senoritafish

Heh. Avalon & I are at the Long Beach roller derby, watching the Belmont Hot Broads vs. the Bixby Rollerettes with some friends from work. I think we're sitting in the wrong section - every one around us is rooting for pink and I think we're 'posed to be for turquoise.... Avalon was acting all excited to come and now she's acting like she wants to go to sleep. Silly girl.... don't you wanna learn how to throw a shoulder like that?

Edit: oops, sorry for all the typos - must not be able to see my phone as well as I thought. I'm actually surprised it posted at all, considering most of the time it won't let me comment...

I think I finally got it straight how the scoring works, by the end. I'm glad they're finding some use for the Spruce Goose dome.

PH and his wife came as well, good to see him since he retired about three years ago. He told me his favorite team is the Terminal Island Toosties - who whose uniforms look sort of like sailor suits and everyone roots for by their acronym, of course. *rolls eyes*

We'd gotten there by parking at the Aquarium and taking the free shuttle over, and it's a good thing - the parking at the Queen Mary is $12. Mary & Ian were going to give us a ride back across the bridge to the AOP, but we wound up standing around for half an hour until the press of traffic getting out died down. So we got to have a nice chat

They do have junior leagues, and there's one here in Huntington Beach. Might be something we'll have to put aside for; I think it'll be good for her.

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: robot chicken

Whee! We get to go see this tonight because some friends of mine bought tickets, but then one of them had to go out of town, and she didn't want to go by herself. Mainly because it was his idea, and she'd rather go to the roller derby. She threatened to take my daughter along with her; that might be a good idea. She told me they even have leagues for girls her age, and given what an instigator Avalon is, maybe she'd be good at it. Maybe it would get her to lay off her brother - she and Gareth both got put on computer restriction the other day because I told them about SIX TIMES to leave each other the hell alone. BECAUSE GODDAMMIT MY BED IS NOT A CAGE-MATCH RING.

But I digress. John's mom is taking the kids for the evening and we're going to take the special bus from Lakewood that goes straight up to Hollywood Bowl, no messing with parking, whatever. I picked up some fruit, chips, etc. at lunchtime, and John's going to grab some sandwiches - and maybe an alcoholic beverage or two, and maybe a picnic before John Williams. Yay! Should be fun - John's picking me up in maybe an hour, and off we go.

Current Mood: excited

Sackboy went with us to Anime Expo, although I forgot to pull him out until we were going home on the train. Here's a place that's famous sort of near me - the Staples Center where the Lakers and Kings play (Los Angeles basketball and hockey teams, for those elsewhere).

Staples Center & L.A. Convention Center
Los Angeles, CA'
Canon EOS 1000D
3 July 2010

( cosplayers and something in the mail... )

21. Famous/Important place where you live ♥
(July Scavenger hunt here)

Sackboy visiting the Aquarium, and was trying to tell species of rockfish from one another (there are about 50 different species on the West Coast). In this pic are, a boccacio (brown), about three black & yellow rockfish, and a couple of canary rockfish (orange stripy), possibly some blue rockfish in the background. Also a strawberry anemone and a couple of sun stars.

Aquarium of the Pacific
Long Beach CA
Canon EOS 1000D
27 June 2010

( moar )

We went to the beach again to participate in Hands Across the Sand. Apparently the girls next to us were hestitant to hold hands with Angus; they wouldn't grab on until the last second, and then dropped hands and ran up the beach as soon as it appeared to be over. I chatted with the older man next to me who seemed to be from Northern CA and said something about having started one of the first organic farms in the state. He asked about the oil rigs visible a few miles in the distance, and I told him they were pretty much grandfathered from before the ban on drilling. However, the major oil spill we've had here was when I first started at the Department; an oil terminal right about a mile of Newland St. where tankers offloaded to the Edison plant. A captain forgot to take the shallow water and the tides into account and the ship sat on its own anchor. Guess what company it was. >:( The guy shook his head and nodded at Avalon running back and forth among the pier pilings and in and out of the water, then said, "We aren't doing this for ourselves. It's for people like her."

