Bullying

Not all bullying happens on the playground.

I thought the point of fundraising was to help get kids to camp not line some rep's pockets.

Silly me

Scouts

Not this kind of scout...

This kind of scout.

I had an interesting experience yesterday, Ben was scouted.

I was working the gate at the football game yesterday when a guy came up and asked if the Tigers were playing today.  They weren't and the guy said, "that's too bad. I was hoping to check out one of the players".  Out of curiosity I asked who he was hoping to see.  He said "I want to talk to the tight end about coming to play for our select 13/14 team.  I think his name is Yokosomething".

Really?? Ben??

Now in our little neck of the woods, there is a little thing called select soccer.  It is insane.  Like totally life consuming, drain your bank account crazy.  Whenever I hear my friends talking about traveling here or writing a check for thousands of dollars there (yes, you read that right, THOUSANDS)   I think thank god Ben doesn't play soccer.  So when the word "select" came out of his mouth I got a pit in my stomach. 

Was it kind of cool, the guy knew about Ben and actually knew his name (well, he was close)?

Yes

Where we ready to get involved with something "select"?

Not sure

I sent the scout down to talk to Joj and Ben.  I figured Joj could size this guy up and ask the important questions.  When I caught up with Joj I asked what he and Ben thought. 

Turns out Ben wants to try out for the team. 

Try outs are tonight and Ben is going to check it out.  I'm glad that Ben is excited about football and sees this as an opportunity to improve his skills, but I'm also very leery about we might be getting into.

I guess we will have to wait and see.

Flour ~ it's important

Today is finally Fall here in the PNW.

It is gray

It is raining (altho around here WA call it "sprinkling" ~ we are like Eskimos and snow, we have a million different names for types of rain)

Joj is on his way home from a biz trip in SC and the kids are at school. That means the house is QUIET and it seemed like a good time to bake. 

I'm making some long promised Snickerdoodles.

Whenever I am looking for a recipe I always start my google search with "the best ____ ever".  I found one that sounded simple enough, didn't require crisco (which I was out of) and had a pretty picture of the final product.  Okay, sold.

I measured, mixed and baked.

When I checked on them, I was NOT happy with what I saw.

Ugh.

I really HATE when a recipe flops.  All that time and expensive butter down the drain (literally). It sucks more when you realize that YOU didn't read the recipe correctly.  Yes, cookies will spread if you leave out a C of flour. Umm yeah. I believe the kids these days call it a "facepalm".

Long story short I found another recipe, read it very carefully and the result is pretty impressive if I do say so myself. 

Wishing you a very yummy weekend

:0)

 

Back to school...

Yesterday was the first day of school.  Ben is a big 8th grader (his last year of middle school) and Sam is in 4th grade with the same teacher she had in Kindergartem (we are very excited about that)

This summer seemed to zoom by a little too quickly for my liking, but I have to admit I do like that fact that kids are back in school. 

We need some structure around here so it's a good thing. 

The start of school also means back to work for me. 

I do English testing for my old district and it allows me to make a little mad money without being tied down to a "real job". 

Plus it allows me the flexibility to volunteer at the kids' schools which is nice.

I hope your first day of school went well.

:0)

In the blink of an eye...

From this

to this

Saturday night was our 25th high school reunion. 

Still seems very weird to me. 

I was a Sr. class officer so I got to help plan the 10th.  It was a nightmare (the planning not the actual event) but I swore I would never plan another one.  We didn't go to our 20th, but the chick who planned it ran into the same problems we did with the 10th. 

Fast forward a few years and the introduction of Facebook (cue the angels singing)

Last summer the class of '86 hosted an informal get together at a local bar and I went.  It was fun and so much more relaxed than regular reunion.  When the question was asked "are we doing anything for our 25th?" I suggested we follow suit and keep it simple.  This time around all it took was a phone call to reserve space at the bar and a "be there or be square" post on FB. 

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

We had about 80 folks show up which was a nice size ~ made it easy to "work the room".  I'm hoping for the 30th (gulp) we have a few more folks show up, but keep it an easy going affair. 

After all it isn't about the fancy food or the screaming loud DJ. You go to catch up with folks who "knew you when..." and relive the good old days. 

It's all about feeling 17 again, even if it is for just one night every 5 years.

Are you ready for some football?

The Northeast Tacoma Tigers kicked of their 2012 season today.

Despite the HOT weather this week (legit HOT weather, like in the 90's hot weather, not wimpy W. WA it's over 75 and we are all dying hot weather) today's game was played under overcast skies and in the mild high 60's.

Perfect football weather.

Unfortunately our first game was against last year's league champs.  Um, yeah...

The good news is we weren't shut out and there is nowhere to go but up. 

Despite the today's loss, this is the best team we have fielded so far.

(this is only the 3rd year of the program and they have come a long way in those three years)

Just look at the determination in these faces. 

GO TIGERS!!

:0)

Get Lucky

This weekend I headed over to the Gorge in George for a little 80's rocking.

Journey, Pat Benatar and Loverboy was a triple bill that was just too good to pass up.

I met up with my brother and his wife in Ellensburg where I went to College at CWU. 

If Boeing ever opened a Ellensburg branch I would pack up and go in a heartbeat.  The town is small, kind of quirky but it is the cute houses and almost constant sunshine  gets me every time. 

One of the best parts of Ellensburg is a little watering hole called The Tav. 

Besides being the first stop whenever you went out, it is also the home to the Super Mother (the world's perfect burger) I don't know what they do do it or if they cook it a special way, but it is my all time favorite burger and even though it was 20 years since my last one (gulp) it tasted just like I remembered it ~ awesome. 

Of course I had to wash it down with a Raindog (that's Rainier beer for those outside of Washington) for old times sake.  After lunch it was off to the campground.

We decided to stay at the Wild Horse Campground which a couple of miles from the venue. They  also provide a shuttle to the show which meant not having to deal with parking.  Woo Hoo!!

Of course the shuttles were packed, loud and most of the riders were a bit tipsy but it wasn't a long drive so it was okay.

The venue itself is pretty stunning.  Right on the Columbia River.  The sun was out and you couldn't have asked for a more perfect night.

After my VanHalen experience I was a little leery, but all the bands sounded amazing, especially Loverboy.

Oh Mike Reno, I love his voice.  Personally, I think Loverboy sounded the best out of the three bands and I was a little bummed they only played a 30 minute set (altho not a bad gig if you are Loverboy) However, I will definitely be going to see them the next time they play in town. 

For those of you who are curious about the "Asian Steve Perry" I have to say he sounded pretty good.  On most songs he was practically drowned out by the 20,000 folks singing along.

Overall, the weekend was a blast.  It makes me want to get out see other bands (especially if it means more super mothers)

:0)