inkyblog

restless legs/active legs

2012-02-06T07:13:00.001-08:00

noting with delight
that as of tomorrow my boy rat and girl rats have been in separate cages for 21 days - the gestation period of the rattus norvegicus!!!! soooo i am not going to be a grandma after all, which was making me (even more) prematurely grey :)

still wondering
how on earth Caesars figures we are 'high rolling' enough to give us two free nights at their wonderful casino - for our anniversary - no less :| oh baby, we are SOOOO GOING!!!!

not really caring
about Google's new policies - seriously yes i accept already! urgh, i hate that they think i actually care, you should just be able to click somewhere that yes you accept everything, and don't bother me anymore :| i only care about reaaaaally important things like what kind of car Jennifer Garner just bought (Range Rover: red... maybe it was a loaner? i really really hope so...) and how much Victoria Beckham weighs :| ps 99 pounds - i don't think i weighed that little even in utero :(

still marveling
that i was able to sit through an entire movie on Saturday with my hunny bunny without dying of boredom/checking my email/breaking into a horrible restless leg incident. granted, we had smuggled in a 400g slab of Cadbury's Dairy Milk and George Clooney was on the screen the entire time but disappointingly, he was never really ever perfectly in focus :( (admittedly the only way he could ever truly be perfectly in focus in my eyes would be if he was sitting opposite me, sharing wood fired pizza, and grinning his crinkly eyed grin:) Aaron suggested he wasn't in focus because he is so freaking old but i know it's just to piss me off ;)

anxiously awaiting
two brand new pairs of walking shoes today! three cheers for 6pm! gawd i hope they fit - the WORST part of mail order shoes, willing them to please fit so you don't have to brave the horror that is the post office :|

speaking of walks, we went to Fryman Canyon last weekend. we didn't see George Clooney or his little scruffy rescued dog but it was still beautiful and sunny and joyful and skippy :)

it was my birthday so naturally the sun was shining in individual golden rays of love and happiness

Dear George Clooney i swear i am NOT a stalker... ps your sock drawer is very tidy and you are almost out of eggs :)

how cute is this boy? you don't need to answer that, i already know the answer :)

ode to corey

2012-01-25T07:13:00.000-08:00

copying Corey because she's that awesome/i am that unoriginal;)

i am
pretty much always freezing cold (or boiling hot - only ever 'just right' at the beach house in Mali-barbara which i really need to buy.....)

i want
more coffee (with a little bit of mint TJs cocoa - so so so good:)

i have
the nicest hubbie ever (i don't know what he sees in me or how i got so lucky or how a cheesy $85 Vegas wedding could turn out to be THE deal of a lifetime:)

i wish
every pet had a loving forever home

i hate
politics

i miss
my Grandma's sweet letters

i fear
cancer

i feel
like i've been running to stand still since U2 wrote that damned song :|

i hear
cartoons and air purifiers and a little boy playing football indoors :|

i smell
peace potion - it's magical

i crave
chocolate - pretty much always

i search
constantly for something that's hard to find - presently it's qtica intensive cuticle repair balm 0.5 jar for under $10 a jar (impossible!)

i wonder
if my rat Rosie is pregnant... please make her not be pregnant! three's plenty!!

i regret
a few things (but then again too few to mention;)

i love
living close enough to George Clooney's house to walk by and hear him play basketball (not a stalker)

i ache
and cry and donate and worry for shelter animals (urgh... i wish there was a pill sometimes for caring too deeply)

i care
about weaving happy memories into ordinary days

i always
keep the countertop clean and empty and reflective for sanity sake (the blendtec is KILLING ME!!!)

i am not
a runner - i give up even trying (yeah like i tried... :)

i believe
in smiling first

i dance
with my boys to Smooth Criminal every once in a while :)

i sing
in the car going to Vegas in my American Idol audition voice and it makes Aaron cringe :)

i cry
over stupid facebook pet pardons updates (which i should unsubsribe from - but i CAN NOT turn my back on something i care about)

i don’t always
drink enough water........ because it's so boring and blah and unfizzy

i fight
and get exhausted and cry

i write
like a girl

i never
ever ever eat meat. and all because of Gordon Ramsay's "if you can't kill it, don't eat it" philosophy (love him)

i listen
to a lot of Coldplay. thanks to REM splitting up :|

i need
peace and stillness (now i understand my Mum's need for "peace and quiet" really really well....)

i am happy
most of the time (except for when i read those facebook pet pardons...)

little loves

2012-01-20T20:39:00.001-08:00

park playdates

Friday loving Sam soooo much she has officially moved her cat bed next to his bed:)

how gentle and careful he is with his little creatures

having the time to make after school treats (makes me feel a little bit like Serial Mom) and it being perfectly acceptable and also a little bit "hip" to leave out the E in smasher... darned alphabet cookies never have enough vowels... i even had the bite the tail off Q)

Mr Bumps (who really truly bumps heads with everything:)

him being such a sweet and awesome Dad (Atticus Finch gold standard. they're going camping with the cub scouts this weekend)

our favorite, most awesome, unpretentious, absolutely delicious, sweet little Mexican restaurant with veggie options (and the nice man who plays spanish guitar there not too loud - i don't like live music louder than the conversation ;)

critters and mores

2012-01-18T06:34:00.000-08:00

expecting
a brand new 'critter trail one' small animal habitat to arrive momentarily via the magic of amazon.com's chipper little minions. i haven't slept in days (no, weeks!) stressing about the two little girl ratties doing the nasty with the one little boy rattie (they love to wrestle and jump on him - i HOPE they're just wrestling... it looks innocent... but i've never seen rats "doing it"... and surely he would jump on them? and not run away from them?) i keep peeking in each morning expecting to see dozens of little babies... so i am separating them today (and it breaks my heart because they are such snuggle bugs... and rats hate to be alone... and honestly how cute would their babies be??! but common sense prevails as always: we can't afford to be the Brangelina of rats)

returning
two other less amazing hamster cages that i bought this weekend to house SmokeyBear until he is big enough to fix... he is 4 ounces and needs to be a full pound. but they weren't exactly the same as the girls' cage and therefore i couldn't do it - no sireebub, each critter deserves the same habitat and treatment.

worrying
because Rosie is already 4 ounces and will fight anyone for a crust of bread with nutella on it (and she always wins)... and she was teeny tiny at first - 1.5 ounces. hmmm... Nibbles barely tips the scales at 2 oz... urgh, how i WISH there were pregnancy tests for rats :(

waiting
also for Mr UPS who is never quite as chirpy and happy as amazon's little helpers. he is bringing me 6 brand new brassieres (you are supposed to buy 6 brand new brassieres every 6 months, as per the woman's home journal rules of life... which reminds me it's been 8 years, so we neeeed to replace our mattress stat) i will surely blush bright pink when he hands them over :)

also waiting for
Mummy's homemade blurb book of sight words for Danny. it contains every sight word on his list (the hard ones two or three times), formulated into a cute picture book full of interesting facts about each family member. and it was only $15!

looking
for green smoothie recipes for the Blendtec mixer thingie. it makes ahhhhhmazing frozen coffee and milkshakes but i now need to swap the peanut butter and coffee for healthy things like kale and celery :| blah :| i only made one amazing healthy thing so far: tortilla soup - but it's truly amazing and full of healthy things that taste crap on their own. so that's cool ;)

also looking
for cheap fares to England. and by 'cheap' i mean under $1000 each :| economy :| times four :| AFTER TAXES! from any airport in the "southland" to any airport in the "homeland" - it's a tall order apparently :|

missing
Summer. oh gawd it's cold here... soooo cold i want to hiberate till it's OK to wear sandals again. this is also the reason i can't go to England till August - it's even colder than So Cal there... but when it's Summer it's technicolor green with vivid blue skies (enough blue to make many sailors many pairs of pants) and big puffy light diffusing clouds and it's so so so so beautiful and really is worth the extra copper or two ;)

trying
to decide if going to Sequoia next weekend would even be possible with my cold-sensitive skin.... i love road trips/hate being cold and too afraid to get out of the car ;)

also trying
to decide if PB2 is supposed to have that weird aftertaste or if my mouthwash is making my tastebuds malfunction... it's "better than no peanut butter", which should be the real name of "better n peanut butter". but definitely far far far worse than thick, creamy, overly sweet, overly processed peanut butter (i knew it!!)

off to walk and freeze then eventually sweat then feel feverish and ill and shower and then be freezing again ;)

happy new things

2012-01-11T07:44:00.000-08:00

my 2011 blurb book arrives tomorrow - i predict i'll be busy poring over it's 160 pages for the entire day, criticizing my irregular spacing/picture placement/omission of vital pics/too warm next to too cool pics... but i am sleepless with excitement to see it! our year looks so much lovelier made into a glossy book with all the crap days sent to the recycle bin. and how i love to sniff new books :)

also: my 2008 book arrives today - i gave my beloved copy away to my Mum two years ago and never reordered it because i'm cheap like that... but the cool thing about books is you just reorder a copy whenever you feel like it and bam, it arrives just as perfect as the original 5 days later. that is SO COOL!!!!

this weekend is a long one (horray!!) i want to go to Los Angeles and visit the Grammy Museum ... i know i HATE museums but this one has the personal artifacts of George Harrison, a showcase about Beatles Love (which i love) and Michael Jackson's sequinned glove :) also: hike in Fryman Canyon and try and catch a glimpse of George Clooney walking his rescued cocker spaniel (honestly... i bet he scoops poop too - he is just that awesome!) i want to hike from the observatory to the Hollywood sign and back next - but we maybe have to leave the kids at home for that one ;)

Monday: i have a gift card for the mall so as part of our 3 mile walk from Crystal Court and South Coast Plaza and back, i'll be trying to decide between Fresh and Jo Malone and Paper Source and H&M and Apple/Lego/Puzzle Zoo (darned cute kids) and Nordstrom and Henri Bendel... i think i need a bigger gift card ;)

walking today. blah. it's a good thing as Martha would say (but clearly she has staff to exercise for her ;)

sixish things

2012-01-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

i really (kind of) wish i had bought that soda stream thingie at Costco when it was on sale last month:( now it's not on sale anymore so clearly i can't buy it because that would be stupid. i am pretty sure it would be the key to making life more effervescent and vivacious right about now (tap water is crap water)... but i'm also sure i would get bored of it and curse the day i bought it and said "yes!!" to countertop clutter (which is why we only have a pretty kettle and a 2 slice toaster and a kitchenaid mixer on our countertops)

i can't get 'it's my life' by talk talk out of my head - sometimes (like today) it's the talk talk version and sometimes (like yesterday) it's the no doubt version (which i actually prefer... which is weird because i always only like originals)

today i walked 8 miles and my feet hurt from wearing sandals. but if i wear my fancy walking shoes i get blisters.... to quote horribly ungrateful people everywhere: FML (urgh - really?)

speaking of FML: Coldplay is absolutely sold out at the Hollywood Bowl already. not really FML because Aaron reminded me that i hate brash women swaying around drunkenly with a beer in a plastic cup, and the smell of marijuana so it's probably for the best ;) but it's at the Hollywood Bowl... on a friday night.... and i'd make an exception for the Hollywood Bowl especially on a friday night.... and also Coldplay :(

it is kind of funny though that i found resale tickets for Coldplay at double the price in section U2 (oh the sweet irony.... did i use it right...?)

also funny/ironic (i never get it right): the map of the Hollywood Bowl looks like a big hot air balloon, which Aaron suggested we get to see the concert in... i mean honestly how awesome would that be to hover over the show and then just take off at the end and fly home, no muss no fuss?! now to learn to fly one... and buy one... and clean out the garage so we have somewhere to store the big whicker basket :)

everyone on facebook is sharing the song that was number one when they were born. i don't follow such sheep-ish trends but 'my sweet lord' by George Harrison (my favorite Beatle... Paul wins cutest Beatle hands down... Ringo: lowest IQ Beatle) was number one in the UK the week i was born ('knock three times' was number one here... but i don't want to think about that ;)

total freaking genius

i am dieting for Obama. in my delusional head, he cannot possibly win the election in November unless i weigh 128 pounds. i've got to help him!!!

i hate pictures like this

i want this house. but i'm a realist... if i can't have this actual house (Brad Pitt sold it to Ellen....) i'd settle for any old beach house (though it must be coast side of PCH... if i have to cross PCH forget it ;)

off to school - more walking and even sorer feet :|

why leap years are the best years

2012-01-04T06:56:00.000-08:00

i met my significant other in a leap year (and loved him instantly!)... we got married in the next leap year... we had a baby in the very next leap year... and another baby in the next leap year... decided that was probably enough babies and so i became a brand new US citizen myself in the next leap year (and voted for the first time! and it worked! my one little vote worked it's magic!)

i unapologetically prefer leap years to odd years and even even years :) they are twice as lucky and lovely as even years, which are twice as lucky as odd years, which, as a general rule of thumb, just aren't that shiny and memorable....... (though i admit 2011 was ok - for an odd year:)

so far this lucky leap year:

we drove to Hollywood in like 30 minutes flat and found a perfect parking spot right at the tippiest top of Beachwood/Sunset Ranch
forgot to bring two leashes for our two dogs and miraculously found a perfect red leash at the start of the hike (and much nicer than our leash!! we asked every person we passed if they'd lost it and they all said no...)
had drop dead gorgeous, amazing, stunning, clear views of L.A. (on a misty morning no less)
found a hat
made it back to the car with NO WHINING whatsoever from the sprogs
encountered ZERO traffic home :| (nuh uh.... i know - it's totally a leap year thing!!!)
turned off the freeway at our exit and saw that the 99 cent store (only my favorite store EVER!) is coming soon!! and walking distance from home!!!)
found the longlost iphone plug thingie - in a travel cup - i did not think to look there :|
found the top of my travel coffee cup
found an entire case of cream soda (does anyone like cream soda??!)
found out how to make the car window visor thingie extend to cover the entire side window (the only thing i missed about the Odyssey was the big side window visor thingie:)
found yummy creamy biscoff cookie butter at the store (ate a WHOLE LOT of it :)
made and ordered (with a coupon no less) my 2011 blurb book. it's 160 pages - longest book ever - of blissful, beautiful, light-filled moments that i don't ever ever ever want to forget. it's my grab-in-a-fire memento of my babies and every single lost tooth, school art project, birthday party, favorite saggy teddy bear, new pet, handwritten note, heartfelt hug... it's full of the reasons i never go anywhere without my camera... so i can remember, even when i am 100 it was a beautiful life :)
also: reordered my 2009 yearbook which i gave away to an admirer (my Mum :) and never reordered for myself - great thing about those online books, you can just order another copy if you can't help giving them away :) or... they get lost in a fire
got an email from my favorite hotel by my favorite Sequoia National Park, that my hubbie booked all by himself confirming our birthday stay (be still my heart:)

anyway back to the hike: as a general rule of thumb, i hate cities (though i loved them when i was twentysomething). now with as many kids as i have hands, and a car that absolutely CANNOT get scratched because it's soooo shiny and pretty, and so many places to go and things to see, the parking (or lack there of) and obnoxious people and even more obnoxious restaurants (you know the ones that quote the price on the menu as just '10' instead of $9.95 - arrrghhhh! also '10' for pancakes? insanity) and lack of personal space... it all just leaves me cold. but.... Los Angeles truly is my favorite city - the city of angels. it's beautiful and warm and shady and the people are pretty nice and it's lined with palm trees and parking spaces and drive thrus and rarely smells like pee (except in Venice naturally;) and i love it <3

Griffith Park makes me happy... like the Ruby's at the end of the Huntington Beach pier, a trip to Griffith Park is always just plain good for the soul

Griffith Park in the rain in 2009

our travels...

2011-12-23T20:42:00.000-08:00

... to Joshua Tree National Park. we stopped at the Joshua Tree Home Depot to buy our own Joshua Tree and they told us to just dig one up in the desert (which clearly means it's legal and next time, i'm soooo taking my spade and dirt weasel thingie)

Aaron says these rocks totally look like a buttcrack :| please just try to focus on the boys playing on the butt :)

we took the dogs with us as an early christmas gift :) they were overjoyed

next stop: Vegas, home of everything cool that you can't find at home like Dunkin Donuts!

i fell in love with this hotel room at Rio (the ridiculously cheap room that i was worried about....) even with the discombobulating little window from the bedroom into the shower ;) it wasn't super fancy or tres chic in the least, but it was just heavenly and warm/cool, and bright/dark and cozy.... and that bed was so blissful i had to check out the brand. last time we stayed at a Caesars hotel my heart broke a little when we had to check out, it was just that amazingly lovely and cozy and warm/cool... and it was the same feeling here ;)

they even gave us free money to gamble (which we lost naturally:)

this huge severed head in the sky had spooky eyes that followed me everywhere (they were actually just big TVs not eyes at all... completely awesome!!!)

ever since 1987 and this video and this album i've been in love with Joshua Trees and Las Vegas (and Bono too and the part where he lifts his arms and everything turns to color:)

... which is why getting married at this little chapel in deepest, downtown-est Las Vegas was like a dream come true :) did i mention Jon Bon Jovi got married there too :) and the Thompson Twins? (who i never really liked...) and Billy Ray Cyrus? ALL KINDS of people!!!!

our family grew by 12 feet :) but officially 24 feet....

2011-12-18T14:19:00.000-08:00

we have three new babies - Smokey Bear, Nibbles and Delgado :) all saved from being snake food, all completely and utterly adorable and all immediately trusting of everyone they meet (honestly.... who could EVER feed live animals to another animal...? i just despair of the human race :(

also: the kittens are becoming family members - we're adopting them! Courage the cowardly cat too, who is scared of everything and far too shy to go to adoption events... he has happily resided in the back of our closet since May-ish and only comes out at bedtime to watch TV and wash the kittens (he is a very loving uncle ;)

simple loves:

2011-12-14T07:25:00.000-08:00

the kittens sitting at the very top of the Christmas tree

that my favorite coffee is just easy peasy instant generic Walmart coffee

a hubbie who makes it for me every single morning (xoxoxoxox)

McDonalds french fries (so good that they don't even need ketchup)

the first scoop of Nutella from the jar

amazon.com's price scanner thingie

Jo Malone Fresh Mint cologne

saving a terrified bug from the evil clutches of 2 little huntresses

that i have the very cheapest SLR on earth and i looooove the pics and "simpleness" of it

my 135mm f2.0 (which undoubtedly helps it take such lovely pics :)

really tight hugs and 5 second+ kisses

making Vegas roadtrip playlists (especially Christmas ones:)

Sam asking me to put Rage Against the Machine on his iPod :)

Japanese dollar stores

seeing my kids read by themselves

vodka sauce on fettuccine

the Learn Spanish app on my phone

datenight at our favorite little Mexican restaurant (where if it was on the menu, i could order a large red apple now:) also this little place is infinitely better than the fancy place we went to on Saturday that required a reservation and form fitting clothes.......

a mailbox full of Christmas cards

Trader Joe's

waking up completely surrounded by warm cats and dogs

it being almost an even year again (not so fond of the odd ones... though the last couple were pretty even in temperament...)