An older woman up on the pier looked down disgustedly and yelled, "DRILL, DRILL, DRILL!"

Hands Across the Sand
Huntington Beach CA
Canon EOS 1000D
26 June 2010

( civic duties )

Avalon, a doll (given to her by one of my brother's friends), and some of that green pearly putty that some kids toys come in:

"Gareth, look! Barbie's getting a brain transplant! (moving it to her knees) And now she's being sucked on by leeches!"

(Honestly, I did not coach her in any of this...)

Hmm,

runsamuck just suggested that "Miss Congeniality" could be very empowering for her to watch. I'm not sure whether he's serious.

Current Mood: tickled

My garden club usually tries to put on its own flower show, but sometimes the logistics don't work out. Since my friend Carole became the president of the county district garden clubs, we put on a district wide flower show. I helped by registering everyone's entries, and helping to set up and tear down. I think my favorites are the miniature arrangements. This one is only a couple of inches wide.

District Flower Show
Sherman Library and Gardens
Newport Beach CA
Canon EOS 1000D
17 October 2009

( +1 )

Avalon picked out this cookbook at the bookstore, and wanted to make this recipe from it. A little heavy on the cream cheese, but still tasty. I'm not sure whether the recipe actually called for the Fruit Snacks on the top, but she thought they'd be a good idea.

Perfect Parfaits
Huntington Beach CA
Canon EOS 1000D
16 August 2009

Avalon just waltzed in and asked

runsamuck:

"If girls grow up faster than boys, shouldn't I be older than Angus and Gareth?"

Current Mood: tickled

Among the mustard... tried again for the one we missed yesterday and this time we found it! We were looking for this one, and the first hint was "where the fence makes no sense." Hmmm.

Bosco's Bluff part 2
Bolsa Chica
Huntington Beach CA
Canon EOS 1000d
21 June 2009

( ? )

Current Mood: jubilant
Current Location: Bolsa Chica
Current Music: Rasputina – A Retinue Of Moons/The Infidel Is Me

I am so far behind on these - good thing I'm not doing it every day right now...from back in June...

Had the day off since I worked over the weekend, so went to the Aquarium on a Monday! Found another couple of geocaches and took this pic from one of them; messed about in Picnik with it a bit.

Queen Mary
Long Beach CA
Canon EOS 1000D
15 June 2009

( here be dragons... )

My daughter's second grade put on a musical version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears; she'd been practicing singing along with a CD of the music for several weeks. She's right in the spot where the sun coming through the window is whiting everything out. I had taken a sick day and still felt pretty awful, so we sat in the very back row and I tried not to breathe on anyone.

2nd grade play
Huntington Beach CA
Motorola phone camera
13 May 2009

( She is... )

Current Mood: sick

Avalon attending a birthday party at one of the last bowling alleys around here (along with ice rinks they seem to be going the way of the condor, around here at least). Nothing like a gaggle of squealing 2nd graders bowling in their pajamas. Also (funny if you live here), not only was there an Avalon, there was a Catalina, too.

Floating round things
Fountain Bowl
Fountain Valley CA
Canon EOS 1000D
2 May 2008

( Later... )

We found out this week that Gareth's mission model had been entered by the school in the county Youth Expo at the Orange County Fairgrounds. That's his, closest to the hay bale on the lowest level. The one just behind him is a classmate's; she decided to make hers out of gingerbread, with red licorice for the roof tiles - pretty creative, but it was looking a bit tired and crumbly after all the travel. I brought along the Big Camera, but unfortunately forgot the spare battery; after a few rabbit and chicken pics in the 4-H section, it died, so had to rely on my phone.

