Canceled!

So I only had two big plans for the weekend: 1) Take the kids to a Birthday Party on Saturday afternoon and 2) Run in the Inaugural Pasadena Marathon (though I was just running the 1/2).

Birthday Party: Canceled due to illness.

Marathon: Canceled due to air quality.

Luckily, some unexpected happy events took their place. The amazing sky as a result of the smoke from the fires... a fuchsia sunset that started hours before it normally would have and lit up the whole sky. One of my best times in along time running the ghetto loop. Making breakfast for the family on Sunday. Whipping the backyard into shape. Catching up on Grey's Anatomy.

Here are the photos I took today... On my to the marathon, the deserted 110 Freeway at 5:55 a.m. The Canceled signs and me -- rolling with it!

Halloween's Coming!

Halloween is almost here and Jared is really excited about trick-or-treating. He's going to be the Dark Knight and Mia is going as a Ladybug. Really cute. Jared, Uncle Julian and Daddy all helped carve a really simple, and angry looking Jack-o-lantern last night.

Jed's friend has been staying with us since last week... he's in the Army and about to embark on his first tour in Iraq. He'll be stationed in Mossul. I'm pretty sure Jed has been enjoying the visit. They've gone goKart racing and hung out... we all went to the beach... relaxed a lot -- and we had a really nice dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. A piece of meat from there is always a real treat!



I've had that cold for 15 days now -- yep, 15 days! So I've barely been exercising at all -- which I really miss. I think I'll be able to get back into the swing of things by week's end. Jed's friend, Julian, has been staying in the room where my treadmill is so I haven't had the optio of jumping on in the mornings. He leaves on Thursday, so Friday I can hop back on. Yay!

I got to an old friend's Art Opening this weekend and see a bunch of people I haven't seen in years. Marina Kappos' show, Politicus, was inspired by the upcoming elections. It was really beautiful, incredibly clean and tidy work; she's extremely talented. Here's a link to an older show at the same gallery called "A Murder Of Crows." I saw an old schoolmate, Eric... he's doing well, successful and was as nice as ever. Then there was Becky Cox, who managed to exude the same smug disdain for all aura that made me dislike her back in Jr. High. Some people never change I guess.

I also got to see Marina's twin, Ronni... who not only is an accomplished artist herself (check out her beautiful jewelry) she also just got married in ana amazing wedding ceremony in Africa! I'm envious of the trip she got to take... there's a video of part of the experience, which I will try to add soon.. and it looks just amazing!

Getting Sick Was Just the Pick-Me-Up I Needed

It helped me lose a couple of those extra pounds I have gained since returning to a desk job!

Of course, I have felt like crap all week so I am SO glad it is Friday!

Update: It's Not My Fault

It is not my fault that I am gaining weight... there are forces acting against me.

At this very moment, the In-N-Out truck is stationed below my office window -- where it has been spewing out the hypnotic smell of double-doubles for the past hour.

It is only getting worse... the fumes having an opiate-like effect on me. If only I could have a cheeseburger I could go through the afternoon with little or no pain!

Maybe It Isn't My Job, Maybe It's Me

So now I have gained a total of 5 pounds... it's not just the job... it's partly me. I really don;t like getting up in the dark to exercise. My eyes are still so bleary I'm afraid I'll make a disastrous misstep on the treadmill... and in the evenings, I still feel tied to my evening wine and snacking after 8 p.m.

What's a working girl to do? I know, get a little willpower.

I sure do miss my regular 6 mile runs... ache for them... yearn for them. I have a day off on Monday (Columbus Day, yes it kind of rules working at a school). I'm going to use this day to go for a nice long leisurely 9 mile run and then run a bunch of errands (massive Target shopping and some shoe shopping).

We missed or tip to my dad's lake house last weekend because there was a 90% chance of rain. It didn't rain there, but it did rain here. Nice. So we're going to try and head up this weekend.

I went out on Wednesday night with my old friend Beth. We went to the York. It bills itself as "Highland Park's Neighborhood Gastropub."

It is pretty cool too. It used to be a place called the Wild Hare.... dark inside and out with bog booths you and ten friends could crawl into and hide. Now it has aged brick walls, a cool wood bar with a natural edge (with the bark and everything, but polished up), and the ceiling is all open and exposed, the bar is all glass. The menus are big chalkboards up on the walls (that's actually kind of annoying because you pretty much have to stand in front of someone else's table to read it) and you have to order at the bar -- which I HATE! The biggest -- and best -- change is that the restaurant front is now all glass windows, so you don't feel like you're in a cave anymore... it's much more urban hip.