Sam's hair (adorable and teenage:)

tickets to see Dr Drew's Lifechangers next week!!! (please don't make it be a weight loss show... and if so, please don't weigh us on the stage and then make fun of us... oh gawd, maybe we shouldn't go.... bleck)

driving a brand new car in the rain

google maps - i explored all my overseas friends' neighborhoods before mailing their Christmas cards :) Japan was completely fascinating and i want to go to there!

tweezers and joshua trees and sweet rodents

2011-12-12T18:20:00.000-08:00

waiting
for the UPS man - what on earth could be taking so long?! my new fondly-reviewed-on-amazon tweezers have been 'out for delivery' since 1:13am :| i just know he is parked somewhere using them :(

wishing
i didn't have burns all over my hands from kitchen mishaps (must! slow!! down!!! and use oven mitts!!)

wondering
if it would be so terrible to go to Joshua Tree this weekend. i will simply die of cabin fever if i have to stay at home one more day (it's been raining for 12 hours straight and i have major cabin fever)

wanting
a milky cup of coffee (in the Mickey Mouse mug - it's the ONLY cup that makes my coffee taste right) and a side of ginger cat cookies

thinking
it's completely awesome that Courage loves ginger cats too :)

missing
Jerry. he's been out of my life for just 2 (very long) days and i really miss him rushing over to say hello whenever i pass by, and watching Millionaire Matchmaker with him (he though Patti was crass too;), and saving Danny's PB&J crusts for him :( in short, i just really really really miss him...

counting
down the days till our Las Vegas (9) we are staying at the Rio. our room cost $15 (and no pesky resort fee!) :| i am a little bit scared :| i heard that from the sitting room you have a great view into the shower... maybe that's why it's $15...?! must take a shower curtain ;)

back tomorrow...

RIP sweet Jerry xox

Dr Drew, Dr Drew's wife and Dr Drew's dogs

2011-12-07T07:35:00.000-08:00

i want to go and see a live studio taping of ~~Cliffhangers~~ Lifechangers with Dr Drew!!! (with the silent L at the end of his name:) but only if i can take my phone into the studio because i don't/can't/won't go anywhere without my phone - it keeps my heart beating regularly and stuff. gawd i love that show (but i still hate the name though.... HATE IT!!! it's not getting easier to bear...)

in other Dr Drew news, his wife looks like Mrs Kay (which momentarily made me quite sad and want to adopt a small child so i can go back to her lovely preschool...) anyway i am now stalking her on twitter (Mrs Dr Drew, not Mrs Kay... confusing...) a tree fell on their roof and broke a pane of their bedroom window, terrifying the dogs. or something... i can't stand twitter, it's just a bunch of sentences with no real substance :| i need pictures and emotions not stubby little sentences...

one minus point for Dr Drew (which is instantly cancelled out because he is so nice): the use of the word "uber" twice on yesterday's show. oh gawd, how i hate that word. i hate it more than when people "love love love" something. ick.

i have noticed that all the same people do all the same things. last week it was buying an instagram iphone case with instagram pictures all over it. this week it's that path thingie ;) "le sigh" - that's the other thing they all do all the time ;)

tomorrow Danny has a JOB! he is taste-testing apple juice :) i hope it doesn't have arsenic in it....

we are going to Vegas in two weeks. TWO WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!! it's a very good thing... and not just because they have Dunkin Donuts and Hobby Lobby and hedgehogs there - Vegas is awesome!! we are going to a gun range - it being Christmas and all ;)

in other news, my baby turned 7 :)

five six things

2011-11-28T20:28:00.000-08:00

we have no food. no waffles. no cereal. there is not one baked bean in the house - not a single solitary sachet of sweet n lo. i think it's officially time to go shopping :| or have pineapple chunks and jellied cranberry stuff in a can for dinner :| which i am sure has expired or rusted to the shelf. i've never actually moved the can, it's just been filed between corn and green beans since Julia Roberts was a prostitute)

black friday sucks. i only wanted ONE thing - a 3DS (red) with Mario 3DLand. and was it on sale anywhere? NO! and not only was it not on sale, but it was sold out.... and stupider cyber monday. amazon has Rio 'on sale' - for $25.99??! how is that a deal??!

we are soooo not in the mood for Christmas - we even tried to fake some festive cheer by putting up the Christmas tree and looking at all our favorite ornaments but it was no good - we ended up just catapulting them at the tree to get it over and done with. it's so strange - we usually LOVE Christmas :|

personally i blame the Christmas card - i have a curved spine and need glasses now after spending so many hours poring over it. anyway it's over and i don't care if it looks like garbage - done is the new perfect ;)

also it's Danny's birthday party planning time :| we can either spend $2600 for 2 hours of awful, jarring, chaotic "fun" or prepare for disaster and host the party here :| i choose option C (bribe the child with a cool toy to pleeeeease not want a party because they give Mummy a nervous breakdown :)

speaking of which, yesterday Courage the cowardly cat escaped :| he is the only cat smart enough to ever figure out that the doggy door leads to outside (who said cats were smarter than dogs?!), which means now he will teach all the other cats to use it and we will have to remove it and life as we know it will be over (i hate being a doggy doorman). he was found clinging to the screen of our bedroom window at midnight meowing to be let back in :| he is one very smart cat - how did he figure out which window to meow at?! (although not smart enough to just come back in through the doggy door...)

off to bedfordshire to watch Dr Drew's Lifechangers. while i love the show - 30 minutes is perfect for people who can't stay interested for one solid hour - i hate the name, it reminds me of Cliffhangers from the Price is Right, even though it's not the same concept at all, and it makes me miss Bob Barker :( change the name Dr Drew to 30 minutes. that makes much more sense than Cliffhangers ;)

heh heh :)

imagine it's the year 1973 and David Bowie has turned into a guinea pig:

who knew she was that tall...?

our tour of Hollywood cemeteries - we got within six feet of Farrah Fawcett, Marilyn Monroe, Liberace, Natalie Wood and some other people i can't remember (we went to the wax museum the same day so it was very hard to keep track of who we saw that was wax and who was dead...)

why i need a beach house :)

2011-11-27T16:46:00.000-08:00

it could even be in Malibu - i am not choosy!

but preferably this beach, Mandalay or Mandibu/Malibarbara as it's known around here ;)

we'd go for family runs if we lived on the beach (possibly... walks definitely:)

and we'd be sand dollar millionaires!

golden hour is especially golden at the beach...

again with the exercise... seriously we NEEED a beach house for health reasons!

life at the beach is just so much lovelier...

Danny had an early birthday treat with Grandma - his cake was a huge chocolate sprinkle donut (his favorite donut ever:)

Grandma gave him a Magic Eight Ball and he WUVS it!!

stars, beach boys and white teeth

2011-11-10T19:34:00.000-08:00

loving
that tomorrow is a coffee-n-cats-in-bed kind of morning :) just what the world needs to put it back on it's axis

listening
to Moby... he says we are all made of stars but some people are definitely less starry than others :| ps that song reminds me of an apathetic, anemic "Heroes" by David Bowie. but in a good way ;)

obsessing
over celebrity playlists - i can't possibly not open one even though i don't care about the person - i HAVE to know what their favorite song is :| lamest playlist ever: Brian Wilson - who likes all his own songs. hmmm. while i agree that they're likable (who doesn't love pet sounds?) that's just so narcissistic and rude. fun fact: i saw his daughter on Supernanny and she lived in a teeny tract house with like 4000 children :| so obviously he's not very generous either ;) also: not studly and handsome like singers just HAVE to be in my book of rules.

wishing
i had not said "oh definitely, for sure - 110% we'll be there!!" to Dr Phil's staffer today about next Wednesday's show... my Mum arrives at midnight on Tuesday.... i am thinking that having to be in Hollywood, business casual early the next morn, won't gel well with jetlag and 6 hours sleep....... but i do really want to see if Robin watches the whole show, or just comes out right at the end to be walked offstage by her man for the sake of the cameras. oh the things that keep me up at night....

bleaching
my teeth as i type. it says leave on for 5 minutes or 20 minutes for horribly stained teeth. it's been a couple of hours now so probably time to go and check :) xoxo

Wichita Linemen (plural)

2011-11-06T20:13:00.000-08:00

downloading
new songs - oh sweet joyful (and sometimes unapologetically joyless) new songs! it's been 15 ridiculously long silent months since i last bought a song (it's a tragic and painful story....)

loving
New Order. even though most of their songs are about 3 minutes too long* :| they remind me of diesel fumes, cigarette smoke and shiny wet pavements and i must.go.home.very.very.very.soon :|

loving
how a song can take you back to a place instantly with no jetlag, delays or armrest hogging business men :)

*thinking
songs over 4 minutes should just be banned altogether - life's too short for sitting around waiting for epic songs to end :(

thinking also
that live versions of songs should be banned - they are pure torture

(speaking of torture....) remarking
that i actually quite like Coldplay (though the sound of synthetic violins makes me so hopelessly homesick/rainsick...) huh - and here was me doubting that anyone who has to breathe the same air as Gwyneth Paltrow could possibly make anything but primal, tortured wails ;)

wondering
if 6 November is too late to be playing Nat King Cole's Christmas album...? because i already love it (his voice is like velvety chocolate Labrador puppies)

also wondering
if my love of Wichita Lineman is abnormal...? i have collected about 29 different versions of it now :| current favorite: James Taylor (his voice is like velvety chocolate Labrador puppies also)

my Christmas list:
one dear thing with a heart shaped nose

one velvety soft baby giraffe

a small elephant that i can take places on a little harness (must fit in the back of the minivan and like dogs :)

a baby gorilla (blocking out memory of the chimp attack on Oprah) surely this little baby couldn't rip a face off....? inconceivable!

a tiny tubby rhino :)

off to Bedfordshire and back tomorrow with more tales of the unexpected.... xoxox

i love......

2011-10-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

extra long weekends :)

Monday being a day off school so we can go to John's Incredible Pizza for their $5 spooky special :) (be hang to the diet!)

when Mr UPS arrives at 10am instead of 4pm (and he has a big smiling box for ME!!!)

the best vegetarian indian food for lunch drowning in the creamiest, orange-est tikka masala

bills with minus balances

when soccer practice and golden hour coincide in a perfectly shady park (with huge oak tree bokeh)

easy going moms

a king sized chocolate bar, strong but milky coffee and a George Clooney movie in bed :)

the crinkly eyed smiles of George Clooney, the President and my hubbie :)

waking up to donuts and coffee

mornings spent posing in fake living rooms and kitchens in IKEA

shopping for FAKE sheepskin rugs and picture frames

IKEA pizza for lunch (maybe i'm always really hungry after exploring that huuuuuge store but it's always sooooooo saucy and good!)

finding perfect sized, not too twee, pasta bowls after months (i am soo not kidding) MONTHS of searching - this calls for a celebratory spaghetti dinner :)

the big white driftwood stump we 'reclaimed' from a beach in Northern California

using our white minivan as a huuuuuuge reflector :)

the 135mm f/2.0 lens

hubbies that encourage such wonderful, feel-good, for-no-reason purchases

pictures taken with said lens that need no photoshopping and look like a perfect, slightly prettier than real life, version of real life

cats

dogs

finished baseboards

shelves full of freshly printed pictures

Disney, dieting and dismal facebook updates

2011-10-26T06:48:00.001-07:00

woefully wishing
we had gone on the Disney cruise (it set sail on Sunday night....) because i am sooooo soooo tired this week and i just want room service (croissants and coffee) and a cozy bed and the sound of the ocean outside my window :(

noting however
that i am on a diet... so i'd have to skip the croissant anyway :(

obsessively counting the days
to our trip to the beach house. it's 23 to be exact :) so i can't eat for that many days at least :| it's possible! (they do it on that superskinny vs supersized show all the time!)

desperately seeking
a reclaimed wood entry way table for under $790 (well under $790 as a matter of fact... $199 would be much better but this one's just too cumbersome looking....)

= $790
= $199

also desperately seeking
a pretty white plain cork board with a little shelf at the bottom for things to rest on like pencils, stray lego pieces, marbles and pennies rescued from underfoot and miscellaneous postcards. with no embellishments, detail or swirly flowers. simply impossible to find here :| i miss John Lewis and Habitat :( and even Marks and Spencer :(

fully appreciating
flawless fresh paint on perfect sanded walls - perfection is highly underrated xoxo

wondering
what got into facebook... maybe it's that SAD disorder thingie...? between the people who just hate everyone and everything (who should NEVER be allowed to own guns and should have their card key thingie taken away the second they get fired), and the people who complain every single day about having too much to do and too many children to run around after (then quit doing stuff!! simple!), it is just a hotbed of complaining :| except for of course the people so desperate to convince ~~others~~ themselves that they DO love their lives and their kids by repeating it daily ;) and don't get me started with pinterest and nauseatingly twee pins like this (gag):

also this is not subway art :|

still loving
the iPhone cam... i printed some of the pics and they are amazing! not so much loving Steve Jobs after reading jackassy, selfish ahole things about him in that new book ;) (though i dearly love the iPhone and i'm keeping it! i tell Siri what to type and she does it like in one second flat - with nice punctuation and everything!!! still not so good at stuff like "why does David Bowie hate Rod Stewart so much and who hated who first?" i'm on David's side whoever started it ;)

walking
10 miles today. don't try to stop me :|

off to school and beyond... back later xoxoxoxo

damn you Siri

2011-10-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

today i asked Siri if she could kindly open facebook as i was far too busy powerwalking to do so with my hands. and she flat out said no....??? i asked why and at first she said she wasn't really sure why, she has asked herself that in the past :| so i asked in a more authoritative American accent and she gave me some tall tale about sometimes waking up from a dream (automated people need to sleep...?) and asking herself 'why not?' but nothing at all about opening facebook (which i KNOW she can do because people on facebook say Siri dictates their updates for them!) :| what the heck... is she like a real person in an Indian call center? and if so, why is my Siri so uncooperative and MEAN??!

this afternoon she did the unthinkable - she tried to get me busted by the pigs :| i had her in the cupholder (no handheld devices allowed in OC) and i asked her to play 'supernatural superserious' by REM (because it's like my favorite song ever). she put on 'draggin' the line' which yes, technically is REM but not what i asked her for.... so i picked her up and asked in my most American-est accent, please play 'supernatural superserious' by REM (because maybe i'm not polite enough...?) again with 'draggin' the line'. and again :| and AGAIN! argghhh!!! i had to physically press buttons (stabbily, i admit...) to get her to stop and when i looked up, a policeman was next to me, staring at the unhelpful assistant in my hands :| thanks a LOT, Siri :| the policeman followed me for a long time, but ultimately got sick of driving 22MPH at the side of me trying to get behind me and sped off to more exciting crimes :)

seriously i give up with her. the only thing she gets partially right is the weather - i asked her for the weather in Oak Glen and she just ignored the Oak Glen part and gave me the weather here on Thursday :( also i think she is bad luck - since her arrival, one of our pet mice has died (RIP little pet mouse), my headphones only play in mono, Lisa Ling's "Our America" didn't record in full, we can't keep our reservation at Mozza and i keep hearing sounds in the trash can outside like something terrifying is living in it. if i could uninstall Siri and give her a no star rating, i would so do it!!

off to make something with swirls of chocolate and peanut butter - it's just that kind of night :|

pictures from the Pumpkin Patch - we panned for gold

he won three inflatable snakes

twas the day of the disastrous Quest diagnostics blood test fiasco... ps he's allergic to NOTHING, as i suspected all along :)

this is how tall he was LAST Fall... standing on tip toes :|

peacocks, dollar trees and Siri :|

2011-10-15T21:02:00.000-07:00

loving
my new iPhone. it's soooo shiny and wonderful!!!! and it takes really cool pictures :) also i don't know how it knows but now it sends reminders to my computer about appointments and such - i have no clue how to set up something so technologically advanced so it HAS to be the phone's doing :)

sort of disliking
Siri already. i knew i would, she has a patronizing tone of voice and seems like she is trying NOT to help because she thinks she's better than me :( i asked her to make coffee and she gave me the number for Starbucks - rude :| and i just asked her advice on how to clean granite countertops and she told me she'd think about it and that i should ask again later... if i invented a perfect assistant, he would be Nate Berkus and he would immediately google how to clean granite countertops if he didn't already know. AND he would also help me clean them, because i would invent a HELPFUL assistant without a big attitude!

shopping
for ornament craft kits at Oriental Trading Co - honestly does life get any better than this?! although i am unfamiliar with the legend of the Christmas Peacock, i am buying the kit because his little face is so cute :)

and this one because it's just adorable (and would look so much better with a nicely posed picture in it)

wondering
why there are no magpies here... i miss them and the curious superstitions about them:

A single magpie is associated with bad luck
One should make sure to greet magpies when they are encountered in order to either allay bad luck or encourage good luck as related to the number of birds and therefore their place in the Magpie poem. Common greetings include "Hello Mr Magpie" "How is your wife/where is your wife?", "Good Morning/Evening Sir" and other marks of respect.
Upon seeing a lone magpie one should repeat the words "I defy thee" seven times.
On seeing a lone magpie one should pinch the person they are walking with, if they are alone they are to pinch themselves. The custom in Devon is to spit three times to avert ill luck.
If a lone Magpie is seen, one should salute it to show you respect it. This formality can be forgone if the Magpie looks directly in your eyes, which shows it respects you

cock-a-hoop
over this neighborhood development - a DOLLAR TREE is opening right by our house!!!

straight out of the camera. with a PHONE. i love it! (also loving having a cute purse again, because i don't need to carry the huge clunking SLR and various lenses anymore:)

Mr & Mrs iPhone :)

biscuits, traffic and Kentucky

2011-10-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

eating
one too many of the layery flaky biscuits filled with nutella that i made for the boys' after school snack :| and the sad truth is they aren't even really that good. this is true of most everything i see on pinterest: what looks like a great idea usually ends up being underwhelming at best :) i like amazing things only

wishing
i could look on the bright side of life. but it's just so impossible! why am i so worried about airport delays and Mr UPS being late bringing my phone, instead i should just be happy that it's coming tomorrow at all! but noooo, now i am worried about the weather in Kentucky and the morning traffic in LA and what if Mr UPS is really really busy delivering 1,000,000 iPhones and he runs out of time to deliver mine, or as usual just forgets me altogether, and i don't get it till Monday :| (note to self: breathe once in a while and try to think about something else...)

wondering
whhhhhy it's in Kentucky???? admittedly, middle America all kind of blends together in my head, but i do know Kentucky is not a logical stopping place between Anchorage, AK to Los Angeles, CA :| unless of course Sarah Palin is doing the sorting ;)

looking
for the perfect lyrics for my new iPhone case. i vow to think about something else another day, but today there is nothing else on my mind. is something like this too terrifying, blood-drinking and obsessive...? (truth is you can't be too scary these days...)

i would kill for you
i will steal for you*
i'd do time for you
i will wait for you
i'd make room for you
i'd sink ships for you,
take the cross for you
make me a part of you
because i believe in you
i believe in you
i would die for you

because this is exactly how i feel about my iPhone :| also: Garbage = 1996 when everything in the world was jinky-colored and perfect and gas was cheap and we got married and lived happily ever after :)

off to bed to watch a little "too fat for 15" over a nice slice of pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting :)
ps the iPhone is in Albuquerque now :| who knows where it will pop up next...
pps *i have never stolen anything for my iPhone :)

not that i'm obsessed or nothin.....

