Mountian Lion

Yesterday I received an email notice from someone in our homeschool group here stating that a mountain lion had been spotted in Moss Beach. I took notice of it since we were meeting another homeschool family at a park in Moss Beach today. The sighting was not close enough to the park for us to be concerned, but I noted that it was near the very small Half Moon Bay airport. While talking at the park we decided to join the other family at gymnastics after the park for Nicca to try out a gymnastics class. His soccer is ending this week and he needs a new activity. As we followed them to gymnastics I noticed we were going by the airport and told the boys that this was where the mountain lion was spotted. Michael said that he was going to find it. Okay . . . good luck.
As we pull into the parking lot Michael yells that he sees it. I look around and he is pointing up a hill quite a ways to a walking trail that probably goes down to the beach. I see no mountain lion. He continues on that he sees it and I tell him to stop messing around. He tells me it is behind a bush. Okay, yeah, sure whatever. I get out of the car and he does as well and points to that direction, and holy shit - the mountain lion comes walking out from behind the bush up the trail. The gymnastics people called the wildlife rangers because the email said if it was spotted again to call so they could relocate it to a more appropriate area. Michael really found the mountain lion. HOLY SHIT! It is populated beyong all belief out here. On the coast where we are there are lots of nature areas, but none that are big enough for animals such as mountain lions. It made Michael's day though, and at least it wasn't close enough for us to be nervous, so it was an educational experience.

Random thoughts

VOTE! If everyone votes, then the democratic system will truly prevail. No matter who the winner is.

I am so glad my coconut water got here yesterday, being out sucked.

How did my children get so much candy from trick or treating?

It is a beautiful day!

Grapes are yummy.

I can't believe how different I look from a year ago, physically and emotionally.

We are super close to the San Andreas fault, not too sure how I feel about that.

Is the hermit crab dead burried in the sand? If so, how will we know?

How many different occasions can I buy Derby cake for?

Is it wrong to just have Honeybaked Ham for Thanksgiving instead of turkey?

She's pregnant and I'm excited!

Should I take the time to paint my toes?

Today is library day, hooray!

How come it is so hard to cut Nicca's hair so it doesn't stick up?

Will San Francisco ban gay marriage today? If so will there be a big uprising? I am living in the midst of history in the making. So awesome.

I can't believe I wear a size 8. (Compared to size 18 a year ago.)

My cats need to be brushed, especially Dinah. Where is the cat brush? When did the cat hair get out of control?

Should we take out the couch and put in another desk area?

I have to cut the pineapple today.

I have awesome bicep muscles. I have never had muscles before.

School in five minutes.

I miss my family across the country. Can't wait to see most of them in December.

When did window shades get so expensive?

Yoga class this morning was kick ass.

Hello Sun!

Lock the knee.

Lock the knee.

Lock the knee.

Our business

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Decision made

The decision on whether to stay here more permanently or to move on in January was sort of made for us, part way. The company Jay is working for issued a hiring freeze last week. So he can't be hired on full time . . . yet. They still want him to stay so they have extended his contract until May 1st. He signed the new contract yesterday. This is a good thing because the money he makes as a traveler is more than he would make as a full time employee, so we won't have a pay cut until at least May. He makes more because we get tax free housing/car/food reimbursement added to his check. So we are here till at least May, then who knows.

My sixty daysof yoga is going good, today was day seven Go me!

Farmers Market

While Michael had soccer practice today, Nicholas and I went to the local farmers market they have on Wednesdays. We had been before and I was hoping to get some cheap apples for cinnamon apples. I ended up with organic pears, peaches, and plums, homemade cinnamon bread, almonds, apple cider, AND artichoke hummus. Those that know me know that this is way out of my box. But the guy had me try it and it was GOOD. Better yet, Nicholas wanted to try it to and he loves it. LOVES IT! My child that won't eat any vegetables at all and is picky about everything but sweets love artichoke hummus. Who knew?

