I've Moved

DaddyZabba has convinced me that Wordpress is better than blogger.

So, we packed up and moved.

Come by and visit. Don't be a stranger.

blog.allyzabba.com/

Happy Birthday

DaddyZabba celebrated his birthday on Saturday. The day started out with breakfast in bed, then a long bike ride, a birthday present scavenger hunt, a quality lunch at Carl's Jr. (my treat of course), and the day ended with a fun birthday party - he even requested his Mom's frosting for the cake.

We hope that you felt special and loved on your special day DaddyZabba. We love you!

Life Moments

The last few weeks I have been reading Maggie Mason's blog posts about things she would like to do before she dies, and memories that she hopes flash before her eyes just before she dies. It has been interesting to read her thoughts.

This week I started a short Bible Study called "Live Like you Were Dying". The last question for the week was, think back to some of your best life moments. This sounds a lot like Maggie's list of memories she hopes come to mind in her last moments.

Here are a few of my favorite life moments: ( I could write more, but I hear the girls waking up)
-singing the Stars Spangled Banner at the top of the Eiffel Tower
-riding a vespa in Italy in the rain
-Easter in Ecuador
-practicing shoe tieing with my parent's dinner guests
-taking walks with my Mom (the more you talk, the further you go)
-throwing my sister's surprise bridal shower
-my wedding day
-seeing the stick with two lines
-running on the beach in Brazil
-sledding down the hill at Pappy's house
-the days my girls were born
-fireworks over the Sydney harbor
-East End Hoagies
-Gardners Peanut Butter Meltaways
-getting tipsy for the first time
-girls night out with Lola
-2am Dr. Pepper explosion with my Mom and Sister
-trying to make butterscotch pie by melting butterscotch candy
-my first day of teaching
-salad with italian dressing and english muffins with my Mom
-hiding in a huge pile of leaves
-sleeping in my sister's room when the thunder was too scary
-riding my bike super fast down the hill on our street

What are your favorite life moments?

The Flu

quote #1
BZ: My stomach only hurts as much as a baby hedgehog.

_______

quote #2
moments before BZ got sick LittleZabba tried to stick her fingers in BZ's mouth, even though we told her several times to not touch BZ since she was sick. shortly after BZ got in the bathtub to get cleaned up she said,

BZ: If LittleZabba gets sick this should teach her a lesson about touching me when I am sick!

Slow Down

Seen at my local gas station...

If you don't have time for drive-thru, something in your life needs to change. (plus it just looks gross.. a roller burger?)

A Reunion

My teaching pals and I went back to our school to surprise our principal and fellow teachers. We had such a fun time. It was great to see everyone again. We have wonderful memories there and the school & teachers will always hold a special place in our hearts. If I ever go back to teaching it will be so tempting to call Mrs. F and ask for my old job back!!

I am so Close

This morning a friend and I went running to try and beat DaddyZabba's time. We came so close. Next time watch out buddy. I am so going to beat your fake win time!

And the winner is....

I was really hoping for a little more participation folks. Oh well, you snooze you lose.




Jennifer was right. The song is from Family Ties, the series finale, when Alex runs to the train station to stop Ellen from leaving. I tried to find a clip of it online, but I couldn't find one.

So, Jennifer you are the big winner! You have won MomSpit, the universal cleanser for the hands and face, courtesy of NeatoStuff.com. I actually have your address, so look for your prize in the mail!

Thanks for playing and you never know when there may be another chance to win.

It's On

So DaddyZabba went running today (with a uncalibrated chip I might add..which means his nike+ chip doesn't know what a true mile is, so his "mile" is a little shorter than mine.) That being said, had he run with a calibrated chip, he probably would have run a faster 5k than me. Good thing the challenge doesn't end until April. I still have time to bring it. Let the trash talk begin.

The Race

Speaking of friendly competition...

DaddyZabba and I are having a competition to see who can run the fastest 5k. Who do you think will win?

The stats thus far:

Pop Quiz

In the spirit of a little friendly competition, and due to the lack of comments...I am starting to feel like I am talking to myself, we are having a contest. Google tells me that there are about 40 of you out there, so who wants to win a prize?

