merry craftsmas

Our cats' favorite holiday is coming to a close. They love climbing the tree and batting the glass ornaments off the branches, unwrapping the presents with their claws, climbing into empty boxes, and chasing scraps of crumpled paper around the house. (Here is a picture of Kazi trying to look innocent.)

I made everything mostly from scratch... even clumpless gravy from the ham drippings! The gravy was surprisingly good with a sweet touch from the honey glaze. I made most preparations in advance so that it all threw together in about 1/2 hour. Everything was as delicious as it was beautiful. A major accomplishment. (I even crafted the centerpiece.) I'm kind of proud of myself here, and not abashed about it at all.

This little John Deer tractor is one of the new ornaments we got to start our emphasis on the tree being a story of our lives. It reminded me of trips to look at tractor stuff with my dad when I was little.


Above: Mark with some of his movie-buff booty... second only to his love affair with books.

Above: Another new ornament that speaks to the special relationship we have with our kitties... how much they mean to us, and how we love and pamper them.

trimmings

Mark and I went to AZ for quick holiday hello. I helped decorate the family tree - I wanted to hear the back story on each ornament... we found an old photo of the tree in the early 1970's and tried so see how many ornaments from the picture were still on the tree.

And one of my favorites - we watched old 8mm family videos - Mark repeatedly falling on his 18-mo-old face trying to run downhill... and skating a half-pipe when he was 11... (a reel we thought was lost.) Pretty amazing.

lost

In a rare moment, I must confess that I am REALLY a big fan of the T.V. show "LOST."

At first, it was a guilty pleasure that I would try to conceal... like my mail order catalog fetish, or my love of soft socks and patterned paper.

But, I have been watching season 3 on DVD - and have noticed something new. This show is not just a pithy soap opera. It has deep and meaningful subtext, philosophical parody and satire. And the characters are far from generic stereotypes.

Check out the wiki if you don't believe me. I particularly enjoyed the list of character references (many names are pulled from famous thinkers during an 18th century battle of ideas: free will/social democracy ergo American Revolution vs. Calvinists pushing for social morality/Socialism & Royal Decree - as well as other fine moments of revolutionary thought.) Very Shakespearan - with the difficulty in pinpointing which group are the savages...

And I never really noticed show much literature is mentioned. (Or that it is always Sawyer reading whatever he can get his hands on.)

Thank you, TV land, for making one good show. If only you could figure out how to reproduce it.

2 years

I took Friday off and we went to Sea World for our anniversary. It was a very nice to have the whole day and just play.

This all white Beluga Whale was one of our favorites. So large and graceful, I could have watched this one swim all day.




I petted the sting rays and touched a starfish and some kind of plant grabbed my finger and suctioned it. I also threw slimy fish at the seal.

We were one of the first people there and had a few minutes alone with Baby Shamu. It was very cool, because it seemed like she was playing with us.

The shark walkway, penguin habitat, and eel cavern were other faves.

Much fun.

nancy

My friend asked me to help her make a scrapbook for a Christmas gift... so the past few days, we have been churning out an elegant little book.

Nancy is a prodigy. Here are a few of her layouts. Keep in mind, this is the first time she has ever done this. I'm jealous of her gift.

Here are a few of the ones I made. I love that Nancy's taste pushes me to streamline my layouts into simple and clean.

More.

elf

Click to see my elf dance.

family tree

I was going to respond to McKay's question in a comment, but I really had meant to say more about our tree. I think I got interrupted and just posted quickly in order to do something else without completing my thought.

As I was saying, we decided that this will be our last "pretty" tree... because we got in a conversation about the trees we had growing up and how each ornament had a story attached to it. As a collective, the tree held the family history. "This one was from that time we went to Yellowstone," or "I made this when I was in the third grade."

... and while my tree is lovely... it doesn't have our story. We decided that from now on, we will collect ornaments on our travels and during our life that mean something... and our tree will be an eclectic collection of our stories... it will be colorful and imaginative. But it won't be a Macy's Tree.

I think it will probably still be just as pretty, just in the sense that we think our life together is beautiful.

As a first ornament toward our story, I want to buy a melting clock to commemorate our trip to see the special Salvadore Dali exhibit at the local museum.

tree

This holiday, Mark and I decided to intentionally consider what traditions we want to have in our holiday home. We agreed that this will be my last attempt at an "Aunt Reta / Martha Stewart" tree.

We will have tamales on Christmas Eve (McCowen standard), Orange Sticks (Dad's C's legacy) and an orange at the toe of the sock (Mom C's legacy), and a ham dinner Christmas Day. (Even though this year it will just be dinner for two.)

