Freda Kahlo, again?

A night at Beth's always includes good friends, gallons of wine, and a game of some sort. Last night, it was girls only, with pasta with shrimp and Apples to Apples for dessert. I'm terrible at this game - I think way too much and I end up with zero cards. I stink at most games we play at Beth's - we're all competitive but luckily, no one seems to care who wins. We laugh outright at and with each other and are usually so completely unfocused on the game - I may groan at the thought of playing another round, but it's so silly fun.

Level 80!

It's a strange world occupied by demon lords and dwarves and trolls and elves and the occasional Jack O' Lantern when appropriate. Raiding, pillaging, plundering - millions of strangers and their pets band together 24 hours a day to fight off spawning monsters, fierce dragons and the inevitable rainbow pegasus. It's a secret social world of computerized leaders and followers, healers and fighters. A quick google of World of Warcraft garners over 49,000,000 hits. Maybe it's not so secret after all...

R.I.P.

Janet was lucky enough to take a fabulous trip with her dad last summer. Greece, Italy, a cruise - the vacation of a lifetime. She has wonderful photos and a lovely memory and yesterday, her father passed away. The Chickadees organized a shiva sort of party to take care of our good friend and the demonstration of support and love was quite remarkable. At all times polite and always well dressed, her father will be remembered as a gentleman.

Happiest place on earth...

It's not Disneyland, but it's right up there. I spend a lot of time in this happy little land of second graders. We laugh, we cry, and we have formed a little family - a community where everyone feels safe to imagine, create, learn. I'm a teacher, but also a judge, a nurse, a dentist, a mommy. No huge paycheck, but I do get bonuses of hugs and drawings of ladybugs and rainbows. I am lucky enough to have a great job where I love to go everyday. And the ocean view isn't half bad either.

refrigerator blindness

It started simple enough - the fridge needed a little attention. Containers needed to be tossed, things needed rearranging, a quick wipe of the little seal that runs around the door. Next thing I know, I've removed every item, put on the rubber gloves, and scoured every surface. It might look a little empty, but it sure is clean in there.

2:28:38

Mile 8 was the one where we hit the wall - mentally and physically. Jeanne suggested we walk a bit, something we had always planned to do but had not quite gotten around to slowing down. We walked for a brief moment and immediately felt our legs getting tight. If someone had told me that you couldn't stop running for fear of cramping, I'd have never believed them. Bt it's true, you have to keep going. Mile 12 was the best - spectators yell out to keep going and really do help. I'm going to go out to the next race and cheer some stranger on. 13.1 miles...Still on the endorphin high!

Just keep swimming...just keep swimming...

In August, Jeanne and I had a crazy moment and signed up for a half marathon. No, we were not drunk, but we did tell everyone we knew what we were doing and my principal got in on the fun, too. January is a long time from August, not to worry, we've got tons of time! Now the time has come and our training has not gone as well as we imagined. Jeanne hurt her hip, I got sick, we both got lazy. Inconsistent is our middle name -our longest run to date is 7, maybe 8 miles, we skip weeks at a time, diet is a bad word. We're not hoping for a strong finish...we want an upright finish!

Il Trulli a fun night...

Meryle's brother came all the way from Michigan for a surprise visit. We hit the ever crowded Il Trulli restaurant, downed 2 bottles of wine, polenta and some delicious pasta. Sorry about the weather, Ed.

Torquemada need not apply

Dental torture metaphors are just too easy. This might be the strangest picture of the day because I because felt the need to ask permission. The dentist was rather surprised - photos? from the chair? why? This is a busy, successful office - I know because I''m putting 2 of her kids through college. Dealt the junk hand with regards to teeth. I floss and brush and rinse and still, I'm a plaque building machine.

60 mph

I try to drive home by the ocean every day. The last few days the weather has been rainy and windy and very unfriendly. Today there was not a single surfer in the water, but instead, two brave windsurfers. Water and air temps are about the same - 55 degrees, but they don't seem to care. Don a wetsuit, grab the board and get some air. These guys were a blast to watch!

