Nearing the end

I haven't been very good about updating this lately. I've been so busy with work (we are down two staffers because they both took nearly two-week vacations) and my side-job (I have two projects in the works right now). I haven't even had time to post photos on the photosite from Matt's games. I have some from the Hartnell game and the Cypress game last night.

What a game that was last night. We won in overtime by 2! It was so exciting. We were down 12 in the first half and 10 in the second. I believe that's what it was. I am bad, I never pay attention to the score. I just know we were losing. The girls played really hard and fought back so well. Matt did a superb coaching job too. He didn't oversub, which he tends to do sometimes. His girls are in great shape and he put the right subs in at the right time! Good job!

I am pretty sure they lost to Ohlone tonight. The score was 52-20 at half. That's a big deficit to have to overcome. The game was over about an hour and a half ago and he still hasn't called. That's usually not a good sign. He probably piled the girls in the vans and drove straight home.

I just found out tonight that I don't have to work New Year's Day. It'll be nice to sit at home and play with Diana and hang out with Matt all day. Then, I have Tuesday off too. Yipee!

It was great!

What a great Christmas! Diana got some great presents that we played with this morning! Ha ha!Seriously though, she got a basketball hoop from Daddy that Daddy was practicing his couch jump shot on all day. Luckily, nothing got knocked over, but I am pretty sure that Diana will be under the impression that playing basketball indoors is OK.

She loved her stocking this morning! Santa brought her some $1 items from Target that she didn't let go of all day. Now I know what to tell Santa to put in her stocking for years to come..."Just go to the dollar store Santa!" Diana just had a wonderful day! She played hard and laughed even harder, she was definitely in the Christmas spirit!

We got a ton of pictures so I will have to email them out to everyone soon. Matt is off from school for a couple weeks so that will be nice, but I am working and Matt has practice and games. He plays on Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Gervasoni tourney at DeAnza College. Looking forward to that because I actually get to go! We are also looking forward to Aunt Debbie's arrival on New Year's Eve! Big Party! :)

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and is ready for a big shopping day Tuesday!

Merry Christmas

I am at work. But I don't mind because I am off in 45 minutes. Just let this 49ers game get over quick!

I am real excited to get over to my dad's for Christmas celebration with the family. I hope everyone has a good time with their own celebrations this week. I wish we could see more family, but it was real nice to see everyone last weekend and have some Christmas celebrations.

If you are traveling, do it safely. When you ring in the new year, do it safely but have a great time!

It's beginning to look like Christmas

There is a street by my house that has about 10 houses and all of them have lights! It's so fun to drive by and look. We might take Diana there Sunday night. She has to see all the lights. It's great that it's so close to our street too. That way we don't have to drive all the way over to Candy Cane lane and sit in traffic to see lights.
I was beginning to think that people just don't have time to put lights on their houses, but I guess people wait and turn them on closer to Christmas to save on the PG&E bill. Smart.
Two more days...I am excited. Excited because Diana is getting more practice opening presents. She opened a package from her babysitter, Jill, today. Cute little sweat outfit and some books, of course. Diana was more interested in the box and the paper, but she loves her new book, too. Poor Jill is going to be reading it for days!
I have to work this weekend, but I think it will go by fast.

Christmas came early

Diana got some practice the last couple days opening presents.
First, it was presents from the Badillas. The Tickle Me Elmo Extreme battery is almost out because it's been used so much in the last couple days. That thing is hilarious! A must have! Diana mostly played with the box – and still does. But the box is pretty fun in its own right.

Today, Papa John and Gramma Judy came up and had Christmas with us. Diana did pretty good. Once I asked her to "help mommy" with the boxes, she was more than willing to tear the paper off. She did OK. She got some great toys and clothes. My fave so far though are the towels. Big ole towels with her name on it. Something she really needed. She was outgrowing the baby towels she got when she was a baby. She would shiver out of the bath because she wasn't all the way covered. It was sad, really. She also got a pink roller suitcase with her name on it. Awesome for all those trips she'll be taking to family members' houses.

I can't wait for Xmas now. Six more days! I still have a lot of shopping to do but hoepfully I can do it in the daytime and avoid the crowds.

The weather here is frightful! Tomorrow: 49 high 27 low. Brrrr! I had to laugh tonight when I read about the Arizona State women's basketball team playing an outdoor game in Phoenix. The fans in the stands were bundled up, according to the story on AP, 'like Packers fans at Lambeau Field.' The temp in Phoenix at tip-off? 56 degrees. I woulda been wearing shorts!

