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Homeschooling with Friends

Jan 1st, 2010 by

We were so happy to spend the day with our friends, K and N.  We spent part of the day doing school, part of the day running errands, and part of the day running around the house.  Here is a picture of the kids working on their ‘Explode the Code’ phonics books…

We also learned about cave paintings and made our own "cave paintings" on grocery bag paper…

‘R’s drawing is of a cobra at top, two bulls butting heads, and a bumblebee at the bottom…

‘A’s drawing is of two deer and a sheep at top, two bulls also butting heads in the middle, and a cobra on the bottom…

Posted in HOMESCHOOL | Comments Off

Two Science Experiments

Jan 1st, 2010 by

This first experiment had the potential to being really neat, but alas, we did not have the right "ingredient".  The idea was to place dried beans in a small plastic container, add water, and place the lid over it.  We hypothesized that the beans would soak up the water and increase in size.  The added volume would cause the lid to pop off.

Well, it kind of worked.  We did not have any beans, so I used split peas (or lentils? I don’t recall) instead.  They cause the lid to expand, but not pop.

The second experiment was to see how water affects sugar.  We colored the water blue so we could see how it climbed up the sugar tower.  We added way too much water and caused the sugar tower to dissolve quicker than anticipated.  It was still fun.  I took video, but am having problems uploading it.

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When Companies Have Their Priorities Straight: Papa John’s

Dec 19th, 2009 by

If you live in Washington, you would have heard this news story.  Even if you don’t live in Washington, chances are you heard of this tragedy anyway.

On November 29th, four police officers were gunned down while sitting in a coffee shop.  Three of the four officers were married and all were parents.  A massive search for the gunman ensued and the suspect was shot and killed. 

Some of the Papa John’s Pizza restaurants in Washington state decided to donate 100% of their sales for two days to the officer’s families.  Think about that….100% of sales…ALL PROCEEDS, NOT JUST PROFITS… from 42 restaurants!

Thanks to water cooler gossip, and our modern day forms of communication (email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), word about this fundraiser spread like wildfire.  Papa John’s franchise owners had no idea how successful their effort would become.  They estimated that they might be up to four times busier than normal, but the reality was more like 10 to 12 times!  They also estimated that they might raise about $20,000.  I have not been able to find information on the results, but I am certain it’s much higher than that.

Wait time for pizza stretched into over an hour.  Some places ran out of pizza dough.  Oregon state employees drove up to help out and bring supplies.  Customers even helped assemble pizza boxes.   Many of the stores had to stop answering their phones.  Reports were that many of the restaurants got more orders in eight hours than they would get in a whole week.  But, instead of crumbling under the pressure, they did the best they could and for those who could not place an order, they asked customers to purchase gift cards and all those proceeds would go to the families.

I appreciate that these owners took any idea of sales and profit out of the picture and focused on helping out the devestated families.  I appreciate the people of Washington state who helped to spread the word, purchase pizzas, and practice patience while Papa John’s tried to accommodate all to the best of their abilities.  I appreciate that this effort was made immediately, without much deliberation on the financial ramification.

I personally have never eaten at Papa John’s, but I will now.  The owners of these 42 restaurants demonstrated  integrity, strong character, and honor;  attributes seemingly scarce in today’s society.  Having worked in the food service industry, my heart goes out to all the workers who really went above and beyond to support their restaurant’s vision.  I hope they all were able to rest well after those two days and I hope Santa leaves a little something extra in their stocking this Christmas 🙂

Posted in MISC. | 1 Comment »

Service Project

Dec 13th, 2009 by

The local Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs teamed up with the Eureka school district to collect food and gifts for local members of the community in need.  The boys and I spent a couple of hours Friday afternoon sorting canned and boxed foods.  On Saturday, our family, along with our friends Crystal and Eric, wrapped the boxes and delivered foor and gifts to the some of the homes.  It was a humbling experience and we were all grateful to be in the position to serve in this way…

Crystal


David and ‘A’ with our friend Eric…

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Art: Mixing Colors

Dec 13th, 2009 by

In a previous lesson, the boys practiced mixing primary colors.  This lesson focused on mixing all different colors.

‘A’ made "an imaginary world, with a gold bush and blue sun"

‘R’ made: "a flowering tree, two flowers, and fireworks"

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Long Hair Shots

Dec 13th, 2009 by


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California International Marathon Relay 2009

Dec 13th, 2009 by

This is what happens when a group of moms are sitting together…

Colleen: (who can run the whole marathon by herself),  said: “Let’s get a group together and run in the relay.”

