Happy New Year!

Friends and Family, here is to hoping 2008 brings you greater health, happiness and wishes come true!

I leave you with an Irish Prayer!

May those who love us, love us,

And those that don't love us,

May God turn their hearts;

And if He doesn't turn their hearts,

May He turn their ankles,

So we'll know them by their limping.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All about the music . . .

I have been missing from my blog posting lately because I have been downloading music. Lots and lots of music. I received an MP3 player for Christmas and I am having a ball! I am old school...seriously...old school...I have not upgraded to an iPod or MP3, I just have my CD player, while I know that's the way of the world. Well, now I am with it. BUT with that comes all the downloading of music. Hello?.....learning curve here for the old girl! I call in my sons the "experts" in this area...well, they don't really want to show me where they get their "free" music...I guess they don't want Mom go to the stolen cyber music jail (wherever that may be). So I have done what I can figure out..which is copying music from my CD's to the MP3. Picture this...a stack of 300 plus CD's stacked high next to my harddrive as I meticulously review each CD for the songs I want to transfer to the player. YES! very time consuming, but I am having a blast with it. I am rediscovering that my range of musical preferences is QUITE diverse. I have gone through a number of music phases over the past 40 plus years, my R&B phase with CD's of The Supremes, Box Tops, Temptations, George Benson, Luther VanDross..my 80's bands phase with Bryan Adams, Loverboy, Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, Steve Miller Band, The Police, Bruce Springsteen. The Strong women singer phase with Sheryl Crow, Melissa Ethridge, Barbra Streisand, Anita Baker, Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys, Madonna, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Tina Turner...Then there has been my country phase that all started with Garth Brooks..never liked country until him..so we now have Alan Jackson, John Michael Montgomery, Clint Black, Tim McGraw, Brooks and Dunn with of course my music standbys that are timeless - the Beatles, The Jackson Five, The Eagles, Bread, Billy Joel, Lionel Richie...And lately I have been enjoying some of the newer music by Nickelback, 3 Doors Down, Maroon 5, Linkin Park and the list goes on, like I said 300+ CD's. So as I review each CD carefully to pick what songs get to be transferred to my MP3, it brings back lots memories of when I first heard the song, or bought the CD. Now my husband says..."So are you going to get rid of all these CD's now?".......Well, HECK NO!! They can go in the closet right next to my 200+ vinyl albums and 45's that I don't have the heart to get rid of yet!

Beavers Win Emerald Bowl!

Congrats to the Beavs who finished the season with a win at the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco! It wasn't pretty, but a wins a win! Kudos! to Blake & Diane for hosting a FABULOUS bowl party!! Lots of famous burgers, cheezzy taters, chili, pasta salad, spinach dip, cake...uh..too darn much food as usual. Oh yeah! and SWEET win by the TRAILBLAZERS (12 IN A ROW) after the bowl game to make for a fantastic Oregon sports day!! woohoooo!! See you next season Beaver Nation!

Amazing . . . .

Today I was witness first hand to an ultrasound of the newest Christopherson in the oven. Danielle and Josh asked me to come along for their appt. today to learn the sex of their baby. It's so different now than when I had kids (you know in the olden days!). Everybody gets ultrasounds and most all of the parents want to learn the gender of their baby. What they can show you on the images is amazing. We saw the babys hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, kidneys, stomach, diaphram, eyes, tongue, brain, heart (all four chambers beating and the valves working away) it's unbelievable! Baby is very active and is 17 centimeters in length. Any crazed abortion activist that says an 18 week old fetus is not a person, doesn't have a clue as to what they are talking about. We saw a person today, a beautiful baby BOY!! Yes, another grandson, who proudly displayed his "business" for us, we are all very excited and happy for him to appear around May 28th.

Time for bed . . .