Here's a much better description of how cool the actual space is.

But anyway, we ran into another friend there and he made a great dinner recommendation. We got the blackened catfish with corn remoulade and man was it tasty! I also asked the bartender to whip us up some little lemon drop shots that we could drink real quick before sitting down with our drinks to wait for dinner -- they tasted like candy! Yum.

Here's a review.

We had a fun, relaxing time... and I wasn't distracted by a preschooler tugging at my clothes and a baby tugging at my nipple! Unfortunately, both of my kids were crying when I left... and they were still crying 15 minutes later when I called to check-in. So I made sure to make it home in time to put them to bed.

My New Job is Making Me Fat

I've gained 3 or 4 pounds since I started this job.

I had managed to keep below -- just barely below sometimes, but always below -- the 130 mark for as long as I can remember... but since I started working and now sit at a desk all day... the numbers have been creeping up. I was 133 this morning.

I have been wanting to lose the same 5 pounds for as long as I can remember -- now it's closer to 10 then it is to 5.

My old routine (running with the stroller 15+ miles per week, 2 hours of spinning, plus lots of hiking and running after the kids all the time) kept me from gaining weight PLUS I could eat whatever I wanted. Now I find myself editing what I want to eat... but it doesn't seem to be helping.

I actually need to -- drumroll please: DIET. The nasty four-letter word. But what to so, what to do? It's been a long time since I last dieted successfully... and teh blow job diet was a huge failure.

A Day in the Life

"What? You're going to bed?! It's like 9 o'clock!?" explained/complained my husband last night.

I was tired. I needed sleep.

"Aren't you going to watch 'How I Met Your Mother' with me?"

I consider this, and agree... "Yes, in bed."

He's happy about this and massages my shoulders and back throughout the show. Clearly, he's looking for some action.

As a stay-at-home, my days were busy and crazy -- but they were fun. They were also quite varied. Now my day follows an almost unbreakable pattern. Here was yesterday:

5:50 am Alarm goes off

6:15 am Finally awake enough to start exercising

7:00 am Take shower, get dressed, nurse baby, help get kids ready

7:35 am Out the door with Mia... drop her off at babysitters... speed on to work

8:00 am at desk

noon still at desk

3:55 pm still at desk

4:00 pm Bolt out door, rush to pick-up kids... at two different locations... Jared is having a playdate at our house and I have to get Mia by 4:30 pm

4:45 pm Back at home, try to get everyone settled... no one can agree what to have for snack, what to play (Jared demands to watch TV even though he knows he isn't allowed to during the day AND he has a friend over)

6:00 pm start making dinner while simultaneously trying to watch the three kids play

6:30 pm Jared's playdate pal doesn't eat shrimp... so I prepare Cheesy Shells from scratch and mix the rest of the pasta with our shrimp. I go outside and discover that they have turned the sandbox into a beach -- it is full of water. Bathe both the kids (picture day is the next morning after all) AND get all the kids fed.

7:30 pm Spend a half-hour ushering playdate out the door and trying to calm Jared down over the devastation of the playdate being over.

8:00 - 8:30 pm The rest of the evening is a blur of packing lunches, prepping coffee, playing, brushing teeth, nursing the baby, singing songs and getting the kids settled into bed.

8:45 pm I'm brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed... having decided that my usual bed time of 11 p.m. just won't do.

9:30 p.m. I give in to the hubby and after, sleep like a baby straight through until 5 a.m. Then I stay in bed until 6:30 a.m. forgoing my morning workout in favor of nursing and snuggling baby Mia in bed.

Then it's right back to the routine.

It's Hot! And Not So Hot

It got hot again. It was so hot we slept with the air conditioning on. It is October.

Not So Hot
Work and the home routine are moving along. No time for date nights so my husband has become boring to me. I have no interest in his days... I only care if he has had the time to help with dishes and laundry. I feel annoyed when he hasn't showered before I get in and I have to share the space. I don't have time to enjoy the steamy confines of our predicament.

The weekends are still as fun as ever. This past weekend I got to go running twice. We went to a dog show where my niece was showing a dog... surreal, but surprisingly fun. The kids loved it.

We also did the usual birthday party scene and visiting with the family -- even a bit of swimming.

