Jennifer Apodaca's Blog

For the reading portion of this blog: I’m still reading “1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History.” And I suspect I will be for a while. I still really like the book, but it takes full concentration. Plus we are just stupid busy, LOL. It’s all good though.

So Monday night, Wizard and I were prepping dinner when we saw and heard Fire Trucks behind us. Then more rescue vehicles. A couple went up the dirt road into the hills. We were worried about fire, but soon realized it had to be something else. It turns out to me a male who crashed his bicycle on one of the inaccessible trails. They had to hike to get to him, then brought him daughter and life-flighted him to help. I don’t know how this story turned out, but Wizard and I were both slightly shaken. We know the accident was bad including a serious head injury. We know he had to be life flighted. We’re guessing a young male, possibly a teen, because we often seen kids riding these “trails” in the National Forest behind us.  They are crazy steep and dangerous.

And we that someone could have been waiting for their kid to come home for dinner…and he won’t show up. As a mom of three active boys, I sympathize so much. Whomever that male was, he and his family, are having a much different Thanksgiving than they thought.

So this holiday, Wizard and I have had a stark reminder to be grateful that our kids and grandkids are all health and safe (at least as I’m writing this). We’ll pray for that male and his family. But we are also very grateful for the first responders and rescue folks. Guys, they rolled so many engines, rigs and equipment that we lost count. They staged directly behind out house to coordinate everything. They got this person out of treacherous terrain, brought him to an ambulance, and then the ambulance brought him down, and met the helicopter down at the end of the street behind this. This was a swift and highly coordinated effort that we watched it all in utter amazement. And with gratitude and a deep respect for what they do when called.

Anyhow, that’s my story I want to wish you all a safe and Happy Thanksgiving filled with love and gratitude. I appreciate all of you so much!

I won’t be here on Friday, but I’ll see you all on Monday!

The post Wednesday Reading and Happy Thanksgiving! first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

I got a few things done this weekend. I got a start on some Christmas shopping, made some lists, made a batch of cookies, and I cooked a pot of white bean chicken chili and froze it into single servings, cleaned and exercised. But I spent too much time on the desktop computer and my shoulder whined, so I had to stop working there. Good thing I have a laptop! While I’m not using the laptop just yet for what I originally bought it for, I really like it. It’s nice to be happy with a “big” purchase. And using it makes me think that I could write this way without so much pain. I’m not thinking about writing commercially, more just writing things that make me happy.

Anyway back to the weekend. One highlight is when I cook and send food with Wizard for dinner for him and his mom, he has developed a system to get her to eat it with him. Getting her to eat is a challenge, so that is a big win for both of us! He likes to send me before and after pics of her plate to prove she ate, which I find funny and really endearing.

The other is Youngest was texting me something random, and I mentioned that I was making cookies later that day. Would you believe that later that day?  I laughed at him and, of course, gave him cookies. He hung out for a couple hours and we talked. Fortunately Wizard was home and able to visit too.

And Maggie is loving the nice weather and has declared herself and Outside Dog. It’s a little weird that she wants to be outside so much of the day, but fine if she is happy. She’s getting a little quirky with age, but again, it’s fine as long as she’s healthy and happy.

Now we’re gearing up for that Thanksgiving camping trip. I’m baking bread and cookies and probably brownies since all that travels well. And will bring a few other things. Plus the last minute store runs and organizing packing. The before and after is always a pain but the trips are worth it (usually!). Maggie will have fun too. The few times we’ve taken her, she does great most of the time.

So how are you T-Day plans coming along?  How was your weekend?

The post Weekend Roundup first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

TGIF!! Guys next week is Thanksgiving already. How???? I’m not ready and I’m not even cooking the dinner, LOL! Anyhow, I’ll stop whining and we’ll jump into sharing five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

