DID YA MISS ME?

Monday, December 31, 2007

Well, I have a lot to post about Florida. Because my mom's house does not have wireless internet. I think that was probably a blessing, because I did really just relax, but still. Lots of catching up for YOU people.

The day after we got back, our backyard spa was delivered! We tried it out tonight and it's pretty great. Between that and our new mattress*, my back is thinking it might have somehow gotten a new owner that's pampering it.

The spa is introducing me to a whole new Mom vocabulary, with greatest hits such as Don't You Track That Crap In Here and Do That One More Time And You Have To Get Out For The Whole Day. And who could forget, Close The Goddamned Door, For Crying Out Loud. I only take comfort in knowing that every mom says these things... I am not simply repeating my mom's motherhood, but rather, everyone's motherhood that has ever come before me.

I am going to post a whole bunch of stuff so you people better be prepared to be sitting there for a bit. Go and get some coffee or something.

*New mattress, why? Because this is what our old one looks like. Actually this photos is a 3d raised relief map of part of New South Wales, England. Note to self, never sleep on a raised relief map...

PULL OUT THE COTS

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Well... tomorrow we are leaving for Florida to go visit the grandparents. Our flight lays over in Chicago. Maybe you will get a little impromptu visit from us, from the way things look...

NOW THAT'S MY BABY

Friday, December 21, 2007

Tonight was Sarah's piano recital. First one at which she played solo... the others were duets with the teacher. Among a sea of Christmas songs, Sarah played the blessing over the candles that we sing on Hanukkah. She chose it for its obscurity - as she said after it was over, "Mom! I made 3 mistakes, but since nobody here is Jewish, they all think it was perfect!" And there it is... perception is reality.

GREAT HOLIDAY LIGHTS

Monday, December 17, 2007

I'm sure you guys saw holiday lights wherever you were this holiday season. This year we saw something unique: boats dressed up in holiday lights and competing in front of judges! Lots of pirate theme this year... we watched from a boat ourselves, thanks to my friend Carol's boss. Fun fun.


Music: Banana Boat Song, Harry Belafonte

TODAY I FEEL SILLY

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Whoa this my 300th post!

Becca and I are doing a creative book report on the book "Today I Feel Silly". So we took a bunch of pictures of Becca showing how her face looks different when she has different emotions and the pictures are just so cute, I had to share.

Music: If by Colette

HOW DID I GET HERE?

So last week the whole 5th grade put on a Salute to America concert... it was associated with their History unit in which they are learning about states, state capitols, etc. It was great! Very well choreographed and the kids were really into it.

I was sort of having an out of body experience looking at the kids. Somehow we have these beings that aren't really kids anymore. And they are going through some sort of weird stage... some of them are lumpy and the others are stringy.

The Stringies look like someone took their 4th grade selves and put them on a stretching machine. The Lumpies look like they have developed toddler tummies and have little boob lumps... probably they are about to become Stringy because they are shorter.

Because Sarah's sort of Edelmany, she's a Lumpy. I would predict Becca as a future Stringy.

Anyway. Look at these children. They are big people! How did I get a big person in the house? She was just 5... wasn't she?

DIY HOLIDAY CONCERT

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Here's a bunch o' kid videos. Some nice holiday music for you.


This one's for you, Uncle Toddwee.


Here are the lyrics to Sarah's choir song... because you ARE going to want to sing it. Trust me.

Reindeer, workin' for The Claus. Love their hip hop just because.
Reindeer, flyin' in the air, love their hip hop everywhere.
Eight tiny reindeer - hey, that's a lot of feet!
Eight tiny reindeer - they love their hip hop beat!
Eight tiny reindeer - you have to see them move.
Eight tiny reindeer - they love their hip hop groove!

HAMMY HANUKKAH

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Hanukkah was... so early this year! So now it's the last night. The kids have gotten a bunch of loot. Sarah's big haul was a computer. She really is doing more and more homework on the computer and with Don doing actual work on our home computer, there was PC Conflict.

Becca's favorite thing was a volcano kit from Grandma Dykshorn. And her Magnetix from Baba and Zada. I just hope they don't get combined... so that the volcano shoots out magnetic balls. Someone is going to put their eye out.

I'm going to keep my eyes open, I promise!

The big commotion during Hanukkah was the arrival of Scooter, Becca's new hermit crab. WHY did I buy Becca a hermit crab, you ask? Dunno. It seemed like a really good idea at the time.

Scooter has been with us for over a week and so far, Becca has not been pinchied and Scooter is still living. This is an accomplishment for them both.

Finally... has anyone seen this in their hometown? Either it's Photoshopped to be this way, or some clerk was reaaaally bored one day, or there really are some very clueless people out there... or some combo.

OH MY

Monday, December 10, 2007

Geez I hope all you guys in the Midwest are thawing out and nobody got into any car accidents!

A PROUD MOMENT

Saturday, December 08, 2007

The grocery store paid Don to shop there, practically. He is so very proud of this.

MURPHY'S LAW OF COMMUTING

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Murphy's Law of commuting: if something CAN go wrong with your route to work, it will.