What are some of your traditions?

edge-you-kay-shone

Following Jamie's bravery, I am posting the education requirements for my blog.

home again

I stole this image from Evan and made it my own.

We look a stink-load alike in this picture. You would think we're related.

I didn't get any pics of the dinner or Mark's family. We were too busy eating and hanging out.

I also realized that I really don't like knitting with a pattern. It is just too much like auditing a spreadsheet - keeping your columns lined up, making sure the right thing goes in the right cell, and all the numbers meet... it's work. I want either creative OR mindless - and knitting with a pattern is neither.

home

We drove out to Arizona for dinner on Thursday.

Although short, it was one of the best trips I've had lately. (Not saying much, since most of my trips this year have been funerals or business.)

But, it really made me remember how it feels to be surrounded by people who care. To be hugged incessantly. For the first time I realized... Arizona is as much my home as Utah or California. And Mark's family is as much my family as the one I was born into. I'm a McCowen. Don't panic, biological family, I haven't revoked my charter-membership to your particular brand of crazy. I'm just expanding my definition to include some very normal mid-Western folks with great genes. (My kids will be tall, leggy blondes.)

A major highlight was getting to spend a few hours holiday shopping, eating turkey leftovers and wrapping presents with Evan. In particular, I find it hard not to live close to the LB.

radical

I recently took an inventory of what I wish the world was like. No one will argue that it seems like society has taken a turn of some kind. Bad? We are haunted by romantic histories of quintessentially genteel, slower ane more human pasts. And now we rush about ignoring each other to the point of isolation under artificial lights and get our sense of community at a shopping mall.

I expected my inventory to be about family... since I have always been clear on knowing at least that much about what's important. And maybe in a way, it did. The common theme that I noticed was that I believe in human goodness. Not necessarily at an individual level, but as a group, on the broader scale. This surprised me a lot, because I deeply care for particularly few individuals.

I just read this BBC Article about 6 month old babies preferring puppets who are socially kind. I think this might punctuate my point. We prefer to be helpful, loving, and kind. We may not be good at it, but that's what we prefer. And that's how we see ourselves, generally: as "nice."

I'm usually pretty annoyed by the government, so I was also surprised at how much credit I give to the government as an institution that has lost it's way. I still think there is hope... but much to change in order to keep that hope.

Most of all, I really care about social equality and social responsibility. I think in our "American Dream," we get caught up in serving ourselves We forget that in terms of making a better world, getting ahead of each other may not be as easy or advantageous as creating a just and equitable world for everyone. The masses have much more power to facilitate massive economic reform than one person with a home-business... and creater wealth and stability for everyone is better than 2% of the U.S. population owning over 50% of the world's wealth. Interestingly, Bill Gates owns more than twice what Saudi Arabia does.

I guess believing in people, freedom, and equality makes me a radical. Dude.

weekender

On Friday night, we saw the play, "The Chicago Conspiracy."

Almost all of the actors in the play have been in tv and movies. The performance was really amazing.

I scrapped to recharge my batteries, but that backfires when I scrap until 5 a.m. I still need new batteries, but my heart is scrapalicious.

I am now reading "Good in Bed" by Jennifer Weiner, a story about a Larger Woman coming to terms with her size. I read while I work out and enjoy the irony.

I am really starting to live for my weekends. For the first time in my mature adult life, (as recent blog posts attest) we are doing stuff on the weekend. Going places, events, fine eateries. It suits us to stay home, but as long as we're here in this Entertainment City, it seems necessary to "take advantage of it while we can." Because unless the housing market falls 300%, we will never be able to buy a home here... and will eventually leave.

Note: you know you are growing passive when a $200,000 studio condo sounds like a bargain you might consider.

bueno

I am trying to go to the gym six days a week to make up for exam slack. I'm on day five. If I do it often enough, I actually get addicted... and I have to remind myself to go home and do other things. (I never would have guessed this about myself in former lifetimes.)

I am just finished reading "The Birth House" by Ami McKay and am still reading "Profit Over People" by Noam Chomsky. Both great.

And thinking a lot about the way society has changed.

sigh

I just took my exam yesterday. Ahh - the sweet feeling of nothing hanging over my head. So, here's how it goes. I have to wait two months to find out by what margin I did not pass, so that I know how hard I have to study for the next attempt (and let me just go on and guess ahead of time - a boat load.) Everyone I talked to (who thought they were prepared) agreed that this particular form was a beast - and no one thinks they will move up to the next topic. (In a way, this is good news, because it means a lower pass curve... but even though that's what they are for, I'm not getting my hopes all wiggly.)

