Oct 2011

 Jady's birthday present to his dad!  :D

Raspberry chocolate cake I made for Johnny's birthday!

 Yet, another power outage after an unexpected snow storm.  Evan was determined to carve his pumkin in the dark.

What Have We Been Doing- Sept 2011?

Jeannie's friends and her homecoming pictures.

Sept :

Kids are back to school and the soccer season starts for both Jeannie and Evan.  Thank goodness we only have two playing this season, but I often wonder how in the world people have time running their kids around with games and activities.  I am happy that they both are done by last week, just can't wait to do something fun with the kids before the winter!

Johnny and I also tried to help with Jeannie's college application.  It's been a pain since she doesn't like the way we corrected her essays.  I finally realized that I am the least likable person to work with after many, many argument with my teenager, and I passed the ball the her dad.  It's not the most pleasant experience we had, but I am glad that it's over!  She finally submitted everything last Sunday and got the acceptance letter through email from BYU-Idaho yesterday! Yeah!!!  Something I did not realize until last night was that my motives and stress over her application actually stem from the fear of my child not being accepted by any church college, and how much I don't want her attending the local ones.  It was such a relief as I heard the good news.  Now, we are waiting to hear from BYU-Hawaii and BYU-Provo!

Hurricane, Tornado and Power Outage!

It's been an interesting week with earthquake, tornado, hurricane and two days of power outage.  My heart is full of gratitude of no trees fell on my property and no flooding in the basement.  The church has taught us to be prepared at all times and we were definitely put into a test this past week.  We were glad that we adhered to the guidance by our beloved prophet.  At a conference talk by President Hinckley in 2005 titled, "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear!"  He said, " we have built grain storage and storehouses and stocked them with the necessities of life in the event of a disaster.  But the best storehouse is the family storeroom.... our people for three-quarters of a century have been counseled and encouraged to make such preparation as will assure survival should a calamity come." 

http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,49-1-559-20,00.html

We felt calm when the hurricane hit, and we slept through the night when there was a tornado (we didn't even know there was a tornado warning until the next day).  Though we lost power for two days, but we had a good time without all the electronics.  The good thing about this is that I was "forced" to go to bed early (because of no power), woke up before noon and felt refreshed the next day.  It just feels great!

A Tornado Watch is in effect for Philadelphia, the surrounding suburbs, the Lehigh Valley and Central and North Jersey until 8 p.m. And a Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect until 10 p.m. in Delaware and South Jersey.

The extreme heat played a role in the Watches as temps reach 96 in Philly with a heat index of 101.

There were reports of large hail falling mid afternoon in Allentown, Bethlehem and Upper Makefield Bucks County.

Storms started developing across the northern suburbs around 3 p.m. and slowly moved south over the next few hours.

There could be the potential for these storms to become severe and rotate. Gusty winds and possibly an isolated tornado are possible as the storms move through parts of the area Wednesday afternoon.

If a Severe Thunderstorm or Tornado Warning is issued for your area seek shelter immediately. Do not go outside to look for the storm. Stay away from windows and go to the interior of your home on the lowest level.

Earthquake Experience

We had encountered our first earthquake experience yesterday.  It started around 2:00pm and lasted about 30 seconds.  I was in the kitchen making some pesto sauce when the house started shaking.  My first thought was the kids jumping upstairs, but when I found out it wasn't them; then came my second thought.  It was either the train or the geothermo.  When all signs/reasons were ruled out, I went upstairs and tried to grabbed the kids to the basement and hide.  But then, everything stopped!  I called Johnny right away since he had a meeting  in NJ.  However, the phone line did not get through for quite some time.  So, I started emailing him.  Thank goodness, he returned my email at 2:19pm and he was all good!  He was actually giving a presentation to the clients when it happened!  :)

**************

good!!!  now.... come home in one piece ok!!!!  the line still can't get through to you... 

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: J

To: p

Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2011 2:19 PM

Subject: Re: are you ok?

I'm good

Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2011 01:07 PM
To: 'J
Subject: are you ok?  

hun,

 

we just had an earthquake experience at the house for about 30 seconds to 1 min.  i've been trying to call you but both your blackberry and cell numbers are not working.... call me when you get my message!

 

love ya and drive home safely, ok!

**********

This was quite an experience for us.  As I looked back, nothing wasn't important except my family .  The weather has been a little unexpected lately with thunderstorms and rain.  We don't know enough about the mother nature, but being prepared... having food and water storage can ease some of the worries!

