Ew-Da-Lolly!

1. Giftcards: Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Amazon.com, Half.com
2. Household Stuff: um...................yes please?
3. Music: See No. 1 The part about Amazon.com and Half.com.
4. Hobbies: Teaching. So, I would like some body bags, a bunch of bleach, maybe a hacksaw. :-)
Or, if you tend towards the less gruesome side of the hobby, music posters or
bulletin board boarders, or things along those lines.
5. Etc: surprise me! I like smelly bath-type stuff. Or simple jewelry - preferrably silver. Movies to replace the ones stolen from me. Don't worry about the titles, chances are I don't have it.

That's all I can think of right now.

I love you all!

Prop me Up, I'm LISTING...

Wish List #2,345,876

Hey guys, just wanna be sure that NO ONE will be disapointed with whatever they get me for Christmas this year. No, seriously, that's just the kind of sister I am, always looking out for my Sibs. After all, Peace, Goodwill, and the joy of giving the perfect gift, Those ARE the reason for the season aren't they? And so, without further bull, I mean, ADO:

A. Gift Cards
Books*A*Million, Belk Hudson, Pet-co/smart/depot (any pet store is great), Target (we've finally got one close) or Goody's. Pedi/Mani-cure, I'd call Papeete's in Cullman and ask for Cindy Patton, or I've heard that Wal*mart does a good job too.

B. Household Stuff
Seriously, I'm totally in Love with the Willow Tree Angels, by Demdaco. I love them all, but I especially like the nativity scenes. (there are two different ones, and I love them both) (look at giftsandcollectibles.com) The face-less characters seem to just speak to me. Other than that,
I'd love to have a nice centerpiece for my table. Burke's florist here in Cullman knows exactly what I want, so a GC for them would be great.

C. Music
I would love to bring Chris Daughtry "home" for the holidays. I like a lot of the modern adult alternative stuff, (see Susie's list). I've found that I'm really liking Pink's stuff. Of course Vince Gill is always welcome in my house, and he has a new 4cd boxed set called "These Days" that is sure to be awesome. Allison Kraus, and Amy Grant are some of my faves and I'm a complete fan of the old stuff and would love to have some Don Williams, Jim Reeves, etc.

D. Hobbies
Ain't got none right now, the Movie has sucked all the "hobby" out of me.

E. ETC.
I absolutely loved the movie, Ratatouille. If whomever has my name has any connections, a San Fransisco Hoodie would be great. Any of the Danielle Steele books that I don't have. (Be sure to check with Mom, she's been trying to keep an eye out at the White Elephant and has done an amazing job. (I'll have an updated list to her tonight). And I think I'm finally ready to take on the responsibility for Chuck V (a beta fish for my office) since it's been a respectable 5 months since
Chuck IV went to... well... um, sleep with the fishes. (see GC for Pet???)

Other than that, I can't imagine what else I might possible wish for except a wonderful end to this seemingly interminable movie madness.... Yikes.

As for Roger, An elf told me that his has been taken care of. I guess Coal isn't too hard to come by these days... Ba-Da-ding!!

And that's all for now!! Hope all is well for each of you and I can't wait to see who actually looks at my list!!!

LOVE YA, EE

I give up!

Time to resurrect Lenka's post from last year or start mailing out doilies from the local Christmas bazaar. They come in all colors, so don't think for a minute I can't find one for you. And if I don't have your name this year? Chances are good that I'll get it next year. Bwah-ha-ha-ha...

Ladies and Gentlemen! Start your wishlists!

Here's mine:

A. Gift cards – I love me some Target!
B. Household stuff – picture frames - with or without the pictures. Did you see pictures of the house*? You might guess that I have some wall space to fill up...
C. Music - Tom Petty, Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin, Coldplay, Sarah MacLachlan, Jack Johnson... (most artists catergorized as "adult alternative"). Currently I'm pining for anything by Diana Krall.
D. Hobbies - paper, stickers, glue sticks, markers, scissors... do I sound like an elementary school teacher or what?!
E. ETC. - SOCKS!!! Seriously? Lenka done good on the socks last year. I love, luv, lurve my comfy fuzzy rainbow smiley face socks! But there's always room in the drawer for a few more!

The better half:
A. Gift cards - REI, Best Buy, Lowes, Home Depot
B. Household stuff - CocaCola memorabilia
C. Music - Rap or R&B... let me know what you're thinking and I'll let you know if he's got it already!
D. Hobbies - home improvement (hey, he's making me write this list!), gardening, running
E. ETC. - travel/guide books

Your turn!

*More pictures to be posted, soon. Well, as soon as I can tunnel out of the boxes and remember that I'm supposed to be posting pictures. By Christmas for sure maybe... 2008.

Your Attention, Please

Please consider this your official reminder to get your tickets if you are planning to join the merriment at Camp Whatalottalovin (aka Lenka's) starting the weekend of October 13th!

Hurrican's a-comin'!

Better get out those raincoats, galoshes and fancy rain fishermen's hats, drink up that last finger of scotch and tie yourself to something stable; it's gonna get interesting in here.

Dad's been composing Blog Posts in his sleep.

