Nada

I've had nothing to share.

Nothing exciting, that is.

I've started to write and then stopped and then started and then stopped and then finally gave up and watched movies.

Some good...like Secretariat.

Some not...like The Tourist.

What else?

That guy that I like so much and I went and saw Harry Potter on opening night at 12:01am...but first saw part 1 at 9:00pm.  When was the last time you saw a double feature?  I'm not sure I ever really have....and it was a blast.  I cried because I have loved the books and movies and am sad that it is ending.

I washed my car this week after our big road trip and found $10.00 while folding up the 3rd row.  No one has come forward so it's all mine.

We've had 6 basketball games this week.  So far.  Two more tomorrow.

I ate a rather incredible piece of pizza with pesto, ricotta and chicken on it and I cannot stop thinking about it.  YUM.

And finally...on Thursday I got laid off from my job.  And to be honest, I cannot even go there yet.  I'm just too tired of things being thrown my way in the last few months.

Too tired.  Too tired.  Too tired.  Too tired.

Too tired.

Road Trippin', Part Deux

Lake Tahoe was incredible.

The boys played basketball.

The parents had cocktails and played Words with Friends with each other while sitting right next to each other...helps to control the cheating, and just had fun hanging out.

=0)

And then we had to come home.

My nephew needed to be dropped off, so we met my sister-in-law at the 2nd most happy place on earth.

Huge warehouse on the outside, dinky little store on the inside and only one bathroom.  

Kinda strange, actually.

The upside?

Lotsa chocolate.

And lotsa cousins.

Loaded up on sugar, we drove all the way back down the longest state ever and headed home.

It took for-ev-er.  

But we made it safe and sound...just in time for more basketball.  The things we do for our kids, eh...but it was SO FUN (and much needed!!) to be able to get away for awhile!

=0)

Road Trippin', Part 1

I'm not going to lie...the past few months have been stressful and all I wanted to do was to get out of dodge.

Or Orange County.

Thankfully the opportunity arose, so we loaded up the two younger boys and added one 13yr old nephew and drove and drove and drove.

And drove.

Seriously, we live in a wickedly long state.  It goes on and on and on and while traveling roads that we have never driven before I learned something new...my state is GORGEOUS.

And diverse.

Desert and redwoods and mountains and big cities and little towns and farmland...on our 10 hour drive we saw it all and I loved every bit of it.

Well...almost.  The part where that guy that I like so much got the big 'ole speeding ticket I could have done without, but oh well.  You can't have it all.

=0)

The main reason for our trip was for a basketball tournament.  The team stayed at a cheap-o motel where they did team bonding sort of things that involved all kinds of things that I would rather not know about...though it wasn't hard to notice that they all had mohawks after the first night.

I am happy to report that the clippers did not come from my house.

The parents stayed around the corner at a nice hotel and we had a ball...I am seriously going to miss all of this next year when our boys graduate.  

In between games and hanging out with friends, we had plenty of time for fun stuff in Lake Tahoe with Brian and his cousin Nate.

They skateboarded and swam and played video games and ate everything in sight and went with us on a gondola 10,000 feet up to the top of the mountain.

 The best part?

SNOW in July!

=0)

My #25 played well and I couldn't help but think back to one year ago at this very same tournament where Alex was recovering from major knee surgery that kept him off the court for close to 7 months.

God is good.

=0)

To be continued...

=0)

Back Home Again

We just returned late last night (after a 10 hour drive) from a really, really, really (REALLY!) great trip to Lake Tahoe where the sky was blue and the air was fresh and the trees were green and the friends were fun.

It. was. lovely.

I'll share pictures once I download them (I'm sure the camera cord is somewhere!) but I'll leave you with a bunch of pictures of my boys with their cousins.  

Focus on the tall one...my Alex, and feel my pain when it comes to trying to get just one good picture.

=0)

(from R to L...my niece Kelsey, my Brian, my Alex, my nephew Nate)

See what I mean?

=0)

Holiday Weekend

I've spent the last week cleaning...the kind of cleaning that no one ever notices but needs to done every now and then.

Closet cleaning.

