No job.

I didn't get the job at BCE. I'm very disappointed and sad but I did expect this -- I knew when I didn't hear anything by Friday that I hadn't gotten it. I am sure they hired a better teacher and the school will benefit from this but still . . . I'm very disappointed.

And, now I have so much work to do. I have to find someone to student teach with for the Fall and see if I can get the Math Coordinaton/Homework Club Coordinator position at BCE.

I just really hoped that I would get it -- that my hard work and dedication would count for more than they evidently did.

My Sister ROCKS!

jody_results
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

My Sister, Jody Sumrall, ran a MARATHON on her 41st birthday! How much does she rock?

She rockety-rock-rocks!

So proud!

Today, the kids and I rode BART from Millbrae to Fremont. We walked about 2 miles back and forth around the race finish area. We went up to Jody and Matt's room on the 17th floor of the Hyatt. We saw George and Gracie [click] from their balcony. Such an amazing day!

Adventures in SF

Today, the kids and I are off to San Francisco to support my sister as she runs the SF Marathon on her birthday -- she's turning 41 today!

Well, support AS she runs is a misnomer. She's already running and I'm only supporting by watching the results online ([click] -- her bib number is 3461 her name is Jody Sumrall -- only seems to work on PCs running IE). She started at 6:13 this morning and I don't expect the first result to appear (mile 7.4) for another 35 minutes.

We're leaving here at 8am. Greg will drive us to the BART station in Millbrae and drop us off. Then he's going over to hang out during recording and the kids and I will hop on BART and head off to SF. We'll get off at the Embarcadero station and head down to Justin Herman Plaza were all the action is. We should be there a good 1/2 hour before she could possibly finish.

We're meeting her husband, Matt, and my parents there. I can't wait. I wish I were more organized and had signs and banners and the like. The best I can do is make sure I've got the camera all ready and that we're wearing layers!

So, send good, healthy, running well marathon thoughts out SF way for my sister. I'm so proud of her!!!
(She won't thank me for posting this picture but I can't find the one of her finishing the 1/2 Marathon in October sooooooo . . . )

Finally enough PINK!

Finally enough PINK!
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

Between Flickr, Google, and Firefox, I finally have enough pink on my computer. Aren't you pink with jealousy?

Finally Fog Fib

Boulder Creek Today
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

Cool

Fog
Blissful
Calms the day
Soothes the soul and mind
Eases the heat when I get too hot

© 2006, Liza Lee Miller.
All Rights Reserved.

Progress

Sometimes it helps to see where I've been to apprecitaed the work I've already done and to help me focus on where I need to go.

Summer is finally here!

Budding Naturalist
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

Now that I'm finished teaching Summer School and we are getting back to normal around here, I feel like Summer has finally started.

Here is Ruthie drawing the scene out the window. She and I filled the feeders this morning. I put a small bowl of nuts and seeds on the table on the deck for the Steller's Jays -- took them about 2 minutes to check it out. Rosie is sleeping in the sun under the table, oblivious to the Jays. They are completely unconcerned with her. My budding naturalist is drawing up the scene. Beautiful.

In another part of the house, the Lego Master-in-Training is working on some new space ships that are undoubtedly designed for fighting bad guys! Cool ships, Dude!


Greg is packing up his drums. He's recording with Metaphor [click] this weekend. We'll miss him but he's going to have so much fun!


I've researched an option to my normal suet recipe which does NOT work in the summer -- too drippy when its hot. I think Julie Zickefoose's Suet Dough will be just the thing! [click]

Morning Walk

Walk: 1.7 miles; 45 minutes

Location: East Hilton Drive Walk
Observation date: 7/28/06
Notes: Beautiful morning. The wren was scolding me for walking so close to her area. Beautiful start to the day. I heard the owl but reading the descriptions, it could only be a GHO -- the deep thrumming whoooos were amazing. And, I heard a response from much farther away.
Number of species: 8

Great Horned Owl - Bubo virginianus X [click] (Listen to the recording of the Pair Calling on this page -- it could be the owls I heard! Wonderful!)
Acorn Woodpecker - Melanerpes formicivorus X
Western Scrub-Jay - Aphelocoma californica 1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee - Poecile rufescens X
Winter Wren - Troglodytes troglodytes 1
American Robin - Turdus migratorius 1
California Towhee - Pipilo crissalis 4
Dark-eyed Junco - Junco hyemalis 10

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2 (http://www.ebird.org)

I love being productive . . .

Which makes me wonder WHY I am so willing to procrastinate. Today, I decided that my house was done being a pig sty. (See photo in previous post of the entry to my house -- it's so huge that we call it the lobby -- and you'll see what I mean.) So, the kids and I started working.

The kids cleared out all their toys and shoes (that took care of a huge percentage of the crap that was accumulating!)

