After driving on the highway for 30 minutes or so, Jammy had had enough:
Mama, I want to get off the highway! I want to get on the low way!
Mrs Grossmans Sticker Factory
Are you in the Bay Area? Do you love stickers? Last week we went to Petaluma to visit Mrs. Grossman's Sticker Factory, a small, family-owned company where a fat red heart is the company symbol, where people smile a lot, and where dogs wander freely around the office.
The tour lasted about an hour. First we watched a twenty-minute video about the company and the sticker-making process. All the kids paid surprisingly close attention, perhaps because the video was narrated by Angus the Dog (Mrs. Grossman's pet), or perhaps also because the tour guide told the kids she would quiz them on some video facts and give stickers out to those who got the correct answer.
The second part of the tour was a walk on the actual sticker factory floor (which smelled strongly of ammonia; The Pea walked the whole way pinching her nose). At the end of the tour, we were ushered into a room with lots of craft tables and given a sticker goody bag (grownups included!) and a postcard to decorate.
The factory sticker store, not surprisingly, was located just outside the craft room, so sticker-hungry kids and their parents, after being tantalized by rolls and rolls of cute stickers on the factory floor, could buy Mrs. Grossman's stickers to their hearts content. We all got coupons for $3 off any $20 purchase, so guess how many families chose at least $20 worth of stickers? With sticker sheets ranging from 50 cents to $3 (sticker sets and books cost more), spending $20 was easy. For cheapskates like me, I would definitely recommend buying the sticker grab bags for $1.99. No sticker in the bag was truly crappy anyway, and my kids had hours of fun trading stickers with each other.
So was it worth the 1.5 hour drive to Petaluma (for a 1 hour tour) and the $3 per person tour fee? Absolutely. We got to have a nice little day trip (we brought a packed lunch and ate at their visitors' picnic center), thereby avoiding the dreaded late-afternoon-"I'm bored"-syndrome. The kids had a blast, I got to release my inner sticker-loving-little-girl, and we all got to take home a ton of stickers. My kids have already used up all their stickers, but like a good girl, I've stashed my own goody bag away for future bribery needs.
Save our Tree!
One month ago, the lemon tree in our backyard was a sturdy little thing, tucked snugly away between an azalea and a hydrangea. It had lovely deep green leaves and a fat little lemon.
We decided to move it to the newly-cleared flowerbed by the back fence in order to give it more space and more sun. Sadly, one month later, I have a sinking feeling that our lemon tree is dying. The leaves have turned a sickly yellow, they have curled up, and the single lemon is now shriveled and dried up. We really thought the sun and space would help it thrive, but the opposite is happening.
We suspect overwatering. We've stopped watering it for now, but we're still not sure if the tree can be saved, or how we're supposed to care for it anyway. Does anyone have any ideas? Can anybody save this plant? Somebody call 9-1-1-P-L-A-N-T!
For more sinking feelings, click here.
Photo Hunt: Happiness
How do you know if you're happy? 3Po and Jammy know....
Other than clapping your hands, the best way to tell if you're happy is your smile...
Messy smile...
Toothless smile....
Toothy smile...
Smirky smile..
Giraffe-y smile! Hope your day is as happy as ours!
For more happiness, click here.
Love Thursday: Hearts in the Park
It has been some time since the Karen and Irene stopped running the weekly Love Thursday posts, and I do miss looking at the ways people are surrounded by love all over the blogosphere. I couldn't resist posting this photo of us at Union Square in San Francisco. I haven't been there in years, and was pleasantly surprised to see these cute heart sculptures displayed on two corners of the square. Apparently these hearts are all over San Francisco. What a nice way to show some love.
Passport to Insanity
I've just been through passport hell. Normally I don't like to trash the Philippine government; they have enough problems as it is without their own citizens ridiculing them. But hey, that's what a democracy is, right? We have the right to express our opinion, and after Monday's fiasco, boy do I have to vent!! Why does applying for a passport have to be so convoluted? The whole process seems riddled with inefficiencies, redundancies and miles of red tape.
1) Take those passport photos. It's bad enough that they have to be this weird size (1.77" x 1.35"). But why do we have to be wearing a shirt with collar and sleeves?
2) What's with all this inane data you need to fill out on the forms? Why do they need to know:
* The name and address of the attending physician at the applicant's birth.
* The civil status of the father and mother of the applicant.
* The religion of the father and mother of the applicant.
3) Why does the consulate need three copies of everything? Birth certificates, marriage certificates, passport data page, you name it -- I need to provide the original and three photocopies. Why do three different departments need this information? Haven't they heard of computers and centralized data?
4) Why do I need to fill in the Report of Birth by hand -- three times?? Why not make 3 copies and I can sign each one?
5) Why require notarized signatures if I'm applying in person??
6) The passport info page on the website and the passport forms have different requirements: one says I need a notarized Consent to Travel Form, one doesn't mention it at all.
In any case, I had no choice. I spent the whole of Sunday gathering documents and filling in forms. On Monday, we left home at 8:30AM so I could swing by the notary and make the 1 million photocopies required by the application. Sorting out which copies go where for 4 people took almost 1 hour! We rushed to San Francisco so we could submit the application and hopefully get there first and maybe even get the passports by the end of the day.