We got to see a picture (ultrasound) of our developing grandson! He should arrive next April It’s really amazing how far technology has come since my pregnancy days. We had ultrasounds, of course, but the imaging now is so much better! Anyway, Baby Boy is doing well in his mom’s tummy. And Turbo is growing excited to be a big brother. All this while Turbo’s parents have having their new to them house renovated. Oldest Son and Special K are not afraid to tackle several big projects at once, LOL!It looks like we are going camping next week with Middle Son, DIL and Cigi for Thanksgiving. We are always on edge, wondering if we’ll need to cancel or rearrange plans to help Wizard’s mom. Wizard spends a big chunk of time and energy handling things along with his siblings. I pick up the slack at home, and prep food for Wizard and his mom. While I don’t mind Wizard getting fast food once in a while, I try hard to make sure he doesn’t have to when he (or we) are at his moms. I also want his mom to have decent food to eat as well.We are hoping to go to Cambria with Youngest too, but again, plans can change. Thankfully, all the kids know and understand. That really takes some of the stress off us. There are reasons why this trip is kind of important, but not more important than my MIL.Yesterday I got a lovely break and drove out to see Cigi and her mom. And my grandpups, Jett and Hazel. They all make me happy, but Cigi is my girl. I played with her, then carried her while her mom was putting away some groceries, and she conked out on me. That actually worked out well for me, as I left earlier than planned and beat both the rain and traffic home. Wizard had to stay home as he was going to his mom’s later in the day. Despite being sad, he still got up early and put gas in the car, so I wouldn’t have to stop and do it? I so appreciate that!This weekend, I plan to do some fun baking, and also plan out the bread and cookies/desserts I’m bringing for Thanksgiving. Put some holiday lists together. Make some White Bean Chicken Chili and just general stuff. Wizard hopes to go racing Sunday if the rain stops as predicted.

Boy my weeks sound boring. But now it’s your turn to prove you all are far more interesting than I am by sharing five random things about your week!!! Go for it! And I hope everyone has a great weekend! If you’re doing Thanksgiving prep, then I wish you lots of productive energy and good luck

The post Friday Five first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

I’ve started reading a Kindle sample of the nonfiction book, “1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History — and How It Shattered a Nation” by Andrew Ross Sorkin. I’m actually liking the book, although it’s not light reading. If I’m tired, I will fall asleep, LOL. But it really does interest me. In case anyone is wondering how I often find books that interest me, it’s through podcasts interviewing authors. I realize this particular book likely has a limited audience

Fun story about the podcaster who interviewed the author of the book, 1929– my original opinion of him was that he was a buffoon from my view of him in politics. Now I have an entirely different view after accidently hearing him on a podcast, then following him. It turns out, I was wrong. It’s nice when I’m wrong in a way that turns out to be a net positive for me. Hmmm, does “net positive” work in this context???? I don’t know, but learning I was wrong and correcting that view about the podcaster has brought more value to my live so…net positive right? Or am I wrong again??? LOL.

On my To Be Read Next Pile: I finally bought TURN OF FATE by Anne Bishop on my Kindle, so that’s loaded and ready to read. And I have the audiobook, HIDDEN NATURE by Nora Roberts ready to listen to.

What are you reading?

The post Wednesday Reading first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

It rained! It began Friday night and through Saturday. A few showers Sunday and more rain today. It’s a bit of a pain for Miss Maggie, but otherwise, I’m good  with rain. We really need it.

I made sourdough bread since I was home Saturday. It wasn’t exciting, but I like having it. And assuming we still go camping with Middle Son for Thanksgiving, I’ll make more to take on that trip.  I also did a critique for a friend which was fun since I haven’t done that in awhile.

Sunday, I left town to do some shopping and errands. I managed to hit four different stores in two hours and get a lot of stuff done. I was pretty happy about that.

Oh, and we decided not to go to see Turbo. I think all of us (us and them) just weren’t up to it. We’ll go another time.

Overall a nice but not particularly exciting weekend.

How was your weekend?

The post Weekend Roundup first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

TGIF!! Let’s jump right into sharing five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

According to the forecasts I see, we have a week or so of cloudiness, showers and rain. We’ll see what happens. We do need rain, but I’m not looking forward to explaining to Maggie why our walks may be cancelled Speaking of walks, we encountered another off leash dog, but it was a big, old sweet dog, so I’m not annoyed. He was pretty funny, when I saw him, he was happily carrying a rock in his mouth just moseying along, then he spotted us and spit the rock out and trotted happily over and greet us. It was instantly apparently he was a chill dog, so my concern instantly evaporated. Once his owner realized we were there, she was immediately apologetic, but there was no harm. The truth is, I wasn’t paying enough attention, or I would have noticed sooner and crossed the street.I booked the Inn for Cambria in December with Youngest, but I’m still not positive we’re going. We want to, but our budget is not quite as enthusiastic. Frankly, Budget is a buzzkill, and he’s only getting crankier as costs rise. But we are valiantly trying to be brave and ignore Budget, so we’ll see There are other practical considerations like Wizard’s mom’s needs, etc. Although…I think it’s good for Wizard, plus Daughter in Law’s mom is going, so we get a bonus nice/fun person to hang with.I saw Biker Witch yesterday and that was awesome. She had an appointment after our coffee date, but I figured that’s no problem it gives us 2 and a 1/2 hours to talk…boy that 2 and a 1/2 hours flew by! I don’t know what all we talked about, just sister stuff, I guess.This weekend we are hoping to go see Turbo and family Sunday before his late afternoon game. But if it’s raining (rather than mild showers), we will stay home and off the freeways. But if we do see him, I can look at his book of cookie recipes and we can plan what we want to make together.

