Simply Saturday - Sharks and Sewing

I am so excited today because I wanted to show you what I have accomplished yesterday afternoon.  I have been putting off my sewing because of my very busy schedule of tennis and golf.  The project that actually originated from Jeff's idea.  After seeing the K-cups carousel and how it will take more space on our kitchen counter, he thought maybe I would be able to do something that would involved some fabrics, rings, sewing, etc.  Since I have already bought some fabrics for the kitchen appliances project, I started this K-cups holder first as it is the smallest and hopefully the quickest to complete.  The rings I am using are made of plastic shower curtains from the dollar store.  It took all of two hours from cutting, sewing, ironing and hooking up the rings. I use a wooden chopstick to hang it and it sits perfectly on the top part of our blinds.  Well, here is the finished project and is now hanging in our kitchen/dining area in the middle between our kitchen windows.

My special K-cups holder

Next week I hope to finish the other projects and then I will be shopping for more fabrics to make chair covers with matching place mats and tablecloth.

For those of you following the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I am sure you are cheering for your team and watching every game.  Since the Sharks made it to the 2nd round,  I am polishing my nails with the Sharks colors - teal, black and white.  It looks kinda green but in direct light its really teal.  They are off to a good start winning last nights game 2-1.  Good luck Sharks.

Teal French Manicure with black dots

Funny Friday - Expressions and more

What happens when I mix two expressions or sayings into one?  Jeff starts laughing and brings tears to his eyes.  Most of the times I don't even know that I am mixing it up and that makes it even funnier.  Some of them I have not even heard of but I thought of just sharing them.

• don't use your mouth, use your eyes (when Jeff is looking for something around the house that he cannot find)
• hemmed and hod ( I actually said something like hen and hog)
• those who can, do - those who can't, teach  
• it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt
• it looks like a cab going down the street with both doors open ( referring to someone with big ears that stick out)
• aahhh - i hit my funny elbow ( instead of saying funny bone)
• it's better to have and not need, than need and not have ( my brother Percy's greatest advice)

The past 3 days I have been going in to work with Jeff so I can drop him off (we still have one car).  Tennis at 830 to 1030 am, then I would try to figure out where I would have my lunch.  Tuesday it was Sushi at the Juniper Cafeteria, Wednesday was Denver Omelet at the Sunken Garden cafe and Thursday was Clam Chowder Caesar Salad and Philly Steak Panini Pezzalas Villa Napoli.  After lunch I golf with my senior buddies and after 9 holes, I do a little window shopping.  The weather has been so awesome, blue skies and very warm temperature.  With that said, there was no sewing and house chores done.

Before I forget, I would like to send my Congratulations to William and Kate on their Wedding Day.  Is it true that they will be spending their honeymoon in CANADA?

 

Truthful Thursday - NKOTBSB

Did you watch Dancing with the Stars on Tuesday night?  Did you see the NKOTBSB perform?  Since this is truthful Thursday I will have to admit that I like both boy bands.  I know my daughter listened to them when they first became popular.  My favorite BSB is Nick Carter and my favorite NKOTB is Joey McIntyre.  The songs that I can listen over and over is I'll be loving you and Please don't go girl (NKOTB).  And from BSB, it has to be Quit playing games with my heart and As long as you love me.  While writing this blog, I decided to check their tour dates and cities.  They will be here at the HP Pavilion on July 2.  But my dilemma, who will I go with?

As you can see, I have been watching Dancing with the Stars and I can't believe I was able to convince Jeff to record them for me so we can breeze through it without commercials.  I hope Hines Ward wins because he has the whole package but the truth is, I don't do the voting stuff and that is the same for American Idol.  Jeff records it, we do what I call speed watching.  Who am I routing for?  I have to admit I am going for the country boy - Scotty. He is charming and very down to earth.  Even if he does not win the title, I am sure he will be a great young country star in no time. 

That's all the truth and nothing but the truth.  Today is the eve of the Royal Wedding, I should go to bed early so I can wake up at 200 am to watch it live.  NOT.