Wanna hear something gross?

I called someone tonight to do an interview and couldn't control my cough. I was covering up the phone, drinking water while she was talking and trying not to gag. She finally suggested me calling her back this weekend. How horribly embarrasing is that? I went to the bathroom where I coughed for another five minutes. I have never had this bad of a cough. It's a little out of control. I went to the doc on Wednesday and she did a strep test. I didn't hear anything back from the lab so I am assuming I am OK, just whatever is going around is what I have.

On another note, Solano beat Hartnell Wednesday. Yay! 7-9. Matt said that he is very happy with that record.

We are going to have a Xmas card this year. Lots of people are asking and we will get one out soon. The letter is written, sitting on the computer upstairs waiting for changes to be made and for it to be printed out. We have to get together for a family photo too and that seems to be near impossible. Busy time of year.

O Christmas Tree

We got our Christmas Tree last night – at Raley's.
There's just something completely wrong about this, but Matt assured me that in the future, we will go and chop one down. It's a good thing we are honest people because we could've very easily drove out of the Raley's parking lot after Matt tied the tree to the top of the car. We went back inside though, got some sandwiches and hot chocolate and paid for the tree.
I slowly drove back home in a panic that the tree would fall off during the three minutes that it takes to get from Raley's to home. I suggested that Matt stick his arm out of the window and hold on to it, but he just laughed. I was serious.
It looks good though. It's in Diana's play room. We just moved things around and there it is. She didn't touch it at all so I am hoping that stays true for the next three or four weeks.

Matt's team is playing in the Showdown right now. They were down one at half (20-19)...Snore!!

What a Day

Solano lost. It was close, then it wasn't. Hopefully, we can get back on track on Friday at the Showdown. I love the Showdown, I just wish I didn't have to work during it. I love tournaments, it's fun to see other teams come to games and watch them have fun together. I especially love taking my dinner breaks in the hospitality room. Matt and his assistants put together the best hospitality room!
Grand V is going to have playdates with Diana on friday and saturday so they won't be able to see any games until Sunday. Aunt Michelle is coming down though and she said she doesn't even mind sitting by herself watching the game. Poor thing!

Back to Reality

Matt's coming home tomorrow. I have mixed feelings. :)

Diana and I have had such a wonderful four days together. We have laughed more than we have ever laughed together. Most of it is because she is 1 1/2 now and she's just at a very fun age and a very fun girl to begin with. Everything is fun with her.

Grand V spent some real good quality time with her as well and they laughed a ton too. Diana and I didn't really go anywhere (except over to a local high school to take some photos this morning). We just stayed around the house and played with her puzzles, her basketball, her books, etc. She laughed at me while I was in the shower this morning. She wasn't quite sure what to think of all that, but she laughed after a while.

I am excited for Matt to come home and see her. It was a rough weekend. Solano lost to Reedley today by six points. We are 4-7 now...Matt hates losing. He thinks that he isn't doing a good job. But, he's a perfectionist and is very hard on himself. Sometimes, I don't think that I am doing a good job being supportive. Especially when I am three hours away. I wish I could be there to help him out. It's hard to do that over the phone.

Maybe we will get our Christmas tree this week. That'll be fun. Then again, Solano has a big game Wednesday and the Showdown this weekend and the week leading up to that is always crazy.

It's been cold here...Anywhere else? It's supposed to be 54 on Thursday. Yikes. I will staying inside that day!

Argh, a loss

Solano lost to LA Valley tonight by two. LA Valley hit the game-winning shot with seven seconds left. Matt said his team didn't play well until the final five minutes of the game. Bummer.
His manager/scorekeeper was kind enough to text message me at halftime of the game with the score.
Text messaging comes in very handy during this time of year. I just hope he always has nice managers who are willing to keep me in the loop. I hate just sitting around waiting for a phone call or a text from Matt about the score. I hate not being able to go to as many games but for now, that's how it is. :)

Went for a Walk today!

I just realized that it's been a while since I posted.
Matt's team won today in the first round of the COS Tournament. It's a big one. We beat Riverside, which we lost to at the Mt. SAC Tourney a couple weeks ago. Matt's team has been playing so well lately. They lost to Sierra the other night, but it was close and the team was actually up 15 at half, or something like that.
Today's win was a good one though. They played at noon today so they have the rest of the day to relax, probably have study hall and go back to the gym to watch some of the games tonight. Matt really likes this tournament because of the night games. They are pretty exciting. I guess to him it's the closest thing to night tennis at the U.S. Open he's going to get! I haven't been to the tournament since I played in college, but he always has some stories to tell and it seems like his teams always play well there.