Name the TV show this song was in. For extra credit tell me the scene.

Leave your answer in the comment, a winning answer will be chosen at random, and you will get a prize...for real!

Good luck!

p.s. Sister, I know you know the answer, so sorry...you can't play.

So Close

Almost to 300 miles. Tomorrow will be the big day I think!

Heads Up

Just in case this happens to you...

If you happen to be boiling pasta and your sink breaks and you need a place to drain the pasta, I would advise not draining the pasta over your grass. Who knew that scalding hot pasta water killed grass? This event was several months ago. Watering, re-seeding and fertilizer still has not revived the grass.

Question for the scientific out there.....who done it? The scalding water or the starch in the water?

Credential Renewal

Just in case anyone has been sitting on pins and needles wondering what happened...

A while ago I began looking into renewing my CA teaching credential. I had conflicting information about what was required; just paying a fee, or completion of hours & teaching days. I received an email from the commission that seemed to state that all that was required was payment of the renewal fee.

Well, I am here to report that after completing the online renewal form, I only had to pay the renewal fee. I was curious if there would be any questions regarding my professional growth hours, or number of teaching days completed, but there wasn't any of that. So pending my approval by the commission, that should take place in 10 days or less, I am renewed.

Did I Just Blink?

My how times have changed. My 1999 self would have never guessed that 9 years later our little group would turn into this:How did that happen? Weren't we just teaching, worrying about what tomorrow's lesson plan would be? Now look at us...3 mothers, 6 children, living thousands of miles apart, having play dates at the park. I love these friends! I am so glad that even busy schedules, and thousands of miles don't get in the way.

We had a very fun day together. It was so great to see our kids playing together, enjoying their play time. It is too bad these days cannot happen more often.

Love You

This shouldn't be too hard....what is LittleZabba's favorite book?

Revlon Run/Walk

On May 10th I will be running in the Revlon Run for Women. I don't normally run in races that ask for fundraising, but this one is close to my heart. My Mom, ShaSha, fought breast cancer and with God's grace and mercy she won. She has been cancer free for just over 3 years now. If my few dollars can help prevent another ShaSha from having to fight cancer, then I will put down my pride and do a little fundraising. If you feel so inclined, (please feel no pressure) you can help sponsor my run, here. If you would like more information let me know, or you can visit the Revlon Run for Women website.

1000

Today AllyZabba hit 1000 orders!
woo-hoo!

At Dinner

Tonight at dinner BigZabba was so complimentary..

BZ: Mommy thank you for taking such good care of me, and giving me such wonderful food. But most of all, thank you for giving me such a wonderful sister.

What could be sweeter than that!?

The Bed

Here are some photos of LittleZabba's new bed. She did great last night and during nap time today. I think she made a perfect transition into the bed. She is so grown up!

The Race

I wish I was there. Maybe 2009 is my year.

Change

Guess where LittleZabba is sleeping tonight?! In her very own big girl bed! She was so excited today. She couldn't wait for DaddyZabba to get home from picking up the bed. She was quite giddy when she saw the bed parts coming in the door. It was a family affair putting it together and getting the sheets on the bed. Every 2 minutes she asked if she could get on the bed.

I would post a picture of her new bed, but we left the camera in her room and I don't want to risk going in there to get it. She whimpered a tiny bit when I put her to bed, but from the sounds coming from the monitor, she just might be asleep. Now I just hope that she doesn't fall out of bed.

Happy Birthday

Today is my buddy Libby's birthday. She turns 8 years old today. She is a very special gal I hope that she has a very special birthday...especially since she only gets one every 4 years! You can help make her birthday extra special..go buy one of her fabulous products, either here or here. I have had my eye on her "The Original" skirt for quite some time. Anything catch your fancy?

Live it up today Libby! Happy Birthday!

update straight from Libby Dibby herself: For 48 hours, come shopping at www.libertyworth.com and get 15% off everything on the site! Enter BDAY in the voucher line on the checkout page and enjoy.

