Week 8

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  It's hard to believe we are almost at the end of February and I can feel spring is upon us even though we are expecting more crazy rain storms this week. "Atmospheric river" is a term we are hearing way too often these days. It describes the many storms lined up out in the Pacific waiting their turn to hit land one after the other.  No drought this year! The break last week was really nice and we'll take what we can get when we can get it. Another thing I'm ready for is spring cleaning. It's time to purge. We're planning to replace the carpet upstairs which means we need to empty rooms.  This is the perfect opportunity to declutter and get rid of all the things the boys have been hoarding but have also outgrown.  Bring it on!

Until then here are last week's pictures:

Day 49- Monday, 2/18/19

We're all home for President's day so John made breakfast sandwiches which we all appreciated especially our foodie Justin.  As I was cleaning up I noticed a heart shaped food stain on the pot holder which goes to show this meal was made with love.

Day 50- Tuesday, 2/19/19

Clear skies and an amazing sunrise are great things to see when starting a new work week.  I'll take it! And then after work this critter was ready to cuddle.  He looks mad but is purring.  I think he just doesn't like the camera in his face.  My bad.

Day 51- Wednesday, 2/20/19

What a gorgeous day and this lucky girl was able to go on a long walk with me to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air.  It was fitting because it's National Love Your Pet Day and I do love my Bella girl.

Day 52- Thursday, 2/21/19

It's that time again to pick classes for the next high-school year and Brandon is picking for 10th grade.  So crazy that he is my baby.  I also accidentally asked Justin if he brought home his paper to pick classes forgetting that he's done after this year and will not be picking high-school classes but college ones instead.  Wow!

Day 53- Friday, 2/22/19

TGIF!  John likes to unwind Fridays by playing tunes after work in the dark with his special lights while watching basketball games.  He mostly does this in the garage so he can crank the tunes up as loud as he wants without me shouting to turn it down.  Sorry babe.  Meanwhile, tonight on the UCLA campus ,Tyler is going to a couple's event with his girlfriend Sabina--how sweet.

Day 54- Saturday, 2/23/19

We're working together to make a fresh-mex meal tonight.  John grilled some steak and I made some guac while sipping a margarita.  It's a yummy weekend night in.

Day 55- Sunday, 2/24/19

Donuts this morning and wings tonight.  We're enjoying one last family meal with John before he leaves us for another week.  He'll be back in Minnesota where it's freezing cold again.  Poor guy would really rather travel anywhere else this time of year.  As he packed it looked more like he was packing for a ski trip than a work trip.  Bundle up!

Ok that's it!  Another week down.  Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you next week.

Week 7

Welcome back and happy Tuesday. That long weekend sure was nice and we even had more sunshine than I expected so that was a great bonus. This coming week should be much drier than the past couple weeks and we'll take it.  Even though last week was wet and wild we still had a pretty fun-packed week with a lot of good eats.

Take a look at week's pictures:

Day 42- Monday, 2/11/19

I'm Starting the week off in the Tupper lab testing plates to make sure they can grow bacteria commonly found to cause mastitis in dairy cows.

Day 43- Tuesday, 2/12/19

It's early evening and we're watching as the storm systems start to move in.  Justin is looking forward to walking in the rain because he loves this weather.  I just hope it doesn't get too windy for the umbrella.

Day 44- Wednesday, 2/13/19

We're in the thick of it.  It's supposed to rain on and off for the next few days but today will probably be the worst of it.  At work I was running back and forth between buildings getting soaked and at home it was too wet for bikes so a rainy-day school pick-up was in order.  It was pretty messy out there especially on the roads. Things will get better here over the next few days but worse in the mountains.  It's dumping many feet of snow up there--crazy!

Day 45- Thursday, 2/14/19

Happy Valentine's Day!  We celebrated at home after work with a nice family dinner, a good wine toast, and a yummy dessert that Justin helped me make--strawberry shortcake.

Day 46- Friday, 2/15/19

The kids were home yesterday and today so I took the day off today too to spend with them.  We decided to check out a new aquarium in Folsom called SeaQuest which was a fun thing to do on another rainy day.  Later John and I met the Wongs back in Folsom for a night out and this was our awesome dessert after dinner. Yum!

Day 47- Saturday, 2/16/19

We're chillin at home today getting chores done and playing with pets.  Rusty likes blanket tents and hurried over to check out the one Brandon just made for him on the couch.  They played peek-a-boo for a good bit before they both decided to move on.  He found a nice quiet place to nap and Brandon tried to play basketball outside before deciding the wind was too much and computer gaming might be a better idea.

Day 48- Sunday, 2/17/19

Date night!  We decided to hold off on our real Valentine's date until Sunday since it was easier to get a table at a decent hour and we could also fit in a movie.  Why not? Tomorrow is a holiday so no need to prep for work.

