entries

squirrely

my mom's friend took this on a trip recently...absolutely no photoshop!
LMAO

museum days

found out a couple of months ago that the local libraries have free passes to some museums in the area...my branch allows you to take advantage of 2 passes per month (each pass admits up to 4 people!) and i think this is a wonderfully generous way to help people visit great places at no cost...i have to admit, i felt a bit guilty using the free pass but i figure i can pay when i have a j-o-b! ;)

it's called the culture pass program...here is a link to more info, and if you scroll to the bottom you will see ongoing free days at some other museums!

happy learning!

unique brittle

found this in a magazine and thought it sounded interesting....morning glory confections in los angeles...can order direct or find in stores in southern california via their website...might make a really unique gift or even just a different sweet treat for you...would love to know if you try it!

some of the artisan brittles:
chai tea & cashew
cocoa nib, coffee bean & pecan
fleur de sel & peanut
indian curry & pistachio
new mexico chile & pumpkin seed
thai curry & peanut

tonic etc

found some cool stuff while attempting to come out of pre-tirement...

• the novo foundation = wonderful mission and inspiring

• tonic (by the novo foundation) = so glad that news like this is out there...was fun to read other people's answers and to answer the question they post in the upper right (when i answered, the question was "what are you hopeful for?")

• watched a full episode of expedition great white on hulu and there are more to come starting june 6 = unbelievable and watched with a dropped jaw...and of course it helped that my boyfriend paul walker was in the episode ;)
  

in the womb

per m&j's recommendation, received "in the womb" via netflix...it's an incredible national geographic special from egg/sperm to birth and includes all kinds of crazy facts that i bet you don't know, even if you are already a mom or dad!
for example, the philtrum is the indentation between our nose and our mouth and is basically our 'seam'...where our two sides converge during our development. (now how many of you already knew that?????!!!!!)

fun, fun, fun

busy, busy, fun, fun weekend

awesome salads, pizza and prices for happy hour to have fun and celebrate...l moving back and j getting a house, and just because!!!...then on to a favorite old bar and live, old school music with a twist (j's brother playing bass) plus some old school dancing and a 5'x5' connect four game on wheels...the colorful lights, outdoor setting, trees, mexico feel and friends always make for a great night at dos...kept going and hit the dogg then on to late night snacks and crashing at a&b's...woo hoo and welcome back, l!!!!!!!!!!!

j's bridal shower and bach party...brought some fruit salsa to beautiful shower at e's crazy cool casa and had lots of laughs with j's friends...great old pics displayed of j and friends...cute cupcakes, creative gifts, jokes and some tears...so much fun seeing everyone...later on some pin the weenie and more laughs in the biggest suite i have ever seen in my life, plus karaoke and bars for the rest of them! now on to doing j's wedding invitations...

m's baby shower...brought more fruit salsa and cake and helped a&b decorate and set up...la brought amazing food (which there was plenty of!) including homemade pasta salad/potato salad/coleslaw/meatballs/special shrimp and cocktail sauce, plus chicken salad, veggies, fruit and more! a really calm afternoon and warmth from friends and family in wishing m the best in her adventure as a mom...

tired pony

take a listen here by watching the video...a collaboration called tired pony, out on 7/12...sounds very promising to my ears!

according to snow patrol's site, tired pony includes: Troy Stewart, Iain Archer, Belle & Sebastian’s Richard Colburn and producer Garret ‘Jacknife’ Lee, who brought in Tired Pony’s final two members, Peter Buck from R.E.M. and Scott McCaughey, the Seattle musical polymath who’s been R.E.M.’s full-time auxiliary member since 1994.

you can read more about its creation here...

bzzzzzzz

saguaro lake

6:00am trip to saguaro lake with my mom, dad, cousin and his 5-year old...water was glass and my dad waterskied, perfect temperature outside, clear skies, so quiet when just floating in the lake and could only hear sounds of birds and water breaking on the side of the boat...cousins tried fishing in a cove but nothing was biting except the reeds at the water's edge ;)



watched some turkey vultures in the cove for a while when they were fishing and there were about 12 sitting on different rocks...kind of frightful-looking but beautiful when their wings are expanded and we watched them soar from rock to rock and finally begin circling above...


on the way back to the dock we stopped by the dam...i reached over the side of the boat to pull some algae off of a buoy, and as we examined it with my little cousin i noticed there were fish eggs attached to some of the strands...so incredibly small and so neat to see life beginning on a random buoy in a relatively large lake!