My commute has been a total breeze for 8 months. 15 minutes. 18 if I hit all the lights. Then the powers of Murphy did their annual review of commutes and discovered my bliss.

Then there was road construction. I put up with that for a little. And now there are 2 rotaries. Also known as roundabouts.

I have never been able to figure out these structures. Honestly, does the diagram above help you at all? Does it not show cars colliding in the roundabout?

So the construction that created the roundabouts has yielded to collisions in the roundabouts. Sigh. Hafta find a new way to work.

LET'S HEAR IT FOR MOTHER NATURE!

Friday, November 30, 2007

Look! We are getting rain! Take THAT fire gods. The only bad thing is that our back yard has no drainage and no plants... so it is a giant mud farm. Becca = happy. Dogs = no way we are peeing out there man. Don = driven to drink.

WHAT IS ON SARAH'S MIND?

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

YOU'LL NEVER KNOW IF YOU DON'T GO

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Well I am terribly late with this, but here it is... our Hawaii trip.

It was wonderful to be together as a family and just relax. I think all in all, we didn't find Hawaii all that jaw-dropping. Quite possibly because we LIVE in a place that looks like a tropical paradise. The strongest memory I have of the Big Island of Hawaii is that in this teeny little island were so many different landscapes. Stark desolate lava fields, tropical rainforests with immense waterfalls, inexplicable petroglyph graffiti mounds, mountainous ranches, vivid underwater fish playgrounds, blue collar neighborhoods, lush manicured resorts. You can see all these in just a day.

For all the buildup Hawaii received, I think San Diego is more beautiful. But as the philosophers of Smash Mouth say, you'll never know if you don't go. So it was a more-than-worthy adventure.


Music: All Star by Smash Mouth

HAPPY HAPPY

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving! We’re spending Thanksgiving in Idyllwild, a mountain community of cute cabins, shops, and hiking trails. We rented a cabin and a half mile away, my friend Laura and her family have one too.

I guess 31 million Americans got in their cars yesterday to go someplace. 2.5 of them are in California. We all apparently left our garages at 1:30 p.m. It took us 3.5 hours to go less than 100 miles. It took Laura 7 hours to go 130 miles. We are just grateful to not be in the car at this point.

I bought so much food at Costco that we had to drive 2 cars. Why? I don’t know. Just got all caught up in the Costco thing. After you’re been there a half hour, 50 count individual bags of potato chips doesn’t seem unreasonable.

And with Oakley gone, Gizmos is becoming one very spoiled onlycat. He is loving it. He’s here at the cabin with us, after having proved himself a pretty laid back traveler during the fires.

I’m thankful today that we’re here together, experiencing yet another part of this planet. That we have the wherewithal to go where we want, and the curiosity to keep exploring. We wish you a happy and a restful day.

DOWN FOR THE COUNT

Thursday, November 15, 2007

This week has not been pretty.

It started this weekend with our decision to put our dear cat, Oakley, to sleep. Oakley was 17. A couple months ago, we noticed Oakley was looking rather svelte. This was unusual for Oakley, whose trucker-like girth caused him to waddle around most of his life. The vet told us he was in the early stages of kidney failure. So we've been pampering Oakley, giving him lots of love and extra treats.

But on Sunday, Oakley just wasn't getting up. He wasn't interested in eating. He was looking a lot worse. So we did the hardest thing.

The kids were quite upset about it. Becca is more in the zone of "where is heaven? what is heaven? is Oakley in heaven? can I see him?" Sarah cried and cried, because the cat slept with her and was her little buddy.

So when it came time for the vet to ask me what I'd like to do with Oakley's remains, I decided to have Oakley's remains returned to us so we could have a burial. Check out:

http://www.peacefulpawspet.com/

Well, they returned the ashes to me in a beautiful cedar box with a tiny lock, and Oakley's name on a little metal heart. And they gave me a list of pet grieving Websites, which is a little much. But here is the weird part. They also made me one of these:

It kind of ooked me out a little bit. Because that means they had to take the dead cat's paw and make this little keepsake! The doe-eyed receptionist, who was trying to extend her sympathies, was a little startled when I expressed my surprise over this concept. "It usually soothes people," she said. Apparently we are supposed to use it as a headstone. Oy. I hadn't planned on a stone dedication AND a burial.

Right around the time we put Oakley down, Becca started to feel woozy and sneezy. Now both kids have colds. Sarah came home early from school yesterday, and stayed home today. And now... I am feeling spacey and chilly. NO - I AM NOT GETTING SICK. Power of positive thinking....

These things usually come in 3s. So today on the playground, when some older kids were teasing Becca, she let 'em have it. Escaping teatime with the principal by a hair. Sigh. Well. Maybe next week will be better.

SUGAR CANE SWEET

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Here's a little sumthin' Becca picked up in Hawaii. Along with the world's smallest pair of coconuts, here's a little hula hula.

(Oh Lord, don't let her grow up to be a pole dancer...)

Music: Pineapple Princess by Na Leo

DANG

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

2 years ago today, I started my job at NYCA!

IT'S DA SWEATER

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

So I got a sweatshirt in Hawaii because I forgot I might need one while horseback riding. We went to Wal-Mart and I got something from the junior's department that kind of looks like this, but red and more croppy.

