feels like an old lady. She just called the cops to report the teenage neighbors. They had a doll tied to a string that they were hanging across the street in front of her apartment. Accident waiting to happen?

I have broken…I’ve made it almost two months…but I can no longer stand it. I am eating GS cookies. GARRR….

Just testing out this website that is supposed to update all of my other websites…

Small new obsession….

Okay so I’ve recently been looking more into digital scrap booking as an alternative to traditional hands on scrap booking.  I used to LOVE to scrap book, but unfortunately it became too expensive once I started a family and living on my own.  So for years I’ve accumulated pictures and ideas for pages and watched the scrap book world exploded with all sorts of new things that people are doing with them. 

Digital scrap booking has been around for awhile but I had not really picked up on it that quickly thinking I had to be some computer or graphics genius with a computer, or buy an expensive program that I could not afford.  Also the supplies you still need to buy, but at a more reasonable cost compared to real papers and embellishments.  Well in the past year I have been watching friends and other various people making scrapbook pages, scrap tags (mini pages that are often used on websites, blogs and sites like myspace) and other tags and graphics.  Talking to them they have started pointing me in the direction of how to acquire some of these things free and I am slowly been getting myself ready to jump in and do this.  Though I’ve been dipping my toes in now and then. 

So what have I found?  I found the program GIMP…you can read more about it and download it at gimp.org.  It is an open source free program that can do many of the same functions as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro.  Using this and a few other smaller free programs I have gotten with cameras or downloaded online I found I can do SOOO much that I didn’t think I could do! It’s actually kind of exciting.  I have been checking out and reading a bunch of books on web graphics, graphics, web design, photography and digital photography along with digital and standard scrap booking and feel that I am closer to being ready to jump in and stop dipping toes very soon!

The other thing I have been doing is finding freebies that other people make and give out to others to use for personal use.  You can find some of the places I enjoy by going to either my blogroll feeds at

http://www.bloglines.com/public/sarahlee13

or my links list at

http://del.icio.us/sarahlee13

and find some of the places I have been able to acquire free stuff.  With how much I have found and downloaded I have recently been able to be very picky about what I download and not.  Though at first I obsessively downloaded anything and everything free I came across I am now seeing I don’t have space to save everything I find so I have been going through and organizing and deleting what I honestly think I will never use, or at least not use in the foreseeable future.  There are lots of fabulous things out there for free!

So this has been my latest obsession.  I have been downloading and downloading and spending much more time than I should downloading things…instead of actually working with the pictures!!! Or doing much else online for that matter.  In the past week I have gotten my hair cut, and frankly I really do not like it though its growing on me.  And I have taken pictures to upload to myspace to show my friends what it looks like and keep forgetting, due to downloading more freebies and the time it takes to unzip all those files and organize them!!! I can spend hours on the computer doing that alone!

I had Saturday and Sunday off.  And what did I do both days?  Watched DVD’s and played on the computer…mostly downloading, unzipping and organizing! Uggg…Okay I really have to stop that! My data disk is FULL! Seriously its only like 28-29 GB but it is full of pictures, movies, and digi scrap booking stuff.  I am now looking into acquiring an external hard drive to start keeping a back up of everything on.  Not sure when I will get one, I’m researching them right now and trying to decide between ebay or another place.  If I want to keep taking pictures and movies of the kids…gotta get more space! Plus with two computers in the house I can swap it between the two computers, or take it on the go and use it on other peoples computers.  Like I often go use other peoples computers right? Haha.

Dunno what’s up with my pictures?

Okay so I’ve been looking over all the blogs I have between me and the kids and I noticed on some computers the pictures show up and on others they don’t?  Don’t know why not…I will be trouble shooting it and hopefully getting it fixed! Nothing like the big bummer of pictures not working! And it is both accounts my flickr and my picasa soooo its not a glitch in one of them. 

Not much here, just quiet in my house with Echo gone, and hubbies family gone.  Just me Hubby and Alex…and Blanca.  Quiet! And no Girl Scouts till September! Very quiet!!! haha.

So whats new?

Okay so we’ve had Alejandro’s grand kids come and visit so they have been with us since Saturday afternoon.  We really enjoy having them around they are such great girls and totally silly and giggly the way kids should be!  So yes…strangely this makes me a grandma, though we mostly joke about it and they just call me Sarah for now.  The older one Dulce is 9 and will be 10 in a couple of months, the younger one Abigail just turned 8 a few months ago.  They are in the 4th and 2nd grades coming up in the fall, so they both play and fit in well with Echo who will be 3rd grade in the fall! They all get along so well, and even with the little one Alex great! That’s usually where it goes downhill with Echo’s friends that can get a bit bratty…not wanting anything to do with him, and just mostly whining about getting him to go away and leave them alone when they are over playing.  Really those kids often do not come back! Haha…In my house you all get along or don’t come over! 