Wannabee Wednesday - Tennis player and golfer

When the weather is sunny and warm, there is only two things that I would like to do.  Play tennis in the morning and golf in the afternoon.  The group that I have been playing as a substitute have been calling me almost every day because the organizer is unable to play.  If I get the call this means I would be go into work with Jeff so I can take the car.  After tennis I would normally get some lunch before golfing with some of the seniors that I have met at the same golf course that I have been playing when I moved here.  So who would I wannabee for both sports.

Tennis player Maria Sharapova would be my first pick.  She's tall, slim, pretty and love her outfits.  I am currently using a Head Flex point Racquet which is not the same brand as Maria.  I bought a Prince racquet similar to what Maria has but for some reason, I still keep going back to my Head Flex point.  At the beginning of the year, Maria signed a contract with HEAD.  She was using a Head racquet during the finals at the Sony Ericsson in Miami.  Now I have something to check out at my favorite Big 5 Sporting Goods store. 

LPGA Paula Creamer who was born here in Mountain View, CA.  I love all the pink outfits, clubs, and all the golf accessories.  She is a great golfer and a gives great interviews and of course great personality.  It's one of the few that has the full package.  Even Jeff loves watching her whenever she is playing one of the LPGA tournaments.  Although I don't have the expensive golf gear, I still follow here lead, I have pink and black clubs, bag, ball, glove, tees, hat, towel, and a small pink and white bag that holds all my tees and ball marker.

Now back to reality.  I am looking forward to having Gamble for sleepover this weekend.  Also the Kirk/Camden Community Centre where I volunteer is having a Volunteer Appreciation Day and it will be held at the Hayes Mansion.  We will have a nice lunch and a tour of this historic site.  Oops, I almost forgot, I have to spend at least a couple of hours watching the Royal Wedding and of course the second round of the NHL playoffs since Sharks beat LA Kings the other night.  Who will the Sharks face?  I hope not the Red Wings.

Timely Tuesday - Backyardigans and Sewing

It has been a while since I finished all those aprons and now I am getting edgy wanting to be creative again.  This week I plan to do more sewing and my projects will be all about the kitchen.  The first one will be the appliances cover which will include the mixer, the blender and the food processor.  The second one will be a couple of covers for my cousin.  I would have to call her for the measurement because I only have the one for their coffee maker and I believe they need a blender cover also.  I probably would have to go to the fabric store because I will need some other material for the table cloth with matching place mats and chair covers.  The one I will be very creative will be our Keurig coffee cups holder.  There are carousel for this cups but I thought it will be different to create something totally different.  I will be using some of the left over fabric from the appliances cover and I bought shower curtain rings from the dollar store.  By the end of the week, I should be able to post some photos of these projects.  

While taking a break from playing angry birds, I decided to assign some ring tones to some of my contacts. I started doing it for family members first.  But one of the things that I changed recently was the notification ring tone when I get a text message.  It's a song from one of my favorite cartoon that I love to watch and even collected the different shows on DVD's.

I remember the first time my daughter and I watched this episode.  Shortly thereafter we would sing this and my son in law could not stop laughing.  Later on he did not think it was funny anymore.  I still love this cartoon and actually miss watching it, I have not seen it on the NIK channel or Tree house.  Their dancing is the other part I love to watch since their routine is really cool to watch.

Maybe Monday - More Memories

After reading my sister's blog yesterday, I thought of sharing some of our childhood memories and how life was simple but also sweet.

