Tricked!

I had a rather funny conversation with a few fifth graders on Friday.

Student #1- Mrs. Romano, how did you and your husband meet?
Myself- Well, we met playing beach volleyball. Mrs. Coalwell and her husband introduced us.
Mrs. Coalwell knew him before I did and we all decided to play volleyball one day, so
we got to know eachother.
Student #2 - So you were tricked into it! That same thing happened to my dad, he was tricked into
my mom!
(The whole class including myself are now laughing hysterically)

Myself- I am so telling your mom that you just said that!

A Cup of Tea for Your Story

I came across this post on craigslist's barter section a couple of days ago and it made me think.

My dear 90 year old friend has survived World War 2, three years in a prison camp, an incredibly happy 62 year marriage, and is in the final transition of his life. He said to me the other day that he wished he could get out and meet some new people to learn about their lives. So here is what I am proposing: If you are over 50, a man or woman, and would like to come to our home for a cup of tea and a chat about your life, I woul dlove to hear from you. If you have something to say, I have a gentle and patient listener who is exilerated to learn about your life. Eagerly anticipating your reply.
- Hopeful

What a great opportunity to share your life with someone that obviously has many stories of his own. What a great opportunity for Christian service. I wonder if he would just want to hear about your life if you asked him questions about his own. It made me think about the many times people ask me how my weekend was and I forget to ask them how theirs was. It made me think about actually taking the time out of my day to slow down and sit for a cup of tea. It made me think about many of the elderly in rest homes that would love a visit. It made me think of the many times that I resisted going into a rest home to see my 92 year old grandma because it wasn't a comfortable situation. I think that it is a good reminder on life. It hit home with me.

Tim's Latest Woodworking Project

Tim and I (well mostly I) have been trying to solve the problem of him getting home from work and emptying the contents of his pockets and hands on the counter or usually on top of the dryer when he walks in the door. This includes wallet, mail, loose change, cell phone, receipts, etc. Then come laundry time, I get thoroughly frustrated shuffling everything around. I had to come to realize that I have my purse that I have all of this junk in and guys are just out of luck. Therefore, Tim gets the bad rap of the messy husband, while I just throw my purse down where I please because everything is contained. I have been searching for a long time for an organzer system that everything can go in. They have all those fancy charging station getups now, but we really don't want to charge anything, we (I) just want to hide the stuff. I discovered that Pottery Barn has the monopoly on these sorts of organizers. Now, my favorite store is Pottery Barn, but I can't always justify the funds. I found the perfect organizer (wood box) at Pottery Barn, but it was $85! So I put Tim on it, and he set to work on the organizer with his leftover wood from the entertainment center. It turned out great, everything has its place, and my dryer is free of clutter.

Happy Valentine's Day

It was a beautiful, warm, and sunny day, so we headed outdoors for some great scenery. We drove out to Stillwater Winery, which is about 10 minutes from our house, to enjoy the weather. Tim (still drinking left over cokes from the super bowl party)

Debra (loving that she gets to wear a tanktop in February, but desperately needing a tan)

This is the tasting room. There were olive trees over 100 years old all over the property that made some very tasty olive oil, lots of daffodils, you can tell spring is right around the corner, and a coy pond that was really peaceful to sit next to with all the water running into it.

These were the chairs we were sitting in pictured above. A great view of vineyards and the green rolling hills. Tim nailed it when I told him I wanted to visit a winery with good scenery
and a view.

This year for Valentine's Day I had the option of flowers or fruit trees. I thought I would go with the trees as they are a little more long term, and we need to start focusing our efforts on landscaping. It is bare root fruit tree season and now is the best time to plant. We bought a peach, plum, and apricot. We can't wait until summer time to enjoy all the fruit.

We have a pretty steep slope on the side of our house in the back, so we figured this would be a good spot for the trees. (Once again another blog post where Tim is hard at work)

It's Finished!

After many hours of hardwork, my Christmas gift has been completed. I definitely got the better end out of this deal. I just purchased the saw while Tim slaved away in the cold garage for hours on end. We moved the tv stand in last night. I am very excited about the way it turned out and so greatful for my genius husband! (Yes, now we inevitably need a bigger tv to make things look proportional)

Happy New Year

Tim and I spent a quiet New Year's Eve in Paso this year with just the two of us. It had been a while since we had gone on an actual date, so we decided that New Year's Eve would be as good a night as any. We went out to dinner at Villa Creek downtown where we had some very tasty food. We have a whole new set of restaurants downtown that we have yet to try. I had a delicious winter squash soup and porkchops while Tim had butternut squash enchiladas. It definitely made me want to cook more with winter squashes. After dinner we came back to the house, made chocolate chip cookies, and watched a movie. It always seems like there is a big expectation to do something grand on New Year's Eve. I will probably still conjure up big ideas for next year like that posh cabin in the snow with all your friends around, or that rooftop villa to ring in the New Year, but I must say that I rather enjoyed spending time with Tim this year.
As for resolutions, I'm usually not the type to make them or if I do they last about a month. So my goal is that I have decided that I would like to be less lazy this year. This probably encompasses many resolutions in one. Of course that means excercising more. (actually using my gym membership) Reading my bible more consistently. And not relying on Tim to do so many things for me because it is convenient. (For example, "Tim I think the dog wants to go outside, maybe you should let her in the backyard" Meanwhile I sit two feet from him asking him to do this simple thing for me)
Tim is usually the one to have many resolutions. However, this year the roles are reversed. He did say that he intends to finish my Christmas present sometime this year. He is making me an entertainment center for tht tv. For Christmas I bought him a saw that he wanted and he had the idea of making me the tv stand. Can't wait for the finished product.

Christmas

This year we celebrated Christmas with the Richards family in Watsonville. It was the first time that all of the siblings and husbands/fiances were able to get together. If you were wondering if we were having some sort of costume party, that answer is a no. Tim was quite festive this year sporting his Dad's Jesus vest on Christmas eve and Rudy (Debra's sister's husband)was in and out as he was one duty and getting calls left and right. There was never a dull moment between all the family and the three dogs. The Richards family dog Kirby is 14 and super old, Cali the Romano dog was constantly in the kitchen begging for food, and Nikko (Deanna's and Rudy's 9 month old German Shepard) was generally just out of control.