OC Youth Expo
Costa Mesa CA
Kyocera Switchbach phone camera
18 April 2009

By the way - the Fairgrounds really needs to label their entrances for events a little better. There was a Pet Expo going on at the same time, which took up most of the grounds and for which there was a $12 admission. There were signs on the main street for the Youth Expo (which was free), but no other direction. We parked at OCC, the community college across the street, and walked to what we thought would be the entrance, but both the main fairground entrances were to the Pet Expo. By the time we figured out the entrance was in the back, near the Equestrian Center, we had had to walk all the way around the Swap Meet (also going on, and charging admission so we couldn't take a short cut through it), and up Newport Blvd., nearly a complete circuit of the entire Fairgrounds. Which I wouldn't have minded so much, but it was HOT!!! and I hadn't brought any water with me. Plus three kids who weren't necessarily wearing walking shoes. Also, when we finally found the correct entrance, there was no sidewalk and very little allowance for pedestrians; I did not feel real comfortable with three kids, dodging cars to walk in the driveway.

( other youth crafts, animals and balloons! )

runsamuck volunteered (or was volunteered, I was never quite clear on that) to fix up Avalon's teacher's backpack bin/rack over the kid's spring break. He tightened all the loose joints, gave it a new coat of paint - which his friend who works at a hardware store donated - and installed all new hooks and handles on it. Avalon is doing her "pretend I'm a kittly - meow" pose. For some reason, the kids can't bring their backpacks into the classroom (takes up too much room, maybe), so all the teachers have either boards with hooks installed, sets of plastic bins, or these sorts of things.

He's told me between this and sanding all those damn horseshoes for 49'er Day, he thinks he's done his volunteerism for the year.

Backpack bin
Huntington Beach CA
Canon EOS 1000D
11 April 2009

We had a trip to the shoe store last night because a) the boy's shoes are getting worn out, b) we have gift cards needing using, and c) Angus needs a shoebox for a diorama - jeez, everyone is having to make these lately! Well, Gareth had to make a model mission, but similar thing...

Avalon pleaded for a pair that she liked (only seven and the shoe accumulating tendencies are starting, tch tch), and as they were on sale for $6 and there was a bit left over from the boy's sneakers on the cards, we got them. They're a little big yet though, and I told her she needed grow into them a bit before she wore them to school. This morning she tromps down the hallway wearing the new shoes - sort of like loafers but with more of a heel, and a little chain across the vamp with a butterfly charm - and was quite disappointed that we told her to take them off and go put her sneakers on. As she stomped (a little) back down the hallway, we both noticed her jeans, purchased fairly recently, were already migrating up her ankles, exposing her white athletic socks in a quite nerdly fashion, exacerbated by the loafers. She'd be horrified, but she loves those pants, and the effect is mitigated somewhat when she wears her sneakers with them. Hopefully, won't be too long before they're capris...

*Sigh* Well, it's high tide somewhere on the planet...

Lessee, what lately...

I donated blood again Friday. When I pulled up to the park, the police helicopter was hovering directly overhead and shining its floodlights on the front door of one of the apartments in the complex across the street. It was really low, and people were standing outside the complex and the park building, shading their eyes in a "WTH?!" manner. There were no police cars on the ground or in the vicinity as far as I could tell. runsamuck tells me they will often focus the lights on one thing as a distraction while they are using the heat sensors (or whatever the hell they have) on something else.

Lake Park
Huntington Beach CA
Casio EX-Z80A
27 February 2009

Another man and I were the last people there; although all the staff were polite and still trying to joke around, you could tell they were tired and anxious to get out of there. The nurse cleaning my arm was scrubbing so hard with the iodine swab it felt like she was using sandpaper. Then the jab seemed quick enough but my elbow felt sore for the rest of the evening. Equipment was being broken down and packed while we were lying there being drained. However, after we were done and had sat sipping juice for our requisite 10 minutes, they told us we could take as many snacks along as we liked as perqs for being last of the day. I grabbed a package of cookies for each of the kids. I wound up going to sleep much earlier than usual just because my arm was achy and I could not make it comfortable. I still have a bruise.