2011-10-12T06:54:00.000-07:00

but it's currently 9:54pm in 'Chek Lap Kok' China and my new iPhone left there at 4:20pm their time... is it too early to set up a chair on the porch and await the rumble of the UPS truck, as he roars around the corner on two wheels with Tom Jones blaring out....? i need to keep a bucket of crabapples on the porch to gently toss, should he accidentally miss my house as he always does when he has a very important package. "no such address", he jests.... but i don't hear anyone laughing :|

i looked at google earth, 'Chek Lap Kok' is a little island with an AIRPORT ON IT!!! only 13 hours 10 minutes by air... so if it left 5 hours ago (i am allowing 34 minutes for runway taxiing and such annoyances).... it could easily be here by tea time!!!! it's possible - it could totally happen!! this is going to be a changing day in my life :)

i can't wait to take pictures! and talk to Siri and ask her to convey a very complicated tongue twister message about Sue sewing socks to Aaron and then see what she writes to him. oh the laughs we will have with our phones talking back and forth :)

in other news, i really don't love Rosie's new show... i hate the stand-up and the bursting into song (maybe i dreamed this part... i fast forwarded through it in my dream anyway) but i did like Russell Brand about 20% more than i thought i might (previously, i couldn't have liked him 20% less;) because he doesn't eat meat. this weekend we drove past many many dairy farms and saw trucks full of precious, wobbly baby cows with the most beautiful eyelashes, separated from their moms and off to somewhere absolutely horrible all by themselves (sob) and as always it made me sick and want to hijack said trucks and take all the calves home (in our minivan...? yes! i'd move some stuff around and make it work!) but now there's less guilt and self loathing about loving animals dearly but being a total hypocrite and still eating them. or claiming to be practically vegetarian but sneaking a burger because they taste so good. they ARE sooooo good but one meal should not take one life... it's just not right or kind or fair and for the first time, i felt like i was doing what's right for me, so i can sleep at night*

*still can't sleep... now i'm worried about delays in Chek Lap Kok, and not finding the camera dramatically better, and how to transfer everything to the new phone without losing my mind in the process... and what if the case doesn't fit and i have to carry my phone around in a sock... because that would be AWFUL)

ho hum - off to drop off children, walk, shower, watch Lisa Ling's show about American oddities, and pick up children. same crap, different day (although if the phone comes, it will be slightly different)

our weekend away - imagine the coolest, freshest, faintly cedar scented air, soft but crunchy earth underfoot, amazingly clean soft light and nowhere to be by any specific time... and that was our weekend away :) ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

is it the 14th yet.....?

2011-10-07T16:15:00.000-07:00

falling
asleep from staying up far far far too late ordering one black and one white iPhone. now to choose a case, the new Speck has rectangles instead of squares and clearly that just won't work for me :| and the one that does have squares doesn't cover the button on the front - and that's a deal breaker ;)

hoping
oh hope of hopes that Danny is NOT allergic to cats as the doctor dared to suggest he might be :| because that is one of my worst parenting nightmares: keep the child or the cat. i've already decided: if he's allergic we're keeping everyone, but moving to a mid-century home with a cat atrium or a farmhouse with attached cat barn :)

wondering
how someone who can barely speak English and has zero people skills gets a job at Quest Diagnostics drawing blood from terrified little 6 years olds' arms :( if i've ever wanted to strangle someone with that rubber strip they tie around your arm, it would be that woman at Quest Diagnostics yesterday (the one opposite Trader Joe's - it's awful! the waiting room alone was migraine colored) also: if someone is going to draw blood for a living, they should be somewhat good at it and not need to try different spots before finding a vein.... stupid woman/poor Danny :(

hoping
there is still snow in Sequoia this weekend... snow or not, we're going on a roadtrip!! we are also to Hobby Lobby as i just can't wait a weekend longer for the Temecula store to open :|

loving
that the projects i was saving for a rainy day got finished this week... namely Danny's 6th birthday book and Sam's 11th birthday book from blurb.com :)

waiting
for my latest batch of Trader Joe's pumpkin bread with best ever cream cheese frosting to cool down already! i am sure putting warm things into the freezer isn't the best idea, but it smells too good to wait. of course now Dr Oz will claim that cooling down cake in the freezer so you can eat it faster causes cancer or something that will take all the sweetness out of my pumpkin bread :|

wondering
if my thumb is infected... it's just been one of those weeks - i accidentally trapped Friday's tail in a drawer yesterday and when i tried to say sorry, she bit me SO HARD, i am sure half her tooth broke off and is now embedded in my thumb festering in bacteria :| i read online that 80% of cat bites become infected as oppose to only 20% of dog bites. i bet Dr Oz wrote them ;)

off to eat a plateful of veggies for dinner - french fries, onion rings and fried zucchini... this vegetarian thing is SO COOL!!!

thank you for the music... xoxo

2011-10-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

and for giving me the ability to check my email 555 times a day :)
for freeing my friends from having to live exclusively inside the computer :)
for putting amazon in my pocket so i can price-check everything with my fancy scanner ;)
and for yelp (how did we ever find wonderful new places to eat without it?!)
for maps that tell you "you are here!" and how many miles/minutes it is to Graceland no matter where in the world you are (walking or by car :)
for always having a camera with me when something wonderful happens by surprise
for the video camera too at school award ceremonies :)
for shazam and tune wiki
for access to an encyclopedia, no matter what my kids want to know
and for giving me the answer to all my lame celebrity questions at 3am :)
for always having the correct time (even when the clocks change and i can't remember if it's fall forward or spring forward...)
for the weather report (in all my favorite cities :)
for the calculator
for tetris in very boring waiting rooms
and for helping my littlest son learn to write his number and letters neatly
and for those angry birds he loves so dearly
for fascinating and inspiring Sam (he's a fan.. a trip to the Apple store is the ONLY way i get him to come with me to the mall:)
for iTunes - 5460 songs in perfect alphabetic order
for iPods in beautiful white boxes with heartfelt words inscribed on the back and free apple stickers for the kids' pencil boxes
for 7 years of wonderful music in my ears and at my fingertips - life post-walkman was so very quiet - the iPod brought music back into my everyday :) and the iPhone, so much more besides :)

thank you Steve Jobs: creator of my beloved red iPod and my cherished white iPhone*... what are we going to do without your amazing inventions....?

"The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device* he invented." — President Obama

NYC, best friends and wild parrots

2011-10-04T07:31:00.000-07:00

listening
to very quiet Simon and Garfunkel songs very loud with my noise-canceling headphones. because i have officially answered my quota of pointless questions for the day :|

missing
New York today (and not just because of the 59th Street Bridge song ;)

wondering
if i just dreamed that whole REM break up thingie...? they're coming back, right....? they'll get sick of being broken up, just like the Beatles did...?)

loving
rice crispie treats for dinner. no marshmallows allowed, just swirls of melted peanut butter (it's got to be a vegetarian thing, this mad peanut butter craving...? )

loving
that my phone has a CALENDAR on it! i put all the appointments in it that i used to keep in the notes, and it is going to remind me of each one two hours then one hour before they happen! which means i will probably end up getting a new phone next week (with f/2.4 aperture 8 megapixel camera) and all that hard work will go to waste ;)

also loving
getting an unexpected refund check in the mail so we can get those new phones next week :)

always loving
Sheye's words - almost as much as her pictures. she expresses her emotions so eloquently, and there's just something about Aussies that feels so familiar and lovely (maybe it's growing up adoring 'Neighbors' and 'Home and Away'...?)

drinking
far too much diet coke today :| four cans :| homeschooling a first grader will do that to you (even though Grandma did the homeschooling part today :)

thinking
tomorrow's homeschool will include a trip to the park to ride the little train, visit the pumpkin patch and then stop for lunch at McDonalds (truth be told, i really really really love having Danny home.... endless questions and endless coughing aside)

what a sick feverish little boy looks like :(

his essay about his friends, they look like the Beatles (clearly Danny is George Harrison :)

arranging the new pet pics (because children are, like, soooooo 2008)

did i ever mention my beloved wild parrots before..? there are hundreds of them squawking around OC each evening :) we had at least 100 of them in our trees last night :)

friday night likes

2011-09-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

nice, easy-going, non-competitive, just-for-the-fun-of-it soccer classes with nice, easy-going moms (on the only no-homework day that isn't a weekend because weekends are too precious to waste a second of)

finding the bathroom partly demo-ed upon arriving home (hurray for new floors!)

datenight with the hubbie - the best veggie burritos and tea party trash talking around :) cute too :)

stopping for a tub of Dreyers dulce de leche icecream and a movie from the redbox (especially when it's a free movie with the magic code 'breakroom' :)

99 cent store selling my beloved Martha Stewart spooky silhouettes - our house is soooo much spookier now! though the kittens are obsessed with pouncing on the mice silhouettes :|

the new air purifier: seriously how did i live without this magical little device?! i can breathe again and the house no longer smells like we have five cats :)

peanut butter and chocolate chips melted together - my kind of homemade soup

surprise bonuses in paychecks

free day at the Palm Desert zoo (or the Autry museum at Griffith Park - i can't decide which one to go to)

Barack Obama

mint perfume, mint tea, mint shampoo, mint conditioner, mint pillow mist and mint peace potion on the hottest day of the year (is it my imagination or is it getting hotter and hotter every single day? either that or i have a raging fever....)

it being the end of the longest week in history!!!

MJ, Rio and room moms

2011-09-29T15:20:00.000-07:00

obsessing
over wall color and vanities and floor tiles and pretty fluffy towels - for we are having a very special visitor :)

needing
to buy the Michael Jackson trial iphone app - i am a little bit obsessed with that also :|

loving
Trader Joe's buccaneer joe's, it's just pirate booty in a much cheaper, much larger bag which is a very good/bad thing :)

not loving
Trader Joe's lemon and ginger cookie icecream. it sounds magical, right? but it just tastes like boring old sorbet to me (so why waste the calories??!)

wishing
one 14 mile walk didn't result in blisters that take an entire w-e-e-k (and special bandaids) to heal :(

also wishing
razor blades weren't so darned sharp (note to self: never grab toothbrush in the dark but accidentally grab a razor blade instead :| big mistake.... HUGE! (and a bloody mess too....)

wondering
who names their child Ransom...? or Sin for that matter? you really should need to pass some kind of kindness test to have children...

also wondering
why rooms at Rio Suites are only $12 this Winter??! how can it be so cheap...? is it that scary to stay there...? i want to go and find out!

making
the veggiest pizza everrrr for dinner - so soooo good and surely slimming with all those veggies on it...?

waiting for
the new air purifier to arrive. our old air purifier died last week and i just seem to be unable to breathe without it cleaning and hepa filtering the air :)

stalking
sperm donor websites :| they are completely fascinating! for $415 you can have a blond haired, blue eyed gentleman's baby... but if you only have $145, you'll have to settle for a red haired, green eyed, rather short offspring :| you can even pick if the sperm donor is religiously inclined and whether or not they like cats and dogs - so much easier than getting to know people and having to weed through losers who hate cats ;)

thanking
my lucky stars i don't have to be the room mom :| i am just not that responsible (for free anyway :)

begging
for it to PLEASE BE WEEKEND already. this is officially the longest, most drawn out week ever :| and it's only Thursday!!

frogs, cats and cubs

2011-09-21T19:21:00.000-07:00

drowning
far too many cadbury freddo frogs in far too many cups of coffee tonight - it's just one of those must-have-chocolate nights :|

wishing
we had a Channel 4 America channel here instead of farty old BBC America - we neeeeeed embarrassing bodies!!! and ps how come they have TV doctors like this in England:

and we are stuck with this fear-mongering, supercilious little git: (ignore the smurf) NOT FAIR!!!

listening
to deepest darkest 1980s R.E.M. and wondering just w-h-o exactly is going to come along and continue writing the soundtrack of my life now R.E.M. have quit on me - quitters!!!

loving
Sam's new school so much more than his old school - they had coffee and deeply fudgy brownies at the Back to School night - and Kenny G too because being a middle school parent means you're officially into that kind of thing ;) and psst: i was kind of into it :)

recoiling
in horror that the average age of apples sold in supermarkets is 14 months old! gasp - isn't that horrible??!

wishing
the laundry would fold itself ALREADY - blah, i don't know how people with more than 2 children cope... i can't make that many little piles of shorts/teeshirts/fitted sheets (and i don't want to!!! it's work - how i hate it, i'd much rather play!)

hoping
it wasn't the last episode of Flipping Out last week.... but i think it was.... because they brought back that awful Sarah :( i miss Flipping Out already! though i don't miss Gage... or that awful Sarah.... just Jeff :) and Jenni :) and all the adorable fluffy pets!

speaking of fluffy pets... Mr Bumps loves helping Danny with his homework

Mr Bumps when he was much much much much much smaller, taking on fearsome Friday :)

latest smile - you could drive a double decker bus through that gap now :)

last night's scout meeting - cutest (and nicest) cubs ever!!!

green tea, red apples and a lavender scented life

2011-09-19T06:54:00.000-07:00

thinking
i am most definitely deathly allergic to green tea. which is a shame because i just bought 200 softgels of green tea extract :| they make me so sick and shaky and carsick even when i am not even near the car :|

wondering
how come they don't sell Zoflora here?????! one tiny bottle makes about 10 big bottles of the most awesome smelling antibacterial lavender disinfectant that can kill the stinkiest litter box stinks and makes icky-left-in-the-washer-ovenight laundry smell heavenly again and it makes floors shiny and fragrant for days. honestly, i should just import an entire container of it and make an infomercial and sell it for $19.99 for two bottles, plus undisclosed ridiculously high shipping and handling costs ;)

loving
the wonderful apple orchard we stumbled upon yesterday in deepest loveliest Julian, California (thanks to yelp, we would NEVER have found such a hidden gem - Raven Hill really is the best) it had 45 rows of the rosiest, juiciest red apple trees, scratch-my-tummy farm dogs and a slightly eccentric/lovely Irish owner named Paddy, who had a feather in his bowler hat and very very Irish blue eyes (honestly, does it get any better than that?!)

NOT butchering
said apples to pieces to make into pies, but enjoying them "baked by the sun" as Paddy said :)

loving
my hubbie for driving 4 nauseating windy-road hours to indulge my apple-loving heart xoxoxo

yesterday was this kind of day (the kind you remember for a loooong time and dream about on an urghh-it's-monday morning such as today)

even the golden delicious were indeed delicious (usually i won't eat 'delicious' apples because they are too full of themselves - i will decide if they are delicious or not;)

things that make no sense

2011-09-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

people who don't love Elvis and the Beatles or claim to be too young to know them - were these people raised by wolves in caves without eight track players shaped like large shiny eggs??! clearly the answer to that is "sadly, yes" :|

people who don't love bananas (these people usually have shifty eyeballs and three cornered faces and are not to be trusted)

people who don't love pizza :| because that's a serious serious character flaw ;)

the new Missoni collection at Target - i'm just not that into zigzag striped polyester, i guess :)

the "eff" word - i hate it :| however i admit to loving the real word (gasp) when used to express negative feelings (cursing to express positive feelings is just crass)

the red flashing lock-with-a-line-through-it inside our car that actually tells thieves the car is unlocked - i am not sure it serves any purpose other than to make Toyotas easier to steal :|

the new Mozza in Newport Beach not accepting reservations - i do NOT wait in line for food, no matter how delectable it may be ;)

food trucks: wait in line - and then eat standing up - outdoors - to buy overpriced, overhyped food? nosireebob!

Brad Pitt still dissing Jennifer Aniston after all these years: i don't doubt for one second that she is duller than dishwater, but honestly if he tells everyone one more time how happy he is, i might just stop believing him ;)

things that make perfect sense:

his reward for reading "Go Dog Go" all by himself - a dinosaur encased in an erupting volcano

David Beckham and boys (best Dad EVER!) at the ~~most overwhelming/most exhausting~~ happiest place on earth on Saturday... curiously he doesn't look that happy ;)

dancing dinosaurs (at least i think they are dancing....)

Paul Simon, Trader Joe and Bank of America biatches

2011-09-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

living off
ginger cats and coffee today. i am living proof that's it's possible!! (but not necessarily recommended if you plan on doing anything other than just watching TV and feeling weak, but restless, all day....)

patting myself on the back
that i actually turned a tedious chore into something vaguely educational - i had Danny put 15 ginger cats into 15 little snack bags to make sure the box actually contained 15 servings of 15 cats (and the real reason: to stop me eating all 225 in one sitting...) and you know what... the box actually contained 16 servings! how i love Trader Joe - he's so kind and nice! but clearly it's HIS fault i can't lose a lick of weight :|

loving
Paul Simon's performance of The Sound of Silence on Sunday... i wish he'd sung 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' too... but it was so perfect and so beautiful and i loved it

looking forward
an entirely free day (my favorite kind of day:) i need something called hoodia and green tea extract and those round cotton pad thingies for cleansing the skin and a small can of sliced olives :) and to go to the bank.... ick

hating
AT&T and bank representatives who call me "ma'am" :| it's a long story involving an accidental $1600 payment which should have been $15 (could i have got it more wrong...? note to self: never do online banking while in a tizzy) and their inability to EVER give it back. in good news we don't have to pay our phone bill again until 2019 :|

delighting
in filling in every detail of the customer service survey from the bank - they just asked how helpful their representative was ;) oh yes, i told them!!! big mistake Willie Mae.... HUGE!!!!!!!!!

off to deliver children to school and luxuriate in a day of inane housewifelyness :)

Megan and Weasel looking all cute for their adoption event

leaving them in a cage looking abandoned and afraid was really really hard - maybe we should just adopt them....? everyone wants colorful, fluffy, spring-y kittens... these girls are too shy, too hissy, too gothic and too black for the average person wandering through Tustin Ranch :| and the thought of just anyone taking my babies home and then getting angry with them because they pee in on their bed or something trivial like that, gives me hives......