My work gave me half-days for the prior six weeks and a week off leading up to exam day to prepare. It felt wierd to stay until quitting time today... my first full day of work in a long time.

I have some big plans... the much missed free time kind - like cooking real meals, with (gasp) ingredients other than a drive through... and going to the gym to cycle off the synthetic polymer ones I've been eating lately.

And Crafts-mas is coming, so I'm going to get my glitter on... I'm going to make paper lanterns shaped like stars to put over my Christmas lights on my tree, so Martha of me.

Oh, and reading... books, with actual plots.

Oh, and movies - in one sitting... without feeling guilty. Maybe a guitar lesson or two.

I'm like a kid in a candy store. Oh, good Idea! I can make holiday candies. Mmmm.

wiggy

I know I should get over myself, someday. But every time I look in the mirror since I cut my fringe, I don't recognize me. And that's like not seeing your own reflection and being sure you're a vampire.


I think someone transplanted my thinker into this (old) lady's body with the costume wig.

As as aside, I love mail order catalogs, crafts, coffee and christmas. Who doesn't?

eye candy

Some artists who inspire me:

she-bang

I put a bang on. This wasn't really spontaneous... I've been watching the season on DVD of "Ghost Whisperer" and Jennifer Love-Hewitts' bangs are so cute. (Oh, what happened to the no-TV thing? Yah, that was just plain crazy.) If I put my hair up in a pony, though, I sort of look like Evan, circa 1991. (No offense, bro.) Now, if they stay laying straight and don't go wonky... perhaps I won't regret this.

Note: It is really hard not to floof it 80's-style into a rat-stack. Wait, perfect halloween costume - and thank-you kids for bringing back emo, so I can find leggings and cowl-neck blouses in stripes and bold electric colors.

My current accomplishments:

I graduated from Upward Bound with Honors three years in a row
I wrote my high school graduating class' theme song and performed it at graduation.
I have written a number of songs
I taught myself guitar and piano
I graduated Cum. Sum Laude with a degree in Mathematics
I made the dean's list and George W. Bush's Academic Achievers list.
I passed my first actuary exam and am studying for my second
I learned to Rock climb and Skateboard as an adult
We have traveled to eleven countries

My future accomplishments:
I passed a certification level of actuary exams (ASA, FSA)
I have published something (short story, cook book, children's book, etc.)
I have my scrapbooking featured in a magazine
I have cut a CD of my original compositions and you can buy it off the internet
I can think of 20 people that would come if I invited them to something
I own my own home
I design and sew clothing for myself, Mark, and our kids that can be worn with pride out of the house
I am an advanced guitar player and can improvise along with CDs and other musicians
I am known to be thoughtful and considerate
I compete and am good at a sport

blonde redhead

We went to see this band play last night at the Wiltern Theatre. Great venue, awesome show. I highly recommend the latest CD.

We've been doing more stuff like this lately and it has been nice to feel like we are taking advantage of the hip stuff that goes on here.

fire

For anyone who is worried, we are not close enough to the wild fires burning here to be in any danger. The effect of the fires on us, personally, has been indirect. Mark has been working a lot of hours because someone at his work's house is in the path of the fire and she has been evacuated to somewhere and can't really come to work. Traffic is bad from people movement, and my office in Simi Valley is sandwiched between two fires: It isn't in any danger, but the smoke is said to be pretty ugly (I will be there tomorrow to find out for myself.)

Update: 10/24/2007 - I went up to Simi Valley today and those fires are pretty much not burning any more. The San Diego fires are still going... but Malibu is (I think) done, and the Northern ones are all out. Some people were coughing a little extra at work today, but not much.

oats

I have always loved oatmeal, but hated making it. I found out that, with those packets, you can just add boiling water and wait a couple of minutes. I think the flavory good ones are bad for you, so I got regular and made little packets of flavor of my own, with dried apple, almonds, cinnamon, etc...

Now I eat oatmeal every day and have cut my overall daily calories by 200. MMmm, now that's good.

counts

Mark introduced me to a website that tracks coalition casualties in Iraq.

I thought it was sort of interesting because we are watching the Ken Burns documentary on World War II (The War) in which families read the paper to see if there is any news of their loved ones and don't find out until they get a telegram. I don't know if it would be worse having a website you can incessantly check or not.

