Friday Coffee Klatch

[lhall]

What, no one started without me?

I'm doing my grocery shopping right after I drop Mariel off at school since it's right across from the school. I was home and had everything put away by 9:15! :D

We're going to be busy this weekend. I've got to take Ginger to get some softball cleets this afternoon, and she has practice tomorrow from 11 - 12:30. Sunday we need to go to church. I'm doing the website now, and we're having a Ministry Fair. I need to get information on all the different groups so I can get the stuff up on the website. Tonight is also Bunco, and I'm going to go to the school to have lunch with Ginger, then helpout in the classroom.

Where is everyone? :D

Leigh

[Robyn1007]

Hi Leigh,

Good for you getting grocery shopping done so early!

I think we're having a get together at my place tonight and the rest of the weekend should be quiet. I'm settling in at the new place and new job finally and feeling like I am where I'm supposed to be. And I get to talk to foodies all day long (I sell to restaurants and food service!)

So, how's everyone else?

Robyn

[lindrusso]

Hi Robyn and Leigh. :)

I was wondering where everyone was!

Robyn - Glad to hear that you're settled in and a quiet weekend sounds great.

Leigh - So you're not the only one who didn't leave baseball (or in your case, softball) behind in the summer?

I thought we were done, but now the coach of the traveling team my son is part of wants to start a pitching camp so that the boys are ready to try some player-pitch games next year (as opposed to machine-pitch). DS is not involved in any other sports at the moment, so it will be nice - at least until soccer starts.

Our weekend is fairly quiet. We have the pitching camp at 10 tomorrow and I will be scrapbooking tomorrow from 3-9 p.m. I have not accomplished ANYTHING in scrapbooking for so long and I am very behind. All of my pictures are cropped and ready to go, so hopefully I'll get a lot done tomorrow night.

Other than that, all I need to do is get one mystery shop completed and that's it. I think I'm going to put mystery shopping aside for a while. I am taking two online computer classes (they don't take up a ton of time, but still), working part time at the school as usual and volunteering at school, so I am selfish with any other time I have leftover. Mabye once I settle into a schedule I'll feel like taking up some shopping again.

Take care and have a great weekend.

Alysha

[candlelight]

http://www.mouse.webby.com/images8/g3d4.jpg
Good Morning,
I don't know about anyone else but our High School football starts tonight. I sure do hate that it will be so hot for the kids. This will be the first time I will see the band's half time show. I hope they do good.

Tomorrow should be a quite one for our family. We will try and get the grass cut before it gets too hot. Our son is going to a christian concert with his youth group. It is an outdoor one that starts at 2:00 and ends at 9:00. They have a lot of bands coming and speakers. Hope they have a wonderful time. They will leave the Church at 11:00 and return around 11:00 that night.

Hope everybody has a good day.

Candlelight

[Gracie]

Hi - I'm here! I'm ready for vacation - starting around 1 pm today! The bad news is that it's also my data analyst's last day and so I will spend a bit of time next week checking emails and voicemails and trying to hire the data analysts's future SIL to take her place. They have the same education and the FSIL has just graduated college yet has very relevant internship experience.

Erin will be having her big pool party this Sunday. There are some great-sounding yard/church sales this weekend. She'll be babysitting some next week while I'm off but we're planning on buying back-to-school clothes and going to the Cape for a couple of days to hit some huge flea markets if the weather cooperates.

Leigh - seems like a quiet weekend for you! :D

Robyn - I just read the "5 facts" thread - I never knew you ski-raced! That's awesome!

Loren

[Robyn1007]

Well, I raced when I was pretty young and got burned out on skiing then but now I'm ready to go again and I can't wait until this season starts! I get to ski in Colorado all winter!!!!

[lhall]

Alysha,

We haven't done softball before, this is Ginger's first foray into team sports. She's not on a traveling team, just rec league. It's much more laid back (non competitive) in the fall so we're trying it out. One of the other moms says that spring season is very competitive. The facilities are really nice. They have over 1500 girls play in the spring plus football for the boys, and cheerleading too. They do have traveling teams, and Al has a coworker who's daughter is on one of those. For Ginger's age group it's coach pitch.

In addition, both girls are in dance class so we'll be running around like chickens with our heads cut off for a couple of months! :rolleyes:


Loren,
LOL! That's not funny! ;)

The pool party sounds like fun. How many kids are coming? That's great that you are able to replace your data analyst so fast.

Candlelight,
Wow, that's a long day. I'm sure your son will love the concert.

Robyn,
I'm glad the new job is working out.

Leigh

[cniles]

[QUOTE=lhall
In addition, both girls are in dance class so we'll be running around like chickens with our heads cut off for a couple of months! :rolleyes:
[/QUOTE]

Bawk bawk.... that's us!!! The boys have soccer every night of the week and games on Saturdays until the first of November!! I'm still subbing as a teacher's aide and I think I'll get busy come October.

