My car window was smashed and my purse stolen on Friday, February 27th. Within two hours, the man and woman had racked up over $3,000 in purchases at 3 stores, including payment of their cell phone bill. All three stores have them on video surviellance and payment of a cell phone bill seems like easy access to their name, address etc. for the police to obtain and make an arrest.
Here's what I've learned:
#1. NEVER leave your purse, wallet, electronics etc. in your vehicle. Locked or not locked, thieves don't mind doing some serious damage to get what they want.
#2. DO NOT CARRY your social security card, check book, or any other significant identification in your purse/wallet (passport, birth certificates).
#3. ROBBERY is on the rise. Our economic situation is forcing people to live as criminals. I was at Safeway on Monday and watched the store manager chase down a man and woman who fled the store out seperate doors....on foot. They were both caught....with a roast and soda.
#4. Unfortunately our police force is too overwhelmed to be able to help everyone, and I've discovered countless instances such as this from nearly every friend I have spoken with. Sad.
BE ON ALERT!
Protect yourselves and your property....
Lock your cars at home even if they're in your garage....
Lock the doors to your houses at all times....
Insurance agent's tip:
My insurance agent phoned me the day after this incident and gave me a homeowner's tip which I want to share. Water leaks in houses is a very common occurance, that in most cases, cause extensive damage (we've had 5 water leaks in our 2 houses....). REPLACE the hoses to your toilets, dishwasher, washing machine, and refridgerator. These hoses and connections wear out and will break without warning.....
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Where is Spring?
I thought if I changed my background, it might coax Spring to come. I don't know about you, but this late snowfall, however beautiful it truly is, is just getting annoying. I was just about to start digging into the gardens with some new trees and a few berries for the garden, when we were showered with a few more inches of snow. ? Isn't it March? ? ?
I can see why the Millers are eagerly counting down 'til Disneyland. . . .
I can see why the Millers are eagerly counting down 'til Disneyland. . . .
Thursday, February 19, 2009
BBC Book List
This came to me from Facebook, and it makes me want to run to the library and make more time to read! Apparently the BBC reckons most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books on this list Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read.
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen X
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien X
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte X
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee X
6 The Bible X
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte X
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials trilogy - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens X
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott X
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare X
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien X
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger X
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell X
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald X
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy X
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh *
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck X
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll X
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens X
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis X
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis X
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne X
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery X
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding X
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens X
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold X
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville X
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens X
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett X
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zol
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Alborn X
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle X
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare X
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen X
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien X
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte X
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee X
6 The Bible X
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte X
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials trilogy - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens X
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott X
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare X
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien X
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger X
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell X
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald X
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy X
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh *
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck X
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll X
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens X
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis X
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis X
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne X
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery X
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding X
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens X
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold X
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville X
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens X
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett X
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zol
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Alborn X
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle X
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare X
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
I Am From. . . .
This journaling poem of sorts was copied from a friend's blog.
I found it to be very thought-provoking. . . .
I am from a big small town of fried chicken, Top Ramen, and grilled cheese.
I am from the big first home that my daddy built, with a big yard; to the tiny city house with a postage stamp-sized yard, where we became a close family.
I am from the Evergreen tree and rhodedendron bush, to the salty ocean air and breeze.
I am from Sunday School, Lifesaver candies, Certs, humor, and hard work, from Grandpa Ward, and my parents, and many aunts and uncles too!
I am from the God loving and revering, loving, stubborn, born leaders, quick-witted, good with crafts, organized, generous, family-driven Tom and Debby.
From "because I said so" and "wait until your father gets home" and "clean your plate--there's starving children in Africa."
I am from a Christian home, saved by the grace of God, raised in church, sheltered and discipled in a Christian school, given a good Biblical foundation in which to be a light in this world and to teach my children.
I'm from sunny California, born into a blessed family of about 60, from fresh baked bread and apple pies, crispy, golden, holiday turkey, and creamy silk chocolate pie.
From the hard-working mother who taught me how to keep house, to sew, and make a happy family, and the family-man father who taught me to learn everything I can, work first and play later, how to garden, keep the yard, and keep my sense of humor.
I am from a house filled with family photos old and new, big photo albums and boxes somewhat dis-organized but fantastic at telling the stories, a giant antique Bible on the coffee table, lots of collectibles that tell of things we love and wish for, and file boxes of old school papers and projects that are treasures to this day, that have taught me that to treasure these little things.
I found it to be very thought-provoking. . . .
I am from a big small town of fried chicken, Top Ramen, and grilled cheese.
I am from the big first home that my daddy built, with a big yard; to the tiny city house with a postage stamp-sized yard, where we became a close family.
I am from the Evergreen tree and rhodedendron bush, to the salty ocean air and breeze.
I am from Sunday School, Lifesaver candies, Certs, humor, and hard work, from Grandpa Ward, and my parents, and many aunts and uncles too!
