My favorite New York moment

"I always like to come to New York a little bit early and hit some of my favorite haunts, like right here, is my favorite New York pizza joint. And I'm gonna go get me a New York slice!"

Man, I miss The Office.

Changed my mind...

Ok, so, the yellow didn't stick.

I decided I'm not quite ready to give up green, so I chose this background instead. Plus, it has crowns on it. And, well, the princesses don't fall too far from the tree, you know.

I just realized...

...I never wished you all a Happy New Year! So...

Happy New Year

to all of you out in blogland!

For the new year I decided to trade in my lime green blog layout for a sunny yellow one, courtesy of Cutest Blog on the Block. We'll see if it sticks. I think I like it but then again it's midnight and I'm not entirely lucid. The kids and I got back from visiting Jay in Sacramento about an hour ago and I made the mistake of checking my email before going to bed. I'm going to regret it in the morning, I just know it.

The Woes of Week 11

Week 11 was a short Academy week, thanks to Christmas. It was also the first week they had alone with the staff now that the seniors have graduated. Luckily most of the staff was on vacation so there wasn't really too much negative attention. There was one little thing, though...

Jay noticed that his name was on the board indicating he was supposed to report to the staff office, so of course he reported as soon as possible all the while wondering what he was in trouble for. There were several other people reporting ahead of him and he overheard one of them getting yelled at for failing a test, so Jay was worried that he had failed the test, too. Failing a test means a weekend restriction, and more importantly, it means a very unhappy wife. Luckily for both of us Jay did not fail the test. In fact, he wasn't in trouble at all. The staff had decided that anyone who had yet to receive a gig* was going to get one, come heck or high water. Lucky Jay! So basically they grilled him on various subjects until he answered one wrong, and then they gave him a gig for "lack of knowledge." Oh, and he also had a speck of lint on his uniform, so the gig indicated he also had a messy uniform. It's a good thing Jay is the one going through this and not me, because that would frustrate me beyond belief! I would never make it past the first week.

Week 11 also brought Jay's first attempt at the Skid Pan. He spent several hours learning how to negotiate the ultra-slick course and he did well and had fun. He did not pass, however. He has 3 more attempts, and we're confident he'll pass on one of them. The instructor said he was getting it but that he just needed to "smooth it out" and be more consistent. We don't know when his next attempt will be, but it should be soon.

You would think it was a bad week because of the gig and the Skid Pan ... and PT three times a week... and our Corolla deciding not to work... but surprisingly, it was okay. Because our Corolla was acting up (it's okay now), the kids and I picked Jay up on Friday. When I pulled up to the Academy gate I spoke with the officer on duty for a few minutes. He was very friendly and gave me some words of encouragment, which was very kind. When he lifted the gate to let me in I said "Thanks, Officer," then pulled forward. There was a gasp from the back of the van and Natalie exclaimed, "Was that a REAL police officer?!" She was a little awestruck. I said "Yep. He's a Highway Patrolman like Daddy is going to be." Bea yelled, "WHAT?!" Like it was news to her that Jay's going to be an officer! My kids... they're just like their dad... a little nutty, but very sweet.

Sticky Chicken

About a year ago, I bought a cookbook from the Young Women at church as part of a fundraiser. So far all the recipies I've tried have been good, but my friend Brenda's recipe for Sticky Chicken has just accomplished something very few things have ever accomplished:

Yep! That's right! All three plates, clean as a ... cucumber? No. A whistle? Maybe. Hmmm, what is that phrase? Anyway, the point is Sticky Chicken is a bonafide hit! The fact that Bea cleaned her plate and asked for seconds is remarkable (see previous Clean Plate Club post). I think it might technically be considered a miracle.

It's possible that the 1 1/4 cups of sugar in the sauce played a role in the recipe's success... I'm just saying...