We have a picnic tonight, crab fest tomorrow :D and Sunday we're getting ready for our Monday FIRST DAY BACK TO SCHOOL!!! It's Sam's first day of kindergarten and I'm getting myself prepared. I KNOW he'll be fine, he's soooo ready and looking forward to it - it will be the getting on the bus and waving goodbye piece that I think will get to me :o

Leigh - crazy crazy crazy - As I've had some parents tell me, at least you have 2 of the same sex.... ie one in dance class, ice skating and one in baseball and soccer.... :rolleyes:

Alysha - when do you guys start?

Robyn - hopefully you'll get your package today!!!! ;) So glad things are turning out for you!

Loren - Are you going anywhere for vacation? Enjoy the flea markets!

Candlelight - we can hear our band practicing every night behind our house. Our high school game starts tonight too. DH was laughing at me b/c I was singing/playing along with a couple of the songs!! :rolleyes:

[SueK]

Hi everyone,

Just got back from taking Sara to the ILs for some swimming. They're bringing her back in a few hours. It's a little chilly, so I don't know if she'll actually end up in the pool!

Tonight my mom's sitting the girls here while Jerry and I go out. Two weekends in a row is a record for us! But, football starts next weekend and between that and another travel jag coming up for him, this will be it for awhile.

Sara starts back to school next Thursday. She got her class assignment yesterday and didn't get the teacher she wanted, but she does know a few kids in her class already (they find out the full list at Open House next Tues) so she's getting over not having the teacher she wants.

I've been on a major cooking-ahead and freezing roll this week. I counted up last night and right now between our two fridge freezers and our chest freezer, I have 30 dinners worth of food frozen! :eek: If we should happen to have a power outage soon, I will scream.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

[Robyn1007]

Goodness, we are slow today! So, I'll share, as I mentioned, I talk to restaurants all day long (I sell a software that is like Mastercook on steriods with additional functionality like inventory costing and ordering and such) and some of them are just your standard but some look really interesting. I had the pleasure of speaking with this restaurant yesterday www.mosaic-restaurant.com and looked at their website. I almost started drooling!

I looked at the calendar yesterday and couldn't believe that next weekend is Labor Day already! The weekend after that I get to go the Florida Restaurant Show in Orlando to work our booth their. Its amazing how things tend to work out.....

Charisse, I've been so excited to get the package, I can't wait... :p

[lhall]

[QUOTE=SueK]I counted up last night and right now between our two fridge freezers and our chest freezer, I have 30 dinners worth of food frozen! :eek: If we should happen to have a power outage soon, I will scream.[QUOTE]

Sue,
You're not even supposed to think things like that. If you do, it will happen. :D

I hope Sara ends up liking her teacher. Ginger didn't really have a strong preference, but it turns out that she's gotten a really good teacher.

Charisse,
You weekend looks like a normal weekend for us. Not much time to relax. :rolleyes: Good luck with the first day of Kindergarten!

BTW, the parent table was full to day so I had to sit with all the kids. They need a bigger parent table!

Ginger is going to walk home today. I talked to the crossing guard at lunch (she works in the lunchroom too), and she said that Ginger could stay with her until I show up with Mariel. I'm always back at the subdivision before she leaves anyways. Ms Angela, the crossing guard, is just an absolute sweetheart and all the kids love her.

Leigh

[tbb113]

Well, its the last weekend before school starts. Michael has an intersquad scrimmage Saturday morning (that I won't be going to since Alex has a Bat Mitzvah). Then I'm invited to 70th birthday for a mother of a friend. Saturday night I'm going out to dinner with the girls.

Took Michael to the orthopedist on Wednesday. He does have a torn meniscus in his left knee. Gave him a cortisone shot, go back in two weeks to see how it is. I think Michael wants to play this season, so if possible, we will schedule the surgery for Winter Break.

Both kids have their schedules. I'm really ready for summer to be over, but I'm not ready for school to start. (I'm just tired of driving Alex to camp).

[Robyn1007]

I've been on a major cooking-ahead and freezing roll this week. I counted up last night and right now between our two fridge freezers and our chest freezer, I have 30 dinners worth of food frozen! :eek: If we should happen to have a power outage soon, I will scream.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

I would love to have an extra freezer to do that, as it is we have 3 women living in our house and we all have different eating styles and a pretty small freezer, between my lean cuisine lunches and one roommate's Totino's pizzas, we don't have room for much more.

[Canice]

OMG, next weekend is LABOR DAY? I had no idea. Wow, guess that means three weeks til my trip to Seattle, woo-hoo!