Danny - the human bookworm :)

after school - love him :)

slave labor or homeschooling? assembling little bags of cookies for his mother's diet plan :)

Kings, Queens and Ziggy Stardust

2011-09-10T19:53:00.000-07:00

loving
Macy's for the first time e-v-e-r.... they have the Ralph Lauren sheets - and on sale too :| and Eastern King was actually in stock in the land of the California King!! and in snow white with no zen-killing checks, stripes or dots :| also of note at South Coast Plaza today: they had a little test drive circuit set up in the car park where you could take any Toyota for a spin. now that's a wonderful idea! i would most likely have fallen for an adorable little white Prius, given half a chance ;)

listening
to Regina Spektor who i do really like... but her mispronunciation of "better" as "betto" somewhat mars my listening pleasure :(

now listening
to "Starman" by David Bowie instead - phew: better, not "betto" ;)

wondering
why SJP would buy a Honda Odyssey.... honestly, that new Ziggy Stardust thunderbolt looking Odyssey is just plain horrible - i really hope she has the older shaped one (or fellow minivan-moms will just feel tragically sorry for her :)
i totally need to submit these pics to totally looks like

also wondering
if Gwyneth Paltrow could be any more horrible - there's just something about that woman i do NOT like :| ok, i admit it... there is more than one thing ;)

going
to sleep with an ice-pack under my pillow tonight. Dr Oz swears up and down it's the same as sleeping with a chillow. just watch, i bet on Monday's show he will wring his hands in glee, as he announces with great joy that sleeping with an ice-pack causes cancer ;)

off to bed to watch a movie and luxuriate in our new damask/stripe free linens :)

ABFFs (almost best feline friends) since the foster cats showed up, these two have realized how much they actually don't hate about one another ;)

Disneyland palm trees

his favorite store

his reward for reading a book all by himself

it's a mean looking car with very yellow teeth, but ohhh how he loves it :)

we had a hailstorm (and it was totally awesome!!)

there was even a thunderstorm and rain (and it was totally awesome... while it lasted.... then it stopped... and the sun came back out....)

at the Nixon library's World Trade Center tribute...

at the adoption event... this sweet pup Tootsie didn't get adopted.... if our house wasn't overrun with 10,0000 antisocial animals, he would sooo be sleeping here tonight :(

you know what's totally awesome....

2011-09-07T12:43:00.000-07:00

COUPONS that you can print at home!!

i love them - they bring value to life! today i went to Target for nice mouthwash - the non-alcohol kind that you can keep in your mouth while you apply deodorant or quickly clean the countertops :) it was $4.79 (up and up brand) but with the sale price and my magic target printable coupon - $2.15!!! now that's cool :)

also cool, tidy cats litter... on sale from $8.39 to 6.99 before my printable $2 coupon! and with the kitty litter i got some free cat treats called 'party mix' (maybe a party is just what my cats need to help them get along!) and with the free cat treats a coupon for a can of Friskies :| uhuh! i couldn't believe my luck!! over $10 of cat paraphernalia for five dollars!

my other bargain of the day: lean cuisine frozen meals - i LOVE frozen dinners, they are the only way i can eat that little food without feeling completely deprived and malnourished :) i got 6 veggie dinners on sale, plus i had a $1 coupon (i know big deal... hardly worth printing) BUUUT with when you buy 6 lean cuisines you get SKINNY COWS free - a $4 value!

other coupons of interest that i just printed, not that i am obsessed or anything:

75c off goldfish bread... how i dream of finding this bread! i want to try it sooo bad... in my wildest imagination i hope it makes smiling goldfish shaped sandwiches... i'll be sooo disappointed if it's just square, but orange and cheesy :(
$1 off Colgate - i saw in the clearance end cap, a multipack of Colgate for $2.00 so you better believe i'm going back tonight to scoop them up! you can never have too much toothpaste, that's what i always say....
50 cents off in the cafe - it's only $1.50 for popcorn and soda, the perfect afterschool treat for young and old alike! we are soooo going after school!
$1 off $3 up and up item - this is my favorite coupon (they sometimes give it out with receipts too) because if you find something already on sale (the mouthwash for example) it makes the item sooo cheap, you'd be a fool not to buy it ;)
(squeamish people/men, please do not read) 75c off 'feminine products' ahem, sorry if too much information :| they give these coupons out like candy, i have literally 100 of them and under all our sinks there are a plethora of feminine hygiene items, thanks to buying something around the $1-2 price every time i shop. ha! i will never pay full price for feminine hygiene items ever again!!! (it will be just my luck to instantly go into menopause now my stocks are so high...)

and that concludes my super helpful couponing post :) also of note swag grabber which has printable coupons but i much prefer Target because swag grabber has coupons for places like Mellow Mushroom and Winn Dixie that we don't have in boring old California :| buuuut, we DO have Marla from the OC Register, my most favorite awesome frugal person ever, who i would love to be friends with, because she seems soooo nice and down-to-earth and she loves the 99 cent store also: oc deals :)

off to school with a song in my heart over all my bargains (it's sad, i know ;)

Ralph Lauren, big TVs and one million hateful moms

2011-09-07T07:09:00.000-07:00

searching:
for Ralph Lauren king sheets online in cream or white with no stripes or checks - not that i'm picky or nuthin' :) i wish Costco sold Eastern king sheets and not just dumbass California king (hmmm, though what a great excuse to take a trip out of state....... i wonder if AZ is easternly enough....)

buying:
cereal online - there is something seriously wrong with the world when a huge box can be delivered to my house overnight and it's still cheaper than the local Albertsons :|

making:
a perfect soundtrack for our perfect beach house vacation - i want to go today!!! enough with this back to school crap :(

wanting:
a 60 inch television for the den (or bigger!!!)

not wanting:
to walk today. i bet it's going to be 95 degrees which doesn't even sound that hot but it's soooo sweaty out there! you can't wear sunblock because it drips into your eyes and blinds you while crossing the street. and forget sunglasses - they fog up instantly. i miss Summer and it's cool days - fall is ridiculously hot here and it's so unfair - you can't even consider buying a Halloween costume that is fully enclosed or furry :( it's just not fair and it's not right either :|

watching
my way through the Dance Moms marathon - oh deary deary deary me :)

wondering
if hateful stick-up-their-ass women like these are the reason "kids can be so mean" :| this is the reason i am:
a) not religious
b) not in a mother's group
c) a 'mum' not a 'mom'
seriously :|

pictures from the weekend

peanut butter, chocolate and obsessions

2011-09-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

finally taking
a deeeeep breath :| the first week of middle school and first grade is over (and it was exhausting/teeth clenching/stress-inducing/overwhelming) it's like watching your kid step onto a tight rope with no net, and no matter how hard you try to keep your balance on their behalf, and hope for ideal conditions, you just have to cross your fingers and hope for the best :|

completely adoring
Danny's new thmile (soo sooooo cute and soooo perfect for first day pictures)

desperately trying
to not think about peanut butter and chocolate together in little cracker sandwiches... this week i taste-tested some ahhhhmazing nutella/peanut butter cracker sandwich thingies and now i can think of nothing else, day and night :| i have carefully tried to recreate them but nothing comes close to the awesomeness of those real, mass-manufactured, over-processed cracker sandwiches :)

desperately seeking
the perfect San Diego hotel. i want to stay at the Hotel Del Coronado but the yelp reviews are 3.5/5.......... and yelp is kind of like our hopeless thermometer, you have to minus 2 to give a true reading ;)

curiously wanting
to go to Knotts Berry Farm tonight - and it's 7pm!!!

also really wishing
i could go to Vegas and buy a hedgehog and call him Mr Pricklepants - they are on sale at Pet Kingdom this week for only $149.99! but since i am scared to even take a starburst through the CA checkpoint, i am sure i couldn't possible smuggle a hedgehog successfully :(

also really really wishing
i could cook.... but it's just so much easier to a) eat breakfast all day b) go out to eat

repeatedly playing
'it happened today' even though nothing much happened today ;) i did get red AND green grapes at the 99 cent store and a new basketball net but it hardly warrants REM writing a song about it ;)

kind of obsessing
over flax seed and green tea

somewhat disliking
Mrs Robinson :| i watched The Graduate for the first time last night, and had to turn it off after 15 minutes because she made me mad :| also: i never knew Art Garfunkel didn't co-write with Paul Simon... which doesn't explain why i like Simon and Garfunkel so much more than Paul Simon...

off to play basketball with Danny and then ultimately decide 7pm is far far too late to go to a theme park ;) xoxox

off to middle school :)

off to first grade :)

the flag ceremony

Mr Bumps thinks back to school is for the birds (me too)

we finally found a basketball hoop on craigs list for FREE!! yay for free bargains!!! and kind people :)

Courage after hiding in the fireplace - he is supposed to be black and white :|

Megan, the 'good' kitty who loves to pose

Weasel, the 'bad' kitty, who can destroy plants hidden behind shutters :)

our beach treasures from this summer (sob)

playing with the baby before school

sweetest little baby ever

white rabbits

2011-09-01T06:39:00.000-07:00

white rabbits white rabbits - hurray, i said it and therefore everything's going to be ok today - today being... the first day of school :|

i hate the first day of school.... i haven't slept since last friday :| i am sure i am the only mother on earth who doesn't relish the day her children return to where they belong. i hate changes (even the David Bowie song and i loooove David Bowie - i can't stand the stuttery awful ch-ch-ch part) beginnings and ends are my nemesis, i only really like the middle part of anything, and even then not always so much :|

but it's going to be ok - even though Sam is going to middle school and it's huuuge - bigger than South Coast Plaza - with lockers that have impossible-to-remember combinations and 10 different rooms to be at very specific times, PLUS i have to pick him up 2 minutes before thing 2 gets out at an entirely different school with NO parking (breathes into paper bag)... but it's going to be ok :|

in good news, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills are back! i am SO RELIEVED that that horrible Russell man's death didn't get it canceled - nice try buddy, but the women of America need their crap TV and pointless drama!!

but sadly for the women of America, George Clooney is NOT running for president :( i would watch sooo much more news than i do now, which is radically more news than i did between 2001-2009 ;) one more reason why i love George Clooney that has nothing to do with his salt and pepper hair, crinkly brown eyes and everything else:
"As for running for president, look, there's a guy in office right now who is smarter than almost anyone you know, who's nicer and who has more compassion than almost anyone you know. And he's having an almost impossible time governing. Why would anybody volunteer for that job?" Clooney told a news conference.

sigh... he is like totally awesome!!! if i wasn't married with several children and a phobia of Los Angeles freeways, i would be seriously stalking that man :)

off to deliver anxious children to their schools then go home and drink soooo much coffee today that i am filled with nervous energy and i have to do Just Dance for hours tonight to wear off the effects (big girl, you are beautiful!) back later xoxo

migraines dolphins and gummie bears

2011-08-30T07:17:00.000-07:00

i have had a headache for three days straight :| one of those dangerous blinding headaches that makes red lights seem to change to green when they're still red (it happened! and it's very dangerous! maybe i shouldn't be driving... but i love my car so so much!!! it's so dreamy to drive! and much quieter than the house, that's for sure:) and makes you have to sleep upside-down and eat a yogurt at midnight because maybe you're just hungry...? i hate headaches!!! and running out of peace potion - deadly :|

admittedly we spent the entire weekend in glorious sunny San Diego, frolicking at a beeeeaaaautiful ocean park and playing with friendly grinning dolphins, so i shouldn't complain ;)

today i am back to my dreadful cruel walking regime (with headache, i might add... life is such a bitch) i am walking to Trader Joe's for ginger cat cookies and Walgreen's to get some magic gummie bears that i read online will make me feel full- hopefully the gummie bears cancel out the need for so many ginger cats :) how i love this new candy medicine craze! i even have some calcium fudge! i want to invent pickled onion crisps that contain aleve - because that i would buy (hmm but probably overdose... it should come with a BIG warning on the side for piggies like me :)

i am in a mad inventing mood again - last night while tossing and turning i invented a large icepack thing that goes under a mattress pad to keep you cool all night - wouldn't that be so awesome? like a whole body chillow (gawd i want a chillow SO BADLY, and not just because i love marketing plays on words - but alas i am hopeless at remembering to do things like take it out of the freezer at night and put it back in the morning and if i forgot i would start to really resent the chillow's existence... plus putting something full of bed bugs and sweat in the freezer just sounds grossly unhygienic to me... though i am sure the cold would kill the bed bugs and the sweat beads would just drop off ;) hmm, i wonder how the chillow would fit... aha, in a large chest freezer!!! which we don't have... hmm, back to the drawing board :|

off to slather myself with SPF 70 and walk in 100 degree heat 8 miles uphill all the way - life is good as good people everywhere would proclaim!

a game of croquet before cake

this park was full of big pieces of cheese :)

they were begging for snowballs (ohhh... the cuteness hurt my teeth!!!)

speaking of cute: that smile

i love that the lady behind felt the need to smile for our picture :)

one for the christmas card

best Marina EVER!!!!

little girls shyly got their picture taken with her - she's like a Disney princess!

smiles playdates and sunshine

2011-08-26T17:56:00.000-07:00

Danny's chipped/filed/chipped/filed yellowish front tooth finally came out!! his new smile and new lisp ith thoooo cute!!!!

Sam signed up for middle school!! and it's going to be OK! even though he finishes school at 2:28 and Danny at 2:30 at completely different schools :|

made pumpkin bread and immediately had to freeze it so i don't eat the whole darned loaf in one sitting (i think pumpkin should be a controlled substance)

dreamt i found the perfect canoe roof rack system thingie (sigh... if only it wasn't just a dream.... minus one point for the Sienna: useless crossbars)

had 4 cups of coffee for breakfast each day... this tactic for being vivacious and feeling wide awake was suggested by my doctor. i bet Dr Oz would know exactly how many minutes each cup of coffee is taking off my life - he is such a debbie downer)

wore New West because it was like totally that kind of hazy sunshiney week ;)

had a playdate with the sweetest bunch of boogie boarding beach boys and camera wielding moms ever at Bolsa Chica - it's so cool there and our beach pass even works!

finally extinguished the darned 5000 mile oil change warning light... warning lights: VERY bad :| they are depressing and demanding and impatient too!

had a playdate with the sweetest almost-first graders ever... they get on so well together and they have never ever had a falling out - and the moms are the nicest ever, which makes for wonderful playdates :)

made melon/banana/grape/carrot/spinach smoothies. to be honest they are more 'gritties' than 'smoothies' - i need to blend them longer i think. but they are NOT bad!!! they just look really bad ;)

watched Dr Oz - he is such a scare monger, today he wrung his heads in glee as he announced that every single woman in the world will have prolapsed private parts in her lifetime... he is so depressing! how about we just worry that if when it happens? surely all the worrying about things before they even happen is bad for us too? who invented Dr Oz? and what purpose does he actually serve??! i wish he would go away :|

booked a stay at our all-time favorite A frame beach house :) NO RAIN ALLOWED! (softbox skies A-OK)

listened to the Smiths and woefully missed Manchester and the smell of diesel and rain

vacuumed a pile of sand out of my purse (sign of a week well spent :)

swam three times and floated on a big squishy lounger thingie for hours on end

watched Downsized and loved the dad even more this week (he is SO NICE!!)

saw the softer side of that mean penguin, Gage, on Flipping Out this week - he was nice to the poorly pup so that makes me like him 10% more :)

hung out with this sweet little WALKING baby :) he is soooooo cute!!!

his new smile :)

and his new smile :)

oh for the love of Gordon Ramsay

2011-08-24T07:41:00.000-07:00

i am sick - the gnashing teeth and hair tear out kind of SICK with regret and self loathing and hatred for my inability to make good choices :( this weekend we wanted to go boogie boarding. i wanted to go to Broad Beach, Malibu, but instead i decided that Crystal bloody Cove would be so much easier. and do you know who was surfing on Broad bloody Beach that afternoon...? Gordon Ramsay and David Beckham with no shirts on, that's who!! (bangs head on table and grinds teeth) and their children who are similar ages to my children, thus we would inevitably get talking, realise (not realize) we are all English and become bestest friends and end up hanging out for dinner with GORDON RAMSAY COOKING and DAVID BECKHAM playing footie with the boys!!! i have only one word: ARGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and also: NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! summer is officially almost over... no more trips to the beach to go boogie boarding :(

on a more positive topic, i read online you should change out your workout or it will stop being effective. so my 8 week sabbatical from walking is perfectly acceptable then? horray! i return to my march of the pigs exercise regime next week :( to replace the "back to school blues" with mean "hey! i'm walkin' here!" reds :)

yesterday Aaron went to Burbank to interview for Wipeout :| i am scared (secretly) that he will throw his back out and be crippled for life, but also quite excited about the prize money!!! because for sure he's going to win!!!!

today i intend to use my fancy cookie stamping kit to make diet cookies that say positive things like 'a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips' and 'nothing tastes as good as thin feels' (which i absolutely don't agree with.... clearly this person has never tasted factory fresh slightly melty cadbury's freddo frogs) but i am sure i won't make them... roll-out sugar cookies = work of the devil)

i also need to go to Walmart :| because Costco doesn't sell peanut butter :| seriously? my child only eats TWO things: peanut butter and french fries - he is the quintessential all American boy! and Costco sell neither! i blame Michelle Obama (yes i do love her... but would also struggle to find anything to share with her, other than liking J Crew also, at a backyard barbecue.... i can't even grow potatoes... we yielded FOUR golf ball sized potatoes...) also need to go to the Costco for vitamins. because apparently my multivitamins aren't doing a damned thing and greek yogurt isn't some magical potion to make you healthy :|

note to self: DO NOT GET SUCKED IN AND END UP BUYING A VITAMIX AT COSTCO! it looks sooooo cool!! and awesome too! it makes Jamba Juice and peanut butter and soup and playdoh! and hummus too! but it's $450 :| for a (very old fashioned looking) countertop appliance :| that's Oprah money :|

in other news: Friday has lost her voice :( she has been yelling at the foster kitties so much lately, she is now hoarse and raspy :( poor old lady cat - she's starting to look very elderly too... small children will do that to you, Friday...) currently she is shaping her claws into talons as her new form of self defense.... watch out kitties!!

also in other news: Prid actually works! (on some things, at least!) i bought it to hopefully miraculously remove the huge lump from my tummy (which didn't go so well...) but on Monday i got a really deep humungous splinter in my finger and boy was i excited - this is just what Prid was actually invented for!! so i put it on and the next day when i took off the bandaid the splinter was out!!! gasp!! i hate splinters!! it's a miracle! i can't imagine how much being stabbed or impaled hurts when a splinter leaves me incapacitated for days ;)

off to do some 'shoping' and 'tiddying' up :) when i see hopeless spelling i just 'loose' it!!

vitamin b, come fly with me and dentistry

2011-08-20T21:12:00.000-07:00

woke up with a bee in my bonnet to:

construct a shelf for behind the couch to sit pictures, flowers and attractive curios on
print all the pictures i have been meaning to print for all the friends i've promised them to (a lot...... took 37 minutes to send to Costco)
extract large tic tac shaped thingie from chin using tweezers (seriously my favorite thing ever!)
go to the beach with boogie board
clean out the closet and create a cat bedroom (soooooo many cats)
buy vitamin B and hope it works and gives me lots of energy :)

well, it did! it's 9pm i have successfully completed every task on my list!! there is even time leftover for some burnt toast and a couple of episodes of come fly with me:) Sam's test results arrived and he is officially a genius, though we didn't doubt it for a second ;) also his mouth is doing pretty good... however his smile looks very different now and he's living off Jamba Juice and pain killers :( and Danny's smile is about to change radically - his two remaining top and bottom front teeth are hanging by a thread! watch this space..........

pics from the beach:

very fascinating things about Legoland

2011-08-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

they let Volvo drivers park for free - which just irks me before i ever set foot outside the car :|

but it gets better, because you can park right outside the gates - no tram ride or 1.5 mile walk required (it's a good thing!)

they don't let you take cameras on rides "for safety reasons", but really because they want you to buy their crappy $10 ride pictures :|

oh and the rides are really really really lame - like, ridiculously lame! they make Disneyland look like Knotts Berry Farm! and they make Knotts Berry Farm look like Magic Mountain!!

one thing to love about Legoland - they don't look inside your purse (which is great for terrorists and PB&J smugglers) and the restroom doors go all the way to the floor so no-one can move their head side to side fast so they can see you :)

everyone under 3 is magnetically drawn to hug my legs instead of their mother's :|

a wave of relief rushed over me today, while consoling a mom in mid-nervous-breakdown, about how frustrating and stressful and just plain awful a day at a theme park can be (horray!! i am normal!!! well kind of... there are two of us, at least! :)

they actually have a wood-fired pizzeria :| but it took the 107 year old cashier sooooo long to serve us after explaining to each and every customer in the line how to save 35 cents by swapping the fountain drinks for bottled drinks, it was congealed and cold by the time we ate it :| but i am sure it was just great warm ;)

the pools all seem to be no more than 2 feet 6 inches deep - as Danny said, they are perfect if you want to pretend to be a penguin (maybe that is what they were thinking...)

there is not one single solitary place to sit in the water park - every single chair is 'reserved' with a towel :| and if you do happen to get lucky and find a chair, it isn't a lovely soft reclining lounger thingie, noooo - it's a plastic lawn chair with no foot rest :| not like Las Vegas at all............

this was our third time at Legoland and i am thinking it will never grow on me :| and that's OK :) because i much prefer Knotts Berry Farm ;)

pictures of our fabulous day:
yes i took my camera on the rides - nobody puts my camera in the corner :|

Lego AND Star Wars :| (just TOO much fun!!!)