Now some of you might be wondering exactly how it is possible that they are our grand kids, when I myself am not old enough??? Well some of you might already know some of my hubby’s and mine history…and for those who don’t, he is about 16 years older then me.  Yes… but age doesn’t matter.  Responsibility, respect, love…and we just connect on levels I have never connected with any one my own age with! All that matters is we love each other! Sooo that being said he’s got daughters from his previous marriage, and well they have kids making him/us grandparents.  Most of them are back in Mexico so he hardly if almost never gets to see any of them.  One though does live here locally…she has the two older girls that come to visit, and she also has a three month old daughter as well.  We haven’t been able to talk her into letting the baby visit yet, though we get to see her every time we pick up and drop off or just visit her and the girls.  She is a cute little baby and very happy pudgy too!

We have been enjoying spending a lot of time with them.  They are slowly getting settled in, and now that they are more settled my kids are back as well! Echo and Alex have been away visiting with Grandma and Grandpa! So now the kids are all entertaining each other and allowing me time to go on-line, read, and many other things.  The first few days the girls were with us they wanted constant attention from me, we had fun watching scary movies together, painting our nails, playing dress up and just plain goofing off…but now that Echo and Alex are back…they are all doing that stuff together and leaving me out of it for the most part.  In some ways I’m relieved! haha…in others I enjoy playing with the kids and seeing the smiles on their faces and they do different things. 

Yesterday was the first full day back for E & A so since me and hubby had the day off and the weather has been quiet hot we decided to load up the van pick up some sandwiches and spend the day at the beach!  We drove up to Stintson Beach over on the way to San Fran and spent a beautiful day there! It is soo nice because there is always a breeze andno matter how hot everywhere else seems to be, it doesn’t ever seem to be TOO hot there??? Go figure that one.  It was one of many trips we have taken to the beach with E & A but this time around it was Dulce’s and Abigail’s first real time at an ocean beach that they got to go out and play in the water andget dirty in the sand and just have a good old time!  This was also Blanca’s second time, and boy did she love it.  We were at a dog beach so we could let her off the leash andshecould run around andplay with us and other dogs and people and just have a good old time too! 

Me and Echo are the types that like to get out into the water getting splashed by waves and even riding a bunch of them in on our stomachs.  Since the girls were new to this, and Alex is still little they all stayed close to shore only wading out not much more then ankle or almost knee high in the water.  After awhile Duclefinally ventured out a little further with Echo still a little skittish but having fun after she figured out that if she stayed within her comfort levels of how high the water is that it was tons of fun to ride in on your belly.  This time aroundIwasn’t riding the waves in like I usually do with the kids, but just wading out slightly further andstaying out behind the kids just in case…but enjoying the waves still.  

Blanca really loved running out and jumping into the waves as we would head out…and she would sometimes jump over them…or let them chase her back to shore…she really was like watching one of the kids play! She also loved it when we threw frisbees and balls for her, and meeting all the new dogs! Luckily she is a friendly dog and the only time there were problems it was because she was getting to friendly and starting to run her way back and forth the beach and getting to far away, you often heard us calling her back!  When she did this hubby would attach the leash and make her sit with him for a little while and then he would let her off to run again, so by the end of the day she pretty much figured if she wanted to run, keep close to us!

The only downside to the whole day is that I lost my glasses, my new glasses I just got a few months ago.  I am used to wearing glasses and playingout in the water, because even when I wear my contacts I always have sun glasses on out there in the water.  I was out behind the kids, in water up to about my waist having fun letting the waves break against my back.  The tide was starting to come in so the waves started getting stronger and hitting harder and quicker after each other then they were before…the water still was not deep, and Ididn’t go under, but… My glasses are the type that had the straighter arms, not the type with the real tight bend/curve around the ears and so when the water hit the back of me and splashed the back of my head it managed to knock my glasses right off.  The problem being since I need my glasses to see I couldn’t see where they had gone to in the water, and pretty much just waded back in giving them up for lost.  Hubby wouldn’t go back out and check, he figured by the time I got to him on the shore that they were probably already pulled out into the deeper waters, and Echo wanted to go check but with the tide coming up I didn’t want her out there as the waves were getting stronger and the water deeper. 

