I've been working on a documentary about my grandparents. My friend Genie is going to help by taking some awsome photos of their home in the bay area and the house my Pop built in Sutter Creek. Here's a sample:

This is something I truly love about Grandma. She is comanding. Not only in her taste and her friendships, but as a person. She enters a restaraunt and speaks directly to the host. She states who she is, who is with her and that she would prefer a table by the window and a glass of white wine. Depending on which restaraunt we were in she would also order as we were still adjusting our seats. If the wine had not made it to the table by the time we were settled, grandma would be waving at the wait staff and questioning its wereabouts and maybe they should bring her two since it was taking so long.

catch up

Well, its been a few days since I've posted anything so here's what's been happening in my life. I've been sick..the problem is I have kids, and yes they were the ones who brought the sickness home, but they have also been recycling it week after week. My body finally broke down and let the sickness take over. As a stay at home mom I'm not allowed to be sick, my job still goes on no matter how crappy I feel. I still have breakfast to make, clothes to clean and iron and lunches to pack. Not to mention carpool and homework monitoring. So needless to say when I get sick it takes longer to get through it because I have less time to heal. So with that and this rainy weekend I'm hoping to now take a nap and meet next week head on.
It's not what you need to do in life, it's what you have to do to live.

milestones

Today is my beloveds birthday. We have shared many a memory in the past 20 years, some extremely happy and some that were more than trying. We have stayed together for better or worse, he is my rock, my teddy bear, and my warmth in the cold of winter. Birthday's and anniversaries are mile stones that get me to dive into my past with great thought. I spent an extremely inspiring day w/gal pal Genie at the Roseville Antique Trove this past Tuesday. The makeshift rooms filled with trinkets,clothing,cards and oddities brought me face to face with my childhood. The shear brilliance of antiquities and once loved bits of someones past reminded me of my grandparents and their home in the bay area. I have recently embraced these memories and began a small "story" about them,my cousins and my memories of childhood days spent under their roof. When complete I hope to publish if not for the world for friends, family and one day to be read at her service. My grandfather (Pop-Pop to all the grand kids) passed away when I was a Junior in high school. My grandma is still clinging to life as she spends each day bedridden in a body that no longer works with a mind that is slowly fading. I know she feels trapped in that bed, she has told me this...I just pray that one day she will be at peace...with life...with family....and embraced once again by my grandfather.
Memories can bring smiles to a rather ordinary day.....

spinning wheels

Well, if you don't know me, then you won't get this, but hopefully my mind will slow down enough to explain. I see myself as a creative being. From talking with others who share my gift I found out that we are all rather similar. Our minds spin like wheels on Lance Armstrong's racing bike. The worst of this usually happens when I want to go to bed. I used to keep a notebook on my nightstand table to right down thoughts, ideas, poems and things to do, but I wasn't getting much sleep and I was filling notebooks before I could act on any ideas. One of my goals for this year is to try to make some of these ideas realities. One I am currently working on w/gal pal Genie. There are some others I wish to share w/her this year too. Some how when we get together, weather for work or inspirational trips to thrift stores, I find myself w/more ideas by the day's end. I'm trying to log my ideas daily with this blog and cataloging again in a notebook as well. Inspiration is a funny thing, motivations tends to grow out of it like flowers on a vine. I hope to continue all these things as I journey through this year.
Never put off 'til tomorrow, because you may forget what it was you wanted to do!

short week

So this week is a short week at school for three of my kids. The oldest has all of next week off for the presidential holidays. Having them in two different school districts has been a bit of a challenge this year. In previous years there have had matching holidays w/only a few extra half days or days off. This year instead of letting teachers go with the falling economy the district opted for 3 (or more) half days a month, usually on Mondays; the day I truly do not need extra time with my kids. I will have just finished a full 60 hours with them not including when they sleep, so having to get up and get the girl to high school at 7:15am just to turn around and pick her up at 12:20pm is just not right!
So today I spent some fab time w/gal pal Genie and we hit the antique trove in Roseville. This was an inspirational trip and idea finding mission..and as per usual never enough time to truly look at everything! We had a bite to eat at Parker's Hot dogs and a trip through the Asian market; such wonderful packaging, and bright colors, yet another artistic outlet...marketing! Why didn't I try to be in advertising? That's creative. Oh well another lifetime maybe.
Try to find your true self before time runs out!

rainy weekend 2/6/2010

This weekend began with some basketball! Exciting enough on its own, add to it that both my boys teams won their games has made me a proud mama. Last night's game ended with some high spirited antics coming from a few courts away. The high school boys couldn't keep their emotions in check and a brawl broke out. Some of the dad's from the younger kids teams jumped in to break the fight up, my hubby being one of them. Adrenaline pumping the boys just couldn't let it go. After round three and a stupid ego reaction from another parent who just had to get involved the fight was at last over. Then something amazing happened. The coach from the two boys team shouted out that the instigator of the hoopla was no longer a member of his team. He was "A hot head, and embarrassment to the sport" and not welcome. My husband was truly impressed by the coaches reaction, but my thoughts were different. If this so called coach actually had a handle on his team this fight would never have occurred. Yes kids are unpredictable, but how are they to learn if not by example and constant reminding. Sports are for fun, team camaraderie, and general knowledge of rules and regulations. The first lesson taught to most kids is use your words, fighting never solves anything. We teach this to kids at a very young age..those who are just learning to communicate. A boy in high school should know by now that fighting leads to more violence and less respect. A similar situation happened at our local Jr. High this week. A group of boys were at the park after school and were trying to get two boys to fight each other. Through peer pressure and goading these boys began to swing at each other for fear that they would be chastised by their "friends" if they walked away. Of course this ended up on cell phone video and then posted on YouTube. The school principal sent out an email reporting this and suspended the 3 kids involved for 5 days. I know we tell our kids to be strong and not to back down when confronted. But somewhere in their minds we have to reassure them that physical and verbal abuse should not be the answer to anything. I'm sorry this post is an after school special, but with four kids in my home I wonder about their safety constantly. Being this close to 2 similar events in one week makes me want to hug them and never let go.
To all you parents out there, life is short, hug your child and let them know you love them!

Friday 2/5/2010

Ahhh Friday, the day of reprieve. So far I have done the mom thing,breakfast,packed lunches and ran errands to find shoes,earrings and red tights for the teenager's Valentine's Day Dance tomorrow night. Now I need to decide the dinner menu and make sure the boys have their uniforms ready for tonight's basketball game.
I did have a moment (or 30) to myself while out and about. I spent 30 minutes in a hardware store. My imagination was free to roam the never ending shelves of sprockets and o-rings. Barrels of nuts and bolts all shiny and new;my head was spinning! I found super small eye hooks, for my jewelry and some sprockets to cast as well. I could have spent most of the day there among the unconventional products and dew-hickeys. I had to force myself to leave. Now I know where to go for inspiration! So for now I will leave you with my thought for the day.....
Not everything you buy has to be used for its intended purpose...think outside the box!