However, the site does have statistical trends, average deaths per day, and a drill down to exactly who, how and where. I noticed that 15% of the deaths since day 1 have been from friendly fire... and why do I not remember hearing about a huge 43 ff deaths in a week back in Jan 2005. (Compared to one or two other weeks.) What happened? I also noticed that the weekly average is climbing very slowing but steadily (by one more person for every six months we've been there.) I just thought of a nice math question. An increasing sequence - what will the estimated cost be in three years (total losses). I'll tell you tomorrow. It's too late for more math today. It felt honest and sobering to check it out. I recommend you do the same. And don't just take a quick look. Click on stuff. Explore. Caring about the troops matters. It's not just a bumper sticker.

(hey, not everything on my blog has to be light and silly.)

note to self

It is extremely hard to draw with a mouse. My self-portrait is lopsided, cross-eyed, and fashion unconscious. Is it just me, or is "unconscious" unnecessarily difficult to spell. From here on, I decree that it should be spelled "unconchus." Join me in the rebellion.

8th Grade

Brittany recently sent me this photo and I love it. It looks like it could have been taken in 1967. My wonderful rent-a-child. How I wish it was rent-to-own.

rilo kiley

We went to see these guys play last night for Mark's happy 30th.

These pictures are thanks to his bday present - a slim little pocket-worthy digital camera.

What a strange word: Pocket. A pocket, a locket, and a stinky Davey Crockett.

scoop

As you might have noticed, I haven't been writing much for the past month or so. I work on the computer all day, and when I get home, I read the blogs I love, but I have been giving my wrists a break.

To fill in the gaps on some of the missing moments, I might be repeating myself a little to give the details.

My wonderful Aunt Velora passed away on Sept 12. I flew to Utah last minute to attend her funeral. It was a great service and really tough for me to lose her. We were good friends.

A few days after I got back, we had tickets to see AIR in concert. (I recommend checking out the video of them on Mark's blog.) It was the first concert we ever went to together and my first since 1997. It was a really cool experience.

Ryan was in LA the next day and we hung out and went to the beach for part of the day. It was dad's day, so I had a rootbeer float for him.

The following weekend, I went to Boston on business.


It was a pretty city and I got to take a "Duck Tour" in a WWII amphibious tank. We drove the historical sites in the city, and then drove right into the Charles River and boated the historical sites from that view. I learned a lot at the conference about catastrophe modeling and gave a presentation to my work group on it this last week. (Which went pretty well.)

A few days after I got back, Jennifer and Stephanie came out to visit. We took Stephanie to Universal Studios Horror Nights for about 10 minutes. It was so scary that we had to leave. (I think Stephanie will not forgive us for a long time.) They had really good actors in really good makeup with chainsaws and lopped off body parts, some of whome come up and try to lick your face. I want to go back.

Well, we did go back, just not during Horror Nights. We went back during the day for the regular Universal Studios experience. (I had no idea they had such good rides.) We went on Mummy and Jurrassic Park over and over and over (and over...) and we had two day passes, so they were able to go back to the park (I had to work)... but I would have enjoyed "...one more time" on Mummy. There were virtually no lines the day I went. They were in town for nearly a week and we had so much fun that it was hard to see them go. More sand Castles.

This weekend, Mark and I took a road trip to Long Beach. We also went through Compton as though it was a drive-through safari. We wanted to see gang-bangers selling drugs and other dangerous things. It was disappointing, because it just looked like many other LA neighborhoods. No bullet holes or anything. Lots of rims and tires.

Anyway, tomorrow is Mark's 30th Bday. We are going to another concert, Rilo Kiley, and having a party on Friday.

busy

I will fill you in soon. The short version is:

"Exam Season" is in full swing (I'm supposed to be studying 5 hours per day.) I'm not. But, I'm supposed to be.
I got some kind of sore throat/cold.
I went to Boston for a business conference.
Jennifer & Stephanie came out (still here) to visit.

life is:

Arbitrary
Boring
Change
Difficult
Empty
Fulfilling
Greedy
Hectic
Illusory
Jaded
Karmic
Love
Moving
Never-ending
Obstinate
Precious
Quietly going on behind your back
Routine
Short
Tiresome
Unfair
Vanity's Mirror
Worth It
Xenophobia
Yesterdays
Zany

quotes of the day:

"My throat hurts. I need to get a massage."

(I know... that's what I thought, too.)

and

"I also use my cell phone to call people."

(How innovative.)

I want to dedicate these funny thoughts to carpal tunnel.

zoom-zoom

I think this post sets a record for longest break between posts.

My days are running into one another and life is short.