The team plays LA Valley or Merced tomorrow.

Diana and I are just kickin' back today..it's my day off. It's really nice here today. The sun is out and it's not bitterly cold like it has been. We actually went for a walk up to the store. Haven't done that in a while!

Additions to the Xmas list

After a delightful dinner date with my mom tonight, we crossed the parking lot for a short trip to Barnes and Noble. Love that store, by the way. You can get an instant Christmas list by spending just 10 minutes in there.
So, here are a couple books to add to my Xmas list:

"She's Got Next" by Melissa King
"Nikon D70 Digital Field Guide" by Busch (it's the green one)
"Sports Digital Photography" by Lowrence
"Understanding Digital Photography" By Bryan Peterson
"Photoshop Photo Effects Cookbook" by O'Reilly

Can you tell I am really into my photography? Plus, there's always got to be the newest basketball book!

The countdown to Christmas

Thanksgiving was great!

Matt did a fantastic job and what's more important to me is that he was proud of himself. He cooked an outstanding turkey, turkey breast, purple stuffing (he he), four pies, mashed potatoes, gravy...I am sure I am forgetting something. Everything was great and our guest, Ines, had a great time too. She even entertained Diana while we cleaned up. She had Diana laughing so hard! It was fun to listen in from the kitchen.

Now, the countdown to Christmas begins. I am really excited about this one because I really think Diana is going to get what's going on a little more than last year. I am also excited about giving gifts. I already bought Diana a couple things and Matt knows what he is buying her, but aside from that, we are leaving it up to the family. We don't want to go too overboard and we know that the grandparents and aunts will go crazy! :)

Matt has two games in the next four days (Saturday and Tuesday). I won't be able to go to either (have to work Saturday) and Tuesday it's in Rocklin at 7 p.m. Too late for Diana.

We hope everyone had a safe and healthy Thanksgiving and found their way back home safely from wherever they were.

My Xmas List

Since I am the only one in the family who is blogging, I feel like it is OK for me to post my wish list. :)

Here's what a I want (and if I have to get it myself, that's cool):

Tripod
50 mm 1.4 lens (probably get that myself with some extra cash coming in soon)
ITunes gift cards
Gift cards to: Bath and Body Works, Macy's, Barnes and Noble
Conversion actions from a photographer at 2 Peas
Black Crocs (clogs or sandals, haven't decided yet)


It just feels good to get it out of my planner and out in the open. I feel like I am 8 again and posting a piece of paper on the fridge for all to see! :)

Thanks!

Just need to vent

What a day I had (found out later that Matt's Monday wasn't much better).

I have been dealing with a new printer for all these media guides that I do for Solano. What a hassle they have been for the past two weeks. It's been one thing after another. They got me some media guides Friday, but turns out they were printed on the wrong paper. I was on the phone all morning trying to get things squared away with them.
In the meantime, I was on the computer trying to download some software for the photo sharing site I have. My computer lost the internet connection midway through so I have to start over another time. I might actually have to sit at the computer while it takes 26 minutes to download. I guess I should just get DSL and it will only take 2 minutes.
I called Gateway to see about returning a memory chip that I bought that turns out I don't need and can't use on my computer. The guy said that I only had 15 days to return it and it's way past that day. Too bad. Someone at work told me to keep calling, get another person on the phone and see if they will help me. What a waste of money otherwise. I guess I might be putting "256MB of RAM" on my Xmas list this year.
I get to work and my boss still hasn't made the schedule for this week. He hasn't decided who is going to work on Thanksgiving (it's likely going to be me) and he is taking Friday off in addition to our preps writer. We have two football games that Friday and will have some stringers covering them. Lame. If I work Thanksgiving though, I get another day off so I might head down to Visalia with Matt's team in a couple weeks. Hopefully they at least win the first game. :)

OK. I think I feel a little better. I did extend a nice gesture to the new reporter at work. She's from Brooklyn and I asked her if she would like to join us for Thanksgiving on Thursday. She said she would love to. She's super nice. She is also a Cowboys fan so I think she is going to love watching the game on HD.

Bummer of a loss

Solano lost tonight. It wasn't close. The team didn't play that great, but they're going to get plenty of time to improve in the next couple weeks because they have a ton of games. Hopefully things get better.

Diana was awesome at the game. She watched the first half with Grand V...I had to work. I went out at halftime and watched the second half with them. She just "cleaned out" my purse while Grand V and I watched the game. She was awesome.