Mia had her first sleepover. She stayed at my mom's house Saturday night. Mia had a great time, but it was essentially a wasted night for me. Jed blew the possibility of anything romantic with his "bug patrol" (don't ask.) I didn't even get a dinner out.

Not so hot.

Mt. Whitney Pushes Us to New Heights

I never finished this post back when I started it... so I decided to just get it up now... This is old, but here it is:

Nearly a year ago my friend MJ asked me if we wanted to hike Mt. Whitney with them the following year.

"Umm... OK, sure," I said, figuring it was no big deal. I have run marathons after all, what's a little hike.

What I didn't know then:

• At an elevation of 14,494 feet, Mt. Whitney is the tallest peak in the contiguous United States The hike is about 22 miles (35 km) round trip with an elevation gain of over 6,100 feet (1,900 m).


• Most people start the hike in the dark -- often as early as 3 a.m. We were scheduled to start at 5 a.m.


• It generally takes between 14 and 20 hours to complete the hike in one day, according to http://www.visitusa.com/whitney/mountwhitney-facts.htm


• Many people, including myself, experience altitude sickness during the higher elevation parts of the hike... the effects -- which feel a little like being drunk -- lasted until I was all the way down the mountain.


• The hike is so popular you have to apply for a permit to be on the trail months in advance... but even still there are very few people nutty enough to be on the trail. I think a majority of people do the hike over 2 or 3 days, but it might be more evenly divided... I'm not too sure.


• If you need to poop while on the trail... you have to do it in a specially designed "human waste kit" and pack it out. Ewwwwwwww!!!


• The only mammals you are likely to see other than humans are marmots -- and we saw one!


• It's incredibly beautiful.

This is apparently where my first draft ended. Was there more to the list? I can't remember!

Anyway, after several weeks of training the time had come. WE went up north spending a few days in Mammoth and a day in Yosemite in an effort to "acclimate" to at least a slightly higher elevation. The evening before the big day we went to Lone Pine and checked into a horrible little room with our preschooler and baby in tow. We needed to get up at something like 4 a.m. in order to get on the trail around 5.

Long story short: we never slept. Mia fell out of the bed and cracked her head. She had a purple golf-ball sized ball lump on her head and I am pretty sure she passed out. We, obviously, decided not to go. Then, around 8 or 9 in the morning... we changed our mind... we decided to leave Mia with our friend and just hike up a little ways, since there was no way we could make it all the way to the top.

Leaving about 5 hours after we planned to, we scrambled up the mountain and made it nearly to the top -- we were about a mile shy of the summit, but that last mile and the return would have taken too long and we were anxious to get back and check on Mia.

We didn't summit, but we did more than we expected and we had a great time.. and thanks to altitude sickness I basically caught a buzz for free -- and with no hangover... i was sober by the time we reached the parking lot. Cool! and I cannot wait to try it again!

Camping with a Toddler

Well, we had a fantastic time camping. Highlights include: Hours and hours playing at the beach, exploring tide pools, sitting around the campfire, Ranger Ed and devouring 3 lbs. of bacon.

We loaded everything into the car and hit the road right on schedule. I made reservations months in advance at Sycamore Canyon Campground because it was so close and Jed had stayed there as a kid. It's a great campground and we picked out a 4-star site.



In about an hour we pitched the tent, set-up camp, met our neighbors and headed for the beach! The kids were having a great time and getting dirty and sandy! Dinner didn't come out as well as we hoped, but we did have a nice time by the fire.

At bedtime, things got rough. Mia couldn't seem to get to sleep and was being such a pill that Jed finally drove her home for the night. Luckily we only live an hour from the campground. I managed to enjoy a couple of beers in silence by the fire. I even kept the fire going.

When we all reunited on Saturday morning we had a fantastic breakfast of bacon and cheesy eggs. Jared and I scootered around the campground. Then we all packed up and headed to the beach.

The beach was perfect and the weather was too. My mom and step dad joined us on the beach in time for lunch. Jed took Mia back to the site for a nap and we all returned to the campsite an hour or so later so that Jared could take a nap too. My mom and her hubby watched the kids for us while we went on a short hike to "Overlook Point" or something like that. It was nice to do something without the kids.

By the time we returned from the hike my brother had turned up. The kids were thrilled to see him. My parents left a short time after Mike showed up... we tried to get them to take Mia with them, but they had "alone time plans." Ewwwwwwwww!

Luckily, the late afternoon melted into evening and dissolved into night time with no trouble at all! We poured wine, prepared dinner (excellent tonight!) and took turns scootering around the campground with the kids. After dinner we checked out the "campfire program" and then returned to the site for s'mores.



