Report Cards Came Out Today.

Report cards came out today and Finn did fantastic! He is such a smartie-bo-barty. That kid blows me away.

Seamus improved or stayed the same in all areas except one. Unfortunately, that one subject plummeted to a D. ((((heavy sigh))))) Honestly, I was satisfied with the rest of his grades. His report card wasnt fantastic, but it was better than the first quarter. About 2 months ago we were notified through a progress report that Shea had a few bad grades brewing - three to be exact. Im proud to say that he turned those trouble areas around by working hard and attending homework club. Hooray for Seamus! Unfortunately, it seems that by focusing on improving his language arts and science grades, he let the math slip away. He was really upset about it earlier today.

As a parent, Im having a hard time figuring out how to proceed. He pulled up the other grades and Im sure he can pull up math. His best effort gets results. He is very capable. Still... I wonder if I should get a tutor. I wonder what else I can personally do to help him be successful.

To add to this dilemma school is starting a boys soccer team this Spring. Seamus is desperate to play. When Seamus' grades were poor this past quarter, we told him he couldnt play Spring baseball. He was upset about it, but has accepted our decision. When I heard about the school soccer team, I was so nervous. I didnt want to have to tell him he couldnt play soccer if he didnt pull up his grades. All week he has been asking me to turn in the form allowing him to play and all week I have told him I needed to wait to see what his grades were.

Today I finally went in and sought advice from our principal. Her response: let us deal with it. She told me she could not recall what his grades were this quarter, but that if they dipped below a C average she would inform him that he could not play soccer for the school. They have an academic standard for athletics at St. Francis. She told me to submit his form and in the event that his grades dont not meet the standard, they will not allow him to play. When I got off the phone with her, I felt mild relief. For once, I didnt have to be the bad guy.

Even with the D, Seamus has calculated that his grade point average is at least a C average. Our principal has the final say on what happens so its out of our hands. We shall see what happens.

Finn is here asking to get on the computer and my glass of wine is calling.

Happy Friday.

Video Killed The Radio Star

Cars arent a big deal to me. Im not quite sure what that says about me. From one standpoint you could say that I take my automobile for granted. I dont treat it kindly and I assume its always going to be there. I am entitled. On the other hand, I dont judge myself or my worth by what car I drive. Its a car, not the inside of my soul. Others might judge me, but I hardly care. If the car gets me from A to B, Im good.

I have been driving our minivan for about 6 or 7 years now. Is it my ideal car? For this stage in my life, yes it is. Our minivan has ample room for passengers and luggage. I can drive my kids, their friends and relatives, but when its just the four of us we each have enough room to ourselves. I have a back area that keeps regular items like my grocery bags, a couple folding chairs and an umbrella. Is it perfect? No. Is it clean? No. Does it have one of those cool tv's in the back? No.

While I dont care a lick about what my car looks like or how its model/make/pricetag/extras might reflect on me personally, I do expect one thing in a vehicle. Anti lock brakes, you say? Rear airbags? Pimped out rims? None of the above. The number one necessity for vehicle transportation on my list is a radio. While the satelight radio is all the rage and many of my loved ones listen to them regularly, Im talking about the plain 'ol AM/FM variety. The big draw for me is obvious - I want music while I drive. I have 5 - 10 local preset stations ready for my listening pleasure. I channel surf often and listen to them all. In my pursuit of music in the car, I also employ CDs and an ipod. I use all three music mediums daily.

Sometime last fall, the antenna on the minivan broke and went largely undetected. Because I listen to my ipod daily, the static from the radio didnt immediately register with me. When I found static on the radio, I switched to the ipod. Problem averted - music found. It probably took me a week of not being able to listen to NPR to finally realize that something had changed with the radio. It wasnt until Matt hypothesized about the antenna being broken that I went to check. Sure enough it was gone.

The break from the antenna was clean and even after a week unnoticed, the antenna was lying in the driveway. The evidence was clear to me. Only two people could have done it: Seamus or Finn. My bet was on Seamus. After some heavy questioning Seamus finally confessed to have kicked his soccer ball and broken off the antenna. At the time, he was practicing outside everyday. It was soccer season and Seamus had really improved on his skills since joining club ball. The explanation kind of fit, but it kind of didnt too. I mean have you ever heard of an antenna being broken off clean by a soccer ball? Maybe its possible if my son were Cristiano Ronaldo or David Beckham, but clearly he is not.

I digress.

When we found out what had happened, Matt offered to fix the antenna but I turned him down. Money and time is always an issue for us and I really thought Id be fine without it. Afterall, I still had cds and my ipod, right? Unfortunately, I have found its not enough. First: I really, really REALLY miss NPR (National Broadcast Radio.) Ive realized through this experience that I get most of my daily news from NPR. Thats how I know whats going on - both nationally, locally and culturally. There is an unmistakable void in my life where NPR used to be. I cant believe Im saying it, but its true. Who knew I would miss people talking so much. Secondly: sports radio. My antenna was broken off mid football season. There were several times when I wanted to hear the game while quickly running over to the grocery store and it wasnt available. Thats not a good feeling when a good game is on the line. The Padres 2010 season will be here in the next couple months. I dont want to be in the same position as I was with the Steelers this year - trapped in the car and blind to what is transpiring on the field. Thirdly, I miss the local music stations and their music programming. This whole ordeal has taught me that as much as it is hypothetically possible, no ipod can replace what the radio offers. The musical variety is not the same even when you have over 5 thousands songs in your ipod. The surprise of a good song - coming and going - cant be replaced with an ipod or cd. It just cant. Yes, I can put my ipod on shuffle, but its just not the same. I know this beyond a reasonable doubt. Also, the radio commentary. Again I shake my head in wonder about what Im about to say, but the daily banter of local DJs is actually valuable to me. IT has meaning for me. Hearing the traffic report - valuable to me. Hearing the local comings and goings around the area - valuable to me.