• the neighborhood that we grew up in was not the greatest but we have childhood friends that we played with and to this day we still in contact with them.  Lito lives in Daly City with his wife and two kids.  Lani lives in Burbank with her husband, two kids and her mom, we call her Mama Cely because she is like our mother.  They were our family friends and it's great to be able to still keep in touch.  I saw them last May after 37 years and it did not feel strange after all those years.
• there were a group of friends that got together even after high school.  We would plan for special parties either for birthday or just an excuse to have a great time.  The big one would be our annual Christmas party.  We would organize a group to go carolling to raise money for our party.  At times there would be a fight as one or two would like to be the soloist to sing O Holy Night.  The other fight would be what songs we would do for a particular house.  But in the end, we would laugh about it because we would end up with enough funds for our party.
• a regular hide and seek game turn out to be an all day and night game.  We started playing around after lunch and continued until sundown.  One of our friends decided to hide on one of the trees around our home.  I have to mention that he was one of our friend with the darkest skin tones.  Anyway, since no one could find him, we all decided to go home and have dinner.  After dinner, our parents got a phone call looking for our friend.  All of us went looking for him in every place we could think of, called out his name.  I believe it ended this way, eventually he went home and told us the next day that he was so comfortable up in the tree and fell asleep and when he woke up he was very hungry and went home.

In response to my sister's blog yesterday about being picked as an angel because she was a good girl, well let me share a great story.  When she was in Grade 1 or maybe 2, she decided to throw all the flip flops of children in her class in the garbage. Not sure if she was upset or was doing some sort of revenge.  She must have stayed in the classroom while everyone went to play at recess.  My mother got a call from the principal that afternoon to advice that all this children are going home barefooted because her daughter did something special in class.  So I am not so sure if someone deserve to be an angel when you get in trouble in school.

Do you have childhood stories that you would love to share?  Please send me a comment.

This song reminds of our childhood as we wait for our school bus.

 

Soulful Sunday - Happy Easter

How many eggs did you find, that is if you participated in the Easter Egg Hunt.  I didn't but if you know Jeff, you don't need to go on a hunt because you can find a basket full of candies in his office as well as in the kitchen, there are jars with candies and bags on candies on some of the drawers.  It would be nice to go on an Easter Egg Hunt if the eggs would be filled with items like the following:

• Gift certificate for Victoria Secret or Sephora
• A nice cocktail ring
• A tennis bracelet
• Gift certificate for Bath and Body Works
• Movie tickets
• Golf Certificate - 3 rounds would be nice
• Dinner certificates for your favorite restaurant
• A fashion bling watch
• A surprise trip somewhere
• Gift Certificate for a day at the SPA

Ok, I know it is not Christmas and therefore not a wish list, but for those who cannot eat a lot of chocolate, candies or sweets then I think the above list is perfect.  Maybe I should start a new trend, an Easter Egg Hunt for adults, for wives and husbands, or for boyfriend/girlfriend.

This year's Easter dinner will be with Annette (Jeff's mom), Gracie (Jeff's cousin), Jo and Becky (my cousin).  We will miss Marilen but I know she is spending Easter dinner with great company.

My first Easter Cupcakes with Annette's special frosting.  I made it last night and I think I did good. Check it out.

After watching Cupcake Wars, I decided to decorate my Easter Cupcakes

Jeff has this cupcake carrying case which holds 24 cupcakes

Happy Easter to everyone of my family, friends and blog followers.  May the Easter Bunny brings you all the goodies and surprises inside those pretty colored eggs.

Simply Saturday - Easter Angry Birds

This game is getting to be so addicting.  I have not finished the Cowboy series and RIO, now they have released the Easter Seasonal.  Since I have been trying to get 3 stars before moving to the next level, it has taken me longer to do the others.  While I was in Arizona, I only had a chance to play for it for a couple of days.  When I returned, I still did not play, until I had to show Jeff where the other Banana's were hidden.  I also had to show Annette how to get the other Banana's.  My apologies for others who do not play this really fun game on our phone.   If you have any tip on getting those Bananas or finding the Golden Egg, please, please, I would love to read it on my comment section.

For some today is called Holy Saturday where they would spend part of the day attending special Holy Week services in their own church.  As for others it is a day to check out the Easter sales and to start preparing for the big Easter Egg Hunt and the sumptuous Easter Brunch or Dinner.  But whatever you are doing this weekend, whatever your belief is, please remember what we have been given in life and appreciate all the love from family and friends.