Aunt Velora passed away and I skipped up to Utah last weekend for the funeral. Work/study kept me busy during the week. Ryan stopped by Saturday just in time to celebrate Dad's day with me. I got a rootbeer float and we swapped memories. It rained after not a drop since we moved.

Life is hard. And worth it.

media fast

As a lifestyle experiment, we started a six month fast from the television. No TV, movies, or video games as of today. We cancelled our Blockbuster membership, unplugged everything and put the remotes in the drawer... and then uncomfortably stared at each other for a while.

What do we hope to gain? Time... A life in motion.... A break from pop culture... I don't know. But I already can tell that it won't be easy. Or hard. Just different. I got to take a nap.

Oh. And I got tickets to a concert next week. I haven't been to a concert since I saw INXS in 1997. I should break out the glow stick, baggy pants, and glitter covered tennis shoes for this.

I'm over thirty. I took out my tongue ring last year. That's it. I must be growing up. (I have a pension. These things happen.)

taken

I will really miss my family sedan race car. It is someone else's turn to love it. (I named her "adhesive" - but the new owner will probably change it.)

Selling my 2007 Mazda 3

I really am selling my brand new Mazda. If you or anyone you know is interested in a smokin' deal on a brand new car, I have one.

Since I am working down the street and don't have a rich uncle I don't know about, I could really use the payment for my student loans.

It is a sporty 4-door 2007 Mazda 3 - i Touring in light blue with beige interior, standard transmission, power everything. MSRP is $17,750. I paid $16,200, made 6 months of payments and gave it a scratch, so I'll sell it at a loss on my loan for $14,500.

The Biz

Remember Mark's blog a while back about the day they were shooting the pilot TV show?

[...]

But, I couldn't find it. I google, "pilot Lee Majors" and get 2 billion military hits. This proves two things: that I am not a guru internetress and you are on your own.

[Editor's Note: Mark wrote about this on his blog. Check out his post to hear it from him.]

I used to be hot

One of the things that made CA sound so lovely when we were sweltering in Arizona was that lovely claim of 72 degrees all year round. Well, it has been in the upper 80's for months, and our little AC unit in the back bedroom doesn't do me any good during the afternoons while Mark is sleeping. As it turns out, I was cooler in AZ where Mark could keep the AC set at 68 and the house was so cold I never was without a light jacket.

But, today, I had enough of sweating it out. Last straw and all that.

I stormed down to Home Depot, picked up a window AC unit, brought it home and installed it myself. It helps to be a farm girl and not be intimidated by these sorts of endeavors Now, I am wonderfully freezing. If you are sweltering, follow my lead. It wasn't difficult and they are 20% off this week.

I probably should have done something before the Thompson's visited... but then maybe we wouldn't have gone to the beach to beat the heat every day.

frequency versus severity

At my work we talk a lot about how more frequently occuring events usually have a small severity and that higher frequency events have higher severity. Granted, we are usually comparing hurricanes to Rita and Katrina. But, I realized it is true in the blog world, too. I don't write as much since I got busy at work. But what I write is a little higher quality, and says more. (This post excluded, perhaps.)

My work hosted a catered party at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art for all the Actuaries during work hours this week. They do this semi annually contingent that we beat the industry average in proportion of the test-takers who pass pass. We had a record number or takers and a record high ratio of passers, so it was a really fancy party. They presented me with a letter from the CEO telling me how great I am. (So true.)

I am getting really swamped at work now that everyone simultaneously realized that I am trained enough to be competent.

I expect the severity of my postings to trend downward as I become more and more wrapped up in work and exam prep. I am working on exam 2, and study an average of 2 hours per day min. (My planned schedule calls for 3, but that's a lot and I am lucky if I can force myself to sit still for 2.5)

I ordered two pairs of prescription glasses off the internet. Frames and Lenses packages start at $9. These prescription sunglasses glasses: $19.00, arrived this week. Not bad for the bargain.

vacation

I was so completely exhausted today that after a few hugs, I straightened up the house, went to sleep at noon and didn't wake up again until 6pm. It has been a full and cherished week of fun-filled vacation.