My point: I miss my radio. I never thought I would, but I do. Im going to have to go back to Matt and ask him to fix it, but Im certain that it will be worth the time, money and effort. I feels good to be so sure. :)

Happy Thursday.

Me Gusta: Hallelujah

Im a little slow to the party, but this morning I bought the Hope For Haiti Now cd on itunes. This song brought me to tears. Its been a rough 24 hours emotionally speaking, and when I heard this song it just killed me. The voices of these two artists in harmony is so stunningly beautiful to me. The emotion and lyrics and music completely blew me away.

Check it out or better yet, buy the song.

Reality Check

Not 10 minutes after I wrote the last post, an ambulance drove up my driveway to take my neighbor Ellie to the hospital. She is dying of cancer and was going to get a blood transfusion. She did not look good.

Talk about guilt. I feel like a whining child for writing what I did. How stupid of me to complain about my computer when at the exact same moment - literally 20 feet from where I sat writing - my neighbor was struggling with life and death. Im such a jackass.

For any of you guys who are the spiritual type, some prayers for my neighbor would be appreciated tonight.

Thanks.

Stop... Its Too Late... Im Getting Frustrated.

image from etsy.com

There is a Spoon song that says "Stop... its too late... Im getting frustrated." That song totally describes me regarding this #*&!@ computer today.

Some back story: A few weeks ago, we lost all my photos on the external hard drive. Yes. You heard that right. We're talking about 10s of thousands of photos. Vanished. Poof. Years of our family history gone. Im going to be honest: I have not allowed myself to think deeply about the statement I have just made. I cant go there. If I do, I may just hurt someone. Im in denial and Im fine with that because I honestly do not want to feel the pain of what has happened. Matt, however, dove waste deep until the nightmare. For several days he really beat himself about this whole thing - a fact I wasnt quite aware of until recently. Matt has slowly attempted to pick up the pieces and has succeeded in retrieving many of our images . Hooray! Though he really hasnt had the time to sit down and work out all the glitches, he did purchase another hard drive. I am told the images, both retrieved and otherwise, are there.

There have been some crappy by-products from this disaster that, when coupled with the initial problem, are beginning to slowly drive me crazy.

1. I can not synch my ipod. People, I need to make you understand that this distresses me like its nobody's business. We're talking DEFCON 1. It is driving me totally &@!*$ crazy that I cant access my updated music on my ipod. I have not one, but two new This American Life podcast that I cant put on my ipod! I have a new playlist I made for my walks. I cant get it on my ipod. Listen up: If you want to see me angry - put a wall between me and music. Its not pretty. Not pretty at all. I have literally had to step back and count to ten twice today because the heat generating through my body felt like a volcano ready to blow. It felt like I was going to lose control.

2. I also cant seem to upload pictures onto my computer through my card reader. This makes me very angry. Not psycho angry, but angry enough. Normally I would have some pictures to accompany this post BUT I CANT UPLOAD ANY. I dont know why. It worked this weekend. Its not working now. When I stick my card in the reader like I have 1000 times in the past, it doesn't register. I AM GOING TO LOSE MY MIND.

3. Also (and this is something that isnt necessarily related to the rest - it just makes me mad,) Safari sucks! It has begun to not open for me. It will idle for seconds/minutes and not open. I have to force quit it at least once a day. What is that about? When Im dealing with all this other major stuff, I just want to be able to check perezhilton.com without much fuss. Can I do that? Is that possible? Is that too much to ask?

When I am feeling this frustrated reason alludes me. Compassion alludes me. Patience absolutely alludes me. The first thing that comes to my mind is who do I blame.

It cant be me, right?

Happy (or unhappy) Tuesday!

Everyday Is a Finn Day!

The past two days have been all about Finn.

On Friday, we had the Annual Cub Scouts Cake Auction. The night was super fun, but the lead up was a bit stressful. The theme this year was "Famous Structures of the World." When we asked Finn what structure he wanted to bake his first suggestion was the Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai. The "Burj" is the tallest building in the world so Matt quickly ruled that out. Next Finn asked for either the great Pyramid at Giza, the Italian Colosseum and/or the Great Wall of China. After consideration, Matt and I decided on the pyramid. We looked online and found a site that gave step by step instructions on how to create a pyramid cake, but it wasnt as easy as it looked. After several (and I do mean several) boxes of cake mix and lots of protestations, we had something that resembled the Matterhorn at Disneyland. It didnt look good and it didnt look like a pyramid. Matt was angry at me for making him bake the cake in the first place. He wanted to buy a cake and then put something on top of it; I convinced him otherwise. At the end of Thursday night, I was beginning to think that he had been right all along. Maybe we should have just bought something.

Friday morning, I made the executive decision to give the cake a second try. Our kitchen was trashed with dozens of dirty dishes from the night before so I opted not to make a cake, but instead to assemble one. I went to our local store and bought some premade pound cakes, some brownies and a ton extra candy bits. Less than an hour later we had the Colosseum of Italy. When my mom saw the cake for the first time, she mistakened it for the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Henceforth, the cake was called The Leaning Colosseum.

Last year Shea and I dropped Matt and Finn off at the meeting, but didnt stay for the cake auction. This year we made it a family affair. The four of us plus my nephew Eli went to the pack meeting and when all was said and done we bought FIVE CAKES. Thankfully we didnt keep them all. One went home with Eli, one went over to my parents house and another was left with some homeless people outside the church. By far, the best part of the night was watching Finn's hysterical method of bidding on cakes. Last year Matt tried to describe to me how enthusiastic Finn became, but I didnt quite understand until I saw it for myself. Finn was a crack up - very exaggerated and totally unyielding in his pursuit of cake. When it was time to bid on the Leaning Colosseum, Finn would not be outbid. He actually got in front of the auctioneer and countered every bid that came in with a threatening finger point and an intense stare. He was soooooo into it and hilarious to watch.