I have cleaned each and every closet in our little house on our little street and now have a gas guzzling SUV packed full of stuff that needs to be dropped off at the Goodwill.

Every boys closet...clean.  My big master closet...clean.  Linen closet? Clean.  Under every bathroom sink...clean.

It sure feels good.

OK...in truth, I was looking for something.  Something I bought that was kinda expensive and which I now need and can't find.

And I never did find it, which means I probably threw it out months ago on accident.

Oh well.  

But if you come to my house and peek under the bathroom sink, you'll now notice that there are no longer 18 bottles of mostly gone and expired sunscreen under there.

Just sayin'.

Other events over the 4th of July weekend involved two evenings sitting in my neighbors backyard, drinking wine and singing our lungs (and hearts) out to 80's music...I do have it on tape but when I looked back at it I realized something big.

 I can't sing worth a lick.

I've always sort of known...I mean, I am married to a guy who deals with singers as a career and every time I belt (yep...belt) out a tune he always cringes and gets this pained look on his face. 

But being that I am who I am, I just sing louder because I have always felt that part of my job is to drive him a tad little bit crazy...I mean, he is the one who puts the empty sunscreen bottles under the bathroom sink.  

And why nag when you can sing slightly off key?

But now I have me on tape singing 'Open Arms' along with Steve Perry...and let's just say that it's not pretty.  Must've been the wine.

=0)

Every year we have hosted a pancake breakfast on the 4th but this year I just never pulled it together...lots of basketball and other stuff going on around here, but my neighbors rallied and we had a small, yet lovely breakfast at their house.

And I've said it before and I'll say it again...it does take a village.  And these peeps here in these little houses on this little street are my village...and we have needed this village in the last few months.

I am thankful that this is where we were planted.

I also learned this weekend that onions and I just don't get along so well anymore.

The pico de gallo  tasted great a few days ago but I'm still tasting onions after brushing my teeth a bazillion times.

Too much info?

In other exciting news, I bought 4 new pairs of flip flops at Old Navy for $7.96.

Not each pair but total for 4 pairs.

How cool is that?

Fireworks are illegal in my town this year....piccolo peets hurt my ears but I love the whirley flowers and sparklers.  

We safely broke the law before the big fireworks show that our association (legally) puts on once darkness hits.

=0)

Did you have a nice weekend?

Insta Friday. Driving!

I haven't written all week because, well, it's hard to write when all you do is drive, drive, drive.

Drive to and from summer music school.  Drive to and from summer basketball practices.  Drive to and from skateparks, gyms, and friends houses.

Good thing I like these boys.

=0)

Alex's team is playing in bunches of summer tournaments, so we've been driving about 30 minutes north of here 2 - 3 times a week (and will continue to for the month of July) and all the games start around 5:30pm.

Perfect for meal times.  Not.  But right across from the school is Volcano Burger, a great hole in the wall little burger place with a bazillion different kinds of burgers (I recommend the avocado burger!)...we've driven through this drive thru no fewer than 4 times in the last 2 weeks.

The cats haven't been driving...they've been lounging in the shade and catching butterflies in the twilight, which I much prefer to birds and mice.

The baby, who doesn't look like a baby anymore, has what we hope to be only 7 more weeks of having his mouth locked shut for 16 hours a day (after getting lectured by the orthodontist yesterday because we weren't on 'lock down' enough)...but look at these beautiful teeth!

Once this phase is over, they'll slap (well, not really slap...) braces back on for a year or so.  In the meantime, the kid is devouring every gummy like substance he can during the 8 hours he's allowed to chew.

=0)

Drove to a nearby restaurant for a girls only dinner the other night (Pablo's at The District) and had the most amazing cucumber margarita.

Bigger than my head but YUM.  Salty and cucumbery...crazy strange but so good!

Breakfast with that guy that I like so much after I told him I missed him...we've been on the go so much and even though he's been home, we have such a crazy schedule that we haven't had a chance to chat.

So we snuck out and ate in front of the fire (nevermind that it was 80 outside) and then shopped at Costco.

It's the little things.

Is it sad that I think this is a bargain?  It is for southern CA...

What has your week been like?

(linking up my week with Jeannett!)