Who Knew?

Do you have to separate eggs often? I do. Especially when making my super simple Lime Pie.

3 ingredients. That's it. Well, 4 if you count the premade graham cracker crust.
5 egg yolks, 1 can sweetened condensed mild, 1/2 cup of lime juice + zest of 1 lime. That's it.
Beat the egg yolks for 5 min. A Kitchen-Aid mixer is very helpful for this. Beat in the condensed milk, lime juice and zest. Bake for about 15 min at 325.

But the best part is this super cool video on how to separate the eggs.

Who knew???

It is what it is...

Namaste

PS Andrew made Honor Band on percussion!

Proud Mom

Its been Little League Central around here as we get ready for the spring season. We had the final draft here last night.
The drafts are one of the best parts of being the Prez. I get to sit and watch 3-4 grown men argue about kids ages 6-13. Its hysterical.

Some random comments:
"That kid is nice but his dad sucks, I wouldn't draft him."
"Son-of-a bitch!!! I wanted that kid."
"That kid couldn't catch a fish in a kiddie pool"
"That's not what I expected" - many times last night
Lots of "S-O-B" , some sh##, a few F-bombs and my personal favorite....
In the 2nd round...
Coach Leonard: I'll take play #1206 - Everyone scans their player sheet to see who 1206 is..
Scott: (who is not supposed to say anything as player agent) CARA???, YOU"RE TAKING CARA IN THE 2ND ROUND????!!!!

Pretty awesome for the only 12 year old girl in the league to be chosen as a 2nd round draft pick.

And in taking a break from LL yesterday afternoon, I took Andrew for Honor Band auditions. Honor Band is made up of the best musicians from around the whole district. He was very nervous. He said its not like baseball because everyone knows what he is capable of. In band, the judges won't know him if he messes up. I hope he makes it... Gotta get my band fix somewhere.

It is what it is...
Namaste

Add Water

I got a Keurig coffee maker for Christmas. For those that don't know, it's the kind that uses the k-cups and makes one cup at a time. You can get all kinds of flavored coffee, tea and hot chocolate. I love it! And so does everyone else in the fam.

Tonight Scott decides to make tea so I have to show him how to use it. It's very simple. Colin and Cara figured it out in about 10 seconds.
Scott: how does this work?
Me: turn it on.
Scott: how?
Me: push the power button.
Scott: looking at the k-cup. Don't you have to open it?
Me: no. Just put it in, push the handle down and press the button when the lights turn blue and blink.
Scott: you don't take the lid off?
Me: no. Just put it in.
Scott: with the lid on? It's plastic. Does it melt to open?
Me: put it in and close the lid when the light turn blue. It won't melt.
Scott: so it opens itself?
Me: when you close the handle, it pokes a hole in it.
Scott: how does it do that. Does it melt it for the tea to come out?
Me: nothing melts. It pokes a hole and in the top and bottom and it makes the tea.

He finally makes his tea and I am laughing so hard inside my head. Then he comes back for another cup.

Scott: yelling to me from the kitchen. What does it mean when it says "add water?"
Me: to myself: Did he really ask me that? Out loud: It means add water...

It is what it is...
Namaste

We have video!

Still working on the Rally.org. We are up to a whole $75. Thanks, Grandpa! There's a long way to go but now we have a video. Starring... yours truly. Yikes! I'm not so great but I like how the rest came out.

MMWLL Rally Video

It is what it is...
Namaste

Let's Rally!

What have I been doing all day? Working on out Rally Campaign! MMWLL needs to raise $10,000 for field improvements and I decided to get techie.

 From what I hear, Crowdsourcing is the latest and greatest way to fundraise. Non-profits do it, people with large medical bills do it, athletes that need money to go to the Olympics do it, movie stars do it, MMWLL does it.

Please help us out by donating and passing it along via word of mouth, email, facebook, whatever.

https://rally.org/miramesawestlittleleague


It is what it is...
Namaste

Nesting Hobos

Dang hobos keep moving in. We do everything we can to make the LL fields as inhospitable as possible. We took all the doors and window coverings off of the score booths so they can't live in them. One actually figured how to jack our electricity and had a mattress and tv in there for a while last year. It was very comfy by hobo standards. We even ripped down the t-ball and farm field score booths because those divisions don't keep score. We hang our sponsor banners with a 12 foot ladder so they can't rip those down and use them for tarps. We call the police whenever we see one sleeping in the score booths or dugouts.  At player assessments yesterday we found a new nest. If you've never seem a hobo nest, you are in for a treat.

A lovely garden complete with a palm tree. I'm so happy he utilizes his trash receptacles to keep his nest tidy.

 From the outside, this discarded couch makes a great wall. The wall, well that makes a great wall too. It divides the parking area from the apartments on the other side. The nest is quite concealed by the pile of brush.

Take a look at the trash heap growing inside. 

 And a closer look...

Of particular interest we have

Underwear or possibly tights(?) hanging out to dry

A handicapped parking placard. For the car of his dreams. His bicycle is chained to the fence. 

His boat shoes. For the boat of his dreams?

Now the big question is how do you get rid of a hobo nest? Well, the police said they can't come over until the hobo is home. We should call environmental services to remove the junk, however this was yesterday afternoon (Saturday). Today is Sunday. And tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day. Soooooo ...you know there is no one working in the environmental services department until at LEAST Tuesday. AND I have a work order in for them to remove the other 2 mattresses that have been illegally dumped at the field since last week and those 2 have now multiplied to 4. 

Again I ask, how do you get rid of a hobo nest?

Like this.

One of our very dedicated volunteers happened to have this nifty bulldozer type machine working today. 

Bye Bye hobo nest.

It is what it is...