cousins & cruisin'

cousins J, K & H in town for a day at my humble abode just enjoying being together...H is really funny now that he's 2+ and can do certain things on his own, including taking off his shoes and setting them perfectly aligned against the wall; licking ketchup out of the little paper cup at in-n-out w/ mom and K; counting and re-counting rocks from sedona on the patio and on the floor; getting right up on my bed in order to bounce (shoes? why do they matter on the bed?!); swimming and collecting the floating bouganvillea; up/down/up/down; pb&j with happy feet; two cucumbers and a carrot at the same time; leg hugs; "oh no" muttered BEFORE intentionally dropping something; "where he go?" when the desert cottontails disappear behind the bushes once again. inspiring watching the kids at the track meet and J coaching shotput and discus...loved the quick drive with J on the way home and quiet time with K...love you, cousins

learned how to touch up the vespa with paint and now i can cruise more confidently knowing that no one will see her old dings and scratches...well, that's not necessarily true but she does look brand new now! thank you dad and jd for teaching me the ways ;) and thank you dad for keeping her pristine while she lives at your house...i really appreciate everything

M

M arrived on 5/10/10 and is finally home today...prayers and love to C&B and their family...now the real nurturing in her appropriate place can begin, and i know that all of the love their family has to share is going to cover M and heal her even more...may god bless you and hold you each day, and help M to be even stronger. i love you friends, a

may's middle

where has may gone...here we are at its middle???

had a great opportunity to tour the new sea life aquarium in tempe with A&B prior to its grand opening 5/14...B did a great job and it was quite an impressive place considering its location...not all of the animals were acclimated or in their exhibits yet, but it was a colorful place and kept your attention with its weaving layout...think they could have done more on the education side, but perhaps they will and maybe they were still setting things up...was shocked to walk in to one exhibit of california yellowtail that had come from hubbs, and it was crazy to see fish in arizona that i had a part in raising in california; they looked content in their new home

nice hike with R and caught up forever over breakfast...lots of bugs swarming around when we stopped on the hike but cool and breezy, and like most days when i have been there, you feel like the lone explorer(s) in nature...btw - the corned beef hash and the lodge omelet (add spinach!)

mother's day brunch at C4 was great with the 5 of us, including the constant flow of mimosas (light on the oj too like we like it and 3 for dad?!?!)...really rich blueberry/lemon crepes served just once a year for the occasion

5 days straight of hot yoga and i didn't die(!!)...can't believe i never understood how difficult yoga is, how long it takes to master the poses and how detoxifying it is in body, mind and spirit...now if only A taught in this neck of the woods!

lunch with my mom, second cousin and her mom...lots of laughs and always love...reminds me how much i missed family while i was in ca

bagels with my dad before his workday...always enlightening to receive advice and have one-on-one time with your pops

took more pics at sunset to try to get a couple of shots for a contest...have to print and submit by 5/30 so not much time left...better sweet light at sunset, especially since the mountains face west

btw - a HUGE shout-out to M for making her way up in arbonne and getting her long-awaited, hard-earned new car!!!!!!!!!!!! she definitely deserves it after years of efforts, supporting and training others and dreaming bigger than most!!!!! wooooooooooo hoooooooooooo!!

happy mother's day!

wishing all of you new and seasoned mothers and mothers-to-be a very wonderful mother's day with your families!!

you thrive with an enormous responsibility each day and we respect you so very much...we look to you for guidance...we look to you as role models of what we might become and what we are capable of as women and people on this earth...we look to you to help us heal our external and internal wounds throughout life...and just to hold our hearts and love us unconditionally...

each mother has to learn so much upon assuming that role, and each mother has so much to give in her own unique way...it is incredible to reflect on what they do for us and what they teach us...

thank you, mothers, for bringing sunshine into our lives and for making us smile...we love you and honor you today and always!


btw...a decadent, easy to make cheesecake that i made for mine...just don't forget the crumb crust recipe...i used cinnamon grahams but i think ginger snaps or ginger snaps mixed with grahams would be great too!

dog pile

m and j visited over the weekend...lots of laughs, a splash in the jacuzzi, a nature trail walk, cooking, dining, movie time and ten 3-week old rhodesian ridgeback puppies!

velvety, wrinkly, warm and squeaking...ridges on their backs prominent already...snuggling up to your hands, arms and body immediately when you picked one up..the breeder told us she handles them daily, rolls them on their backs and rubs their bellies and nuzzles them and it seems to affect them positively...one of them was so much bigger than the others that they nicknamed him 'tank' and it was a very fitting name...watched them huddle back together once they were on their blanket again, laying on top of each other for comfort and for warmth, a true dog pile!!



the breeder also had 9 adult ridgebacks and was clearly crazy about them...they had an expansive backyard with plenty of room for all of the dogs plus two ponies! the dogs run the house but were well-behaved and total lovers...so soft, so sweet...a wonderful dog fix on a sunday morning!