Today I will be spending some of my time baking chocolate cupcakes and decorating it with Easter jelly beans.  In addition to this, I will be making my fresh salsa that I learned from Blanca, she is from the outlaws - Jeff's daughter in law's mother.  And last but not least, I will also be making my so called Asian fruit salad.  It is different than a regular fruit salad because all the ingredients are fruits from Asia.  I start with draining all the different can of fruits (fruit cocktail, lychee, jackfruit, palm seeds) then I add a can of Nestle's Cream.  Mix it and refrigerate, that's it.  

Last Thursday after golf, I happen to stop by my hairstylist salon WILSON's to say hi to Paul, who was the hairstylist that was just visiting from Orange County, CA.  I think I talked about it on one of my blogs.  When I got there, I found out he went back to LA, so I missed him.  What was funny was that when Wilson (my new hairstylist) saw my hair, he was very impressed with how I did it and started playing with my hair while we were talking about my Arizona trip.  By the time I left the salon, my hair looked very sleek and sexy and no charge.  They are like my new friends, I can stop by anytime and say hi and then they fix my hair a bit.  I am so lucky I was able to find a truly great salon that is friendly, amazing talent and so much fun to visit.  Here's a photo of the flower but if you look closely, you can see their hairdryer hanging from the ceiling.  It is so unique the way they did it, it's like attached to a bungee cord.

Taken from Wilson's Salon - my hairstylist

Family and Friends Friday - Remembering

Good Friday was a day of prayers, fasting and remembering who died for us.  This is what I remember as a child growing up and attending an all girl Catholic School.  Three years ago we have lost so many family members as well as friends.  At this time I would like to take a few moments to remember all of them. 

For some today is a holiday and it makes it a very long weekend because they not only get Good Friday, they also get Easter Monday.  Here in the USA it's a great week to shop because there will be lots of Easter sales and some stores even have early hour shopping as well as very late hours. 

Today is also a special day because it is Annette's birthday.  Annette is my mother-in-law, my volunteer partner, my shopping assistant, my lunch and movie date, my Spanish classmate and of course my friend.  She has a great sense of humor and has a lot of energy - she walks faster than me.  She is so easy going and very thoughtful and caring.  From the first time I was introduced to her, I knew that we would get along very well.  While I was still living in Canada, we were pen pals.  We wrote a lot to each other even though we had emails and telephones.  I love getting her letters/cards because it is always very unique and special, not to mention a lot of stickers.  I am hoping it will be a nice day so we can do something different today.  May Annette have a wonderful day filled with joy and happiness.  We will have a belated dinner for her because she has given up sweets and dessert for Easter.  Jeff and I will take her out for a dinner and a movie sometime next week.

What does Good Friday mean to you?  Did you give up something for Easter?  Where will you be spending your Easter Dinner?  Any plans of an Easter Egg Hunt?  I remember one year when Jeff surprised me and I had my own Easter Egg hunt in his backyard.  

Just a little something yummy to look at.  This was the cupcakes that Linda had for her belated birthday celebration while we were in Scottsdale.

Truthful Thursday - Life is Good

After coming back from holidays, I had three important appointments. First is right from the airport we had to stop by the Tax man to sign off our first joint income tax.  Second appointment was Monday for my eyes and after reading the chart with my contact lens and glasses, the doctor gave me a good report card.  My prescription is lower by .25 which was great and of course after dilating my eyes, he also announced that all is good.  I am contemplating on getting a Turquoise or Sapphire color lenses.  The last appointment is with the Dentist to get a crown.  According to Jeff this dentist is very good and does not cause a lot of pain but most of all his very funny.  Actually there will be two visit, one for fitting and the second for the final crown fitting.  Of course after all these appointments and almost forgot to mention catching up with housekeeping chores, then I will reward myself with possibly a tennis game and a golf game.   

This is also the last series of my blog about my vacation.  The photos that I will be sharing will be of nature and how it's truly a wonderful world we live in.

View from #1 Hole at Sanctuary GC - check out the Geysers

Cactus of Scottsdale

Cactus with flowers

Palm Trees taken looking up

Taken from the patio of Lookout Mountain GC

It only rained one day during our 7 days in Arizona.  The rest of the days were sunny blue skies with a little breeze just to cool off.  Life is good and thank you to my girlfriends from Canada for including me to one of the DIVA celebrations.

