Out with the old, in with the new...

I decided that this year I would try to learn as much about my mac as possible. To start, I decided to use their iWeb product to create a family webpage. I'm going to test this out to see if I like it, and well, if my readers like it. The link is:

http://web.mac.com/angelaahunter/Site/Welcome.html

This will be the new location of my blog. Update your blog liks (gosh i'm difficult), and don't visit this blog anymore. (unless this turns out to be a horrible place to host my blog.

They call me the fireman...

This was our big gift of Christmas this year. I stood in line at Toys R Us the day after thanksgiving by myself in 38 degree weather at 4am with nothing but a sweatshirt. I kept telling myself that it would be worth it on Christmas morning. What little boy wouldn't go completely nuts for this thing?? Well, apparently my little boy. He was more interested in Hazel's kitchen and she was more interested in the fire truck. It was a little disappointing, but someday he will love and appreciate it. For now, Hazel and I are enjoying rides to the mailbox and to the park.

The time has come...

I have been waiting to post this to make sure everyone received copies of their very own. I think enough time has passed that it's okay to post the video online. In case you haven't watched it enough, here it is again...

Limited or no connectivity

Has anyone else experienced the terror of recieving this message when trying to connect wirelessly? I HATE THIS MESSAGE WITH A PASSION! I am particularly sensitive to this issue today since I've spent countless hours today trying to get my loaner laptop from work to connect to my network. It is 3:00 pm and I am calling it quits. This message was one of the many reasons I got rid of my PC and switched to a Mac. It is also one of the reasons that I HATE PC'S!

In case you can't tell, I am totally at my wits end trying to resolve this issue. I have packed the stupid loaner laptop up in it's bag and already told everyone at work that I am taking a long weekend and to leave me alone. I am on the verge of throwing the stupid laptop out into the street.

To make matters worse, being that it's 3:00pm, my kids will soon awake from their naps ready to play. My house is trashed, the entire day has been wasted and I really just want to sit on the couch and watch TV for the rest of the day. I suppose a big bowl of ice cream is in order to help cheer me up before "special mommy time" is completely over for the day.

That is all...I just needed to vent.

Gingerbread House

Calvin had a great day at school today, and as a reward he and I made this gingerbread house. For the first 10 minutes he didn't even try any of the candy but that didn't last long. Once he saw me take a nibble he lost interest in decorating and wanted to eat everything. Good thing we were mostly finished by then.

I got this kit at Savemart and I have to say that it was by far the easiest kit I've ever purchased. It was $11.99 which is comparable with the Wilton one at Michael's. This one had way more candy than the Wilton one and it was so much easier to make. Our gingerbread house last year was pathetic. This one was right up Calvin's alley since it was a Snoopy Dog House and it came with candy bones. In case you can't tell from the photo, Calvin is obsessed with all things spooky so putting candy bones on the house was his favorite part.

A Night out on the Town...

Andrew and I enjoyed a lovely night out on Saturday. We attended the TriNet holiday party in Oakland. My neighbors wanted to take our picture before we left and it sort of felt like we were going to the prom. They thought we looked too darn awesome to be driving to the fancy party in a minivan so they decided that we needed to take their custom ordered BMW. They offer this quite a bit and we always say no, but this time I said yes. I mean, it was true...we needed a super cool car to go with our snazzy looking selves. The fun and excitement soon fizzled since Andrew drove like a granny all the way there and back.

In other news, the official results of my race have been posted. It turns out my time was 1 second better than I thought (20:39). For those of you who can't do math in your head as quickly as Merrill, that's a 6:33 pace for 3.15 miles. I'm not trying to toot my own horn, wait, I am...

I was feeling super bummed about not placing on Saturday, but I'm feeling better now since I realized what a competitive race it was. I estimated 100-200 people in this thing and after viewing the results there were 500 women and 300+ men. So, coming in 9th out of 500 women feels pretty good. Hopefully I can shave 30 seconds off my time for the next one!

Bah Humbug!

I just completed my first Bah Humbug run (5k) in San Ramon, CA. Here are the details:

It was 38 degrees.
I had a tummy full of sushi.
I didn't feel like death.
I improved my 5k time from 21:51 (at last month's run) to 20:40.