Frappe is not a latte

To the uneducated eye, they all look the same. Ballet shoes tell a story. Mine want to laugh out loud.

Giggy!

Mangy, scruffy, dirty, shabby, tattered, threadbare, floppy, worn, ragged. If my sister's house had fleas, it would be flea bitten. Cast off long ago by both me and my brother, Kathi was devoted, smitten, head over heels in love. We gamely tried to restore its original goat-like beauty with eye buttons and marker eyelashes, but no Beverly Hills surgeon could rejuvenate that sagging neck. In spite of the alphabet of adjectives, The Giggy endures as our family's legendary mascot.

I'm outta here

Home was never comfortable...stuffed and overcrowded, it tried to tell us it wasn't happy. Just a matter of time before the poor thing broke free. First one side, then the other - the clay pot exploded and voila! Freedom! I'm sure if this plant could talk, it would tell the others what to do.

Tomay-toe, tomah-toe.

Dropped the kids at karate and jazz and wandered around the Irvine Farmer's Market for an hour. It's a typical southern California parking lot open air market offering free samples and the occasional organic free spirit. Tomato art.

Puppy-Doodle

2 months ago, my sister asked me to watch her kids, 8 and 11, while she took a long weekend in Napa. I guess she needed a break from her 2 1/2 weeks in Maui. Of course, I said yes - my nieces are interesting and quirky and who cares if they don't eat vegetables. What I didn't count on was the addition of a ten week old puppy thrown into the bargain. A really cute designer breed called snickerdoodle or labradoodle or cocka doodle, but still a puppy. Jack is very cute, fairly well behaved and calm, even when he's bouncing around after a cat toy. Big eyes, curly blonde hair and a dopey look and you can't help but smile. A cutie doodle.

William's Castle

When Will was a little boy, we lived in University City, in the shadow of the newly built Mormon Temple. Open to the public for only a short while, we took a tour and endured the seemingly endless traffic of the "re-model" to cleanse the place of public, non affiliated germs. After 20 years, it's still as beautiful as the day it was finished, and Sarah still calls it "William's castle".

Everybody Wang Lung tonight

Skipped yoga to finish watching a favorite movie - The Good Earth. Made in 1937 in epic black and white, it's a weird mix of glaring historical and political incorrectness. Japanese screens in the Big City, blonde guys made up to be Chinese, overly dramatic - and I sat and watched every last commercial free TCM moment. Happy birthday, Louise Rainer!

Don't need no stinkin' socks!

It's Jill's birthday and where better to celebrate than L'Auberge in Del Mar. Outside. In January. A mere 62 frosty degrees. Of course, we had heat lamps, hot flashes, a toasty fire pit and happy hour to keep us warm. Barefoot proof that I can never, never live outside Southern California.

It takes a village

Sweet girl from a lovely family. A perfect example of the fine mix of smart, involved parents, excellent education, loving family and supportive community. I've known this family for years, taught all 3 of their children, and have never heard anyone ever say anything close to negative about any of them. This sweet little apple didn't fall far from her parents tree.

Scruffy Cat

Darby is our huge Ragdoll beast. Demanding and unrelenting, he put the "me" in "meow". He prowls the house and wishes he had thumbs for just a moment - long enough to open the front door. Saturday was warm and we let him sit outside on the back patio with us, but we can never relax. He goes from flat on his back to out the back gate in 2 seconds - pretty fast for an 18 pounder. And of course, he goes right to the dirtiest, leaf filled part of the patio and flops right down...the beast.

First Happy Hour of 2010

We made it through the first week back at school, but just barely. We agreed it dragged on and on, but finally the little darlings are home and we are free for happy hour. The beer, wine and lemon drops were so good we forgot to order pizza, but blonde CJ did put on my dark curly hair extensions. Oh, if the kids at school could see us now....