And after all that, guess what? The consulate was closed for Ninoy Aquino day. Apparently they announced on August 4 that the consulate would be closed on Aug. 20, Monday, instead of Aug. 21, Tuesday (the actual holiday). Just my luck that I had checked the consulate website in July to make sure of the consulate's office hours, so I knew nothing about this closure.
After biting my lip so I wouldn't swear in front of the kids, I did the only thing I could: took them into Starbucks for a chocolate milk and some chocolate-covered graham crackers. That's our beloved Banana Republic, whattayagonnado?
1) Take those passport photos. It's bad enough that they have to be this weird size (1.77" x 1.35"). But why do we have to be wearing a shirt with collar and sleeves?
2) What's with all this inane data you need to fill out on the forms? Why do they need to know:
* The name and address of the attending physician at the applicant's birth.
* The civil status of the father and mother of the applicant.
* The religion of the father and mother of the applicant.
3) Why does the consulate need three copies of everything? Birth certificates, marriage certificates, passport data page, you name it -- I need to provide the original and three photocopies. Why do three different departments need this information? Haven't they heard of computers and centralized data?
4) Why do I need to fill in the Report of Birth by hand -- three times?? Why not make 3 copies and I can sign each one?
5) Why require notarized signatures if I'm applying in person??
6) The passport info page on the website and the passport forms have different requirements: one says I need a notarized Consent to Travel Form, one doesn't mention it at all.
In any case, I had no choice. I spent the whole of Sunday gathering documents and filling in forms. On Monday, we left home at 8:30AM so I could swing by the notary and make the 1 million photocopies required by the application. Sorting out which copies go where for 4 people took almost 1 hour! We rushed to San Francisco so we could submit the application and hopefully get there first and maybe even get the passports by the end of the day.
And after all that, guess what? The consulate was closed for Ninoy Aquino day. Apparently they announced on August 4 that the consulate would be closed on Aug. 20, Monday, instead of Aug. 21, Tuesday (the actual holiday). Just my luck that I had checked the consulate website in July to make sure of the consulate's office hours, so I knew nothing about this closure.
After biting my lip so I wouldn't swear in front of the kids, I did the only thing I could: took them into Starbucks for a chocolate milk and some chocolate-covered graham crackers. That's our beloved Banana Republic, whattayagonnado?
Save the date: Great clothes, Great cause!
Mark your calendars, you hip, fashionista wanna-be-bongga moms, and get ready for the second Hip Kids Boutique Sale! Organized by one of the founders of the Silicon Valley Moms Blog, this sale features over twenty unique designers under one roof in Palo Alto., with a percentage of the proceeds benefitting InnVision. More info to come soon!
Dear Diary...
Dear Diary,
Today we went to the Farmer's Market as usual to buy nectarines, mushrooms, tomatoes and a baguette. Lunch today was at Round Table, where we used the Free Pizza coupons that the kids got as a prize for completing the local library's summer reading program. In the afternoon, we puttered around the garden, pruning trees and preparing for our upcoming patio project. We measured Pea up against her sunflower; it's now taller than she is.
***********
When I was a child, I thought that everyone wrote diaries this way: Dear Diary, today I did this..... BOOOORING!! Who wants to read a minute-by-minute account of my day anyway? Not me (I already know how my day went); okay, maybe my mother. But no-one else. Needless to say, I haven't kept a journal since I was about twelve, and I was never able to keep a journal for more a month or so.
But a blog is not a journal, and a journal is not a logbook. I think I've finally learned to appreciate the difference; hey, I've had this blog for almost a year now and I'm not tired of it yet. With my newfound wisdom, this is how today's entry would go......
***********
Dear Diary,
Today we measured Pea up against her sunflower; tall as she is, it has definitely surpassed her. It's amazing to think that it was just a little tiny sapling, only a couple of inches tall, when she bought it at the farmers' market at the beginning of summer.
This farmers' market has truly been our Discovery of the Summer; we've made a habit of biking there together as a family and enjoying the fresh, natural taste of the things we buy. The food inspires me to cook and the kids love it so much I no longer need to make a separate dinner for them; as a result, we have been eating healthier and eating together.
The kids have really enjoyed caring for their sunflowers and watching them grow and bloom over the summer, just as their parents have enjoyed caring of their own little "plants", and watching them grow and bloom.
For more diary entries, click here.
Photo Hunters: Two
Here are my two when they turned two. It's hard to believe that the photo was taken almost two years ago; in December they'll be twice the age they were back then!
For more twos, click here.
More Free Shipping: LL Bean
Hey, I'm starting to enjoy this! Okay, from now on, every time I get a decent coupon in the mail or email, I'll pass it on here.
Free Shipping with no minimum purchase from LL Bean online (expires 1/1/08):
Free Shipping with no minimum purchase from LL Bean online (expires 1/1/08):
- Click "Redeem Coupon, Gift Card or Promotion" when you reach the "Place Your Order" screen during checkout.
- Enter the following code: LL 7420530 (note: I'm not sure whether you need to type in just the number, or include the "LL" as well, I haven't actually used the coupon yet).
Happy Shopping!
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