What a WONDERFUL Christmas Day! Too much food..lots of laughs and great gifts shared with each other. Getting them to all sit still for a picture was a Christmas miracle! Calls from Chad & Nicole in Phoenix, Petri's in Hillsboro and brother Brian in China helped in making our day great. We even had a great weather surprise with snowfall on Christmas day! Now that hasn't happened for a long time. Another Christmas gone by and now it's off to bed I'm getting up early tomorrow and catching the big sales for Christmas lights, wrapping paper, ornaments, etc. Need to stock up for next year when there will be two grandbabies to wrap presents for..yippeeee!!

Merry Christmas!

On your 29th Birthday . . . .

Happy Birthday!!!! Hope it's a good one . . . . Here is a little Chad trivia!

• We came home from the hospital on Christmas Day in 1978 (you were our best present ever!)


• Had the measles in December of 79, it was not a fun Christmas that year. Then in April of 80 you fell off of our back deck and landed on your right arm. It was broken and had to wear a mini cast on your arm for 6 weeks.


• First tooth popped out on August 7, 1979.


• First words were "da-da-da-da-da", Your first sentence was "I'll do it!"


• First girlfriends name (age 2) was Stephanie, you always played together at the babysitters.


• The most frequently written comment on report cards, " Chad is very social, we are working on not visiting during worktime".


• Chad was sooo excited when Josh and Andy were born. He would want to carry them around the house all the time. Except on the day we brought Josh home from the hospital and family & friends were holding him and saying how cute and BIG he was. Chad had been successfully potty trained for a couple of months before this and he decided to stand in the middle of the living room and proudly pee his pants in front of everybody! Attempting to take attention away from the new baby in the house (his mission was accomplished)! So after a stern talking to and a little butt swat it was back to the drawing board on the potty training. Lesson learned: I'm not the complete center of attention anymore and peeing my pants is not going to change that!


• S0 on this 29th BIRTHDAY . . . may you get the attention you deserve!!

WE LOVE YOU!!! A little Saturday morning favorite...maybe Lucas will enjoy too!

There are Christmas lights . . . then there are CHRISTMAS LIGHTS . .

First Day of Winter Break . . . .

Yes....I am one of those damn people you hate this time of year. A person who works for the school district and gets the next two weeks off. Not like I really will or anything, since we have events during break I'll still be in and out a bit, but not much if I can help it! Even my husband is grumpy with me this morning. "Oh, yeah..that's right..YOU don't have to go to work today...hhmmmppfff"..as he stomps out the door. OH Well...so my plan is to start from one end of the house to the other and clean, clean, clean. We have the whole family here on Christmas day so this is the calm before the storm. I also need to get started on all my grocery shopping too. SOOO.. I have got lots do to....so here I am on the computer, reading, writing, surfing, stalling...OK..no I really have to go. Well in just one more minute or so.

Their baaaaaaccckkkk . . . .

It's winter break and in come some of our former graduates that are now college freshman home for winter break.
"Mrs. C., college is GREAT! but I sure miss this office", "This high school was lame...college is soo much more fun, but it's good to be back and see everybody..hey can we use the weight room?" (hmmm..now you want something?), "Guess what, Ms. C. . . . I have a new girlfriend, she's from Montana, here's her picture..yeah, I've been calling her since she's back there now, she's pretty cool", "You should see the Athletic Office at Pepperdine it's sooo big Ms. C..you wouldn't believe it" (oh, I bet I would), "So are you going to be here all winter break too?...you are always here Ms. C". "Wrestling at Stanford has been awesome, only problem is I'm out with an injury now and it sucks." "I really am enjoying Crew at Oregon State, who would have thought I'd be rowing on a crew team! My coach says' he can get me on a partial scholarship next year, isn't that cool!" "Hey Mrs. C...thanks for the Christmas candy!!"

Working in a high school you have to put things into perspective. Some days the kids can act mature beyond their years, some days they act like complete knotheads, they are easily bored, tired, any given day hate high school, love high school or think it's "lame"as mentioned above. These dropin visits are a reminder to me. When kids leave and come back to say hi it means alot. It's all about forming relationships with kids while they are here in high school, hoping to make it a positive experience for them. That's why I love what I do . . . for these post high school visits.