Then something amazing happened. I held Mia by the fire and sang to her... and I watched her fall asleep. It was precious.

But it didn't end there. After placing her in the playyard (where she slept soundly ALL night) I then cuddled Jared. He fell asleep in my arms too!

With both of the kids fast asleep and cozy in the tent, Jed, my brother and I listened to music and enjoyed the fire. It was the perfect end to a perfect day!


The next morning we hit Leo Carillo state beach and did some tide pool exploring. We returned to the site for MORE BACON! We then packed everything up and hit the beach for another great day! Everyone played Frisbee, splashed in the waves and dug in the sand. After a tasty lunch it seemed EVERYONE was ready for a nap. So we climbed in the car and hit the road.

It was great camping so close to home... by 6 p.m. we were not only home and unpacked -- I was also clean and relaxing with a glass of wine while Jed soaked the kids in a hot bath.

It was a fantastic weekend. Fantastic.

I've Got to Admit It's Getting Better

A little better all the time.

I still hate leaving Mia... and being away from the kids all day, but we're working it out.

I'm settling into my new position and feel productive -- even helpful and valued at times.

Jared is adjusting well to the new routine: though he complains that he's tired every morning and he's always the last one up.

Jed is ever-helpful. He pitches in by getting Mia dressed (often in a well-matched outfit), he gets my coffee ready, folds laundry, puts away dishes. He tries to come home before 7 a couple of nights a week -- those are the best.

I managed to log about 7 miles on the treadmill this week -- far less than the 18+ I used to do in a regular week, but it's something. I got the checkbook updated, the groceries ordered and have managed to put away the laundry and make dinner every night.

Things are hardest for Mia. She cries in the morning. She cries in the evenings. She gets frustrated and screams while she writhes in frustration on the ground. She cries when I fix her hair every morning and she cries when I put her in her crib every night. She wakes up early, demanding to be nursed and held and wails when I leave the room.

I look forward to when she smiles and laughs... usually it's fairly easy to coax her into her old amenable mood. Hopefully it will just keep getting better.

I Hate This

First of all, I can not believe that it has been two months since my last post. Seriously, I just can't!

I guess that means I was just really busy having a fantastic summer with the kids... and did I mention that my husband and I almost climbed to the top of Mt. Whitney? That's a story for a completely different entry.

But to the point. What I hate is working. That's right, I am now working full time.

The job itself is fine. I am now the Communications Director at a small private K-8 school in Pasadena. I'm working in a small office with some lovely women and the work is satisfying.

This is my fifth day. So far I've had to juggle two morning drop-offs and two morning pick-ups (because the two kids are at two different places) with everything else. Toss in a sick kid, my husband's erratic and demanding schedule on top of trying to transition my daughter (who is still nursing) from being with me all day to being at a daycare all day. It's been trying to say the least.

To top it all of, on Sunday evening, my daughter had a nasty fall that resulted in her front teeth getting all busted up. One of her teeth also got pushed up and back, so the front looks crazy! She also got pieces of asphalt embedded into her gums -- which had to be scrubbed out by Emergency Room staff. They prescribed her antibiotics -- which means 10 days of forcing medicine down her throat too. Yay!

Two days and two dentists later we still don't know how much permanent damage there will be -- aside from the jagged teeth, which is perfectly obvious. It also hurts when she nurses now because her teeth are so sharp.

Making dinner in the evenings is hard because Mia doesn't want me to put her down... my husband has been home twice to help out, which is nice... but the rest of the time it is really difficult. Very painful to watch her going through this.

Jared, on the other hand, seems to be adjusting nicely. I am very proud of him. He's helpful and protective of his sister and likes to entertain us with knock-knock jokes and wild stories.

Everything else is a mess... little time to talk to family or friends or deal with anything not immediately pressing.

I hate this. I hope it gets better.

Catching Up

Again I am remiss in my postings. Summer has a way of being relaxing and crazy busy at the same time.

Most importantly, the swing set is up and in "full swing" -- pun intended. The kids are loving it. It is not unusual to hear Jared out there swinging first thing in the morning.

I just dropped Jared off at my dad’s house… he’s taking him to Lake Isabella and to see the giant Sequoia trees. I took him to the Hollywood Bowl for a special kids’ concert this morning after swim lessons, and that was sort of a fun thing to do before saying “bye.” I miss him already, though I should be enjoying the respite.