And all I got was this lousy ornament...



If I had run this last year with a time of 20:40 I would have gotten first place for my age group and 7th overall for women. This year, I missed out on 3rd place by 27 seconds. When I finished the race I thought that maybe I had 30 seconds of speed left in me, but I pushed as hard as I could. I guess 30 seconds of speed would have gotten me to 3rd place.

At least I made a personal improvement on my time and cut 1:11 off my time. I need to begin the hunt for another 5k or even, a 10k (gasp).

So yummy...

Today is my birthday. It was a wonderful day and one of my friends made this card for me. I loved it and had to post a picture of it for everyone to see. She is so clever! I love DJ Lance!

School Pictures

Calvin had his first school photos taken a few weeks ago. You may remember from a recent posting that I had these pictures taken one more while Andrew was in San Diego. The kids ran around the playground and appeared to be filthy by the time it was their turn. I was livid for having to wait so long and the actual picture taking (for my kids) took about 10 seconds. It seemed like the photos from people in front of me went on and on and on.

I wasn't expecting anything great after a 10 second photo shoot but was delightfully surprised by the result. Also, I paid for one package of 1 8x10, 2 5x7. 4 4x6 and 8 wallets. I initially had both kids pose together but then thought that since this was Calvin's school photo I should at least get an individual shot of him. She said that she would put all the pictures online so I could order his individual shot later. Again, I was completely surprised to see TWO packages in Calvin's cubby when I only paid for one. So, I got everything I listed above x2 for $40. I checked the lady's website who did our photos and for a family picture, the sitting fee costs $250. YIKES!

My final surprise was how great these pictures turned out after our 10 second shoot. I couldn't believe it! Maybe she really is worth $250, but it looks like she's only getting $40 out of me!

P.S. This is a picture of the pictures so that's why they look dusty. It's the texture on the photo.

Also, I'm not sure why, but the pictures look a little wide in this shot. Maybe it got stretched on my computer. Calvin's head isn't that wide. :)

11th Annual Salmon Run

Today I completed my very first 5k. I thought it would be a piece of cake. I thought it would be the easiest thing I've ever done. I don't know what I was thinking. Apparantly I am an idiot. The race was tough and I felt like death. However, now that it's over, all I can remember is what a fun time I had. Those stupid endorphins are screwing with me again!

Results:
I placed 1st in my age group (19-29), 2nd for the women and either 5th or 6th overall. My time was 21:51 and the winning female had a time of 18:50 and was 2nd place overall. She is 13 years old. Last year she won with a time of 19:33 and is clearly getting faster with age. I suppose I'll have to pick up my pace for next year.

I'm really enjoying running. It makes me feel like Angela again instead of Mom. I'm looking forward to my next race.

The Halloween Party

Here's a few pics from the party tonight. I wish I had gotten more pictures from the party because it was so neat, but once it got dark I was mostly trying to keep an eye on Calvin. There were so many people there that I didn't even get to eat dinner. The line was always at least 15 minutes long and I left after 2 hours. I didn't think my kids would stand in line with me so I could get food. It's a good thing they had a separate table for kid food so at least they could eat.

I am tired, and this is all I can write. I went into Castro Valley today for my high school track and cross country reunion. They had a 1 mile fun run and I ran it in 6:20. I got first for the women so that was nice. My energy is gone. I am glad Halloween is almost over.

Stop the presses!

I know what you're thinking..."What? Angela has a new post? No way! Where has she been all these weeks? What is new in her life?" Well, today is your lucky day because I'm going to tell you.

Life has been extremely busy for us this month. I'm not going to go into lengthy details because nothing deters a busy auidence like a long, long blog entry that requires *gasp* scrolling.

Here's the quick and dirty:

I volunteered to be in charge of a Super Saturday craft that required massive amounts of my time and was way more than I could chew. I spent every waking moment working on the project and running 11 miles per day, and working 3 hours per day and taking care of the family/household. My brain was 100% focused on this from the late part of September up to October 12th.

October 13th-Super Saturday/Get ready for Disneyland while Andrew works more and more and more.

October 14th-18th-Disneyland: Stay tuned for more on this soon.