Numbers

Today I heard LittleZabba counting:

1,2,3,6,7,8,9,10 wedy uh not, here i tum.

Wuv

Today LittleZabba said that she loved me. This was the first time that she said this on her own, totally un-prompted. The conversation went something like this (we were listening to a CD by our friend Becki):

LZ: I wuv Becki. I wuv you Mommy. I wuv Melmo and Cookie Foster too. I like my sister, she is funny. I wuv my (BZ's name), I wuv my Daddy too.

Does it still count, even though Elmo & Cookie Monster were included too?

What's Your Cupcake?

I always knew I was stylish. It is nice that Betty Crocker agrees with me!

Enter to win Betty Crocker's Cupcake Cash Giveaway and learn your cupcake personality.

The Shark

Do you dislike mopping? I do. Well that isn't totally true. I like mopping, until I notice how dirty the water is, then I want to quit. If I really wanted to be a super house cleaner I would change the water in the bucket as soon as the water got murky.

Enter The Shark. Thanks to my Mother I have found the answer to my mopping woes. All the joy of mopping without using a bucket of murky water. With two little ones in the house I had to clean the floors while they were in bed since it is impossible to keep them from running on the wet floor. Now I can clean the floors anytime. The water/steam is so hot that it dries in just a few minutes. It really does get the floor clean. I can use it on our hard wood floors too.

If you want one the cheapest place to get it is Linens & Things, using their 20% off coupon. (if you don't have one just print this one. just click on it to make it larger for printing.)

I have used the steam mop so many times in the last two days I have a blister. I think I am slightly obsessed.

Ditch Day

February 24, 1994

On this day my high school buddy and I ditched the last 2 periods of school. We went out to lunch and just didn't go back. (I'm not sure my Mother knows about this...sorry Mom!) And what did we doduring this rebellious act? Shop? Pick up boys? Drink stolen beer behind the bleachers? We went back to my house and washed my parents car. How lame. Even more lame...we took a picture of it.

I Couldn't Help It

I saw these super cute dessert plates and had to get them. I love all things cupcake!

The Adventures of the Horse

For your viewing pleasure Zabba Productions is proud to present:

The Adventures of the Horse
Written & Directed by DaddyZabba and BigZabba

Quote of the Day

Just before starting a movie...

me: want a snack?
dz: sure, what should we have?
me: i don't know, what are you going to make?
dz: i don't know.
me: why is it my job to make the snacks?
dz: you're the woman.
[pause]
me: so really, what are we having?

Another Neato Giveaway

NeatoStuff is having another cool giveaway. This gift set from the Gifted Grasshopper is very fun! BigZabba has one and she loves it. Enter to win! Tell your friends!

Got 10 Minutes?

My sister called me tonight..."Got 10 minutes to mix up a dessert?", she asked. She whipped this up and knew that I would love it too. So, not long later we were munching on this piece of yumminess.

Enjoy.

First mix the following ingredients together and spread into a very well greased 8x8 pan:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs. cocoa
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbs. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Then, mix the following together and sprinkle evenly over the batter:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs. cocoa

Last pour 1 cup of boiling water (or 1 cup strong hot coffee if you want a mocha flavor) over the whole thing.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream. Yummy!

"We've Got Tonight"

For some reason I have had high school on the brain. I was looking through my old photo albums and found all my prom photos. My first formal dance went terribly, but all the rest were actually fun. It's been a while so I don't remember much, but I do remember after one of the dances a group of us went to the movie theater. The theater was closed but one of the guys with us was the manager of the theater so he let us in. We got popcorn and watched a movie. The reel broke, so we had to move to another theater. I wonder how he explained the broken reel?

Anyway, prom is a funny ritual. Pay a lot of money for tickets (for what really, they don't even serve dinner?!), get dressed up, wear your "dyed to match" shoes, wear a flower, mom & dad take photos, get all nervous, try to act grown up. Prom is kinda silly, but if I could live it again I think I would....with DaddyZabba as my date of course.

