rain. it skews my thought processes...

so today . . . it rained. thank goodness.

when i left for school this morning, i knew rain was in the forecast. i had checked my weather app which shows the weather prediction hour by hour, and it said there was a 50 percent chance of rain during recess today. i thought those were pretty good odds, so i wore my lightweight raincoat because i knew i had to do a few errands after school and my raincoat would keep me dry. but it isn't very warm. which is usually fine, since our daytime temperatures rarely dip below 60 degrees, and i was already wearing a sweater and a scarf.

i left the house, got into my car in the garage, and went to school. i parked in my usual parking space, got out of the car, and was hit by a freezing cold wind. (this is the problem with keeping your car in the garage--you don't have to actually feel the weather until you get where you are going.) i immediately knew i was in trouble... there were hardly any clouds in the sky, probably because of the wind. rain did not look imminent. in fact, rain didn't even really look like a possibility. i was suddenly wishing i had worn my warm coat instead of my waterproof one.

i spent the morning praying for rain by recess...

fifteen minutes before recess i went to check the weather. it was raining! well, sort of... the ground was a little damp. there were clouds in the sky. if it wasn't exactly raining, it was sure looking like it was thinking about it... that was good enough for me. this is southern california after all.

we spent recess in our warm, dry classroom :) sometimes it is good to be the adult.

after school it was still threatening to rain. and it was still cold. at least i had on my warm boots, because i had to go pick up my new prescription. fortunately for me, my pharmacy is in the same building as my eye doctor. i have an eye appointment early thursday morning, but i will have to rush to work afterwards, which won't leave me much time to look at new glasses. so while waiting for my prescription to be ready, i ventured to the second floor and the optometrist's office.

there were a lot of frames from which to choose. a lot. and yet, i found that the frames i kept choosing looked a lot like the ones i already have, which i LOVE, which is maybe why i kept choosing similar frames! but i currently only have one pair of glasses, and i can't be without them for two weeks while kaiser sends them out to have new lenses put in. so i need a second pair.

i walked up and down the wall of frames more than once. i found a few frames i liked, but of course they were all over $300 just for the frames! and my lenses are not going to be inexpensive--that's what happens when your eyes get to be of a certain age. and then i heard the woman next to me mumbling. she was not happy. she was there to have her new glasses replaced, but she was there alone with no one to give an opinion. she was afraid she was going to end up with another pair of glasses that didn't work for her. pretty soon she turned to me and said, "what do you think of these?"

please don't ask me that! please, please, PLEASE don't ask me that! i mean, i have opinions about fashion and accessories, but my bubble tends to be a bit off level. i like things that are a little different, quirky, unexpected. my taste is not for everyone. but how do i explain this to a perfect stranger in the next 30 seconds. so i took the easy way out. "i think they look nice," i said.

let this be a lesson to you. don't ask a stranger what they think. they don't know you well enough to say, "that looks hideous! what were you thinking??" obviously she thought they looked pretty good or she would have already rejected them. should i be the one to tell her they weren't that great? i don't think so!

"ok," she said, "what about these?" and she put on another pair. "those are nice, too," i said. when she asked me about a third pair, i finally said, "look, i like glasses with a bold frame. i do not like half frames, skinny metal frames, or frameless frames. i want my glasses to say 'look, i have eyes!' so that affects my opinions. if you like something that blends in with your face, i am the wrong person to be asking!" and then she said, "i like your glasses!"

oh sheesh. now i had to help her. so we compared several frames, and i told her what i thought. and she chose the frames i liked the best. i hope she is happy with them...

and then i realized SHE CHOSE THE FRAMES I LIKED THE BEST!! now what was i going to choose?!?! because i'm pretty sure kaiser doesn't keep several pairs of that particular gucci frame in the back room! and my appointment is on thursday! what is wrong with me?? why did i have to go all gaga when she put that frame on?? why didn't i push her toward the guess frame so she would leave my gucci frame alone?!?!?! now what am i going to do????

maybe i am too nice...

let this be a lesson to me. don't talk to strangers. even ones who need help. i teach tiny children that lesson every year--you would think i would know it! now my only hope is that they will get some newer, even better frames in before i have to make a decision...

