Swim Team Ready Bench

Laguna Creek Versus Dixon

Laguna Creek Gators kicked off their swim season with their first home meet hosting the Dixon Dolphins.  Cole swam the butterfly in the 9/10 Boys Medley relay and they placed 2nd with a 1:17.07 time.  Cole swam in the 25 yard Backstroke and Breaststroke placing 4th in both events.  He swam in the 25 yard Butterfly and took third place.  He also swam on the freestyle relay team and the boys came in 2nd. 

Meet Photoshow:

Book Club

Tonight was my night to host Book Club.

Laguna Youth Baseball at RiverCats game...

Cole and some of his team mates and coaches enjoyed a stroll around Raley Field before the game.  The boys had a great time.  Cole was able to obtain 3 autographs from the Salt Lake "Bees" team.  The are the minor league team for the Angels.  It was very very very HOT! and after two innings John had to take me home.  Cole was invited to stay with his buddies and Coach Craig brought him home.  Afterwards, you would have found all 4 of us in the pool. (Coco is turning into a swimmer too!)

2008 Swim Team Time Trials.

Well the swim season has officially kicked off.  The Laguna Creek Gators had their time trials.  Cole swam well but a lot slower than Meet of Champs last year.  It is amazing how their times peak after several months of practice.  Cole did his usual slow down look at the competition.  Coach Josh said he will work on it with him.  This is the first year that kids swim an Individual Medley.  It was fun to watch him swim more than a length or two of the pool.  At time trials they swim all strokes and lengths, so they were pretty tired by 12:00 when we were though.  Our first meet is on May 31st when we will host Dixon.

Gibson Ranch Field Trip

I had the opportunity to tag along on Cole's class field trip to Gibson Ranch.  I took the official photographs of the event and put together a photo show for the class.  This was a very fun field trip.  The kids were rather stoic in the beginning.  They were all a bit uncomfortable in there period piece outfits.  By the end of the day they were tired, dirty and sated with chores and barbecue ribs and homemade ice cream.

Enjoy a slide show of our day!

Gibson Ranch Slide Show

Another Triple A Game

Cole played another game of baseball last night.  It was a high scoring, exciting game.  The Yankees ultimately lost 17 to 16.  We have hit a point in the season where the boys are getting a good solid hit on the ball.  Most of them were line drives past the pitcher.  Cole was struggling at the plate and had struck out twice.  He went up to his third at bat when we were down by 1 run with two outs.  He took two good cuts at the ball but missed.  On his third pitch he hit a hard line drive that tore by the pitcher and 2nd baseman.  He ultimately scored and we were up by 1 going into the 5th.  I had our record wrong on an earlier post.  We are now 3 - 6 - 2.

Golf with the Shultz's

On Sunday we played a round of golf with Dan & Julia.  What a beautiful day with good friends.  Savannah watched Cole and helped him with his homework, then he was off to Kevin's house for a swim in their pool with friends.

Jessie Baker Games - Special Olympics

On April 23rd Cole's 3rd grade class attended the Olympic style games at Jessie Baker School here in Elk Grove.  The Kids had a blast cheering on the participants and helping with odd jobs.  Enjoy a slide show of our very special day..

Jessie Baker Slide Show

Yankees versus the Dodgers

Cole's Triple A team played the Dodgers today.  The Dodgers started strong with two runs in the 1st inning.  Cole scored twice on three at bats.  He played 3rd base for the full game and caught a little pop up that was hit directly at him.  I think we are 4- 4- 2, But don't quote me :-)

Oceans ...

Last night John and I watched Oceans 12.  We watched Oceans 11 last weekend and loved it.  Cole spent the night with his buddy Eric after playing here at the house and swim practice.  We had planned to sleep in, but surprise, surprise, we were both up at 6 AM.

John's New Career

After 8 months of trying to figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life, John has started his new career in Financial Planning as a "Financial Security Advisor" for Northwestern Mutual  http://www.nmfn.com/

Another three weeks fly by....

This is a hard habit to get in to. I think I need to make it my browser home page. At least then I would be looking at it everyday!

I am still on my quest to find gainful employment. I have revised my resume and am happy with the outcome.So I am busy submitting it to CSUS, Sutter, Kaiser, PeopleSoft Consulting firms and Northrop Grumman of all places. I am also keep my eye on the state exam bulletins. Right now would be a good time to be a scientist! LOl. Will apply for an IT exam with the State Ins Fund.

It is amazing how easy and hard the Internet makes finding a job.

Tinga Poblana with Chicken

Last night I tried a new recipe.. I love Mexican food and this one was great and easy to make.  You can make it ahead of time and assemble and heat.  It is great for leftovers and I think it will probably freeze well.  Had a bit in my eggs this am.. yummy.

Tinga Poblana with Chicken

8 chicken thighs

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper
4 cloves garlic, 2 cloves slightly smashed and 2 cloves finely chopped
8 ripe, whole Roma tomatoes or 2 cans (141/2 oz chopped & drained)
4 cups chicken stock
4 chipotle chiles + 2 Tablespoons sauce
1/2 - 1 pound good-quality chorizo
1 white onion (1/2 cut in chunks and 1/2 finely chopped)
6 red potatoes, diced
2 Bay leaves

1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Mexican oregano (not Greek)
1 large avocado, peeled, pitted and thinly sliced
1 cup crumbled Mexican queso fresco or feta cheese

Place chicken in a stockpot and add water to cover. Add salt, pepper  onion chunks and smashed garlic . Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook for about 20 minutes. If possible, let the chicken cool in the water.

When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and coarsely shred the meat. Set aside.

Heat a saute pan over high heat and add the tomatoes (no oil). Blister and char the tomatoes all sides. Turn off heat and add chicken stock and chipotles. Allow to cool. Pour into a blender and puree until smooth. Set aside.

Place the chorizo and onions in a stockpot and cook over medium heat. When the chorizo has released some oil, add the diced potatoes.

Reduce heat to low and cook until the potatoes have browned and gotten a little tender. Add cumin, pepper, oregano,bay leaves the shredded chicken and the pureed tomato mixture. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt to taste.

To serve, scoop into deep bowls and top with avocado diced onion and cheese. Serve with corn tortillas and Mexican beer.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Approximate values per serving: 557 calories, 35 g fat, 125 mg cholesterol, 35 g protein, 26 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber, 1,351 mg sodium, 56 percent calories from fat.