Been singing this song

I love Chris Tomlin

I love his voice and the passion he carries

I find myself humming and singing this song most of the days

I will rise

Yea, more food talk….

We were in SF for St. Patty’s Day.  I have been CRAVING some cabbage for about a month now!  Right around the corner is the Irish bar – Monaghans!  We stopped in for a drink and celebrate!  Well, they do not serve food so we were out of luck to find the Corned Beef and Cabbage here… we walked around, stopped in a few restaurants, no St. Patty’s Day specials….. then, WE FOUND IT - Jones Bar and Grill on Lombard.  They were having a special… Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner and a beer for $10!! Cha Ching!!  It was sooooooooooo yummy and the presentation was even nice!!  

We hope everyone had a fun 'holiday' too!!  ;)

The Malibu Rap

So, Dick was Malibu's FIRST Sales Rep. Well, he is not much of a 'boating kind of guy' so he needed to create something to remember all of the details of the boat in order to sell them....thus, the Malibu Rap.

He created this song in 1990! He was asked to sing it at his party a few nights ago. Thankfully, Amy was able to get it alllll on video for YOU!!

Follow the link below to view it on YouTube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVaEIDrhQJ0

Surprise Retirement Party!

Malibu wanted to throw Dick a retirement party.  Do you think he would go for that? If you know Dick, you'd know that he LOVES to give attention to others but does not enjoy attention toward himself.

Question of the day:  How does one throw a party in honor of his 20 years at Malibu and have him show up? 

Answer:  Throw a SURPRISE party! Call it a 'Wine Tasting Party', ask him to bring a few bottles of wine and a dish to share, show up at 7 pm and tell everyone else 6:30 pm.

AND IT WORKED!!!

We arrived at Heidi and Joey's beautiful home, full of the people he loves and that love and appreciate him so much in return. He began to suspect something MAY be 'up' when we drove into their court and it was FULL of cars.  

He was surprised to discover, all of it was for HIM! People offered their congrats and appreciation most of the evening while 'Larry's band' played on the patio. One memorable moment is when Andrew sang a country song with the band! It was soooooo cute!! He did a great job - the kid can sing!!

Bob enjoyed 'roasting' Dick for a few minutes before presenting him with his 20 year Malibu jacket.  It is customary that all 20 year veterans receive a leather jacket.  Dick would use a leather jacket as often as he would ride a Harley! hahaha! 

So, instead, they presented him with a sports coat - with a very nice 'appreciation patch' on the inside, and of course, patches on the elbows. (Long story, let me know if you want the scoop)

Dick made a wonderful, heartfelt, acceptance speech and finalized it with the all famous, notorious, original Malibu Rap! It was AWESOME and everyone enjoyed the entertainment! Amy actually caught it on VIDEO - lookout youtube!! LOL

Not a day passes without being very proud of this man I am honored to call husband.  But, evenings like this do not happen very often....and I was even more privileged to be by his side. 

After dancing and singing with the band, sipping some wine, catching up with great friends, the evening eventually came to a close around 1 a.m for the party animals.

I took a few pictures and placed them in the web album to the right. Beware, most were taken AFTER midnight.....when we are usually SLEEPING or at least the makeup should have been 'touched up'!

I asked Dick what his favorite part of the evening was and he said he was deeply touched that so many people came out to celebrate him! He thought that was pretty cool and was feelin' the love!

On my way home

While driving home from work, I had to sloooooow down, get the Taxi driver behind me really maaaaaad and take this photo with my iPhone. It was breathtaking......The steeple is St. Vincent De Paul Church - Talor's Church/School. What a beautiful day! I think of soooooo many people that I want to share this view with every time I have the blessing to view it myself! Enjoy

The guys are in Coloma!!

All fourth graders at Taylor's school go to Coloma Outdoor School. It is the field trip of the year!! All of the kids look forward to it like nothing else! I personally think it has something to do with these 'city kids' not getting much of a chance to be outside.... Many parents volunteered as chaperone, including Dick, and HE WAS CHOSEN!! Imagine that!!? They know a GREAT father when they see one!!
So, this morning, they climbed onto the beautiful tour bus and headed out for the 3 hour bus ride to Coloma - 50 miles east of Sacramento. They will learn all about the gold rush, cowboys, wild life and such. I know Taylor was looking forward to grinding his corn to make their own cornbread and gold panning.

This is Taylor messing around with my sunglasses this morning

Just about ready to board the bus!!

Taylor is in the front, ready to board!!

They are up there tonight - Wednesday - and will return Friday at 3 p.m. There are 2 men parents and 3 female parents/teachers in attendance too. All of the classrooms are held outside - with overhangs to protect from the elements... All meals will be provided. All of the boys will sleep in one 'cabin' and the girls in another.

A funny story I was told today by one of the parents was that she was concerned her son would have a difficult time packing everything BACK into the duffel bag at the end of the trip. She was told, "Oh, don't worry about that, it'll probably come back looking exactly like you packed it!! The kids NEVER change their clothes because they are too shy! We are lucky if they brush their teeth at least once during the next 3 days!!" hahahaa

Eventhough Dick isn't a fan of 'roughing it' he was really looking forward to the trip and I know he'll be an asset to the group. It was suppose to rain EVERY DAY and thankfully, the storms seem to have subsided!! YEAH!!