Eva, Roger and family arrived on Saturday morning after driving overnight. Mark and I took Sade, Aubri, and Marissa on a little adventure so that the tired could nap. We went to the La Brea Tar Pits and showed the kids the Methane and Tar seeping up into the pools at the park, peered over the edge of archaeological dig pits, and played around. Then, we went to the grocery store and played on the moving walkway while Mark bought his secret "Mark's-My-Favorite-Uncle" weapon.... candy for breakfast. When we got home the kids found and played with some snails from our garden. Roger and Eva were awake... so it was off to the beach. A lucky break - a beach umbrella at a moving sale - so we had shade. We went to the beach at the Santa Monica Pier. The waves were great, the cool ocean refreshing, and fun was had by all. Sade and Roger were hitting the big waves. Aubri and Marissa were hitting waves up to their necks when they weren't digging amazing holes. We had a "sandwich-hold-the-sand" picnic. Roger thought the black guy in the lounger behind us was Denzel Washington. It became apparent to me that this family bonds in a special way under the common love of the beach. As Sade said, "this is a multiple day thing" despite his seven-degree sunburn. Then we went to the Los Angeles Contemporary Art Museum where we went through ancient Europe, the East, and a special Dan Flavin exhibit of colored light bulbs (which the kids loved a lot.) We made some yummy spaghetti for dinner.
Has it only been one day?


On Sunday, we went to China Town, bought some fun souvenirs (Sade got a pair of balls and the girls got matching china doll dresses and shoes and fans and trinkets,) drank freshly squeezed sugar cane (gross, never do that,) and rode a creepy robot coin-op ride. We had a cold antipasto salad on the road and off we went to the beach. We wanted to go to Venice Beach, but I didn't get a map, so we went to South Santa Monica on accident. W wanted to get a boogie-board for today. When we couldn't find one at the store on the way, Sade and I walked from shop to shop along the walk looking for one until we got to the pier (where we beached the previous day.) We bought flip-flops for the walk home and a cool beach ball along with the boogie-board. Along the way, we saw a lot of performers... some acrobats and jugglers, a lady with a harp, a bicycle hot-rod club (one guy's bike seat was taller than my head,) a guy with a turban on roller blades playing an electric guitar, and a car decorated like the ocean with a working waterfall down the front. They boogie-boarded for as long as the sun allowed when we finally got back. Even Aubri was a natural with it. We would need to come back again, and get another board. When we got home, we ordered Thai food delivery and made hot dogs for those who didn't dig it.
Has it only been two days?


On Monday, after we picked up our discounted Disneyland tickets, I took Marissa and had a lazy morning while Mark took everyone else on a driving tour of the highlights of Los Angeles. They went to a lookout point on Mullholland Drive, drove the Sunset Strip, went through Beverly Hills, Boy's Town, and more. He rivals the professional tour guide. We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs for lunch. Afterward? Beach, baby. Second boogie-board. Making a sand mermaid tail for Aubri, a princess dress for Marissa, a turtle body for Aubri, a hot tub for Marissa. We ordered Dominoes for dinner. That really hit the spot.
Has it only been three days?


We tried to get a somewhat early start Tuesday to get to Disneyland early. I've been to Disneyland a few times recently, so there was no explanation for my surge of excitement and energy as we walked up to the gates. I knew we would have a good time. We went on the Matterhorn first. Marissa made the height requirement just barely, but it scared the pants off of her. I got Teacup duty. The park was packed for the premiere of High School Musical 2. The cast of the movie was there in a special parade. Eva and Marissa saw Zac Efron, etc and then hit Toon Town while the rest of us hit Splash Mtn and Big Thunder Mtn. We met back up for a picnic we left in the van. Big old Kaiser roll sandwiches with every fixing we would think of. Mmmm and cookies for desert. After lunch, we went to California Adventure. Roger and I are coaster junkies... so we had to go on the big one. The line was a little long, but it was so worth it. I cannot describe how happy and giggly and wonderful I feel during and directly after a good coaster. Roger was giggling because I was giggling. And the line to the one that shoots you straight up was non-existent, so we giggled some more. It was a hot day. When we met back up with Eva and the kids, they were playing in fountains. We walked back over to Disneyland and got a good bench for Eva, Marissa (sound asleep) and I to rest on and save for the parade. I don't think I ever saw the parade before. It was really awesome. We hit a couple more rides after that and then Taco Bell on the way home.
Has it only been four days?


It's only Wednesday. Breakfast is blueberry muffins, mandarin oranges, and yogurt in the park and play in the playground. We go shopping at The Grove. Sade gets some envious books. We see a cool fountain and a trolley. We overdose on ice cream for lunch and wander at the magnificent Lake Shrine gardens, seeing big fish, swan, Ghandi's Ashes, and tour the museum. Then, Venice Beach. This place is what I would expect to see if I went to Mexico for a carnival. There were a lot of artists, musicians, and some jugglers. A crew of break dancing acrobats did a nice show, including a four-man tower with the bottom guy doing a no-hands backbend. When we hit the beach, we all agree that Santa Monica's beaches are nicer. A schizophrenic homeless person won't leave us alone - so I demonstrate my security guard honed skills and get him to move along. We go on to make an amazing sand castle. It is a master piece. I made us Chicken Fajita Burritos for dinner when we get home.
It has only been five days, but it feels like we're well into the second week.