I am going to Glen Ivy Hot Springs Day Spa on Saturday where I will soak, steam, sweat, sun, mud, scrub, body masque and get a massage that sounds amazing! Check it: Rejuvenate your body. Vigorous strokes and direct pressure using transitioning warm/cool Temescal stones warms up and cools down tired and aching muscles.

In my culinary world: It turns out that the best thing I did with all those nectarines was to make some preserves that didn’t set up quite right and now I pour it over plain greek yogurt and top with sliced toasted almonds – YUM!

I had a GREAT dinner date with my friend Dawn the other night… no drama or chaos and we actually sat at a table instead of the bar (my pick). It really gave us a chance to catch up as we spend little time together since I have had the babies.

Oh, and Jed and I went to the Weeds Wrap party last Saturday night and that was sort of a fun/different thing to do. The theme was South of the Border so that means there was lots of tequila tasting -- ay yay yay! I even got to talk to a few of the stars and dance two feet from Mary Louise-Parker (whom I think Jed is in love with.) It was fun, and even better, a cheap date!

Nectarine Harvest

All the nectarines on our tree seem to be ripening at the same time. They are delicious when eaten pulled right from the tree while they are warm and juicy from being pelted by the sun. Yum! Mia and I love to eat them in the backyard and let the juice drip all over our hands and toes. Then we hose off and that's fun too!

The heat sure is making it hard to keep up with all of the ripening fruit. The bugs seem to be eating more than we are. I am trying to utilize them quickly. We've been having fresh nectarines, I made a batch of nectarine jam, I've frozen nectarines, made nectarine bars(like lemon bars, only the consistency isn't quite right so they are sticky) and nectarine cobbler (far and away my favorite.)

It's nearly a full time job!

I'm also trying to get an old fashioned swing set -- a surprisingly difficult challenge if you want to get a decent one. Hopefully we will be picking it up tonight.

I'm also going to be doing a women-only trail run this Saturday up in Pasadena that is sponsored by "Run Like A Girl" so I'm *really* excited about that.

Am I Too Old For This Top?

So I was trying to decide if I am too old to wear the navel-bearing top I have on right now and I realized... if I'm asking the question, I'm too old. Oh well, I am leaving it on anyway!





Now the real question is, will I actually go to my son's preschool wearing it?





All else is good. I had a good run today and even managed to mow the lawn and clean the kiddies play castle (it was nasty!)





I'm looking forward to Father's Day this weekend, and the Gardens of the Montecito Tour. Not only will I be helping my friend who is putting on the event, but my yard is going to be in the tour. We recently relandscaped our yard, ripping out the grass and replacing it with drought-tolerant plants and hardscaping. The idea was to create a bit of a zen feel, provide some screening in front of our living room windows and establish a hedge to curtain us from our neighbors' terrible yard. Here are the before and after photos:

(Click here to see more images of our new landscaping)
Actually, I see I really need to update the "after" photo. The bamboo and the hedge and all the plants have really filled in.

Houseguests

So, while on an extended hiatus from writing in my blog I had 14 people in my house on one night... and they all slept here... and all had breakfast the next morning.

Insane, isn't it?

Breakfast the next morning involved two dozen eggs, over a pound of cheese, two dozen tortillas, two packages of pork breakfast sausages, one entire casing of chorizo, three avocados, an entire gallon of milk and two pots of coffee. Thank god we didn't do a dinner here.

Overall it was a pretty good experience. The guests were three of my cousins and their kids and my brother. Everyone seemes to handle themselves well -- the only problem was that they clogged BOTH of my toilets. Ewww! Freaking kids!

While the family was here my cousin Angie (finally) graduated from college, we went to tea, had a visit from my grandma, we went to Disneyland and California Adventure and we went to the L.A. Zoo. The day we went to the zoo the oddest thing happened: our visitors from Montana and North Dakota were treated to a rare and spectacular thunder and lightning storm right here in Los Angeles! What are the chances?

Jed's BFF Julian also stayed with us for two weeks. Julian and Jed grew up together in Mount Washington. Now Julian is in the army based in Alaska, but after some intensive desert training he's heading for Iraq in November. We wish him well.

I think Julian got a rare glimpse at what life and outings with two small children is really like. The first week he was here he joined us on a couple of outings, but then I got sick. REALLY sick. So Jed and Uncle Julian took over. I'm the first to say that outings with our two kids can be really tough. I do it all the time by myself, and it's often just great -- but it *is* exhausting.

