Showing posts with label Jonathan. Show all posts

Storage Wars-Fosse Edition

Sunday, March 15, 2015

I have fantasies that this blog will evolve into a tasteful, inspiring website about decorating, cooking, DIYing, and other domestic pursuits. The problem is that what I like to write about is my life, and my life refuses to get on board and be tasteful and inspiring. It more wants to be smelly and weird. Want to hear about it anyway? 

So last summer Jonathan had a sweet job putting together long boards and we forced him to save half of each paycheck. He kept pestering us about things he REALLY wanted to buy (the exact opposite of save) causing Marc to utter the rule that has changed everything. The rule was this: you can only use the money in your savings account to make more money. I thought Marc was maybe going to help him do some investing or something sane like that.

But sane is not what ensued. Oh no. What followed was Marc and Jonathan watching this show called Storage Wars where people bid on the contents of abandoned storage units and then sell the contents for a profit. It's pretty nasty if you ask me. Which they didn't. They just got up one lovely Saturday morning and drove off to an auction in Sacramento where apparently the getting was good because they bought three lockers full of everything gross you can imagine.

See this photo from the TV show? How it makes the people look semi-cool and like there's lots of money involved?


That is NOT what it is like! What it is like is people stash all their weird and nasty stuff that they don't want into a locker and then they decide that they don't even want the stuff bad enough to keep paying for the unit so they abandon it and then it sits there for a year getting rank and then your husband and son buy it! And then instead of realizing that the stuff is gross and smells awful they put it in a truck and bring it all to your house. That is what it is like.

Do I sound bitter?

I'm going to stop ranting for one minute and concede that between selling things on Craigslist and selling for a day at the flea market Marc has helped Jonathan make a butt load of money. Which would be fantastic if it didn't also mean that my garage and garden room and backyard are FULL of other peoples crap. Because even though they've sold a ton of stuff, there is still a small apartment's worth of "treasures" to sort and sell. So, back to ranting.

Here is a picture of our backyard that I took while we were sorting stuff in preparation for the next soiree at the flea market.


Do we look cool? Or like there is lots of money involved? No. We look like white trash. We also have, like, four cars parked in our driveway and a 1959 VW Bug in our garage waiting to be fixed up, but I digress.

I know what you want to know. It's what everyone who hears about this little venture asks me...you want to know what was in the lockers. A bad smell is what was in the lockers; it's the main thing that makes me so grouchy about all this. But there was a TON of actual items too. Stuff that Marc and Jonathan often think is awesome but I refuse to be sucked into their madness. That's not really true, the stuff is at my house and I begrudgingly help go through it (because I am trying to facilitate it speedily being sold or thrown away) so obviously I have been sucked in. But I don't think the things they've found are awesome. That's where I put my foot down.

But for your entertainment, here is a by no means comprehensive list of the things we have found. You can make up your own mind about its awesomeness:

A massive collection of "let's be prepared for the zombie apocalypse" knives and axes and brass knuckles and machetes with a few clubs thrown in for good measure. 

Upwards of 20 watches, a washer and dryer set, a bunch of silver jewelry, a bowflex, a whole bunch of prescription drugs (not sure if all the marijuana was "medical"), six TVs, someone's beloved collection of Mariah Carey paraphernalia,  tons of icky clothes that we mostly took to the dump, two old reclining chairs, lots and lots of tools, DVDs (we threw out the ones that were porn)(which was a lot), every kind of electronic from stereos to irons, pocket rocket bikes, regular bikes, and on and on and on. Here is Jonathan examining a tin full of keys to who knows what that someone saw fit to store.
Being a straight arrow Mormon I have never actually handled marijuana or pornography before. And for some reason when I come across it I act like a ten year old, snickering about the pot and shrieking and covering my eyes if I glimpse the cover of a pornographic DVD. It's just so gross! Don't worry, all illegal materials have been bagged and taken to the dump, including a fairly extensive bong collection. 

And that, my friends, is what's been going on at the Fosse's. Don't be jealous. 



Jonathan's Sweet 16 Scavenger Hunt

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Jonathan turned 16 at the end of October but each weekend was already booked up so we didn't have his party until last Saturday. A Sweet 16 Birthday Party is a big deal, right? It couldn't be skipped even though my natural inclination was to give up after three weeks had passed. 

We kind of have a regular party routine around here that involves pizza outside on the patio with all the lights from Maddie's wedding still up, and then s'mores at the fire pit. Really, if it's not broken don't fix it! But since 16 is a biggie I wanted to add something to the mix, and since what Jonathan and his friends like best is any excuse be hyper and act silly I decided to plan a scavenger hunt for them.