Up too early for yoga

It's not pleasant to be up before my alarm goes off for my 6:15 am yoga class. Thanks to the guy next door who came home at 2:30 in the morning drunk and ran his truck into the hitch of his trailer. The trailer is part horse trailer (but no horses thank god,) and half RV but it has a horse trailer hitch and he ran his Dodge pickup right fucking into it. As if that wasn't enough, he proceeded to get pissed off at his stupidity and try to bang out the front of his hood with a hammer off and on for half an hour. And let's not forget the continued profanities screamed out throughout this venture. Oh and the mulitple times he started his diesel engine. We thought he would eventually go inside to pass out, but when he didn't, Jay went out and talked to him and someone else was also out trying to calm him down. What a fucking asshole.
But here's a thought - it is only by luck that myself or Jay never had an accident coming home from the clubs. But the banging . . . damn asshole.
So I have been tossing and turning since then from being wide awake. But now it is yoga time, maybe the heat will make me sleepy and I can just nap through it. Today is day four of my sixty days!
Have a great day!!!!!

Field Trip

We are studying earth science this year and have been studying faults this week, earthquakes next week. The science curriculum had a small project on the San Andreas Fault. Now seeing that we are just south of San Francisco, I decided to look it up and see where exactly it ran. Yeah . . . Jay drives over it everyday to and from work, it is actually only about a mile from our campground. So off we went to Mussel Rock Park. We hiked all through the park, I was hoping there were be a sign for us tourists, but no luck. We saw a tunnel in the rock where a railroad used to go through, that was pretty neat. The walk along the edge of the cliff was pretty neat to, very scenic. The boys wanted to climb down rocks holding onto a rope that was tied to the top to get to the beach, but being a party pooper mom, I said NO. I was already holding Nicca's hand for dear life and telling Michael to get away from the edge over and over. We saw what we thought was the fault because the rocks were drastically different colors but it wasn't clear like I thought it would be. Now remember that I am from Florida and don't know about fault lines. When we got home I read up a little bit more and discovered that we were right. We couldn't see the fault line there because it was covered by landslide leftovers. Houses are built up on the cliff right where landslides have occured on the fault line, CRAZY!!!!!!! It was a great hike even if we weren't prepared and were all wearing Crocs. I told Michael we would go back with Jay and attempt to climb down the rope. I promise I'll get a picture of that if we do.

On another note - tomorrow I am starting a sixty day yoga challenge. Sixty days of yoga for $60 (and that is cheap.) The catch - you have to go EVERY day for sixty days straight. I am allowed to miss one day, but then I would have to do two classes the next day. So I will be getting up for the 6:15 class during the week and 8:00 class on the weekend. Yes it is WAY early, but I feel great and prepared for the day when I am finished. Since I've gone yesterday and today I will really be doing at least 62 days of yoga. And yes I have lost my mind, or actually I have found it.

Crabs . . .

Hermit that is. A few weeks ago Michael won a hermit crab at the Fog Festival. It was a game where one would usually win a goldfish, but they had hermit crabs. We got it all set up in an appropriate habitat with all the stuff it needed. He bought a book Hermit Crabs for Dummies and has read the whole thing so now he is an expert. The book says that they need to have more than one or they get lonely, sick, and die. So this weekend we bought two more to join Hermie (the first one.) Hermie has a natural shell, and so does Shelly. But then we had to get this HUGE one that has his shell painted baby blue with an orange pumpkin on it. Whoever thought baby blue and orange go together was wrong. His name is Toby (from OcTOBer.) Nicholas wanted to name him Pumpkiny, but I just couldn't handle that.
Two kids, four cats, and three hermit crabs in a 36 foot RV. I love my life (seriously, I do!)

Oh and the other day I was sitting by the cliff reading while the boys were playing and there were sea lions out playing in the water. I couldn't get a picture of them because I had to use the binoculars to see them good. The were just floating on their backs and swimming around. Eventually about ten or so of them came together and played as a group, then they all swam back the way they came. I suppose the whales have moved on, otherwise they sea lions wouldn't be there.

Have a great day everyone!

Decisions

6:15 yoga yesterday and today. On Monday they had a revised schedule for Columbus Day, so it didn't fit with my schedule. I was a little aggravated with this at first. My birthday has fallen on Columbus day many times during my life and never has it affected my school or work schedule. But now it affects my yoga??? But I am over it, things happen. At least I am able to go to yoga most other days. Yoga is my calming strength.

