Adventures... and what to wear...

Last year at this time I got to have a little adventure in being single (i.e. a Singles Conference). You may remember, I thought the best part was getting to play dress-up (see here).

Well, a year later I find myself continuing in the adventure of being single and lo and behold, there was another Singles Conference.

So, I got to play dress-up again.

This year on Friday night I went for "tall, dark, and um... feminine?"

My daughter (who is my glamour photographer) said that I looked like a spy. A very cool, fashionable spy. I took that as a compliment. Someone actually told me recently that I must be a spy and that working at the museum is just my cover, because really, who has ever heard of a Quilt Museum.

Here is my attempt at looking spy-like. Don't laugh. Well, not too hard. You know I do love a good "tough-girl" movie, I do own a floor-length black trench coat, and I do totally want to rock at Tae Kwon Do.

Saturday night I wore a dress. Actually, it was the same red dress I wore last year. I love this dress - why spend money on another one? Besides, another friend told me to wear what I wanted. And I wanted to wear my red dress. (I don't think I've actually worn it since last year!)

OK, this last one still has some "tough-girl" in it. :-) Hey, you've got to be tough in this kind of adventure story!

My Heroes

These are my heroes. They are my heroes for a multitude of reasons, but today I celebrate them for a very special reason. They have been together for 40 years.
They have always been and will always be my greatest inspirations. They are beautiful examples to me of how to be best friends in a real-life way!

I feel so very blessed to be their daughter and not really sure why I got so lucky. But I am grateful every day for my heroes, their adventures, and my role in their amazing story.

Thank you Mom & Dad.

Wonder-full

This picture was taken of me a few weeks ago when we were at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. I'm pretty sure I was looking up at the blue whale skeleton and marveling at how huge it is!

I find myself with this look on my face a lot lately. I feel such a sense of wonder for so many things around me. I love to just stop every now and then and take in where I am. So many times I am just overwhelmed at how lucky I am. It's really wonder-full!

Getting in the Summer Fun

I can't believe that tomorrow is the first day of school! It's so wrong to go back in mid-August! But the kids and I have been doing all sorts of fun stuff to celebrate the end (sniff) of summer.

We went to the de Young Museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park one day.

We saw a special exhibit of Impressionist paintings on loan from the Musee d"Orsay in Paris. They were amazing!

We didn't see Monet's garden paintings, but here's a pose of my daughter and me in the de Young's gardens. :-)

On another day we drove up to the North Bay and went to Stinson Beach. It's a great place (even though it is overcast and cold in August!)

This is as far as we got into the water! Then we warmed up with a great game of sand soccer!

On another day, my parents came up and took us to the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. It was completely reconstructed a few years ago and the new place is amazing!

The bottom level is the aquarium. Here we are in front of (and underneath!) the rainforest tank.

This is up on the Living Roof.

Then, just for fun (and for my daughter!) we went to the San Francisco Zoo!

(Look! It's Susan, Lucy, and ASLAN!)

As usual, I rode off into the sunset (or at least around and around on the carousel.) I'm still in denial that summer is over. I'm still going to have more fun in the sun (when it comes back to the Bay Area)!

Garlic and Wizards and Kids, Oh My!

I've lived in the bay area for nearly 10 years now and every year I say I'm going to the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Then somehow I don't make it there. This year I was determined to go! And we finally made it! Here are the kids in front of Mr. Garlic. :-)

And of course I had to try the GARLIC ICE CREAM! Wow! It was quite a trip! Starts out sweet and then there's a kick of garlic spicy-ness. Pretty fun!

After the festival, we headed out to the central valley to visit my parents and grandmother AND my brother and his family who were also visiting.

Here is my FAVORITE baby! Can I keep her? Please?

Here's my "baby" having fun with her little cousin.

And no family gathering is complete without the men making something amazing in the kitchen! First it was cinnamon rolls and then it was sushi! The Jedi Food Masters are instructing my young son. :-)

We also had the chance to see the show my mom's theater company put on, "The Wizard of Oz" and it was super! I have ruby slipper envy. And probably some singing-on-stage envy too!

What a great weekend!

My Girl

It's so hard to believe that my little girl is another year older! And not so little anymore.

For her birthday she wanted to redecorate her room. She picked out this cool bedding set and her grandparents, great-grandma, and I bought it for her.

She had the added fun of performing in "The Music Man" on her birthday. She was amazing! She is an all-around amazing young woman! I am one lucky mom.

Summer Reading List

While my kids plow through books they HAVE to read this summer for Honors English in the fall... I get to read to my heart's content! (I don't have to feel bad because I remember well those days of summer reading lists!)

Here's what I've been reading by the pool...

1. The Fetch - Laura Whitcomb - A fascinating story that hinges on the mysterious disappearance of Anastasia Romanov. It's sort of like the author's idea of what "really" happened, with a supernatural twist.

