Free....

The road less traveled

Our paperwork has officially expired. No, we are not renewing. Our journey to Operation Tigerlily has officially come to an end. Yes, it sucks.

But, that fork in the road? It is taking us on a different path...... a detour.

It's time.....

When you come to a fork in the road, take it.

-Yogi Berra

33

32

31

30

29

Is there anything else left to say?












Nope.

I am told I am guilty of this...

Yes, I'm doing it again - I signed up for the 2009 Breast Cancer 3-Day! I had such an incredible experience doing the 3-Day last year that I'm going back for more. I'm so excited about this event, even though this year I really know what I've gotten myself into.

This year, however, my purpose for walking became even more personal. Just a few months after I signed up for the 3 Day, I got some news I new expected to receive. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Not in one breast, but both breasts. From what we hear it is very rare to have cancer in both breast at the same time. In February my mother underwent a bilateral mastectomy. I was able to be by her side throughout the whole process. It was truly a scary time, but when her surgeon told us that it had not spread to her lymph nodes, we were so relieved. She is now in the process of her reconstruction and undergoing drug therapy. I can't begin to sing the praises of her doctors and the amazing nurses of the LD Breast Center, where she had her surgery and treatment. Watching my mom go through this process only made my desire to do my part in finding a cure for this disease even stronger.

I need your help. I am planning on surpassing the $2260.00 that you - my friends and family - gave so generously last time around to help fight breast cancer.

Just follow the link above to visit my personal fundraising page and make a donation. I know times are tough right now, but what ever you can give either big or small is appreciated more than you will ever know. Thanks for all of your support. I'm incredibly lucky to have people like you in my life!

Love,
Lisa

ANZAC Biscuits

In honor of ANZAC Day on Saturday. I made some ANZAC's. When we were in Australia we were there on the 25th of April, ANZAC Day. We were lucky enough to be a part of this celebration (here, this is what it's all about). My friends mother- in-law made these cookies (biscuits) for us. They are by far the best cookie I have ever tasted. They are crunchy on the outside but chewy on the inside and believe it or not they get better with age, they keep forever, but not in my house because they are eaten up within the first two days. They require an imported ingredient called golden syrup. My friend brings me cases of golden syrup from Australia when she comes to visit, but you can check your local british market and you may be able to find it. You can also substitute half dark corn syrup and half molasses, I have never tried it but I hear it's a pretty good alternative. Here is how I make them:

Anzac Biscuits

2 cups Flour
2 cups Oats
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 cups coconut
2 sitcks of butter
4 tablespoons golden syrup
4 tablespoons boiling water
2 teaspoons baking soda

The key players

Mix all of your dry ingredients

Don't be messy like me.....

Sugar, flour and oats

Don't forget the coconut!

Mix it all up

Get your 2 sticks of butter, not that gross margerine or Cri$co butter flavored crap. REAL butter!

Melt your butter

To your butter, add the golden syrup

Give it a good swirl, until fully incorporated

In a separate bowl, nuke your water until boiling lava hot and add the baking soda. Mix thoroughly.

Pour your water/baking soda mixture into the butter and golden syrup

It will get all foamy and bubbly

Pour into your dry ingrdients

Mix well

Drop by rounded spoonfuls (I use a scooper)

Pop in a 325 degree oven for 20-22 minutes

Voila, ANZAC Biscuits!

28

27

Reality

As you may have noticed (the 9 of you who still read this blog), each post for the last year has been merely fluff and rainbow farts. The reason, as most of you know, there is nothing to report. We all know that China is moving along at a snails pace and the prospect of a referral is a BIG UNKNOWN. As for me when I first started writing this blog I had no idea what I was doing and I started it to jot a few things down and to use this as a journal for our trip to China. China....that far off distant land that I used to long to visit. I use the word "used" because it is a pipe dream now. Let me be perfectly honest when I say I have checked out of this adoption. These two years have sucked the life right out of my dream of having a daughter. At first when I would get sad/mad/depressed/hopeless, I would read a travel journal or look at a Y0utube video of a family receiving their beautiful daughter being placed in their arms for the first time and every time it would make me sob with tears of hope that one day that would be me. I would wipe the tears and it would restore my hope for another few months until I had the sad/mad/depressed/hopeless feeling again. The last few months I have put it all out of my mind and concentrated on other thing, because lets face it there alot of things going on that have kept my mind busy. I knew it might be time to do a little adoption reconnaissance, so I pulled up a few China adoption stories on Y0utube and sat down for a cry. Nothing. Not a tear, not a tug at my heart, nothing. I could have been watching a whale beaching himself on the shore. I have checked out. I don't know if this is permanent or just a temporary duck and cover for my heart, but I know that the feeling I had two years ago is different and not in a good way.