October 18th-21st-regaining my sanity and control of the post vacation laundry, only to lose it again on the 22nd when Andrew was sent to San Diego to help with the fires.

October 22nd- Beginning Single Mom status and taking over a huge project that Andrew was supposed to have done before Disneyland but didn't get done. What "project" is that, you ask? Well, let me tell you about it.

Project #1: Andrew calls at 11:00 AM to tell me that he will be going to San Diego and asks if I can meet him at the strike team meeting location 40 minutes from our house sometime between now and 2:30. He's not sure when he'll be there so it would be best for me to leave now to make sure I'm there in time. Oh, and bring his iPod, sunglasses, the camera and video camera. I said no. I wasn't about to give up my entire afternoon to sit at the strike team depo with two children who will have missed their naps and wait for him so he could have an ipod. Sorry Charlie.

Project #2: Spin Spidey. Our ward is having a huge halloween carnival tomorrow night. They have been planning it for 18 months. Andrew took over this project about 3 weeks before Disneyland. He said he would have it done, but he didn't. He did however have the whole idea locked down in his head and most of the supplies purchased. That was good. So, I was left to do it. I have included a picture so you can see the final result, which I am totally proud of. I look at this and think, "I am woman, hear me roar." I am surprised that I was able to complete this all on my own, while again...working, running, taking care of the kids, and with 1 day to spare. Ahhh.

Here's what I did. I used a jigsaw to cut the wood. I loved it, and now I want one. I don't really cut much wood, but if I need to cut more, this is the tool for me. My kids were strapped into strollers watching me, so don't worry, they were completely safe. I covered the entire thing with chicken wire, then took a break to prep for the neighborhood watch meeting and to prepare neighborhood maps that were color - coded by block captains. I also atteneded the neighborhood watch meeting and then afterwards returned to the spider project. I stuffed it with newspaper, then filled it with expandable foam. The next day I cut all the excess foam off and paper mache'd it. I did break to take the kids in for school pictures where I had to stand in line, right in front of a playground with both kids dressed in their Sunday best for 1 hour in the sun. It was horrible and I thought I wouldn't make it through the morning. Surprise, I did. After the paper mache was dry I covered the entire thing with fur, which in my opinion, made this spider. That night (Wednesday) my neighbor came over and helped attach it to the stand. I added the legs today and my neighbor attached the wheel tonight. It's done. All that's left is for us to take it to the chuch. Oh yeah, I also decorated my booth this morning with tons of spider webs. I hope they don't all blow away by tomorrow morning. I'm not really into the eyes. I wasn't meaning for them to be in the triangle pattern so I think I'm going to take them off and adjust them. I need some help in the eye dept because I don't really like them.

So, I can write about this now and laugh and be happy because things are getting better. October was a really bad month. We did lots of fun things, but I feel like I've almost killed myself squeezing so much in. I am really looking forward to November. We're going to take it easy, stay home and SSSSLLLLLOOOOOWWWW down. I need a big break or as Calvin would say, "A big easy."

So my email started out with the quick and dirty but clearly is getting way too long.

Here's a picture, and the latest with Andrew is that he's having a great time and won't be home until sometime next week. Whatever, I'm over it at this point.

Pushing Daisies

We're a few weeks into the new TV season and I have enjoyed most of the shows that hooked me last season. There were many new shows this season that I was interested in checking out. Those shows include Cavemen, Private Practice, Big Bang Theory, and Pushing Daisies. Of these new shows the only one I want to recommend to you is Pushing Daisies.

First of all, let me say that if I am posting this to my blog, and I have not posted anything in a very long time, you should listen. This show was unlike anything I had ever seen. It is cleverly written, directed, and put together. Andrew who only watches the Office said that this would be a show he would definitely continue to watch and that he enjoyed it because it was so unique. He said that he's never seen anything like this on TV before.

I know you're probably all thinking, "But I missed the first episode Angela, what am I supposed to do now?" Don't worry, you can watch the full episode at abc.com, and I would really encourage you to do so. It was wonderful.

As a side note, this show was written about in the Modesto Bee as being one of the only clean primetime shows on TV this season. So, watch this show, if not for any other reason than to support good TV programs.