2. The Last Knight (book #1) - Hilari Bell - Fun and funny adventure of a knight and his squire. A twisty plot and great one-liners. Always fun to read a book with a male voice.

3. A Countess Below Stairs - Eva Ibbotson - Another story set in the Russian Revolution (I was on a kick this month I guess). This story follows a Russian countess as she flees to England and becomes a maid on a large estate. Great story!

4. The Hound of Rowan - Henry Neff - Thank you to my cousin Melissa for blogging about this series. It's very Harry Potteresque but a great story all it's own.

5. The Second Siege - Henry Neff - The second book in the series. Loved following the hero and his sides as they battle the bad guys. Classic story line but very well done.

6. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac - Gabrielle Zevin - A fun and poignant look at what it would be like to wake up at 17 and not remember the last 6 years. Great characters and introspective themes about who a person is.

7. Wishing Moon - Michael Tunnell - Ever wonder what happened to the magic lamp when Aladdin was done with it? This is the story! I really loved this book (of course the Arabian Nights are one of my favorite!) Great protagonist, great themes, great story.

8. Only the Good Spy Young - Ali Carter - Thank you to my sister Megan who lent me her copy. I read it in 3 days. :-) I love this series that follows the girls at the Gallagher Academy where they learn to be spys (among other things!)

I still have lots of summer left and the stack of books by my bed is getting small. Send recommendations! I've got to work on my tan!

Into the Woods

Now that school is finally over we are feeling like we are "out of the woods" for a little while! Phew! What a year it's been!!

Before the year was out, the kids went "Into the Woods" for their final Starting Arts Dream Team performance.

My daughter played the Baker's Wife in one cast.

My son played the Baker in the other cast.

And he also played the wolf in the first cast.

Here we are after the show. His wolf make-up looks like a serious 5 o'clock shadow!

Here are the girls! We have both been mistaken for each other in the last week. It cracks me up!

So glad these two are part of my "Happy Ever After"!!

Better Together - Again!

So... I took the last blog post I did and submitted it to "The Power of Moms" - It was published on their site today:

http://powerofmoms.com/articles/better-together.html

Enjoy!

Better Together

Why do we think we have to do everything by ourselves? Somewhere in our culture of independence and self-sufficiency, somebody goofed. These are excellent virtues, yes... but they can be taken to the extreme.

The past few weeks a group of women I am part of have been participating in a fun activity. On Sunday we draw one of the other women's names and then we do something to help her that following week. I've been so surprised when I ask what I can do to help and the answer I get is, "I'm fine."

Really? Cause if you were perfectly fine then you wouldn't have anything left to do here on planet Earth.

So... I did something anyway... for each of them... unbidden. I'm such a rebel.

But it gave me pause. Why do we have such a hard time asking for help? Is it because we don't dare admit that we can't do it ALL? Heaven forbid!

I think we forgot that we are MEANT to help each other. We are MEANT to work together. We are MEANT to learn from each other. Besides, it's more efficient, more fulfilling, and more FUN.

Another friend and I have made it a regular habit to get together and help each other. I'll go to her house and do her dishes while I put my laundry in her washer (I don't have one!) and we'll talk and work and come up with great ideas for the world's problems... or at least our own.

It reminds me of days when women did their wash together at the stream. Or sewed a quilt for a young bride. Or sat out on someone's lawn during the long evenings of summer while the kids played together.

We were MEANT to work, play, laugh, cry, BE TOGETHER.

Stop saying, "I'm fine." Start saying, "Let's wash our cars together."

Just a thought.

Lucky

My daughter's high school show opened this weekend. They are doing, "Lucky Stiff" a little known musical comedy.

My daughter is Dominique, the French Lounge Singer. She can pull off an amazing French accent!

I feel lucky that my family enjoys the performing arts so much. I feel lucky that my life is filled with singing and dancing.

I'm feeling pretty lucky!

Showering Books

Lots of good stories showered down on my imagination this April. Here they are:

1. The Glassmaker's Daughter - Fantastic story! I love the setting - sort of like Venice but better (if you can imagine that). I also love how the main character is devastated when her life doesn't turn out the way she thinks it's supposed to... and then it turns out even better.

2. Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell - The same author who wrote The Tipping Point comes up with a brilliant look at what made "successful" people a success. It's a fascinating look at sociology and pure luck.

3. Artichoke's Heart - Suzanne Supplee - A sweet story about an overweight high school girl that is both realistic and hopeful at the same time.

4. Princess Ben - Catherine Murdock - Imagine... Fairy Tale Princess meets Harry Potter. This is a fun story that has little nods to many of the famous fairy tales all cleverly woven into a magical storyline.