I checked out that menu, Robyn - what time is our reservation?

I know this will be a shock, but the focus of this weekend seems to be...food! Tonight we're having friends over for Chinese and to discuss our upcoming kitchen remodel and downstairs room addition - one of them will be the Project Manager so this is sort of a brainstorming/input session as well catching up. Tomorrow DBF and I are going to dim sum for lunch at one of our favorite places, as it's closing its doors on Sunday (thank goodness for the restaurant gossip column!). Sunday DBF heads to Los Angeles and I head to cooking class..."Celebrating Corn and Tomatoes". I'll be interested to see what our recipes are!

[tbb113]

Canice - what restaurant is closing? I started going to one out in the avenues (Richmond district) that was recommended to me by a friend that is originally from Hong Kong. Can't remember the name but I'm usually the only white person there without an Asian friend ;)

[Canice]

Harbor Village in the Embarcadero is closing - the best "fancy" dim sum place IMHO, yet Yank Sing seems to get all the press. But normally it's the Avenues for us too. Did you read the review Wednesday of Shanghai Dumpling House (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2005/08/24/FDGL9EAHAL1.DTL) out on 34th and Balboa? Mmmmmm...dumplings! Have a date there next week :) .

[tbb113]

Harbor Village has been there forever! I'm surprised to hear that its closing. My favorite dim sum tourist story is from that place. I was with a friend probably 17 or 18 years ago eating lunch. Table next to us was tourists.... conversation was something like:
Tourists: "What is that?"
Staff: 'Chicken feet'
Tourists: 'Chicken feet?'
Staff: 'Yes, chicken feet'
Tourists: 'Okay, we'll have it" (thinking its a poetic name)
after being served and staff walking away
"OMG, its chicken feet!

I don't get the Chronicle so I didn't see the review. Will add it to my list of places to go when I get into the city :)

I was thinking of going to the Ren Faire this weekend with Alex. He said "yes" and then promptly changed his mind. I wasn't sure of the logistics since Michael is going to a camp reunion and needs either the car or a ride so I guess its okay that we aren't going to go after all.

[Canice]

That's funny! A friend of mine grew up in the Richmond and said he and his brothers used to buy fresh chicken's feet because you could chase the girls, pulling the tendon so the claw would close. Ah, yes - the best things in life are free! Or 15 cents/per.

I no longer subscribe to the Chron but MUST buy a paper copy (online won't do) on Wednesdays for the Food section. My favorite part is the gossip column The Inside Scoop ( http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2005/08/24/FDGQQEB5OH1.DTL). There's the lowdown on Harbor Village.
ETA: I didn't know until reading it there that Hershey had purchased Scharffen Berger and Joseph Schmidt.

[tbb113]

ETA: I didn't know until reading it there that Hershey had purchased Scharffen Berger and Joseph Schmidt.

That was big news in the San Ramon Valley Times which is the paper I get delivered daily. I have real mixed feelings about the quality of the chocolates after the merger. Hopefully, Hershey is going by the philosophy that they can't duplicate it on their own so they are buying up the competition. But if they try and increase the market and distribution, I can only think that the quality will suffer. :( Hershey has bought 4 companies this year alone.....

[colleency]

I was out sick yesterday, so I forgot it was Friday.

Everyone sounds so busy with their kids' sports and getting ready for school!

Robyn, that menu looks fantastic!

Canice, where are you taking classes?

Tonight's free, but tomorrow's a nightmare. We're supposed to be at a meeting in the valley at noon. Then we go to Thousand Oaks for a Star Wars party for a library in Thousand Oaks. We're supposed to dress up in costume and entertain the kids. (It's too hot in T.O. to wear my SW costume!) Then DH's high school reunion is at 6:30 in Agoura. I'd prefer to stay home and sew. Or clean the house.

Sunday some friends are coming over for advice on making their sons' Halloween costumes.

[tbb113]

Colleen: Is the library event inside or outside? Hopefully its inside so they would have the air on ;) That's a long day for you....at least its all in one general direction so you aren't going back and forth.

I'm so glad that the boys are too old to trick or treat anymore. I'm not creative and store bought costumes fall apart so quickly (and are expensive to boot).

[colleency]

They want Shawn with his car and pilot costume, so I imagine it's outside. I'm not actually signed up to do anything, so I could get away with hiding inside the library and reading a book, if I could do it without feeling guilty about my non-participation.

[lindrusso]

Alysha - when do you guys start?


Hi Charisse. :)

If you're referring to school, we've been in 8 days already! They started last week on Wednesday. The oldest started middle school this year, so things are a little different, but going well.

If you're talking about soccer, soccer starts September 18th. I like that our league is on Sundays only. Keeps things simple.

Hi to everyone else who followed today. :)

Alysha