I'll see you on the flip side.

Whoda thunk it?

Driving through Amish country last weekend we encountered scenes like this:

and this:

and this:

and this:

and this:

And then we came across this:

Apparently they do exist!

Cackleberries?
But Mommy said Grandpa just made those up!

I'm LONELY....

I'm Oh SO LOWN-LEEEEE

All of my Fam-leeee,

has gone aaawaaaay...

(AAAHHH-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO)

Seriously, I can't believe it's over!! We had such a wonderful time, and once again I am reminded of how extrememly BLESSED we are to have such a family. I hope that we will continue to work and plan so that we can look forward to many many more amazing memories being added.

Love and Kisses to you all!! EE

Write me!

So, as you all know, I leave tomorrow to get locked down for 34 days... I can already tell you that i will be STARVING for contact, letters, newspaper clippings, anything at all to get my mind of the drudgery of 'Warrior Forge.' so please write me!!!!

Earl Semadeni
ROTC Warrior Forge
10th Regiment, Bravo Company, 4th Platoon
Box 339543
Fort Lewis, WA 98433-9543

P.S. Baked goods, jerkey, and other such things count as contact with or without notes. Just snd enough for 12-40 people :-D


Love you all, back August 7!

-e (little E)

Bloggerus Interruptus

Hey, genetic derivatives, as soon as I get finished with this entry, I am going to up-pack this G5 and in the morning it will ride with us. Jacqueline was having withdrawal symptoms, and I just want to do something a bit eccentric, for a change. My laptop will require an even more expansive lap than the clock will a mantel. Anyway, it'll do you all good to get to touch a Mac.
Love to all, Vaya con Dios. PapaSem

Can We Get A Final Head Count?

Pretty Please?? So I know how many we are feeding? Thanks a bunch!

I'll start:

5 Greens....

Time in space continuing

I thought I'd-mentioned da dimensions. W32", H14", D8". As I said, needs a big space for time to continue in.
To elaborate on my comment to Elena, photo's is possessive, not plural. plural possessive would be photos'. singular is photon, and photon is singular. They do, however, like to bundle. No bed, no board, just a qwuarky sight to behold. I hope this is enlightening to you, but that you are never in lightening. Vaya con Dios, Love, PapaSem

All-right already!!!

5 X 7

works for me too!!!

that's "webdings" for:

5 X 7

works for me too!!

:-)

ClockPics

The Clock

Susie et al;
I told you the other day about the clock I had built. If I can successfully navigate this arcane system of communication, I will include the pictures of it. I figure it should be worth $500, I've got about twenty hours into it, along with about $175 parts. I'd make more if I can get parts - the wood is local Mesquite, and the face is hand-sawn. All-in-all it was fun to do. I think I will name this one "Storm Cloud over the Santa Ritas", unless someone has a better title. Halene says it looks like a rabbit, and I kinda see a coyote howling over its shoulder. It needs a big mantle to sit on, as you can see from its size comparable to the organ.
I tried, lemme know if you gottem. Vaya Con Dios, PapaSem

Hi, Daddy!

Nah-nah-nah nah-nah nah!

I'm the first one to say "Hi" to Daddy!

RE: Strings on fingers

For the eleventy-five-billionth time...

WHAT SIZE OF PICTURES
DO YOU ALL WANT??????!!!!!!!

.

Just a little string on the finger...

I SHUTTER to bring this up again, but...

PUH-LEEEZE

DON'T FORGET THE PHOTOS!!!

FINE!!

FINE BY ME, SARAH STEWART!!

oh, and good luck with those carrots :-) !!!

(wal*mart makes REALLY cute little frosting carrots to put on THEIR cakes, but whatever you want to do...)

I realized that I need to let you all know about the meals for our day, WEDNESDAY!! Don't know why everyone needs to know in advance, Beeeee-cause... (big breath)

"If I have to sweat over a hot stove all day long to prepare meals for your lazy butts, then you're just going to have to like it or lump it. what was that?... don't make me come over there!! No, you can't have desert before you finish your veggies... I DON'T care if you don't like veggies, they're good for you. ESPECIALLY the carrots!! No not the frosting carrots that go on carrot cake, the real carrots. Have you EVER seen a rabbit with glasses?...."

Oh wow, that was scary! Anyway, here's the plan for now:

Breakfast

Whatever anyone actually feels like eating before the BIG run, or (little walk as the case may be) I'm going to see what Susie suggests as far as what's good to keep the maximum energy levels up.

Lunch

Since we'll be out and about anyway, I'm thinking that there will be vendors for the 4th of July festivities, or we'll do something like Subway!!

Supper/Dinner

We're going to buy PIZZA!!!!

Forget the homemade betty crocker stuff. Sarah "stewart" can make up for it with her gourmet meal on thursday!! (sounds delish by the way)

Yep, you heard me, pizza, cokes (any flavor you want) popcorn and movies, and I think I'll make a ooey gooey choclatey little debbie cake!!

In other words, we're going the JUNK FOOD route!!

Yay Me!!!

I WIN!!!

BTW, Great idea about the mixed fridge-leftover-clean 'em up day on Friday, Suze!!!