I wore it again today. I kind of like it.

When Don saw me he said, "are you going to work in that?"

When Becca saw me she said, "cool, Mommy!"

When Sarah saw me she said, "oh my GOD are you kidding. You can't leave the house in that. PLEASE don't tell me you're coming to school with me this morning...."

I have to admit, the sweatshirt did give me some sort of bad-ass hip hop power. I said yo yo baby and peace out, dawg. I was hecka bootsy. I looked like I was their older sister.

"Mom. I am begging you. Go home and change," Sarah said to me at her classroom door.

"C U, BFF," I told her. Several of her male classmates marveled at me. Sarah rolled her eyes and explained to them that I had lost my mind.

Then I went to work. My partner thought I looked cool (thanks, Michael). I guess advertising people are mentally around Becca's age. Clearly, the sweatshirt has magical powers of youthfulness. I will have to handle with care.

IN THE WAKE OF THE FIRES

Friday, November 02, 2007

Now that I can bear to do it, here's a video and photo compilation from our experience in the San Diego fires. Turn up the speakers...


Music: In My Life, The Beatles

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Click on the speaker icon at the lower left hand corner if you want music!

FUNNY. KIND OF.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Aloha from the Big Island of Hawaii!

Plane ride across the Pacific was rather long and boring. Sarah had a backpack full of new toys and painted her nails THE ENTIRE 5 HOURS. Becca had a backpack full of new toys and looked at them all within 11.5 seconds, requiring me to entertain her (aka keeping her from kicking the seat in front of her) for the other 4 hours, 59 minutes, and 48.5 seconds. In the brilliant Mom move of all time, I had Sarah paint Becca’s nails for 45 minutes. And Becca did watch part of the Harry Potter movie onboard, though I’m sure it wasn’t pleasant for others around us (Becca yelling: WHY IS THAT DRAGON ATTACKING THAT BOY?! WHAT IS THAT GLOWY THING?! WHY IS THAT TEACHER MEAN?! WHICH ONE IS HARRY POTTER?!)

And the last couple days have been Becca Getting Used To The Time Change. When Becca’s tired, she just goes native. She has been poking, yanking, smacking, climbing, and otherwise misbehaving… as well as loud-talking and eating objects that aren’t food. In fact, at lunch yesterday, one of the nearby parrots actually said STOP IT, BECCA! Repeating the phrase that has been the most often used the last 2 days!

Well, that’s not the funny-kind-of part. THAT would have to do with the 2nd day we were here.

So we arrived here at around dinnertime the first day. Day 2 we woke up to… a WILDFIRE. Big puffs of billowing smoke that closed the highway north of us. Ash lightly snowing on our balcony. That familiar smell we thought we were escaping.

The natives were very nonchalant about it. Apparently this happens a lot here and because the island is only inhabited on the perimeter, they pretty much let the fires run their course with only a little containment help.

But we were pretty freaked out, especially Don, who I venture to say, experienced many of the same feelings of when we were evacuated.

As of last night’s luau, the fires were all but gone. Nice luau – dancing girls and open bar can erase a lot of trauma…

SQUEEZING IN SOME FINAL STRESS

Friday, October 26, 2007

View Larger Map

Look at this! Much better.

Got to work this morning at 7:30, thinking I would finish up after my 1 p.m. meeting. The 1 p.m. meeting lasted till.... 4:30! And then I had work to do coming out of it. And everyone decided to VIDEOTAPE me talking about the strategy so they could watch it next week without bothering me. The good news is that I won't have to work much while on vacation... still have to write a proposal... blar, hate proposal.

I strolled into the house at nearly 8 p.m. And first started packing! I am afraid I have done a lousy job packing. Sarah and Don both had stomach aches this evening. The kids and Don have been cooped up here all week - air quality is terrible so nobody's leaving unless they have to. So it's a ZOO here. I need a vacation.

DAY 4 - SICK O DIS

Thursday, October 25, 2007

You can click on the map from yesterday for an update... as you can see, we still be on fire.

Brain booted back up today. Hello brain. Missed ya.

Things are appearing funnier to me. But all through the lens of the fires. For example, I believe Panda Express picked the wrong week to launch their new dish: Crispy Panda Beef. Crispy anything would be bad enough... but crispy name-of-animal name-of-meat...

We also have still more reporters showing up and the news coverage is getting pretty bizarre with all the side stories. Priceless questions: "Has the war in Iraq diminished manpower to this tragedy in the States?" (Anderson Cooper. Answer: uhhhh... no....) and "Are these two fires related to one another?" (Geraldo Rivera, referring to the two fires that merged. Answer: uhhhh... yes....)

The other amazing thing is the number of forces being blamed for these fires. Of course the source of the fires will be investigated... when so much isn't freakin' on fire. Here's my favorite speculation thus far:

• it's the environmentalists' fault for being against wilderness brush cleanup (Glenn Beck)
• it's the homosexual's fault because how long can God stand the radicalized anti-Christian rebels here in California? (James Hartline)
• it's the global warming (multiple sources)

Ahhh people.

