10-31-08

This morning I told Bruce that the two witches were my blog topic for today.
And he said “in costume?”

At work, my co-worker and I were both witches. And another co-worker said “Hey, I thought you guys were dressing up today!”

Everyone’s a comedian.

These two witches had a good day. Plenty of candy, fun and festivities, and a weekend stretching out before us.

10-30-08

Are you ready?!?

Is your costume laid out?
Are you ready for the doorbell to ring every few minutes?
Will you worry that you'll run out of candy and will have to pass out quarters?
Are you ready for certain candy wrappers to bring back childhood memories?
Will you let your kids eat candy until they get sick?
Are you ready to beg the kids for the candies that you want from their stash?
Is your house going to be full of people, inside and out?
Are you ready to eat more candy than you hand out?
Will you tally up the little goblins as they come around?
Are you ready to turn off all the lights and pretend like you aren't home when you get tired of all the fun?

Ready or not, here it comes!

10-29-08

Remember in school when you had to draw still life scenes?

This is my still life. The fruits a little bruised, it’s a little out of focus, but that all seems fitting too.

I’ve been packing fruit to work in an effort to reduce my cocoa consumption. This morning when I plopped the fruit down on my shelf, it was visually appealing.

So on my next ergonomic break, I pulled over a sturdy chair, stood on it, and took some photos. Since this made me taller than the cubicle partitions, it caught some attention. Someone thought I had maybe had enough of my job and was getting ready to jump or something. I assured them that I was still sane, and was being sane safely.

Here’s to getting back in shape…

10-28-08

What do you get when you put 13 boys and their families in a small ice cream shop? Lots and lots of noise...

Tonight was the end of season party for the soccer team. They each got a soccer ball and gathered signatures.

It is bittersweet to have the season end. I enjoy it, but it is takes a lot of time, and the weather can only hold out for so much longer.

10-27-08

Here we are. I asked Xander to take some photos of us while we were filming, and most of them are out of focus. We were working on videoing a short ad for the couples retreat at church. It took us a ton of tries, and I'm not sure how fantastic it is, but it was entertaining at least.

And yep, Bruce is wearing a hat indoors again. :)

“I'm going to be a great movie star some day.”
Marilyn Monroe

10-26-08

The splendor of the King, clothed in majesty,

Let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice.

He wraps Himself in light, and darkness tries to hide,

And trembles at his voice, trembles at his voice.

Chorus:

How great is our God, sing with me,

How great is our God, all will see,

How great, how great is our God.

Age to age He stands, and time is in His hands,

Beginning and the end, beginning and the end.

The Godhead, three in one: Father, Spirit, Son,

The Lion and the Lamb, the Lion and the Lamb.

We sing this song in church, and it is on the radio quite a bit. It is one of my favorites, I love to belt it out.

When I looked at this photo, this song immediately popped into my head. I see God's splendor in all the bright fall colors; the trees are clothed in majesty!

10-25-08

This doesn't happen very often, but I am just not in the mood to deal with the blog tonight.

It's a Saturday night and I just feel exhausted. Been pushing myself all day, all week, all month, and I'm just tired!

Things will look up tomorrow.

"One may go a long way after one is tired." - French Proverb

10-24-08

I spent my evening swooning over Troy with a theater full of tweeners. Not sure if the energy in the theater was from opening day or from the age of the crowd. There was much clapping when Troy and Gabriella finally kissed.

Maybe I would watch more basketball games if they were all choreographed as musical numbers!

So I have to admit I was pulled over for speeding on the way home, and the officer let me off with a warning since I was a nice mom with a carload of girls. He even knew it was opening day for High School Musical 3.

Leaving you with some lyrics:

Here To Change The World!

To Solve A Mystery, Fight The Battle, Save The Girl!

No One Can Stop Us Now, We're The Ones Who Make The Rules!

The Boys Are Back!

No Need To Worry, Cause

The Boys Are Back! The Boys Are Back!

10-23-08

What are your four?

I got a lot of things passed along to me. They are fun, but I rarely take the time to do them, because I usually have other things I want to do more. Pauline has sent me this one twice now, so I decided to take a crack at it...