Friends

This weekend we got together with my dear friend Susan and her sweet family. She and I have known each other for at least 10 years (has it really been that long!?). We were in the same teaching program in college, did our student teaching together, and ended up working at the same elementary school with classrooms right next door to each other. It had been 2+ years since we had seen each other. She had never met LittleZabba and I had never met her youngest. It didn't take long for the kids to warm up to each other. It was great to get together and enjoy an evening of food, fun, and the kids even enjoyed a little hide and seek. The evening ended all too quickly. I hope we can squeeze in a few more visits before they head home.

May I Take your Order?

What was your first job? My first job was working at McDonalds. I was so excited to have a real job. My first week there I was a cook. That was a joke. I really was not fast enough, plus I did not look so good in the hair net. The managers quickly learned that I was best suited for the cash registers. Eventually they let me work the drive thru. I liked that job, but it can be quite stressful. And in case you didn't know, the drive thru workers can hear everything you say while you are in the drive thru line. It was entertaining to hear the conversations that went on when they thought you couldn't hear them. It was a good first job. It was humbling to have to wear that awful uniform. After one year it was time to move on.
This was me on my last day, May 2, 1994.

Fine Motor Skills

Oh to have this much time and talent. I would love to have one of these art pieces, but knowing me I would put it in a sunny spot and then I would have a waxy puddle of art.

A New Trend

If you need a new dress and you can't sew, buy some balloons and get started. Just be careful not to pop any....that would be a significant "wardrobe malfunction". (he he he)

Neato Giveaway

NeatoStuff is having a neato give-away. It is a cool baby t-shirt from Revo Baby. Enter to win! Spread the word ya'll...Who doesn't like free stuff!?

inspiration

My friend has been doing alot on her site with inspiration boards. So I thought I would try my hand at a running board. I am not a designer, and DaddyZabba is gone for the afternoon, so I had to do it all by myself. (had he been here it would look alot better, but oh well)

Enjoy.

Yet Another Reason

Today Apple gave me another reason to love them. My Nike+ chip stopped working so I took it to the Apple store to buy another one. While I was there I decided to ask about it, since it was odd that it stopped working and maybe they had a trick for getting to going again. After a few minutes of troubleshooting they decided to just swap it out and give me a new one.

Now that is customer service!

Cable Guy

For many months DaddyZabba has been trying to decide..dish vs. cable. He finally decided to make the switch to cable. Installation day came. I had to be home from 1-4pm and of course, at 3:45pm he came. He wanted to see the two rooms that needed set up. Our front room has a regular TV which the girls watch their shows on, and in the back room DZ has it set up like a theater; projector, surround sound. The cable guy was very confused by the screen on the wall. He kept trying to figure out how he was going to get the cables hooked into the screen and the cable box. He kept saying he didn't have cables long enough. He didn't really realize that the screen is just a screen, it isn't the TV. Anyway, he called his manager and then told me that he would have to send a technician out (what is he then?) since he is new to the cable business. OK.

One week later cable guy number 2, the technician, comes and in 45 minute has it all set up. Unfortunately, DaddyZabba was not thrilled with cable. The box was difficult to use and there were ads everywhere, plus the DVR portion was broken, so we could record shows but they wouldn't play. With that we said goodbye to cable.

One week later cable guy #3 came to pick up said cable boxes. He then proceeded to ask me many questions about our dish service, how do we like it, how many channels do we get..etc. He then tells me that he has only been in the cable business one year and doesn't know much about it. He doesn't have cable at his place, well unless you count the cable he is stealing from his building. When he buys a place he thinks he is going to get dish service, since he hears it is better than cable.

Maybe the cable company should consider having a training session.

Lost Nickname

What's Yours?

Project Night Night

This week I learned about a great organization based in San Francisco called Project Night Night. They are dedicated to improving the lives of homeless children. They do this by giving out "Night Night Bags" that are filled with items to help a child get a good night's sleep. Each Night Night Package contains a new blanket, a book, and a stuffed animal and other nighttime items such as a toothbrush/toothpaste, pajamas, socks and/or note. I think this is a wonderful project. I am proud to have AllyZabba be apart of it. If you would like to get involved with Project Night Night here is some more information to help you get started.