DAY 3 - WORSE, AND BETTER

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

9 p.m.
We watched the movie Flyboys tonight. It is terrible. I think. Brain cannot compute.

6:29 p.m.
Me no thinkie so good. Something happen to my brain. V. v. fuzzy. And I can't watch any more fire. I do not like any words that start with f. Need rest.

4:49 p.m.
We're closing the office early. Everyone is spent. But it was good that we opened the office. People seemed to need to get to the pattern of everyday life, at least a little bit.

Don spent the day righting things at home. Making sure we can go on our trip without worry. He sounds beat, too.

2 p.m.
Hit a wall. Exhausted.

1:42 p.m.
Here's a new map... dare I say this is getting BETTER?!

View Larger Map

10:47 a.m.
The Wild Animal Park reports they have lost 2 animals due to fire related complications. A kaing (right) and a clapper rail (left).

8:27 a.m.
Hey we're getting rather famous. catdirtsez:

The latest numbers: 640 square miles, 1300 homes destroyed, but "good news with bad numbers". Witch Fire is the worst of them! We're number one! That's for all SoCal. Suck it Malibu! Many correspondents on the ground. Full coverage! What is FEMA doing differently? What are you doing in your home to save yourself from disaster? Matt Lauer needs a fire save!

In fact, we got Al Roker at Qualcomm. Natalie Morales in RB. CNN correspondents downtown. The best of the best newscasters are here. I think I might prepare tea at the agency, for whomever might wander in wanting a quote...

6:22 a.m.
So last night, we slept in our very own beds, which was quite good. You can see from the map below that we are out of the immediate danger zone (our house is in between Encinitas and Carlsbad, closer to Encinitas, and only a couple miles from the coast). This is because the wind direction is taking the fires East instead of West.

But what's happened overnight is that a couple fires have merged creating a megafire. Though you can see a couple + in black circles (meaning these shelters have closed operations) and green flames (meaning these fires have been 100% contained), there is still unbelievable amounts of destruction going on. The winds are dying down so hopefully, today's the day we take command of this puppy.

The Chargers are relocating their game to Arizona this weekend - Qualcomm is still full of displaced people. As are many other shelters.

From what I can tell, the kids won't be going to camp this week. That means Don won't be going to work. By the time we hit the plane for Hawaii, we're really gonna need it!

I am going to go into the office today - many of this week's meetings will relocate themselves into next week when I'm gone, which surely will strike utter panic in the hearts of many. But what can ya do.

OK I got smart and linked you straight to Google, so you can click on this map and navigate all around...

View Larger Map

SO... WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

1. Don't move to Ramona. Like living in a trailor park in the Midwest, you are apparently just askin' for it.
2. Remember to drink extra water or you will DRY OUT like SpongeBob in Sandy's house.

3. Related, use moisturizer. And bring your own. Don't expect the Best Western to be too concerned about your epidermis.
4. Have a plan before you leave home. (this is more a reminder to moi, as surely YOU knew this)
5. You should pack passports, photos, important papers, mementos/art, medication, photos of the inside of your house (should you need them for insurance claim). And your keys (duh I know but I am finding that I would forget my ass unless it was strapped on). Unless some guy with a badge screams in your face: GET OUT NOW! Then just grab anything with a pulse and go.
6. If you get a phone call from 911 telling you to leave your house - leave your house! Or if you see fire coming your way, don't wait for a call! Don't be a complete moron and stay in your house. Then the firemen have to stop what they're doing to rescue your ass, and they will call you a dumbshit to your face after assuring you are ok.
7. Let your kids take whatever they want. I don't care if this means you have to take a whole 2nd car. Sure they're only possessions and they don't count. This is NOT time for a life lesson (YES I did make this mistake). If they don't take things with them, they will run like screaming mimi's through the hotels and bop each other on the head in your car. And you will want to eject them into a canyon.
8. Don't try to stay on your diet. You will faint. Eat white flour and salt. Just for a day.
9. In fact, don't expect too much from yourself. It's ok to be a fire geek temporarily.
10. Never evacuate to Temecula. It's boring and it catches fire too.
11. If you evacuate to a sports stadium, they won't let you stay and watch the game.
12. Don't show up in some strange town trying to get a hotel reservation. Especially when 250,000 people are trying to do the same thing! Do it from home, from a computer, before you leave.
13. You can probably sneak a couple of cute dachshunds with big pleading eyes into a hotel that doesn't take pets. You can't sneak a goat. (yes we DID see people try it. They would have made it but the damn things made too much noise going up the stairs.)
14. Don't go home to "check on the looting." Whatchagonna do, take on a criminal?
15. And last but certainly not least. I implore you. Make the bed before you leave home. If you are watching TV later, and Brian Williams is interviewing the firefighter who just saved your home on the Nightly News, which one do you want to be the quote:

• "Well, Brian, it would have gone up sooner or later anyway. What a pit."

OR

• "And it's a privilege to save a home like this, Brian, so meticulously cared-for."

Yeah. I thought so.

WE INTERRUPT THIS FIRE...

Last night, my stepdad's father passed away. The last person I considered as a living grandparent. The passing of a generation has completed itself. So I go through bouts of deep sadness in between the panic of the fire.