Avalon came home from school last weekend with a temperature, and not really any other symptoms last weekend. It faded over the weekend, but then she started complaining of sore legs, so much so that she was barely able to walk. She thought she felt well enough to go to Dismalland Sunday evening, but after two rides she did not want to walk anymore, and kept wanting to sit down. runsamuck took her to the doctor again, and they couldn't find anything wrong, but had her bring back a urine sample to make sure of anything else. She couldn't manage it herself and he wasn't allowed to go in the restroom with her (this presaged a whole rant from him once home, on how if he were a single parent he wouldn't be allowed to help his daughter buy clothes - father's rights really being one of his sore points). Anyhow, she was nearly in tears walking to class the next couple of days; it finally faded but we're at a loss to figure out exactly what caused it - she swears she hadn't done any exercise to make her legs that sore. And really she's the most active and athletic of our kids, so stuff like that usually wouldn't bother her.

I went by myself to Angus's IEP, because one of us had to get the other two fry ready for school - I wish we could both go, because runsamuck is much better at coming up with questions than I am. However, I take better notes than he does. Angus has been making progress on all of his goals, although he's still behind in math, which is frustrating because it used to be one of his better subjects. His writing has improved dramatically, which I noticed on a social studies project on Native Americans he had done (which really he only got marked down on because he didn't label some of his illustrations). One of the goals, using cartoon bubbles to describe what characters in a story were feeling, was not made by the teacher who was supposed to be applying it and she didn't really understand how she was to go about it, so that one was going to be modified. I know he reads better than he lets on; I know this because he knows all kinds of random facts on his favorite topics (notably Bionicles), which I know he's read off one website or other. However, at home he'll come and ask me to read something to him, when I know darn well he can read it himself; then he makes frustrated noises when I have him read it to me. Also, he often spends recess in the library (so he doesn't have to interact, so it's quieter?) and they are trying to get him to interact more - which makes me think of this blog entry by an autistic person and this one as well. I don't know that the same thing is occuring with him, but I know I sometimes feel like I'm slogging through syrup when I'm expected to be a part of a conversation - either things don't occur to me or some one else will get to it just before I open my mouth to say the same thing. It's better just to listen, sometimes. In any case, there is supposed to be another IEP before the end of the year to meet with his upcoming middle school teachers, since he'll be in sixth grade. I think it'll be nice that he'll be closer to home, and that there will be people from his old school that he knows, that he's missed, may make some things a bit easier for him.

Been seeing Western bluebirds around the office again; I think this is the third year in a row. I didn't even realize we had them in this area before I saw them here, but I'm told they always have been. There were two great blue herons on the lawn as well, hunting gophers. One of them must have been a juvenile, as his plumage didn't look quite so sharply defined between gray and white.

I have really got to get to work in the yard...(and the house, and our room, etc. ad nauseum...)

...returning you to your regularly scheduled ELJaying...

Two fillings today. I needed three vials of anesthetic - I don't know if that's normal or not. The dentist has to keep stopping and giving me more because I start wincing; my mouth didn't get completely back to normal until about four hours later.

Dentist
Westminster CA
Casio EX-Z80A
18 February 2009

( end product... )

Helping the daughter start her animal diorama assignment. She wants to make a harbor seal out of clay, but they didn't have gray. So we tried mixing black & white; however, with only half the black and all of the white, it still turned out very dark. Oh well, harbor seals range in color from very light silvery to almost black (with spots), so that's all right. The clay is this really light stuff made by Crayola®, almost like rubbery foam - very odd stuff.

Clay
Huntington Beach CA
Casio EX-80A
17 February 2009

John just got back from taking Avalon to the doctor - she's been complaining of a sore throat for a day or two and last night she had a fever; strep has been going around. Sure enough, that's what it is. Last night she was really disappointed to be missing a class field trip to the aquarium, but today she's feeling sick enough I don't think she cares. We're there fairly often anyway. Hope she feels better.

I hope I'm only imagining my throat feeling a bit scratchy. I have a hellacious deadline to meet tomorrow and I can't possibly be sick.

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