Here's a blub from another blog that sums up exactly how I felt about this show:

Every once in a while a pilot comes along that completely shocks and surprises you with its dazzling beauty, pitch perfect cast, and its casual ability to create a whole world that you never want to leave.

I'm talking, gentle readers, about Pushing Daisies, which ABC recently ordered to series for the fall season. From the fertile mind of Bryan Fuller (Wonderfalls, Heroes), it's unlike anything you've ever seen on television, a Burtonesque vision of mortality, morality, and, er, pies that sucks you in from the very opening scene and never lets go.

GO, WATCH, NOW!

Wheat

I've recently taken an interest in food storage. Not just building a supply of food, but learning to buy things that are less expensive and rotate them through my regular meal preparation. I like to have a "two week at a time" menu plan which I created in Excel and contains data for the last 2 years. It's helpful when trying to think of something to eat to be able to look back at what we ate 2 years ago in Septemeber for ideas.

I decided to come up with a few standard dinner items that I would use more frequently that wouldn't require all fresh ingredients and that my kids would eat. Tall order, right? I know. I came up with about 5 items and I'm trying to stock up on some of the items like broths, dry seasoning packets, pastas, etc. This is all fine and dandy but I've discovered that I can get things so much cheaper from the church cannery. Those items include flour, sugar, pasta, and wheat. WHEAT...the food I remember finding in my tuna sandwich at school and wondering how "rice" got into my sandwich. The stuff my mom used to run through the grinder each morning in the basement and then boil for her breakfast. WHEAT! I must have clearly forgotten or perhaps never fully understood my distaste for the "life sustaining" product because I've decided to try incorporating it into our meals.

I do not have a wheat grinder but Andrew is completely on board and has found one for me that has multiple grinding levels to provide me with cracked wheat, flour, and anything else I may need. Before I blow $150 on the shiney Kitchenaid attachment and fill my garage with bags of wheat, I thought I should perhaps buy some wheat from the grocery store and test it out in a few meals. I'm also planning to get some whole wheat flour to use in my next pizza dough and loaf of bread.

So here's where I need your help. I want to have a good wheat experience, I really do. I am reading recipes and cookbooks (actually the only one I have is from 1966 which tells me how lucky I am to be a woman in this day and age when I can use an electric mixer!), and I just haven't found the right recipe to base my new whole wheat lifestyle on. I am in need of some suggestions. There must be people out there, other than my mom who eat wheat. Send me your recipes. I need to try this out and see if I too can trick my kids into thinking it's rice. They love rice, so they should love wheat too, right?

As a side note, I read that 1 cup of wheat contains 400 calories. Yikes! I could eat 3 skinny cow ice cream sandwiches in place of that one cup of wheat. YUM!

MFD Station 1

I haven't posted anything for a while so I thought you'd all enjoy this video I made of a trip we took to Andrew's fire station last week. We go to his station frequently but this was our first official tour.

Books

For some, the start of summer meant diving into books and enjoying a pleasant summer of reading. For me, it meant treading water and not drowning in the immense workload of mother, wife, runner, employee, etc. I started several books and some I finished while others were left to be drawn out. After the race last weekend I picked up a fun book from my cousin Catherine that jump started my reading again. I've finished off a few of my unread books this weekend and thought I'd share a few of my thoughts...

Harry Potter 7: I know what you're thinking...How could the #1 Harry Potter fan let the book drag out for so long. Well, it's a mixture of book theft from my mother, increased workload, and I've now realized the fear that once I finished, it would be over. I actually just finished book 7 moments ago. I have to say that I was very pleased with the ending and it was extremely hard to avoid hearing the ending up to this point. I am happy to say that I will be open to discuss the book at this point in time. Overall, I loved it! (oh yeah, who is the new headmaster!?!)

Eclipse: This was the most anticipated book of the summer for me. I love Edward, I love vampires, I love the Cullen Family. The book was great, and gave me the delicious read I was expecting. It could have had some deeper twists, but it's a YA book, so what more could I expect? I will be counting down the days to Breaking Dawn...

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things: I intended to read this on my trip home from Oregon, but spent most of the flight sleeping and didn't get too far. What I did read peaked my interest enough to keep going. It was an entertaining book that had me rooting for Virginia all the way through. She's a great heroine and I hope I can be more like her!