Saturday Finn had a basketball game. He is not the most athletic person, but his friends were playing youth basketball so I reluctantly enrolled him in the program. I was very leery of him playing. He's in the 3rd grade and had never dribbled a basketball before. Finn has historically lacked coordination and sports have not been of great interest to him. In the end, I decided to go for it because he really wanted to play with his friends. He actually begged me to let him play.


I have to give my son props because he is a much better player than I thought he would be. While he is not very comfortable being in possession of the ball, Finn is absolutely tenacious as a defender. He amazes me with his grit, determination and hustle on defense. Today he was all over the other team's high scorer and when Finn was in, he kept that kid in check. Im positive Finn didnt realize what a difference his defense was making, but to me and Matt his effort was commendable. After the first half, Finn told his coach he didnt want to play anymore. Our team is not experienced and we were losing 14 - 4. Finn was very discouraged and you could tell in his face and his deamenor that he was really down. Then, in the beginning of the second half, Finn got hurt and began to cry. He was done and totally defeated, but we gently coaxed him back on the court and he finished the game well.

After todays game, it was so obvious to me that my son lacks confidence. Upon leaving, we talked about doing your best and not giving up. Finn seemed to understand, but I think losing is hard for him. He takes it very personally for some reason. Finn is never going to be a star player, but he's not a bad one either. I have to figure out a way to boost him up and show him that he's doing great. I have to make him understand that he can do anything he puts his heart and mind to. And trust me, that kid has TONS of heart.

Happy Saturday.

Its a Lovely Day In the Neighborhood.

For the new year, Ive gotten together for some "buddies" in an effort to lose weight and become more active. We are encouraging and talking to each other about this lifestyle change on a regular basis. I can lose weight. Ive done it before and Im pretty sure I can do it again. That is not my main hurdle. The challenge for me is becoming active in a realistic, healthy way.

While we were talking one day, I had a vision of the type of active person I want to be. I imagined myself a grey haired woman, walking around the neighborhood with her stick and her hat. I imagined myself contented and balanced and fit. Where I live, we have a couple ladies who fit that description. My kids know them by sight. One lady has a dog she walks. They always wave at me when I drive by. They are always smiling. I see them almost every single day. I dont know about you, but there seems to be a very contented, zen like quality to the way these women stay active. They are definitely more fit than I presently am, and yet their workout doesnt seem like a workout. Their work out seems like a by product of getting outdoors and enjoying the neighborhood. That is such an appealing thought for me.

I want to be active, but I dont want to punish my body. My focus isnt on how cut my abs or my legs are (though I could definitely use some firming up in both areas.) My focus, in all seriousness, is my heart. I turned 39 this year. Im not a young kid anymore. I have a very strong desire to stick around this world for a long time. Its about time I start planning on it - start working towards it. Its about time I start dedicating some time to extending my life and taking care of this body so that I can enjoy my later years with my family.

Last week, I began my neighborhood walks in earnest. I havent done it everyday, but Ive made it out several times a week. So far, its really enjoyable for me. I feels like my time. When I had that "vision" of what my active self would look like, a lot of that vision had to do with the neighborhood in which I live. I LOVE my neighborhood but its far from grand. My neighborhood is hilly and curvy. The actual road I live on is very long, but instead of going straight it rambles in and out of the hills. Pizza men never find my house; they always get lost. The houses in my neighborhood are all different styles, shapes and colors with many being built into the hills. My neighborhood isnt a high mortgage area. The houses are small with lots of character. My sister and her family live in my neighborhood. I can walk to their house. The boys' best friends also live in our neighborhood. This area of Vista has always appealed to me. I consider myself to be very, very lucky to live here.

Today on my walk, I took Matt's point and shoot camera. I thought it would be cool to show you some of the things I see around my neighborhood. Though I didnt get as sweaty as normal (I was stopping a lot to take pictures) it was fun to focus on beautiful things I see on my walks.

1. This is a picture of the "man in white." I dont know his name, but he lives in my neighborhood and always wears white with a white painters hat. He walks most mornings and is very friendly. He drives a truck and everytime he passes me he will wave. This morning when I passed by he said "Good morning, sunshine." 2. Around the corner and up the hill from my home is a beautiful, old, adobe house. Rumor has it that it was once photographed for Better Homes and Garden Magazine. Its not big or grand, but the owners take very good care of it. In the side yard they have a beautiful, unearthly garden. It is surrounded by a rather tall hedge to keep it private. I had to reach the camera over the hedge to get this picture. Im glad some of it came out.

3. This is a shot of the senior van that is run by the city. It comes and picks up senior citizens in our neighborhood and takes them to the market, post office etc. When I heard the bus coming behind me, I stopped to take this picture. When I took the camera down from my face, the bus was right beside me and the bus driver and a woman in back of him were waving at me. Made me smile. 4. This picture is of one of hills I walk up. Its a steady, gradual hill. My legs are quivering as I get closer to the top. Thank goodness for my stick. The car in this picture waved at me too. I didnt know the person, but I love how friendly she was.

5. This is a picture of a home on my walk that I have ALWAYS loved. It has several large, mature trees around it and it has a large slanting front yard. The front of the house has big plate windows to take in the view. I have loved this house since I was a young teenager. Recently, we were driving by it and Seamus said "I just love that house." He surprised me because, while its a lovely house, its not flashy or large. I guess Seamus and I have similar tastes. 6. This is another house I love on my walk. Some of my most favorite people in the world live there.

7. I added this picture for a couple reasons. First off, whenever I see these types of fliers in my neighborhood I feel a little bad because Im certain the animal in question is dead. We have a lot of coyotes in the area and when I see fliers about little dogs or cats missing, I feel certain they are gone... eaten. The other reason why I snapped this picture is because they describe this cat as being "very large." Yeah...we have our own fat cat here in Casa de McGarvey. When I saw this, I wondered to myself if this cat could be larger than ours. Seems unlikely. 8. I added this picture becuase its characteristic of the types of roads and curves in my neighborhood. I had no business taking this shot because the road narrows just where I was standing. But I wanted to give you an idea of how curvy the streets are.