Hugs to all in Florida.

SAN DIEGO PYRE, DAY 2

6:23 p.m.
Hooray - our voluntary evac status has been lifted... we can go HOME. I think we won't check out of the hotel till tomorrow, just in case...

5 p.m.
President Bush is coming on Thursday. Apparently the Govenator invited him. Here's hoping he does his business up in Malibu, eats some dim sum, and goes home.

We're up to a million people evacuated due to the fires. Dang that's unbelievable, n'est pas?

Our home is now in a "voluntary evacuation" area. What does that mean? Does it mean "if you want to be a moron and go home, that's your problem"?

I think I'll go color my hair.

4:23 p.m.
"This is the single largest movement of Americans in peace time since the Civil War"
- Brian Williams, NBC Nightly News

Homeowners trickle back to at-risk San Diego community

2:55 p.m.

Geeking out again... here's the current map. You can see that our house is technically no longer an evacuation area. The winds seem to have changed toward the east for the moment. I am not sure we can go back just yet, but this is a good news map.

Mountain Man has returned to his Cave to see what he can see. He called me from our kitchen, which apparently still exists. Everything's fine... the whole neighborhood is deserted and covered with a thin layer of black soot. Our house doesn't smell like smoke inside, and the wind direction has changed such that it seems sunny in our backyard, more so than the day we left. He's documenting the house on camera and then will return with Diet Cokes.
2:32 p.m.
We are safe in the Best Western in Oceanside. The dogs are welcome and have patrolled the border. Becca has found pictures of whales, so she's good. Sarah is asking for a face mask because the air quality is for shit. It seems less windy, but what the heck do I know.

Noon press conference update:

• don't use cell phones. don't use electricity.
• 500k residents evacuated; Cedar Fire (the worst fire in California history - till now!) had 50K.
• 23 shelters in place. Evacuees need to chill out and stay put.
• No guarantees it will be safe to go home in the next day.

Greaaaat. I hope the Best Western will extend us a night.

12:45 p.m.
We are taking a shortcut through the Ortegas to get to I5, as the way we actually came to Temecula is all closed off due to fire. This is getting old.

To pre-empt the inevitable question from my sister, no, we are not eating our way through California with kind and jovial Mexican people who provide Salsa. The Ortegas I'm talking about are hills linking Lake Elsinore to the California coast.

In case it's not clear what the roads look like, I'll draw you a rough map.

Sarah is about to barf in the backseat and is yelling "WHAT'S THE SPEED LIMIT?! SLOW DOWN! DADDEEEEEE!" Becca is in the backseat yelling "WHEEEE! GO DADDEEEEE!" Don is yelling "IT'S 40! I'M GOING 35 FOR GOD'S SAKE!" The phone is ringing. There are construction guys working on the road who obviously didn't get the memo to stay home due to a freakin' NATURAL DISASTER.

Me? I'm just trying to avoid Dachshund Chaos.

11:28 a.m.
OK we're on our way to new digs. Don has to use the bathroom for the 100,000th time (I shouldn't kid... we all take stress in our own way...) and then we're off to another adventure of road closures and the kids whacking each other in the back seat...

Next week we will be in Hawaii and I plan to spoil myself and everyone else senseless!

10:45 a.m.
The homeland security guy is coming. And Bush has sent his concern. I would upload a picture of Bush, but blogger, in its infinite wisdom, isn't letting me upload anything at the moment. Ah well never you mind. I'm sure the Feds will fix everything (in reality, I am hoping they just don't make anything worse...)

10:25 a.m.
Here's some entertainment from catdirtsez, who didn't take any heart from the 7 a.m. press conference. The contents of the press conference: 0% containment until the winds die down.

Really haven't relied on any sports and/or war metaphors here, but I think both sets of imagery are appropriate. Essentially, the three main fires are like an invading enemy, and we want to drive them from our territory. Really, it's a "war" metaphor.

Now, as for the analysis, we are losing the war (hello?), but we have hope of reinforcements both from our human allies and "mother nature." You know who is sooooo not into Southern California civilization right now? Mother Nature! Oh... the... irony.

It's kind of like "Lord of the Rings." All we need are the hobbits! Where's Harry Potter when you need him (shakes fist)!

Basically today is supposed the day we "win" the "war" with fire. Go San Diego! I'm not going to hypothesize about "losing", but some reporters already have. A few scenarios:
1. time for that cruise!
2. Lindbergh airport: "Get me on a plane... to anywhere!"
3. the Best Western in El Centro. Oh shit. I just burned my own escape route on this blog.

I'm sure it won't come to that, but we need to see some PROGRESS on this, the third day of fire. I'm thinking SF, LA, Tucson. Oooh... Tucson.

10:22 a.m.
We heard from others who are checking on their homes near where we live. All's well. Lots of ash and it's desolate, but no damage. We just have to pray the winds hold out during the day today.

10 a.m.
Here's a pretty awesome map. I've put our locations on for you.

9:50 a.m.
Having breakfast in the hotel with other refugees. It's comforting actually. We're all ok.