Austenland: I think this is my favorite book of the summer. I feel a great love for this story. I purchased this and intended to listen to it while running in Oregon however I did not begin listening to it until I returned home. Stephenie Meyer recommended this book so I knew it had to be a good one. For me, I really enjoy going into a book knowing nothing about it. I had NO idea that Austenland was referring to Jane Austen so when the book began with the character Jane being obsessed with "Pride and Prejudice" or I should say, Mr. Darcy, I thought that the book may be a bore. It turned out to be a total delight and I enjoyed entering the world of Austenland. If you have the chance, pick up this book and settle in. It also moved me to rent "Pride and Prejudice" although it was only the 2 1/2 hour version. I may need to spring for the 6 hour Collin Firth version when I have a little more free time on my hands.

So with summer coming to a close it looks like I finished 4 new books. I did read Twilight and New Moon for a 2nd time at the beginning of summer but won't count those in my total.

The shelf on my night-stand is getting really full and as I pulled Harry Potter off I noticed several other books that have been leant to me that I started and never finished. I've gotten a new interest in books after this last week so perhaps I will dive into the other unfinished books on my shelves.

Happy Reading!

UPDATE-My first ever iMovie creation

I'm not sure this will work, but this is my first creation using iMovie as well as my first creation using my video camera which I purchased back in May. I have filmed a lot, but not done anything with it. I hope this turns out like I thought...

This didn't post like I thought it would so I worked on it again today. The *NEW & IMPROVED* version features music, sound effects, and a shorter run time. TAKE 2!

Hood to Coast

Running Hood to Coast this year with the Banana Slugs was one of the most fun things I've done in a very long time. For a few days I felt like a kid again with no responsibilities other than assassinating the competition. The hills, distance, lack of sleep and frequent stops at the honey bucket couldn't come in the way of my running high. I'm looking forward to next year and improving our times. Thank you Catherine for putting this all together. You're AWESOME! ;)

Once you go MAC you'll never go back!

We recently had a major computer fiasco in our house which ultimately ended in having 5 computers in my living room with cords running all over the house. I decided that $1100 on a new Dell PC was far too much to spend for a computer that couldn't connect to the internet. The strange thing was that my Dell Laptop was connecting to the internet perfectly but it was running XP and not Vista (which the new computer had). After spending 6 hours on the phone with Dell it was determined that the problem was "Vista compatibility." What's crazy is that I never wanted Vista, ever. I asked multiple times for a computer with XP OS but was told that Dell was no longer offering that OS. So, I took the Vista computer, spent $1100 and was extremely disappointed. As a side note, I found that all the major computer stores were only offering Vista as well. So, as a warning to all of you out there...if you need to buy a new computer you will be required to get Vista (which really and truely sucks as far as being compatible with anything and everything). There is however another option.

When this all went down, the new iMac was released. Here's a picture of the new computer that is so incredibly goregous!
http://www.apple.com/

It was all meant to be, the perfect timing. I had a terrible computer that cost me $1100 and the new iMac was released costing the same amount but offering a better computer in every way. So I ordered the iMac and watched the FedEx tracking as it traveled from China (don't worry, it doesn't have red paint on it), Phillipines, Alaska, Indiana, California, and to my house. I even video taped myself opening the computer becuase I was so excited about this new member of our family.

This computer is wonderfully simple to use. Just how a computer should be, right? We shouldn't have to work so hard to get a computer to work. It also has lots of fun features like the photobooth. We have enjoyed sitting in front of the computer and taking pictures of ourselves. The monitor actually flashes when a photo is taken. It's so smart! Here's a picture of Andrew and Calvin from earlier today:



So the happy ending in this story gets even better. Andrew got an email from the accountant for the city of Modesto yesterday and it turns out that they over charged for our health insurance premiums for the last year and will be issuing a reimbursement of $1100. Wow, good things come to those with Macs.

My Inner European

Your Inner European is Swedish!

Relaxed and peaceful. You like to kick back and enjoy life.

Who's Your Inner European?

This is amazing! Maybe April's annual trips to Sweden are just what I need! Take me with you next summer!!!!