Yes, we are considering the SN program but with my agency it is not as easy as the other agencies. We are still looking at a few more years with that. I don't want to switch agencies or countries. I want to do what I set out to do over three years ago and go to China for my daughter.

I am ready to chuck this whole thing. Do you know how hard it was to write that? The reality is that it is true. This process is grueling and no one who just wants to parent should have to endure this type of torture. Torture sounds so extreme but I racked my brain and my thesaurus and could not come up with a word that could describe the feeling I have had for the last two years. How do I really feel?

THIS SUCKS ASS, THE SUCKIEST ASS THERE IS TO SUCK

That's how I really feel and it feels really good to scream it.

26

Make me wanna

You might be from San Diego if:

Every street name is either in Spanish or Spanish related, and you're surprised when other areas don't have this.

You can determine the accuracy of someone's "i'm ghetto" claim by knowing their high school. For example, El Camino High School, Hoover High School, or Crawford High School

You see weather forcasts for four different climate zones in the same county, and aren't remotely surprised.

You routinely go or have gone to Pat & Oscar's solely to get breadsticks.

You've ever gone to Downtown San Diego and marveled at the homeless people mingling with the rich young urbanities.

You've gone to Mt. Helix in July and known you still need a jacket.

You've tailgated at Qualcomm Stadium, and for bonus points, also tailgated when it was Jack Murphy Stadium

You've been to the Wild Animal Park but can't remember the last time you went to the Zoo.

You've ever been on a field trip to see an Imax movie at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center.

You still call it the Del Mar Fair.

You say "i'm going to the track" and people know what you mean.

You understand what May-Gray and June-Gloom is.

A famous skateboarder/surfer lives in your town.

There's a North County, a South County, and an East County but no Central County.

"Mossy Nissan! Mossy Nissan! Mossy Nissan Moves You!"

You know what it means when two guys are walking in Hillcrest.

You know what it means when a girl in a short skirt is walking on El Cajon Blvd.

You've gotten stuck in the Horton Plaza parking structure traffic after a Padres game.

You know what "The Merge" is, and will plan your entire day around not being on it during rush hour(s).

You've ever been to Belmont Park and rode the Big Dipper.

(For North County) You remember the days before the all the big movie theaters opened. And when they did. First the Edwards in San Marcos, then the Regal in Oceanside, then the Krikorian in Vista, and finally the Regal in Escondido.

You've ever taken the Coaster and laughed at people sitting in traffic on the 5.

You know the difference between Clairemont Mesa, Kearny Mesa, and Mira Mesa.

You can correctly pronounce Tierrasanta, La Jolla, Rancho Penasquitos, Cabrillo, Jamacha, San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, and El Cajon.

You've ever gone to Sea World on a warm day and sat in the first few rows at the Shamu Show to get cooled off.

You've ever been delayed at the Border Checkpoints on the 5 and the 15.

There are more bands than people.

Your house doesn't have air conditioning.

You know it's San Diegan, not San Diegoan, or San Diegoite.

Everyone has their favorite beach.

No matter what the weather is, there is always someone walking around in a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops.

You live on, near or are surrounded by hills.

You hate tourists and their bad driving. GET OFF THE ROAD NORTH DAKOTA, NOBODY WANTS YOU HERE. SERIOUSLY. GO HOME.

You have family and or friends that have moved to Arizona.

There are four distinct seasons: Nice, Nice, Nice, and A Little Chilly.

Your house is worth more than the GDP of some small countries.

You know what MB, OB, and PB stand for.

You used to, and sometimes still do ride the carousel at Seaport Village.

You know someone who doesn't own pants, and have a neighbor who doesn't seem to own a shirt.

Your high school had a surf team.