8:45 a.m.
Lots of calls coming in... people are worried but we need to limit cell time. My partner went back to his house. He's worried about the looting. He's a New Yorker.

8:10 a.m.
I'm becoming a bit of a fire geek.

We had heard a rumor that the animals at the Wild Animal Park and Zoo were evacuated... here's the actual.

• The beasts at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park are staying put. Zoo spokeswoman Yadira Galindo says the park's 3,500 animals are safest in their enclosures, protected by the park's fire break and irrigated areas, and, if conditions get worse, the animals can take refuge in their watering holes.
• The San Diego Zoo is open for business, out of the path of the fires. I'm sure the air quality is swell. All the other main attractions are closed though (SeaWorld et al... as if anyone could actually go and have fun at a time like this! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE SHAMU!!!)
  

Also, I read that 2300 inmates who are trained as fireman are helping fight the blaze. That's kick ass for some reason that I can't quite explain.

8:05 a.m.
We are online looking for fire news. Here's the overnight burn map. We're going to drive from Temecula to Oceanside today to a different hotel, closer to home but outside the danger area.

8:04 a.m. My skin woke me up. It's crying out for moisturizer! I guess it goes without saying that it is DRY here.

HEAVEN GOES SOUTH

Monday, October 22, 2007

7:24 p.m.
OK. I've had plenty of Temecula. We've had bad pizza. I bought Don a huge bottle of Fat Tire at a liquor store next to a head shop. We've been to KMart, which wherever I go, continues to be the most unappealing store on the face of the earth.

Tomorrow we're relocating to go to a different hotel in Oceanside that takes pets, so we don't have to be underground anymore. We are holed up like Taliban after a raid. It's not right. The problem is that the dogs get very worried and bawl their eyes out when Don leaves. So we can't all go anywhere together.

I'm going to go bathe the kids. Tomorrow will surely be a better day. This one cracked the Top 10 Weirdest in my life.

6:16 p.m.
"Mom? What if the fire gets to our house? What if a new fire starts here? What if people we know are getting hurt?"

Among many unanswerable questions... my mind can't even go there right now.

5:51 p.m.
You know it's bad when my partner closes the agency for 2 straight days.

4:49 p.m.
Stealing some content from catdirtsez blog. Because it's good coverage of the latest press conference, and also, it's damned funny.

Ron Roberts/4th District Supervisor
We are doing our best, we feel real bad.
His announcements:

• 34K SDG&E customers lack electricity/power.
• Sheriff using reverse 911 and county alert have place 194K calls! Wow!
• 211 line has received 5800 calls; 3 to 5 min. waits.
• Road closure info: Call 511.
• Military Evacuations @ Coronado and some place else- Admiral Kraut field house for people with pets. Call some chapel 619 556 0603 for 411, 556 9399 for info for MILITARY ONLY.
• 250K have been evacuated. Evacuation itself presents logistic issues.
• Three helicopters are helping fight the fire and doing rescues.
• The Mayor of Tijuana has pledged his support! Thank you TJ! Send taco vendors to Qualcomm.

A long way from containment if there such a thing in these winds.

Next up: Jerry Sanders/Mayor

• Governor McBain is coming back to Qualcomm.
• The US Navy is giving us cots and blankets. Awww. Thanks US Navy!
• Mandatory evacuation sites: see below. Fire continues north of the city.
• Fire continues in the city, not sure where the city is going to go, want people out of the way.
• I 15 is still closed.
• Trying to stop looting! Boo looting!
• Stay off your cell phones! Calls not going through because lines are busy.

Next Up: New Firefighting Liaison Chief Ken Radis

• Some fixed wing flights are up, helicopters are up.
• Cal Fire: Airtankers are in the air- boo yah.
• The down side- people stay away. Lookie Loos- stay the fuck away.
• He gave lots of fire reports - most important one to us is Witch Creek Fire: Worked by Cal Fire; making movement into San Diego. Containment is "unknown." "Most difficult, challenging fires we're working" The problem is the quickness it moved through San Pasqual. Entered RB through Northwest, jumped 15 in two places. 450 firefighters; 98 apparatus; RB is through the worst part of it, determining the damage; biggest area of activity is west and south; Rancho Santa Fe.

4:11 p.m.
I'm exhausted.

We decided to head to Riverside County instead of all the way to Palm Springs. Still, it took us 3 hours to get here! Seems everyone was looking for a good escape route. We drove by Ramona on the way here:


Don't worry, we were nowhere near the blaze. But it's bad! Apparently, the worst fire in California history!

We're in a Hampton Inn in Temecula. We had to smuggle the pets in. Our first time here and already, we're criminals.


11:04 a.m.
Got what's called a "reverse 911" call. 911 called us and said... evacuate! So evacuate we shall. I'll post when we're in Palm Springs.

Holy apocalypse.

10:30 a.m.
We're packed and ready to go. Not going till we have to. As many of 250,000 people have evacuated San Diego county. Right now the evacuation area is south of us. We're keeping an eye on it. Here's a map for you guys of what's going on.