That’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours! I hope you all have a great weekend!

The post Friday Five first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

Hope everyone had a great Veteran’s Day yesterday. We went to see Middle Son, Daughter in Law and CiGi. It’s been three weeks since I’ve seen my grand daughter, and I’m happy to report, she didn’t forget me! She cried when I handed her to her mom to put her in her car seat, and I went around to the other side to get in. She stopped crying when she realized I was going to sit next to her.

And yes, I am bragging, LOLOL!!

Then to top my day off, Turbo’s mom sent me a new book Turbo just bought: “365 Days of Cookies” and quoting Turbo, “To bake with Grandma.”

Okay enough of the Grandma stuff, let’s get to books!

I finished reading WHAT SHE SAW by Mary Burton while I was in Cambria. It was okay. I never really liked the protagonist in the book, but the story was okay.

I just listened to THAT’S NOT MY NAME by Megan Lally, and really liked it from start to the end. The only thing I didn’t care for was the ruminating of the male protagonist in the final wrap up chapter. But the rest of the book worked for me. I guess it was a Teen (or Young Adult) Mystery. One thing that helped is I had no expectations for this book, and got it in a two for one credit deal. Sometimes NOT having expectations helps me be open to a new book and just go with it.

What have you been reading or listening to?

The post Wednesday Reading first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

I missed you guys!! Now I’m back and doing Real Life again So…

**I’m editing this blog to add that I have to brag about Turbo. He hit a grand slam in his baseball game Sunday evening! Man, I wish I’d been there! We should be able to get to more of his games in the Spring. But I’m so excited for him! Okay, back to the original Roundup…**

Cambria was so relaxing and we really enjoyed it. We had a little rain one day and beautiful days otherwise. The rain wasn’t a bother since we were prepared. What made it awesome was that the weather churned up some reasonably rough waves, which were fun to watch, and walk along on the boardwalk. This is a rustic beach, not a white sand oasis. Once I loved the sandy, easy access, beaches, but now I love the rustic ones where nature totally rules.

We just chose a random winery to do a little wine-tasting. I was amused that we had to seriously limit how much they were serving us in the tasting. Wizard was driving, so we do one tasting for me, and he samples a bit of that. But we are very careful, and called a halt when she would have kept pouring. We bought a few bottles to bring home. We also went to see the Elephant Seals, which is awesome to see in person. When we were there, the adult males had gone back to sea, so the juveniles were resting in huge piles on the beach. I find it interesting that for long months when they are at sea, they travel solo and hunt alone. That’s their life during that time. Then when they are on land, they are resting, socializing, mating and having offspring. But they don’t eat while on land. Not that I test it by going down there! They may have been young, but they are big and powerful.

We shopped for fun on Main Street, met some interesting people, and saw a ton of dogs. Much to our delight, we found a tiny hole in the wall cheap restaurant off the beaten path, and a grocery store. The grocery store is weird, yes, but so convenient for when we need something or don’t want to eat out. Our hotel room has a small fridge and microwave, which makes it possible to create simple meals and snacks.

The trip really was relaxing and we did pretty much whatever we wanted to do. But you know what’s weird? It makes me miss writing a little bit. I doubt I’ll go back to writing commercial fiction (never say never) unless something in our lives changes, but something about Cambria sparks that creative energy in me.

Maggie did fine at boarding. Once home, I did a ton of laundry and finally got around to making the dairy and gluten free cinnamon rolls. Wizard liked them, but I don’t think he’s as picky as I am. Sunday youngest heard I had the cinnamon rolls and stopped by. Okay, he heard it because I texted him and asked if he wanted any — then he showed up at my door so I’m guessing yes? LOLOL. He said they’re good which I’m glad to hear. But I know for sure that they aren’t the prettiest rolls. Sadly, I thought I knew more than the author of the recipe and so I didn’t follow her directions of rolling them. I ended up with a sticky problem, and they came out misshapen thanks to my arrogance.  Anyhow, circling back to Youngest… while he and his wife were at the house, they asked about our trip, and now they wants us to go back to Cambria with them in December. Um…maybe? Wizard is gone racing while I’m typing this, so I’ll check with him when he gets home. I tried hard to talk Youngest into going in January after the holidays, but he’s holding firm. All I can do is see if it’s possible, and if not, we’ll go with them another time.

How was your week and your weekend?

The post Weekend (+Last Week) Roundup first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

Quick note: I’m not sure if I’ll be able to post on Wednesday or Friday. But if I don’t, then I’ll definitely be back on Monday! 