9. This fence stands in front of the yard/house of one of the ladies I described earlier in this post: the grey haired lady who walks. I love this lady. She always has a smile on her face - a BIG smile. Recently Ive seen her walking with her elderly husband. They walk at a leisurely pace and they are often holding hands. Its so freaking adorable! I hope someday Matt and I can take walks together like they do. 10. This picture is of the bottom part of the hill that goes up to our house. Its the last leg of my walk and it kicks my ass every single time. Im usually huffing and puffing by the time I get to my driveway.

11. This dog barks like crazy at me every time I walk by his house. Thank goodness he's behind that gate because Im sure he'd come over and take a bite out of me if he could. 12. This is a picture of one of my favorite views in Vista. When we drive by it in the car, the kids say "Mama, here comes your favorite view." They know. hee hee This cactus farm is nestled away on a hill and into the valley near our home. Its beautiful. I love the color of the plants and the way the are grown in neat, orderly rows. Everytime I come down the hill and see this view I smile. Every. single. time. The dog, incidentally, lives across the street.

13. Just for your information, a cop lives three doors down from me. He often patrols the neighborhood, watching the speed of cars on the curvy roads. I think its great. On Halloween this year, he donned a pig mask and drove to the heart of the neighborhood to pass out candy from his police car. It was fantastic! 14. Normally, my neighborhood isnt this green. However, we've had a ton of rain lately so the flowers are blooming and there is green everywhere you look. Its like living in Ireland. Lovely.

15. When I saw this street sign this morning it made me giggle. 16. So. California roads are not made to withstand lots of rain. Parts of the neighborhood get flooded every time we get a good downpour. It was nice for the city guys to come out and put these signs up. If you're in your car, you can easily hydroplane on one of the many big puddles. I also saw the city guys opening manholes/drainage areas all over the neighborhood this morning. They're getting ready for the next storm to hit us later today. 17. Brenda + Frank. Awwww. This was traced into a little patch of cement near the road.


Welp, thats it. Thats a snapshot of the walk I took this morning. Thanks for coming along with me.:)
Happy Wednesday!

My Little School Boy

One of the reasons Matt and I decided to switch the boys to Catholic school was because we felt like their education thus far wasnt as full as it could be. The public school they previously attended practiced some fantastic academic standards, but the faculty couldnt always allow time to participate in those "above and beyond" activities that enrich a child's education. Im talking about research papers/reports. Im talking about school theatrical opportunities. Im talking about science fairs. St. Francis has delivered on all those items.

Now that the boys are in their second year at St. Franccis Im beginning to realize that all those "above and beyond" activities are a lot of work - not only for the students but also for the parents.

After the long three day weekend, Finn had a book report due in the form of a diorama. His teacher is excellent at managing the reading of the book and making sure that the kids are prepared to do the project. However, when it comes down to it Matt and I are the ones that push these types of projects through. Finn is a semi academically driven student, but its Matt and I who are running to the craft store and making time at home for these projects to get done. At this stage, we are totally the driving force behind big projects being done well. Matt did most of the work with Finn this time around. :) Finn's book was called Flight of the Phoenix by R.L. LaFevers and his diorama was supposed to depict his favorite part of the story. In addition to the diorama, Finn had to be prepared to do an oral report on his book. Matt helped him tirelessly on Sunday and Monday to get this project done. I got a little lump in my throat watching them work together at our dinner table. In the end, we were all impressed with Finn's end product. Here are the pics:


This morning I got a sneak peak at the dioramas that were done by other students in Finn's class. There were some really cool ones and some so-so ones. I'd say Finn's diorama was somewhere in the middle. Regardless of his grade, I am grateful for the opportunity for him to work on this type of creative assessment. This was his first diorama, but Im sure its not his last. One thing is certain: Finn certainly seemed proud of his creation this morning. He insisted on walking with it to class and was keen to show others what he had done on the way.

Its a wet one here today. Lots and lots of rain. Hope all of you are staying dry.
Happy Tuesday.

Im Tired And I Wanna Go To Bed

I woke up in a bad mood today. I literally felt irritable from the moment I got out of bed. At one point this morning, I made myself stop and think of the things for which Im grateful. I was really starting to go down a bad path, but by focusing on the positive the day quickly turned around. Here are a few things that came to my mind.

1. Boys. Ive said it before, but I get mucho enjoyment watching my boys play. Maybe its that I didnt grow up around any boys. Maybe that's why everything they do seems so neat and different and fantastic. Yesterday my boys were joined by Eli and their friends James, Jeremy and Ryan. They spent hours running around outside, chasing after each other with nerf gun and playing with dirt in Seamusland. There is something so terribly sweet about how simple their pleasures are. I never get sick of it.


2. Matt. He spent most of yesterday preparing our house for the torrential rain that is supposed to pound us next week. A little background story: a few years back, our backyard and garage got flooded by heavy rains. At the time of the flood, I was in Scotland enjoying one of my best friend's weddings. Matt, however, was back here (along with his mother and the boys) learning the value of a submersion pump and having nightmares of the garage flooding with mud. I guess it was a pretty bad experience because Matt has never quite recovered from it. When he found out that a week long storm was heading in our direction, he went out and bought sandbags at Lowes. The boys and Eli helped him fill and lay them. He also dug a ditch in the backyard in an effort to keep the garage from flooding again. Anyone who knows Matt and I knows that we are not big planners, but my man is prepared. He is taking care of us well.