I am from the God loving and revering, loving, stubborn, born leaders, quick-witted, good with crafts, organized, generous, family-driven Tom and Debby.
From "because I said so" and "wait until your father gets home" and "clean your plate--there's starving children in Africa."
I am from a Christian home, saved by the grace of God, raised in church, sheltered and discipled in a Christian school, given a good Biblical foundation in which to be a light in this world and to teach my children.
I'm from sunny California, born into a blessed family of about 60, from fresh baked bread and apple pies, crispy, golden, holiday turkey, and creamy silk chocolate pie.
From the hard-working mother who taught me how to keep house, to sew, and make a happy family, and the family-man father who taught me to learn everything I can, work first and play later, how to garden, keep the yard, and keep my sense of humor.
I am from a house filled with family photos old and new, big photo albums and boxes somewhat dis-organized but fantastic at telling the stories, a giant antique Bible on the coffee table, lots of collectibles that tell of things we love and wish for, and file boxes of old school papers and projects that are treasures to this day, that have taught me that to treasure these little things.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
I Never Thought I Would Say. . . .
I've been jotting down a few things I catch myself saying that I myself cannot believe. With three children I guess I was bound to say these things at some point:
"Please don't throw the horse head down the stairs."
"Will you please let your sister out of the refridgerator."
"Um, you really need to stop riding your brother. He's not a horse. Ok or a bull. Whatever."
"Hey! Get your head out of the toilet!"
You know you have also said some PRETTY wierd things to your kids, once you stop and listen to what just came out of your mouth. Share some of yours with me!
"Please don't throw the horse head down the stairs."
"Will you please let your sister out of the refridgerator."
"Um, you really need to stop riding your brother. He's not a horse. Ok or a bull. Whatever."
"Hey! Get your head out of the toilet!"
You know you have also said some PRETTY wierd things to your kids, once you stop and listen to what just came out of your mouth. Share some of yours with me!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Christmas Vacation
I don't care what you say, my kids are the CUTEST kids God has ever created!
The popsicle gang in Palm Springs in Mimi's pool :)
Peanut jumping with daddy!
Oh yeah baby! Princess can swim and jump with the best of 'em!
Of course the man can do that too! WITHOUT water wings!
Christmas Vacation is not only our FAVORITEST movie of all times but really our most treasured time of the year. We have always taken a vacation, it's usually a sunny local, it's packed full of memories, and me and my hubby's favorite holiday (New Years) is so much fun!
We loaded up the family wagon and headed south like birds, with a babysitter and the Jacob's clan to Palm Springs sunshine. The drive was even fun....blessings to my hubby who's patience astounds me day by day. Our kids travel like seasoned rock stars on tour, my hubby takes no notice of the car-chaos, and I praise the Lord we were able to have our babysitter come on this trip with us. THANK YOU KALIE!
7 days of 70-ish degrees, sunshine, pool in the backyard, and no-where to go. The kids' fav was the pool, I was so relaxed with help from Kalie with 3 kids in a pool at the same time, no accidents, good shopping, warm sunshine, family, friends.........Livin' the good life.
Then we came home. Now I'm not disrespecting my home. Don't get me wrong, I love Washington. Even the rain. But for the 1st time in my ~-a-hhhhemm ~ 34 year old life I GET IT. I get the need for sunshine. I get the reason so many people move to the sunny states. The sunshine draws me out of bed. Makes me want to get up and move and exercise and get out of bed. It made me happy. I get it finally.
Dear Mom & Dad ~
I won't be upset if you move back to Arizona or somewhere warm. I GET IT.
Sorry it took me so long.
I will just visit A LOT so get a big house :)
LOVE YOU!
Kristina
4th week of Christmas
Let is snow let it snow let it snow! More snow! I cannot remember when we had this much snow around here. Now for those of you who are used to plenty of the beautiful white stuff, 6.5 inches is nothing, but us western Washintonians are NOT used to this. It snowed and stuck, froze, snowed, stuck, froze.... Super fun really. I also don't remember having this much fun in the snow since I was little growing up in Spokane..... ah the memories!
We live down a sloping road, which made for a fabulous sled run. Not fun for driving up and down, and we didn't get our milk or packages because of it, but GREAT sledding!
I whipped out some Christmas cards in my procratinating fashion with some fabulous scrap supplies that have been winking at me for oooohhh about a year now (I bought them last Christmas for our cards which never were made....50 photos printed from Costco but never sent....). I must say, they turned out really cute ;) The inside, which I forgot to photograph but do have a copy of for the book, is a mini newsletter with another 6 random photos of the fam. Man do I have cute kids! LOL
Christmas was wonderful. Christmas eve with J's family for breakfast, gifts, naps, dinner, more family, more gifts. Christmas day at our house with my fam. More gifts, special to me because my parent were with us this year, and great food (home-raised prime rib....you betcha baby!)
Hope your Christmas was very merry.
Happy Birthday Jesus!
Thank you for your gift!
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