Aaron had to point at Sam so we don't confuse him with Chewbacca :)

"maybe we're missing something really fun....?" they wondered

fun fact: for the price of one day at Legoland, a family of four could vacation in Las Vegas for 5 days (and that includes daily resort fee!)

boy scouts finally paid off - they knew how to build perfect racing cars :)

practicing for his Wipeout audition - he won the race!

off to bed - back tomorrow post surgery :| xoxox

it's time again....

2011-08-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

to neatly sweep together an imaginary pile of horrible things, so i may fantasize about steamrolling over them, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, until they are obliterated from society!

the Millionaire Matchmaker:

that woman is so crude. and so not attractive. and so unladylike. and a gold digger too :| and now she thinks she's Nancy Botwin :| annnnnd hello!! if she has such a high success rate why does every couple only go out for one date then never see each other again??! and why is she single and 55???!

the mom from 'Downsized':

if she couldn't pay the rent for the house in which her eleventeen children live, why was she still spending hundreds of dollars a month on Starbucks and not making her own coffee at home... she actually got mad at her financial advisor for bringing it up, because she apparently needs those specialty $5 coffees for medicinal reasons ;) she lost me right then and there. and i feel so sorry for her hubbie, because he is sooo nice, and such a great Dad to her FIVE CHILDREN (doesn't she get child support? or payment for being on the show? why can't i relax and just enjoy, instead of asking my phone these questions?!) now he wants to go to Missouri, because Missouri loves company and he would actually MAKE MONEY there :) but she says "nooooo!" and is mad at him for even thinking about it.... oh gawd, i want to shake that woman!!! and give her a dramatic, sobering slap across the face like they do in soap operas :)

that horrific Stacey from Flipping Out:

first of all, she's mean. and beyond rude too! and soooo not funny - i think she thinks she's funny and sassy but she's not - she's just crass. and secondly, she's ugly!!! but even if she wasn't... i would always always always be on Jenny's side in ANY situation, no questions asked, because i like Jenny. even more than Jeff. and i L-O-V-E Jeff! :) still hate Gage though....

Amber from Teen Mom:

a theme is emerging... a lot of crap TV :) i've had a severe pain in my sawdust for the past week and that's my excuse for this mindless TV watching/recuperating mode ;) sore teeth... sore tummy... sore elbow... sore fingers... sore neck... the list goes on and on....

any loud, gross, balding republican who sweats profusely, has a roll of neck fat hanging over his shirt collar and wears tassel shoes:
even if i wasn't a true blue democrat, i would be just looking at republican men versus democrat men ;) they're just so much easier on the eye :)

Trader Joe's in Crystal Cove:
i know it's beeeautiful in Crystal Cove... and it overlooks the pacific ocean... and Trader Joe's is just sooooo full of yummy things that give the illusion that one can cook a fancy meal.... and there's also a Gap and Williams Sonoma next door... but there is not a more hostile, more sterile, personality-void, robotic place on earth than this Trader Joe's :( everyone looks taut and cold blooded and reptilian... it actually feels more horrible than horrible Tustin Ranch Costco :| the people at our TJs are so nice (and cute too!) and if you find the turtle they give you a lolly and stickers too! not so in Crystal Cove :|

Talking Tom:
the cat from the talking cat app is stalking me :| yesterday i got a text message asking if i missed him...? when i looked again it was GONE. most creepy......

going back to school
it's two weeks away and i don't want summer to end :( EVER! i love the endless mornings that fade into lazy afternoons and overnighters to Vegas and playdates that last till 9pm and not having to make horrible lunchmeat lunches or clockwatch to get to school on time.... i miss summer and it's not even over yet :(

sigh... next: some pretty pictures to cleanse my soul and turn the negative ions upside-down :)

today Danny made cupcakes all by himself, for Sam's birthday tea (still trying to get the perfect "candles" picture for his birthday book:) messy, but very yummy :)

surgery: friday :( i hope his smile doesn't change too much.... he has his Dad's twinkling, wonderful, charismatic smile

at Crystal Cove Beach

he found a dragonfly wing in the sand (good eyes:) and a matchbox car and a little rubber ball :)

when Megan grows up she wants to be spaghetti cat :)

we love the Obama statue

his new obsession: reading :) longest word read to date: "aaaargghhh!!"

off to Legoland tomorrow - pics and sob stories about how expensive* it is soon :) xxoxo

*VERY expensive! bwuddy expensive :)

Disney, David Beckham and Jett from Flipping Out

2011-08-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

had a busy busy busy friday which resulted in my cut tummy getting very irritated and feeling razor blade-y sharp all over again. note to self: recuperate :|

had to pull out my stupid sore cut tummy drain thingie. oh the pain! like razor blades and paper cuts only much MUCH worse!! if i so much as peeked under the bandage it bwuddy* hurt. so i spent hours in the bath hoping it would miraculously fall out :( but it didn't :( so i gave up and decided it would just have to stay in there forever. finally Aaron had the great idea to loosen it like you have to loosen a cake from the pan before turning it over... and it worked! with much pain and blood but it's finally out and i am saving it for my curio cabinet of most curious oddities :)

*is it wrong to find my 6 year old's curse words sooo bwuddy adorable?!

came last at Mario Kart EVERY SINGLE TIME!!! maybe i drive too cautiously? i think this game is discouraging our children from learning to drive safely :(

sat on the fence for 7 hours about going on a Disney Cruise. i know, i hate Disney. but i never give up hoping that someday i might grow to like it :) they do offer free babysitting and never ending icecream and kids sail free... that's my 'pro' column :) but the 'cons': 2400 people go on that ship :| and i bet they all walk really slowly and hog all the deckchairs even though they're not even using them. and i bet our dinner seating would be 8:30pm instead of 6:30pm which is already VERY LATE... and i would most definitely kill someone if i had to wait that long to eat :| and i bet all the staff are fake happy like Kenneth* from 30Rock. but i do badly want to find an animal made out of a towel on my bed :( so i still kind of want to go though.... it must be the fever making me crazy :| i am sure it would be a disaster.....

*speaking of which, i have no idea why Jeff actually fired Trace... i blame that Gage :| he is like the mean penguin from the Wrong Trousers - he is evil and heartless and always up to no good :( i swear, if Jett goes, i go!! (and the ratings will tumble!!!)

pored over David Beckham pictures to find out which camera/lens he uses :) ps this picture makes me feel sick with worry :|

wanted to buy a 73 inch television. until we measured our wall and realized the TV would cover some of the fireplace (which is probably not safe...)

emergency of the weekend : ran out of pomegranate juice and had to drink cranberry juice :(

went to Super Walmart for pomegranate juice (and $158 of yogurt and cereal)... a very very big mistake when you feel thready and weak and cannot be bumped by a clumsy oaf's cart :( i usually love Walmart but today.... not so much :| so many people - like a cruise ship!!!! and everyone looked like they could pass on a deadly infection - don't they know i am compromised!??!

forgot my supply list of stuff required for the first day of school. each year i diligently buy each item, and it's always wrong when the boys take it in (happens every year... i really should just ditch the list ;)

sigh, this week brings MORE surgeries and procedures and tests - will it ever end???! i did NOT sign up for this :|

in the past week................

2011-08-11T19:33:00.000-07:00

we drove for 24 hours or so (felt more like 50 as we were on Highway One for most of it....)

we stalked the Beckham's vacation rental - on a very very perfect (public) Malibu beach with hundreds of sand dollars at our feet :) i should add i only saw ONE white Sienna all week and it was there ;) (Aaron added that it must belong to the help :)

we had sublimely fluffy pancakes in Santa Barbara

we explored Big Sur with our new all access beach pass :)

we stayed in Monterey

we visited Santa Cruz

we discovered the delights of Daiso in San Fran - the japanese dollar store:) i bought a sad panda teeshirt and soooo much more... it's the best store EVER!!!

we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge

we played in redwood glens

we stayed in a cabin with the most amazing views ever (and i had to leave the windows open all night so i could smell/hear the ocean)

we saw whales from the deck

we spent hours at this driftwood beach (that's our cabin to the left of the tree)

Sam grew up - he's now 11 years old and 5 feet 6 inches tall

we stayed in the smallest town in America.... turns out i dislike really small towns that don't even have a CVS... the burbs suit me fine, i missed Target and McDonalds more than life itself :)

i discovered that BK have a veggie burger - and it's not inedibly horrible :) it's amazing what tastes good after 3 days in a small town with NO FAST FOOD whatsoever!

we sang along to a lot of great road trip music and were repeatedly shushed by our studious Harry Potter reading child :|

i actually made a picture perfect batch of fluffy round pancakes for the first time ever (from one of those 'just add water' packs... who knew it was that simple??!)

we pretty much lived off pancakes and Costco's all american chocolate cake

i spent 3 days straight in bed feeling dreadfully poorly and on the verge of death

i watched the most boring show ever about Paris Hilton. once again... who the hell is she???!!

i had a lump of agonizing infected tissue removed from my tummy this afternoon and felt about 1000 times better instantly and am out of bed at last!! (but i won't share a picture.... i look like a butchered shark... it's bad)

i was delighted to hear that Dr Drew is getting a daytime talk show this fall (though i am still mourning the loss of Oprah..... i keep thinking it's all a bad dream....)

off to bed to watch TV - oh yes, we were TVless for days on end. note to self: never stay at TVless vacation rental EVER AGAIN!!!! i am sure this is what made me so sick ;)

thursday

2011-08-04T18:57:00.000-07:00

woke up and had ginger cats and coffee (breakfast of champions:)

tried on 20,000 outfits and hated them all

hated my hair but couldn't decide if i hate it because it's too short or too long (i hate that)

drove to Pasadena and as usual only saw grey Toyota Sienas... i never white ones, i wonder why...

went to celebrity rehab - the boys were unimpressed. sadly, there are two wings to this rehab - Dr Drew's fake whiny celeb side and the side for real people with real problems :|

then we went to the Huntington Library. i am going to admit something quite shocking - i absolutely hate that place. it's boiling hot and really boring and is full of old people (and even worse today: feral summer camp kids) and bitchy volunteers who are so annoying that i want to harm the plants just for the hell of it (but i never would because i'm a vegetarian :) one was watching us take this picture in case we accidentally brushed against the bamboo :|

love succulents/hate the word

Sam's smile at 1 year old

what the Luxor baby maker predicted our son would look like in 1996 (you should have seen the girl... she looked like Garth from Wayne's World...)

his smile at 11 years old (his birthday is Sunday)

Panda Express - Danny ate his happy meal with chopsticks :)

black panthers, beach cottages, Amy Fisher and explosives

2011-08-01T16:45:00.000-07:00

got up just in time to reserve one of those Crystal Cove beach cottages for next February (yes 2012... half a year away) and now, naturally, i am filled with anxiety in case it sucks. they have no TVs... honestly a TV should rank alongside running water and king size beds... it's just that much of a necessity :|

watched Celeb Rehab over breakfast of coffee and ginger cats - oh summer mornings, how i love thee!) i think i figured out what it is about that Amy Fisher that upsets me: her eye make-up is far too heavy for how thin her eyebrows are - it's just so off balance and panda-like but not cute like a real panda - no, tragic like a bad panda halloween costume. oh yeah... and another thing that bothers me: the fact that she shot her boyfriend's wife in the face when she was like 12 :|

also i was perterbed to hear she hates to use the phone too :| i just can't be like Amy Fisher... so in a bid to conquer my phonephobia, today i made three phone calls (while driving so it was an extra hard test) and each time the phone was busy :| but i am working on it ;)

went shopping and bought the collapsible market tote of my (lame/housewife) dreams. it is quite wonderful though - i already filled it with snacks for the trip (not that i'm desperate to leave town or anything ;) and it looks so much more mumsy and responsible than a plastic bag :) let the vacation commence!!

found a highlighting kit under the sink.... i wonder how long it's been there and if hair color goes off.... i am using it before vacation - i don't care :)

while on the subject, i am sick and tired of having to throw away half a tube of hair color when i dye my hair because i only need half a tube. but on the packet, it says "caution: don't save leftover hair color or it will explode and cause serious injury or loss of an eye" the thought of which is so terrifying it makes my blood run cold with fear. soooo, i put on my thinking cap and while i am not a trained pyrotechnician by any stretch of the imagination, i figured that the only reason the hair color blows up when stored, is if the color and the cream stuff are mixed together creating some kind of explosive. sooooo.... why not just pour half of each bottle into a mixing bowl and then store the remainders unmixed? genius!! (i hope... fingers crossed ;)

yesterday, Simba, our former foster cat who was Mr Bumps' first and ONLY arch enemy, was ADOPTED!! by a retired panther trainer from Las Vegas, no less (isn't that the best?!! i swear i didn't dream this ;) good for you Simba and Caring Friends... from the OC pound to a perfectly wonderful home :)

speaking of dreams, i had a dream last night i was the camera-person on Teen Mom and i had to follow Farrah around to all her various crappy jobs, all of which she took Sophia to and she kept falling off tables and getting hurt. boy was it depressing and i actually felt quite sorry for her. however, one thing that doesn't add up about Teen Mom, if they make $250K a year, how come they have crappy jobs and no money for stuff on the show? i don't get it!

off to make blueberries and greek yogurt for dinner :) with honey and raisins - i looooooooooove honey and raisins!! and blueberries and greek yogurt too!! it's a taste sensation! i love to cook! xoxo

the trip to manchester

2011-07-31T18:33:00.000-07:00

trying

not to eat dinner. sigh. i ate a stupid, ridiculous, digustingly large lunch at the souplantation. it's just not fair - the one we went to today had much softer brownies than the one by our house (where they are like hockey pucks) but it probably is fair in some ways ;)

listening
to Amy Winehouse (because dead equals instantly fascinating - i should have been an undertaker ;)

and
the Doors 'riders on the storm'. for two reasons: he's dead also and we had a storm today :) with rain and grey clouds and everything! twas awesome. however, it just didn't last long enough

attempting
to make a vacation road trip playlist. not called "i hear dead people" but "songs that remind me of Manchester because that's where we're going but not THE Manchester with Harvey Nichols and John Lewis - no, the little one-eyed beach town that probably has an Ace Hardware and that's it ;)" riders on the storm reminds me of Paris so it clearly doesn't belong :|

including, however...
bitter sweet symphony. and true faith. and how soon is now?

although... kind of hating
the fact that all these songs last too long :( life is too precious to spend on epic songs that last hours. the average REM song last 3.8 minutes just as it should be :)

watching
this Baccara dance routine over and over and over. i cannot believe 28 people dislike it, those 28 people are SO LAME!

noticing
life is actually less horrible if i wear Jo Malone fresh mint cologne. i think i am somewhat addicted - i so want to attend Celebrity Rehab and help Steven Adler beat the hell out of Amy Fisher, while singing "you know where you are? you're in the jungle baby! you're gonna die!!". i hate her/love him :)

wishing
an aerial map of the Malibu country mart wasn't burnt onto my screen thanks to the red fox. it's coming to something when the blue E is more reliable than the red fox :|

weekend pics:
Friday morning kindy playdate with the awesomest nicest kids ever :)

Friday night

saturday morning in Yorba Linda (the land of gracious living no less:)

saturday night at Huntington Beach

Danny's (and Weasel's) latest obsession: beyblades and a pizza pan :)

sunday morning: Crystal Cove (my new favorite beach that i love soooooo much i neeeeeed a parking pass - oh yes!)

really cool things

2011-07-29T08:48:00.000-07:00

Sam helped his grandparents on the weekend at their yard sale and while there a lady stopped by looking for 5th graders becoming 6th graders to go to a marketing thingie (what are the odds... he is 5th going into 6th!) anyway he had to watch a movie trailer and give feedback on it then they paid him $100! with which he bought video games for his new birthday xbox :) he was delighted with his crisp hundred dollar bill (what 10 year old wouldn't be?!)

gave away our lcd tv which didn't turn on anymore on craigs list, and i couldn't figure out for the life of me why anyone would want it... especially two sharp dressed men in a Lincoln Navigator :) anyway they were realtors needing it for staging a home! duh!!!! makes total sense!!

Aaron saw an old man drop a wad of cash and caught up with him to give it back. i love good, good people who do the right thing! especially ones i am lucky enough to be married to :) (he still gives me that butterfly feeling after 15 years :)

we have entirely quit diet coke - i didn't think this was even possible in a month of sundays:| last week we shared one and the overwhelming fizz and strangely bitter taste were so unappealing. who are we - we don't like diet coke anymore???!

made chocolate chip cookie dough brownies for our dinner guests last night - they were ridiculously sugary and heavy and wonderful :) the kids played for hours, didn't bicker at all, and we got to visit with the grown-ups till 9 o'clock!! it was heaven! also: Danny fell out of a tree and despite bleeding from a hole in the back of his head (i had to clench my teeth and pull my hair just to be able to look at it), didn't require stitches, just an ice pack, a large well-timed brownie, and lots of band aids (it was a very good night!)

all the kids loooved this toy which Danny got as a reward for swallowing whole tablets last week (what a week it was.... he's all better, minus the multiple band aids and head wound...)

found the Brookstone boogie board on amazon on sale! Sam is (shhhhh, not a word...) getting this from his English Grandma on his birthday :)

speaking of... there is a chance, that she might come to visit in the fall!! and maybe even with my sister and her little boy who we haven't seen since he was in a pram (and now he's 4 feet tall!) if they come, we are soooo renting the Mandalay beach house again!!!

