A crowded cheering section

Whoo! I was lucky to get a good seat tonight to cheer on the Conejo Crushers in their softball game. As you can see, the fans really press in...doing the wave is naturally lots of fun.

I didn't set out with the intention of being a one-woman cheering section, but the absence of other rooters, the cold temperatures setting in (45 is chilly enough to call it cold in my book!) and a close game, it naturally evolved. I am sorry to report that even though the Crushers had a great rally in the 5th inning, time ran out and they lost, this cheerleader thinks that they were robbed!

Not to worry, though. The Crushers are a hearty bunch who focus on having fun. They don't need a win to prove that they are good or having a good time, they've got each other AND their very own cheering section to remind them of what a cool team they are!

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It takes me away...

The Christopher Cross song that automatically pops into my head when I look at this image aside, seeing sailboats on a clear day is pretty soothing. BEING amongst the sailboats and on the water is even better, which is where I spent my day on Saturday...as evidenced by the live action shot above.

Mark (known as Mr. Eddy Faddah, but he will only allow me to call him that - special privileges!) Is quite the philanthropist and attends a slew of charity events every year, often purchasing cool trips and events through different silent or live auctions. It's fun to go on the outings AND all of the proceeds of the sale benefit 'the childen' (there is an intentional omission of the R in children...we entertain ourselves saying it like that, it is interchangeable with the equally amusing 'yoot' versus youth). I have digressed, as usual.

Yesterday's trip was a 4-hour cruise on a private boat through the San Diego waterways. Mark, Eric, Karen and I were the fortunate recipients of the honor and we lived the life of the Rich & Famous (or so we liked to pretend). Mark cracked out a 1999 bottle of Dom Perignon and then an outstanding signature bottle of White Cottage...I think that it was a cabaret...that was tasty too!

We returned to the dock a complete pile of putty...VERY relaxed...and rolled ourselves over to a great pizza place for an outstanding meal and another bottle of red wine...I think that I had my dose of antioxidants over the course of the day!

Thanks to Mr. Eddy Faddah AND to Mother Nature for providing all of the ingredients for a fantastic day. Here's to our next outing to benefit ourselves and the childen!!

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This is my ONLY complaint about So Cal

I had to drive in and out of LA today...I started dreading it at about 5 pm yesterday. Going there wasn't too bad and while I had to navigate the infamous 101-405 interchange, I moved through virtually unscathed and only took 45 minutes to cover the 41 miles. I had built a lot of cushion time into my commute, so I even had an opportunity to read my book while hanging out at a local Starbucks. That in itself was a relaxing 45 minutes or so until I realized after driving about a mile away that I had left my wallet sitting in the overstuffed chair that I had planted myself in!

By some great grace, I made it back in record time and the wallet was still sitting there, looking rather lonely...whew! That would have been no one's fault but my own had I left it there and it would have been a mighty stupid way to lose my license, credit cards, cash and the like.

With the wallet drama behind me and still right on time, I went to my appointment. I wrapped up at about 3:15 and hit the road back home. I foolishly tried to convince myself that it wouldn't be too bad since it was still just a bit after 3. Ah, the tricks we try to play on ourselves! Naturally, the roads were packed because it is Friday and if one doesn't clear the freeway by about 2pm, you can add an easy hour if you are going in any direction for 15 miles or more. As big a fan as I am of the whole Southern California lifestyle, this is my only complaint...traffic is miserable and the public transportation options are limited!

I did make it home after a grueling and painful 2 hours - there was definitely nothing done to help ease congestion or pollution issues in my activities of today...anyone know of any great alternate modes of transportation to take into the City of Angels???? I can think of thousands of other people that I sat on the roads with this afternoon that would support such a venture too!

Space Mountain ROCKS!!

Although it is a 'picture of a picture', it is pretty clear that the group above (including yours truly) is having a heck of a good time. Enter a new addition to the unemployment club...Hooky Thursday!

Jonathan, Eric and I have been talking about going to Disneyland since they both decided to move back to California...yesterday seemed to be the right day to do it. Holly had the day off from school and then Briana wanted to go to, so after her first 4 classes of the day (the more academic ones versus PE, lunch, etc.) we pulled her out of school and headed for Anaheim.

Here comes the 'Hooky' part. Meeting us at the Mouse were Gabe, Elizabeth, Craig, Bettina, David and Rachel plus Rachel's friend Brittany...all admitted 'Hooky Thursday' participants! We did not all move en-masse through the park, but did take an opportunity to meet up in front of Pirates and have a random stranger snap a group photo...I will post some of the most entertaining versions when I am back at the computer and can upload.

Besides starting a new activity day, we had another milestone...Briana's first ride on Space Mountain. She was a bit unwilling at first, but we really gave her little choice. There was much angst going through the line and even getting on the ride, but once it was over the verdict was, 'that was pretty fun'.