So we are at a decision point once again, but we don't have all the factors to make a decision with. Jay has been offered a job here in the Bay area. He is alright with the job, it has a lot of potential for growth. We are waiting on the "formal" paperwork with the salary. Traveling we get paid housing reimbursement, car rental reimbursement, and a daily per diem for food. By settling somewhere, we won't get that, so the salary range he would be in is lower than what he is making now. It is still negotiable somewhat though. The decision is whether to take the salary offer and stay or to leave here in January and continue to travel to who know where. Now don't get me wrong, we love traveling. We have got to see so many wonderful things and experienced so much. BUT in the last two years we have had some major life setbacks and I am just feeling tired. Not tired in like I need a nap, but tired as in a need a year or two of routine so I can feel not crazy. The past two years I feel like life has gone by in a whirlwind. Between multiple medical problems throughout my family, job issues, homeschooling issues, adjusting to traveling, keeping in touch with family/friends, keeping the kids socialized and educated and trying to keep myself sane . . . I need a while to just breathe and take in everything. Now nobody has died and everyone is okay medically, the kids are fine, job is working out etc etc but I am constantly on edge for the next fiasco. I am trying to not be on edge and just take what life throws at me and run with it. And getting adjusted to another new place in a few months just sounds tiring and like a lot of work. (and yes I know we chose this, but there won't so many issues when we started.)
Back to the decision at hand - if we are to settle somewhere for a while (we would wait and decided if we wanted to stay forever or travel again after a few years) the place we are now has a lot of things we are looking for. There is the active homeschool group for the boys, a stable job with a decent salary and benefits for Jay, yoga right down the road for me, a soccer league for the boys, we are right on the Pacific ocean, lots of cultural activities and opportunities for tons of "field trips" in the area, laid back and nice people, the gym up the road with cheap babysitting, it is close to the mountains for snow activities, the weather is moderate (but foggy at times) and other things that I can't think of right now. There is also the issue that Jay is not ever guaranteed a job. He works for staffing agencies on a contract basis per job, so if there is time in between jobs it leaves us in limbo both physically and financially. On the other hand it is very expensive to live here. It is the most expensive campground we have been in, but electricity is included and we only need to fill our propane tanks once every three months or so. (As opposed to 2 - 3 times a week when we were in Truckee in the snow.) It is far from our family and friends in Florida and the money situation could be very tight depending on final numbers. There is a possibility that I may be able to get hired as an education specialist for the homeschool charter school here. An ES goes around and works with homeschool parents of school to make sure their children are doing what needs to be done. I could also enroll the boys in this school and get $1800 each a year for school curriculum and supplies without changing what I am doing now.
So we are just waiting for all the details to come in about the job so we can make a decision. I know that whatever decision is made we will be fine as a family and make it work.

Demoliton Derby

Last night Jay wanted to go to the races. He likes to go to dirt tracks, not pavement tracks. And they have to be somewhat small, no Nascar types. He had been wanting to go for a while and since last night was the last race of the season I said let's go. I am not too fond of racing, but on occasion it is interesting. So we headed out over the Golden Gate Bridge north to the races. The race last night had a 200 lap free for all. The cars were total beat up clunkers. The hit each other, blew out tires and kept going, kept going with bumpers dragging, smoking, sparking, just craziness. It started out with about 40 cars and by the last lap there were only eight left. Basically it was whoevers car could make it 200 laps without breaking or wrecking. We ate junk food and sodas and sat in the chilly night air. After the race they had a car go up a ramp to see how many times the driver could get it to roll over. He wouldn't go up the ramp fast so it finally rolled, but not alot. The final event was a demolition derby. They had twelve big clunkers and they just crashed them into each other until only one car was left running. Which was a lot of crashing! The boys had a great time. Nicholas is really into Hot Wheels and such, so he liked all the crashes. It will be interesting to see what type of tracks he builds after last night and how he plays with his cars. Both boys fell asleep on the way home. I had never seen an actual demoliton derby so it was fun for me as well. Not something I want to do all the time, but a fun experience.

Yoga (yes again) and homeschooling

No not together silly - two separate topics in one post.

Still loving yoga. Got up Monday, Wednesday, and today for the 6:15 class. I feel energized, awake, and ready to take on the world (or at least my two kids) after class. Tuesday I did Pilates and yesterday I did yoga at the gym and some weight training last night with Jay. After another week of daily yoga I am going to start trying to wean myself off my anxiety medicine. I am reading Bikram's book and it is awesome. It explains the sequence of postures, the history of yoga, the reason for the heat and just so much more. If you have ten minutes watch his interview from 60 Minutes Bikram's Interview. Michael has gone with me to a beginning class a few times and in two weeks they are starting a kids class twice a week. I am so excited!