Sam is sitting by the door today to take delivery of his brand new xbox (gawd love amazon and it's overnight free shipping) his birthday is next weekend but we will be in a beach house with no TV (arrgh) so he can play with it for the week before :)

got my new camera yesterday - it's sooooo wonderful and intuitive. and what's even more wonderful - with my amazon points it was only $360 :| (we buy EVERYTHING at amazon - even cat food!)

my sweet little pretend baby is walking at last! and he is coming back in a month, to ease the loss of both my boys being in full time school :(

having a kindy playdate today - i have missed the nice mommies and kids so much :)

this time next week we will be in Big Sur! only my most favorite (northerly) place on earth!!

and the next day hurtling down the Seward slides in San Francisco!! and continuing our highway one adventure all the way to Mendocino - my second most favorite (northerly) place on earth!

off to our playdate - back later with pics from the "new camera" :)

free days and flipping out

2011-07-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

spending
the day with just Danny as Sam is having his friend over. where to go... what to do... the possibilities are endless! so what does Danny suggest... he wants to watch Sam and his friend play :|

being
mauled to death by Weasel the very curious kitten. but she is so adorable and purry, i just can't tell her no :(

wishing
Blackjack wasn't suddenly - at just 7 years old - an old man :( he has a rickety knee and is not allowed to go to the dog park/beach for at least FOURTEEN WEEKS until it heals :( he can't even go for a walk around the block or chase bumble bees in the yard - nothing at all or it could fracture and require a huuuuge surgery :( try explaining all this to Blackjack: he just wags his tail and sneezes twice which means he thinks he is going for a walk :(

however.... absolutely loving
the new vet we found on yelp. i think she might just love dogs even more than me (inconceivable! but true!) she is amazing and kind and NICE too - she has seen us twice in the past 24 hours. cost: not a penny because she knew instantly what the problem was. how many vets are that honest and don't subject dogs to unnecessary tests and exams to justify charging an arm and a leg? (answer: none. our last vet visit was $600- for running a ton of tests that resulted in diagnosis: unknown)

loving
the new Costco i found this morning that was much less hellish than Tustin Ranch Costco. and it had cheap gas :) and the salad i actually like to eat :) and california rolls :) and NO lines :) it's official: i'm never going back to Tustin Ranch Costco again ;)

hoping
Legoland doesn't totally suck on friday. i admit... i hate theme parks so much, i am totally dreading it with a passion. plus my knee is really sore and i just know i'm going to hit it really hard on something and blurt out a 15 syllable curse word in front of small catholic children. i really should rest it ;) (how come Blackjack gets 14 weeks rest and i don't??!)

hoping
my new camera arrives before then, so i can test it out before vacation ;)

kind of hating
Gage in Flipping Out - he is SO unbelievably dull. and he looks like Kenneth from 30 Rock except he isn't adorably naive and silly :( honestly, i don't know what Jeffrey Lewis sees in him. at least Ryan was cute ;)

after months of wanting to cut his hair... i am finally starting to loooove it (and want to copy his look too :)

i love this beach

Weasel, the amazing flying kitten :)

creeks, cats and cupcakes

2011-07-24T16:23:00.000-07:00

drinking
pomegranate juice. i love it. this is the point where someone tells me it's a) going to kill me eventually or b) made from endangered monkey blood and i have to try to X out of my latest addiction

loving
greek yogurt with honey - it's a taste sensation! and probably also falls into category a) or b)

despairing
over my inability to remember if my skin is 'fair' or 'light' - i always get it wrong and end up looking patchy and too dark/too light :|

waiting
(impatiently) for my new camera. oh yeah!! it's like being 4 years old again and hoping each day my long awaited miniature maclaren baby buggy will arrive from the catalogue :)

wishing
two aleve would hurry up do the trick and cure my horribly stiff neck and simmering brain. i have a sinking feeling that i may have contracted strep throat from a small child in my household...

loving
that netflix on demand movie thing - it's so cool! last night we watched confessions of a superhero about the lookalikes on Hollywood Blvd. though i'm still confused on how much one should tip to avoid being beaten up by them - $1 seems dangerous, $5 too spendy (spoken like a total cheapskate :)

hating
documentaries like Food Inc. though having not eaten meat for a year, i have far less guilt these days (and i don't miss it:)

scenes from art camp

who needs my little pony when you have my little rattie :) it was bathtime for Jerry who had a bad case of buck grease ;)

but after three shampoos in dish soap, he was snow white again and smelling like french lavender :)

doesn't he look stunning?!

at the creek today. i fell and cut my knee and it doesn't look anything like as sore on the outside as it feels on the inside (don't you hate that??!)

our plasticene creations (except the lego man who was our model :) (the cats were our models for thing four and five :)

Bumps' new bed

Courage, the cowardly foster cat, bumps into Friday :| (drops camera and dashes to rescue Courage:)

dissecting the day

2011-07-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

woke up with a small, flush-faced child in my bed with a ridiculously high fever - twas 103 last night at the ER and there is no sign of it letting up :( diagnosis: a highly contagious case of strep throat and a very down-in-the-mouth little boy who missed his sculpture class today :(

begged him to pleeease take his medication and not hack it all back up... he threw up (OF COURSE) so we guessed that the original 320 mg minus the 100ish mg all over the kitchen floor would just have to do - sigh

googled "how to get children to keep medicine down"

answer: a spoonful of sugar (honestly... that's what it said!)

tried it with the amoxicillin and it worked! i wouldn't exactly say in the most delightful way... but it stayed down ;) Mary Poppins was like the best nanny EVER!

watched Ryan and Tatum over breakfast of ginger cats and coffee: i admit it, i really really love Tatum O'Neal's soft velvety voice and i want to go to a voice coach who will teach me to talk like that

dropped Sam off for his sculpture class and drove to the beach with Danny, who then decided he was too lifeless to play under the pier and walk to Ruby's for a chocolate peanut butter milkshake (my magic cure-all prescription for every bad thing in the world)

drove towards home at which point Danny decided he did want to go to the beach (grr...)

went to the Irvine Spectrum instead to Nordstrom and Cheesecake Factory for lunch

had a very mediocre salad (with horrible beetroot! and horrible cabbage too!! they both tasted like radioactive dirt/catholic school lunches to me...) they did play Wichita Lineman though, so i gave them one star ;)

watched the valet staff juggle luxury cars for an hour

watched as an ambulance swooshed in to pick up a small sobbing boy - very curious....

went to Brookstone where Aaron tried this chair and i pondered buying this boogie board thing for Sam for his birthday

played with an iPad and it kind of grew on me (but i didn't buy it;)

avoided Anthropologie at all costs - since i was already financially in knots trying to justify buying an iPad :)

went home and made awful veggie juice drinks... it just seems so wasteful with people starving all over the world... all that leftover pulp could feed 5000 people surely!

hated all the drinks and poured them down the drain and felt even MORE wasteful and spoilt :(

looked at oceanfront hotels in Malibu and Pacific Grove. measured the distance between Pacific Grove and San Francisco - it's 121 miles and 2 hours 10 minutes* - which is the perfect distance to drive after breakfast, stopping to pick up a picnic lunch on the way to Golden Gate Park :) how on earth did we survive without google maps???! it's just soooooo wonderfully helpful for a planner such as myself.
*ps on foot it would take 1 day 14 hours... we are soooo driving!)

F5ed canon.com for the googlenth time and saw that my camera is ready!!!

sped to Canon to pick it up then to Walmart to return that stupid bloody suicidal juice machine

hung out with hubbie for a bit in the "TR" (Tustin Ranch that is - center of the universe) and felt sorry for exasperated parents with sobbing children (our children are officially too old to sob in public! we survived!!!)

had extra crunchy peanut butter oatmeal for dinner :)

wondered if Dr Drew will EVER stop talking about Casey Anthony - arghhh!!! she's a lying skank whore - we get it ;)

listened to Sarah Maclachlan but had to turn it off because she reminds me of sad animal commercials :(

replaced her with New Order who made me miss Manchester and rainy days and diesel fumes and perfectly overcast skies and Mulberry. i have one of those purses somewhere, must dig it out and pretend to be English :)

bought new vacation crocs at amazon in size 11 for Sam (who acts his age and his shoe size :) and in size 3 for Danny :) they were on sale - i love when i buy something and it has a big surprise discount:)

pondered if Stockton is so cheap to stay in because it's such a bad place (surely it can't be good... Pacific Grove and Malibu weren't this cheap ;)

off to bed to watch Flipping Out (he simply MUST fire Sarah and Zoila this season!! they drive me absolutely crazy!!! i like Jenny. and Jett... where is Jett anyway?)

tuesday blues

2011-07-19T14:40:00.000-07:00

needing
to print a family picture. but can i find one that i like? not a chance of it :|

feeling
ridiculously exhausted/depleted/worn down/emotionally bankrupt :|

missing
my camera. what's the point in getting up in the morning if you can't take pretty pictures...? exactly :(

thinking
i need a datenight with Sam - it's been forever and ever

wishing
Danny would feel better already - he's floppy and flushed and 100 degrees. this week he is going to art camp which he loves, but i feel so anxious and guilty handing him over (does this parenting thing ever ever ever get easier...?)

recovering
from having kale/apple/carrot/spinach/ginger juice for lunch. in hindsight... given that it contained all those awful raw veggies... i guess it wasn't that horrible... sigh

pondering
if $444 is really too much to spend on that juicer/blender thingie at Costco... especially since i despise countertop appliances with a passion and don't even own a coffee maker for that reason. and i don't really like the juice either.... double sigh

needing
a vacation. and by vacation i mean a trip to a beautiful place that lasts longer than one night. that requires the actual unpacking of clothes and the actual setting out of toiletries. that is quiet and comfortable and has enough beds that we don't need to share with a small child. on a quiet beach that we can listen to at night. under a midnight blue starry sky :)

watching
that boring Ryan and Tatum show to see if Tatum O'Neal is actually mean in real life, like she was when she played the psychomom who made Carrie leave her shoes outside, resulting in their theft in Sex and the City (it's been over 7 years... clearly i just can't forgive and forget... Mikhail Baryshnikov either - i'm sure he's very nice in real life... but in my head, not so much ;) i am shocked that her house is so ordinary. and that i have probably driven by Ryan O'Neal's house a gazillion times... and that Ryan O'Neal didn't adopt BOTH the homeless dogs :( how could he send the nice big dog back???

suffering
from achey sunburned shoulders from rowing around Balboa's islands this weekend. but it was fun :) and we had a picnic :) and cold aloe spray from the fridge feels heavenly :)

Weasel

Megan (who loves to model:)

the big brothers

blessed and lucky

2011-07-15T12:00:00.001-07:00

parfaits, headaches and bicycles made for two

2011-07-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

eating
a yogurt parfait for lunch (so soooo sooooooo good, it has to have at least 3 million calories in it :)

drinking
pomegranate juice - my latest obsession. i gave up soda just to get addicted to something new ;) but i actually like it better than soda :| it's tarty and sassy!

listening
to the simpsons way too loud :| with a headache that is begging for a dark room and a generous layer of peace potion to cure it :|

recovering
from taking half a unisom last night - half a unisom makes me sleep like a log for a week :| and have a hangover headache if i can't sleep for a week...

researching
Palm Springs hotels - i can't decide if a hotel with outdoor showers is more desirable than a hotel that offers tandems for their guests. it IS the desert... in the dead of summer... the shower logically should win... but whizzing past technicolor gardens on a tandem at dusk with my honey bear... beyond awesome! what to do.... what to do...

also researching
plastic surgery (gasp) i wouldn't ask for anything ever again, i swear!! (famous last words...)

signing up
for an extreme couponing class :|

wondering
if it's barking mad to have 4 bottles of the same perfume (Jo Malone fresh mint, naturally) in various locations where i might need to take deep breaths in an emergency. i love it sooo much and i swear it works like magic :)

also wondering
if i have unusually small features - i can't wear jewelry meant for humans without it looking costumey and way too big... only children sized jewelry looks normal :|

wanting
to go back to Sequoia. and maybe even - gasp - hike again (marking the day because i know i will rue it :)

hoping
this afternoon's playdate is q--u--i--e--t. is it that much to ask of 4 children 10 and under to please play silently and conflict-free so i can watch Flipping Out in peace?!

loving
Trader Joe's masala burgers... love at first bite :) a masala burger, with tikka sauce wrapped up in a fluffy garlic naan... heaven on earth!

missing
my camera :( it's poorly again, 6 months to the day since it was last sick (i don't know if it being broken again is unlucky or it still being just under warranty is lucky) they are replacing "everything" again (whatever...)

back later with no pictures (grrrrrrr) xoxox

bright lights, barns and stalking celebs

2011-07-10T19:06:00.002-07:00

wondering
how it's even physically possible to gain 15 pounds in Vegas...? i swear i didn't eat that much... but i gained 15 whole pounds :|

drinking
pomegranate juice ONLY (no food at all!) till i lose every last stupid pound :| well that's a slight fib, i did have 10 oyster crackers and a bite of banana today ;)

searching
for missing pictures. today i actually touched a turkey and do i have the picture to prove it? no! stupid effing camera - i want to take a hammer to it :(

recovering
from hiking, pilates and aerobics today :| my muscles are hot to the touch :| and sore :| (it's good, right....?)

trying
to remember to sit up tall like a tree is growing out of my head :)

listening
to Lady Gaga, who my boys unabashedly adore

hoping
dark ash blond doesn't make my hair red/orange/green :|

loving
summer and staying out till late on a sunday :)

i love joshua trees too :)

and ginger cat trees (Cheddar and Tater have homes now!)

and pools with waterfalls :)

and wood fired pizza (this is from Settebello in Vegas)

i love his smile

and side light

and this city at night (i refuse to ever close the blinds)

and Elvis Presley radio :)

and wonderfully quiet drives home with one reading and one sleeping child

i love the Gentle Barn

and Ellen's pet calves - they are soooo soft and lovely

i love farm dogs!

and Josh's smile

i love hiking in Los Angeles (so much more interesting than hiking in Orange County:)

especially when you happen to end up at George Clooney's house :) (he was outside playing basketball:)

things i learned this week...

2011-07-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

... that a monkey is better at taking self portraits than me :|

... that a 2011 toyota sienna driving at 100mph feels smoother than a 2001 honda odyssey driving at 50mph... this could be very bad news for my driving record :| but i have been getting everywhere super fast lately :)

... that i can answer the phone with the steering wheel :| (no clue how it works, but i pressed a button with a phone on it, and the music turned off by magic (also controlled by the steering wheel!!! it's like a spaceship!) and Aaron started talking out of the steering wheel! and when i answered him, he heard me! how!?!) then when he was gone, the music started again -curiouser and curiouser...

... that there are waaaay too many calories in the mcdonalds mccafe mcfrappe thingie. can't have ANY more (except the one i just had.... 460 calories, i am not kidding)

... that dunkin donuts frappe, in comparison, is really horrible and burnt tasting :| (but the jelly donuts never disappoint!)

.... that George Clooney IS a hunk, i met a very nice lady who has worked with him and even though she didn't sniff him, she said he is most definitely a hunk (be still my heart!!! i knew it!) i read he smells 'clean' online (grrr... but what kind of tinpot useless description is clean???!)

... that Kate and i are Canon fans :)

.... that although i really want to see Will and Kate in LA, i am too afraid of large crowds of overbearing annoying people to do so :|

that "pilates for 50+" is much easier to do that regular pilates for real life human beans

.... that Ruby's is sooooooo much nicer than Steak and Shake - ohhhh my gosh, it was like being back in England! the plates were like something out of a children's tea set! i ordered a salad and i swear it was one carrot (unevenly grated, i might unhappily add) and one lettuce leaf :| i am an AMERICAN for heaven's sake, i expect enough food to feed the 5k AND have a doggy bag to take home :| and the so-called shake was like a sample from Costco... thimble size!!! at Ruby's you get a big glass AND the big metal thing ;) and the fries are endless. (i am sooooo American:)

... that you can't swim in a thunderstorm (but swimming in a tropical downpour under a very spooky sky was AWESOME while it lasted!)

... that the light on top of the Luxor is 42.3 billion candle power :)

... that said light goes out at precisely midnight :)

... that a 6 year old takes up 95% of a queen sized bed :|

... that the way Las Vegas casinos keep from going broke is by having their toilet paper hanging down BEHIND the roll... i kept turning it around and they kept turning it back again, because they know it means money coming towards the toilet paper user, if the paper is over the roll, not under ;)

... that my iphone won't work with the charger plugged in (i wonder if it's just me...)

... that Oprah radio is slightly more interesting than complete silence on long car rides :) according to Dr Oz you only really crave bad foods for 20 minutes per day and if you implement a strategy for how to deal with those few minutes each day, you will unlock the key to being THIN! (my strategy is going to be tetris and water - and no ginger cat cookies!)

... that Mr Bumps neeeeeeeds a cat bed of his own (poor Mr Bumps...)

back tomorrow with pics of Will and Kate (or not ;) xoxox

pictures (and outtakes) from a happy holiday

2011-07-04T20:22:00.001-07:00

hurray!