I'm taking pictures and video, will post them later. Our patio is covered with a thin layer of soot and there is thick black smoke everywhere. We are watching TV coverage of people's homes burning, which is just terrible... but the wind is so fierce that there is no containing this fire. We'll just have to wait and see if we have to leave.

9:15 a.m.
Spoke to my partner several times - the agency is without power. Until he knew that, he was going into the office! We've touched base with all employees and everyone's taking care of themselves and their families.

Don flew into Mountain Man Mode. I know Mountain Man Mode well - I saw it during ice storms in Chicago when we would lose power in the middle of the winter. He becomes Man Protecting Domain. I don't know how to explain it, except that he has good fight-or-flight instincts. He packed us up, prepared for power surges, looked at maps within 10 minutes.

Thank goodness for that. I showered, styled my hair, and made the bed. I am not sure why I made the bed. It bugs me not to make the bed, but it's completely irrational to make the bed when you could possibly be evacuating. And I look like a Desperate Housewives cast member. I guess when everything is going to hell around me, I have to control what I can. My hair and the bedspread? Help me out here.

8:04 a.m.
Well, there had to be an ugly downside to the 72 and sunny thing we had going on here. If you have not seen the fires up and down the coast, log onto CNN for a minute... it's way beyond charming.

Everyone here is fine. That's my main message for this post. We are going to go spend the day in Palm Springs or somewhere far away from where the hot zones are. I'll post more later, but I wanted you to know.

We're fine.

HALLOWEEN DRY RUN

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Yesterday was the kids' last day of school before Fall Break. For all of you guys wondering what the heck THAT is, it's 2 weeks the schools here take off in the middle of first trimester just randomly. It's kind of nice - people travel while the travelin's cheap. Joan's taking her family to Italy - brave girl with her 2 grade school boys. And we're going Hawaii for one of the weeks. For the first week, the girls will be in Fall Break camp - another oddity of this town, camp in the fall!

So anyway, I digress. Because Halloween occurs during Fall Break, the school had its Halloween parties yesterday. So we had a good dry run of the costumes. Sarah is a gypsy and Becca is Supergirl (her alter ego anyway).

What do you think?

Of course this means I need to pack their Halloween costumes and find some way to have Halloween while we are in Hawaii... argh.

I KNOW YOU WILL BE PROUD OF ME

My chiropractor took some xrays of me and told me that I am the most symmetrical person he has ever seen. He was hard pressed to say what that meant in the real world, but he was hopping-up-and-down excited about it. I told him he could keep my xrays as long as he liked. He seemed happy. It was an odd meeting, to say the least.

I have also never had a cavity, so when I go, my skull will be very valuable to some research institution, if that's what my descendants choose to do with it. Perhaps with this new symmetry discovery, it should be in a museum?

THE HAPPY TURTLE

Thursday, October 18, 2007

By Becca (who forgot her B)

OBJECTS IN THE GLASSES ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR

Monday, October 15, 2007

According to the pamphlet with the glasses - which I can now read! -

"With progressive lenses, gradual change in optical magnification occurs as you look from the middle of the lens to the reading area. This means that your brain must adjust constantly as you look up and down through the lens. This extra work is not fun for an already overloaded brain. In addition, the progressives have zones of distortion in the lower corners of the lenses; the distortions make the brain work even harder."

Great. Just what I need - more for my brain to do!

Went in a walk in the sunglasses and tripped down the street. So far I have run into the refrigerator, the medicine cabinet, and a lamp. The improved vision could cause great injury. I hope my brain figures this out soon...

SO WHADDYA THINK?

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Other than MAN she needs some makeup.

BEWARE OF CUTENESS

Friday, October 12, 2007

Here are some random cute pictures. They aren't that interesting on their own, so I will just make a general cuteness post out of them.

In early September - when it was still really hot out - I cleaned the pantry (I think I mentioned that, but the short term memory loss... I know it was hot out... did I mention that?) and found a gingerbread house kit.

Gingerbread houses are not my thing. Aside from the whole creepy Hansel & Gretel story... the first one I made back in Illinois looked like a lean-to and we fed it to the raccoons. But Sarah was enamoured. She HAD to make it. So, we made it. And I have to say, despite the fact that we had a gingerbread house on display in the middle of the summer, it really didn't turn out too bad! I took a photo... it could easily be packaging... or at least, she could be a packaging model, the house leaves a little to be desired...

The second photo: Sarah arranged her Webkins cat and our 2 cats on her bed. Amazingly, they went for it and posed for the camera.

OK last one. It rained this morning - our first substantial precipitation in months. The girls immediately went outside to play in it and collect snails. (Ew.) Here's a shot of the girls, our dying grass patches, and part of the bird sanctuary in the back.

ANOTHER CALIFORNIA MOMENT

Thursday, October 11, 2007

(click on the image to see the animated version)

Courtesy of my friend and former roommate, Carol.

If your eyes follow the movement of the rotating pink dot, the dots will remain only one color, pink.

However if you stare at the black " +" in the center, the moving dot turns to green.

Now, concentrate on the black " + " in the center of the picture. After a short period, all the pink dots will slowly disappear, and you will only see only a single green dot rotating.

It's amazing how our brain works. There really is no green dot, and the pink ones really don't disappear. FREAKY.