5. Kung Fu Princess: Daughter of Light - This is book #1 and it left me hanging! Got to find book #2! It's a fun adventure/mystery with a young woman who finds out she's got a warrior's job to do.

6. So Yesterday - Scott Westerfield - If you LOVE the other social commentary novels by Westerfield (Uglies, Pretties...) then you will love this one too. It's a fantastic look at our commercially driven world. It will make you stop and think about why you bought the last thing you bought.

7. Believing Christ & Following Christ - Stephen Robinson - If you haven't read these books yet, go get them now. Yes, right now. They will change your life. They have totally changed the way I think about myself (in a much better way!)

All for now!

Patchwork

Well, I'm one week into another job. I'm now working part time flex hours at the Museum of Quilts & Textiles. So far I'm really enjoying working for this artsy organization.

I've always loved quilts. I've made a few over the course of my life - my favorite being a rainbow log cabin quilt I did the top of in college (and have yet to back it!)

I like the idea of taking little tiny pieces of fabric that don't look like much by themselves and by combining them with other pieces of fabric creating a beautiful work of art that you can also snuggle under!

My work life is sort of like a patchwork quilt these days. A bit of work at the museum. A bit of work teaching music & dance to preschoolers. A bit of writing. A bit of office work for a consultant. Put it all together and I have a means of income that takes care of my family and still allows me to take care of my family too.

Fresh and New

Change can be very good.

The change in my bedroom is very good!


As fresh and new as the spring I love, this green bed set just called my name. Add new pictures to the wall (another Jack Vettriano over my bed) and I've got a new sanctuary.

Thank you to the marvelous people who assisted in the new decor with birthday presents!

Tradition

I've always loved these first lines from the musical, "Fiddler on the Roof":

"A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But here in our little village of Anatevka, you might say that every one of us is a fiddler on the roof trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn't easy. You may ask, 'Why do we stay up there if it's so dangerous?' Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word: tradition!"

(Is the song in your head now?)

Over the years, my children and I have made many traditions. Some of them we came up with ourselves. Some of them have been handed down for many generations. Each one has a special meaning for us and some events and holidays just wouldn't be the same without them. I think Tevye had it right. Traditions bring balance to our lives.

This Easter weekend we've celebrated with several traditions. Here are a few pictures of our favorites.

My son informed me a few days ago that we did NOT make the bunny cake last year for Easter and that it was imperative that we DID make the bunny cake this year. I hadn't realized this was a tradition, but apparently it is. We've made this cake on and off for the past 10 years. My son wanted to decorate the bunny's face this year. As you can see, it is a Harry Potter bunny.

We, like many families, love to color Easter eggs. Someone usually makes a rainbow egg. Someone usually tries to make a brown egg. All of the eggs are full of creativity. Anything involving creativity and color is bound to be an important tradition in this family!

This last tradition goes back many generations. My grandfather's family was from Russia and made the amazingly delicious traditional Easter bread (Kulich) flavored with saffron and lemon. It's extra special making this bread. I feel ties connecting me with family every time I make it. It reminds me of who I am and where I come from. It provides perspective and balance in my life.

"Without our traditions, our lives would be... as shaky as a fiddler on the roof!"

Back to Books

So... the first three months of the year have already flown by. For much of that time I've been on something of a hero's journey with my health. Although I don't recommend getting sick in order to have more time to read... I definitely enjoyed all the books I've been in the last few months. Thank goodness for good books. What else does a person do when they can't sleep at 2 am? Here's the list:

1. Cleopatra's Daughter - Michelle Moran - A fascinating historical fiction. Well researched (and fun if you've been to Rome... I haven't yet!) this story follows Cleopatra's children to Italy after her death.

2. Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians - Brandon Sanderson - Recommended by my brother Ken... so no surprise it was a riot! Alcatraz is the name of the young hero and he finds himself learning that the world as he knows it is actually just the version that the powerful Librarians want the people to know. Oh, and his superpower is that he breaks things. Really.

3. Suite Scarlett - Maureen Johnson - A fun, fast read about a young woman, her family who owns a boutique hotel in New York, and a crazy summer adventure.

4. Two Old Women - Velma Wallace - This was my book club's choice for March. It's based on an Alaskan legend about two old women who are abandoned by their eskimo tribe during a harsh winter. They find their "moxy" and manage to survive and thrive.

5. Dragon Flight - Jessica Day George - This is the second book to "Dragon Slippers" and I liked it as well as the first one. It's a fun, typical heroine-and-her-dragons story.

6. The Princess Plot - Kirsten Boie - A clever twist on the prince and the pauper story where a girl thinks she's just been chosen to play the part of a princess in a movie. She ends up in a plot just as crazy as a movie, only it's real.

(Note: I fell in love with two series... here are the books...)

