Ringing in 2014

Well apparently it has been a year and a half since I last blogged. Wow. 
Today we are saying good-bye to 2013 and ringing in 2014.  I can't believe how fast time flies!  This past year has had good and bad, as any year does.  The best parts of 2013 was the fact that I successfully lost 30 lbs and so far have kept it off and our family vacation to Disneyland in September with my mom & dad and my sister and her family.  Fun times.  The worst parts was my grandma falling and breaking her hip in February and having to move in to assisted living as well as the fact that two of her sisters passed away.  She said it was like she lost her whole family in one year. 
I am hoping to keep up with my blog a bit more this year.  I don't generally make New Years Resolutions but I do hope to make a list of goals and plans for the new year.  Maybe I will even post them here!
But for now I have onion dip chilling and Lil' Smokies in the crock-pot - it's gonna be a big party here tonight!

Now Maybe I Can Enjoy Summer...

My final season on the Windsor Baseball Board of Directors is officially over!!  I still need to clean out the snack shack, find a home for a lot of left over candy and put some stuff in storage but more or less, it is over! The 12U Nor-Cal State Tournament went well.  I am exhausted but it went well.  The boys won 2 and lost 2 and were out of the tourney on Monday.  They played well, and the game that knocked us out of the tourney was tied 6-6 in the bottom of the 6th (the last inning) and a silly play by our pitcher ended their season.  It was a heart-breaker.
The kids have 5 1/2 weeks left of summer vacation.  I asked them today what they want to do to make it a good summer.  Here's what's on the list so far:
- The beach
- Camping
- The Sonoma County Fair
- sleepovers
I can probably handle those things.  I want to try to go hiking one day a week for the rest of the summer.  Of course that will mean everyone in the house will need to get up before noon so we shall see....
I hope we're able to get some fun into the summer. 
But of course Jaren starts practice for his new baseball team on Wednesday..................

Projects Galore

The kids have been off of school for a week.  There has been a lot of neighborhood playing, phone calls and sleepovers.  Pretty much my kids don't need me too much.  Sometimes they need me to drive them somewhere but so far not too much.  So maybe I will have time to do some projects, at least that is what I am hoping.  I have a list a mile long of projects I want to do.  And recently I decided on a new project.  I want to re-do a hutch for my dining room.  I don't currently own a hutch so I am hoping to find one at Salvation Army or on Craiglist or a yard sale. I am going to check out this one tomorrow:

It is on Craiglist and they want $85 for it.  It is BIG and will be quite the project.  It will also take up pretty much the whole wall in my dining room, but I think that is what I am looking for.  Not sure if this is "The One" since I just started looking but I hate to pass it up.  It's going to be white and I plan to take the doors off the top, not sure if that middle door looking thing will come off.  I will see tomorrow night. 

We have so many home improvement projects and what not that needs to be done, I have decided that I can't wait for anyone else to do them, 'cuz that ain't happening.  Calling a contractor next week to look at a dry rot problem and then it will go from there.  I also plan on purging everything in my house, if I don't love it or use it, it's going.  If I bought something with a project in mind then I will do the project or get rid of the crap I got for it. 

Here's to summer!

So today was the last day of the regular baseball season.  Jaren's team made it to the Championship but they lost.  I don't even know if I can say it was a good game, it wasn't, we lost.  Jaren did pitch well, he did well every game he pitched during the playoff tournament, and let me tell you he reminds us of it often!  Nalani's softball ended a few weeks ago, I guess she enjoyed her season but she is VERY ready to move on to the next level, very ready.  Yesterday was also the last day of school.  So here is to summer and maybe having a little time to do things.  Of course Jaren still has his travel team and All-Star team, I wish he would suck at something and not have all these teams and sports. Our league is also hosting the 12U All-Star State Tournament so in a few weeks I will be back to the snack shack but I get a little break.
I want to be able to waste time on Pinterest, catch up on 3 months of magazines, hit the Salvation Army store for treasures, hang out at my friends pool, sleep-in, maybe exercise and get back to drinking water and taking care of myself.  And I really need to go to the grocery store, really need to.  And clean the bathroom, I would really like to clean the bathroom.

I am DONE....

I so wish I could just walk away from all of my baseball responsibilites.  I don't want to care if we have blue Gatorade or if Costco back-ordered my sunflower seeds.  Don't blame me if your son lost his mitt, yes if someone found it they will turn it in to the snack shack, but if no one turned it in I can't give it to you.  Write your name on it next time, or check to make sure you have everything before you leave.  And if one more person says to me "You're at the field all of the time, don't you go home?" I am going to slap them.  Yes, I would love to go home but that would require for your lazy *ss to help out.  When I send out an e-mail looking for help and no one responds what am I supposed to do??  So yes, thank you for that observation that I do the work of 5 people, I am aware of it...painfully aware.  So I am done, or really wish I could be.  The regular season ends at the end of the month, then I can enjoy baseball for a month when all I have to do is travel to tournaments and watch.  Just watch.  Not miss my son striking out 3 batters in an inning 3 up/3 down because someone can't find the hot dogs buns or missing my son making an unassisted double play because an umpire needs to be paid.  No, in June I just get to watch.  And then in July someone had the bright idea of hosting the 12 year old All-Star tournament.  Yes someone who has ideas but never does the work.  So from June 30-July 7 I will have my worker bee hat back on, and I will miss my son playing his last All-Star tournament of his Majors career, all because of someone else's idea.  Yep, just a little bitter and exhausted today.  But I did get a beautiful bouquet of roses last Sunday for all of my hard work and $50 to Olive Garden, too bad it will be August before I can use it.

How did it get to be the middle of April??

Ok so I set the goal of a layout per week back in mid-March.  All I have posted is one layout and that was about 4 weeks ago!  Well I have done more scrapbook pages than I have posted but I just haven't had time to put the final touches on them and take pictures.  I hosted a fundraiser crop back on March 24th and got quite a bit done, I just haven't had a chance to share them.  You see it is baseball season and for many that means practices and games, shuttling kids to and fro.  Well for me it means a lot more.  When I tell people that I just don't have time because it is baseball season, and they nod their head like they understand.  I can bet a million dollars they don't understand one bit!  I like to say I am the League Mom not the Team Mom.  I joined the Board of Directors 7 years ago because I felt like the league wasn't being ran right, I am not a person to just sit back and complain, I am going to step up and help make it right.  I don't know if it is ran any better now but I sure work my tail off!  I am the Administrative Vice-President, Travel Ball Administrator, Snack Shack Coordinator, the team mom for two teams as well as on the committee for Opening Day and All-Star tournaments.  So when someone nods their head like they feel my pain because they have two kids they have to drive to games I just chuckle and think they have no idea.......

Did You Doubt Me?

So on Monday I set the goal of completing a layout a week.  I am sure you all shook your head and thought, "Ya, right!" Well guess what!?  I did it this week; and I still have the weekend ahead of me so I might even do two, but I won't get ahead of myself!

It isn't anything fancy, but it is done!  And since that little guy in the pictures is now 12, it is about time that I got it done.
The journaling: "I'm not sure if it was the best idea to let a 4 year old carve pumpkins by himself, but you took your job very seriously and your pumpkin turned out great.  October 2004