Wicked Wednesday - All about food

Today is all about great food during last weeks golf vacation in Phoenix.  For most of our meals, we cooked in our Condo and the rest were eating out.  The girls wanted to try PF Changs and the Cheesecake factory.  One night we sort of split because a couple of the girls went to meet their friend at the Green House Restaurant while we ended up at a restaurant called the Bamboo Club which is directly across the PGA Golf Warehouse.  On the nights that we ate in, we have taken some of the meals while on the days that we golfed, we would pack our lunch and snacks as we did not have time to have a sit down lunch.  The first morning I made breakfast (omelet, bacon and toast) and the other morning Linda and Lynn made pancake and sausages. So here are some of the photos of our meals that were all so yummy. 

Lynn's pasta at PF Changs

Loaded Nachos made by Rose and Gina

Mushroom and Onion Omelet made by Linda

Lulu's Cantonese Noodle at the Bamboo Club

Luckie and Linda's Grilled Ahi Tuna topped with Papaya salsa and Pineapple Fried Rice

 

There should have been more photos taken from the different restaurant that we have eaten but when you are a little too hungry sometimes it's hard to remember to take the photo.

Timely Tuesday - Excuse me - Excuse me

Third part of my vacation stories.  You are probably wondering what this blog is about - why Excuse me.  It all started with me being in charge of setting my alarm clock for our wake up call.  What would be a good ring tone or melody that is not annoying but would actually wake us up.  So I did and the concensus was the Excuuuuuuse-me_8.ring tone.  It made us laugh so much everytime the alarm goes off which is great as it starts our day on a happy note.

Timing was very important during our trip because of all the 4 different golf course we had played.  A lot of organizing is required the night before.  Lulu was the leader so she would tasks each one of us.  I was very lucky that my job was to take care of the coupon for our golf fees.  She then tasks some one else with the condo keys (two different one each day).  But when it comes to cooking, cleaning, making coffee or tea and drinks, it seems like everyone does their part and everything gets done in such a timely manner with no whining or hissyfits.

There were 7 girls in a 3 bedroom condo.  We rented two vehicles - a white Dodge Caravan and a Steel Gray Chevy Malibu.  There were 2 main drivers and 2 alternate drivers.  All of them were great drivers specially when trying to find shopping malls.  Talking about shopping this is my great bargain shopping.  Since it's Timely Tuesday, check out the watch with big numbers for easy viewing.

And then of course, I wish I had bought this one.  It's one that I can use for a summer formal evening wear.

What happens when you have so much time at the airport?  You end up checking out every store and you end up buying another watch.

Check out tomorrow's blog with more yummy photos and hopefully some funny stories.

Maybe Monday - Marilen's Birthday

Today is my niece Marilen's birthday and we met for dinner with her on Saturday at Patio Filipino.  We ordered a lot of food because we wanted to taste several items on the menu that we have not eaten for a long time.  Of course we did not finish it and ended up taking some home. I believe she is off for a week and will be doing some volunteering which is great way to celebrate your birthday.  I hope that she liked our gift and I am looking forward to seeing her again.  We plan to get together one day and do a SPA day with massage and facial and maybe a late lunch outdoors or indoors.  I am so lucky to have family in the Bay area and I am so glad that even though she is actually my niece through my x-husband, we still keep in touch and she treats me like her real aunt.  Anyway, Happy Birthday Marilen and hoping you are truly enjoying and celebrating your special day.  Knowing her, she's probably watching her favorite team (San Francisco GIANTS) play.

Magnificent Shot - this is what we call Lulu's drive every time she tee's off.  Here are some photos of the magnificent golf course that we played in Scottsdale.

It's too bad that I did not take more photos but sometimes it's difficult to remember when you are golfing.  There's always a group behind your group and you cannot lallygag or the Marshall will be telling you to keep the pace.  All four courses we played were really magnificent but our favorite is the Lookout Mountain GC which is part of the Hilton Resort.