I am in SF in the house for the first time ALONE! So far so good... I worked at the PreSchool today until about 2:30, stopped by Trader Joe's to pick up dinner (asparagus, shitake mushrooms, garlic, salad and blueberries for dessert! It was yummy!!), took Gabby for a long walk then ran the mile over to the YMCA for a BodyWorks class from 5:45 - 6:30! WOW!! What a workout! We did squats, lunges, worked with weights, the half ball, the rope, more squats and lunges...My arms are sore already, wait til tomorrow - yikes!!

I watched American Idol while texting to Erika and then talked on the phone the rest of the night with Amy! Time to get a good night's rest. I just hope Dick can do the same with a room full of fourteen 10 year old boys, many who may be experiencing their first night away from home.

Craaaaazy Fact

UPDATE:  I put a half a tank of gas in today - Monday, March 16! LOL

Due to my 'slower paced' days in the past few months....I do not drive my car as much = as far as in the past.....I find it CRAZY to see that 

I am STILL using the same tank of gas since NOVEMBER!!!! 

I remember filling the tank at that time and have been driving on it ever since!!  Dick and I are usually together, driving in his car!  A few weeks ago, I thought it would be cool to see if I could stretch it until March 1st but I still do not need it! I'll fill the tank when there is one 'hash' mark. I'll keep you posted on when that will be.  I know my check book is HAPPIER!!! :)

The gas is probably old and stale,  damaging my engine! YIKES!!

I just thought I'd share that bit of info.

C I P

Church In Pajamas

Taylor has a big project for school he should begin, it is raining, and we've had a pretty busy weekend so we decided not go to St. Vincent De Paul Church - Taylor's church - this morning.  Instead, we held our own service in the living room - still in our pj's, discussing the Old Testament vs. the New Testament.  Dick did an amazing job - he could have been a Pastor - reviewing the basic understanding of Christianity.  At 10 years old, having parents that confirm his faith, and having a Religion class in school since Kindergarten, Taylor has such a firm foundation. It does my heart good. I am always impressed with his knowledge and comprehension. 

Dick's very close friend, Galen, had his father pass away this last week after a long illness.  In talking with Galen, he wondered how people cope with death without having a faith in God.  Galen knows his father is in heaven and that brings great comfort to Galen and his family.  He shared his father's favorite Bible verse. Knowing this was his favorite, and that he lived his life according to it, Galen knows he will see his father again.

Romans 9 - 10 - "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

As Christians, we follow these words and are comforted.  God hears our voice and knows our heart. As friends and family reading this, I hope you allow these words to be part of your life too, then I am truly comforted!

We studied this passage with Taylor, explaining how this was part of Galen's fathers life, and how important it is to make it also part of ours.  

Our service ended with all of saying The Lord's Prayer.  I think it is OK to attend CIP every now and then.

Did you know?

SF does not have a Target?  There are THREE in the area - about 10-13 miles from SF.  We like the Tanforan Target in San Bruno the best.  It has two levels!  Now, the question I know you are wondering is, "How do I get my cart to the second level?

A Cart Escalator!!

Christmas in February?

While Dick and I were in Chicago in July, we saw Wicked. It is the musical based on the the story of the good and bad witches of Oz that takes place BEFORE  The Wizard of Oz movie.  We really enjoyed it and were excited to hear it was coming to SF in January. 

As a Christmas gift, we gave tickets to Dick's parents, David, Vasi and Taylor.  On Thursday, Bill and Jane arrived from Visalia.  On Friday, I made a Shepherd's Pie and David and Vasi came over for dinner.  Everyone enjoyed this OLD family favorite.  David called it "Comfort Food".  Sooooo true!! We finished off the meal with a slice of Boston Cream Pie - YUM!!  Then, off to see WICKED!

It is playing at The Orpheum Theatre through June - I think. Tickets are sold out - unless you go on StubHub.  Thankfully, the weather cooperated - It was a perfect night - no wind, no rain, just right!  In fact, this was the night that I hope you saw the moon!! Venus was so close to it and so bright!!  As we were getting in the car, we looked up and this is what we saw - taken from my iPhone!!

We had GREAT seats on the floor level, about 25 rows up from the stage. 

In Chicago, the leading role of  Glinda - the good witch - had an unlikable personality. The Chicago crowd seemed to enjoy the 'corniness' of her act - but about halfway, I was annoyed by it.  But, in SF, she is a likable, adorable blond ditz.   I can handle that better than CORNY!! The singing is phenomenal and I am always so utterly impressed!  I wish I could sing like that! 

During school on Friday, Taylor told a friend he was going to see a show.  The friend asked, "What show?" Taylor replied, "Wicked."  The friend said, "That is not just a show, that is a BROADWAY show!!"  So, I talked to Taylor about previous shows and he said he really enjoyed Lion King when it was in SF.  I thought, uh oh, this is a little different than Lion King!  I was hoping Wicked would come close to impressing him.  But during Intermission, he let me know he was lovin' it - even if Glinda - his exact words - "was so 'self-centered'."  LOL. 

Everyone LOVED the show - lots of happy faces afterwards! I give it a 10 for sure!! 

Now all of the Christmas gifts have been given and enjoyed!