3. Reading. I am not a big reader, but lately I have found a feeling of gratification by stealing away in my bed or a chair and immersing myself in a book. My sister Jennifer calls me a book snob. She might be right. I enjoy the actual writing style of a book as much as I do the story. For that reason, I dont enjoy reading just for the sake of reading. I like reading good books. But recently, I seem to get enjoyment from the act of reading: finding a quiet spot and turning off the world. This is a new thing for me and I like it a lot. Last week, I read the book The Reader by Bernhard Schlink and although the story wasnt really an uplifting tale I found myself looking forward to coming home after a day at school and spending a couple hours reading that book. This is a very different feeling for me, but one I could get used to.

4.My big Ikea world map. Im going to segue into the superficial for a bit and talk about how much I love my Ikea world map. Im pretty sure I mentioned wanting it here. Its been on my wish list for a couple years. This Christmas Santa brought me the map and its everything I thought it would be and more. For starters, it pretty much takes up the entire wall in my dining room. I love that. There is something very decadent about a oversized piece of art - or in my case, an oversized map. Secondly, all of us have been getting a kick out of exploring its information. When we sit down to eat, my spot at the dinner table faces the map. I often find myself tuning out the dinner conversation and tuning in to all the faraway places on the wall. Hainan. The Western Siberian Plain. Finland. The Atlas Mountains. Just today Seamus and Finn were discussing how large Alaska looked and Seamus ended up schooling Finn on how large many Asian countries are in comparison. Thirdly, and this came as quite a pleasant surprise to me, the map works as a pretty cool backdrop. Check this out:

5. Big Love. Its a guility pleasure, no doubt about it. And I know there are tons of people who are offended by this show, but I get such a kick out of it. Like many tv shows, this series just started up in January after several months off air. Im so happy its Sunday because that means I get to check in with Margie, Nikki and Barb. I never expected to enjoy Big Love. I was ready to be disgusted by the entire thing. When HBO first began this series a couple years ago, I tuned in purely out of curiosity. But after a while, I truly began to enjoy the characters and their precarious love for each other. Actaully, there have been a few times when where I found myself cheering on their crazy life together. I know its nutty, but I love that crazy polygamist family! ha ha They make my family look very very healthy and normal. :)


Happy Sunday.

Layout Share

as seen at twopeasinabucket.com
Our plans for New Years Eve ended up getting canceled at the last minute so Matt and i created a new tradition for our family. The night ended up being way cooler than we imagined. This layout is journal intensive, but I really wanted to get down all the events of our new years together. The photo was taken with the timer. I always forget how to use that feature on my camera, but I usually end up really liking the pictures taken. I probably like them because the photos show the four of us and the image usually reflects our normal everyday life. The photos are far from perfect nor are they set up to seem ideal. Its real life, pure and simple. In this pic, we're in our jammies. Not all of us are in focus and Seamus is barely in the frame. The actual crop of the photo is lacking artistically and the lighting is not ideal. But its us, you know? I really like that. I think I need to use the timer on my camera more often.

This page was to document the adorable pictures I took of the boys and the cousins on NYE.

Happy Friday.

Just Livin' My Life, Hey!

photo: Seamus playing in the backyard 1/7/10

Its Monday.
My house is a mess.
Im currently kind of sweaty and stinky.
I have lots to do.
But....
Im feeling GOOOOOOOOD! Here's why.
-Its sunny and warm today. Not hot, just warm and beautiful and clear. I could see the ocean from my drive way this morning. Its THAT clear.
-I went for a walk about an hour ago. That felt great! Can I just say something without sounding like Im gloating: I love where I live. I do! Vista is a great town and I love my wacky, little neighborhood. I love how the houses are all laid into the hills. I love how the streets meander and curve with no rhyme or reason. I love that when I walked past the school down the street I saw my nephew Eli running around the playground in his red shirt. Finn has this thing where he sometimes gets anxious that we're going to move. I dont know why he thinks that. We've never spoken about moving - not even casually. In any case, in order to reassure him I often say "Babe... Im never moving. Im going to be an old woman in that house. I love our house!" Today as I was walking around our neighborhood I thought to myself "Dude... I am damn lucky to live where I do. I love it here. I love my neighborhood!"
-Im going back to Weight Watchers today. Its got to be done. Im feeling like I can do this. Im feeling inspired.
-I can hear two hawks outside my door calling out to each other. Seamus can imitate the sound they make perfectly.
-Matt is making his mom's spaghetti tonight and it smells FANTASTICO! Its going to be hard not to pig out on it tonight.

Hmmm... what else? I dont know. Just feeling lucky today, I guess.

Happy Monday.

Anyone for Tennis?

Ok... so we didnt play tennis over the Christmas break. Im actually really sucky at tennis, though I do own a racket somewhere. I just like the song by Cream: "Anyone for tennis, woudlnt that be nice?"

Nope, we didnt play tennis over the break, but we did go bowling. What a great time we had! Jennifer and Barry took the week off to spend the days doing activities with Eli. Their days started quite early, while ours (during the holidays) lag behind and a leisurely pace. Jen called in the 10 or 11 o'clock hour and asked if we'd like to join them for bowling. The three of us were still in our pajamas. In fact, I believe Seamus might have just gotten out of bed! Initially, I wanst sure I wanted to rush the kids and go. I wanted to hang with my sister, Barry and Eli, but we rush every morning during the school year. I didnt want to do that on our break. However, I have learned in my ripe 39 years that when someone throws you an opportunity at fun, it should be taken. Ninety-five percent of the time, the effort to go is well worth the time spent enjoying the day with loved ones and/or friends. The boys and I rallyed quickly and met the Paweleks at the Vista Entertainment Center. We were only five minutes late. Woooo hoooo! Im so glad we went. We had a wonderful time.


When we first arrived, I didnt think the adults were going to bowl. Boy was I wrong. I had forgotten how much Jennifer enjoyed bowling. She was quite competitive and good too. In fact, my talented little sister bowled four strikes in a row. She was "en fuego!" Barry was the same. He threw that ball hard and with a crazy cool spin that made the pins bounce all over the place. Im no good at bowling. Ive never really enjoyed it, but being around them and their enthusiasm was contagious. They were so cute together too - enjoying each other and the kids. My sister laughs a lot around Barry. I love seeing her laugh.