2011-07-02T06:47:00.000-07:00

for free tickets to the Huntington Library - we've not been there since our passes expired last year and i (sort of, sometimes, kind of - docents excepted) love it, especially the little bamboo walkway thingie. bonus: it's right before Sam's 11th (zoinks!) birthday so i can take pertiful pictures of him :) now i just have to persuade him to please cut his hair and quit giving me evils all the time :

for yummy mocha frappe thingies from McDonalds! though i do declare i have no idea how many calories there are in them, and after having one per day for the past week (except yesterday which means i get two today), i don't so much care to find out :

for being a mommy to five cats....! and a reeeaaaally stinky house : i have no idea how this happened, other than the fact that i am a total sucker for small, sad, sobbing children and homeless cats. the kittens are back. and they are tearing the place up. but how i love them! Megan turned into a sweet little cuddler and Weasel, well she's definitely got some Friday in her :) luckily i like feisty bossy talkative little cats with something to say about everything....

for Aaron finding a golden nugget of entertainment on BBC: "Come Fly with Me". it isn't half (ok a sixteenth) as funny/mean/bitchy/brilliant as Little Britain... but it does contain those same people so hopefully it will be funnier/bitchier/meaner eventually. it needs sharper teeth for sure ;)

for long weekends! where to go! what to see! how i looooooove having a car that can mostly definitely (not just maybe if we all keep our fingers crossed) get places and also feels lovely on the journey :) and it's fast too!!! and the seats are soooo soft!

off to pore over more vacation rentals in Bodega Bay and beyond and drink more coffee - same crap but a new day!! back later xoxox

some things are better than others

2011-06-27T16:11:00.000-07:00

awoke at 6am and thanked my lucky stars that a) it's summer b) i don't have to go to work, c) my children are old enough to get their own breakfast, and d) i have a hubbie who brings me perfectly made coffee in bed.... every single day :)

dunked ginger cats in coffee ( for 1 second - no more no less) and watched "Finding Sarah". as much as i want to despise that woman i just don't (but i do want to slap her across the cheek, for her own good, for being so stupid :| and tell her to remarry Prince Andrew, because he's a fox AND a keeper :)

went for a walk with Sam. we walked for 65 minutes uphill all the way. and he didn't complain. not once. and he did keep up! granted we talked about Grand Theft Auto the whole way ;)

looked for a perfectly perfect white beach house anywhere between Big Sur and Mendocino (i am completely obsessed with vacation rentals... though some are downright scary, must share links soon :)

accidentally clicked on a story about a sweet shelter dog and burst into tears

tried on teeshirts and hated them all (one of those days...)

went to Winco, ridiculously cheap and awesome grocery store. bought dog toothbrushes and 4 types of apples

forgot the ONE THING i went for: raisins in various hues - grrrrr!!!

stopped at Cici's pizza buffet for lunch. it never fails - their managers are all really really rude and patronizing. the manager today accused me of daylight robbery because Sam looks older than 10 (according to Cici, kids are adults at 11 years old :| i hate Cici. oh and she sucks at making pizza too ;)

took a bite out of 7 slices of pizza in a bloody-minded revenge-seeking episode and ate the entire bowl of house salad :|

briefly reconsidered going to the Hollywood Bowl fireworks show hosted by Hall and Oates on Sunday night, when a Hall and Oates song came on the radio :)

drove home, loving my car a little bit more than yesterday but not as much as i will tomorrow (translation: i love it more each day:)

realized we don't own a bottle opener and had to use pliers to open glass coke bottles :|

talked to a lame patronizing bitchcat from hell (i'm sorry but she was) at the Mirage and decided not to stay there after all (after asking a billion questions :)

pored over pinterest recipes and decided to make some cookie/oreo/brownie thing

ran to Trader Joe's for more ginger cats and lavender dish soap - i am in imaginary celebrity rehab hell trying to wean myself off my TJ addiction but i just HAVE TO HAVE the ginger cats and the lavender dish soap... life isn't worth living without them :|

stared at protein powder aisle for something like an hour... there are a million different kinds of protein powder (who knew...)

accidentally almost ate a piece of HOT DOG at the tasting hut, while supposedly trying cornbread. urgh!! i had to spit it out in front of hundreds of people (but thankfully not Pedro Hernandez) it was so embarrassing!

dashed home and removed brownie/cookie effigy from oven - it's sooooo heavy!! and most likely fattening, i think....

stupid cookie/brownie thingie broke in half, due to it's obscene weight, while being hoisted (by two people, i might add) from the pan to the cooling thing - darn you brownie/cookie monstrosity!

gave dogs their toothbrushes - they woofed them and i felt like a good mom for once :)

watched Celeb Rehab - they are all such whiny spoilt little bitches. one woman claimed to be allergic to alcohol because it makes her dizzy and sick.... whhhhat????? then isn't everyone allergic to alcohol...? if that's a real allergy, then i'm allergic to bullshit :| also another thing: how on earth does Dr Drew be everywhere all at the same time while still looking so calm and uncreased...?

watched Dr Drew (again) parroting on about that Casey Anthony trial - it's getting reaaally boring :|

listened to Danny Boy by Elvis which curiously i've never heard before. i love the song, and Elvis Presley (and America), and my own sweet little Danny Boy :)

also: High Hopes by Frank Sinatra because i love it to pieces and Frank Sinatra and Palm Springs :)

also: The Fame by Lady Gaga because i unapologetically love her too ;)

did pilates with the entire family :|

hid all the sad death row shelter pet updates from my facebook :( and felt guilty for doing so, but i just don't have enough tissues in the house to soak up all the tears :(

listened to more Elvis (CPR for tender hearts :)

spritzed Jo Malone fresh mint in an attempt to shoo off the whammies and mean reds

listened to a long reenactment of an infomercial that Danny is fascinated by :)

back tomorrow with details of a top secret mac and cheese tastetest that we are part of :) i love mac and cheese!! xoxox

we're off!

2011-06-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

we're off! we're off in a motor car!! 60 bobbies are after us and we don't know where we are!! (hmm, maybe you have to be English to know this song..........?)

anyway, it was our first roadtrip in the "neeeeeeeeeew" car :) a Kodak moment for sure :)

a few wrong turns later, a near collision with a snake slithering across the road, not to mention several squirrels and 3 cows... and we arrived in Sequoia!! we bought an annual pass because we are like a totally outdoorsy hikey kind of family :)

Father captured me in a candid moment :)

look at the size of these trees! (that is a real life child next to the tree for comparison)

we all had sore necks from looking up at the majestic trees!

we decided in a moment of temporary insanity to go and find the biggest tree.... ohhh, not just any old biggest tree - but the biggest tree on EARTH :| i mean who wouldn't want to see this?!! so we set off with a spring in our step (in unsensible shoes, with no sunblock or water. no map either ;)

we loved the big trees soooo much we hugged them!

and we started to wonder why the path leading to the biggest tree in the world was so quiet... curious :| surely we were not the only people in the world who wanted to see the biggest tree in the world... it made no sense :|

we hiked for HOURS (and HOURS!!)

smiles started to fade..... and we had to quote our family motto "team work makes the dream work" over and over to motivate the chilluns :)

we took a little sit down to wonder if we should turn back and be total quitters.... (while worrying that bears might find us and eat us and no-one would discover our carcasses till we had rotted away... but we refused to give up and die! darnit, we have something to live for now - a BRAND NEW CAR!!!!!!)

finally a glimmer of hope - human beans and a sharpei on the trail - also heading to the biggest tree on earth :)

smiles returned to our faces :) bears most likely weren't going to eat us after all!!!

we even found a map confirming that we were only one (effing) mile from the stupid big tree

Aaron did his best to motivate us :|

annnnd...... we made it!! this is it: the biggest tree on God's green earth!!!*

* psst... don't all the trees before this one look waaaay bigger...? i wasn't very impressed with General Sherman's tree, truth be told :|

however, as it is the biggest tree on earth... it actually has a SHUTTLE BUS that runs right to it (we did not know this.....) Sam was unimpressed by the lameness of his parents :)

however, being awesome kind parents, we appeased our children and caught said bus back down the mountain :)

and they loved us once again :) (although they refused to smile ;)

we stopped for icecream :)

and a picture with a large bull food truck

this morning we picked peaches and nectarines and blueberries and ollalieberries and boysenberries

and, being a vegetarian, i wanted to give some to this lovely cow :) however, the cow didn't seem able to swallow the fruit... she just kept chewing and chewing and chewing... and i started to worry that i had given her something she isn't supposed to eat. so i waited and waited for her to stop chewing - for like 20 minutes... then i remembered that cows chew cud (or something) and she was probably just doing that... right....? at least i hope... or i'm the world's most awful vegetarian for killing a perfectly happy cow by sharing my peaches with her :(

next we went to the very first HOBBY LOBBY in the west!! and it was awesome! and it's coming to Temecula very soon (not soon enough though...)

we saw this fearsome truck on the freeway home :)

and Magic Mountain: the ghettoest place on earth (after Knotts Berry Farm :)

and then we got stuck in horrible 'southland' traffic and the vacation was officially over :| but our petsitter did a WONDERFUL job and our pets were all fluffy, fed and happy when we got home :) it's official, we're keeping her!

off to bed to catch up on some shows and start planning the next vacation :) latest obsession: airbnb.com (LOVE IT!!!!) xoxox

pyjamas and bras for cars

2011-06-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

shhh don't tell anyone but i am wearing pyjama pants today:| but they are soooo comfy i want to actually go OUT OF THE HOUSE in them!! (don't worry, they aren't garish flannel slept-in-for-weeks-on-end Garfield pyjamas... so i think i'm safe... right?) urgh, i think i will change.... i am too afraid of ridicule and being the subject of sneakily taken camera phone pics, even though i'm only going to walmart and kohls ;)

i need sports bras - we have taken up (...drum roll...) jogging :| (gasp!!) and it's not that horrible (except for in the sports bra dept, ahem) yesterday i tried on 17,000 different sports bras and they were all just awful. but in good news, all that tugging and puffing and panting was officially my exercise for the day ;)

i wonder if i should be doing all this jogging when i still have the sore chest muscles...? i gave them plenty time to recuperate (a day at least!!) but then as soon as i exert myself again, bam! back to square one :| it's almost like my expanding lungs repeatedly crack my ribs causing excruciating pain when the ribs stick into my heart (such a drama queen. with a wild imagination to boot :) i am sure stress has a slight factor too... sigh, must stop stressing (but how??!)

in other news, i really don't like the real housewives of New Jersey. i have been trying to pinpoint exactly what is so nauseating about that show and it's that the men are so piggish and greasy and horrible. why not have the real housewife of Jon Bon Jovi on there? i'd cheerfully watch him - i bet he rinses his own dishes and kisses his wife on the forehead :) all those short greasy macho shitheads with ingrown hairs... ehh, not so much :|

today i need to:

research invisible bras for cars
find out how far Augusta is from Atlanta and how far Dallas is from Austin (there are Christmas Tree Shops in Augusta and Dallas!! so no more than a hop, skip and a jump i hope....)
make a map of all the reaaaaallly tall trees in Sequoia National Park for this weekend (ROADTRIP!!!)
find the front door key
jog (groan)
buy a new car (the reason for the effervescent feeling in my tummy AND the roadtrip!!!!!!!!!!!!)
look online for advice on whether i should use dark ash blond or light ash brown hair color (being a lady is sooooo much work!!!)
find out what it means when you keep dreaming that you forget to feed your pets and they all change into something else (last night i forgot to feed a tank of baby snakes and they all split apart and became t.rexes....)
try to add $35 worth of things to my ELF cart (i did it again... i bought a groupon :| but this time i'm determined to actually USE IT!)
research if having extensive plastic surgery makes facial recognition not work anymore
buy fresh produce in a bid to be as healthy and thin and lovely as Kate Middleton :)
avoid the evil scones i have placed in the deep freeze twice and brought out AGAIN (i am kind of hoping they are now infused with salmonella and will make me sick and i will never want to eat them again...)
go to walmart and kohl's
be happy

back later xooxoxoxooxxxoooo

at the zoo

2011-06-18T20:30:00.000-07:00

in Griffith Park. it was my kind of zoo: one with no sad looking animals at all, empty for the past 50 years and their former cages left open for little boys to explore and climb inside and pretend to be ferocious beasts :)

i love LA (sometimes :)

just pictures

2011-06-16T10:02:00.000-07:00

he's a cub scout! (an adorable, sweet, polite, door-holding-open, usually-smiling-but-not-here cub scout :)

... who really really hopes he doesn't look like Russell from "Up"...

... but how cute would he be in this for halloween :)

Friday is 12 years old (possibly the old cat ever!) and still a little kitten at heart :)

our beautiful boy made the honor roll again (and we are SO DISGUSTINGLY PROUD OF HIM!!!)

last day of elementary school (and honor roll donut treat:)

he is soooo almost middle school: loves starbucks coffee, takes his phone everywhere with him (and always answers it... it's so cool and handy - like lo-jack for kids!) and is already trying to decide what his first car will be :)

the first of many summer playdates, i hope...

i love that their new love is monopoly (grand theft auto, not so much...)

back to school - i already cried twice today, fricking last days kill me!!!
xoxo back later

today i...........

2011-06-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

woke up at 4am after having the worst nightmare that everyone was kidnapped from Knotts Berry Farm (the area where Mrs Knott sells chicken dinners...) and their heads chopped off on live TV (what does it mean????!)

it was hard to get back to sleep after that, but then i had a nightmare i had to eat an entire bowl of playdoh which gave me major indigestion :(

ps last night i couldn't sleep because i had a dream i had to find a lost diamond earring in a shag rug full of crumbs :|

had oatmeal with peanut butter for breakfast and marveled at this miraculous taste sensation that is just soooo easy to make and wonderful and nutritious and filling too :)

mopped the entire house with zoflora and a brand new mop (seriously, is there anything better in life? ;)

since the water was cut off for FOUR HOURS, i was forced to drink diet coke instead of water

borrowed Aaron's credit card and lost it while trying on clothes (everytime i borrow his credit card, i somehow end up losing it - it's just not fair ;)

found a sunblock that doesn't look like thick white lard and smell like Disneyland (i didn't think such a wonderful thing existed :)

had pop and worcester sauce crisps for lunch

found out that rental cars with 'unlimited miles' actually have a 1400 mile weekly limit (so technically not unlimited....)

planned our 4564 mile roadtrip to Graceland anyway in a big fancy Lincoln towncar :) if Piggly Wiggly changes it's name to something sensible in the next month i am going to be SO UTTERLY PISSED!!!!!!!!

listened to Elvis Presley singing Danny Boy - despite having a little boy named Danny, i've never actually listened to that song before :)

attended Sam's Honor Roll assembly :)

had to hide my bitter jealousy when the Mom sitting next to me said she was going to the resort in Dirty Dancing for their summer vacation (NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!)

came home and found my Tiny Prints free father's day in the mail... filed it somewhere for safekeeping and lost it - grrrrrrrrr, i do that ALL THE TIME!!!

heard Sam listening to David Bowie "Young Americans" and had one of those awesome, tingly, perfect circle moments (please let him be a David Bowie fan! :)

helped saw out Danny's first wiggly tooth with a flosser (it was causing so many tears, it had to come out - but boy do i hate twisting teeth that are loosely attached to gums.....)

watched the real housewives of OC reunion - yawn. i hope part two has more hair-pulling and venomous attacks

in good news, Jeff Lewis is flipping out again soon!! if more people were like Jeff Lewis, what a wonderful (and admittedly somewhat uptight) world this would be :)

went to Lone Star Steakhouse for dinner - i had salad and a baked potato and Danny actually ate his kid meal

picked up new bedding and Danny chose a Lego set for the tooth fairy to leave him tonight ;)

subjected our children to our singing on the way home - they plugged their ears :)

snuggled with Friday and listened to the Bangles (she likes the Bangles - she's really old....) while we researched presidential libraries :)

off to bed xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxx

horses, emotional turmoil and cherries

2011-06-12T12:59:00.000-07:00

photoshopping a sweet horsey's pictures to finally present to his sweet owner (i took the pics last Summer and she has been sweetly reminding me every 6 months or so :)

keeping really really still because it hurts like the dickens to look up or left or right :| (i have no idea why... i looked on webMD and everything)

simply dying to get away to Big Sur and reset my senses/pulse/blood pressure back to normal and just B-R-E-A-T-H-E.....

gargling with salt water hourly to attempt to heal the 10,000 mouth ulcers and hanging bits of bleeding bitten cheek that are making eating very un-fun - my cheeks are SOOOO PUFFY!

drinking diet coke (with three chunks of ice)

procrastinating about buying a new car :| testdrove the Toyota Sienna (again) and fell a little bit deeper in love with it. it has little blinds in the boys' windows, which also wind down (such a novelty!) and a snap-in jumpseat between their chairs for impromptu afterschool playdates. and a little button on the mirror that opens the garage door (how it knows where we live, i have no idea) and like 26,000 cupholders. and two little tables for drinks and snacks :) and a camera for backing up so you don't hit invisible walls. it has everything a mother could wish for and not an ounce of ego or attitude :|

but.... i'm feeling really really really sad about letting go of the Honda Odyssey... it feels like we are saying goodbye to a beloved, dependable, hard-working, loyal member of our family... is it completely lame to have loved your car that much....? the car that kept my boys safe and warm and cozy as babies and has always got them everywhere on time and home safely and never let us down (except that one time in Hollywood when the car just seemed so poorly and weary, i wanted to tell it "it's OK" and kiss it better....) anyway, i am feeling so sad just thinking about it no longer being part of our 'everyday'.... sigh, i am just a huge pile of sap and uselessness today :(

off to bed to watch some Law and Order:UK and hope for clarity in the morning ;)

pictures from the weekend-ish:
i looooove these kids and am hoping we'll have plenty summer playdates together :)

our new pool is a HUGE hit so far :)

i love farms - we picked cherries yesterday

we watched Gordon the gopher for at least an hour and fed him lots of (damaged) cherries so we could admire his cuteness :) (i don't think the farmer would mind, they were cherries with blemishes as the picture shows :)

we love farm dogs :)

rain, swimming pools and Kentucky butter cake :)

2011-06-10T07:04:00.000-07:00

why does it always always always rain in the night? but never in the day.... i know i should be thankful that it doesn't rain during the day, forcing us to wear real clothes and real shoes... but i do like to sit and watch the rain with a nice cup of tea and a couple of chocolate digestives (ok, more than a couple :) (and also, i kind of hate going out in the rain so it's OK ;)

last night we got a new pool - a humungous 20 feet long pool! it's AWESOME!!! the size of our den, no less! we almost bought it at Costco for $800 but some nice old person (and slightly crazy - don't they know Costco take things back...?) on Craigs List did just that, used it one time for a party and decided to get rid of it (i looooove Craigs List - murderers and rapists aside obviously...)

my next mission: a FREE basketball hoop. must be somewhat attractive, 10 feet tall and fit in a minivan (no rusted bolts please :) and an inflatable water slide :)

i have some cheek biting disorder or maybe my molars grew too wide...? anyway, i have bitten my cheek at length 200 times this week.... and it hurts! and my mouth tastes like blood so i chew a piece of gum, and bam, bite my cheek again :( stupid chipmunk cheeks!!!!

also: i am either having a (very slow) heart attack or i have strained a muscle in my chest. or i have pleurisy (unlikely) i can't sit up or turn my head. or walk more than 5 minutes without sweating like crazy. or lie on my side - must consider going to the doctors if this persists another week or so.... it kind of sucks :(

also: Blackjack just headbutted me and i am quite sure i have a black eye (too afraid to look) his head is the hardest substance on earth, i am sure it could cut diamonds :|

today is a furlough day... i know i shouldn't, but i kind of love furlough days and the chance to run off to the beach on a misty Friday morning, when you feel kind of crappity and heart attackity and cheek bitey, to take ethereal pictures underneath the pier of my boys in striped sweaters and jeans. and be back in time for lunch :)

other mission for the day: find a pack of 500 American flag toothpicks (no more no less) go to the nice Italian restaurant for dinner. host a playdate. just dance (two). make Kentucky butter cake for Courage (he needs fattening up and everyone knows cats love butter cake :) take ibuprofen regularly. and be happy :)

likes

2011-06-08T17:49:00.001-07:00

things with little elephant motifs. though i'd never admit it to anyone but myself (elephants are republican...)

painted pebbles: i have one on my desk that Danny made into a ladybug in kindy

ruffles - on skirts and cardigans and bedding and tablecloths... basically anything but potato chips

winning a royal wedding prize from Boden (it arrived today... i don't remember entering a competition, but whatever :)