Try SUPER fun - we ended up riding it 3 times! We got expert enough to know when the photo was coming and pose for it!!! Everyone needs a fun Hooky Thursday every now and again!

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Schnoogie's got some WHEELS

Well, it was bound to happen. Holly has hit a significant point in her illustrious youth - she now has her own car. No more asking to borrow the Lexus or Little Toyota. Nope. As of tonight she now has her own car to care for...and it is the 'newest' in terms of model year too! She has a 2004. David's work truck is a 2003, my car is a 2001, and the Little truck is a '97!

I must admit that this snuck up on me somewhat. David had scouted this particular make and model after doing some investigating with Holly, and then the great waiting game began. This is intended to be an 18th birthday gift (which is just 8 weeks away). If given the chance, I might have brought it home and held it or surprised her a bit, but David was all business on this venture and so it has been gifted early.

I am sorry to say that I was not privy to witness the purchase or see the maiden voyage home, but I will have plenty of opportunity in the coming week to chronicle, photograph and blog the adventures of Holly and her wheels.

If anyone has seen my little 2-year old daughter, please let me know. She was just here a week or two ago, I could swear!

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Great Expectations

The Newton dogs lead a pretty good life. Walks in the morning AND the afternoon, hikes in the mountains and beach every weekend, premium dog food and they get to cruise around in the truck with David for the better part of the day. In the summer or when days are hot, they come home in the afternoon and lounge about in the house with the room air-conditioners that David bought this year. While we certainly benefit from them, it cracks me up that we went without A/C in this house for 15 years, but got it this summer for the dogs.

During daylight savings time, I walk the dogs in the evening when I am home, which is more and more often of late given my current status of 'unemployed/temporarily retired'. The plan is that at 6pm I load them up and we go out on one of 5 or 6 different courses that we (let's be honest, I get lost in my neighborhood - DAVID did all the work!) have mapped out, anywhere from 3 to 5 miles in length. Mondays are the 'Frog Walk', aptly named for the frog serenade that you can hear in the wash as the sun sets and well into dusk.

These walks are programmed into these dogs - I think that Scooby knows the days of the week, can tell time and knows exactly which location she is going to. It is without fail that at about 5:50 she comes over to me and just gives me a look - she doesn't want or need anything, doesn't bark or make any noise, I think that she is giving me the 10-minute warning. If I do not wrap things up and hustle them out the door by 6, then she starts to pace and sigh with exasperation...it can really put a lot of pressure on a person if they are trying to finish up a task!

Once we get loaded in the car, each dog has their own little routine; Daphne jumps into the passenger seat and pesters to be petted, Shadow sits in the back with her head on the console, looking up at me and Scooby couldn't care less about anything until we are within about a mile of our starting point and then she becomes very animated and attentive. The picture above is my attempt to capture the very excited pack as we roll up and I let everyone out to do up the leashes; unfortunately the photographer in this situation (ahem, that would be me) did a poor job of having the Blackberry ready and Scooby (who is no fan of the camera) jumped down to try and hide. Just pretend that all 3 have eager faces, ready to set out on their Monday adventure. I'll keep trying to capture the moment, but trust me when I tell you that these dogs have great expectations for their evening walk.

Schnoogie is a....CRUUUUSHERRRR!

It is a bit embarrassing to admit that I have spent far more time writing about my activities and events and not nearly enough of the NEWTON FAMILY adventures, as the title of this blog might lead one to believe the topic might be. With that, Schnoogs and her softball team take center stage tonight. Holly and her friend Rachel play in the Newbury Park & Rec softball league in a division designed to encourage players of all ages and all skill levels. Neither Holly or Rachel would really describe themselves as jocks (although Holly did play in the 12 and under softball league for 2 years because her mother made her - it was that or soccer!) but they are good sports and are enjoying playing together as well as with the rest of their team.

The name of their team is the Conejo Crushers, which immediately reminds me of a Looney Tunes cartoon called Bunny Hugged where Bugs Bunny wrestles this big bulky guy known as.....THE CRUUUUUUUSHERRRRRRR. The Crusher is very intimidating and strong, but naturally Bugs overpowers him with sheer brilliance and cunning - Bugs Bunny is good like that!

Back to the Conejo Crushers. I think that their record is 1-4, but they play like champs every week. I sadly missed their big victory last week, but have it on good authority that Holly played rather well. This week I was once again present (camera and all) and did my part to cheer and encourage the team. Holly had 3 at bats - her first two were (If I may say so myself) excellent hits that were fielded well, resulting in her being thrown out at first. Her 3rd at bat was met with a forced walk, but that was all that was needed for the Schnoogs to demonstrate her very fine lead-off and base running techniques. She milked every opportunity to advance a base and before we knew it, she was coming home! Hooray for Holly! (I am a very encouraging cheerleader in the stands, much to Holly's dismay) It should also be noted that the Schnoogs was styling at 2nd base for two innings, a nice change from her usual right field position.

