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Saturday, September 4, 2010

Missing some of the good old days with grandma and grandpa

Growing up my brother Scott and I had the BEST grandparents … really on both my mothers side and my fathers side … I count ourselves truly blessed for that … On my fathers side, our grandma and grandpa “D” as we called them made sure that every Labor Day weekend we were camping. So many childhood memories come from those trips! I can literally close my eyes and be right there on some lake fishing with my grandma and grandpa, Scott and my cousin Shonda … my grandpa getting grumpy because we were giggling and then he would be defeated by our silliness and start telling “grandpa jokes” which always were so gross and made us giggle even more. My grandma always had a lunch packed for us (tears are starting to roll down my face) and we would just enjoy the lake and each other … seriously I think growing up there was no greater gift that was given to me than the time my grandparents set aside and took just for us three grandkids. Time is our most valuable thing that we are all given and we all get to choose had we spend it … what a treasure my grandparent gave us and at the time I had no idea …

I distinctly remember our last Labor Day weekend trip … Tony and I had a new puppy Maxwell, so we of coarse brought him along and like usual we beat grandma and grandpa there … see, it was never uncommon for them to be … oh … say … 4 hours late! OMG … the stories I could tell on just that detail alone! Adventures with my grandparents were never short on just that … ADVENTURE … you’d think I’d be a better storyteller with the adventures we’ve been through! LOL How in the world my grandparents always came to a happy ending on some of those adventures I will never know … expect I can say they always had each other and they always stuck to each other

This weekend I’m shooting a wedding, and for a couple that have a zest for life that actually remind me a lot of my grandma and grandpa “D”. I will think of them this weekend and I will surly cry if there is a sweet old couple at the wedding (there always is … so hand me a tissue early). Next year on labor day weekend … I am going to make a promise … I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure that My brother Scott and his family, My cousin Shonda and her family and my family are camping … AND I will have photos of that!!

p.s. I called my brother on the way home from rehearsal last night and we already started making plans … check off the list … tent vs. cabin … CABIN

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Posted in Uncategorized, personal, random thoughs

Friday, September 3, 2010

{Monday Madness} Destination Monterey

So with Tuesday approaching soon, aka school is back in session, I thought that we should have one more really good Monday Madness before we have shortened Monday Madness’ because of school work … so Destination Monterey it was last Monday Madness!!

Our trip started Sunday afternoon and we decided to take the long way, well, really the short was but the most scenic route I-5. Our friends Kristen, Addison and Sam joined us and of coarse we stopped at the Anderson’s Pea Soup place … I mean how could you not stop there?! It reminds me of the Nut Tree when I was young … not quite the same, but the kind of place you can’t wait to get to because you know that after that landmark .. you are not far.

Once we got to our hotel, we decided to head out to Cannery Row for some Bubba Gumps! Isabel was delighted! That girl LOVES shrimp! I always forget how loud it is in there, but we got a window seat so everyone was happy, happy!

After some Linner (lunch and dinner) we did a little beach combing and Isabel and Mason kept saying … mom, this isn’t like Stinson Beach … ahhhh, so true … but not to worry kiddies we will take you to Capitola Beach tomorrow after the aquarium ….

Kristen and I got to enjoy a little conversation, wine and cheese before bed while we hung out between our two rooms and the kids went back and forth between them and had a blast I might add!

Monday morning up bright and early for some tastey waffles that the hotel had and then to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which was absolutely AWESOME!

And, as promised Capitola Beach …

Kristen even snapped some photos of me and my kids … how neat is that … I seriously don’t have many of me and the kids!

Then some Dinner from Pizza My Heart … which by the way is so fabulous I’m craving it right now!!! It was D-E-Lish!!

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Posted in Kids, Uncategorized, personal, random thoughs Tags: Monday Madness, Monterey, personal

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Grab me a ziplock baggie will ya ….

… so I’m not going to lie, I live in the same City as my mom and yet we don’t spend much time together …

Today my kiddos and I had lunch with my mom and we had a blast. She has two new bassett hound puppies and my kids just loved them! They are darn cute I tell you … my kiddos and those puppies! It was such fun watching them play together!

What I wanted to share is how something so simple but profound hit me … I haven’t lived in my parents home for more than 22 years now and this afternoon at lunch my mom asked me to get her a ziplock baggie and I knew EXACTLY which drawer it was in! I haven’t gotten a ziplock baggie out of that drawer for 22 years and yet I knew where to get one! All kinds of feelings came to surface as I pulled that drawer open … brought me right back to 1989 … seriously … I totally felt 18 again today as I helped my mom make lunch and clean the dishes … it was nice actually … but totally weird!