Where DO you come up with these ideas?

:-)

Burp!

Carrot cake it is! But it's your job (unless you want to delegate to Ms. $17.29) to go pick all the little carrots for the top. Make sure that you clean them, and leave the tops on, please! :) Okay, so maybe not....

Carrot sounds fine, but do you have a second choice, just in case I can't find a mix that can be reasonably altered to impersonate carrot?

Thanks for the Walmart suggestion, Lenka, but since it's my night to cook dinner (and btw, we are prolly going to switch from Friday meals to Thursday, to better facilitate our travel plans, and so that Friday can be a general left-over day. Hey, don't shoot me....it was Susan's idea!) Anyway...

Since it is my night to cook, and I had the bright idea of using Jacq's upcoming birthday as the excuse du jour for eating ginormous quantities of cake (not that we need an excuse, but excuses can be fun!) , I have decided that I am going to make, and decorate, the cake. I didn't pay all that $$ on cake classes just to hire Walmart, LOL! Not to say I'll do much of anything terribly fancy--and you can scrape off the cream cheese icing if you dare--but I do wanna make the cake.

I'm planning to use a mix simply because I don't know how the kitchen will be stocked, and I don't care to buy or bring all the separate ingredients necessary. I may already have to leave one of the kids behind in order to have room for my cake decorating supplies, LOL!

I promise, if the oven is reasonably functional, the "BOX (shudder) cake" will be at least somewhat edible. ;-)

"eh....what's up, doc?"

Ok, the votes are in and the results are:

(trumpets blaring)

get out of here, chad.

Ok. CARROT CAKE!!!!! mmmmmm.

With, of course, ooey, gooey cream cheese frosting and little frosting orange and green carrots on every piece.


You owe me $17.29. You know who you are. :-)

Well,... Now, if THAT doesn't just take the CAKE...

It appears that she wants to have her CAKE and to eat it too!! But it's OK with me, 'cause it'll be a CAKE-walk no matter which flavor of CAKE we have!! I say just CAKE it on there and we'll all enjoy it!!

... HEY, it really does work... I have NO IDEA what CAKE means now, either!!!

COOOL!!!

(P.S. the recipe in the picture makes the most awesomeist cake EVER!!!)

CAKE

CAKE!!!! CAKE! cake cake cake cake cake cake.

I *heart* cake.

mmmmmmm cake.

Oh, um. I don't care what kind, but since I get to pick, I will be taking money (OBO) for cake choices.

cake. cake.

cakecakecakecake









cake.

News from The Weird....

...Sister, that is!

First things first: Earl, I have been intending to make a comment on your method of name drawing.....it totally cracked me up, and of course, I would expect nothing less from you. I keep coming back here with the intention of leaving a witty, clever comment, but then I read it again and my jaw goes slack and i end up cleaning drool out of the keyboard, LOL! Anyway, thanks for the laugh, even though it was the uncomfortable kind of social laugh that generally indicates that one has absolutely no comprehension whatsoever, but still wants to avoid looking entirely stupid.....you know that laugh, right? The same one you use when Jacq makes a music-nerd joke! Yeah, that one.

heheheh...

Second, we are so looking forward to July! I can't wait for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and if I have to struggle through Wednesday in order to get to those other days, well, so be it! Looks as if some fool* put us in charge of Friday's meals, so following Susan's example of "full disclosure" (is that a fancy way of saying "eat at your own risk?") here's a preliminary menu plan:

Breakfast: If everyone is super nice to me and doesn't tease me about my finish time (indeed, if everyone pretends to be suitably impressed with my "outstanding effort"), then I might be persuaded to break from the continental trend and bake breakfast quiche. Lenka, that's "keeesh" to you, not "quicky".

Lunch is going to be a bit more haphazard. Prolly more in the way of cold-cuts or leftovers or buy your own (we'll provide at least basic sandwich stuff, but you'll have to provide the prep work).

I promise to make up for lunch with dinner....I'm thinking pasta (I have a fantastic recipe I think everyone will like!) and shrimp, salad. garlic bread, etc. I think there's enough Italian in all of us to make that work rather nicely. For dessert, I propose Birthday cake in honor of Jacq. Not because she's special, but just because she provides a good excuse to have cake. Jacq, lemme know what kind of cake you'd like. You can have any flavor your sweet little heart desires...as long as Duncan Hines puts it in a box! :)

Any food aversions or allergies I need to know about?


* er, um, that'd be me, I s'pose....

Christmas Names.

I like to make things complicated. And you all have to follow my thought process, I'm the baby after all, and you HAVE to love me. SO:

To determind Christmas Names, I used Excel.

First, I listed everone's names, and using the RANDBETWEEN (which returns a random number from a specified range; in this case 1-8) Gave everyone a number.

Since there are double 3's, and we have a 4 but no 5, Jaqueline becomes 5. Also, because she is his better half, Sarah retains rights to 6, bumping Michael to 8.

Then, taking each person, 1-8 (in numerical order) and using the RADNBETWEEN function again (discarding duplicates,) we return a value (1-8) for each person, i.e. the gift-ee.