While the Crushers did not win this game, they played great and I for one am very proud. Watch for more news and pictures next week!

An Abundance of Choices

I have found that I am fortunate enough to be given lots of great opportunities and choices, and often they all come at once. That is something that is going on right now and while exciting, I am not going to lie when I say that it kind of freaks me out a little bit too.

Living life in the unemployed lane is rather enjoyable, although it is not going to last for long. I have been contacted by two equally different and great concepts to come work my magic with them and I am not sure which one is the right one to do at this time! Additionally, I have an opportunity to pursue a project that is going to stretch my writing skills (I use the phrase rather loosely here, as the reader you can agree or disagree as you see fit to the word 'skills' used to describe my writing). I obviously can't take on all 3 and therefore have to make a choice - a decision...and fast.

I am excited about the writing project and feel confident that I will integrate that into my routine no matter what I end up doing. I will be working with a newly formed group called Maverick Photographers who have set out to enrich their lives and the lives of others through art and photography, ultimately making a difference in the world. The first project that they are taking on is the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy in San Francisco. Straight from their website...Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy is a small, public alternative elementary school located in the heart of the Castro District. We are dedicated to achieving academic excellence, teaching tolerance and nonviolence, celebrating diversity, and building a strong family - school - community connection. This is going to be an awesome project and I am really happy to be a part of it!

Now if only I can have that same clarity on what is the best fit in a job for me now!

Begrudgingly, I am a Fan

As a pesco-vegetarian (I eat fish but no other meat...oh yeah, and I LOVE me the dairy too!), I am not a real member of the fast food nation. It is inconvenient at best to get something to eat in most burger places and even what options I do have do not rank on the healthy side, so I usually just skip it. I do the McDonald's deal every now and again for breakfast (that McGriddle is darn tasty with just the egg and cheese) and if faced with the need to do a meal there, I end up ordering the cheeseburger with no meat - it always messes with the production cook's minds to get that order (and it only comes out right about 60% of the time unless I repeat it multiple times). With all of that context, I would not describe myself a very loyal fan or advocate of McDonald's...until now.

You have likely seen the big push on coffee that the burger behemoth has launched over the last 9 months or so. I had heard from a few people that the iced coffee was good, and while I believed it, never had any reason to check it out for myself. Some of you may have seen the effects that coffee/caffeine can have on me. While entertaining to many to watch me wind up, start talking very quickly and sweat just a little bit around my hairline, it is not something that I strive to do too often because then I feel kind of shaky afterwards (it should be noted that this is not psychological, it was 'proven' a couple of years ago by a friend who swapped my decaf vanilla latte with Karen's caffeinated version. I showed up to a meeting amped up while she just about laid her head down on the table with zero energy)

Back to the coffee. I don't remember the occasion that finally made me try the stuff, but I do remember that I drank it down fast and thought, "HEY!" It is darn tasty. I assumed that it was being made with heavy cream or something equally unhealthy, but when I checked out the nutritionals, I quickly calculated that the sugar-free version was pretty decent and from there, albeit somewhat begrudgingly, I must proclaim the news that I am a fan.

If only I could convince McDonald's to bring back the Gardenburger!

Mr. Paulucci is Grounded

As a regular coast-to-coast flyer, as well as making regular trips to Chicago, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Florida, Eric has become well-acquainted with many different airports and is (WAS) a regular with Jet Blue. No more. The counter agents are weeping in NYC tonight because Mr. Paulucci's days of weekly travel are over...he is being grounded now that he has safely landed in Oakland with $100 worth of 'excess' baggage (that is $25 for a 2nd bag and $75 for the 3rd that was checked). It is evident from the picture above that Eric is really broken up about this (the $100 in baggage wasn't that exciting, but the sarcastic comment is in reference to no more regular flying!).

My trip into the lovely Burbank airport was an uneventful and therefore very successful venture - Jet Blue does have the clear advantage of easy non-stop flights and those handy little TVs at every seat. I started out on CNN and "The Situation Room", but must also admit to watching several episodes of 'Jon and Kate plus 8' on The Learning Channel and then stumbled across an episode of 'Pop-up Video' from 1999 on VH1 Classics. I loved that show when it was on, not just because I am so incredibly cutting-edge and current with my music video knowledge, but also because I think that the writers who gathered and organized the facts for the videos are brilliant! They start innocently enough with a reference to someone or something that is relevant to the music video at hand but quickly digress to something that has nothing at all to do with the original video, but through a strand of thought ultimately connects back! I always thought that would be a fun way to do a training video back in my Jamba days. Maya allowed me to ramble on about how we could do it but I don't think that she was ever really hip to the idea!

Perhaps I can construct my own version of pop-up blogging!