I had to include this picture of my sister. Technically its a horrible shot, but look at that score. Look at her expression! She kicked ass! My score, viewed next to the "L," did not even break 100. Ahhhhh, yeah!!!! Are you proud of me, Barb? ;)


When I look at that picture of Jen I smile so big. She was so stoked - full of unbridled spirit. Wouldnt it be cool to feel that way a few times a day? Id love it.
Happy Friday.

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as seen at twopeasinabucket.com


The theme this month at two peas was 4x6 photos. I normally dont use that size very much so I took the opportunity to dig deep in my stash and try scrapping with some divided page protectors. Several years ago, I saw Ali Edwards use the divided page protectors on her blog. I loved the idea and went out and bought like 3 different types of divided protectors hoping to copy her idea. I never used them. ((((groan))) So typical of me: I get all excited about something but lack follow through. It was fun to bring them out this month and use them. Ironically, they were super fun to work with! I think the limited space made it easier for me to scrap, actually. Go figure.

Happy Wednesday. :)

Thank You!

Thank you for my birthday surprise.
Thank you for the cupcakes.
Thank you for my new awesome music t-shirt.
Thank you for the AMAZING, unforgetable, spectacular/spectacular playlist. (!!!!!)
Thank you for your touching words.
Thank you for letting my friends take me to the movies at 9:50 at night.
Thank you for making dinner.
Thank you for making me feel like the most special person in the world.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I think yesterday was the best birthday Ive had in 10+ years and its all because of you, Matt.
I love you.
Nub.

Happy Birthday Lisa!

The first Birthday I spent with Lisa was her 25th. Fourteen years later, Lisa is as great as ever. Like a fine wine, she just gets better with age. This year, we have had some money challenges as I am in the process of getting back on active duty. I thought it might be nice to give Lisa something unique and special this year. I think Lisa loves music as much as I love her. What better way to celebrate her Birthday than to list the songs that most remind me of Lisa and why I love her!

Beatles - Something: On our first date, Lisa and I heard a Beatles song on the radio. While I don't remember the specific song, it sparked a conversation about the kind of music we liked. This song is one that always reminds me of Lisa (it was my ringtone for her). I told her so once and she was surprised by that. I don't think that she thinks of herself in that way, but she gets my heart beating a little faster pretty easily!


Oasis - Wonderwall: Shortly after Lisa and I began dating, we went to her Grandma Betty's for some family event. We rode to Seal Beach with her sister Jen and her boyfriend. On the way up, this song came on and I got to see the music crazy Lisa for the first time. All conversation in the car stopped as she and Jen started acting very strange, bopping to the music and singing out loud. It was as if Tim and I and everything else ceased to exist. I'll admit now that it kind of freaked me out. I'd never seen that side of Lisa before (seems ironic now). Whenever I hear this song, I think of that day...so happy that I married this music freak!

Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar: I could have picked any number of Rolling Stones tunes. Lisa's favorite is probably “Beast of Burden” or maybe “Under My Thumb.” I also should mention that our family has a special place for “You Can't Always Get What You Want” (or as Finn used to sing it as a toddler “You Always Can't Get What You Want”). This one is special to me and reminds me of Lisa every time I hear it. Lisa's skin is white, but her soul is brown. She takes great pride in her Mexican heritage, and she is more than a little jealous that both her sisters look more Mexican than she does. When Lisa started teaching in Oceanside, she would come home and tell me how some of the kids of Mexican descent would assume that she was white and how shocked they were when she not only knew Spanish (better than many of them) but also that she knew (and lived) many of the particulars of Mexican culture. She'd then proceed to call them names in Spanish. Make no mistake Lisa is Mexican and she is my brown sugar!!

Elton John - I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues: In April of 1996, I was still on active duty and was deployed on a ship for six months. It was our first time apart. Lisa planted all kinds of surprises for me in my luggage. She had one of her tee shirts with her perfume, little notes here and there, and pictures of us. She also made me a cassette tape (you kids might have to look that one up at wikipedia) to make me think of her. It was chock full of great (albeit sappy) love songs, but this one brought me to tears. In a very short time, we had become best friends and this separation was very difficult. I often think of this as our song.

George Strait - The Man in Love with You: After Lisa had made me a tape for my deployment, I felt compelled to make one of my own. That was a real struggle for two reasons. First, I was on ship and didn't have a lot of music at my disposal. This was in an era before the internet (at least on Navy ships) and iTunes. I had taken a few CDs but had to supplement my collection with what was available on the ship's store (very limited selection). Second, I never really did that kind of thing. Lisa has always been great at making tapes, CDs and playlists for people. Me...not so much. I struggled through it and put together the best collection I could. This song was by far the best one I put on there. It summed up everything I felt then (and still feel) about Lisa. I was and am far from perfect, but the one thing that Lisa can always count on is my love for her.

Eagles - Peaceful Easy Feeling: I've always loved the Eagles. The music is very peaceful (no pun intended). This one makes the list because Lisa is the first (and only) woman to ever sleep with me in the desert. Every time I hear this song, I think about all the trips that Lisa and I have made to Joshua Tree. I sang this to her there (more than once I'll admit). Our first trip was while we were still dating and since then we have been dozens of times. I used to think Joshua Tree was heaven on earth. I now know that Joshua Tree with Lisa is heaven on earth.

Van Morrison - Into the Mystic : Ask anyone what their favorite Van Morrison song is and about eight (maybe nine) out of ten times they'll tell you it is "Brown-eyed Girl." Not Lisa, not for a minute. As she strongly explained to me when I asked her shortly after we started dating: "I'm NOT a brown-eyed girl!" Instead, "Into the Mystic" is Lisa's favorite Van Morrison song. She told me that she always likes to think that she (like the girl Van sings about in the song) has a gypsy soul. Now anyone who knows Lisa knows that she is not the type of person who wants to move around. She loves her family and she loves her friends too much to stay away for long (as I would find out in a couple years). But deep down inside, I believe my baby has a gypsy soul...it is just that the love for her family and friends is stronger than her romantic notions of roaming form place to place breathing in the world around her.

