Amen Sista!!!

Many of you know that I am really anti-princess. Here's my soapbox: We live in a day and age when the whole world is open to women. We can DO anything and BE anything we want to be. And yet in the past few years Disney has been laying on the whole "princess" thing pretty thick which basically tells our daughters that they are helpless pathetic creatures who get into awful binds where there is no escape until alas, the prince comes to rescue them and they are swooped up, taken care of and live happily ever after. What kind of garbage is that?????
I know that most people just find the whole thing harmless but I think it speaks volumes. We need a generation of daughters who can be strong not weak. We need our daughters to understand that life isn't about someone else taking care of them but about them giving and contributing. And lastly marriage is not synonymous with "happily ever after". Marriage with 2 responsible, hard-working, equally yoked, unselfish people is.
So that is why I really enjoyed THIS article from the LA Times yesterday. Enjoy, and for future reference please don't ever give Julia anything "princessy".

I just want to hold my baby

Here I am in bed with the laptop for the third day in a row. We went down to my Mom's after church on Easter for what was to be a wonderful Easter dinner and egg hunt (and peep blowing up event) with 3 of my siblings and their families. No sooner did I arrive than I started to feel like a wilting flower. I finally sequestered myself in my Mom's room after I started shivering in the warm weather and I feel asleep for 3 hours. Egg hunt-missed it. Easter dinner-missed it. Chatting with the family-missed it. Blowing up peeps-missed it. Seeing the reaction on Andi's face when she arrived to see Julia dressed in a matching Easter dress (Jean and I bought the fabric together downtown and then we each made a dress out of it)-missed it. I hate missing a party, it kills me. In 1984 the Olympics came to LA and we had tickets to see Mary Lou Retton compete in the women's gymnastics event. I was sick and I missed it. Can you tell I'm still bitter.
Although, I must say that if I am going to be sick the place to be sick is at Mom's house. Something about having Mom take care of me made me feel better even with my raging fever. We ended up spending the night because I literally could not get out of bed.
Anyway, we are home now and I am starting to feel slightly better, although I am still pretty useless here in bed. That's the thing with the flu, it always seems to last several days and I just don't have that kind of patience. I just feel horrible that I can't hold Julia and play with Blake. Thank you to Rebecca for taking Julia for the day. IT means more than you know. And thank you to my wonderful husband for taking such good care of me and the kids.
And sorry no pictures from Easter. That's what happens when the mommy is sick.

Happy Spring!!!

Happy Spring Everyone!! I hope that wherever you are you had a beautiful Spring day like we did. (Of course we don't get much variety in our temperate climate)

You know it's Spring when:

• Your husband decides that the hammock would be a good place to watch March Madness on his laptop.
• Your wildflowers are blooming like crazy in your front yard.
• Your husband brings you home a beautiful Easter Lily that makes the whole kitchen smell wonderful.
• Trader Joe's sells bunches of daffodils for a little over a buck each.
• Asparagus and artichokes are cheap cheap cheap.
• It doesn't get dark at 5pm anymore.
• Peep season is here and soon you will fascinate your nieces and nephews with the annual peep blowing up event in your local microwave.

Hooray for Spring.

Waxing Sentimental

We had a great weekend. On Friday night, we had 2 of my former roommates over to our home for an evening of food and fun. On Saturday, I got to spend time catching up with some old friends at a housewarming party for a friend from UCLA. She bought a house on the OTHER side of LA and it was quite a drive to get there but was definitely worth it. As I drove through the city I kept on passing places that brought back such wonderful memories: Dodger Stadium, Griffith Park, Downtown, the list could go on and on. I am so glad that 9 years ago I chose to return to LA to attend UCLA. I can only imagine how different my life would have been had I gone to SDSU, which I seriously considered. I did not know a soul when I moved into 3554 Vinton #204 with 3 random roommates. I am grateful for the wonderful roommates and friends I made over the course of my 4 years in LA and how it was there that I met (and finally married) Mike. Anyway, all that to say that I feel grateful to know that God always takes care of us and provides us with wonderful people throughout our lives.
I am also glad that even though I live in the "burbs" now I still live close enough to visit old friends and places in LA. So if you are ever considering a move to the Los Angeles area do it, because I think it is the most wonderful place in the world. And Mike knows that one day (like in 75 years when we have saved enough money) we will move to Hancock Park so we can be right in the thick of it again.:)

Dirty Governors

What a coincedence: Last week I finished reading "Silent Partner: A Memoir of my marriage" by Dina Matos Mc Greevey, a book about the above dirty governor...yes the one who cheated on his wife with another MAN WHILE SHE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL RECOVERING FROM GIVING BIRTH. I was in the middle of processing the concepts of power and corruption, when lo and behold,

this dirty governor was outed for his little visits with workers from the "Emperors' Club".

Both men are known to be brilliant...but how brilliant is it to cheat on your wife WHILE YOU ARE GOVERNOR and THINK THAT YOU WON'T GET CAUGHT. Can't wait to read the book about Eliot written by his wife (or shall we say soon to be ex-wife) Silda in a few years. I really wish I could get inside of good old Eliot's head. At what point did he go from prosecuting this type of thing to patronizing it? Why? When? How?

What is that quote about how power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Any more dirty governors want to out themselves????

Dirty Dirty Dirty..........that's all I have to say

Happy Birthday Mom

Today Jean and I took Mom out to lunch for her birthday. It was a great little place right by the beach in Marina Del Rey and the food and company were great. Afterwards, we took a stroll along the beach and Julia enjoyed the sand so much that she couldn't resist putting it on her head, down her shirt, and eating it. Yum!

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful woman I know, and thanks for all of your many sacrifices over the years. I truly am blessed to have such an outstanding mother.

No More Downtown LA

Until this shelf manages to empty itself of all its fabric, I am not allowing myself to go fabric shopping in downtown LA.