Oh well…guess its contact lenses for awhile.  Since I just got them my insurance will not buy another pair for two more years…and I had invested in them a little getting the tinting lenses, etc knowing I would have them for at least two years…so if I have to go pay for them out of pocket I’m afraid it might be $400-500 dollars!!! YIKES! I really liked that pair.  I keep getting people telling me to go get some at lens crafters or one of those stores where they are only like $50 for a pair frames and lenses included…but they will be horrible.  My lenses get so thick because of my poor eye site…you’ve heard the term coke bottle lenses right…well those are mine, unless I pay for a lighter and thinner lens material, which I usually do.  Plus the frames are usually plain, boring or hideous…I might as well just stick with contacts until I can afford to get a decent pair.  And I can probably save some money not getting the tinting…but I was really enjoying having that on there.  Its nice since you know its hard to wear sunglasses with glasses without looking totally nerdy. 

At least hubby got a good laugh out of the whole thing! He just laughed and laughed and did what he could to make me feel better and not cry over loosing them.  Its just hard because we just can not afford to buy a new pair right now.  I probably shouldn’t have spent so much on them in the first place, but like I said I splurged figuring it has been awhile since I’ve had nice glasses I liked and these would last at least two years.  It’s just frustrating!  He says we will save the money up quickly for a new pair, but I just don’t see how with all the bills to pay and just living life, we live pay day to pay day and have had NO luck in saving up any money up until this point, because whenever we have a little extra there is just something else that needs fixed or bought or whatever…you know how life is!

Oh well lets just enjoy this roller coaster! I will be uploading the pictures from the camera tonight and hopefully getting them posted on here in the next couple of days! Breaks over off to work!

If you made it this far and you see spelling errors or crazy things like no spaces between words that should, this darn blogging site usually works so well but for some reason it is glitching.  I don’t know if they have been updating it or what but my autosave keeps saving like every minute or two.  And when it does that it keeps deleting spaces that should be there, adding spaces that shouldn’t and deleting certian words.  And when I spell check the thing its saying words like and and with are half spelled wrong like there is a space in the middle of the words when there isn’t! Strange crazy thing…oh well it usually works great!

Our little family Garden…

Okay so I can’t grow a big garden like I want since I live in a smaller apartment. So what we did was buy a bunch of pots and planters and got to work. I potted all of these in mid-May, the day after Echo’s birthday.

Look at how much the seeds have grown!!! Everything was potted as seeds, except a couple of Echo’s seeds in Girl Scouts, before the meeting I had germinated a couple of the seeds so they were slightly sprouted before we planted in the tan colored smaller pot. Though they were tiny, and the germination started out with seeds too! Just didn’t start growing in dirt!

So we are excited to watch them grow and see our doorway become beautiful and full of color!!! So here is a slide show of some pictures of them. I thought I would try a slide show instead of putting each picture up…we will see how it goes! Sooo here….

So what else is new with us? The kids are away visiting Grandma and Grandpa. It’s a quiet week. I’m playing with my Gimp program and learning how to better use it. The grandkids (hubbies) will probably come over Friday evening and stay as long as mom will let them. Should be fun! Hubby is talking about a trip to the beach soon, we will have to see if we can line up days off together to go. Its a great family day trip, and I think he wants to take the girls as well. In the mean time work work work…haha

So there are a few more pictures to scroll down through…

Enjoy! They are so green!

 

And if for some reason those pix don’t work…they work on my home computers, but not at work…maybe cus works still on IE6?  Anyhow you can link to them here: http://picasaweb.google.com/imsarahlee/FamilyGarden

Tye Dye with the Girl Scouts…

So at yesterdays meeting we tye dyed tshirts.  I know we had a lot of fun at this meeting.  We had one white tshirt for each girl to tye dye and 5 different colors, which some of them went for all five and others for other combos.  We also had one pink shirt for each girl to put their hand in fabric paint and stamp their hand prints all over the front of it.  I think so far the hand print ones have turned out just so cute! I will have to take some pictures when they are all done and post! The tye dye ones are going through a rinse and dry cycle today to set them, and then tomorrow I will write our troop number on the front of all of them, and all of the pink shirts as well.  Then I will was them all one more time each before sending them home at next Fridays meeting with the girls.  This was a fantastic project, and due to my thrifty shopping with sales and all we got all the goods for a resonable price! And selling the cookies this spring really helped us to buy these supplies! I don’t think people realize how much it takes to do all of these activities, they have their girls join GS because it is known as one of the *cheaper activities* girls can do, but still it cost the troop! Thank gawsh darn for cookie sales! It doesn’t seem like much, but then when all the girls sell just a bit it does add up for the entire troop!