You can check it out on this link.   http://tapatiocliffshilton.com/golf/index.cfm

Soulful Sunday - Sweet and Sour of my vacation

It has been over 8 days since I did a blog.  As most of you know, I went away on a 7 days girls golf week in Scottsdale, AZ.  I have so much to share but I will try and spread it during the week.  It was so nice to be away but I sure miss being with Jeff that I was calling him and sending text every day.  Does that make me needy?  The other thing I was missing was doing my daily blog.  I tried to do it using my phone by it did not really work so I gave up.  So I will do a sweet (good) and sour (bad) list best describe my vacation. 

SWEET:  

• a birdie on a par 3 at the Lookout Mountain Golf Course (a Hilton Resort)
• a 30 foot putt on another hole and seeing a cotton tail bunny
• a great dinner at The Bamboo Club - Ahi tuna with pineapple fried rice
• a new watch, a bracelet and a flower ring
• two new bra - Cerise(pink) and electric lime (green)
• Rose as my room mate
• Golf lessons from Lulu and Don from Calgary
• Hanging out in the pool/hot tub with the girls
• Great weather and bargain shopping
• Touring Sedona again

 SOUR:

• Rainy Saturday and jam packed mall
• Cactus in the desert that is very scary
• Snake holes along the cart path 
• Losing $21 at the casino but still had fun
• Getting a headache for not eating on time
• Missing some of my favorite TV shows 
• Losing golf balls in all four courses
• One hour flight delay on my return flight
• Elevation issues on at least 4 of the holes at the Lookout Mountain GC
• Being in the same city as where the SHARKS are playing but no stinking tickets

Well, there's still a lot of things to do and a lot of catching up.  I have some photos to share and a lot more stories.  NHL playoff has started and Jeff recorded the shows that I have missed so I will be glued to the TV for a couple of days to catch up.

Finally Friday - Finished 2 new Angry Birds

RIO - the new angry bird and for those of you playing it, you know how exciting this one is.  Today I will have to go back to all the previous original Angry Birds that I did not get 3 stars.  This latest one RIO had two themes - Smugglers Den and the Jungle Escape.  They have 15 levels each and we don't move to the next level until we get 3 stars.  What happened we we first started Angry Birds we wanted to see the next level that we were satisfied to just move on.  But now that we realized that it was better to keep trying until we get 3 starts before moving.  Anyway, since we have completed part of the Rio version, we will have to wait until May for the more levels to open up.

Last night I decided to do my nails with a really different design.  I was planning on doing the design from the Besty Johnson perfume box but I did not have the right yellow color.  Here's what I have done instead.

I will try to continue my daily blog, but if I miss some days, please check back in a week.

Truthful Thursday - No Tennis No Golf

Today's forecast - cloudy and chance of rain which means there will be no tennis nor golf.  So the only thing I will be doing is packing my golf clubs into my golf travel bag.  But before that, I will be cleaning the clubs and try to make it shine.  Also I need to clean golf shoes and make sure there are extra socks in the bag.  Not to forget to take extra golf balls (there are a lot of water holes).  Once this is done, then I will have to pack my luggage and that should take about 15 to 30 minutes.  

Since it was a beautiful warm sunny day yesterday, I decided to take advantage and do a practice round.  I went to my usual golf course - Sunken Garden.   I have to say that after taking the half an hour lesson last week it had definitely improved my golf game.  I had two pars, five bogeys and two double bogeys.  There were two long putts and at least 2 long drives.  Hopefully I will remember what I have done and practiced and can truly say - SCOTTSDALE here I come.

First round of the MASTERS - this means I will be glued to the TV for most of the day.  I checked last night and Mike Weir and Retief Goosen are in the same group.  Graeme McDowell and Tiger Woods (not in my top ten).  The rest of my picks are all playing with others not in my list.
 

Sorry, today there will be No photos, No song, No poem, No tennis, No Golf but I have a new flip flop and 3 new yummy Keurig coffee flavors (Island Coconut, Kahlua and Caramel Vanilla).