...yes, by thursday.

tan lines... what to do, what to do...

so today . . . i realized i am out of the habit of blogging every day.

but then, you already knew that, didn't you ;)

i'm not quite sure how this happened. i guess i can mostly blame it on my weakened physical condition, which weakened my mental capacities, which made it nearly impossible to blog!

i thought about it. a lot. but when it came time to put "words on paper," so to speak, it just didn't happen. but i did have a lot of thoughts, which even resulted in some blog attempts. which will probably show up in the future when my brain power is turned back on, and i can finish them.

but what worries me is being out of the blogging habit. i like to blog. i don't want to stop. but i am having trouble getting started again. so i am going to ease back into it by reposting something i wrote a couple of years ago on myspace, before i had a "real" blog. i chose this particular one to post today, because it was HOT! i know it is december, but it was over 80 degrees here. and let me tell you, when you are standing out on the playground, in the sun, waiting for your turn to go on a break, your mind kind of wanders...

this blog was originally posted on myspace thursday, march 13, 2008.

so today i am out on the playground, watching the kids in my class run around and annoy each other--because that is what they do. they call it playing, but it isn’t really--they just interact with each other until somebody does something unforgivable like touching someone’s hair, and then it begins: "i’m telling teacher" "sorry" "well, i’m telling teacher" "i SAID i was SORRY" "TEACHERRRRRR!!!" "SORRY! SORRY! SORRYYYYY!!!" so, you know, there are days that i just can’t listen to it, and i admit it--even though i am watching them, i mentally check out. There will be no help from the teacher today unless you are bleeding, so just go play! have fun! sheesh!

maybe i need a vacation.

ok, anyway, while all this was going on in the background, i was enjoying the sunshine. it was only supposed to get up to 74 today, but i am sure it was warmer than that, because even i felt hot. so i am standing there in my short-sleeved shirt (because it WAS going to be 74 after all) and the thought occurs to me "what if my arms get tan?" now normally you might think this would be a good thing with summer coming. but my shirt was not sleeveless--it had SHORT sleeves. so if my arms do get tan while i put in my time on the playground, my shoulders and upper arms are going to be white--and believe me that is the part that needs tanning the most! so now i don’t know what to do--do i just go with the lower arm tan and try to catch the rest up later, or do i go stand in the shade for now and wait until sleeveless shirt weather to hang out in the sun. you see, these are the sort of random thoughts that come to a person sometimes. i know there are other more important things i could think about, and maybe should, but sometimes i just don’t want to think about global warming (unless it is warming my face.) so my mind settles for dealing with the little questions that pop into my head, like should i go stand in the shade . . .

it is really easy for one's mind to wander when standing in unseasonably warm sunshine. there is just something relaxing (yes, even on a playground full of rowdy children,) and a little bit decadent about getting to wear short sleeves in the middle of december.

have i mentioned lately how much i love living in southern california...?

i'm sure it must be fall somewhere...

so today . . . it is HOT! the santa ana winds are blowing, and it was over 95 degrees today. and in case you aren't paying attention, it is NOVEMBER!!!

i love southern california. love. it. and a big part of the reason is our moderate weather. we have about ten really hot days and five rainy days a year--the rest of the days are between 65 and 85 degrees. how can a person complain about that?!?!

oh just watch me... i have a whole list of complaints! ten, as a matter of fact :)

TOP TEN REASONS WHY IT SHOULDN'T BE 95 DEGREES IN NOVEMBER!

#10. the halloween chocolate will melt. it was just three days ago that tiny children (and some not so tiny children,) walked around after dark threatening their neighbors if they didn't get candy. i was at target last week, so i know that almost all halloween candy either has a chocolate coating or a chocolate center or is totally 100% chocolate with no distracting substances added. but chocolate doesn't respond well to heat. and since i can't believe that all that candy has already been eaten--although i am sure a lot of it has been--it is sitting on kitchen counters all over southern california, melting...

#9. it doesn't feel like fall. you know what i mean--that crispness in the air, a little bit of frost now and then, red and yellow leaves... ok, i can't blame the lack of colored leaves on the heat. probably. but it doesn't feel like pumpkin patch weather--it feels like water slide weather! and so...

#8. i can't use the fireplace. i love having a fire in the fireplace, but wood is precious here, so our fire is made from burning gas rather than burning wood. we do have trees, but you have to drive a bit of a distance to see wild ones. and since californians seem to prefer to let their trees burn naturally, you don't see too many wood burning fireplaces here. and that's ok with me. i would much rather turn a switch and light a match, than haul and stack wood. besides, can you imagine the spiders that would live in a wood pile?!?!?!? which brings me to...