SO:
Roger - Earl
Earl - Susan
Susan - Michael
Josh - Elena
Jacqueline - Roger
Sarah - Josh
Elena - Sarah
Michael - Jacqueline

Note: I had taken a bunch of really cool screen shots of me doing all this, but have decided I'm too lazy to publish them on here...

RE: Groceries, meals, and dishes pictures (oh my!)

There seems to be some general confusion as to who's going to feed us what and when once we get to the Cottage. So, in true administrative fashion, I called Ma and here's how it's gonna go:

1. Lenka can have Wednesday. Let's face it, none of us is brave enough to stand up to her.
2. Ma will happily provide breakfast for us all, provided that your definition of breakfast = cold cereal, a bagel, and perhaps a banana or two. Think "continental".
3. Instead of schlepping lunch meat and the like all the way from AZ, Ma is going to bring along $150 in grocery money. If the meals you are planning include a cooking portion, bring your grocery list and we'll spend Ma's money first!
4. If the meals you are planning DO NOT include a cooking portion (i.e. you're researching where the nearest Subway is), give us all a heads up. I think that it is only reasonable for us to each pay for our meals out, but advance notice of such plans gives us the ability to come prepared with either cash or a back-up plan.
5. Edited to add: One more thing -- what size picture does everyone want? I'm putting my vote in for 4X6's (but I haven't gotten my frames yet, so I could be persuaded...)

In the interest of full disclosure, my meals will be as follows:

• Tuesday night: Something on the grill (Burgers? Hot dogs?), some sort of pasta salad (carbs for Wednesday morning!), possibly some corn on the cob, and some sort of fruit (watermelon if I can find it).
• Saturday morning: Breakfast, Continental Ma-style
• Saturday lunch: Ham and cheese sandwiches, chips, and some sort of salad. Since check out time is 11am, I'm inviting you all to the park. I'll let you know which one when we get there.

WHOOP WHOOP!! ALERT!!! WHOOP WHOOP!!!

SHIELDS UP AND TO YOUR STATIONS!!

THERE HAS BEEN A SEVERE SECURITY BREACH ABOARD THE BLOGSHIP PROXSEMADENI!! ******

And here's how I know... After having not visited the blog for some time now, so as not to torture myself wtith the inevitable guilt of seeing those awesome weekly training schedules, and knowing that they were falling on deaf eyes with me, I finally decided that I could avoid it no more. So I read Sis' most recent blog and noticed that as usual she has done a marvelous job of organizing and planning for our upcoming trip. (I'm so totally excited, by the way!!) And as I read and imagined how much fun we're going to have, I noticed a small error on her part. No big deal, really, she had just mentioned that I had asked to do the meals for Thursday, when in reality, I clearly remember having dibs on Wednesday. I thought that was odd and certainly didn't want the rest of you to be mis-lead, so I decided to clarify the situation by responding to the blog in question. BUT FIRST, I did the responsible thing and went back to the former blog in which the meal dates had been listed, just so that I could quote the date of the blog as proof of the error.

AND THAT'S WHEN I REALIZED THAT SOME ONE, OR SOME THING, HAD HACKED INTO THE SYSTEM AND CHANGED MY DATE TO THURSDAY!!

HORROR, HORROR, HORROR!!!

RUNN, GRAB YOUR CHILDREN AND GO FAR FAR....

Ok, so she was right. I had originally called Thursday, but if it won't cause any problems for anyone else, I'd really like to change my day to Wednesday. I'm bringing some frozen stuff and really don't want to have to re-freeze and then thaw it back out on Thursday!! If it IS a problem, then I invoke the rights of the BIGGEST SISTER to override any sibling objections. If Mom has a problem..., well then..., I GIVE, she scares me!!!



A couple more things that I wanted to mention to one and all:



1. First, Susan once again, the check is in the mail!!! (well, it will be tomorrow anyway)

2. Jaq, I'm going to go ahead and pay the pet deposit. I know that you're most likely NOT bringing Ms. Diesel, and there's a more than likely a good chance that we're not bringing the big black disaster aka Jiro, but just in case we wind up changing our minds, it'll be taken care of. Susan already checked and we can get a refund if we show up canine challenged.

3. ON 3 NOW, everyone say CHEEEEEZE!!!! DO NOT FORGET THE FAMILY FOTO'S!!! That means individual photo's of Jaq & Joe too!! I'm not saying they have to be professionally done, but DO try to get a good quality picture that shows us, YOU!! It really is time for some updates!!

4. Mom, I think someone mentioned you doing the breakfasts, and even though it would be extremely hard to actually get to visit with you without having some hot, fresh from the oven, famous Halene Semadeni, cinnamon rolls with our coffee on a balmy North Carolina morning... I'd really like to put my vote in for just doing the sweet roll & coffee, or cold cereal, milk and coffee, or leftovers AND COFFEE!! It seems to me that no one needs to have to get up early enough in the morning to MAKE breakfast. And that way everyone can kinda just wake up and wander in at their own leisure!!! Of course, if you just WANT TOOO....

5. Here's the biggee!! I've saved it for last because I'm afraid that it'll get me voted off the island, and I'm sooo looking forward to this get-together!! Here goes...