The Griswold Family

I'm sure every neighborhood has a Griswold family. Except maybe the fancy gated communities that won't let you leave your garage door open or paint your front door red. Luckily we live in Cardiff and I have a red door. These Griswolds live 2 streets away. They put their holiday decorations up late in the season and leave them even later. More gets added every year - we drive by every day to see them. If only my family celebrated Christmas - we too would be Griswolds!

Scaredy Cat

We rescued a cat about 8 years ago from the cat rescue fanatics. The crazies who inspect your home and won't let you think about adopting one of their feline friends if you have small children in your house. They also are pretty adamant about adopting 2 cats instead of one, and keeping all pets inside at all times. Luckily we had had a cat already and Will was 13. We have an upstairs deck and we let our cats go up there and sit outside in the sun. This was almost the deal breaker, but we circumvented by adopting 2 days later from another crazy cat worker lady who knew us. Madeline is a gorgeous tortoise shell colored girl and sweet as can be, but a total scaredy cat. She hides quite a bit when people come over and in 8 years, we've yet to pick her up. During the fires, Will was so worried we wouldn't be able to get her in the cat carrier and we'd have to leave her behind. She's a funny little girl, forever peeking around corners to see if the coast is clear. Her mustachioed face and eye-liner eyes are so silly sweet - this had to be the photo.

Here today, gone by Day 5

She's the queen, the center of attention and adored by all. Decorated, shown off, a celebrity. The relationship is one sided, yes, but who cares - she's gorgeous and perfect. And then, one day, outdated, dumped unceremoniously by the side of the road, forgotten. Definitely worthy of a picture.

Ready to make a political statement?

Took a picture of the grocery store near my house. We call it the "Mexican" Von's - it's sort of a weird, funky neighborhood, but it's also the only market in Cardiff and W.Encinitas and next door to the "ghetto" gym. It's small and not always super clean, they don't have a lot of variety or any kosher foods for Passover, but don't get me wrong - I LOVE the Mexican Von's- I prefer it to the big overloaded box Von's 2 miles away. The staff is friendly and remembers me. I can find parking. Do I really need 72 different varieties of breakfast cereal? But by the end of 2010, my shopping happiness will be marred by the opening of a "new and improved for my shopping pleasure" mega grocery cube. The friendly florist, cheap vitamin guy, UPS, breakfast cafe and nail ladies all are gone. Local businesses swept away in the path of progress. Von's is taking over. Yeah, yeah, I know...things change. But I don't have to like it.

So many choices today

Day 3
Took Will to the airport and was tempted to take photos of him, airplanes taking off or even a gorgeous shot of SD buildings framed by sunrise. Shlepped back up to my dad's in Irvine and was tempted by omelet man, homeless guy in front of CVS or white poinsettia out by the trash. Opted for a lovely sunset off the top deck - framed by palm and eucalyptus trees. Perfect for Cardiff, CA.

Day 2 - decisions

Went to Irvine to see my 87 year old dad and dragged Will along. 19 year olds love retirement homes, but he's a good sport. Plus he leaves back to OR tomorrow morning and I helped him out big time earlier, so he owes.
Picture of the day - Will and Papa. It screamed at me. But on the way home (driving by the beach) I really wanted to take a picture of the Encinitas sign, a giant ceramic sun, and a peace sign blanket. I can see some decisions are going to be tough.

Day one...Rules and regulations?

Goal setting is easy for me, but after week 2, I'm toast. Maybe a blog will keep me honest.
Goal 1 - drive by the beach every day. This should be fairly easy since I live and work near the beach and can opt to travel either freeway or beach way. A few questions did arise though - Do I need to see whitewater? Surfers? Hear the waves crash? Will driving by on the 5 freeway count? My resolution, my rules...

The second resolution is to take a photo every day. I must give Debbie in Fort Collins, CO props for this idea, but she didn't elaborate. Her resolution, her rules. Since this is mine, I make the rules.
Can I put people in the photo? yes and I can be in it too
Can I repeat photos? No, but I can take similar photos
What happens if I forget? Get out of bed and take a picture, no cheating.

I combined the 2 today - someone drew 2010 in the sand, so there you go.