A) Four family members . Bruce, Michele, Anastasia, Xander
B) Four places that I go to over and over….. Work, church, ballet studio, Starbucks
C) Four people who e-mail me (regularly)… Bruce, My Mom, church friends, my scrapbooking buddies
D) Four of my favorite places to eat: Beaches, Changs, Boppin Bo's, and Olde Creekside
E) Four places I would rather be right now: Laying in bed reading, exploring the US, scrapbook retreat or convention, in an imaginary cafe sipping a mocha and eating a rich dessert
G) Four TV shows I watch over and over : Survivor, Amazing Race, House, and... hey, I gave up TV!

“The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you.”
Rita Mae Brown

10-22-08

I've been taking a budgeting class at church on Wednesday nights. I've learned that "spending plan" is a much happier way to term budgeting. And that money relates to security for me. And that Bruce is not the only guy who won't turn in his receipts.

Tonight we spent a few minutes setting three financial goals. Mine are to build a 3 month emergency fund, save money for our next vehicle, and invest in college funds for the kids.

Attainable? Time will tell...

“Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like.”
Will Smith

Bonus points for spotting the $20 bill, Netflicks movie mailer, and hockey tickets in this jumbled mess that is my current life.

“Life begets life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich.”
Sarah Bernhardt

10-21-08

Today was my day to get up at 4:15am to go to Aberdeen.

Oh joy.

On the way there I was distracted by fog and the approaching Starbucks, but on the way home it was crisp and very pretty out. While I've had my nose in the laptop, the colors have turned to fall!

This photo is on highway 12, somewhere between Elma and Rochester. Heather, my chauffer, offered to stop for photos, but I enjoyed clicking from the passenger seat. I missed the cows and the marshmallow hay bales and the most vibrant trees, but I got a blur of green foliage, the goofy dog pacing back and forth in the back of a pick-up, and this serene shot.

“There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth...not going all the way, and not starting.”
Buddha

10-20-08

A package landed on our doorstep today.

As soon as Xander saw his pirate costume, he was in character. It took three people and 20 minutes to get the outfit on, but he was sure hamming it up.

Arrrrrr...

“If you can't find something here, you can't find it anywhere, ... There's a pirate in everyone!”
Michael Egan

10-19-08

Today I took a break from my breakneck work schedule to go to Apple Tasting at Portland Nursery.

They had 60 varieties of apples and pears in the tasting line, and we were all full when we got through the line. We kept track of our favorites and bought about 8 pounds at $0.89/pound our of huge bins. After all that, Xander liked the granny smith best. We also liked the Blushing Golden, Braeburn, Jonagold, and Newtown Pippen. Oh, and the Red Ajou pears.

Anastasia and I got a caramel apple, Xander tried the apple streusel with ice cream. He thought it would be wonderful if it didn't have all the apples in it. OK, so us girls are the big fruit eaters in our family.

Xander also led our little church group through the scavenger hunt, and Anastasia had the distinction of wearing the "last in line" vest for the balloon hats.

It was a fun little outing.

"Wow, there are LOTS of apples in here!!!" - Kaylina, age 4

10-18-08

All hail to the Gatorade!

It was our turn to bring snacks for the players after the soccer game. Bruce and Anastasia were at a youth event, so Xander and I went solo.

As the wind whips through me, I am thankful that we only have two games left. The start time for the evening games had to be shifted to make sure we are done by dark.

Here’s some Gatorade factoids:

What Gatorade flavors are most popular?
The most popular flavors of Gatorade continue to be Lemon Lime, Orange, and Fruit Punch.

The Gatorade name comes from The University of Florida football team, the “Gators”. Gatorade Thirst Quencher was invented at The University of Florida to assist their athletes in combating the dehydration that limited their performance-hence “Gator…ade.”

In 1985, Jim Burt, who played for the New York Giants, was the first football player to dump a cooler of Gatorade on a coach when he drenched Bill Parcells.

To prevent dehydration when exercising, weigh yourself before and after your workout. Water will quench your thirst but it isn't that good for preventing dehydration. It turns off your thirst before you get all the fluids you need, and it doesn't contain the important electrolytes that you lose when perspiring.

10-17-08

Halloween is fast approaching.

This year, for me it signals the completion of one of the 8 special projects I'm currently involved with at work, so I'm looking forward to the end of the month.

Normally I order non-candy alternatives from Oriental Trading Company to pass out to the 150 trick or treaters we get, but I let that slide this year, so I got candy at Wal-mart tonight instead. That was my Friday night splurge, a trip to Wal-mart. Anastasia and I like to guess how much our bill is going to be before we check out. I guessed $150 and it came to $149.67!

