Stop motion animation

The Last Lot Standing… post from 2013

My son and I currently live with my grandparents in the home I spent most of my childhood in. It is quite strange to be raising my son in the same house that I was raised in. The house is pretty much the same as it was when I was a kid but the neighborhood has changed so much.


Sometimes I find myself reminiscing about the carefree days of my childhood spent here.   Back when I was growing up here, our house was one of only a handful on the block.  There were Quail running all over the neighborhood, chattering in their unique Quail way.  Deer were around but mostly you saw them near wooded areas like in the park down the street. 
Kids were allowed to run in the empty lots, play with other neighbor kids (to which there were many) and visit with the older neighbors.  My favorite neighbors were a retired couple across the street; we would play cards sitting in their kitchen nook while eating goldfish crackers and sometimes they would take me golfing and then out for ice cream afterwards.  There wasn't a need for a lot of parental supervision because there was little threat of danger.


If you saw anyone out walking their dog or just going for a stroll you always knew them personally, there were no strangers in this neighborhood.  They would wave and say hi, most times stopping for a quick chat before resuming their walk. 


Now, the area is flooded with people and houses are everywhere.  It's still a very nice place to live with beautiful views and nice people but it isn't the nice close-knit neighborhood it was then. Many people have dogs and love to walk them now.  We have made friends with many neighbors but more often than not we don’t know the people walking in the area.

My son LOVES dogs and he asks every person that walks by our house if he can pet their dog.  To him a stranger is a new best friend he just hasn't met yet.  So I keep a close eye on him when he is outside and we have strict guidelines about where he can go and who he can talk to.  It sucks that times have changed so much that we have to keep our kids within arm’s reach in case a psycho kidnapper tries to take them.

Now, There are only a handful of empty lots left in the area. If you go to the beach down the street and look up the hill you can spot the few empty lots very easily, each sticks out like a sore thumb. One of those lots is right next door to us.

The lot next door has been a favorite place to play for over 30 years.  I played there as a child, my sister, my cousins and now my son plays there.  Him and I fly his kite in the lot next door and he plays fetch with the neighbor's dog there. Jamison calls it his field, he sees it as his personal playground.

That lot, the last lot in our neighborhood, was sold a couple of months ago despite never being listed for sale.

I met the woman who purchased it, She seemed very nice.  Her and her husband are from Maine, they moved to Washington a year prior.   Apparently they took a lot of time building a relationship with the owners of the lot in order to eventually purchase it.  Her husband and her are both therapists and they have a private practice located by the marina down the hill from the lot.  They also work with cancer patients at the local hospital. She assured me that they are nice people, good neighbors and that they will make every effort possible to make sure the building of their home easy on my grandparents.  They plan to start building in about a year.


My son and I are going to mourn the loss of that field, I call it "the last lot standing".  It will be a lot worse for my grandparents., I am sure.  They built this home 35 years ago and have slowly watched their gorgeous breathtaking view get covered by new homes going up all around them. My whole life I have looked out of my grandparent’s windows across that empty lot to the south at the spectacular view.  I remember losing the ability to see the actual beach when the house just beyond the last lot standing, was built.  

Well I guess in life there is only one thing that is always consistent and that is that everything will continue to change....  I think it's good to remember the old days but to know that everything happens for a reason.  Things have changed but there is a purpose in what seems random.  We have to find the meaning and go with the flow.

Just your average dumb blonde

 For most of my life people have assumed me to be a typical dumb blonde.  They have labeled me as stupid and useless without any investigation. I won't lie, I have had my fair share of blonde moments (I will be the first to point them out and joke about them, when they occur) but not enough to be judged and dismissed so quickly.

Blank Cover = Dumb

Judging a book by it's cover, people have decided they can walk all over me and I wouldn't even realize what they were doing much less take action to stop it. 

J's Jumping Rope for Hearts

http://jumphoops2016wsa.kintera.org/jamisonprice
Posted by Stacy M Price on Friday, January 8, 2016

Childhood Stomping Grounds Revisited

The Difference is Why...

"They laugh because I am different... I laugh because they're all the same! I'm proud to be a geek but I am no sheep!" -Malibu Ninja

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SoulPancake Activities - The Difference is Why- 1 month ago
Quiet people listen more. Shorter people are more grounded. Bookworms are more well-read.  Wallflowers smell better. OK, maybe not necessarily that last one.
Embrace your inner oddball. List all of the best things about being different.

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I am not capable of being ordinary, only extraordinary. I have always been a little different.  Like a mis-matched shoe that is obvious to anyone who cares to look. 

Have never followed the path those before me have beaten but instead set out on my own to blaze a new trail.  I can’t say that it was always the best option but it was always my decision, rarely influenced by anyone or anything outside of myself.  My route was not the path of least resistance but most of the time it was that of most resistance and often my own choices kicked me in the ass and punched me in the eye!

Goofy GIFs Courtesy of Google+ Auto Awesome

This was the only “Almost” snow day so far this winter, meaning school was not cancelled but delayed by two hours!

Head Scratcher

My sister Rachel & I,
Photo was taken at a friend's wedding in 2006

So this crazy thought popped into my head the other day, which is not odd in any way because that happens all day long...   But this one is about my siblings, which I have more than I can count on my fingers I would have to use my toes too! 

Anyways my little brothers were over and we were talking about nieces and nephews and I realized our unusual situation and I decided to share it.  I sat down to write out a post about it and then wasn't sure how to even explain it.  So I slept  on it for a couple of days and now here it is, my random head scratcher.

I don't know how common this type of family situation is but I am sure many others have weird families right?

My baby brothers, Aaron, Chris & I
Taken August 2013

I was fourteen when I became an Auntie for the first time.  My youngest brother, Aaron, was a year old when my oldest sister, Rachel, gave birth to my niece.  Aaron however, was an Uncle before he was even conceived.

So how is it possible that Aaron was already an Uncle before he was born but I became an Aunt the first time almost a year after he was born?

2nd Grade Looks Good on Little Ninja

My adorable little man... his 2nd grade school pic! pic.twitter.com/f7U1Wyhesz
— Stacy M Price (@stacymcprice) November 9, 2013

Just got Jamison's "Digital Download" School Picture!  We had retakes done because he had his fake "I was told to smile" smile in the first ones but this smile looks genuine and I am very happy with this picture!
2nd grade looks good on him, would you agree?

Flashbacks to Vid-Idiot Adolescence

WARNING: Old School NES Electric Guitar May Induce Flashbacks to Vid-Idiot Adolescent Days!

NES console (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I grew up playing the original Nintendo Entertainment System, if I remember correctly it debuted the year I turned 6.  When I was allowed to play I would keep playing until my thumbs ached and blistered or I feel asleep sitting up with a controller in my hand. Back then we didn't have the luxury of saving our game and picking it up where we left off later...  So I learned to play video games marathon style, pausing only for bathroom breaks and to eat quicker than I ever did under any other circumstances.

20 Geeky Socks Sure to Knock Yours Off

I saw the following post on Mashable.com and had to share it with my geeky friends...  

I love funky socks for two reasons; 

1. It's pretty easy to figure out sock matching when each pair is unique 
2. I love to express my individuality And these are another great way to do just that!.. 

 Express your inner geek with Geek Chic Socks!!!  These Einstein socks are my favorite, Which are your's??