7. Midnighters: The Secret Hour - Scott Westerfield - This series is by the same author as the "Uglies" series and it's just as captivating. The premise is that people who were born at midnight can see an extra hour in the day that happens at midnight every night. Each midnighter has a "power" that of course, they have to use to save the town from the dark creatures that live in that extra hour.

8. Midnighters: Touching Darkness - Book 2

9. Midnighters: Blue Noon - Book 3

10. The Thief - Megan Whalen Turner - I absolutely love this series! The first book actually won a Newberry Honor Award and I can see why. The story takes place in a fictional place that sort of resembles the Greek Isles. It follows the story of a young thief and his adventures through the three warring countries in his homeland. The characters are superb and the storyline will keep you guessing what is going to happen!

11. The Queen of Attolia - Book 2

12. The King of Attolia - Book 3

I'm always looking for more good book recommendations... if you have any, please leave a comment!

Stargirl

Have you read the book "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli? If you haven't... I HIGHLY recommend it. I love the book. I love the title character, Stargirl, who is described as, "a new 10th grader at Arizona's Mica High School who wears pioneer dresses and kimonos to school, strums a ukelele in the cafeteria, laughs when there are no jokes, and dances when there is no music."

My daughter and I were talking about this character a few weeks ago. We were both admiring her courage in being exactly who she is and not caring what anyone else thought of her. We liked that she was not swayed by other people's ideas of what she should be. She was true to herself.

We thought it would be cool to get rings with stars on them to remind us to be like Stargirl... to be true to who we really are.

Last week I found two star rings. Mine is purple and my daughter's is teal. It makes me smile when I look at it on my right pointer finger. It reminds me of who I really am. It prompts me to be myself no matter what.

Besides, I like dancing when there is no music.

Birth

I've been around the sun 37 times now. It seems pretty amazing. I blink these days and another year goes by.

I had a super sweet day that began with breakfast in bed provided by my kids. The BEST part was that when I came downstairs after breakfast... the kitchen was cleaned up. :-)

I always take pictures on my birthday with me and my kids. I really had to take pictures this year because they BOTH are now as tall as I am. There is something so surreal about looking your kids in the eye! I can't believe my 13-year old son is this big! (He weighs more than me too!)

And my 14-year old daughter is just as tall. Of course this means she's always wanting to look in my closet... I guess I should be glad she thinks my clothes are stylish.:-)

My mom came up for the weekend to celebrate with us. We all went to dinner at TGI Fridays on my birthday. Then my mom and I went to San Fran for the day and saw "Wicked" again. (Thanks mom for the row G seats!!) It was super special to be able to share the day with her.

More than anything I am grateful this birthday to be feeling better. That's something to celebrate!

Valentine

Valentine's Day has a double celebration around here. It's my son's birthday too.

I had a choice, whether or not to have a Valentine's baby. My doctor was going out of town for the holiday, so he offered me the option of being induced, or waiting and getting whatever doctor was on call. My due date was the 15th and my first baby had been born exactly on her due date.

I thought for a while... and then decided that of all the holidays to be born on... Valentine's Day would be cool.


I think it worked out perfectly. Not only did I get an amazing son, but he is the sweetest boy ever, and a champion hugger. Perfect for Valentine's Day.


And I get an automatic Valentine every year. Happy Birthday!!

We Are Meant to Dance

Have you danced yet today?

One of the blessings of teaching creative movement to preschoolers is that I have a beautiful reminder of what it was like to dance as a child. Do you remember being 5 years old and when you heard music you just had to start moving? Dance comes so naturally to children. Human beings are meant to dance. We've been dancing as a means of self-expression, communication, ritual, and just for the sheer joy of it for as long as we've been on planet Earth.

(First ballet recital)

Why then do so many of us not dance like we did when we were children? This has been on my mind lately as I've wanted to share the bliss of creative movement I've seen in the preschoolers with all of the adults around me. I have always loved to dance and it has been a deep source of joy to me. It carried me through childhood, through the awkward teenage years, and into adulthood (am I there yet?)

(Far left - Freshman year of high school - Dance Repertory)

If you spend any amount of time around me you will inevitably find me dancing. My kids and I have a favorite evening activity of going on YouTube, each choosing a song, and dancing like crazy till we all fall on my bed. My whole family regularly joins in the dancing (Meg and I kicking in the kitchen...)

(Dancing with my brother and his children.)

I guess I just wanted to send out a reminder to all the adults I love in my life to keep dancing! Move your body - music is optional but tons of fun. Dance by yourself in your bedroom, or tango with a special someone, or crank up the music with a whole group of people at your next dinner party.

Take a cue from the gorgeous world we live in. It's all dancing all the time. The waves, the trees, the fish, the clouds. They're all creatively moving in beautiful ways.

Join in.