After the game, she practiced her layups and sprints. Grand V walked next to her while they ran in from the 3-point line to the hoop and raised their arms to make a layup. I was cracking up. It was so funny. No, I didn't have the camera. I know, I know. Everytime D ran out to the 3-point line, she crouched down and touched the 3-point line and then pointed at me. Yeah, D, Mommy shot a lot of 3-pointers. :)

I guess when Grand V and Diana arrived at the game, Grand V told Diana, OK, we are at Solano. Diana raised both of her arms in the air as if to signify "3-pointer!" We had been practicing it all day. Hilarious!

Lucky me

A reporter at work tonight was interviewing a man for a story and he mentioned to her that he cooks the whole meal for Thanksgiving. She was stunned by this and suggested to him that the paper write a story about that. Huh?
Is it that unusual that a man in the 21st century cooks the entire Thanksgiving meal? I don't think so. I am not even allowed in the kitchen on Thanksgiving...until it's time to do dishes! :)

Some thoughts on College Basketball

This is why I love this blog. I can write stuff here and not have to worry about it being too short to fit a column space. I don't even know when I last wrote a column for work. Too busy with too many other things.

Anyway...So excited about college basketball season. Gonzaga! Yeah, I don't know any of those guys...except Ravioli...but they are fun to watch because they are Gonzaga and I lived in Spokane for a very short time.

Here's what I have to say about Bobby Knight. Bobby Knight is who he is. He's going to do stuff that most people don't agree with. To those people, I say, leave him alone. He's old, he's proven himself, just let him be. If you don't like how he coaches, don't send your kid to Texas Tech to play for him. Simple as that.
I am not a Bobby Knight fan...I live with a die-hard Bobby Knight fan though. I just roll my eyes whenever he does something stupid. It's not of any interest to me. SportsCenter spent too many hours discussing the Bobby Knight "made contact" with one of his players incident. The Texas Tech AD wrote it off, the kids' parents wrote it off. No biggie...Let's drop it.

Good job by Oral Roberts knocking off Kansas tonight. Big upset and big props to the mid-majors who I love dearly.

Last note: Go West Virginia...You are young, but you'll be OK!

What a busy weekend

Whew. I am glad that weekend is over. Basketball went well, the team went 1-2 at the Mt. SAC tournament and played hard in all three games. The outlook is positive.

Entertaining Diana on the way home was a chore. In addition to both of us being tired, she demands that we keep her busy. Unlike at home, she has a hard time entertaining herself while confined to a car seat for nine hours. I was making shadow puppets until the sun went down when I realized that I had to make up a good excuse for the duck to go bye-bye. I said he had to go night night, and Diana got this extremely sad look on her face and these two HUGE tear drops just sat under her eyes. It was the saddest thing I have ever seen. I felt guilty that the duck had to go but glad that I had entertained her for so long. She was so sad!

She eventually fell asleep and went down perfectly when we got home.

Back to work this week and a normal schedule. There are two photos from the tournament this weekend on twopeas...I took a ton and a lot turned out pretty good. I wish the lighting at Solano was as good as the gym at Mt. SAC. I didn't have time to post all to twopeas...but I am working on getting a photo web site started so I can post more.

Matt's next game is Saturday against College of Siskiyous at home.

Mt.SAC Day One

We lost to Orange Coast...bad. The team did some good things and OCC is a good team. Matt said the team made big strides as a unit so he was pleased with that. We play at 1 p.m. today against Southwestern. They lost bad yesterday too. Hopefully we can continue to improve and bring home another win.

As far as SoCal is concerned, it's nice and warm here. :) We are loving it!

Photos from game one

There are five photos on the twopeas site from the San Mateo game. There aren't any of Matt but I am still trying to get better at taking game action stuff. He was pretty animated though so I am bummed that I didn't get a chance to take any of him. Maybe this weekend!

Enjoy!

We win!

It wasn't pretty but the first game of the season was a success. I can't remember the score - I never remember the score - but Solano won by about seven, I think. It was a typical first game (turnovers, sloppy, not so great defense, etc.) but there were some good things that came out of it too.

Matt's redshirt freshman was awesome. She played so hard, scored 14 points and probably had a bunch of other stats too.

The team missed 21 of 36 free throws, but that'll get better with time.

Diana just sat in her stroller most of the game and I got to take pictures while Grand V entertained her. Thank goodness for Grand V! D definitely knew that she was in the gym and that she had to sit still, so that was nice. But I don't think we will be sitting up in th bleachers anytime soon. :)
We let her run around the gym after the game and she got to see some of the girls that were on last year's team so she enjoyed visiting with them.