I spent the second week of Julian's visit bundled up on the counch watching TV and being miserable. I felt bad that I was such a terrible hostess, especially since this was his big LA vacation... but then again he did keep saying that I looked like a mental patient everytime I walked into the room.

A Mammoth Mother's Day

Mother's Day weekend was also really cool for me. The four of us spent three relaxing, warm, fun days in Mammoth. It is unusal for just the four of us to go, so it was really special. Also, Jed did almost all of the work so I got to kick back and read a book. Yay!

Lovely Day

Yesterday was just one of those days for me: a really lovely day. I stop short of saying perfect because a perfect day would have involved something over the top, but it was lovely.

I woke well rested. I nursed the baby and she went back to sleep. I had time to snuggle with my little boy. I got to read a magazine while soaking my foot. We got out of the house without any yelling.

I had a wonderful run and the temperature was perfect -- and Mia laughed the whole way. Back at home Mia and I puttered and played and while she took a nap I got to do some arm and ab exercises and take a shower.

Then we went to lunch with a friend of mine who is just a ray of sunshine. The food was great and I got to play with my new phone/GPS unit and it worked awesome!

Back at home again we played some more and while she napped I made turkey pesto meatballs and popped them in the slow cooker, relaxed and my brother came by for a visit.

The evening continued in the same idyllic manner. I sipped a glass of wine while the kids took turns in the swing. I raked up leaves. Dinner practically finished itself and the family ate together without any incident. No one complained and everyone gobbled up their meatballs.

After dinner we went on a brisk walk and finished before the mosquitos came out. After a quick bath for the kids, my husband and I took turns reading to them and then tucked them into bed.

By 8:40 the evening was our own. And it was good.

Blow Job Diet Huge Success

After 10 days the Blow Job Diet has been a huge success -- for my husband. It has been a complete failure for me.

It seems I just can not pass up on my evening wine and/or dessert. In fact, most evenings I still ended up having both. Which means that after 10 days, my husband had gotten about 6 blow jobs (though he did manage to take care of business with me about an equal number of times) but, I still owe him about 10 blow jobs.

The good news is that even with not being able to exercise for the past week due to a toe injury, I still never seem to gain any weight. I just can't lose any weight. I feel good, and good about my body -- but I'd like to feel GREAT!

Other News

Mia is saying a lot of new words. Aside from mama, dada and uh-oh, she now says: hi, bye, dog, hot, more, baba (bunny) and a few other sounds that mean a variety of things. I LOVE it. Love, love, love it. She is just so precious.

Jared has started saying, "Mommy, you're pretty. I love you." I don't know who put him up to this, but I love them. Daddy may even get an extra BJ if I find out it was him. It's just precious.

Jared is really into reading these chapter books right now, we just devour them. It's so great to see him developing such a love for reading -- albeit listening right now.

The Blow Job Diet

Like so many of us, I am constantly hoping to lose that *last* pesky 5 pounds. I've come up with lots of diets. I give up wine. I give up chocolate. I give up everything for 10 days. But, it never sticks.

Last week I came up with a new one: every time I have a drink OR a dessert-type treat, I have to give my husband a blow job. Now it's not that I don't like giving blow jobs, it's just fine, but I'm usually so tired at the end of day that I just don't want to bother. So I figured this was a great idea... even if I don't lose any weight, the hubby will be VERY happy.

So far it's just working out OK. The first couple of days it was really hot. I'd take a sip of wine or a bite of cake and we'd share a secret smile... but nearly a week later, he's had 3 blow jobs, and I've only had sex once.

By Friday I found myself eyeing the wine bottle and thinking: Gee, if I drink a glass of wine, he'll fall asleep happy, and I'll just be frustrated, because unfortunately, with the kind of days he pulls and the very few minutes of awake time we have with no little kids around -- round two just isn't gonna happen.

I have a feeling that the longer I keep the diet up, the better it will work.

I'll keep you posted. I have to admit, it seemed like a better idea when I first thought of it.

Hooters Rules

So, I was right 750 ml was overpriced. Not only was it overpriced, the food just wasn't that good. It sounded fantastic on the menu -- but it just wasn't that great. We spent nearly $200 -- and that included just two glasses of wine -- and did not include the babysitter. Not good.

After that disappointment we agreed that this week we would do something fun and cheap: I suggested Hooters and Jed jumped at the invitation. A pitcher of beer and enough spicy wings to get things sizzling for hours was less than $40 and it was so much tastier than the week before!