MOOOOMMM, SUSIE's TALKING SMACK!!!!

Here in the south, they say "IF YUR SKEERED, SAY YUR SKEERED!!" well, I'M SKEERED!! After all that smack about the 5k, I realized that I'm probably not going to make it. I think I could, but I really don't want to have to hear the stories for years to come about all the colors my face would go through while I tried to keep oxygen flowing to my lungs, and the sounds of joints cracking and moaning... so I've decided that I'm going to register for the 1 mile fun walk. Actually, I probably would have tried to stay the course, except that Roger actually volunteered that he'd probably enjoy walking the mile with the group. He wouldn't even consider jogging the 5k, so ONCE AGAIN, I picked him over you all!! He's just THAT good!!!

ANYWAY, that's all the input I can think of for tonight. I do want to say in all seriousness... I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS TRIP AND I'M COUNTING THE DAYS UNTIL WE GET TO HUG NECKS AND JUST SOAK UP THE PROXSEMADENI!! LOVE TO YOU ALL!!!

On your marks..........

Just a few housekeeping points:

• Our final payment to Oakland Cottages for our July reservation is due on June 3rd -- just a little over 2 weeks away. Each family owes a total of $405, less any payments that you've already made. This amount does not include any portion of the $90 pet fee.
• Will our furry friends be joining us? Lenka & Jacq, let me know so that I tell the folks at Oakland Cottages what to expect!
• KP Duty: 'rah signed up for Friday's meals, Lenka called dibs on lunch on Thursday (we're gonna give her breakfast and dinner that day, too. We're just generous that way). I'm covering Tuesday's dinner and breakfast and lunch on Saturday. Jacq, you and Ma get to fight over who's responsible for getting us fed on Wednesday!
• Everyone who is running needs to register to participate. You can do this a couple of different ways:

  1. Sign up at active.com From their website:

  This is the 14th Annual Kiwanis Firecracker 5K Run and 1 Mile Fun Walk. It is sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of North Buncombe. Proceeds are used for scholarships to college for Seniors at the local high school. We thank you for your support!
  -Firecracker 5K Run: $15.00
  -Firecracker 1 Mile Fun Walk: $15.00
  -Late Registration From Jun. 20 until July 2: $20.00
  -T-Shirt guaranteed to persons who pre-register by July 2, 2007.

  2. Email me and ask me to email Rona and ask her to send you a registration form (which will have the necessary instructions on it).

  3. Email me and ask me to sign you up through active.com.

  Please understand that if you ask me to do this, you are giving me permission to intial a waiver of liability (with your initials!) and to provide active.com with information such as your address and your birthdate. This is standard information that they need to verify that participants know what they are signing up for and to keep their noses clean in case of injury, etc. during the event. This information is also requested if you choose to request a "paper application" from Rona instead of signing up online. You will also need to add the $15 registration fee PER PERSON to the total that you owe! Kiddos in strollers do not need to register.

• Don't forget to bring a copies of your family picture! What size did we all agree on?
• Yes, you can sign up for the 1 mile walk. If you want to be a sissy baby and spoil all the fun. By all means, walk, weenie, walk. We'll see you at the finish line.
  
• Let's remember that this is a family event, something intended to include everyone and make us all feel closer as a group. But if someone wants to start talking smack, I'll be happy to school you on the Fourth. I'm just sayin'.
  

That's all I've got... please add if you think of anything I left out!

P.S. Check out the countdown clock over there -------------> in the sidebar (actually, it's up at the top, but I can't figure out how to do an up arrow.). Cool, huh?

Week Whatever-the-heck-we're-on...

Anyone out there still following the training schedule? According to my calculations, we're coming up on week 39! So for those of you playing along:

At least 3 days this week:

Warm-up walk: 5 minutes
Stretch
Run: 39 minutes
Walk: 5 minutes
Cool down walk: 5 minutes
*Total time = 49 minutes

All in favor of coming up with a "Help! I fell off the schedule and now there's no way on God's green Earth I'm running 39 consecutive mintues but I'd like to believe I can catch up and no one will be any the wiser when we all get together in 10 weeks" plan? Never fear! Cool Running has a training plan that will have you sparking along at the Firecracker 5K!

And.... We're Back.

Scheeeee-woooo! It is DUSTY in here!!! And a little musty. Do I detect a faint odor of neglect? Let's get a window or two opened... blow the dust off the ole keyboard... hmmm. Socks. Wonder who those belong to. Anyone missing a pair of socks? Anyone? Anyone? No? Okay, well, not important. Now then, on to business.

Hi!

I decided to put off procrastinating for a day or two and got some administrative work done yesterday, including a phone call to Oakland Cottage. Yay, me! So, without further ado, here are the long awaited answers to your burning questions. Drumroll, please.....

1. Are there grounds that we can “play” on?
   Oakland Cottage has a huge backyard that has been a popular draw for the younger set in the past. They don't have a problem with us staking out a croquet course, although I was warned that there is a bit of a slope. Of course, I figure that a slope just gives me something to blame my inability to hit the ball in any sort of straight line...