Happy Birthday to you!!

The BIG 53!! wooohooooo!! Doesn't anybody listen to me when I say look at the camera when I am taking your picture???

Off to Arizona . . .

Lucas stopped by for a visit today before traveling south with his Mom & Dad to see all his relatives in Phoenix. They are going to be sooo surprised at how much he has grown and everything he is doing now. We are happy he gets to spend time with his other Grandparents, I know they miss him alot! I'm sure Santa will be making stops here in Oregon too for their return.

Why not? . . . .

I was visiting with one of our coaches the other day when we started talking about things we did or didn't do when we were younger. He was telling me he never regrets getting a mohawk his senior year, his parents got really mad at him, his buddies made fun of him, but it was something he wanted so he did it. He said when you get to be an "adult" there are certain things you just aren't able to do like when you were a kid, because of expectations about adult behavior. As we were talking I told him how I wish when I was younger I had taken piano lessons. I'm sure if my parents had tried to get me to at the time I would have said,"forget that lame idea!". Now I regret it. I would love to know how to play the piano. So as I am telling him this he says, "So why don't you take piano lessons now?".. and I said, "well ....I'm too old"..and he says.."No your not, if you want to do it, you should do it. You don't have kids at home anymore taking up your time. You should do it!". Well....that's ridiculous..I can't.. not now..I am 50+ years old for cryminie sake! Well...the more I keep thinking about it the more I am thinking....well why not? So last week I started checking on people that provide piano lessons in the area. Found a couple...so who knows...maybe by this time next year I will be able to play Silent Night for the family. We'll see!

It's time for a girlie drink ! . . .

The holidays are a time for the fancy glasses and drinks, something other than beer and wine. My favorite cocktail this time of year is a pomegranate martini. It is very easy to make and I think it's delicious...aaahhh..it can be too delicious if you know what I mean. Here is my recipe give it a try!

Pomegranate Martini

1 1/2c. pomegranate juice (it's healthy for you!)

2 oz Absolute Citron vodka

1 c. ice

A bit of sparkling water (if you want)

squeeze of lime juice or lemon if you prefer

Shake and Shake and Shake (sing a Christmas song while you do it if you like), pour into chilled Martini glass.

Some Christmas tunes with a twist! Enjoy

Manners and courtesy are alive and well . . .

I left the house this morning at 9:00am and returned home at 6:30pm, to Christmas shop. I went to the Woodburn Outlet Mall (nearly every store), Fryes Electronics, Kohls, Joes and Joanns Fabrics. MY FEET HURT! What I am happy to report though is how absolutely courteous and friendly people were. From the shoppers, to the sales clerks, it made my day even better. I usually don't notice things like that too much, not unless people are being big _sses. It was just really nice to have the door held open when needed, have lots of thank you's and Merry Christmas's mentioned, just general interest in what I was buying and for who, and smiles lots of smiles. Even in the parking lots (where people can be big _sses) people were patient and didn't seem rushed to whip in front of you or after you, when leaving a space. I am quick to complain if people are idiots, I just want to make sure I give credit when they are being great....like today. I think it's that retail Christmas shopping spirit!

The happy tradition of tree cutting . . .

Each year we load up in the pickup and head up to Davids Hill to cut our Christmas tree. There are a number of tree farms in the area..this is "Forest" Grove you know. We get ours at Christmas Trees West and have since the boys were little. There has been all kinds of weather on the top of that hill over the years but this year the view was absolutely beautiful. Yesterday we could see Mt. St. Helens, Rainer, Hood, Adams and the tip of Jefferson while we were cutting away. I have gotten less fussy about picking the absolute perfect tree. Usually we are walking around for quite awhile (the boys can attest to that) before I find one that is exactly right. Well, this year we found a beauty within about the first 5-10 minutes. Dale and Andy couldn't believe it, so we load it up, get it home. Then it starts..."Mom, this tree is ugly."..."WHAT?"..."It's got big gaps in it...it looks ugly"..."Then why didn't you tell me that when we were getting ready to cut it down?"...."I think Dad and I were just glad you picked one so fast...we didn't really look at it that good"..."It doesn't look ugly! it will look just fine with all the lights and decorations on it, they will hide any gaps"...."I don't think so, I still think its ugly"....Suddenly, I feel a definate connection to Charlie Brown.

