Jimmy!

Jimmy is a Chinese Crested dog. Fine boned, delicate, and hairless, he accompanies Marcia almost everywhere. In spite of his hideous appearance, he is very quiet and extremely well behaved. He wears a sweater all the time since he has no fur or hair, or even fuzz to keep him warm. I've never actually petted him - he might be sweet, but I find it a little offsetting to pet skin. Good thing his mother loves him.

Loving San Diego

I took tons of pictures today - we took the kids on the floating lab field trip and we found many photo opportunities - California spiny lobsters, mantis shrimp, tongue fish, pelicans, seal lions, even a kid kissing a stingray. The day started out cold and windy and the thought of barfing kids made us almost cancel. We got lucky, the day brightened up and we had a great time. This was taken as we started out of the harbor and as I snapped, a parent commented on how gorgeous San Diego looks - even shrouded in gray clouds. I feel lucky to live in such a place.

No Teacher Left Behind

I picked up this bag from the math conference last week...I think the label says it all.

Thank you WIll

Miraculous in its healing powers, Tiger Balm helped me recover after my race. I didn't use it after the Carlsbad Half and cursed my sore muscles for 3 days. Hobbling down the stairs was excruciating and no matter how much I stretched, I didn't heal as quickly as I wanted. Will was singing the praises of Tiger Balm's healing powers and now I have to sing them too. See, parents do listen to their kids!

2/3 of the Triple Crown

La Jolla Half Marathon. 13.1 miles of grueling uphills and downhills that threatened to destroy our knees and knocked out a few of our fellow runners. The last 2 miles demanded our full attention and in the end we grabbed hands and finished together. 2 hours 31 minutes of the most demanding run I ever ran. My medal reads "finisher", but the race didn't finish me. 2 down, one more to go.

Cuz x 2

We all have names, but we only use Cuz. Everyone is Cuz. It might seem confusing, but we know the difference. Here's a Mama Cuz and Bridal Cuz. Why do I love you? Cuz I do.

yes, you can use your fingers to count.

I was always scared of math. We moved a zillion times during peak formative math years and I never really acquired any sort of math sense. I chose my major in college because I knew it didn't require any math classes. I was able to keep up with Will until about 8th grade and then Lee had to take over. Fast forward through all this math trauma and drama to present day math teacher. Yes, I'm a MATH teacher! Someone once told me that math is like a magic trick - once the secret is out, anyone can do it. My job as a teacher is to help kids become confident in their ability to discover the secret and that translates into reality. I'm living proof. And, to prove how far one can go -last week, my teaching partner and I presented at the National Conference for Math Teachers. So, hahaha on you, math!

Hi cupcake

I'm helping give my cousin, Sara, a bridal shower. Because I don't live close by, I offered to make the invitations and make cupcakes. No easy box mix or can of frosting for me! No, I opted for a recipe from an old Pepperidge Farms cookbook circa 1961 and the boiled frosting to match. I nearly steamed off my hand constantly beating sugar and egg whites for 7 minutes over a double boiler. Result was worth it, and many thanks to Christiana who helped me frost everything.

Home Goods Sense of Humor

So ugly the Buddha lady had to cover her eyes. For the low, low price of $7.99, you can pick up an elephant made entirely of elephant bottle caps. Don't worry, it'll be on clearance soon.

It's Israeli Independence Day - a 4th of July sort of celebration called Yom Ha'atzmaut. Everyone wears blue and white, waves a glad, sings a song or two. No fireworks, though...

Time for a new watch!

Lee saved every dime he made from moderating Academic League this season and finally bought his watch. THE watch. The watch he'd been dreaming of for over a year. The YES watch is now the primary resident on Lee's arm. It weighs a ton and came in a very cool box, and I'm glad Lee seems so happy with his new toy. Snazzy....

Jo and dad, sitting in a tree...

Even though my dad (Flaco Bear) and the lovely Josephine bicker and argue over everything, they have been devoted to each other for years. They both saved everything they ever gave the other and for F. Bear's birthday, Jo brought him a book he'd given her in 1981. Phone calls and visits have taken the place of traveling and dinner out, but they still adore each other.

Cat Box

Cats love boxes and Darby is no exception. But this is Darby's special box and it's his favorite place to nap. We always keep the box on the coffee table and it never fails to amuse us to watch this fairly large cat fold himself into a rather small place. One foot has to stick out and if he wants a longer nap, he has to hang his head so it almost touches the table. Funny thing - he won't climb in if we have guests so no one ever believes us when we tell them it's his napping box. Here's proof that seeing is believing.

Loud Hour

Yep, we are "those" people...the ones who take over the bar (not that big - only 3 tables) and make lots of noise singing Loggins and Messina along with the guitarist. Actually, we were making lots of noise before the guitarist ever showed up. Sorry.

Happy 88 Dad!

Took the day off to wish my dad a happy 88th birthday. Weak physically, but still able to make jokes about being old - "don't buy green bananas" or "growing old is not for wimps". We enjoyed cake (although I think my nieces enjoyed passing around to the other guests more) and blew out candles (not 88 - there are fire codes). Happy birthday to my sweet old daddy-o.