I emptied and dealt with all the bags that have accumulated from all our various trips and events. I put away all the luggage that had accumulated in the "lobby" as well.

Gage and I filled four plastic grocery store bags of paper trash that was in varous places around the house.

Ruthie cleaned up the kids' video area which, thankfully, wasn't that bad.

I cleared off the dining room table which we hadn't seen the surface of since before school let out (judging by the geologic evidence).

I am now going to go fold and hang up three baskets of laundry and the load currently in the dryer. Oh joy.

Tomorrow . . . my office/laundry/craft room and the kitchen. Wow. What a job!

What is amazing to me is how much I can get done when the temperatures don't hit 90+ degrees! I don't like the heat -- at all!

Off to Camp Gramma

Off to Camp Gramma
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

Off for a day with Gramma, Grampa, and cousin Jordan. They've got everything they need. Including Gage's super special super soaker. He loves that thing! Ruthie looks utterly adorable in that outfit. The shorts are JUST too big for her and she looks so skinny and cute when she wears them.

As you can see my house desperately needs cleaning. I'm sorry to say that it still looks like that but I did get one whole assignment turned in for my Credential Program (4 more to go by August 18!).

Major family drama this afternoon with my parents and sister but when I look at these two, I know it's just more important to focus on them and not let the stress get me down. So, that's what I'm doing.

ToonTown Blog

I finally started a blog just for my adventures on ToonTown [click]. Silly, I know but a passion is a passion. Our house loves ToonTown -- it's safe, fun, and vastly entertaining. Good, clean fun!

Conversation in my house this morning

As I sat quietly at my computer, sipping my first mocha, my darling (ha!) husband says to me, "Gonna take your walk this morning?"

I replied, as any intelligent woman would, "Garble, gurgle, gargle."

"Nice and cool out," says he.

"You are mean!" says me.

"I think Taura took her walk this morning."

"Are you trying to get my competitive streak going?"

"Whatever works."

Minutes of silence pass. I have clearly won this round and can continue to pretend that exercise is just a dirty word that needn't apply to me.

"Ooooo, look. There goes Mrs. Jackson taking her walk."

"I might walk in there and hurt you."

Peals of laughter from the peanut gallery who are currently watching SpongeBob. I choose to believe the laughter was due to my wit and in solidarity with my decision to start walking NEXT week. I'm sure they weren't laughing at a SpongeBob episode that they have seen 300 times prior.

Hmmm, Cheerios for breakfast. On it.

An amazingly fun day!

First things first, the interview went as well as can be expected. Any interview that starts with a hug can't be all bad, right? They had a set of questions that they were asking everyone. I got the feeling that they were interviewing more than the 3 candidates I thought. Not great but what are you going to do? I answered all the questions and I think I answered them well. We'll see. It's out of my hands now and they said it would be about a week for an answer. I'm remarkably calm tonight now that my part in it is over.

So, the rest of the day. I headed over to Great America to meet my family. Greg and the kids had left around 10am to get to our spot at Boomerang Bay. We rented a Cabana for the day and it was AWESOME. Closed on three sides, with a ceiling fan above (and a ceiling! :), two lounge chairs, a table with four other chairs. They had a bucket with 3 bottles of water and two Dasani (sponsor) towels. We could order food and they'd bring it to us. So nice! I went and changed into my suit and we kicked back all day. We did the water slides, wading pool, rafted on the creek, ate, drank, and even napped! Just what we needed. It was 105 again today but we were totally comfortable.

The kids were exhausted when we left at 6pm. We stopped at El Torrito's and had dinner. They could barely eat. I was really tired too and missed the turnoff from 101 to 880. I was MILES out of our way before I realized it. doi. Greg stayed to pay the bill at the restaurant and still beat us home.

It's hot here but doable. We're happy and feeling hopeful about life. A good day. Just wish I'd remembered the camera!

Stress and heat . . . a beautiful combo

Yesterday, it was 108 degrees at my house. Absolutely miserable. Our house was 92 degrees. Utterly horrific.

This morning, when Greg got up, it was 72 in the house and 69 outside. He got every fan going and put them in front of doors and cooled us down to 70 degrees inside. So, thankfully, we're more comfortable NOW. But, I watched the weather last night and it said that we'd have heat until like Wednesday and then it would cool down to about 97 degrees. Isn't that delightful?

So, tomorrow is my job interview and we're going to Great America to hang out at Boomerang Bay and relax. That part will be totally fun and I'm thrilled about the heat for that thing. But, the job interview.

I'm just so stressed about it. Keep the positive thoughts coming, please.

Liza's yarns

Liza's yarns
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

Here is my Crafty Chix project for the day. Gorgeous, huh? I just love it. We dyed wool with kool-aid. So cool.