Worry Wednesday - Woe is me

Should I start to worry after yesterday morning? This is a photo of Jeff taken before breakfast. Was he starting to already miss me and I have not left for my vacation yet.  I cooked last night so he will have some pre cooked meal and also baked some goodies for his snack.  It was sort of funny the way he was leaning his head down.  That is why I am sharing it today.

So what else can I share that is funny that happened yesterday.  If you remember one of my post, I mentioned about being profiled as a caregiver.  Well, yesterday since I was taking my mother in law to our Spanish Class and also an extra day of volunteering, I decided to wear my caregiver uniform.  The only thing missing is my name tag.  

I am hoping that today's blog made you smile.  Do you like taking funny photos? 

Timely Tuesday - Green hills with cows

For the past couple of months I have been watching the hills near our house get greener and greener.  I wanted to take a picture but the cows that I have seen most mornings have not been there.  Last Sunday, Jeff saw the cows and took the photos so I could see it and share it.  You are probably wondering what's exciting about this?  Remember how it does not take much to make me happy, well, when I see the cows enjoying the sun and having their snacks, I am thankful for the scenery but also seeing that the cows still have such green grass to munch on.

The other photo that I wish to share today was taken this past weekend.  It's timely because when Gamble sleeps over, we sort of try to follow the same schedule he has at home.  Like, he takes a shower around 800 pm and then we play a little and then I read him a couple of books.  I was not quite finished with the second book and he can't hardly stay awake.  He kept yawning and rubbing his eyes and still tries to stay awake.  My voice must have been so soothing that he fell asleep before the end of the book. 

Notice the raindeer PEZ container I was holding for him.

Maybe Monday - Masters week

Professional golfers, addicted golfers, casual golfers, fans and media are all going to be glued to the Golf Channel or whatever station is covering the Masters.  I think everyone is wondering if Tiger will have a chance to win it again.  This is just my opinion, he will definitely try but I think he will still be carrying the cloud over his head.  The one big mistake he made in his life have not been forgotten by the players, fans and of course the mean paparazzi.  Here's my top ten picks in no particular order,  I just hope that some of them makes the top ten at the end of week.

• Graeme McDowell
• Retief Goosen
• Adam Scott
• Camillo Villegas
• Trevor Immelman
• Rickie Fowler 
• Bubba Watson
• Mike Weir
• Sergion Garcia
• Anthony Kim

Four more sleeps before my Arizona trip and I have started packing.  Tomorrow night I will be baking the snacks that I plan to bring.  It looks like the weather will be really nice, from mid 80's to almost 90.  As for me, it won't be much of an adjustment as we had some hot weather last week and this week is comfy - great weather for tennis and golf.  I am still not sure if I will be able to blog using my cellphone.  Since I started in January, I have not missed a day blogging.  But as my daughter says, no one is going to complain or be disappointed if I don't have a post everyday.  I guess I will be just winging it unless I get creative and schedule all my blog for next week.  This is why this is called MAYBE.

 

Soulful Sunday - Sisterly Advice

For the next few months, my Sunday blog will be all about grieving.  It will be almost 3 years since my son died and I thought I was doing good and moving forward.  My sister and I talks about this off and on.  She asked me a few questions and she thinks maybe because I am too far away from those who were close to him.  She also feels that prior to moving to SJC that I was doing much better just from our chats and my poems.  So I read somewhere that writing might help ease the pain when it comes to grieving.  Maybe that is why I tend to write about my son on Sunday.  I use to read books about grieving, losing a child, etc.  Then I just stopped.  

On a happier note. When Gamble woke up yesterday morning, he saw me sitting in the living room on my lap top.  He asked why I was still awake and what I was doing on my computer.  