Namaste

Jury Duty

In November the dreaded envelope came in the mail. Nope, not the Visa bill, although that's usually dreaded too. Jury duty. I looked at my busy schedule and immediately called to postpone and relocate. They gave me a date in January and today was the day. So armed with some magazines, a book, a movie loaded on my Ipad and snacks, off I went.

I rescheduled to the Vista location, which is about 15 miles further up in North County rather than downtown. I like downtown but the parking is horrendous and not FREE. Parking should be FREE if one is doing their civic duty. In Vista, there is a nice big FREE parking lot. There are also a few shopping centers close by to go to for lunch. The jury lounge is huge and very comfortable.

I actually kind of like jury duty. I can sit around for a few hours, read magazines, drink coffee and watch movies on my iPad and people feel sorry for me that I have to do that.

I have been summoned to JD 3 times and all 3 times I got chosen for the jury. Yay for me! The first time a loser beat his girlfriend with a heavy duty maglight. Guilty. The second time an ex-Navy officer was accused of firing a gun at a party and driving away. Not Guilty. The 3rd time, I had to ask to be excused because it was Colin's 5th grade promotion. I got scolded for not rescheduling but they let me off.

Today, I sat around for 3 1/2 hours. Got chosen to go to the courtroom on a 60 person panel. The jury officer said go to lunch and report back at 1:30. When I got back they had dismissed the rest of the 150 people also in the jury room. 40 minutes later, we were thanked for our service and dismissed too. No trials starting today. Jury Duty done, until I get the letter again. The Butler was a good movie.

It is what it is...
Namaste

Bridgegate

You know I love a good Jersey story. No one on the Left Coast really cares about the Chris Christie bridge closing except to say its just a bridge right?
This video comes courtesy of my Oldest, Coolest and Dearest Friend, Audrey.
Springsteen and Fallon - Hilarious!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKHV0LLvhXM

It is what it is...
Namaste

Updates 2

I can't believe I forgot to add this stuff.

Pizza Week
Thursday- Best Pizza and Brew (pepperoni and a slice of white for me)
Friday - Pitchers (pepperoni with a side of anchovies)
Saturday Filippi's (Hawaiian for Colin and me)
Scott: I never thought I'd say this but can we be done with pizza week? I'm getting the spaghetti/lasagna combo

Jewelry
I got an order for 13 wrap bracelets so I did the 2 that were requested ASAP. I also have another friends surgical staples from her back operation to make something with. I'm waiting to be inspired.

I'm on day 11 of the 30 day fitness challenge. Why? Because some one put it on Facebook ...Joanne. And now that I started, I have to finish.

It is what it is...
Namaste

Updates

I know, I know... It's been too long since my last post. Well, here's what's been going on:
I'm back in Prez mode for Little League. It's been a ton of work with weekly registrations, going to the bank, doing paperwork, going to meetings. We need to raise about $10,000 for field maintenance beyond our normal operating budget so I've been looking into ways to raise that large amount. There's not much money on our community and not much participation. I'm figuring out how to do a crowd sourcing fundraiser so stay tuned.

I also finished the living room.

Before

And after

Pi got loose on Saturday and came limping home. She spent the day at the vet today. Diagnosis is stilll pending but she doesn't seem to have any broken bones. Maybe a severe sprain. Pi is on pain meds, anti inflammatories and has a series of high tech lazier treatments. Total cost $530.

Sooooo...
I've been working at the preschool for 2 weeks. One of the teachers in in the Philippines.

Happy Birthday to my mom, whose birthday was yesterday. I'm sure she is having a lovely time with Madalyn up in heaven.

What else? Oh yea, tormenting Facebook people with our gorgeous weather is quite fun.

It is what it is...
Namaste

What's for Dinner?

Hey! Guess what! The 2nd week in January is Nation Pizza Week! Who said the MacNaughton's aren't joiners and don't participate? Our goal? To have pizza every night this week for dinner! What an awesome idea! Everyone LOVES it!

Monday - Knockout Pizza ( a local place, 1 small cheese and 1 small meatball)
Tuesday - Pizza Hut (Stuffed crust with pepperoni and bacon)
Wednesday - Papa John's ( cheese with mushrooms and onions) and I got talked into the 7-11 pizza after school as a snack today. Colin and Jack decided it wasn't "real" pizza because its frozen pizza. Frozen pizza can only be eaten as a snack, not as a meal.

It is what it is...
Namaste

The Sunshine Tax

Its all over the tv, news, Facebook and the internet how cold and snowy it is on the East Coast. Sorry you guys. 75 and sunny ... again. (come on, I had to do it. Don't be a hater)

By some miracle ( or bad officialling) the SD Chargers managed to squeak into the play offs this weekend to play against the Cincinnati Bengals. The the San Diego UT ran  this comparison highlighting some differences between our 2 cities. 

My point? 

 A $343,000 difference in home prices with only an $8,000 difference in median household income.

And that my friends is the Sunshine Tax.

It is what it is...

Namaste

New Year, New Look

One family tradition is to watch all the old Christmas videos on Christmas. One thing I noticed is that the Christmas tree area has looked exactly the same for the 12 years we have lived in this house. Time for a change. New year, new look. Today was the day to start.

Yesterday, Colin, Cara and I took down all the decorations. Then off to Home Depot for paint.

Before - messy but basically how this corner looks

After

The paint that the previous owners painted the fireplace has been peeling for the last few years. So we started peeling it on purpose. Back to Home Depot for stripper... Not a stripper, paint stripper. Today's results are mixed. We definitely have to put in more elbow grease tomorrow.

Stay tuned for phase 3.
Here's phase 2. Don't worry. That Eagles sign has been replaced.

It is what it is...
Namaste