#7. the spiders are confused. (this point is diandra's. she is somewhat spider-phobic. and when i say somewhat, i mean completely and totally, to hysterical proportions...) diandra says the spiders don't know what to do with this unseasonably warm weather. she says when it is warm they stay outside, but when it turns cold they migrate inside, looking for more moderate temperatures. and we did have a few cool days, so according to diandra, all the spiders have moved inside. but now that it has warmed up, they are coming out where we can see them--still inside, but out in plain sight. needless to say, she is somewhat skittish right now. she thinks the spiders are everywhere. and i have heard the screams to prove it!

#6. our tans have faded. and yet when it is this hot, you can't run around in long sleeves and tights and boots! there is a reason that arms and legs are bare in the summer time and not in the dead of winter. have you heard the term "winter white?" yeah, well it isn't just a sweater color--it is also the color of my legs by mid-october. these are the times i wish that the ethnic skeletons in my closet would make themselves known. i was sitting across the room from a filipino guy wearing shorts tonight at bible study, and i couldn't help but think, "i wish my legs were that nice caramel color in november..."

#5. my allergies are activated. the reason it is so hot is because of those blasted santa ana winds! and when the winds blow, it stirs up all sorts of stuff into the air--stuff that makes my nose run and my eyes itch. i don't like it when my nose runs and my eyes itch. when my nose runs and my eyes itch, all i want to do is curl up in bed and sleep--preferably in front of the fireplace. which i can't use, because it is too hot! (see #8)

#4. diandra is dying in her jeep. diandra has a very cool jeep wrangler. it has monster tires. the top and windows zip off so she can enjoy the socal sunshine. the boys are all jealous (which, as everyone knows, is the important thing about a vehicle!) it is the car of her dreams! unless we have unseasonably hot weather. because one thing the jeep does not have is air-conditioning. we warned her. she said it would be fine--after all, the whole top comes off! we tried to tell her that there would be times when she wanted a/c, but all she wanted was that jeep! so now she has it. and she still loves it. but when fall "arrives" and she zips the top back on, and then the santa anas blow, it gets kind of toasty inside.

#3. i can't decide what to wear. this might not sound like such a big deal, but there are issues here! (see #6) even though technically it is fall, if i try to wear fall clothing, i am going to die of heat! but summer clothing just seems wrong (although i saw several people in shorts and tank tops today.) and when you are a person that gets out of bed 15 minutes before you have to leave for work on some mornings, not knowing what clothes to throw on your body wastes precious time, making you late. my compromise (to deal with #6) is bare arms, covered legs. but it isn't as easy as it sounds.

#2. i feel the need for iced drinks, but the red cups have reportedly arrived at starbucks. that means it is time for seasonal drinks! i am not really a starbucks person, but a couple of years ago i discovered the joys of a peppermint white chocolate mocha. i even went out in a snowstorm to get one! (and not a california snowstorm either--it was an oregon "don't go out unless there is an emergency" snowstorm.) and don't tell me just to get my seasonal drink in iced form, because you cannot drink a pumpkin spice latte if there isn't some steam rising from it. really. (although an iced peppermint white chocolate mocha might not be bad... )

and the number 1 reason that it shouldn't be 95 degrees in november is...

#1. it's too hot to get into the garage and get out the christmas decorations. "what?!?!" you may be thinking, "wait, isn't this blog about ridiculously hot weather in november?? why is she talking about christmas decorations??" because, at our house we prefer to put the christmas tree up before thanksgiving, and this year diandra has requested that it we put it up extra early--like in a week or two. we do this for a couple of reasons, but mostly because we love our christmas decorations. and since december has been getting busier and busier for us, the only way we really get to sit and enjoy the beauty is to put it up early. but don't worry--it isn't like the tree is in the front window.

as you can see, this unseasonably hot weather is annoying me. thankfully we are supposed to be back to our regular fall temperatures (65-70) by the weekend--back to our sweaters, boots, hot drinks, and a fire in the fireplace.

maybe we will even brave the garage and get out those christmas decorations...

vacation: day 6

so today . . . i am freezing! like a popsicle!!

yes, it is the middle of summer. yes, i live in southern california. but today i am in oregon, and it is cold. even in the middle of summer.

when we come to oregon at christmas, we know it is going to be cold and probably wet. we pack all the sweaters we own. we look for the elusive snow boots. we hope our pathetic california coats will be adequate. we dig in boxes in the garage for stocking hats and mittens.

in other words, we plan for it.