Target's online coupons: i got Shrek bandaids for 68 cents yesterday and i am almost looking forward to the next time i hurt myself so i can use them :) or when i can whip them out to delight a sobbing, injured child (ps i'd NEVER buy character anything... but i do really like the cat and the donkey... and if the thing you have a Target coupon is on sale also, some things are just too cheap to not buy! like Shrek bandaids...)

presidential libraries: this summer we are going to Lyndon B Johnson, George HW Bush and Bill Clinton's libraries! every presidential library in the land by 2018 or bust!

this picture (be still my Obama loving heart :)

ginger cat cookies dipped in coffee: for breakfast, lunch and dinner

Jo Malone fresh mint: i cannot possibly ever wear anything else, it's just so calm and clean and lucid and lovely

early mornings: getting up early makes the day last longer :)

my new camera bag: i like it for now, it's flaws will soon be apparent...

crafts i can actually do: pinterest is good for my self worth :) today i made "gradulation" hats from peanut butter cups, Godiva squares and those inedible sour string thingies that are purely for decoration :)

pinterest: another reason why i love it so much - there are no men there stinking the place up :)

care packages of Freddo Frogs from England that smell like home

things that i planted actually GROWING! gasp, we will have a bumper crop of potatoes this year, all grown from scratch :)

this lady's body language... i don't think she's a fan ;)

today's amazon $5 Beatles teeshirt

being finished with the dreaded, but absolutely necessary for our yearbook, class bookmarks :)

best friends becoming cub scouts

backyard bokeh (and water balloon fights:)

perfectly pink, pudgy, slightly wrinkled baby feet

those little feet walking towards me today :)

what i did this weekend to avoid working on the school pictures:

2011-06-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

cleaned the fridge for the first time EVER :| (sooo horribly gross)

cleaned and reorganized the tupperware cupboard and found the lids for everything in there.... realized we probably don't need more Pyrex after all (except round bowls - i do love the round bowls so much they have all mysteriously gone missing)

cleaned the dreaded under-the sink cupboard and sorted all my pretty white pitchers and little glass bud jars by size (i have at least 30....)

walked to Target (i have always wanted to live walking distance from a supernice SuperWalmart... but Target with groceries is a cool second best :)

made almond and oatmeal body wash from scratch (darn you pinterest!!)

changed Rudy's fish bowl and cleaned all her white shells

checked obsessively for a basketball hoop on Craigs List

googled how Barack Obama smells - a mixture of smoke, fabric softener and new carpet :|

planted 40 new succulents (they are not dead yet... fingers crossed)

shopped for herbs but bought none because i always always always kill every plant i buy, so it seems cruel to subject them to certain death...

made scones (and ate them one by one by one :)

watched Dr Phil and Dr Drew (Dr Phil is more interesting but Dr Drew is far easier to watch :)

mopped the floor verrry slowwwly and carefully dried every last square foot with my shuffle shoes

cleaned the bathrooms (as you can tell... i really hate editing the school pictures)

performed a haircut on my handsome husband

went to Trader Joe's for flowers and ginger cats and found the turtle (he was hiding in cold cuts)

sampled their date and apple loaf which reminded me of a pumpkin loaf i used to love...

made pumpkin loaf with cream cheese frosting :)

got Danny to try it by saying it's just brown sugar cake (it worked :)

got up at 5:30am to go to a hot air balloon festival

picked blueberries and ate so many that i turned into Violet Beauregarde

went to a church jumble sale and the boys bought two shooting robot things

tried a health rider but didn't buy it because i know it's just a future dusty jumble sale item waiting to happen (and a stubbed toe or two)....

went to K Mart (i know it sucks) and found the quilt i have been searching for forrrrever and a day... a perfect patchwork American flag quilt. i love it so much i bought two - one for a boy's bed and one reserved for wonderful Summer bonfires on the beach and Fall picnics during apple picking :)

bought humungous toastable marshmallows for aforementioned beach bonfire :)

stopped at Target again for $50 worth of cereal (it was on sale... i have growing boys... they eat a LOT of cereal.... i got a gift card if i spent over $50 :)

went to Wendy's for their yummy sea salt french fries

took the kittens to an adoption event

dashed to the African Hut for english delicacies

ate 2 packets of worcester sauce crisps (why don't Americans like real crisps that taste like pickled onion and ketchup and prawn cocktail?!)

test drove the new Honda Odyssey... it looks like an ugly 1970s station wagon, doesn't come with a roof rack anymore, the thing between the front seats is a big solid piece now, not a little foldaway table for holding sea sealt french fries and a charging iPhone and a lipbalm and a diet coke.... and, well, i just don't really like the new one :(

picked up a new skitty kittie and left the babies at the shelter :( i know... they looked soooo tiny and scared and desperately in need of their Mummy... i miss my Weasel :(

stopped for teriyaki and california rolls (soo sooooooooo good!!)

met Courage the cowardly cat, instantly fell in love and felt slightly better about giving him a much needed break from the shelter... he gives the best head bumps and kisses but is soooooo scared of everything and soooo thin too :( a week or two at our place will fatten him up :) he is hiding in a cat bed that Aaron put under the covers of the spare bed for him... best cat Dad ever: he googled how to make frightened cats feel at ease (gawsh i love that man! Catticus Finch, i should call him ;)

cuddled with Friday and shopped online for bedding and a vacuum cleaner - i am slightly obsessed with vacuum cleaners but naturally, i hate the Dyson with a passion ;)

looked for Palm Springs hotels - must be cool but not too cool :)

cuddled with Jerry and gave him supersized blueberries and English scones for dinner (that rat is spoiled:)

bed and Law and Order: UK (please please make there be a new one!! with head-scratching English expressions that i translate for my hubbie... it makes me feel so bilingual :)

this onion reminds us of Rudy's pineapple :)

he wuvs his teacher :)

apples and teachers

2011-06-03T07:04:00.001-07:00

in an effort to prepare healthy snacks for my children, i cut my thumb into two apple sized slices on the apple slicer thingie (they're sharp, who knew?) it hurts sooo much i can't type :( also i really want to use that one minute manicure stuff but i know it would sting like billio. i always wonder (as i am a huge ~~pessimist~~ realist if i have some kind of disease that makes such cuts more painful and slow to heal... i hate having sore digits and having to wear band-aids :(

i am in post school picture hell :( i take the pictures, love the pictures - at least 50% of them, for about 30 minutes, then the icky part sets in... the regret about the unfortunate lighting on that pic, or the hard to clone background or that i should NEVER EVER shoot manual because i am not capable of paying attention to the meter AND talking about Real Housewives of New Jersey when i find TV soooo much more interesting than light meters... then there's the be-spectacled people (i should just ask that they remove their glasses even if they can't see without them - is that wrong? it's just soo hard with the reflections to see their eyes and they say the eyes are the windows to the soul (or something...)

sigh. that's where i am at - school is out in 9 days and i am complete avoiding working on the pictures :(

last night was open house: i officially LOVE Danny's kindy teacher (OK i did all year but last night, at open house, Danny presented us with book upon book of beautiful writing, self portraits and an entire portfolio of masters inspired art (all laminated for longevity. what do you buy the kindy teacher who cares that much about preserving your child's little years forever? is there a big enough gift card to Target? is a gift card enough? i love her (and i'm going to miss her!!)

on the topic, i am stressing now about the last day of school - i am going to cry, i almost cried last night (OK, i did cry in private when it was safe to do the ugly cry) it's Sam's last day of elementary school and Danny's last day of kindy. i need to find something to curb emotion in the next 9 days :| cry-off... sob-be-gone... man-in-a-jar, heartless-bitch-in-a-bottle - something like that ;)

as always i had more to say but i can't remember any of it now... back later with no pictures (thanks to the blue E, i can only do pics using the orange fox)

robins, kittens and Martha

2011-06-02T07:28:00.001-07:00

i've been in post traumatic hiding since i ran over a robin red breast on Tuesday, while dashing to school :( (and i wasn't even driving fast, i swear...) yes, such a tragedy completely derails me for days and no amount of clenching my jaw, trying to stay buoyant and pretending it didn't really happen while undo the horror. i drove back to check he was really dead, even though the thought of having to pick up a half dead bird and wring his neck to put him out of his misery/force feed him wet cat food in a shoe box and watch him die, didn't really seemed doable. anyway he was immediately gone - poof! either snatched up by a coyote (unlikely in suburbia at 1pm) or miraculously the robin red breast had risen from the dead and went on to live a cheerful and chirpy life (my preferred option;)

in other news i have become an avid gardener (until my latest fascinations all die from too much water/love) today i am making succulent balls and succulent hanging baskets and succulent wreaths. all thanks to pinterest... i haven't felt sooo Martha-ish and inspired EVER, i even have a collection of fancy pinafores to wear when i someday make all the wonderful enchanting things on my 'i want to make' board)

last night i dreamt that we moved house. argh - why???! why are my dreams so full of work?! i woke up absolutely weary and achey from carrying box upon box to the moving truck (for some reason we used an Excursion instead of a U-Haul, probably to save gas money;) anyway, we moved e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g, every single solitary dish and garden tool and matchbox car, and when we got to the new house there had been a undisclosed murder in the house and also the house had carpet in the bedrooms, and i decided to move back as it was easier than putting in wood floors. i wonder what it all means.....

bleck, two more weeks and school is out!!! and i can relax and quit making frantic sandwiches each morning and cursing at blunt knives and calling the toaster not fit to burn for burning the waffles on the LIGHT setting. i want it to be summer already!!! and go to Monterey. or Palm Springs. somewhere without a place to be at 8:25am and 10:10am and 1:35pm and 2:45pm

pic of teachers yesterday... it looked kind of boring as it was and i briefly considered accidentally deleting the whole day's pictures, but we added clown faces and surely they'll all agree it's better than the regular pic... ;)

our little black kittens pretending to be big black dogs

President Nixon, President Obama and more!

2011-05-30T19:48:00.000-07:00

went
to the Richard Nixon presidential library today... how i looooove presidential libraries - all of them! my wish is to visit every presidential library in the land, even the George W Bush one!

researched
renting a Chevrolet in order to see the USA this summer. seeing the USA in a Toyota Sienna just doesn't have the same ring ;) i wonder if a Chrysler is a Chevrolet... anyway, it's just 28 hours to Graceland, Tennessee!! it's only a day away!! i want to go to there!!! and we will shop at Piggly Wiggly!! and Hobby Lobby!! and other fun places with names that rhyme!

vowed
to create some kind of extraordinary artwork to send to President Obama (a photo hodge-podged onto a basketball might catch his eye:) that he can proudly display in his presidential library someday, and i can take my grandchildren to pose beside :)

ate
cheese puffs for dinner... i looooove cheese puffs! especially when we get the not-store-brand ones, they are so much bigger and puffier than the generic ones ;) they look like carrots but are much more delicious (and you can eat many more ;)

suffered
ALL DAY with the most wicked, glowing pimple thing on my chin - it hurts to even walk and talk :| Dr Oz says to stick a pin in one side and out the other and then RIP it open, releasing all the nasty green infected pus. arghhhhh!!!!!!!! just the thought of it makes me cringle. but i am so desperate for relief, i am giving it a whirl tonight. if i turn septic and die, it's all Dr Oz' fault :|

back tomorrow with more tales of the unexpected and words of wisdom;)

my favorite room in the White House, the East Room - such pertiful light :) i want to build a replica of the East Room onto my house

Danny wanted to take my picture by the American flag :)

hehehe - the kids' letters are my favorite part of the museum :)

snuggling with Dad

Mumbai, blueberries and movie night

2011-05-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

had coffee and ginger cats (fresh batch=delicious) and chocolate digestive biscuits for breakfast

watched House Hunters Mumbai - i definitely don't want to move there (chickens in cages waiting to die at the market :| and no shower enclosures :| tiny kitchens too!)

had a very sore neck from falling asleep watching a crap movie last night (i don't remember it's name but it had Ashton Doucher in it, should have known...)

briefly considered leaving home because of the toys left all over the den floor

children cleaned up begrudgingly (must find vacation bible schools for the entire summer)

drove to Temecula and discussed at length why slow people drive in the fast lane and everyone fast drives in the slow lane :|

noticed that more asian people were picking berries than white people which invalidates the notion that it's a white person fascination :)

picked hundreds upon hundreds of beachball size blueberries (and ate thousands upon thousands!)

had more of the leftover pizza from Friday's pigfest (the day we overdosed on garlic knots...)

went to the grocery store and bought red, white and blue popsicles in a moment of patriotic pride

felt very fortunate that the USA has the same colors in it's flag as the UK :)

made banana pudding (with less nillas and more nanas ;)

kittens begged me for some pudding... i gave them a little bowl and they got it all over their whiskers (i think they liked it :)

Danny took blueberries to our elderly neighbor Miss Bra-bra, who has helped him learn to read :)

republican block party on our street (we are technically on vacation today ;)

fire trucks and ambulances raced up and down the block! (i am slightly curious what happened at the block party....)

chili cheese fries for dinner (they smell delicious!)

movie night! (Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 - it has got to be better than 'No Strings Attached'... i remembered the movie from last night;)

quilts, knots, dogs and Big Sur

2011-05-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

looking:
for a quilt version of this ruffle duvet (can't get a duvet cover because they are the work of the devil) in a color that doesn't show black dog hair, or orange cat hair, or coffee stains and doesn't need ironing or special treatment on laundry day ;) after an exhaustive search, i am not sure it exists :( ps it should also have free shipping - bump up the price if you must, but i must get free shipping :)

also looking:
for a vacation rental ad that doesn't include the words "off the grid" and has an indoor bathroom... only in drop dead gorgeous Big Sur would i consider vacationing without TV, cell phone reception, microwave and have to shower in an ankle length trench coat and poop in public :| (the answer's still no though ;)

recovering:
from a garlic knot coma.... last night we went out to dinner and the server kept bringing more and more garlic knots... it was just cruel! we had to eat them all.... it would have been rude not to :)

dealing
with computer/phone/people lag... nothing/no-one is working fast enough enough today :|

needing
to bathe our salty old sea dogs after their morning at Dog Beach

missing
Oprah :( 3pm will never be the same again :( especially not when Dr Oz takes over her time slot (the nerve of it). i am unsetting my DVR so she gets the message loud and clear!

wishing
to purchase a large set of Pyrex bowls with lids (note: lids must be in primary colors and i won't pay more than $30 ;)

also wishing
someone would tell Dr Phil that no-one cares about Alexandra :| SOOOOO BORING!!!!

wondering
if wearing SPF 15 moisturizer with SPF 8 foundation with SPF 15 powder equals SPF 38...?

random pics and sooo much more ;)

2011-05-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

end of swim classes (and not a moment too soon.... late again last night even though i set off 27 minutes early....)

it's officially Summer when the water balloon fights commence (and we can wear white as of Monday!!)

our sweet loving lap cat Friday

scariest voice e-v-e-r-!-!-!

i want....

2011-05-25T07:18:00.000-07:00

to eat more vegetables (they're actually quite yummy)

to wash the dogs in a doggy shampoo that makes them smell like expensive aftershave :)

to get a picture of Weasel and Jerry snuggling (she looooves to bump noses with him :)

to conduct a scientific study (funded by NASA) to find out exactly what percentage of cats bump noses with their loved ones, i heard not all cats like to bump and i need the exact percentage in order to sleep at night ;)

to go to IKEA today (in search of pinterest inspired objects - darn you, little white P!)

to pick blueberries on Friday morning (it's a 4 day weekend of loveliness!)

to plant sunflower and pumpkin seeds

to fix the trampoline (i miss it)

to grow potatoes and onions

to create a photo wall behind the couch of new favorite portraits (yet to be taken - must be vibrant, joyful and full of zeal)

to replace every last picture in every last frame around the house (very tall order)

to learn to cook like humans cook and actually follow recipes and use the right ingredients ;)

to paint Sam's room

to hike in Fryman Canyon on Saturday morning, then get banana pudding at Magnolia Bakery to undo all the good we just did ;)

to ride my bike all the way to the Cream Pan and back (which involves streets, traffic lights and cars... very scary and definitely deserving of a banana croissant at the end of the journey :)

to not give up on Danny's swim classes this summer no matter how painful daily lessons are.... i am thinking private lessons are the only way the class clown will ever learn :|

to go to the beach at least once a week this summer with the boys

to go to Graceland, Tennessee (i sing the song everytime i say it :)

back later with tall tales and pictures xoxoxox

wishes not worth wasting, should a genie suddenly appear ..

2011-05-24T20:36:00.000-07:00

i wish i could remember Danny's 6pm swim class. even leaving a pair of swim shorts in a high traffic area doesn't work - every Tuesday/Thursday i forget until 5:58pm, when it's physically possible to still get there by 6:01pm, but horribly stressful to gather up everything necessary/navigate horrible traffic to do so :|

i wish Danny would just DO HIS HOMEWORK without constant encouragement!! he is like a 99 cent store wind-up toy - i have to keep starting him again, his brain putters to a stop after each word he writes. i am sure some would diagnose this as an illness but i prefer to call it just plain old laziness :| and he never ever ever ever ever stops talking either :| E-V-E-R :| (i am so ready for summer holidays. and soooo not ready all at the same time.....)

i wish my hunger pains would just go away :( what the heck?? and it's not as easy as just eating, i tried that already :|

i wish people (not just children - because in my book it's appropriate to remind children to use their manners (unless their parents are present, because if they don't prompt them, there is just no hope...) would be kind and grateful when you're nice to them, because it makes being nice in the future that much harder if they don't show gratitude... and then said person thinks you're just stingy and mean, when in fact you're not mean at all, you just can't face yourself in the morning if you continue to give to overly entitled, ungrateful people :|

i wish the kettle didn't have a mind of it's own and a death wish - it boils for absolutely no reason all day long (most worryingly when it's empty: the thought of the kettle exploding fills me with such fear, i am quite sure the kettle is on a suicide mission to kill me....)

i wish i had never chosen dark granite for the boys' bathroom vanity. covered in soap scum, hard water stains and toothpaste spatter, it's just not pretty - ever :|

(cue: sad whiny voice) i wish Oprah wasn't going away :( i know i have complained once or twice about her distressing opera voice and her saying 'we'll be right back' twice before every commercial break and her being kind of clueless from time to time and how boring it is when she has celebs as her guests (esp Tom Cruise, Will Smith and Chris Rock) and how she really fumbled the ball picking Dr Oz as her resident doctor (can't stand that wiry depressing little man) but what on earth will we do without her? i would waste a genie wish on keeping Oprah around (and for her to move her show to L.A. so i can be in the audience :) and for everyone to get a new minivan that day :) also for said minivan to be a mica grey Toyota Sienna :) and for Nate Berkus to make over my entire house while i'm at the show but still be there when i get home so i can smell him and hug him and show him my picture of a joshua tree that was inspired by his picture of a joshua tree :) (all one wish)

off to bed for a nice cup of mint tea and Jersey housewives... i sure hope this season is better... they are my least favorite (after Miami obviously) xoxox