussion about why I am disturbed by many things that occurred in the seventies
27. clean the house
28. build a chicken coop
29. turn the garage in to the ultimate workshop and laundry facility ever created
30. clean the house again
31. reaffirm my commitment to never play Dynomite again
32. turn the compost
33. clarify that Geoff will be the one actually doing # 23 and #24
34. take cats to vet
35. think happy thoughts
36. make plan for spring break
37. make plans for summer
38. get school registration(s) signed, sealed, set
39. make time to see friends
40. see friends
41. visit family
42. host a giveaway

I bet there's more. There is always more, right? I registered a miniscule sense of achievement when I addressed part of #2, part of #10, and all of #6. Does this count as #35, think happy thoughts? No. I would like to aim a bit higher.

Truthfully, # 29 makes me excited. I have a vision.

This list is serious. It's so serious I am not even going to include a picture. Serious things rarely include illustrations. Isn't that sad? Okay, if I accomplish five things from the list today I will add a picture of something good. Something worthy of 3-2-1-0!

Monday, March 01, 2010

Trying For Understated


Some persons want things to be quiet, reserved, low-key, understated, when it comes to their special day. I need to respect a particular person's right to come in under the radar. This is hard to do.

A birthday is personal. Mine is personal to me, and yours is personal to you. But none of us are born alone. Someone bore us, and I have understood and appreciated this since March 1, 1991. Actually, the concept was really contracted home for about twenty fours prior. His birthday is my birthday, and while I do not see this as license to take center stage, I cannot help feeling connected and responsible, involved.

I will save all my messages and affection, my deep thoughts, and other musings for him alone.

And for the record, I will talk about pie.

My mommy dreamt up a pie. It was a feeling, an emotion, an expression of culinary destiny. I think her vision's mission statement is: Pie Should Not Be Understated.


When she came in December she and I were on the lookout for varieties of chipotle jelly, jam, chutney, preserves and powder. We were going for something without dyes. Something that didn't taste pickled or overly processed. She already had great success with her developing recipe when she baked pies in Southampton, Ontario, and over Thanksgiving with the Soquel family and guests.

The pie she baked while she was here was declared "the best pie ever," by her three grandsons. "The best pie ever." This is huge. A statement like this, from the founding fathers of The Pumpkin Pie Club, children who frequently vote for pie over any other dessert... this is monumental. I probably should have a separate Chickenblog label for all of the dear, life altering, life affirming pie moments we have shared. Homemade pies, birthday pies, road trip pies, wedding pies, local pies, a tragic salted pie, Wisconsin cherry pies, Central Coast Olallieberry pies...

Seriously. Their statement about Grandma BooBoo's Chipotle Apple Pie is a landmark in the legacy of pie.

Mom found a marvelous chipotle jam and sent it to me, and the boys have waited in patient anticipation for me to attempt making Grandma BooBoo's Chipotle Apple Pie. As yet, there is not an "official" recipe, and my mom was a bit disappointed in the version she baked while she was here, using chipotle powder. She was disappointed, but the boys were clearly not. I added half this jar of jam, decreased my sugar, and proceeded to make my basic apple pie, and... Success!

I wish Delia were here so we could fine tune the recipe and make scientific measurements, but the boys are completely onboard with this spicy chipotle pie, so we must be in the right zone.

Pictures. of. finished. pie.
Uh, well sorry, but there was a bit of a pie frenzy and no one wanted to pose or look natural, so maybe next time.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Remembering Two Years Ago...


If we got in the car right now, and only made quick stops, we might be able to get here in time for a late hike and dinner. Part of me is imagining "here" as the same time and place, but I know that is not possible. Time travel. Not possible, except in our memories. Thank goodness for memories, and photographs, and blog archives.

And moving forward, we have a special day to celebrate. Time to harass William a bit and force him to choose some kind of something to do in his honor.