We proclaim Thursday as the lazy day. I make us pancakes for breakfast. We have a chess tourney. The girls put on their china dresses, so we watch kung-fu movies. (Aubri is a big kung fu fan.) After lunch, we walk The Hollywood Walk of Fame. We find Snow White's star. She is Marissa's favorite princess. We see where the cast of Harry Potter put their hands, feet, and wands into the cement at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre. We rented some movies and had a movie/chess night. I made an Enchilada Casserole and we went on a nighttime walk around the neighborhood. It should be mentioned that in any free time between activities and during meals, chess is going on. It started on our first Thompson-McCowen shared vacation in Mexico... a chess rivalry unparalleled. Mark, Sade, and Roger are good matches and play sophisticated games. Sade has been working on his game with Roger since Mexico, in order to beat Mark fair and square. He's good, so Mark plays his best game against him. And today, Sade took him down in an honest win. Mark also gave Sade some tips and maneuvers to improve each stage of his game and today, Roger started losing consistently to Sade. A common phrase around the house was "good game."
It has been six days. Tomorrow will be the last.


So we ate Turtle Brownies for Breakfast. Mark and Sade resumed the chess war while Roger, Eva and I walked to a cool paper store, Pulp, and book store, Illiterature, across the street. Then, we dropped Roger and Eva at the famous Getty Museum while Mark and I took the kids to Malibu Beach. Mark and Sade sat in the shade while us girls played in the surf and went exploring the beach for treasures. This beach was steeper, so the waves appeared to be bigger than they were, giving the littler ones a better wave to ride without putting them in the water above their knees. We met back up and did movies and hamburgers back at the house.
It has only been seven days. It felt like a month of wonderful.

We woke up early, packed the van and said goodbye. I miss everybody already.

silly human

We are all seriously flawed and imperfect works-in-progress.

We all like to think we are improving, getting wiser, less flawed as time passes.

We are all on a quest to make our lives meaningful, purposeful, or "happy."

We all want to matter.

Everything we do is because we get something out of it.

Our worst fear is that no one will care about us.

We are often so self-absorbed that we forget to care about those we care about and we fail to make them matter. And when we remember, we do it because it's the golden rule and it makes us feel better, and we hope they do it back to us.

progress at work

I guess I haven't said much about my job. I work for the Commercial Business Division, and for the past 6 weeks or so, I have been working out of the Corporate (down the street) office on a special project. I am single-handedly rewriting the programming language that we use to pull the policy data out of the mainframe and validating that the data is good. Six weeks ago, I had never seen the programming language that I am using (SAS). And today, I am almost finished with the job. I guess I'm what you might call a "SAS-Master."

My position is extremely unique and I am doing very non-traditional actuarial work that causes me to have direct interaction with upper layers of management. I have made a fine impression on a lot of people and have already seen some direct benefits.

• I am officially admitted to the Actuarial program now, which means that they are paying me to study and helping me with fees, seminars, etc. to help me pass subsequent exams (and reimbursing me for the one I just passed.)
• The VP in Corporate Risk Management has made a deal with my boss in Commercial to transfer me into his department at the end of the year. (I think I am not supposed to know this yet - but I am elated because I basically keep doing what I am doing - walking distance from my house - for good.)
• My promotion paperwork is in, so I get the Actuarial Assistant job title and a raise (I've been there <120>

My only regret is that big car payment I'm making on the idea that my commute would be 70 miles a day. (Hey, anyone want to take over payments on a brand new Mazda3 with less than 4,000 miles?)

I am trying to study for my second exam: Interest Theory and Financial Deriviatives. It's extremely hard to make the commitment necessary to master this stuff in 16 weeks. I made it on goal through week one. (Which is why I haven't posted anything.) My typical day involves working until 2:30. Coming home and studying until bed. Cooking and eating dinner and showering are the only short "breaks" from study I get. Weekends are: hang out with Mark until noon. Study until bedtime. (Obviously, given that I am posting this, I am a little more liberal with the breaks when I am studying for a 9 hour block.) I realized that if I put in enough effort to pass every exam on my first attempt from now on, I could be an "Associate" in three years. (That would be really exceptional - the average is 7 years - so reality probably lies somewhere in between.)

phone

We re-upped our phone plan. I kept my same number because it's just too much of a hassle to update everything. However, Mark wanted a local area code for his, so he has a new number. If you are trying to reach him and can't, just give me a call.

calculating

I haven't really written anything in a while. Life has been a little slow.