Busy Doing Nothing...

Monday: Called and scheduled a bunch appointments: Jeannie's well check, pest control, bank, and state inspection and oil change for my car.  

Tues: Went to the open house at Templxx U. with Jeannie.  It was a little rainny and my kid was grumpy.  bad combination.... She has no interest of attending that school but we wanted her to have an experience of what's like to be studying at a traditional U. rather than a church college.  For a while I was upset because of her attitude and I walked alone until she caught up with me.  At least, she told me now that she had the confirmation that BYX is her first priority!  Yeah!  The same evening, Johnny and I went with the missionaries for a discussion.  The investigator was a very nice lady and she showed up to church today!  That makes me feel good!

Wed: Took the car to the shop for an inspection.  The guy said the front brake pads were really worn out.   I am glad to have them fixed since Jeannie is practicing driving, and I don't want any accident happened to her.  Then went to pick up Jeannie and the Gillaxxx girls from the movie theater.  We then drove to the park right where Johnny and Evan were fishing.  We picnic and had a great time.  

Thursday: Nothing much on Thurs. 

Fri: Had the Gomez family over for lunch.  We were glad to see their family, but sad to see what they are going through.  The husband lost his job a week after they moved to VA.  I couldn't believe what I heard when she told me.  Fortunately, they are faithful and positive about the situation.  Sometimes I wondered what I would do if I were in their position.  I hope that the Lord has a better plan for them. 

Sat: Went to the beach with the same families and a few others.  It was nice and sunny (probably the only day   without the thunderstorm!)  Came home and had a steak dinner which I marinated the night before. 

Another Busy Week...

Not much happened this week....

Jeannie: practiced some more driving and had driven twice from the church to home this week.  I am still a little nervous when she drive even though she is improving...  I guess it's a mom thing!

Johnny: went to NC for a client's meeting and he also took Evan fishing twice.  No fish (I am perfectly fine since it's not where they should be fishing!) but they had a lot of fun!

Me: Song practice and dinner with Mary and Liz...  did not play for them today since we only practiced the song once and I sub. playing for the sacrament for Sister Hansen on Sunday.

Fri: We went to the beach with the Gillaxxx, Rogexxx, and Smalxxxx, then Lansdale with Johnny for his badminton game and groceries.  It was such a nice day to be at the beach and it's always good to hang out with friends.  Jady would love to go back and we will see how it goes this Sat!

Sent a meal to Michelle G. after her surgery.  I am glad that she is recovering well.  The same night, we had the Muldowxx, Veaxx, and Josepxxx for an ice-cream social.  The kids played really well and the adults had a great time.

Interesting week on the market.... 400-500 swing everyday!

Aug 1 - Aug 6

Relaxing week....

The kids are done with their camps and we had enjoyed their moments at home.  Jeannie had finished her 3 days peer mediation training and is gradually recovering from her sickness (induced by all the sleepless nights while at camps and youth conference).  Took Jeannie out to practice her driving three times this week and I was terrified!  My heart raced as she stopped too close to the car in front, and when she went around cars and people without checking into the cars from the opposite direction.... I thought we were going to have a head collision.

Evan has been great camper this week.  He went swimming twice at our neighbors pool, went fishing with the scouts and did quite a bit of reading...  :)  It's about time to finish his summer reading before school starts!

Jady did not do much and she slept past 10:30am every day!  :D  She's been fun and was trying to help me take off the leaves from the rosemary plant.

I spent a lot of time making bags from my scrap fabric.... well I put mine favorite bag pack in bleach and that's  why I ended up making all sorts of bags.  Harvest all my basil and herbs and spent many, many hours processing and storing them for winter use.

Johnny's work is kind of slow for the summer and he had spent a lot of time with the kids... we went out to Minadxx last Friday afternoon and he and Evan went to play badminton afterwards.

Still have a list of things I would like to do before the summer is over:

1) Declutter..... go around the house and starts with a small area everyday!
2) Paint the trims and closet doors at the kids' bedrooms.... and of course the walls (might have to wait until school starts since the kids don't like me painting their rooms)
3) Call the dentist, Jeannie's Dr. visit, oil change appointment
4) Finish the painting projects for the small glasses
5) Process album books.... at least get done with the trip to Miami!
more.. more... more....projects....