You know what Santa Ana's are, and that they have literally nothing to do with the city of Santa Ana.

You know what a California burrito is.

You never, under any circumstances call it anything other than "the Gaslamp."

You never, under any circumstances call it anything other than "L.A."

Julian Pies.

You're shocked when you find out people have never been to the beach, and even more shocked to find out some have never seen the Ocean.

In elementary school you were forced to do countless "duck and cover" earthquake drills.

Your childhood dream was to become a dolphin trainer at Sea World.

You know or have known countless guys under 5'9'' tall that own huge lifted trucks to account for their shortcomings.

You love driving on the 52, just for those crazy bumps that they always try (and fail) to smooth over.

You know someone who knows someone who knows Reggie Bush.

You remember where you were the day of the Santana High School Shootings.

When you were a kid you thought the Mormon Church was a castle, or Disneyland.

You know what this sign means:
http://www.trafficsignstore.com/W54.jpg

You still call it Christmas on the Prado

"Nobody beats, El Cajon Ford!"

You've never had a snow day, but you've had a week off for fires.

Every time there's a major snow storm in the Midwest or the Northeast, the next day's newspaper has a picture of children playing on the beach on the front page.

You remember going to the WB store at UTC as a kid and playing in that tunnel thing they had.

Everytime you watch the weather you expect to hear "and here's the KUUUUUUUUUUUUUSI forecast" and/or "no flipping!" because of John Coleman.

You know the worst traffic in the world is Saturday morning-afternoon going south on the 5 and Sunday afternoon-evening going north on the 5.

You remember when 619 was the only area code in San Diego. And you get a little excited when you see Reggie Bush put 619 on his eye black.

You can surf and snowboard in the same day, but you've never felt like actually doing it.

You know the difference between UCSD and SDSU.

You know all the places where "Bring it On" and "Top Gun" were filmed.

Pretty much every area has a high school with "Rancho" in the name.

You've heard the phrase "Spring comes in Summer, Summer comes in Fall, Fall comes in Winter, and Winter not at all."

You've talked about going to Vegas when you turn 21 for like 5 years.

You've had Carne Asada Fries.

You've watched the Prep Pigskin Report, and most likely know someone on it.

You remember Premium 92/1, Q106.5, Star 100.7, and my 94.1.

You know that Cal Worthington will never die.

You went on a field trip to Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma.

You know what "The Turko Files" are, and are still a little afraid of his mustache.

You know what Lou's Records is, and that they have EVERYTHING.

Big night......

.....for a twin engine

First High School dance

WITH. A. GIRL!

Some Bocas for your boca and the unfortunate shoe incident

Here is a little taste of the tropics.....




As with any vacation I take there will always be a fabulous highlight or a embarassing/horiffic incident. This time it happened to land on horrifically embarrassing. Being on the island there is no such thing as sidewalks or concrete for that matter. Most of the terrain is sandy pathways. So when you enter ones home you automatically remove your shoes before stepping in the door to keep the sand and the chitras out of your house. So I pretty much went without shoes for most of the time I was there. Except for the day we ventured to Caranero where this video was taken. It was a pretty wild trek through a jungle and since it rains off and on there is mud and all sorts of stuff to step in. My flip flops sat out for a good 4 days on the porch of our B & B getting rained on and rinsed off until I slipped them on the morning we left. They were a little wet but we were in a hurry to get to the airport so it didn't bother me. We get to the airport check our bags and surfboards and sit in the terminal. As I sit there I smell this horrible smell. We switch seats thinking that we MUST be sitting next to a trash bin or something. The new seats have the same smell. I start sniffing my homeboy CERTIAN this it is him. I give him a good sniff down and he's clean. NO, this awful smell could NOT be coming from MY person, no way. I sniff my shirt, my pits, my hands, my knees. I pick up my flip flop and OH MY DOG IN HEAVEN . It was ME. My flip flops had formed a smell so vile it would knock a buzzard off a shit wagon. No lie. Our plane was leaving in a mere 15 minutes, my bags are checked with another pair of flips. I got to the bathroom and try to rinse them off. Well, as my luck would have it someone just flushed and in Panama you always wash your hands before you flush due to water pressure issues. So, no water. I had a half bottle of Purell that I dumped in my shoes and on my feet. Now I had swamp ass smelling shoes with a hint of Purell. Not good. There was nothing left to do but put the flip flops back on and hope for the best. We get on our puddle jumper back to Panama City. I sit down, slip off the shoes and put my backpack over them to try to bury the stink, but the flight attendant makes me stow my backpack in the overhead bin. Damn it. An older European man with a fanny pack and too tight pants and his stunningly gorgeous Panamanian trophy wife with a pair of fake boobies that her chin rests upon, sit right in front of me. Homeboy and I look at each other in horror and then laugh. Two minutes later I hear something in Spanish and recognize the words 'dead' and 'awful' and they made their way up the aircraft. A man came and sat in the seat later and either it didn't bother him or he was born without a sense of smell. It was another hour and a half before I could change my shoes and when I did I found the nearest trash bin and properly disposed of all the evidence of the most heinous smell I have ever smelled.