Kids can say the most random things . . .

Hey Mrs. C! "Isn't is weird how you can go into a public restroom, go to the bathroom and when you are done the toilet automatically flushes. Then you go to the sink to wash your hands and the water will automatically turn on....then you put your hands under the soap dispenser and it automatically shoots into your hand...then you walk to the wall and the air drier automatically comes on....Isn't that cool in a weird sorta way?" Uhhhhhh, well I suppose that is cool come to think of it. Hmmmm...the minds of our young people.....

A day at the mall . . . .

So Sunday I was on a mission . . . get started on some Christmas shopping. No matter how many new "trendy" malls pop up in the area, I seem to always gravitate to Washington Square. I don't know what it is about that mall, I guess it's just that they seem to have everything. The management has kept it updated and modern with new stores. They have done alot of work on putting in covered parking structures, valet parking, and package pickup areas. These are great when you get something big that you can just leave at the store while you shop around more. I guess I feel like I have been going to Washington Square forever. Actually after high school and before I went to college I worked in the stockroom at the JC Penney store prior to it's opening in the mall. Oh, do I have some stories from those days! A girlfriend and I went to work there together. We got the jobs with the help of my Dad who had a good friend that was the manager at the time. Our job was to unpack and ticket new merchandise as it entered the stockroom. Most of the time we would goof off and flirt with the cute guys that worked in the package pickup department or in the stockroom. One time there was this midnight boat ride on Lake Oswego......Oh my I am getting off track!! So I guess I feel kind of connected to that mall. I use to wheel the boys in their stroller on Saturday or Sunday afternoons, window shopping, buying them clothes, and occasionally stopping at McDonalds for lunch. That was the big weekend treat. Malls haven't changed much over the years. Except alot of teenagers hang out at the mall now. Girls to find boys and boys to find girls....we never did that?? We hung out at cool places like Tastee Freeze or A&W, or oh man . . . I am sounding like something out of a Grease movie! Anyway, back to shopping.....so I feel good I have at least gotten started and picked up a few things! Lot's of sales and lots of good Christmas music and decorations to put me in the mood!!

Beaver Nation has prevailed!

What a game!! Everybody thought it was going to be a dull and boring game to watch, but it made for some exciting football on a stormy Saturday afternoon in Eugene. Great final play in overtime by OSU to win at Autzen...finally!! Today I am going to walk the malls Christmas shopping to burn the gazillion calories I consumed yesterday. I'm sure the Beavers win had alot to do with their new fan who was intent on watching the game....shhhhhhh...don't bother me right now!!

I have also included a picture of next year's Heisman hopefuls!

WOW . . . .

Eddie VanHalen can play the guitar like no other. For 2 solid hours he played like a madman and made sounds arise from that guitar you wouldn't believe. They played everything you would have wanted to hear from the band and more. Eddie's guitar solo of Evolution brought the house down. We had awesome seats!! People of all ages were there, alot our age actually. The band members never showed their age during one second of the performance. David Lee Roth still the showman, jumped, turned, spunaround like he did 25 years ago! It was great! Now my ears just need to recover . .

It's snowing....again!

Whoopeee!!! Civil War in the snow today! GO BEAVS!

Just don't snow me out of my concert tonight..no way!

Tonight's the night!

VanHalen Concert . . . Don't worry kids! I won't be throwing any grandma underwear on stage! Just lots of singing and dancing, it would completely embarrass you if you were there . . . . like it's going to embarrass your DAD!! PaaaNaaaMa...PaaNaaaMaaaaa....