Scone Update
So out of desperation I made bisquik scones. I made them like drop biscuits, but added dried cranberries and orange zest. They weren't that bad, and definitely better than Fluffy's chocolate chip variety. But no one else liked them. Maybe I need to add some sugar. Or maybe I need to get a real recipe.

Rainbow Skies
This weekend was a little busy, but it was still pretty nice.

On Friday night, Fluffy had basketball practice while I exercised on the treadmill and bike.

Saturday morning, Fluffy had an 8:00 GATE test. The entire family had a 10:00 dentist appointment. After that we went to Mitsuwa for lunch and to the Redondo pier to buy a kite.

That night, Fluffy and I made Valentine's Day cards for both b-ball teams, while Scooter practiced with his team.

Fluffy and I went kite-flying in San Pedro yesterday. It was supposed to be a Rainbow event, but we were the only ones who went.

Fluffy made sandwiches and packed us a nice little lunch. She's so cute.

There wasn't much wind, but Fluffy was able to get the convertible kite in the air and keep it there, while my new, fancier one kept crashing to the ground.

It was such a nice day, and I love cruising, so we took the scenic way home.

Guido took Scooter and I took Fluffy to their basketball games.

Weird Japanese
I was at Mitsuwa with Scooter & Fluffy this weekend. What a shock when I walked into the bathroom. It's totally remodeled with automatic everything.

In each stall, on the wall partition, there's a little box that looks like a radio or intercom. I can't imagine that many people need to call for help when they're in the bathroom. Anyway, I put my hand in front of what looked like a sensor, and there was the loud sound of a toilet flushing! So I have two theories. (1) The sound of rushing water is to encourage anyone with a shy bladder. (2) It drowns out the sound of you going pfffftttttt!

What is Kidney Pie?
Gina was home from the U.K. for a week, and I forgot to ask her what treacle tart, haggis, and kidney pie are (they eat a lot of that stuff in Harry Potter). Is kidney pie really made of kidneys? Which animal? Really, when you think about it, eating any part of a once-living animal is sick. If you slice off a piece of my thigh (there’s plenty there), bread it and fry it, would it taste like chicken? And why in the world do people eat organs like kidneys and livers? Why not just eat an oil filter from your car? In fact, if people ate cars, what would be considered the “good” part? The tires? Bumpers? Would the fan belt be a delicacy? Would people fight for the antenna or dip stick and snap it in half for good luck? What parts would be considered edible and what parts would be thrown away? Of course, if you’re Chinese, nothing would go to waste, and you’d eat every part, even the tailpipe.

Soccer World
The soccer season is finally over for us. It definitely was a good one.

Fluffy's team took 1st place in the girls U10 division, 2nd place in the Commissioner's Cup, and played very well in the area playoffs, winning their first two games 3-0, and losing their final game by an awesome goal scored by San Pedro in the fourth quarter.

This past Sunday we had our final Earthquake activity - a tailgate party followed by the USA-Norway soccer game at the Home Depot Center. We had such an awesome team. The girls got along, the parents were nice, and the coach was a terrific guy! It was a great season for Fluffy in her first truly competitive season of soccer.

Scooter's team also took 1st place in their division, boys U12. They didn't do as well in the Commish Cup, but did a great job on the playoffs, making it to the semi-finals at the Field of Dreams. We ended the season with a party at Round Table Pizza the following day. One thing I have to say about Scooter's team this year - all the boys were really good kids. They were very respectful, polite and sweet. I have special admiration for RJ, who is the biggest-hearted boy I have ever known. Whenever a player went down, on either team, he was always there to see if he was okay. Watching him play on the sidelines with the little kids was endearing. I hope his parents realize what a special person he is.

Scooter still has select soccer, but it'll be pretty low-key compared to last year's team. We don't have the same talent as last year; this year's team is basically a social club. But it lets Scooter play year-round, which is what he wants.

My Retirement Plan
I was once again lamenting the fact that we don't have enough money saved for our old age (I don't want to work at Carl's Jr until I'm 80). Scooter said he'll take care of me because "I'm going to be the next Donald Trump." And Fluffy adds, "Well, if you're going to be Donald Trump, I'm going to be DONNA TRUMP!"

So later Scooter was telling Fluffy, "You're not that good in sports and things with your body, but you're good in math and school stuff. You should be a college professor."

They crack me up.

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.