“I think a lot more people are getting into Halloween because it's the one time of year where adults can be kids.”
Craig McDonald

10-16-08

"I'll have a tall salted caramel hot chocolate." - Michele
"What? That's different! Yeah, make that two." - Bruce

Date night at Starbucks. Then he ran the kids around (ballet and the Reptile man at school) so that I could work.

And this concludes Bruce's week of photos. Back to regularly scheduled programming.

10-15-08

Here's Mr. Moneybags with his white fedora. I've lost count of how many he has. It's a few.

Bruce was asked to collect the money for our simple supper at church tonight. Chicken, potatoes, salad, and bright orange ice cream tonight.

I'd be mortified if he took a photo of me with all those people around. But he just smiles and keeps on trucking.

“The power of collecting and disbursing money at pleasure is the most dangerous power that can be entrusted to man”
David Crockett

10-14-08

It's all about the hat. I have two favorites in his rapidly growing fedora collection, and this is one of them.

I was home a little longer today (my trip to Seaside was delayed so I worked at home), so I got to see first hand what goes on when the house empties of kids and wife. Dishes, searching high and low for some lost papers, computer time, another trip to the grocery store for items forgotten (or written down on the shopping list wrong by wife) yesterday, taking the forgotten flute to the middle school. Oh, and posing for photos! And that was all in under 3 hours!

“I admire people like Judd Nelson, who have an innate sense of fashion. Judd could wear a bathrobe and sanitarium sandals and a fedora and look good.”
John Hughes

10-13-08

Monday is laundry day at the Fischer house, so here's my honey doing laundry. Anastasia thought that this was important to memorialize. I guess it is every day life that happens every week.

When Anastasia started doing her own laundry, I thought that we'd stop getting each others socks and undies in each others drawers. Both she and her dad are big procrastinators though, so the laundry still gets commingled. She was so excited to find a tank top that matched one of her new shirts, but the tank top was mine that got put in with her clothes.

And no, he doesn't normally wear a hat in the house, but when the camera comes out, he goes running for one. Kind of like my grama running for her lipstick when she sees the camera, I guess.

“I believe you should live each day as if it is your last, which is why I don't have any clean laundry, because, come on, who wants to wash clothes on the last day of their life?” - Procrastinators

10-13-08

Ok, after a short intermission for WOF, Bruce’s birthday week resumes.

Here he is on his turf. His home away from home, the building where he spends almost as many waking hours as he spends at home.

Every Sunday night for years and years (even before we moved to Longview, at our Hoquiam church), Bruce disappears. Sometimes we get an early dinner together, but often not. He is headed to youth group to hang out with those bizarre teenagers. He serves as mentor, confidant, technology guy, and back row peanut gallery.

Tonight there was a special speaker talking about her missionary trip to Africa, so we made it a family affair.

Happy Belated Birthday, sweetie! Three different hats down, how many to go?!?

10-11-08

Last year I didn’t get any photos, but this year I actually have some to choose from. There was the men's restrooms converted to women's, the assembly line for retrieving our box lunches, the HUGE line at Starbucks during lunch break We indulged in Starbucks three times this weekend!

Let me explain why I chose this photo. Mandisa is singing for us. She was a finalist in American Idol and I recognize her songs from WEY FM. She had everyone wave their cell phones, which is not unique for concerts, but was fun. And, the gal in red at the bottom of the photo was a true joy to watch. She was one of three doing sign language for the deaf, and she was dancing and having a great time.

Thought for the day: We do not have the power to make a perfect decision.

10-10-08

My friend Shannon and I attended the two day Women of Faith conference at the Rose Garden in Portland. We and about 11,000 other women.

I tried every camera setting I have on Friday to see which one best captured the feel of the event. I’m most happy with this one.

Some themes that hit me this year were that we can choose to behave differently than we feel rather than slinging our bad moods to others, that we set the temperatures in our homes, and that I need to dwell on words of blessing instead of cursing in my present work situation.

10-09-08

Bruce’s birthday gift to himself came today. He’s really excited about it. A new computer to put together.

To me it just looks like a bunch of junk on the dining room table. But, three computers would be really nice. Maybe I’d be able to use mine more!

“Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don't need to be done.” Andy Rooney

10-08-08

Here’s somebody who doesn’t get enough air time on my blog. My blog should reflect things that are important to me, and he is as important as they come. This is Bruce’s birthday week, so maybe I’ll get a Bruce Almighty theme going. Ah, I’m heading out of town for his birthday, so maybe not.