Sting - My One and Only Love: Our wedding song. This isn't one that many people know. We knew we wanted something unique. Who knew it would be so obscure? You can't even find it on iTunes. It was not on a regular Sting album. Instead it was on the soundtrack for the movie "Leaving Las Vegas" (a terribly depressing movie BTW). I'm not certain, but I think it is possible that sitting in the movie theater might have been the first time that either of us heard this wonderful song. Regardless of when we first heard it, we agreed that it would be our song. Lisa always comments about my dancing skill that night. I honestly don't know where it came from (or where it went afterward), but that night for one song I felt like Fred Astaire dancing with the most beautiful bride I'd ever seen! The very thought of you does make my heart sing Lisa.



Dave Matthews - Crash Into Me: The first year Lisa and I were married was one of the best years of my life. We moved away to Sacramento and explored our new surroundings with the curiosity of two kids set loose on the world. We had so few responsibilities and got to spend hours and hours just enjoying one another. That year holds a very special place in my heart. One day, we went for a walk in the park and Lisa told me how much she loved this song because she thought it was so sexy. As is common with me, I hadn't really ever thought about the lyrics. She recited the lyrics by memory and boy was she right. This song is awfully hot! For some reason, I can't think of that year without this song popping into my head.

George Strait - I'm Carrying your Love with Me: Around Lisa's birthday twelve years ago, we found out that she was pregnant with Seamus. We weren't trying to have a kid yet and it came as a bit of a shock (and he's been surprising us ever since!). We both soon embraced the idea of being parents and that our baby was growing inside Lisa. We were going through a little bit of a country music thing that year and this song was pretty popular. We'd be driving down the road (usually on one of our exploring excursions) and this song would come on. Every single time, Lisa would sing the chorus to me (pretty loudly) and point to her stomach. To this day, if we hear this one, Lisa will remind me how she carried my love with her...twice. How blessed am I?

Aerosmith - I Don't Want to Miss a Thing: Another movie song. Armageddon came out just before Seamus was born and this song became a big hit that year. I remember living in our little apartment in Sycamore Hills and Lisa singing this song to baby Seamus. It was one of the sweetest things. It is hard for me to hear this song without getting a little emotional and remembering my wife's tender love for our beautiful little Seamus.

U2 - Sweetest Thing: Speaking of sweetest things... First let me say that every U2 song reminds me of Lisa. Lisa loves U2...I mean she really LOVES U2. When Sweetest Thing got re-released, it was a U2 song that I'd never heard. Lisa of course knew it because it was a B side to "Where the Streets Have No Name" and she already knew and loved it. What a great song! A few years ago when Lisa got an opportunity to go to the U2 concert, I could not deny her. This year, the whole family sat in front of the TV (with the computer attached) to watch U2's concert in Pasadena live on YouTube. U2 makes Lisa happy...and that makes me happy!

U2 - Walk On: More U2. I think I could have listed every song on this album. It was a special album that really helped Lisa get through a difficult time. After Finn was born, Lisa suffered from post-partem depression. It broke my heart to see her like that, as if her soul itself had drained out of her. We had this beautiful, wonderful new baby and Lisa was not even able to enjoy him or his spunky older brother or anything else. Nothing seemed to lift her spirits or cheer her up...not even music! Fortunately, we got help and Lisa came back as vibrant and strong as ever. I knew she would be okay when I heard her blaring this song and singing at the tops of her lungs "You've got to leave it behind!" Thank you U2!


Ewan McGregor - Your Song: Another movie song. Have I mentioned that somewhere close behind Lisa's love for Music is her love for movies? She saw this movie when she went back to Pennsylvania without me. I had my two week reserve training at 29 Palms and Lisa took our boys back to visit my family. The pictures from that trip are some of my most treasured...I think they make me feel like I didn't have to miss the whole thing. When "Moulin Rouge" came out on DVD a few months later, Lisa immediately bought it and talked me into watching it. I thought I'd hate it...I could not have been more wrong. I loved the movie and I loved watching Ewan McGregor sing this Elton John classic. For months afterward, I mimicked his style of singing and would sing this song to Lisa. Still love this song and still think life is wonderful with Lisa in the world .

Led Zeppelin - Thank You: My time away from Lisa when I was in Iraq was not a happy time. It was the second time we had been separated for a long period of time, and she was left with a pretty tough situation. For months, Lisa was a single mom raising two young boys. She was the mama and the dadoo. The guilt that I felt over being gone was huge and I didn't want her to know just how badly I was feeling...it was stress she didn't need. I kept it bundled up somewhere deep inside me and didn't dare let it out. My therapy was putting on my headphones and listening to this song. It reassured me and strengthened me. If I could just get back to her, it didn't matter how backwards the world had become. Mountains could tumble to the sea and it wouldn't matter as long as I had Lisa. She was (and is) my happiness. Towards the end of the deployment, I mentioned this song to Lisa in a letter. It was only a passing reference though. I still don't think she knows how much it meant to me and how much it made me thank God for her. She has makes this crazy life worth living for me and for that I am eternally grateful.

Tim McGraw - My Best Friend: Those who know me, know that I love the movie "Tombstone". At the end of the movie Doc Holliday is laying in bed dying from tuberculosis and Wyatt Earp come to visit. Doc says to Wyatt "You are my friend." When Wyatt replies that he has lots of friends, Doc replies "I don't." Like Doc, I don't have a lot of friends and I dearly cherish the ones I've got. Since I met Lisa in 1995, there have not been many circumstances where I've had too many friends around. She has been my best friend, my partner, my biggest fan, and my lover. In this song, Tim McGraw captured every thing I feel about Lisa. I honestly don't know where I'd be without her.