Good Days at the Academy

I'm a little behind in my Academy reporting ... I'm just now getting around to posting about Week 10, which ended on the 21st. I blame it on a little thing called Christmas. :)

Jay's favorite Academy teacher recently told the class that there are only 3 good days at the Academy:

1. The day your Senior class graduates
2. The day the new Juniors arrive
3. The day you graduate

The end of Week 10 was one of those good days - Jay's senior class, CTC-II-07, graduated! Graduation brings with it a huge amount of preparation, including really fun activities for Jay's class including polishing every millimeter of brass in the entire Academy and getting yelled at about having a perfect uniform.

However, it's not all bad. One of the cooler things that happens during graduation week is the Capitol Run. Very early Wednesday morning the seniors, along with almost the entire Staff, run from the Academy to the Sacramento Capitol building. In a show of support, the junior class lines up along the road that leads out of the Academy and waits in push-up position, screaming and hollering their support until all of the runners pass by. Family and friends of the seniors can wait outside the Academy grounds and whoop and cheer as well. It was a cool experience for Jay to see the seniors participate in the long-awaited event, and it was even cooler to see their families outside in the pre-dawn cold, cheering them on. I can't wait for my turn! You know I'll be there so that I can embarrass - I mean, support - Jay as much as possible.

Friday morning the junior class didn't have PT (whoo hoo!) because the gym was all set up and prepped for graduation. Instead, they had the privilege of running around the seniors' dorms like a bunch of wild banshee's, yelling and chanting and pounding on doors... a little wake up call, if you will. The seniors were already up, of course, and many of them came to the door dressed in their tans. It was pretty motivating for Jay to see cadets that were just wearing Smurf blue yesterday now wearing the uniform of a California Highway Patrol officer. It makes it all seem so much more within reach. No wonder Jay's teacher described it as one of the "good days."

The rest of the day the juniors were instructed to be out of sight, lest they do something foolish. Jay, however, was on babysitting duty (which he kindly volunteered for, along with several other cadets and some officers). He realized later he might have been better off being banished to his room because he could have gotten some actual work done, but I think he had fun playing cars and showing magic tricks to the kids, too.

And now Jay's class is all alone, at the mercy of the Academy staff who can now focus 100% of their attention on them. Not a good thing, I think. Luckily, there is one more of those "good days" right around the corner! The junior class, CTC-I-08, arrives on Monday January 7th and will command much of the Staff's attention. Shucks! Jay and his class will then be seniors... it's hard to believe that milestone is so close! It's really within reach, isn't it? Some days it seems like the Academy will go on forever, but in truth the weeks are going by pretty fast. Here's hoping it continues that way...

Post Christmas Blues

Yes, that's a picture of me in pajamas with no makeup on. I'm sorry.

So I'm experiencing a little of the Post Christmas Blues. The anticipation of and preparation for Christmas is usually better than the day itself (although I do like the actual day, too). But now it's over and Jay is gone after a blissful 4 days home. *sigh* Excuse me ... I forgot to mention that this is a pity party. Aren't you glad you're invited??

Ok, I'm snapping out of it...

This year we scaled back our present giving to everyone, including the kids, and even asked our parents to only give a maximum of 2 presents per child. Jay bet me that at least 2 of them would break the rule. (He didn't specify who but I'm pretty sure he meant my side of the family.) But the joke's on him because they all stuck to it and now he owes me a massage! So there! But really, I do highly recommend scaling back Christmas present giving. It was so much less hectic and the kids actually enjoyed themselves instead of getting overwhelmed. And most importantly, if your husband is at all inclined to be Scrooge-like, it will ease the tension quite a bit.

Maybe the best way to share my Christmas with you is via pictures. Below is a small sampling of the 150+ pictures I uploaded from my camera last night. I hope you all had as Merry a Christmas as we Fear's did. As a side note, I think I'm going to start saying Happy Christmas like the British. Doesn't it sound cooler?

Eat your heart out, all you children of the '80's!

Some Father & Son-In-Law bonding

Our children are going to be entirely different people now that we have a mantle.

A milestone in every boy's life: his first Tonka.

I couldn't help it...

I had to do a slide show for this Christmas. There were just too many pictures!

I'm starting to think I may have a slight addiction with the slideshow thing...