Jed bought some electronic drums. I got to hear them for the first time tonight -- very cool. He also got us a new game for our Playstation; it's called Rock Band and it is kind of like Guitar Hero only you have a guitarist, a drummer and a vocalist. I think you can even have a basist. Very fun!

And look here is a blog about my neighborhood, Montecito Heights: http://montyheights.blogspot.com/ Too cool!

We're off to Disneyland tomorrow. With a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old -- that's an adventure. Wish me luck.

Cool Spider, Hot Coffee and A Babysitter

The time has changed so now it stays lighter much later and the weather has warmed up. We've been jogging and hiking a lot more these past few weeks and it has been a treat. (That's Griffith Park at right)

We live close to Ernest E. Debs Park which is a huge reserve with a lake, lots of trees and paths and great views of downtown LA, South Pasadena, Glendale, Highland Park, Alhambra and beyond. The other day while hiking there we saw a spider that I happened to notice looked bumpy -- a little like a pine cone. Upon closer observation we found that the body of the spider was covered in babies who would periodically jump off and scurry away. Isn't that odd? I've never seen anything like it!

I have also trekked to Cycleway Coffee, which is kind of like a Starbucks -- expect that it is in our neighborhood! It's a first for us to have somewhere to get coffee that we can actually walk to. It takes about an hour round trip (not counting any time actually spent in the coffee shop,) and it's a pretty good workout too because there are a lot of hills.

The image at the right is from a hike I took to the South Pasadena water tower. I live din that city most of my life and had never been up there before. It was nice.

We have a babysitter tonight and so we are going to a wine bar and bistro called 750 ml. I am quite sure that it will be overpriced, but I'm looking forward to going somewhere that I would NEVER take my kids too and where I am pretty sure no one else would have the audacity to bring their kids to. Hey, I need a break.

Snuggle Time

My son woke up this morning and insisted that I get back in bed for snuggle time. Well, you got it buddy! Why can't he be like that all the time?

Yesterday Mia pointed at something and said "dah!" I turned around and sure enough, there was a dog... This was impressive because I had spent 20 minutes last Friday trying to teach her the word. Then she said it again just a few minutes later and pointed at another dog! Meanwhile, "Mama mama mama" has come to mean, not only me of course, but also, Daddy, and I want (fill in the blank).

Mia doesn't walk with her hand up in the air anymore. Now she just looks like a little drunk femal leprechaun tottering around. Very cute!

Jared likes to make "fire come out of his knees."

Jed is working out and running again.

And someone is crying during nap time. Damn!

I'm the Last of A Dying Breed

Natural born redheads may be extinct by 2010. So, quite literally, as a natural born redhead with no carrot-topped kidlets, I am the last of a dying breed. According to researchers from the United Kingdom's Oxford Hair Foundation the recessive gene for red hair is being dominated by darker shades through intemingling.

Currently, less that 4% of the world's population are natural redheads. I read that something like only 1% of the world's population have completed a marathon... since I've done both, I must be really rare!

In light of this news about natural redheads' diminishing prowess on the planet, I got my hair dyed... albeit a brighter shade of crimson. As my little rocker tells me, "Mommy, you're on Fi-re!"

It's interesting being a natural redhead. My whole life people always remeber me as the girl with the red hair. My friends will back me up when I say it is unquestionably how I nabbed as many guys as I did given my awkwardness in our teen years. There is just something about red hair...

Here's a weird tidbit. My husband only had one other long-term, live-in type girlfriend.. she had red hair. Wanna get even weirder? His mother has red hair too.... Isn't it kind of Oedipal that he married a girl with red hair? One more odd tidbit, our surname "Unrot," his father's last name, means "without red" and yet, both his father and he married women with red hair. Bizarr-o.

Recycling Fabrics

Does anyone know of a place where I can take fabric (i.e. clothes not suitable for donating and a set of flannel sheets with a big rip in it) to be recycled? I really don’t want to send them off to a landfill, but I don’t sew and never will – therefore, they have no place here.

I poked around online, but just couldn't find any place that took small amounts of consumer waste.

Priceless?

I've been reading the Spiderwick Chronicles to my nearly 4 year old son so I decided to take him to see the movie. In order to get my mom to babysit my one-year-old, I had to have my cousin drive my mom to Universal City Walk. So, here's what I spent for the three of us:

• Parking (*after* theater rebate) $6
• IMAX Tickets ordered from Fandago $47
• Popcorn and drinks (no candy) $22
• Dinner afterwards (2 kids, 2 adults) $49
• Taking your kid to see a movie after reading the book: $124, not quite priceless.