Sailing

Eating

Drinking

Gone Fishin'

TOOTLES!

(and I DON'T want to come back to news of a two day batch)

Twenty five

Just because..........

there hasn't been any pin up action in a while.
And I am gearing up for a trip to Central America, so why not a little Latina pin up?

In unrelated news.......
Gawd, I hope these rumors are true.

Realizations of being forty

• I went to Costco this morning with full blown bed head and I didn't care. Well, I cared but, I could care less that I didn't care. Just threw on a sweatshirt, some shorts and some flip flops and I was in the car and gone.

• I am a giant scaredy cat. My Homeboy is gone for a few weeks on a trip and being in this house alone gives me the creeps. My boys are no help either. The other night the wind decided to pick up and the tree was brushing up againts the window. I called a twin in to help me investigate (I was sure it was a potential axe murderer). He walked in heard the sound and walked right out. Thanks Big Guy. Obviously, it wasn't an axe murderer, just silly wind.

• Facebook really IS Mysp@ce for old people. But this old person diiiiiiigs it!

• I question my ability to have a young baby. I have not been around babies in so long that I feel I might be out of my league. I mean I want a baby REALLY bad, I just am scared at the thought of not knowing what the hell I am doing. The boys were 2 1/2 when we adopted them and were already on sippy cups so they didn't need a bottle and I potty trained them about 6 weeks after coming home to us. I am worried I will be in over my head. Well, I guess I have a while to read up on Baby 101, right?

• Eye cream. Don't go to bed without it.

• I have the best group of girlfriends a person could ever have. Really, I am one lucky girl.

• I will wear my retainers every night to the grave.

• I would like to raise my next child like he did. Check out the trailer for this documentary of Doc P@scowitz and his family of nine children. I would not be as extreme (he was really extreme) but I can identify with his philosophy so much when raising children. The older I get the more I think I could actually homeschool my child. Not that I am going to do it.......but, sailing around the world with our kids would be an amazing childhood experience.

• Girlfriends are entering the picture and I am so not ready for this.

• If I didn't have kids in the house I am pretty sure I wouldn't ever turn on the television. I love quiet. I could just be happy with just my ipod or XM R@dio.

• I never thought I would wish for a roof full of solar panels

Well, this solves THAT....and some help.

I received this as a birthday gag gift. Whats the gag?? I dig this thing! The dog's don't much care for it but, it saves me the anguish of accidentally cutting their nails too short and causing doggie owies.

So, on to a pressing question. My cell phone contract is up in a few weeks and I need a new phone. I have been toying with getting an iphone . My current provider, who prides themselves on being "America's most reliable network". Just doesn't deliver. My cell phone serves as our landline (I have all calls forwarded from our home # to my cell. Blame the Houdini dog), and 9 times out of 10 at home my calls are dropped, sound like I am talking under water or I can hear feedback from myself talking to another. So back to the iphone. I really want one. Do any of you have one? Do you love it? Like it? Hate it? Does the service provider kick ass or suck ass?

School me.

La fiesta de cuarenta

25 + years strong

The Luge

Luge demonstration

We got my mom in on the action

Having fun

Yikes, WHERE was my wine glass?!

Glowing

How nice of the Charger's to have a playoff game (they won)

Blinky LED lights from the luge make great nose plugs

Yeah, you can see where the night is heading.....

You don't even want to know