Up next: Mt. SAC tournament this weekend. We open with Orange Coast College, it could be ugly, but we'll see. We are looking forward to seeing some family there and having a great time in sunny So Cal!

Tuesday will go by slow

I am so excited about basketball season. Did I already mention that?
I am glad that there is a lot to do on Tuesday in preparation for the game or else I would go crazy sitting around the house reading "The ABC Book" and "Let's Go To The Doctor" to Diana all day.
I am going to vote in the morning with Diana..our morning walk. She'll take a nap and I will work in the office. Lunch time then picking up and delivering Daddy's suits to Solano. (We are such good girls!)
Then back home for a pregame nap and off to the college for the game. Hopefully there are no outbursts or anything that will throw this perfectly scheduled day off course. Yeah, right, who am I kidding?
Game's at 5 so please everyone think good thoughts. I've got everyone around the office excited for me so that is kinda cool.

I will likely post after the game Tuesday. Hopefully it will be a happy post and not a sad post.

Insider Info

I hope I don't jinx things...Matt saw San Mateo play today. He said they looked good. He said that he thinks his team will be able to beat them, but you just never know. All I know is that I am so excited. I am excited to shoot a game (not practice anymore) with my new camera, I am excited for Diana to go to an actual game (and not practice or watching on television) and I am excited for the season.
I hope that I can be disciplined enough with Diana so she knows how it's going to be during basketball games. She has to learn from the start, right? We'll see. I am sure that I will have some pictures to email (I can't figure out how to post photos on the blog yet) everyone from the first game experience.

Trick or Treat

Halloween with our little Bunny was great! Diana just walked up to those houses and got her candy. She even gave some of her candy to one guy. Some people said that she was the youngest and cutest trick or treater of the night. We went out 30 minutes before her bedtime and stayed out 30 minutes after her bedtime. We were really surprised at how well-behaved she was. I think she was just shocked at the whole idea of strangers giving her candy and us actually allowing it. She was super interested in the whole process. She also loved the fact that she was doing something with "the big kids" as Grand V said.

Diana even stayed up after her bath and read with Grandpa for 30 minutes. It was a great night!

We will have pictures for everyone to look at tomorrow hopefully so check out the 2 Peas site and your email!

Let the countdown begin

Wow...Only eight more days till the first game. I am probably more excited than Matt. There's always a ton of stuff to do in the week leading up to his first game. This one is a little more unique because he has a game Tuesday and then turns around and goes right to LA for a tournament that weekend. It's going to be a hectic week next week. OK, for the next seven months. :)

Diana is going to be a Bunny for Halloween. I am going to take her to a Harvest Festival at the school across the street and then we are going trick or treating when Matt gets home from practice. Hopefully she doesn't spit up on anyone like she did last year.

I am going to take tons of photos, so make sure to check twopeas by the end of the week. I will try to put some on the blog too. We'll see if I can figure that out. :)

Finally! Another Post

Well, it's been two months since we last posted and so much has happened. Matt's basketball season is less than two weeks away. His first home game is Nov. 7 against College of San Mateo. He has done a great job of getting the team ready and we as a family are really excited for the season to start.

Angela has been going to practices with Diana lately. Her reasons are twofold. One, to get Diana used to sitting still and watching the action...It's a long season for her and we want her to learn and watch the game. Second, Angela is breaking in her D70 digital camera. She has been posting some photos on a critiquing web site so if you want to check it out here's the web site: www.twopeasinabucket.com...I think you can do a PeaSearch for Dianasmomma and see all my photos. There are some of Diana on there too.

Diana is walking...has been for two months now. The best part about her walking is her method. When she gets going pretty fast, she punches the air as she is walking to keep her balance. We just laugh and laugh!

Matt loves watching her walk around the gym during his practices. Yesterday, she had a grand time taking all the balls off the ball rack and throwing them as far as she could. Angela would put one back and Diana would take another off and toss it. People that were watching thought it was funny...angela? Not so much.

Anyway, we look forward to seeing family at the Nov. 7 game. We are going to Mt SAC for a tournament that weekend for hopefully three games. You can also keep up with the team at www.solano.edu. We are going to be posting scores and stuff there.

Welcome to our blog

Hi everyone. I heard about this web site that lets you create your own blog for free. I have wanted to do this for our family for quite a while and now it's just a matter of keeping up with it. Hopefully, this way, everyone can keep up to date with Matt's team and Diana's ever-changing life. Please feel free to comment and send us a note when you can!