Work is becoming routine and comfortable. The home is starting to feel lived in.

It is my greatest hope that someday I will be able to have a designated parking place. Those of you with garages or carports or assigned parking, hear me: You are living my dreams. Don't take it for granted.

I started studying for my next exam. It is 15 weeks away and I had to prepare a study schedule. I'm accountable to someone now for how much time I put in. I thought I put in a lot before, but I realize now that I was taking it easy. I have to do 400+ hours in 15 weeks. That means 20 hours outside of work per week. Hmmm.

I was supposed to do 6 hours today. I got a late start but I have a good method. I set a timer and work for an hour straight. Then, I set a timer and take 30 minutes and watch a movie or do something mindless. Rinse. Repeat. It's always hardest at first because the problems are so ridiculously complicated that when you are just learning the topic, it can be very demoralizing. But, once you can get down to solving problems within less than ten minutes without having to get help and actually get them right some of the time, it starts getting easier to sit down and do it. The hard part is the discipline to stay at it until then.

At the moment, I am trying to master a new calculator - which does things in ways I don't quite get. I press the [+] button expecting, nothing to happen until I enter the next number to add, and it treats it like an [=] and adds the last two numbers I entered, even though there was a different operator in between them. Actually, I don't know what it is doing. This is just a wild guess. All I know is that I don't know how to key it to get what I expect. I found a book on it... so I have some leisure reading.

sometimes

The most exciting thing to write about is getting my latest scrapbook magazine subscription in the mail.

Well, I guess it's exciting that I started a writing project. If I stick with it, I'll fill in the details here. So far it is just a 7-page fun little sci-fi story.

And Evan told me that I've reveals the depth of my nerd to him and now he can't see me any other way. I consider that an endorsement of character.

injustice

Why is it that when a dish breaks when you are washing dishes it is always directly after you wash it...

I mean, if it broke before you washed it, you might be able to look on the bright side and say, "Terrific. That's one less dish to wash."

Instead, you have, "Crap. I just washed that darn thing. Now I have to clean it up, too." Hard to put a positive spin on that.

finals

The OFFICIAL results are available online for my actuary exam, P/1.

If you are dying to find out whether or not I passed, go check the website for my candidate number, #27384. If you find it, I passed. If you don't, I failed.

Hey, and let me know will you? I'm too scared to look.

pumpkin

I came home from work and put what looked like a roast from the freezer into the crock pot.

Much to my surprise, it was leftover thanksgiving yams. That's when you know that:

• you are so cheap that you freeze leftover yams from thanksgiving
• pickin's are slim in the freezer
• you need to clean out the refridgerator more often
• you might was well go to Jack-In-The-Box

laugh

I just found a snarky read. I've been trying to find ways to cheer myself since my knee casually mentioned during cycling class yesterday that it's tired of the sport.

hourglass

I have to resume study for exams in one week. Mark and I picked out fabric for the rocking chair seat, and I am designing a series of layouts that are proving to be challenges. I expect that I will have something to look forward to finishing when I pass the next test...

funkR

Nothing has been ebbing or flowing from my creative juice factory lately. But I perscribed myself an hour of looking at flickR and I'm healed.

booyaw

"I just bet that if world peace breaks out someday, there'll be lots of parties around the world.

Then someone will get drunk and start a fight."

~ deep thought by some chic named Natalie

two down. 28 to go.

I did the finishing touches so that my 2005 and 2006 books are finished. Which is awesome because I can show them off now. As time goes on, my pages are looking better and better.

challenge

I was going to start a daily blog to publicize my food journal on a health challenge I am doing... but thanks to the fact that I program all day at work, I didn't feel like debugging the html issues that came up with inserting a table... so I am spared the accountability.

I am back to cycling, though and it feels great. I really don't know how I get along without it when I don't take the time.

scary

scrapping

All of the red paper is hand cut paper lace I designed and cut today....
(please take a moment to view it large to see the delicate product of 10 hours of my time today.)

We finally broke down and just bought new batteries for the cell phones, which have been broken for ages and still waiting to ship back to us. So I talked on the phone catching up with everyone I've been missing for so long... (while I cut paper)

I also watched Michael Moore's new movie, "SICKO" about our countries healthcare mess. It was extremely funny and I think it will appeal to a broader audience than he usually attracts. So, I recommend watching it even if you don't like his stuff, usually.