I was watching a video clip of Gino and his friends when they went to Winnipeg to see Kanye West.  Gamble asked who were the people on the video.  When he saw Gino he said "is that Mike?".  After that we looked at some of Gamble's photos from birth till around 18 months. He thought it was funny seeing all his baby pictures.  Then all of a sudden he says, "Ola, can I play with Angry birds on your phone.  I was actually glad he wanted to play with it because the last time he did, he was able to get me 3 stars on some of the other levels that I only had one or two stars.  When he found out that there was a new version (RIO), he asked if he could try it. Not only he got me a couple of 3 stars, he also got me a PINEAPPLE (a reward).  He got so busy trying to get his OLA 3 stars that he forgot about being hungry.  I hope this is not considered child abuse.  We ended up taking him to Golf land but not for mini golf but to play with arcade games.  He was very good with games similar to bowling and ended up getting a lot of tickets and exchange it for a couple of toys (mini skate board and step on rocket).  He got a little hungry so we had pizza for lunch.  Going home was not too bad because he knew he will be back in a couple of weeks and that does not take FOREVER.

Gamble's baby photo collection

Simply Saturday - Simply Happy

There's one short and simple story that I wanted to share today because it happened yesterday and it is not an April Fools Joke.  A couple of months ago, Jeff misplaced his wedding ring.  He searched everything and everywhere but was unsuccessful in locating it.  So we had declared it as lost.  One day we stopped by the place where we bought it and had been quoted the price to replace it and it had doubled the original price.  We left the store and we decided to wait and make a decision later.  Anyway, Jeff had stopped looking for it and was comfortable without it. Yesterday while I was doing laundry and at the same time talking to my sister on the phone just sharing stories about Gino, all of a sudden I screamed and my sister thought I had seen a ghost, actually while loading the washer I heard a clinking sound similar to some sort of jewellery falling.  I moved the laundry basket and there it was Jeff WEDDING RING.  I was overjoyed and started calling his name and he thought something happened to me.  He was very happy to know that I was OK and was thrilled that I found his ring and they lived happily ever after.

Last night was Gamble's sleepover at Grampa and Ola's.  We picked him up  around 6pm and he was all excited and ready to go.  He asked me why it takes a long time before he comes over.  I explained that it's every other weekend, he then says, "but why" that takes forever. Dinner was at Carl's Jr. because he loves chicken stars with fries.  Once at home, he got a new ball from Grampa and he started playing with it.  They played cards while I finished doing my laundry.  Around 830 pm is shower time which he loves all because of the bath mat that sort of tickles his feet.  He also loves his sponge Bob face cloth.  I got him a new set of PJ's and this is what he looks with his hair combed back.

Gamble with Mr. Muscle PJ's and new toy

Gamble with his Hot Wheels with Bubble Station - Color Shifters

Today's breakfast will be dollar pancakes with maple syrup, bacon, scrambled eggs, and juice.  What's for breakfast at your home this morning?  Time to play with Gamble again.

Free Friday - Mini Golf Lesson

First day of April = 7 more sleeps before the Arizona trip. I spoke to one of the girls and like me she was getting excited and we cannot believe that it's just a week away.  She bought a new set of clubs and I bought a lot of golf gloves for everyone to choose from.  Next week I will definitely be really busy.  Baking, Packing, Shopping, Practicing, Cooking, Cleaning, and Watching the Masters.  

Yesterday I had a chance to get a mini private lesson from one of the staff of the golf course that I have been playing since September.  There was not a lot of things that needed correcting which is good, but there's at 3 things I need to remember about my swing.  Hopefully I can remember them each time I hit that golf ball.  I plan to practice at the driving range this weekend and will try to get a couple of games next week.  The greatest part is that it was a free lesson even if it was only a short lesson,  I believe this will help my game a little bit for the upcoming golf vacation.

This is the weekend that we have our grandson, Gamble sleeping over.  We bought a new toy for him and although they are calling for rain this Saturday, I hope that it won't be all day.  He is so happy just to be with us as we play a lot with him.  He is also getting better at not crying when it's time for him to go back to his parents.  This new schedule that we have started is working well for all as we can plan our weekends and he looks forward to every other Friday.  Unlike before when he does not know when he will be seeing us and of course for little kids, a couple of weeks seems like FOREVER and that is a very long time.  Even Winnie the Pooh knows that.

Have a great weekend and I hope that no one gets hurt with any of the April Fools jokes.