Queen - You're My Best Friend: Speaking of best friend songs, how could I not take a minute to mention Queen. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard how awesome Freddy Mercury is, I'd be able to retire right now. Lisa adores him and I know it really makes her sad to think that he is gone. I could have picked any number of Queen classics for this list, but this one always makes me think about Lisa. As I said about the last song, Lisa is truly and completely my best friend.

The Killers - All These Things That I've Done: Okay I have to admit that I HATE this song. It's got a great beat, but I think that the chorus is simply stupid. You know: "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier." What does soul have to do with soldier? Don't ask me. Anyway, Lisa loves this song. When it first came out, she would sing it and pump her arms wildly while dancing and singing at the top of her lungs. All the while looking at me to see if I would respond. Very funny stuff. She doesn't understand my dislike of the song and likes to tease me with it. I'm pretty certain that the more I state my dislike, the more that she insists...that's my baby!

Brandston - Earthquakes and Sharks: This song is all about "Mexico and California!" How fitting for us: Lisa is the Mexican girl raised in So Cal and I'm the gringo who has completed adopted the lifestyle of both places. We've been to Mexico a LOT including about four vacations and our honeymoon. Lisa immediately picked this one up after hearing it. I think that the combination of references about the climate (earthquakes, "ain't no shade, ain't no trees", heat, polluted air) and familiar places (San Diego, Mission Beach, Mexico) and the local fauna (black widows, killer bees, sharks, black bears) make this a fun song for Lisa. It feels pretty cool to hear a song about the place you live. Of course, my personal favorite is the Chupacabra reference...they're real you know!

Rihanna - Umbrella: Ahhh Italy. In 2007, I asked Lisa where she wanted to go for our tenth anniversary. She chose Italy (yet another case where I am the benefactor of my wife's excellent judgment) and we set off for two of the best weeks of our life. We saw Rome and Florence and Venice. We sipped drinks in a cafe in a small Tuscan village. We saw art and history and ate some of the best food ever. We drank a little wine too. It was simply a fantastic time. When we were in Rome, we stayed in a quaint B&B close to the Vatican. Every morning, we would tune the TV to MTV (some Euro version that actually still plays music videos...what a novel idea). This song was on EVERY morning and we both began to associate it with our time in Italy. Now I cannot hear it without thinking of what a wonderfully romantic time we had. Tu sei il sole del mio giorno!



Led Zeppelin - Hey Hey What Can I Do: I'm the Led Zeppelin fan in the family. I could listen to Zep almost exclusively and not get tired of them. Lisa is certainly a fan also though. A couple years ago, she told me that she really wanted this song. I've got a pretty nice selection, but this is one you simply can't get at iTunes...or anywhere else. It was a B-side of Immigrant Song back in 1970 and has only been featured on obscure box sets. For weeks, I drove all over San Diego county scouring old record stores. I also looked online in every place imaginable...no joy. At the point of despair, I decided it was time to take extreme measures. Since I couldn't buy this song, I had to "share" it from a friend...anything to make Lisa happy.

AC/DC - If You Want Blood: I know what you're thinking. How does any AC/DC song (let alone this one) make its way onto this list? I already mentioned that Lisa loves movies. She really loves a good comedy. When she was pregnant with Seamus, we went to see "Something About Mary" and she laughed so hard I was afraid she'd go into labor. My baby is pretty easily amused. A year or two ago we decided to give "Dukes of Hazzard" a shot. Knowing how much Lisa enjoys Jackass on MTV, I'm guessing that Johnny Knoxville being one of the leads helped her along. In any case, we both loved it. This song was in the movie and afterwards, I found Lisa searching around in my music looking for AC/DC. She found what she was looking for and for months I heard this song blaring in the car, in the house, and in her scrap room. We even took the boys to see AC/DC in concert (and of course they didn't even play this song!). Yes...she's crazy...and I LOVE EVERY bit of it.

Ray LaMontagne - You Are the Best Thing: Last year, Lisa told me that she had arranged for her friend Tara to come and take pictures of us. Tara is a professional photographer and has taken pics of us several times (always for free…thanks Tara!). They are always great pictures and many of them hang in our hall. Lisa is no slouch with the camera and takes terrific photos. The best thing about Tara's photos is that Lisa is in them too! In any case, Tara was exploring a new business opportunity with a colleague who is a videographer and she wanted to film and photograph the McGarveys as a proof of concept. To better explain the concept to me, Lisa showed me the first video that had been done with Tara's friend Emily and her family. It was a great video. Emily and her husband have two girls and the music in the background was light and soulful. I told Lisa that it looked great, but I couldn't see a video of our family set to Sara McLaughlin! We had our film / photo shoot on a Friday afternoon last Spring. A few weeks later, Lisa showed me our video (and the pictures). It was set to this song…one that I had honestly never heard. It was perfect. It fit so well with our craziness while still capturing the love in our family. I think we've all (including the kids) have watched this thing at least a hundred times. Every time I see it, I laugh and I cry. Lisa you really are the best thing to ever happen to me. Happy Birthday!

Mmmm. Mmmmm. Good

I just had to brag a bit on my husband.

This past week, Matt made me some of the best posole Ive ever tasted. Let me tell ya: Ive eaten my fair share of posole. I lived in Mexico for crying out loud. Im Mexican! All that withstanding, Matt's posole last week was one of the yummiest things Ive eaten in a long time. Matt was in the grocery store and saw a picture of posole on the cover of a magazine. He came home, searched for the recipe on the Sunset magazine website and whipped up the tastiest meal Ive had in weeks. After we finished eating, I asked Matt to print out the recipe so we could make it again. It was delicious! But of course, Matt added and subtracted ingredients to his liking so printing it out wouldnt replicate it completely. It was soooooooo good, you guys. When I look at this picture I cant help but want more. Yummers!

Happy Saturday.