We have been having a pretty good week here, I was a little sick this week, but okay now.  Alejandro’s new glasses have come in, but not mine probably next week.  I will be calling and throwing a fit on Monday because they said 7-10 days and today is the 10th day!  Maybe they called today and I just haven’t gotten the message yet???

Alex finally got his first sissor cut the other day.  He’s been doing really good, but got careless and snipped the finger pad on one of the fingers.  Great learning lesson for him! He’s also been working on trying to write his ABC’s, he’s mastered a couple…X seems to be a real big winner with him! So we bought him this really kewl notebook from Walmart.  It has the great big learning lines that schools use with the younger kids, but what makes this one so darned kewl is the fact that it has indintations for each letter the first half of the notebook pages in upper case and the last half in lower case.  It doesn’t have the letters directly on the page, but just the indintations with arrows showing them which way to go.  Really neat, and its helping him a lot I think.  I will have to scan some pages and put them up on his blog! He’s so darn cute and tries sooo hard to do everything everyone else does!

Echo’s doing good, her school is doing STAR testing this week and next, so she is excited for no homework but reading! Which for her really isn’t homework! She’s also gotten a new friend.  The apartment building next to ours had a new family move in with children, one of them a girl her age and in her grade.  The girl is in a different class at school, but the girls have started asking to go back and forth to each others apartmetns and outback to play.  My heart was out running around the other day because the girls mother said it would be fine …

Neglect

So I really truely have been neglecting this blog.  I vow to myself to work harder at keeping up on here as well, there is no point giving it out to people if I am not going to keep it current right? 

We’ve been very busy…Echo’s birthday, work, life, and some personal family situations on hubbys side of things.  We did have a very enjoyable visit with his grandkids last weekend.  They came to visit for the weekend of Echo’s birthday party. 

I hope that they can continue to come and visit and get to know our kids better.  They got along very well with both kids, and me! They are truely sweet girls and they were a joy to have over visiting. 

Echo’s birthday went over pretty well, chaos but well.  Everyone enjoyed it, even if I didn’t and thought it was a bomb! haha I think the biggest problem was the heat, when we sent out the invites and made the plans it WAS NOT HOT!!! Then suddenly in the week before…BAM super hot! Since I feel negativily I will let Echo talk about it on her blog, because she thought it was wonderful and thats all that truely matters!

New glasses for me!

So I had an eye doctors appointment on Wednesday.  It was a busy day for us all.  We all had to start the day by toting Blanca off to her appointment to get fixed.  Dropped her off at 7am, and had to go back to get her around 5:00pm.  Then Echo’s eye doctor appointment.  Perfect vision for her age the doctor said.  Kewl!  Then we took her to school and had some down time until I had to be at my appointment at 1:00pm, which I walked to because Echo would be getting out of school soon hubby stayed home to get her and then they came and picked me up.  No way I woulda made it home after having my eyes dialated! Severe headache the rest of the day! Anyhoo…here are the glasses I picked out.  I will get them in the next couple of weeks. 

Cute huh, and totally me! Those little white looking dots are little tiny fake bling blings (jewels).  Too freaking totally exspensive though! Insurance paid for the exams, and frames.  Between co-pays and lenses…shhhhsshh…darned expensive! Though I did splurge and get the transition lenses that will make them sunglasses in bright light.  After years of medi-cal and having the most basic of frame choices and no choices on the lenses…it was kinda nice to splurge and get the transistion.  Hopefully they will be just as nice to wear.  I also got a prescription for more contacts, so eventually in a couple months I will get some of those too, I just want to wait after how much the glasses cost!!!

Alejandro had an appointment the next morning, and it was kinda nice in an evil sort of way to see them dialate his eyes as well.  He kept mocking me and my cave dwelling the afternoon before.  I hid in the bedroom all afternoon until my eyes went back to normal and he just thought I was being silly.  Then they did his, and he saw whyyyyyyyyyyy I acted like a vampire all afternoon!!! Wahaha!!! Okay so yeah maybe I’m mean…but he really didn’t *get it* because he has never had a full eye exam before as he has never needed it.  Old age kicking in and the need for glasses in the dark and when tired…so this will be interesting.  I think we picked out a nice pair for him as well.  He chose a metal frame though.  Weird…I will have to get used to seeing him with glasses, he is supposed to use them for watching tv, drivng at night, etc.  Just when he needs them.