That's it for this week.  I need to get back to simple, clean eating and more physical activity next week.  It's time to shed the winter fluff and get ready for spring and summer even if the weather says otherwise.  Hope to see you next week.

Week 6

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  We're looking forward to the long weekend coming up although it sounds like it will be raining again so we'll just hunker down and enjoy relaxing at home.  This past weekend was way too busy so I'm ready for a long slow one. Oh and hey--basketball is all done so that also frees up much more time.  I have a few projects I want to start so I plan to put that extra time to good use.

Here's a look at how last week went:

Day 35- Monday, 2/4/19

Bella brought me her favorite toy.  I think she wants to play and look at the sunshine through the window--yeah that won't last.  It will be another wet and wild weather week.

Day 36- Tuesday, 2/5/19

If he wears this shirt every Tuesday he gets extra credit in his biomedical class so he's on it.

Day 37- Wednesday, 2/6/19

John is traveling on business all week and combined 2 trips in one so he started in Chaska, Minnesota and just flew to Miami, Florida for the second phase.  What a contrast in the weather he is seeing--from freezing snow to warm and sunny beaches.  At least he's ending on a good note before heading back to the rain here.  Speaking of here we're at an away basketball game in the Elk Grove area.  Only one more game left in the season.

Day 38- Thursday, 2/7/19

Scattered showers mean pretty fluffy clouds with blue sky and sunshine popping through.  I snapped this picture on campus while heading to a meeting.  It actually felt good today to be able to go outside for a bit.  Later the heavier rain started and it got colder quick so grilled cheese and soup made for the perfect dinner.  The natives agreed!

Day 39- Friday, 2/8/19

She's sad and depressed because she misses her master.  Thankfully he'll be back just after midnight tonight.  Later we  enjoyed watching the final basketball game that thankfully was at home and Justin was able to make it.  Brandon started in the game tonight and was the first to score with a perfect 3-point shot--nothing but net--great way to end the season!

Day 40- Saturday, 2/9/19

This was a busy day starting at a coffee social with local UCLA parents which is always a great source for advice and good information.  Then the boys and I went to an art show featuring wildlife to kick off Ducks Days for our local wetlands.  Finally the day ended with Justin, John and John's brother, David, rocking out at the KISS concert which they really enjoyed.  Whew!  Tomorrow we rest!

Day 41- Sunday, 2/10/19

Love this- Justin is teaching Brandon to tie a tie as one of his required skills for the Building Foundations class project.  John was going to teach Brandon but Justin really wanted to do it--so sweet of him.

That is it!  Hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day and President's Day weekend coming up.

Week 5

Hi there and welcome back.  It's a new month with hopefully new fun.  January seemed to fly by.  This is our last week of basketball until teen hoops starts up in March.  The break will be nice and the city league is way more relaxed than the high school sport--less practice time, less drama, less traveling and less games.  Sounds good to me.

For now here are last week's pictures:

Day 28- Monday, 1/28/19

He's packing tonight and leaving us for a work trip in the LA area tomorrow.  Thankfully this one is only for a few days.

Day 29- Tuesday, 1/29/19

At work I was purifying an antigen prep for slide making and then when I got home it was chilly so Rusty found me right away and made himself at home to warm up on my lap.

Day 30- Wednesday, 1/30/19

Yay!  Basketball games this week are all at home and this was the first one.  Brandon was happy to have some good play time and then even happier to come home, drop his bags, and grub on some food like most teen boys would.

Day 31- Thursday, 1/31/19

Justin is prepping for his first ever concert coming up next week.  The shirt he'll wear just came in today and he's getting excited to see Kiss at Golden 1 Center with his dad and his uncle.

Day 32- Friday, 2/1/19

It's the homecoming game tonight which was a fun way to end the week and it's also a new month so John and I posed with the monthly marker after the game. It's great to have him back at least for a couple days anyway.

Day 33 Saturday, 2/2/19

I need Justin to help with driving next week since the weather will not be right for biking so we're out running errands and practicing.  His not a huge fan and avoids being in the driver's seat so he hasn't really driven much since he got his license over a year ago which is why we are practicing.  He actually did great and is feeling confident which also puts my mind at ease.

Day 34- Sunday, 2/3/19

There he goes off again super early this morning, running to catch a plane in the rain, and this time to Minnesota and then Florida for work.  We won't see him again until Saturday.  Hopefully this is the last of his work travels for a few weeks.  Meanwhile, back at home, I was helping Brandon get pictures of life-skill chores for a Building Foundations class.  Doesn't he look thrilled?  Welcome to my world kiddo!

That's it.  We're looking at a wet and wild week ahead.  See you on the flip side.