Comparison

While my cousin and my sister are having great success potty training their boys, who are about the same age as LittleZabba, today she has peed on floor 3 times, in the high chair once, and only dribbled in the potty. She is quick to say that she is a big girl and that she goes pee-pee on the potty, but really she just goes pee-pee on the floor. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day.

MaMe Spa

This weekend I found a spa in Redondo Beach, called MaMe Spa. It is wonderful! The best thing is that they offer childcare services (for kids ages 3mo. and up) while the Moms get pampered. Isn't that a fantastic idea!! The child care room is very fun, and there are screens throughout the spa so you can see what your children are doing without having to go in. They even have a schedule of things they do with the kids, reading from 10-11am...etc. The prices are pretty reasonable, for a spa. For example, a one hour pedicure is $40, 1 hour manicure is $35. The location is great, the workers are super friendly and I am pretty sure that I am going back! Maybe I'll run into you there.

Surf's Up

Congratulations! Good work DaddyZabba!

The Choice

Tonight at dinner LittleZabba exclaimed,

I choose obey!

Pomegranate Paradise

I stopped by Jamba Juice today. I went in and was surprised to see that there weren't any customers in the store. The woman who was working was quick to take my order, and even helped me make my choice. I paid and she responded with, "Thanks, have a nice day." It sounded odd to me because she said it like that was the end of our transaction, but I did not yet have my smoothie.

So I watched as she mixed, blended and poured my drink. She put in the straw, wrapped the cup in a napkin, picked up the cup and in her announcer voice, as if she is addressing a crowd said, "Pomegranate Paradise with vitamin boost". She proceeded to look around the store to see who would claim the smoothie. Wondering who she was looking for, I took a minute to look around in case I missed someone hiding in the corner.

I was still the only one in the store. Did she really forget that she took my order just 3 minutes prior? Is there some Jamba Juice rule that she has to yell out the name of the smoothie even if the store is otherwise empty? It was entertaining.

Glasses

I was in 5th grade when I first got glasses. I was really excited to wear them, I think mostly because my sister had them and I wanted to be just like her. I don't remember exactly when it happened but somewhere along the line I grew to dislike them. In highschool I got contacts and that changed everything. Not long after I got married I had Lasix surgery. That was incredible. I could wake up in the morning and see the clock right away. Fast forward 10 years and I now need glasses again, well mostly. The doctor was very impressed that after all this time (since having lasix done) my eyes are as good as they are. I noticed my eyes weren't as strong while driving at night, so that is mostly when I will wear them. But the funny thing is, I am a little bit excited about it. Give it a few months, maybe a year, and I just might hate them again. But for now I can be excited that I am once again a girl with glasses. (which is a very entertaining book for anyone who has worn glasses.)

Snow Day

This morning we decided to head to Mt. Baldy to enjoy playing in the snow. It was a great idea, but nearly everyone in LA had the same idea. We were in the car longer than we played in the snow, but we had fun making memories. Some friends from church joined us and we had a fun time.

Since we don't play in the snow very often we do not have proper snow attire or snow gear. That is why LittleZabba is playing in rain boots & a rain jacket, BigZabba is playing in "cowgirl" boots, I am running around in tennis shoes, and we decided to sled on a boogie board.


Regardless of our sub-par attire & gear we still had fun. We played in the snow until our hands hurt & threw just enough snowballs. We were too cold to make a true snowman, so BigZabba decided that we could make a snow puppy instead. Can you see the puppy in our sculpture? While trying to make the snow puppy our little friends, C & Z, decided they wanted to take big bites out of the snow puppy. BigZabba was very unhappy. Can you tell?

All told, we had a great time. It started to hail as we left and BigZabba described it as "just like rain, only hoppier." Not long later it started to snow and BigZabba stuck her head out the window to catch the flakes on her tongue. With that we headed home.

Cloud Cake

Courtesy of The Care Bears Party Cookbook

Cut a pound cake in half

Pour 1/2 cup OJ over the bottom half

Spread raspberry jam over the top half

Put the two halves together and pour 1/2 cup OJ over the whole cake

Top with whipped cream

Voila!

Enjoy!