Everyone divided into three groups and headed downtown with their list. I assigned points for each item, staying together, and being back at our house on time. Here are some of the best photos and the clues that went with them.
The item here was "20 points for a group photo with everyone wearing hats." I think they took this in Forever 21.
We have this weird fountain with a head coming out of it downtown, one of the items was a photo of their group making a pyramid in front of it.
This might be my favorite photo of them all! The item on the list was "50 points to whichever team gets a photo of a team member wearing the weirdest outfit." I think this is worth 50 points for the unicorn head alone. And yes, that's a boy in there.
One of the items was to get a photo with a store employee.

Some of the other items on the list were to get a set of chopsticks, to get an item with the Chipotle logo on it, and to take a video of the group serenading a stranger. That one went a little awry since I imagined they would explain to said stranger that they were on a scavenger hunt and needed a video of themselves singing to someone. Instead they chased random people down the street trying to sing to them. One video of that has some bad words in it; I hope all the kids' parents still like me.

Happy Birthday Jonathan! You are the best son a mom could wish for.  

My Road to Homeschool

Monday, September 29, 2014

Okay friends, the question I get asked the most lately by my in person friends is why I decided to homeschool Jonathan. It's something I never expected to do on account of I am disorganized, spontaneous, and have trouble with follow through. Also, a humongous part of why we live in Walnut Creek is because of the highly rated public school system.

Here then, is our story. 

Jonathan hated school. Pretty much since about 6th grade he's been telling me about his loathing for school. But whatever, right? Because kids don't have to like school, they just have to go to school? And he had good friends and got good enough grades as long as I remembered to sit on him when it was time to do homework? Plus what would the alternative be anyway? This was my thought process for the last few years.

But in the middle of his Freshman year it became clear that he really hated school. Like headache and stomach ache everyday kind of hated. Like he would rather sit in a bus full of puss than go to school hate. But he still had good friends, and he loved wrestling, and he would get decent grades so his dad and I could not figure out why it made him so miserable. And being your typical, not terribly self aware 15 year old male, he couldn't really figure it out either. So doctors and counseling and all that jazz and we still didn't really know why. So I'd just make him go but I'd feel really, really sad about it.

He was finally able to articulate that part of what made him so unhappy at school was how bored he was. He hated sitting in class and listening to attendance, and then waiting for announcements, and for papers to be turned in. He found it almost tortuous to sit still for 7 hours and then come home and do 4 more hours of homework.

Let me say here that I believe in listening to my mom heart and, equally vocal, my mom stomach. Because if my mom heart and my mom stomach are both upset about something then my mom brain probably needs to get working on a solution.

So I asked myself, why does he have to go to school? What are the outcomes we are hoping for? And I answered my cute self, he needs to be educated, and prepared for college. I mean, I didn't really care about him just being in high school for the sake of sitting in school. I'm aware that in the real world we often have to do things that we don't like, but I actually want to teach my kids to try and find careers that they do like and to take chances, and to not be afraid to be different in the pursuit of happiness and personal fulfillment.

Luckily I had a dear friend, Elena who was already homeschooling her three children so I grilled her about the pros and cons and I learned that in the age of the internet a parent doesn't actually have to become their child's main teacher for them to be schooled at home. I did a ton of research and learned that there are hundreds of educational systems out there that allow you to sort of curate your child's education. There are skype in math classes, and fully developed English curriculums, and an abundance of other independent study options. This was so exciting because the idea of me sitting down each day to teach Jonathan trigonometry was essentially horrifying. 

Another question I've been asked is how would he be socialized without going to high school? Each parent has to know their own kid and really, being social isn't one of Jonathan's problems. We are blessed that he is part of a wonderful church youth group and has lots of friends in and out of our church. We went to high school ourselves and figured it wasn't super important to us that he be "socialized" by a bunch of other stupid teenagers who swear, drink, have intimate relationships etc. He can be stupid enough on his own thank you very much.

In the end I decided to pull the trigger. I did a zillion hours of online research and talking to friends who work in the school system and had pretty much put together a curriculum for him for his Sophomore year when Jonathan surprised me by requesting a program he found online himself that is a college prep high school program based out of Sacramento. It is a charter school and he takes his classes online but meets with his certified teacher every other week with seven other kids from our area to work on group projects. He has live Spanish language labs online and there is tutoring available through skype everyday during school hours.

So far it is pretty awesome. It gives him the chance to really own his education. The curriculum is rigorous and with the online check points he has to pass to move on in his assignments there is no zoning out. Most days he likes to split his time between the library and Panera. It isn't perfect, procrastination can still be a problem, but his dad and I, and especially Jonathan, are happy. And that was the goal.

If you're thinking of homeschooling you probably have a million questions and I would be so pleased to share what I've learned with you. Please email me so we can talk. I didn't include any of the technical stuff in this post, like how colleges view homeschoolers or taking attendance, or P.E. or a million other details-but believe me, I am HAPPY to talk about them!
And finally, here are some links to websites that I found super helpful in educating myself about the wide world of homeschooling.