And Team Glucosamine was born.

Someone then suggested a second group was formed  so everyone would have a running partner.  This is where I somehow agreed to running the seven mile leg in the relay!  And Bayside Beauties was formed.

Team Glucosamine
Jodi, Christina, Colleen, Leslie

Bayside Beauties
Tina, Sarah, Leigh, Tara

I had been running a bit and although slow, had a good plan in place for training.  Unfortunately, my mother had a stroke and I went to be with her for a couple of weeks.  I ran a few times while up there, but my head was not in it.  On the the Wednesday prior to the relay, I ran four miles in 57 minutes.  With that information, my plan was to try to run four miles, walk one, then try to run the remaining two.

Sunday morning was clear, but FREEZING!!  Fabio and Ezperanza came with us and we all stood around, waiting for my friend Sarah to finish her leg and pass the relay chip on to me.

When I started running, my hands were frozen.  At about the two mile mark, they started warming up and hurt!!  At mile three, my body had adjusted and was in a good groove.

I was pleasantly surprised to see my family at some of the checkpoints!  I was also in awe to realize that I was able to run the whole seven miles NONSTOP!  This body does not do that!!  We all had a great time and enjoyed a delicious brunch after.

Tara and me post run…

Tina, Colleen, Leslie, Christina, Me, Jodi (Missing: Tara and Sarah)

Brunch after at the Fox and Goose

Posted in MOVE | 1 Comment »

Old Sacramento

Dec 13th, 2009 by

We took Dado and Dada to Old Sacramento.  We planned on spending the day there, but it was so cold, we had to cut it short.

The paddle wheel of the Delta King.

The tall ship, Hawaiian Chieftain, was docked in Old Sacramento and we got to tour it.  This was a fun, unanticipated adventure.


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Napa Day Trip

Dec 13th, 2009 by

My in-laws (the boys grandparents) came for a weekend visit.  After picking up Fabio (Dado) and Ezperanza (Dada), we headed straight to Napa.  It was a cool, clear day.  A perfect Autumn day in December!!

First stop: Rubicon Estate.  This is a beautiful property owned by the movie director, Francis Ford Coppola.  This property was originally Inglenook.  They have a museum that contains "magic lanterns", the predecessor to the movie projector.

Oranges in December….




‘A’ took this one of me…

Bird nests in the eaves…

On to the V. Sattui winery.  V. Sattui used to be a winery in San Francisco during the early 20th century.  they went out of business during the Prohibition.  A relative in the V. Sattui line rebuilt the winery and it is successful today.


V. Sattui has a fabulous deli and picnic grounds.  We had our lunch here.

David said we had to eat everything.  Here he is joking with Ezperanza, "force feeding" her cheese…

Nature Boy and some berries he insisted on taking with him…


When I die, I hope to find a Dean and Deluca in heaven.  Until then, I will just have to settle for Napa…


Oh JOY!!  It’s a candy shaped like Legos!  The boys made creations, then ate them!

Our final stop: Castello di Amarosa.  This property took my breath away.  I did not know what to expect and was aawesomely surprised.  This is also owned by the man that owns V. sattui winery.  He loves Italy and castles and took his favorite elements from castles there and had one created here.  It took 30 million dollars in raw materials and 15 years to build.  We took the tour and got to go four floors underground and see the caves that they store the wines in.

This is one of the entertaining halls.  Apparently this property was used while filming "Bedtime Stories".  They used the castle’s courtyard as a marketplace and this room for something.  We need to go back and see that movie again.

This dragon is above the inner door.  The guide showed us the holes above where knights would pour hot oil on their attackers. (of course, assuming this was an actual medievel castle…)

An antique grape crusher…


Every respectable castle needs a torture chamber.  This was the boys favorite part of the tour…

Posted in FAMILY | 1 Comment »

Menu Plan Monday

Dec 7th, 2009 by

MON: Grilled chicken, Tater tots, Broccoli

TUE: Crockpot BBQ pork, Rice, Salad

WED: Urban Garlic Chicken, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus

THU:  Spanish Rice, Salad

FRI: South African Slow Cooked Boboties, Bread, Fruit

SAT:  Eat Out

SUN: Leftovers

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