I love my mom, my mom is really the main person who gave me the strong values I have, along with my two grandmas. My mom became a single mom when I was 8 and she struggled to give us what she felt was the best life she could give us and as I look back at the person she was then I find that I do many the things that she would have done then. It’s so amazing how the apple does not fall from the tree. Scary sometimes too!

This weekend I shot the wedding of Kimberly and Rob, both of whose parents have been married for at least 25 or more years, I know that because of the anniversary dance which always makes me cry because I just love happy older ones, and it made me think of my own childrens wedding, and how I can’t wait to do that anniversary dance with Tony…AND dancing to the lastest dance mixes that hopefully djwill will mix and we will dance like their parents did … which totally brought tears to my eyes at how wonderfully happy they were. My mom remarried when I was in Jr. High and my mom and dad just celebrated their 25th anniversary! Time sure does fly!

It really just hit me today how quickly something so small like pulling out a drawer can bring you right back to a place where so many things are possible and how today they really are too … we just need to be open to it … and not put up the walls that we do over time, to be open to remembering things that maybe we just forgot …

I love you mom.

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Posted in Uncategorized, personal, random thoughs

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

It’s ALWAYS personal {this summer’s learning}

So, this evening I’m feelin’ a little guilty. I can’t believe I’ve been so absent from my blog. I try to be so good and perhaps have written (in my mind) a blog post everyday this summer since the beginning of May; however, they just haven’t quite made it to the computer … I must, simply must, get better at it … and I will. Pinkie Swear! In fact, I gave my right hand gal Jenn access so that she can make sure of it! Jenn is da bomb!

Usually when I don’t write it’s because so much is going on, or I’m going through something that I just don’t know how to get right out there … or to avoid getting it right out there … I’m pretty much an open book, which I do like about myself; however, sometimes .. perhaps it’s not always good. Just sayin’

It has been an incredible summer. I have found in the last two months times when I’ve felt so at peace. Must be the turning 40 soon or something … but it’s weird, like really … everything about what I’m feeling at many a time this summer is peace. I love it and yet I wonder … why … seriously, why would I question something so wonderful … who knows … sometimes things are just so good that you gotta get to the bottom of it …

With such wonderful things as working with truly awesome people, going to fabulous destinations, getting things in order that needed to be in order, my father and brother talking (seriously peeps that is something I’ve prayed for so long), to finding a childhood friend who’ve I thought about for at least 22 years, to spending time with my family on Mondays with our weekly “Monday Madness” , to hanging the broom organizer (which is soooo cool) … It’s been a summer to remember.

Something this summer that resingnated with me is that it is personal … to me it is always personal. My business, my art, my life … it’s personal. That is what this summer has taught me and the peace that it has given me is profound. I don’t do anything unless it’s personal to me. The way I spend my time, the people I spend it with, the volunteer work I do, the projects I work on and the families I’m blessed to work with … that’s what makes my life full and wonderful and peaceful.

One of my favorite movies is “You’ve got Mail” and no truer than this summer has that movie been so present in my thoughts … It’s personal …It’s always personal … Ahhhhh, no truer words to me this summer….

Until tomorrow ….

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Posted in personal

Saturday, July 3, 2010

{Cooking Club} A SUCCESS!!

Yep, it’s true, my first cooking club, hosted at my home, was a SUCCESS!! I was so nervous! I haven’t set a table for guests in way too long … I have never used our BBQ … AND I was grilling swordfish! YICKES!

The evening was wonderful! It was so nice to share a meal at my home with ladies I’ve known for years and get to just relax and drink a glass of wine, enjoy fabulous homemade angle food cake and taste everyones tasty dishes! Even got to have some of the “sexiest salad in the world” No Joke!! That is its name and it was delish!!

My swordfish with salsa was super easy … I’ll even include it here because it was so easy … I’m already thinking of ways to change it up for chicken and such … I’m inspired!!

1 lb. cherry tomatos
2 red onions, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (I used a whole teaspoon)
large bunch of flat-leaf parsely, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
freshly squeezed juice of 2 limes
8 swordfish steaks, 4oz. each
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the salsa, put the tomatos into a roasting pan and cook in a preheated oven at 300F for 1 hour. Remove and let cool.

Transfer to a bowl, add onions, pepper flakes, parsley, oil, lime juice, salt and pepper and mix well.

Sprinkle the swordfish steaks with salt and pepper. Cook over med. heat on a preheated frill for 4-6 mins. on each side, depending on thickness until just cooked through … Serve with salsa!!