Gina Visits!
Gina was back home in the States for a week. We haven't seen each other in about 12 years. After I moved from SF to SoCal, she moved to Scottsdale, then Atlanta, and finally England! So I took a day off work and drove in rush hour to Canoga Park, where she was staying with her sister. She looks the same as before, except her hair is blacker because she colors it now.

We didn't know what to do (what is there to do in Canoga Park?), so we drove back down the freeway and spent the day at the Century City shopping center. It's undergoing remodeling right now, but it was still nice. The food court is awesome. They have sofas and tables OUTSIDE where you can lounge around. If I worked in one of the surrounding buildings, I wouldn't be able to have lunch there, because I'd never want to go back to work.

We ate at Fuddruckers, something neither of us has been able to indulge in for years. They still make the best hamburgers (except for Baxter's in Marin, where I had the best guacamole bacon cheeseburgers).

Bloomingdale's is the only store that validates parking, and we were trying to avoid paying $30 for parking. There was absolutely nothing in that store I could afford. I finally found something on sale that I actually wanted - socks. I got some really cute ones, too - they're decorated with sushi.

We walked around the mall a few times. Shopping really isn't that much fun when you don't have money. We finally ended up at Brentano - surprise, surprise - and spent too much money on books.

And then it was time to leave. But I did take my camera, so we don't forget what each other looks like.

Recipe for Scones
I really need a good recipe for scones. I stopped by the new Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and paid $2.25 for a scrawny raisin scone. I'm sure I can bake one for pennies. A hard, dried-out muffin is almost equivalent to a scone, right? Then Bisquik it is!

December Sports Wrap-Up
Scooter's team didn't do so well in the Commissioner's Cup. We played against the Blob, and they wanted blood. We got eliminated in the first round.

Fluffy's team did much better, making it all the way to the final round. Unfortunately, we lost to the Fierce Strikers. Fluffy got a 2nd place medal, something Scooter never got, so I'm glad for her, since she tends to get overshadowed by all of Scooter's activities.

Scooter made it onto one of the select teams, but to be honest, I'm not expecting much from this team. The kids are nice, but no match for the other select teams out there. We played in the Christmas Classic, and lost all three games in our pool, scoring not one goal. I know the boys were very disappointed, which probably led to their downward spiral near the end. I hope with good coaching they can improve on their skills, knowledge and teamwork, but how do you teach them to run faster?

On the up side, Scooter's basketball team has been doing fairly well, compared to past seasons. Scooter is taking a more active, assertive role. Since he's fast and has a lot of energy, he usually gets to guard the tallest guy in the middle, which is hard for him, because he's pretty short. But he does a good job, and helps our shooters score.

Fluffy's team is on hiatus until January.

I Love Trees

Interesting Twist of Events
Everyone assumed that Shockwave would beat the Current this weekend. With United in first and Blob in second, Shockwave would be in third. But the Current shocked everyone by winning, so Blue Crew slid into third, pushing Shockwave down to fourth. There were so many contingencies, and everyone who was supposed to win or lose went the other way.

Fall Fun
Scooter had his last game of the regular season on Saturday. It was against the Blob, the #1 ranked team (we were #2). We knew it was going to be tough. The score was tied 0-0 for most of the game. In the middle of the fourth quarter, we made a goal. The Blob rallied hard, but we held them, and took first place for the season! What an intense game! We face off against the Blob again in the Commissioner's Cup. They are going to want to kill us!

So both Fluffy's and Scooter's teams took first this year, and both teams are going to the playoffs in January! How exciting!

Later that afternoon, we and the Dawsons (who coincidentally are a Blob family) went to see the newest Harry Potter movie. As the books get darker, the movies are getting more intense. This one was almost too much for Fluffy. We had to cover her eyes a few times. But it definitely was a good movie, and I wanted to see it again yesterday!

Nice to be on hiatus from basketball and soccer for a while. We did nothing yesterday.

My Work Husband
Scott and I were writing an article together. He would start a sentence and I would finish it, and vice versa. I said, "We make a really good team. We should get married."

And he said, "Yeah, that would be the perfect marriage. You could date other guys. And so could I."

My Hard Disk Runneth Over
Okay, after having this wonderful camera for two weeks, I have discovered there is a downside - what do I do with all the pictures? We had to uninstall the program that came with the Coolpix and install Picture Perfect, which is compatible with both cameras. I can't figure out how to edit my pics in PP. In fact, I couldn't even find the pics on my computer for a few days. Well, I finally found them, and now I have to continue uploading pics to Kodak. Very slow when you have a dial-up modem. No, make that just about impossible. Here's one more thing for my wish list: DSL for life!