Getting tired of the green and orange walls in the background yet? Oh, pardon me, I mean Vintage Find and Ginger Jar. Sophisticated Bruce is not, so I need to over compensate…

“"Home" is any four walls that enclose the right person” - Helen Rowland

10-07-08

So could I be a Lands End model? Yeah, maybe not.

My new coat that has been backordered for a month came today. Yay! And it even fits and is warm and has a cute zip out pink liner and I think it will work! It doesn't have a hood, so we'll see if I can get used to a hat instead.

Bruce steam cleaned the carpet today, so our furniture is all piled up in the kitchen. We were eating our dinner out on the front porch when the UPS driver brought us our Lands End package. It was odd to walk in the house this evening and have all the furniture and junk missing...

“The sparrows are preparing for winter, each one dressed in a plain brown coat and singing a cheerful song.” - Charles Kuralt

10-06-08

No matter how busy I get (and things are pretty busy!), I always find time to read.

This past quarter I read or listened to 17 books. Each had something to offer, there are none that I wish I had not read. Even the steamy Loving Scoundrel was fun. A personal favorite was Hattie Big Sky. And following Clearing in the Wild up with a trip to Aurora, OR was fun. The Word on the Street was a new twist on the Bible and the author’s testimony is pretty inspiring.

A Loving Scoundrel - Johanna Lindsey
A Name of Her Own - Jane Kirkpatrick
The Rapture (prequel to Left Behind) - Jerry Jenkins
Oceans Apart - Karen Kingsbury
On What Grounds (Coffeehouse Mystery) - Cleo Coyle
The Word on the Street - Bob Lacey
Clearing in the Wild - Jane Kirkpatrick
The Jane Austen Book Club - Karen Joy Fowler
When Madeline Was Young - Jane Hamilton
Expiration Date - Eric Wilson
Hattie Big Sky - Kirby Larson
The Last Jihad - Joel Rosenberg
A Thousand Splendid Suns - Kahled Hosseini
The Last Days of Dogtown - Anita Diamont
The Last Days - Joel Rosenberg
The Photograph - Penelope Lively
Ezekiel Option - Joel C. Rosenberg

"Books to the ceiling, books to the sky. My piles of books are a mile high. How I love them! How I need them! I'll have a long beard by the time I read them." -Arnold Lobel

Happy reading!

10-05-08

Bruce fell asleep on the sofa last night, and he wasn't thrilled that we were all up and about by 7am.

Mom had work to do, powering up her laptop as soon as she was ready for church.
Xander had World of Warcraft to play, hitting the computer even before he was ready for church. Anastasia had French Toast breakfast to make for us all. Her home economics class is getting her fired up to spend a little more time in the kitchen.

I pointed our to Bruce that stirring at 7am is still sleeping in for all of us.

“Autumn arrives in early morning, but spring at the close of a winter day.”
Elizabeth Bowen

10-04-08

Today we showed Grama and Grampa my blog, so it seems fitting that they are on the blog.

We left our house at 8:15am and got home at 10pm. That is not unusual for us, but it sure makes for a long day. We had a 9am soccer game in Kalama, a 2pm photo shoot at the Shoreline Sears with Aunt Barbara, and dinner with Grama Bunnie and Grampa Rod.

Note the kids in red v-neck sweaters with white T-shirts, that is our family portrait theme for this year. And notice the lovely sunset in the background.

10-03-08

We had a night on the town tonight.

Well, a work retirement party, does that count?

Anastasia was our photographer as we headed out the door, she chose the location. I like how the Willow Trees are peeking around us on the mantle, but she thinks it would look better without them.

Happy Friday!

10-02-08

In the spirit of true laziness, I was seeing what photos I could get from the couch without moving tonight. I was trying to capture the vice presidential debate on the TV screen, but that is hard to do. As Anastasia got ready to go to her ballet lesson, I glimpsed this silhouette and am tickled with it.

“Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy.” Charlie McCarthy

10-01-08

Tonight our Wednesday night program at church started up again, but I didn’t take any photos. I was rushing from a meeting to dinner to budgeting class, my camera never found its way out of my purse.

So when I got home I said “who wants to be on my blog today?!?”, and Xander was a willing victim.

Happy Wednesday! And happy October!