So we got a total of 3 sets of trick or treaters and a ton of stale leftover candy that Wizard won’t let me throw away.

But Saturday was fun! Turbo came over to decorate, and his parents bailed to go to lunch That was awesome for them…until they got stuck in traffic due to an accident. Turbo, however, didn’t care as he was having fun. First…I forgot to take pics of the final product, but truthfully, the final product wasn’t the point. Turbo had been watching a baking show with his mom and wanted to learn how to decorate. Then he chose something hard from a magazine, LOL. But here’s a couple pics. Note: Turbo is standing on a stool, so he’s not as tall as he looks:

Here’s the two of us and he’s really concentrating:

And here’s a shot of his ghost that he free-handed with melted white chocolate over a chocolate covered pretzel stick (which he also made!). He did BETTER than I expected!

The key thing is we had fun.

Then Uncle Youngest and Aunt Daughter in law came over to visit, eat dinner with us and watch the final game of the World Series. Daughter in Law wore her Dodgers shirt and the battle was on between her and Wizard who is a die hard Giants fan and hates the Dodgers. He and his brother (who passed away a couple years ago) had a huge and fun rivalry about this.

Once DIL started trouble with her Dodgers shirt I opened wine, and toasted daughter in law. I don’t really care which team wins, I was just amused and I love her. We clinked glasses and Wizard pouted so I gave him some wine to make him feel better.

Finally Turbo’s parents made it back from lunch! Turbo proudly showed them is work. And I was thrilled that he was happy with it. Turbo can expect a lot of himself and I was worried he’d want to match the picture in the magazine, but he caught on that this was more about artistic interpretation rather than just copying someone else’s art. I wish I’d understand that so young!

So then we started dinner, and we made balsamic flank steak, lemon herb chicken, lime cilantro rice, stir fried green beans and sourdough bread. It was crazy but dinner was good enough and the clan gathered around the table.

For dessert we had the cupcakes that Turbo made, or gluten dairy free brownies and ice cream.

Finally we settled into the nail biter of a game that went into  stress churning extra innings and a lot of yelling echoing in my house. There was a point where Wizard was waving his cane around so much in agitation that I took it away from him. Then in a wild last at bat — the Dodgers won!

Wizard yelled and sulked.

Daughter in law celebrated and told Wizard he’d lost their bet.

Suddenly my happy mood turned suspicious… “What bet?”

Daughter in Law informed me that he’d said, “If the Dodgers win, Wizard will give Daughter in Law the new Beamer.” Then she smiled at me and added, “But don’t worry, I’ll give you the Camry back.” (Our old car that we sold them when we bought the new car.)

Thankfully, I woke up Sunday and the Beamer was still in our garage. Guess Daughter in Law decided not to collect on her bet with Wizard The great thing is Wizard is having fun with the rivalry, and we all feel his brother and the kids uncle sitting there with us, cheering on the Dodgers, high fiving daughter-in-law while razzing Wizard.

My family is nuts. All of them. Which is odd because I’m so normal.

How was your weekend?

The post Weekend Roundup first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

Happy Halloween!!! And TGIF!! All in one day, LOL!! So let’s get right to sharing five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

It’s a weird week wherein Wizard is here one or two nights then gone to his mom’s the next. We both confused on what day it is at this point Tonight, Wizard will be home in time to hand out candy. We usually sit outside and do it. Maggie always enjoys seeing kids.So we had this snafu with fixing the Shelby (Mustang). A coupld months ago, the supplier had sent the wrong part, but the shop didn’t realize it and installed it. It fit so why would they realize it? This shop specializes so they know what they’re doing, but cars like this Shelby are high maintenance. The shop ordered a new part, but in the mean time, Wizard could only get a little gas it in at a time with a gas can, and that was a mess. The correct part finally came it and it appears the Shelby is fixed! Fingers crossed this settles the issue long term. It’s a known issue, and a hassle.Saturday, Turbo and his family are coming over to decorate some cupcakes. And I’ll make a pretty easy dinner — Balsamic Flank Steak, rice and some vegetable. It’ll be fun and I’m looking forward to it. I’ll let Youngest and Daughter-in-law know too if they want to come by. The only downside I’m feeling is missing Cigi — I haven’t seen her in two weeks. We’ve just had a lot going on and so have they.Next week, Wizard and I are taking a short trip to Cambria for our anniversary. We both excited, but he’s especially looking forward to getting away.  Other than one nice dinner, we don’t have any specific plans, we’re just going to do what we want, when we want to do it. Maggie is going to her “spa vacation” boarding place — I don’t she’s as excited but she usually does fine with them and they take good care of my girl.

That’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours! I hope everyone has a little good magic in their Halloween! And a great weekend!

The post Friday Five first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.