Is there a BBQ grill available for us to use?
Yup, two of 'em.

I see on your home page that some of your properties are equipped with DVD players – is Oakland Cottage one of them? Is there a VCR available?
Yup again. Two DVD players and a VCR. There is no "TV viewing" room, though, so movies would need to be watched in our rooms.

When we booked Oakland Cottage, two of my sisters had the intention of bringing along their dogs (both would be crated during the day if not with us) and we agreed to the $90 pet fee. If they choose not to bring the dogs, would that fee be refunded to us? How much advance notice do you need for us to make such a change?
There is no problem with refunding the pet deposit. If the decision is made before we make our final payment (due June 3rd), they will simply deduct that amount from the total owed. If the decision is made last minute, they will work out the refund with us. Those of you NOT considering bringing along critters, don't have to worry about this at all -- room costs were all calculated without the $90 fee.

Other minutia:

• I emailed Rona this morning to remind her to send us applications for this year's Firecracker 5K. (Yeah, that's right. We're still running this thing. Hey, don't shoot the messenger -- it was all 'rah's idea! Seriously. Just look at that post. About halfway down.... riiiiiiight there. And I quote,"Two more years to prepare for a real race. Seriously. Maybe a 5K or something...". That's right. SHE did this to you.) I will send out the application info when I get it.


• Thanks to all of you who paid the first installment towards our lodging. Those of you who haven't yet had a chance to get a check to me, your total due (before June 3rd) is $202.67.


• We will make a final payment to Oakland Cottage on June 3rd in the amount of $1058.37. Less the pet deposit, that works out to another payment of $202.67 per family. I will take care of the total by credit card, so you can just send me your portion.
  

I think that about covers it. If any of you come up with any additional questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

SAY CHEEEEEZE!!!

Hey guys,

Don't forget to have the family photo's taken sometime before JULY!! We want to be able to pass them out when we all get together.

Luv you all!!

EE

Da Bears

Here are the pictures of the Christmas Bears. I've only included a few. I'll put the rest on Yahoo and send you all an invite to see them.

Ma Bear

Ma 'n Pa Bears

Lenka Bear

Tony Bear

Sis and Little Guy Bears

'Rah, Chip, Grrl & Ooroo Bears

Jacq Bear

G.I. Joe Bear

Baby John Bear

Lenka says:

Sis' BEARS are...

wait for it....

wait...

wait...

BARE!!!!!

WAAAAHAAAHAAAA, TEEE HEEE HEEE, HAHAHAHAAH!!!!!

can't think of a clever title

Ok, I have the pictures of the bears. I have about a million of them. (SIS, yours are still ...sorry!). I will post them on here as soon as I get my new computer (the black one), because, quite frankly, I don't think my old one can handle the strain of being connected to the internet, AND having to upload pictures. I think might explode. Or wilt. Or both.

Week 29 (Feb 4-10)

At least 3 days this week:

Warm-up walk: 5 minutes
Stretch
Run: 15 minutes
Walk: 5 minutes
Run: 14 minutes
Walk: 1 minutes
Cool down walk: 5 minutes
*Total time = 45 minutes

Already finished with your workout? Want to do something else running related? Stretch your brain and run around Google a bit for the answers to this. See, running IS a mind/body workout!

OH, OH, LET ME!! PUH-LEEEEZE LET ME!!!...

'rah,

Here's how to put pix up:

Whilst (I love that word) creating a new post, be sure you're in the "compose" mode. Then look up at the top of the post window where you have the option to choose your fonts, sizes of letters, colors, etc. You'll see a little icon that looks like a picture of a landscape. Blue and gray, kinda like a mountain sceen. Click on that! Then it'll open a window that says "Add an image". click on the button that says: "Browse". This puts you back into your computer and you can find your pix wherever they are and then choose the one you want and double click it. It'll take you back to the "add an image" window. go to the bottom and click on the button that says "upload image". then just wait until you have the option to click the button that says "done".

Click it, and VOILA!!!! There you go!!

NOW I EXPECT TO SEE PIX OF THE MUNCHKINS BY MONDAY!!!!!

Oh, and thanks for giving me an excuse to share another picture of Jiro!!

Also, Momma, I'll give you permission to use these instructions also!! We'd love to see the new front yard too!!

One last thing; Sis and Jacq, please feel free to override and correct these instructions if need be. I will be the first to claim blogger illiteracy!!

Love to you all, EE

You've GOT to be kidding!! Right??

You really expect me to commit to a menu 6 months in advance, when it took me until 2:30 this afternoon to finally come up with a game plan for tonight's dinner???

Dang, girl, what alien kidnapped you and sucked all that Semadeni procrastination DNA out of your genes? LOL!

Actually, I'm just kidding; I wanted to call dibs on Friday's meals. Well, lunch and dinner at least, if Mom's doing breakfast. But I'm fine with taking care of Friday breakfast too, so just put us down for the whole day if you want! :)

Just don't ask what we'll be cooking, because I have no clue....

Hey, Sis, when you have a chance to ask about the yard/croquet/etc., would you mind asking if they have a BBQ grill available for us to use? That might make our dinner plans easier, LOL!