How does a home schooler apply to college 

Lights, Camera, Action!

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

I am swamped with end of the school year activities, open houses, concerts and field trips. My secret? I don't always love it. It feels like we are flying down the school highway, careening towards Summer. Frankly, it can't come soon enough for me; I am running out of gas!


Jonathan  with his buds Holden and Pete acting as bouncers before the festival. Scary!
Monday night though, was the film festival for Jonathan's film class. It was so great to watch those middle schoolers revel in their accomplishments! They were so impressed with themselves and excited to share what they had made.


Maybe my sense of humor is more middle school than it really should be, but I thought their movies were pretty darn funny, creative, and entertaining. This is Jonathan's film, he was the director. 


This is what they wrote for the synopsis:
In this romantic adventure, an overweight girl (Patty) stumbles upon a native Amazonian Indian tribe (The Wanahukaluka) while on a tour. An Indian (Poomba) falls in love with her. The arch-enemy Cannibal tribe however Kidnaps Patty. Poomba must save Patty from the Cannibal tribe.
Remember his classic short movie, The Hand? This is even better.


Okay, I WOULD Like to Save Time in a Bottle

Thursday, August 12, 2010


This year Jonathan finished elementary school. In a few weeks he'll be starting Junior High. Only they call it "Middle School," now because it is 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Go ahead, ask me how I feel about it.

Weird! That is how I feel, and more weird that the usual slight buzz of anxiety that I enjoy on a regular basis. Because he is just my little boy, yes? And I'm totally not ready for him to do anymore growing up stuff. I kind of love it when he asks me to snuggle with him before bed, and when he says he loves me. I could just drink that. Will he still feel that way as he gets older? Will he still cuddle when he's 14? Or 16? I'm going with "yes he will," just so I don't have to go back to bed and die right now.

I have plenty of stuff to do today and whimper is not one of them.

Here are the pictures from the 5th grade promotion back in June. Jonathan is with his great friend Rob. You will note that Rob is a very snazzy dresser; I told Jonathan that morning that Rob would be looking quite dapper and didn't he want to get on the dapper train too? But slacks and a polo was as far as he was willing to go for me.


Here is some lovely footage of the kids singing at their closing program. Maybe only a mother can love this?

Return to the Gift of Crazy Mom

Wednesday, April 28, 2010


First of all, blogger is being very weird this morning.

post edit* I started writing this like a month ago when I had just finished OM, but then my computer and blogger conspired against me so the post languished in my draft section until just now when I found it and decided to try again...because Jonathan deserves a post.

Second, LOOK at my little OMers at the regional tournament last Saturday! Jonathan's team of 10 and 11 year old boys took on the problem "Return to the Gift of Flight."

They had to make six different aircraft that completed six different flight plans like "touch down and take off" and "drop something onto a target," and they had to used at least four different propulsion systems. Complicated? Yes.

Every time I coach OM there's a moment (a very long moment) when I am certain my team will definitely not be ready for the competition...a moment when all seven boys are bouncing off my walls, making disgusting noises, and yelling about ninjas and grenades, and I KNOW they will never actually solve the long term problem.

Because they are crazy. And I wish I had never said I would coach. It is a sad, sad moment.But then every year an OM miracle happens and they, using massive amounts of duct tape, manage to get it together. This year we had helium dirigible that was powered by a blowdryer too!


Generally I am not a competitive person, but my boys came in third place out of 10 teams. If they had got second they would have moved onto the state competition. They missed second place by three lousy points and I am convinced they would have got those points except one boy's paper costume blew away while he was walking through the parking lot and he couldn't retrieve all of it. I know I shouldn't be, but I am bugged.

The most ridiculous part of that sentence is the fact that actually going to states would be my own personal hell. But making sense was never really my strong suit.





He's Hungry!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009


Lately Jonathan has taken to lurking in the kitchen, sniffing everything I'm making, and asking, make that begging for bites. He is always hungry and super interested in food.

Last week we ate at Chipotle and he had the tres tacos meal. It is not small, I'm telling you that right now. It is a solid meal. I ordered a chicken burrito and ate half and wrapped the other half up to save for Marc (poor man is at the office night and day right now).

So anyway, before we are even out of the restaurant Jonathan is eyeing my burrito like a starving child from a third world country. He asks politely if he can have it. I politely say no.

On the way home he asks for it again and I tell him I'm saving for his dad, it's his Dad's dinner for pete's sake. This goes on for the whole night. It was not pretty, I tell you what.

I mention this to illustrate the boy's love for food. He will try anything, wants to help cook, and loves all kinds of food. So when he asked me to help him start his own blog I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that he wanted to call it "Big Burger," and write about food.

Go leave him a comment, he needs to be encouraged to write!

 

Copyright © Barnaclebutt | Premade Blog Design by Lilipop Designs