13 miles coming soon

I was driving home and saw the sign - and realized my race is just around the corner. This is the corner of Via de la Valle and Camino Del Mar also known as mile one of the the La Jolla half marathon. Ok, April 25 - bring it on!

Need a botanist

I am mesmerized by these particular flowers. I'm not sure what they are called, but they are growing all over the place right now. As far as I can tell, they only bloom in purple and each cone of is made of hundreds of smaller flowers. If you get close enough, you can hear the plant humming with bees and watch the stalks sway in the breeze.

San Diego is purple all over! I think all the unecpected rain has made every flower in town explode. This is kind of an ice plant sort of flower and it's a gorgeous purple spread out fore 2 or 3 lawns at a shot. It's used as freeway flowers and the off and on ramps are choked with gorgeous purple. Traffic be damned! I love Sand Diego

Love Liad

So delicious, so smoochy. You can take those smushy cheeks and eat them up. Liad is the sweety son of Limor and Doron - a mix of their names as well as their gorgeous good looks and sweet personalities. I picked him up, started doing that "mommy" sway and was hooked on this little puff a guy.

Young at heart

We took Lee's parents to dinner at "The Tee Off" in Santa Barbara to celebrate Walt's birthday. Dark red banquet seating, gray haired waitresses, outdoor neon lighting, and prime rib for everyone...everything one would expect from a place with an upholstered door. We met our friend, Terry, for a quick drink before and ended the meal with Bonnie's famous raspberry ring cake - complete with trick candles. 88 never looked so good.

Mr Magoo, I found your glasses.

Spent a few days in Santa Barbara with Lee's parents. At 88, his dad does need readers to see the paper and he subscribes to the thought that they must be enormous to be functional. Huge as these specs are, he misplaces them a good deal of the time. You go , Walt!

So many questions...

Not sure why Lee bought the mask, but 30 years ago, it might have made sense. Not sure why Lee kept the mask, but it's safely wrapped in original tissue paper in a pristine hat/mask box in his parent's garage just in case we need it one day. One less thing to worry about.

Perk up, Daddy-o

My dad is exhausted, worn out. He gets blood transfusions once a month or so - a sort of blood 'flush' that supposedly helps improve his color and help him feel better in general. Tough to watch though...

Never surrender!

It's a stunning view from the 101 going north into Cardiff from Solana Beach - whitewater, homes perched on the hillside, open field with weird poles? Currently, the sight poles that litter the landscape are upright, but many times we drive by to see them all tipped over. It would seem the community at large does not want a resort to be built - another view spoiled by over development, pollution concerns and traffic issues trigger a few renegade "tippers" to knock the poles down on a regular basis. 5 years of defiance!

Surfer Crossing

Surfing is serious business in Encinitas. I think I read once that Encinitas is the number 3 surfing town in the nation, behind Santa Cruz and somewhere in Hawaii. Doesn't matter if the water is warm or cold, surfers constantly dash across the 101 with boards of every size. 2 different signs warn drivers to watch out!

Tremor time!

It always starts the same. We look at each other and ask "was that an earthquake?" Sometimes it's the wind rattling the windows, other times it can be the house settling. And never have our cats warned us ahead of time. This time, the shaking went on for about 20 seconds - long enough to be pay attention. Lee was upstairs, I ran outside until I didn't hear the rumbling anymore. Some items were knocked over in his office, hanging lamps were swinging, and water was sloshing in water bottles. The dangling little people on the marriage menorah danced around for a long time after. We took a deep breath and a good look around, calmed Darby a bit and went on with life. Nothing like a little seismic activity to shake up our world!

Fine Line

One of our favorite restaurants changed their game plan. Sage Grill now sells bottles of wine, charges a $5 corkage fee and no worries - you can bring the rest of the bottle home with you. The wine list is much improved, extensive, and very well priced - so well that I had to go with the bottle of Tobin James instead of a glass or two. Lee doesn't drink wine, so my bottle and I were quite alone. I debated over ordering the entire bottle - in my head I was crossing some imaginary fine line. One sip later, I was fine.

Long live the Fern Twins

And this is the last I will write of my ferny friends...

Defeated

I was born blind as a bat - glasses from second grade on. Vanity made me "forget" my glasses quite a bit in junior high and I became used to living in a fuzzy world. Contacts restored my sense of sight and vanity in high school and I became a reluctant slave to solutions, drops, lubricants. Fast forward to lasik eye surgery in 2004 - one of the best decisions of my life. 20 minutes later, I could see the time from across the room. I woke poor Lee up 10 times that night "Hey, it's 11:54" "Hey, it's 1:47" Hey, it's 2:09". A week later, I gleefully donated contacts, glasses, and solution to the Lion's Club and went about my life with perfect vision. Fast forward to yesterday. The doctors had told me Lasik doesn't last forever, and sadly, they were right. I had become used to living in a fuzzy world once again. I've become a reluctant slave to all those liquids, this time with a feeling of absolute defeat. Well, not a total loss- I still don't need reading glasses!