WRT paying you: do you have a paypal account, and if so, would that be a good way to pay, or would you prefer a check via mail? I don't really care which way we do it, but paypal would be instant and secure, so if that's convenient for you, that'd be cool. I'll try to give you a call tomorrow; I've been meaning to call you this week anyway!

New topic: Is anyone besides me really wanting to see pictures of the Teddy Bear family?? Mama, I seem to remember you promising to make Joe or Jacq post some pictures on here! :) And, if I had some step-by-step (ie, talk to me like I just stepped off the really short bus!) help, I might be pursuaded to post some pictures of the munchkins, too! (I know, Lenka, I still haven't sent you pictures of the kids in their Christmas gifts! Bad me!)

Lenka says:

DIBS!!!!

I call DIBS on Thursday's Lunch. We're having SALAD!! NO MUSHROOMS!!!

I thought Mom was going to do the BREAKFASTS?!!!

... But if not, I'll bring the Capn' Crunch, Lucky Charms and Froot Loops!! (that would be Roger, Jacq, & Heather!!! HA HA HA) And SUPPER will be POP CORN, POP TARTS, & POP, (er, wait, let's see, where will we be? N.C. yep, then I mean COKE!!) ...and left overs from whatever Susie does on Tuesday!!

Is this getting exciting or WHAT?!! I can hardly wait!! In fact, I'm quite simply GIDDY!!!!

OH yea, and Sis...

THE CHECK'S IN THE MAIL!!!! (TEE HEEE HA HAA HA!!) No, seriously, maybe not today, but it'll be on the way THIS WEEK!!

Love to you all!! EE

RE: Arrangements, etc.

Going with a 5 way split (less $45 for the first half of the $90 pet fee), the current amount due from each "family" comes to

($1058.67 - $45) / 5 = $202.67

An additional $202.67 will be due from each "family" before we get to Oakland Cottage (the entire cost of the rental is due one month in advance of our visit). Those of you interested in bringing pets drop me a line and we'll work out the pet deposit thing.

Rooms: Jacq and Lenka weighed in on their room choices. As long as there are no written objections, we'll bunk according to their wishes!

Food: Everyone seems to be on board with the "plan the meal(s) for the day suggestion", so let's pick our days. I think that letting the responsible parties decide on whether we are treated to a big lunch or a big dinner is a fair way to handle that controversy. I volunteer to take on Tuesday's dinner and Saturday's breakfast/lunch. That leaves us 3 full days (Weds, Thurs, and Fri)to plan for -- who wants 'em?

Entertainment: I still haven't gotten around to calling Oakland Cottages to see if they have a yard and games (croquet, badminton, etc) for it. I will do that as soon as we get back from our trip to CA. I will also ask them if they have TV/VCR/DVD equipment available. It will be my pleasure to introduce you all to the delightful game of Scum... rubs hands together gleefully, anticipating at least one round of rising to at least the rank of Citizen...

The information on the 5K should be coming out in the next couple of months. I will pass that on as soon as I get it!

I think that brings the blog up to current in terms of decisions that we've made/still need to be made. Please post if I've overlooked anything or if you come up with something else we need to consider!

Week 28 (Jan 28 - Feb 3)

At least 3 days this week:

Warm-up walk: 5 minutes
Stretch
Run: 14 minutes
Walk: 5 minutes
Run: 14 minutes
Walk: 1 minutes
Cool down walk: 5 minutes
*Total time = 44 minutes

Ready for something new? Check out RTP (Run The Planet) for new trails in your area (or someone elses!)

Lenka says...

I would say I'm Jealous, but then I'm afraid Mom would come back with something like...

"you could put forth more effort and come see us and then we could spend some quality time with you too"!!

... and then I'd have to come up with an explanation for not doing what I'd like to do and it would probably have something to do with hemorhoids and working, and that would just sound lame, so...

I just want to say that it makes my HEART HAPPY to know that my family still LOVES in spite of the lack of proxsemadeni!! And I'm SOOO glad you guys had such a good time!!!

Dear Momma and Daddy,

Just wanted to send you a quick "Thanks" for all the time you spent with us while we were out there. You'll never know how much it filled up my heart to see the two of you playing with my little guy. Sniffle, sniffle. We had an amazing time and can't wait to see you in July! I love you so much!!!!

Love,
Sis

He speaks

Ok everyone, i will know around the end of febuary what my summer schedule will be...stay tuned.

Yes Ma'am Ms. Semadeni, Ma'am!!

OK, so now that Baby sister's a REAL teacher and all, she thinks she can run the world!!! I can't believe how quickly she's turned. Oh well, just so long as she never forgets that....

I'M STILL THE BIG SISTER AND THE BOSS OF ALL OF YOU!!!!

And with that in mind, I'm going to add my two cents!!

ah-hem...

Here goes...

YEAH!!! WHAT SHE SAID!!!!!

to break it down into my vote:

1. sleeping arrangments - I think that's perfectly done. And I think it's a GREAT idea to know where we're going before we get there so we don't stand around replaying the scene from the jungle book ("whatchoo wanna do? I dunno, whatchoo wanna do? I dunno...")