Last weekend I made a schedule for our school day. I know that part of the idea of homeschooling is that you can have whatever schedule you want, but I am just not organized for that. So I made a rigorous schedule for each day of the week, just like I had when I taught in a traditional classroom. This week it has made a world of difference. No longer am I trying to figure out what subject we are doing next or how to entertain the other child while working with the current one. Each minute has something planned of each. I have cut the tv/computer/playstation time down tremendously and have stuck to my guns about it (much to their dismay.) For language arts with Michael I am using the curriculm I developed myself that is catered to his needs and it is going better than I hoped. I really feel that this school year is going to be one of tremendous growth for both boys. Nicholas has read two small stories in his phonics book and has increased his counting and math skills so much in just the short time we have been doing school this year.
We have found a great homeschool group in our area here. It has a bround range of kids that all play together. Both boys have ample amounts of playmates at the park days. They also have game nights at the local pizza place for board games or yu-gi-oh (Michael's obsession), a book club (for Michael), preschool playdates with arts and crafts, a Spanish conversation class, and much much more. The moms and dads that I have met in the group are extremely nice and down to earth, they seem to accept everyone as a homeschooler with their own method, without judgement on how you are teaching your children and what religious beliegs you may have. There are also so many homeschool activites that happen here throughout the Bay area that it is a little overwhelming. BUT WONDERFUL!!!

It is now time to begin our school day as per my schedule. Have a great day and weekend everyone!!!!! I do have other things to write about, maybe at lunch I can squeeze in another post.

Daily Calendar Oct. 3

Mickey Mouse Club TV Premiere (1955): This afternoon show for children was on ABC. Among its young cast members were Mouseketeers Annette Funicello and Shelley Fabares. The show was revived in 1977 and 1989. Christine Aguilera, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears were cast members on the new edition.

Being a Disney fanatic this is a favorite of mine!

Daily Calendar Oct. 2

Redwood national Park Established Anniversary (1968) - California's Redwood National Park was established.

"Peanuts" Debuts Anniversary (1950) This comic strip by Charles M. Schulz featured Charlie Brown, his sister Sally, Lucy, Linus, and Charlie Brown's dog Snoopy. The last daily "Peanuts" strip was published Jan 3, 2000, and the last Sunday strip was published Feb. 13, 2000. Schulz died the evening before the final strip appeared. Newspapers continue to run "Peanuts" in reruns, and it remains immensely popular.

Gandhi Birth Anniversary (1869) - Indian political and spiritual leader who achieved world honor and fame for his advocacy of nonviolent resistance as a weapon against tyranny, born at Porbandar, India. He was assassinated in the garden of his home at New Delhi, Jan 20, 1948. On the anniversary of Gandhi's birth thousands gather at the park on the Jumna River at Delhi where Gandhi's body was cremated. Hymns are sung, verses from the Gita, the Koran and the Bible are recited and cotton thread is spun on small spinning wheels (one of Gandhi's favorite activities.) Other observances are held at his birthplace and throughout India on this public holiday. www.mahatma.org

Motivation

I have sinus infection/sore throat and just can't motivate myself to start school today. I will though . . . soon.

Daily Calendar Oct. 1

Since it's the first of the month there are lots of things today: I'll try to pick out the more interesting ones.

Disney World Opened Anniversary (1971): Seeing that both my husband and I have Mickey tattoos, this is my personal favorite of the day. Oh I miss WDW!

Cd Player Debuts Anniversary (1982): The first compact disc play, jointly developed by Sony, Philips, and Polygram, went on sale. It cost $625 (more than $1,000 in current dollars.)

Super Mario Brothers Released Anniversary (1985): The Nintendo Entertainment System for home use was introduced adn the popular game for the NES, Super Mario Brothers, was released on this date.

World Vegetarian Day: Celebration of vegetarianism's benefits to humans, animals and our planet. http://www.worldvegetarianday.org/

National Go on a Field Trip Month: A month to highlight the importance of the field trip as a way to help children learn. Studies show that children learn 40 - 60 percent more outside the classroom. The field trip is a great way to teach valuable life skills.

National Roller Skating Month: A month-long celebration recognizing the health benefits and recreational enjoyment of this long-loved pastime.

National Popcorn Poppin' Month: to celebrate the wholesome, economical, natural food value of popcorn. America's native snack. www.popcorn.org