John, The Volunteer

John was awarded the Honorary Service Award from Hickory Elementary School PTA last night. He was recognized for all the volunteer work he does for the school and for the kids sports. I am including his "Bio" that will be included in a program at the District-wide award dinner.

"John Gottschalk is a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, but his heart is here in Torrance where his wife teaches and his children attend school. He has helped out with many Hickory Hoedowns and school beautifications. He spent one weekend repainting the teacher parking lot when the lines and numbers were no longer visible as well as other areas that needed painting. He has been 3rd VP in charge of Health, Safety and Welfare and this will be his second year in charge of the Bike Rodeo.

John has been highly involved in AYSO coaching for 6 years and serving as a referee for 2 years. He is always the dad out there striping the field for his daughter’s team when they have the first game over at Hull, even when he is striping more puddles than grass. He also volunteers his time in the Torrance Little League. He has helped set up and tear down many fields, and is currently on the Board of Directors there."

I am very grateful that we have parents like John around our children, and the fact that I am married to him and get to see him in action all the time, makes me so proud of him.

The Academy Awards

Some people live for the Superbowl, some for March Madness, some the Kentucky Derby - I live for the Academy Awards. Tonight was my night. I thought the awards this year were very well done. I really enjoyed the way they brought out past winners to award the actor and actress awards. I was very touched by many words spoken. I LOVED Sean Penn's words. I thought he was very wise when said "For those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think it's a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect on their great shame and their shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that support," Penn said. "We've got to have equal rights for everyone." A.R. Rahman, the composer of the Slumdog Millionaire score, said that he is where he is now because in his life he has had many opportunities to chose between love and hate, and he chose love. I am so happy that Kate Winslet won for a role that came from one of my favorite books ever. I teared up when Heath Ledger won his category, and I cheered for every award Slumdog Millionaire took. If you see only one movie this year, it should be Slumdog Millionaire. If you see one more movie though, go see either The Reader or Revolutionary Road. I loved them both.

As far as the dresses go, loved Natalie Portman's dress as well as Anne Hathaway's. I thought Angelina Jolie looked lovely, as usual.

Another B-day Dinner for Jason

Friday night Grandma and Grandpa Gottschalk were in town and they wanted to celebrate Jason's birthday with him. They picked Jason and Lauren up for a game of mini golf over at Mulligans and then let John and I join them for dinner at Macaroni Grill. That restaurant was Jason's pick because they have his favorite shells and cheese and because you can draw on the tables. (see Lauren's artwork) After a nice dinner, we returned to our house so that the kids could show G-ma and G-pa how their Guitar Hero for Wii works. After a couple songs, we decided G-ma and G-pa would prefer Wii tennis. They are both excellent tennis players so I thought they would enjoy it. Grandma's team won both rounds. Once she played with Jason, and once with Lauren. The evening was a nice one. Thank you Eldon and Diana for a great time.