2. Food- again, perfect!! I especially like the idea of the big meal being lunch. Then we can snack and leftover for supper. That means popcorn for Daddy!!

3. Animals- I'm totally EXPECT to take care of my own. Ok, and Jacq's if she's really nice to me.

4. Entertainment - whatever I bring will most likely be a "BORED GAME", but I'll try to play along. And we LOVE the thoughts of hiking and being outdoors. Just remember it'll be HOT and HUMID!!!

Bottom line, I'M SOOO EXCITED!! Hope everyone else is too!!! So until next time...

"...and that's all I got to say 'bout that!!!" (Forest Gump)

Arrangements, etc

Split of cost: Let's go 5 ways. Since we've been dealing with those numbers already anyway, we might as well keep it consistent. :-)


Sleeping arrangements:

We have 4 suites and roughly 4 families (if joe does come, I guess he can have the couch).

Mom and dad are bringing the majority of the people, so give them the big suite, which looks to me like the Garden Suite

Lenka already called dibs on Rose Suite, and since there are 2 rooms, I'll bunk in there. That way we have the dogs confined to a single area.

'rah and Co are bringing the next most, so give them the Music Suite cuz it has a day and trundle bed, which is perfect for the kiddies.

And that leaves the Safari Suite for Sis, etc, which is only fitting, seeing as how they are the only ones who have actually been on a Safari.


Food.
I can go any way with the split of this. I do like the idea of one of the meals being a lighter, more left-over style, but if I had to choose one, I would pick the big meal to be lunch and lighter to be dinner. The only reason is cuz by the end of the day we'll be tired and won't wanna take the time for an elaborate meal, but if we have a big lunch, then we older ones can just kind of pick and choose for dinner. It would be nice for every family to do the one meal a day or one day of meals thing, but just know that mine will probably end up being something lame, like take-out or, if I decide to go really fancy, you might get boiled water. But that's about it.

Aminals:
I would say, and I think that Lenka would agree, that she and I will be splitting the pet costs. Unless, of course, Joe comes. Then he'll have to pitch in for himself. :-) (yeah, I went there.)

Entertainment:
Each family is required to bring one board/card game. I call dibs on Uno. Diesel and I will also be doing some outdoors hiking and stuff and I would love it if you all would come along. It will be great to see some pretty nature that doesn't include cacti. I will bring my collection of G-rated movies for the chilluns and if you want me to bring something with a higher rating for after they go to bed, just let me know. Does anybody have a croquet set?

Joe Suggests: Chihuahua punting. All in favor?

That's all I have for now. If you don't like the suggestions, that's ok, but I just thought I would put this out there and that way we have a somewhat formed plan that we can then change as needed.

Weeks 24, 25, 26, & 27 (Dec 31- Jan 27)

At least 3 days each week:

Week 24
Warm-up walk: 5 minutes
Stretch
Run: 12 minutes
Walk: 5 minutes
Run: 12 minutes
Walk: 3 minutes
Cool down walk: 5 minutes
*Total time = 42 minutes

Week 25
Warm-up walk: 5 minutes
Stretch
Run: 13 minutes
Walk: 5 minutes
Run: 12 minutes
Walk: 3 minutes
Cool down walk: 5 minutes
*Total time = 43 minutes

Week 26
Warm-up walk: 5 minutes
Stretch
Run: 13 minutes
Walk: 5 minutes
Run: 13 minutes
Walk: 2 minutes
Cool down walk: 5 minutes
*Total time = 43 minutes

Week 27
Warm-up walk: 5 minutes
Stretch
Run: 14 minutes
Walk: 5 minutes
Run: 13 minutes
Walk: 2 minutes
Cool down walk: 5 minutes
*Total time = 44 minutes

So much for weekly training posts, hmmmm?

Got it!

We have a place to sleep!

Oakland Cottage
July 3-6 (nights)
Check in July 3 @ 4pm
Check out July 7 @ 11am

A la carte (maid service and breakfast NOT included)
3 nights @ $445
1 night @ $495
lodging tax $73.20
state sales tax $123.53
pet fee $90
grand total $2116.73

$1058.37 paid 1/8/07
$1058.37 due 6/3/07

Our reservation may be cancelled for refund of deposit less $35 processing fee up to 30 days prior to check-in date. After 30 days, cancellation forfeits the entire deposit.


Let's start thinking about all the other arrangements that we need to make before we get there -- food, menus, cost split, entertainment, who-sleeps-where, etc. Please post a comment to this post with any suggestions that you might have and I'll put together a master post with all of 'em in it for us to "vote" on.

WAAAAIT FOR ME!!!!!!!

Here, (GASP), I (cough cough, biiiig breath) AM!!!!

Whew, I finally made it!! And I feel soooo much better after the doctor (thanks for your help Heather) took me off the BETA BLOGGERS!!!!!

...AND I vote for the Oakland Cottage, ...AND I LOVE what Sis is doing with all this, ...AND I'm hoping that Joe gets to be there,... AND I'm so excited about all this that I could just pee my pants, BUT I won't!!!

Anyway, just wanted to make my presence known.

Love to you ALL!!!

Lenka