Double Aack!
Penmaker is moving to Ontario. No, not Canada, California. But it might as well be Canada.

Aack!
I think I've eaten more chocolate in the last two weeks than the entire last year. Usually we get a lot of crap for Halloween, and it's easy to toss it out (okay, feed to my co-workers). But this year, we got all good chocolate stuff, so Guido and I are eating it all up! Oink.

Sports Central
Well, Fluffy's actual season is over. We ended with 11 wins and one tie. I think we could have won that last game if our coach hadn't left early to coach his other soccer team. Whenever he isn't there, the girls don't have a clue where to go.

We still have the Commissioner's Cup in December, and we'll play in the regionals in January.

Scooter's team played a great game this weekend, probably the best they've ever played. Some of the kids aren't big runners, but this week they were all over the field, going after the ball and not giving up. Scooter had extra incentive; the team we played against is coached by a club coach and Scooter wanted to make a good impression.

On the down side, we finally heard names for the select team, and Scooter's isn't one of them. Too bad. He's as good as many of the players on the select team, and better than a few of them. He learned a lot on last year's team, and I was hoping for the same this year.

Well, if we win this weekend's game, we go to the regionals. And either way, we all play in the Commissioner's Cup.

Basketball season is finally over for both kids. Yippee!

Did I mention both kids' teams took first place in their divisions at the VFW tournament?

One for the "Other" Team?
Scooter and Fluffy were bored and fighting this weekend (as usual), so I made them clean the toilets, and they had so much fun they asked if they could do it again.

Then I made Scooter scrub the kitchen floor where it's filthy from pencil lead and ink. So he's on his knees scrubbing the floor, singing songs from the Phantom of the Opera. I love that boy!

Shutter Bug
I've been wanting to get a new lens for my camera, so I can take even closer up pictures. But I've also wanted to switch to a digital SLR. But the digital cameras are so expensive that I wouldn't be able to afford more than just the lens that it comes with, and there goes my wish to take closer up pictures. So I've been torn about what to do.

Favi got the new Canon Rebel digital, and she can fit her lenses from her film Rebel on the digital one. So I checked it out, and discovered that my Nikon lenses would fit on the new digital SLR! Whoo-hoo! Thank goodness the last camera I bought was an auto-focus; otherwise, the lenses wouldn't work on the new camera.

After debating about a month, and checking every site I could find for rebates and deals, I finally took the plunge and bought a new camera. And on top of the original rebate, there is a new one, so I will get back $200, and I end up with an EPSON printer as part of the deal, too.

I LOVE this camera! No more waiting seven seconds between each shot. I can shoot continuously! I love it, I love it, I LOVE IT!

Earthquakes Shake It Up!
The soccer season isn't over yet, but Fluffy's team is locked in for first place AND they are going to the regional playoffs in January!! Yippee!

Scooter's team took first place in his first year in U10, and I'm sure Fluffy remembers how exciting that year was. He told her the other night, "It's not like the other trophies; this is a TALL one, like this big," and he gestured like it was about three feet tall. Ha ha!

She really wants this trophy. She has a lot of other "first place" trophies from basketball and softball, but as she says, "Everybody gets those just for playing. And the basketball tournament where we really took first place, you know I didn't do anything for that one." That's true, she has no clue what she's doing and she doesn't care, but don't let Guido hear her admit that!

Soccer is a different story. She's scored three goals so far this season. She is so short, but she can run really fast. Yesterday she had to defend a girl who was more than a head taller, but she kept on her and prevented her from getting near the goal.

Fluffy's Friends
Is this creepy or what?

New Fall Season 2005 - Rockin' Rainbow Maidens
The Rainbows are at it again. The usual suspects, plus a few new faces. It's going to be a fun year!

Rainbow Regroup - our first gathering for the new fall season

Trailblazer Bike Ride Along the Beach - Six Rainbows and one Dreamboat

We Need $$ for a Soap Box Derby Car!

Life is Tiring Me Out
Wow, I haven't written anything in about a month and a half. I'll have to backtrack.

Fall Soccer Season is Here
West Torrance United vs. The Current

Water on the Brain
On Monday, Fluffy was complaining that her ear and jaw hurt. Yesterday morning she was still complaining, and her face looked kind of chipmunk-like on the right side and felt kind of swollen. I thought, oh no, maybe it's strep throat from her sleepover friend, or worse, the arthritis is back (the doc said just last month that he doesn't need to see her anymore). Turns out it's "swimmer's ear." Ear drops and no swimming for the next few days and she should be back to normal (?).

Aaack!
Got a call last night from the parents of one of the girls at Fluffy's sleepover. She came down with strep throat over the weekend. Now I have to call all the other parents to let them know. How nice.