Very pleased with the results. I didn't get a picture of Jennifer's -- she was able to do a multi-color yarn which is lovely. Jody did all Black Cherry and it turned out gorgeous. Jerryne made felt coasters and said she felt like her grandmother! :)

Anyway, it was a successful day despite the heat! Crazy hot. Outside my house, it's 108 right now and could get hotter. The temp in Scotts Valley (where we were) was 117 degrees while I was waiting in line at KFC. It got down to 104 when we were on the road. Blech! Disgusting heat!

Found Beauty and Made Beauty

beautifulmoth.jpg
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

I seem to be having trouble taking pictures that aren't all blurry but still this is a gorgeous moth. That pale lime green color. Wow!

Off to Crafty Chix [click] today. We're dying wool with Kool-Aid today. Should be a blast. I also want to dye some other kinds of wool (like old sweaters that I can felt and make things out of ) but I haven't hit the thrift store. It took too long to run my errands and so I was too tired to do it yesterday. That and too hot. It was 103 at my house yesterday.

Celebrating my sister, Jody's birthday [click] today at Crafty Chix. I think it hurt her feelings that Mom wasn't there. Ruthie and I picked out some lovely beads for her and I got her a funny card.

Next weekend the girl runs a marathon [click] for the first time ever! She's amazing!

Hopefully I'll have some wooly photos later to share -- our made beauty. Crafty Chix is SUCH fun.

I'm FREE!

YIPPEE! Summer school is OVER! Pardon my extreme use of ! and CAPITAL LETTERS but, yes, I am just that excited!

Last night, as if to celebrate my freedom, we went to a baseball game. This is a weird thing for us as we are NOT baseball fans. In fact, we find the sport to be dull in the extreme. But ATT Park (Formerly SBC Park, formerly PacBell Park) in San Francisco is a blast. A company that Greg does a lot of work for arranges this event every year. They do a big bbq at the project and then we all head up to the city and watch the ballgame. It's fun. Kids everywhere. Good times. And, the Giants did great last night with 3 homeruns during the game. Greg got the kids Giant caps and it was all wonderful. Our poor children know NOTHING about baseball. They'd keep looking at the batter and saying, "Oh, he's in black so we're not cheering for him, right?" :) Too cute! Of course, I forgot the camera though so no pics. And, no, never even occurred to me that I had Greg's phone with a CAMERA built-in to it. Sigh.

So, anyway, I'm free.

Free to totally obsess about Monday's job interview.


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

The Blank Canvas

The Blank Canvas
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

Well, Robert the Rototiller Guy (see below) came out today. He did the entire backyard area for $40. I couldn't believe it. We were sure he'd up the price but he didn't. Fascinating guy. He arrived in an old Datsun truck that really made me wonder how long it would be in my driveway and what Robert was going to do about it if it wouldn't start again! Thankfully, that didn't happen. Anyway, he has a HUGE rototiller (see below) and made short work of the job. I'm amazed! He also scored an old Datsun bumper and taillight assembly off my neighbor! Win/win.

Now that I can see that gorgeous soil all ready to go, I'm ITCHING to get in there and plant, plant, plant. Unfortunately, the hardscape still needs some work. Sigh! Next step to cover all the soil so that the weeds don't start up again. Then we rent a trencher and make it so that the water moves away from our house in the winter. Then, paths. Lots and lots of paths. Then, lawn, beds, and decorative pieces. A fence of some sort for my rose garden. An arched arbor for the rose garden. A huge urn for Greg's new pomegranete tree. What else. Lots of wine barrels that I suppose I'll be staining red given the success of the red deck. You see, we have a circle theme going in the yard. Can't wait to see it take shape! Stay tuned!
Sorry for the blurry shot! He wouldn't stop moving and I was inside and couldn't use the flash! :)

Oh and please check out the new "i and the bird" [click]

Gander and the Coon

Gander and the Coon
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

While I was bleerily making my coffee this morning, Gander got himself all excited. He was up on the dog run looking out at the creek as if someone was out there. Took me awhile but I did figure out who "someone" was. Can you see "someone" visiting Gander?

Here's the sweet thing. Gander is totally entranced and mesmerized by his visitor but he kept checking the house to see if I was there. Once he saw me, he got all protective and barked in this very deep, throaty bark. My Protector -- he is saving me from the stupid baby raccoon.

And, Rosie, old girl that she is, slept through the whole thing.

Deck with both stains on it

Deck with both stains on it
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

It's a wretched picture but you get the idea. This is what I did after school yesterday. The gray, I did on Sunday afternoon. The red today. Pretty neat, huh? Our backyard is going to have a circle theme going on. Sort of an homage to the redwood circles we have going on and also due to the inspiration of this show [click]. Greg - the architect - did the design and I can't wait to see if finally implimented. Today, Robert the Rototiller Guy is coming to rototill the backyard. Hot damn! Now we're getting somewhere!