THEY'RE BACK

Sunday, October 07, 2007

The girls and Don returned this morning. I knew they were back, not because the garage door opened, but because the smells they carried back entered the house in a big black plume. A combination of campfire, sea, beach, food, port-a-potty, and sweat. Even the dogs didn't want to go near anyone... and the dogs eat cat poop, so this is saying something.

The mom gene immediately activated and I am not sure the kids were in the house 2 minutes before they hit bathwater.

We are now in a process of washing or burning the objects that came back from the campout.

But everyone had a great time. Becca made friends and influenced people. She got herself invited to dinner at some other tribe. There was bead-trading and she managed to trade up exclusively. She went boogie boarding till she nearly froze in the Pacific. Sarah hung out with her friend Julia, mostly. She even made some new friends, and loved all the preplanned activities. Don met lots of other dads - in between chasing down Becca, who pretty much went native. Apparently the food was outstanding. When men cook for each other, it's sort of a meatfest. But when upper middle class men cook for each other, it's a filetfest. Wine was uncorked after the kiddies were in bed... note for next time, I suppose. So much for the Y being a dry Christian organization.

I loved Don's characterization of the dads. I am developing an ongoing study of moms around here and it's just interesting to hear about Manculture. There were 2 guys who were sort of alpha males, trying to outdo each other... who's the best cook, who's the friendliest, who's doing the most. Then there were the people in charge of the tribe who were really just running things and making sure everyone was meeting each other and getting involved. And then there were the rest of the dads... who were all pretty much in the same boat, chasing kids, hanging out, walking the beach, putting up tents, getting sore.

I was lonely. But I made the most of it. I got a massage. I bought a skirt and some sandals. I organized the kids stuff for the week. I rented some movies I have been meaning to see, but that Don had no interest in. I read. I wrote a 16 page proposal. I walked the dogs. I watched the news - lots of houses are sliding into a huge sinkhole in La Jolla. That's morbid-cool. I drank 100 ounces of water. I went to the bathroom by myself (often) and didn't lock the door and nobody came in. I resisted the urge to bake, clean, do laundry, or grocery shop.

At one point, I thought the house was being broken into because I heard very loud KERTHUMP coming from the top floor. In fact, it was Gizmo. Sarah had accidentally locked him in her room before they all left. So he was in her room for 12 hours. That was one ticked off kitty.

I discovered I don't really know how to be alone anymore. So these occasions will be good for me. Next one I'm going to plan better.

NEWS FROM CAMP

Saturday, October 06, 2007

The kids called me tonight and said something about an obstacle course, s'mores, and a pie in the face contest. Sounds good...

IF YOU CAN READ THIS...

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Today I went to the eye doctor. Because as I have said before, I cannot see shit.

I am having a challenging time with menus and books, and also, on the freeway, I can't see the road signs all that well. If I try to read a book on the freeway, well, forget about it.

The first thing the doctor did was all kinds of Ways to Annoy Eyes. Blowing air into them, flashing different colored lights into them, putting little disks on top of them. The worst, though, were these evil crazy eye drops. Do you guys know from the eye drops? They made me look like a rainforest tarsier.

After my eyes had been poked all to hell, I of course had to read tiny type. Which I could not read.

After all the crazy torture, he told me that I needed progressive lenses. (This is optho PC for bifocals.) He told me that in the car, I need sunglasses corrected for distance, but if I got progressive lenses as well, it will help me read maps. I told him this was GREAT news! Because with my lifelong incapacitated sense of direction, this would be an utter miracle! He quickly took it back and said it will help me SEE the maps better. This was of course disappointing. Nonetheless.

Then the fun began: trying on the frames. I began to realize that a person's choice of eyewear says a lot about that person.

For instance, contact lenses say that you would rather poke yourself in the eye several times a day than wear glasses. You have an aversion to glasses, are very forgetful and fear leaving the glasses behind, or really don't want to face vision loss at all.

The next step up in the denial chain from contact lenses, of course, are frameless glasses. They say, never mind the glasses, I only barely have them, really.

Then there are the full on, I admit I need glasses, so let's figure out how to make them fit my personality.

The easy part is buying sunglasses, because everyone knows what kind of sunglasses suit them. For instance, you know what kind of person might own a pair of sunglasses that say LIVE JUICY on the side. What more is there to say, really. I got myself some Fendi glasses, because they don't make me look like a fruit fly, yet they are big enough that I could probably protect myself with them, so they have several uses. Also, I am going to look like her:

Regular eyeglasses are the hardest because they really are tricky. Here are some instant transformations... mind you, this is just for ME, these glasses might make you look completely different.

In the end, it took 1 lady to run and grab frames and another to look at me as I asked questions like: do these make you want to buy advertising from me? do I look creative yet serious? fun and intelligent? I think they might have both had a nap after I left.

I then had the pleasure of paying a lot of money for things I don't want and will get sometime next week. Then I can post a picture of the actual glasses. At the checkout, there was one of the funniest marketing pieces (a magnet) I have ever seen:
Cuz the practice information is smaller than the last line on the eyechart... and if you can't read the last line on the eyechart, you probably need them!