but in the summer we are thinking shorts and tank tops and sandals. which is foolishness, i know, because the last two summers we have arrived with our warm weather apparel only to have to make a mad dash to old navy for jeans and a sweatshirt! (not that we mind, of course, it's just that i don't like being forced to shop.) so you would think i would learn...

apparently i don't.

this summer when i got ready to pack for our trip, i went online and checked the weather, again--even the extended forecast! i was ready! i was prepared!! the forecast said hot, hot, hot, followed by pretty warm--maybe a few clouds, but still warm. so i packed sundresses, tank tops, shorts, and sandals. as a concession to possibly cool nights, i threw in a light, thermal, long sleeved hoodie. when diandra asked what i was going to pack and i told her, she said, "you are only taking one pair of jeans?"

i'm pretty sure we have had this conversation before.

"yes," i said, "i am wearing my jeans on the plane, because the airports will probably be cool. but it is supposed to be sunny and warm the whole time we are there!"

"well, i'm taking two pairs of jeans," she replied, "just in case..."

it turned out to be a wise decision. the first two days we were here were almost unbearably hot. then there was a fairly pleasant day. and then oregon realized i was here and turned her chilly face toward me...

in self defense, i put my warm bathrobe (which i leave here for just such occasions) on at 4:00 this afternoon! i got out my polar fleece blanket, which i almost didn't bring (since it was supposed to be hot, hot, hot!) and i managed to weather the cold.

according to the news, it is supposed to get hot again. in a couple of days. about the time we leave.

next year i am bring three pairs of jeans and two sweatshirts!

of course, that is probably oregon's evil plan. next year every day will probably be in the 90's...

picture day . . . again

so today . . . i had to have my picture taken. again.

i hate having my picture taken. i am not very photogenic, and i can live with that if the picture is documenting something fun. but studio portraits kill me.

last week it was picture day at school. we have pictures taken in the fall and in the spring. the spring photographer is always the same, and for some reason he is able to take a decent picture of me--almost every time. but the fall pictures are like playing roulette--you just never know.

i always do my best to have a good picture. i style my hair and wear mascara, which i don't do on ordinary school days. i choose a solid top in a color that i hope will look nice. and then i try to sit up straight and smile on cue. but the truth is, it is a school picture and it is going to look like a school picture no matter what--note the hair bump on the right.(i do have to say here, that some of my favorite pictures of my mom and dad are their school pictures. they were both teachers, and i love to look at the sequence of pictures from the years they taught. it is so much fun to see the different clothing and hair styles.)

but today's ordeal was the fault of whoever decided that our church should have a pictorial directory. this meant everyone had to go in and have their picture taken. our turn was today. we were supposed to be there by 4:00, and i don't get off work until 3:30. when we scheduled the appointment, i didn't think it would be a problem--i would just wear the chosen outfit to work and then we would have plenty of time to get there.

and that is where the trouble began--choosing an outfit.

what to wear, what to wear . . .

i couldn't make a decision, so rollie finally told me what he was going to wear. that helped narrow my choices. to black. i knew i was going to have to wear black. it was the only solution, since he had decided to wear a burgundy shirt and black pants. i probably have 20 black tops and 6 or 7 black dresses, so it shouldn't have been hard to find something to wear. but it was.

i got up this morning still not knowing what to put on. i took my shower, towel-dried my hair, and looked in the closet. the clock was ticking . . . so i grabbed a black dress, threw it on over my head, and raced off to school--with damp hair and no makeup.

when i got to school i twisted my hair up and clipped it, hoping that it would dry into lovely waves--(hey, it could happen . . .) i decided the dress i was wearing was too casual for the photos and would need to be changed. i realized i would have less than half an hour to put on makeup, find a different outfit and straighten my hair--just in case it didn't dry into lovely waves. but all that could be accomplished in time, if i just knew what to wear . . . i mentally dressed myself several times during the day, but wasn't happy with any of the results.

i finally decided i was thinking about this way too much. really. it was just a picture for the church directory. so when i got home, i grabbed a different black dress, put makeup on (which takes me all of about 7 minutes,) fluffed my just slightly damp waves, grabbed rollie and took off for the church. we filled out paperwork, they called our names, and we went back to have our picture taken.

we stood where we were told to stand, smiled when we were told to smile, and then the photographer said, "ok, that's it. we are done."

it took me more time to put on my mascara than it took for him to shoot our pictures.

i couldn't believe it. i felt a little cheated. not that i wanted my picture taken, but i had put all that effort into getting ready . . .

i guess hope springs eternal. although, hope doesn't have to deal with my bangs . . .