It was a lot of fun though and the great seating meant that even Jared didn't have to worry about seeing over the head in front of him.

Out of Touch

So I've been out of touch for a while... It's been a little crazy.

We went on a trip to Mammoth and it snowed too much. Search and rescue had to rescue my brother after he spent 3.5 hours in, basically, a blizzard. Scary! He also got really sick, as did my husband.

My husband is still sick. It has been three weeks, and depsite a course of antibiotics, he still has a fever that comes and goes at free will. Now he thinks he has an ear infection too. And he has pink eye. And we just switched to Kaiser so you can't just pop in to see your doctor... he has to wait until 4pm when urgent Care opens because there are no appointments available. Still, I'm not knocking Kaiser yet because it has been pretty good so far and it is so much cheaper than our old plan.

Mia turned 1 on January 31st. I made the Barbie cake I practiced before and it came out great! (picture at right) My kids are sharing a room now and it is working out really great (knock on wood). Having our bedroom and our bed back is a big deal! As of my last entry, we were still co-sleeping with Mia... now I feel like we are on the endless honeymoon -- EVEN WITH MY HUBBY BEING SICK! Can you imagine when he's better again!

Jared, who is nearly 4 but going on 14, has started this really charming habit of talking back to us.

Me: Jared, go put on your shoes please.

Jared: No, you put on your shoes!

Me: Jared! Don;t talk to me like that or you are going to have a time out!

Jared: You're a bad guy mommy and I'm gonna shoot you! (makes shooting noise and guns me with his cocked finger then tears through the house at break neck speed until he finds somewhere good to hide for a minute.)

Oh, yes. It's lovely.

In the midst of all this chaos we have also been having minor repairs done around the house and are in the beggining stages of having our front yard landscaped. More on that as it gets accomplished.

I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini -- it was excellent. I also read the 7th Harry Potter book, and that was fun.

Bagging the Bag

I'm not big on New Year's Resolutions, but this year I am trying to live greener.

My first big move has been to try and use reusable bags for shopping trips -- all shopping trips. So that means groceries at the regular market, going to the Farmer's Market, even buying toys at the toystore for Birthday Parties.

I buy a lot of groceries, so the bags had to be big, strong, washable and small enough to stash in my purse. There were quite a few options, but oh so few that actually looked hip. Enter the Envirosax. Endorsed by Oprah! I'm toting the retro bags, you can see them here, just scroll down.

Turns out these bags are handy to use for everything... and they look good too. Yay.

I've also been trying to use my reusable water bottle as much as possible. I still keep regular bottled water in the car as back-ups though.

Clear Skies

The weather has been epic this past week. It's been so lovely that I've been enjoying every minute of it and haven't had a bit of time to write... OK I could have made time, but I preferred to sit in the sun and play with my kids or read/doze in a sunny spot.

Today we went to the Griffith Observatory where you could see all the way to Catalina. It was so lovely we stayed for hours. We saw the really cool Planetarium Show, held a meteorite and had a raucous picnic lunch on the front lawn while enjoying the spectacular view of the Hollywood sign.

I'm so kind I offered to take many tourist couples' pictures with the Hollywood sign in the background... it really was a kick.

It was so much fun that I can't wait to go back... perhaps tonight we'll even hit the Farmer's Market!

Welcome 2008: A Recap of the Holidays

Well the holidays have come and gone and we are still completely intact. I managed to make it through holiday parties, holiday meals and many holiday gifts of food without gaining a pound! I managed to sneak in short sessions on the treadmill just about every other day, with the exception of our trip to Mammoth.

Speaking of holiday gifts of food, we got a lot of them. Among other goodies we got a giant box of cheeses and cured meats, a large selection of English muffins, a big box of steaks, a giant tin of chocolate covered cookies (so good!), a box of truffles and a big basket with all kinds of goodies including four bottles of wine. Clearly I liked the wine basket the best, but I'm surprised by how much of that food we have gone through. I realize now that food is actually a very practical, useful gift and I thank everyone who contributed to our holiday bounty! Hmmm... now that I think about it, did everyone think we were like so broke we couldn't buy groceries?

My Holiday Highlights included:

• Our annual hike to Sturtevant Falls to mark our anniversary. We got married there eight years ago. Wow. Time flies.




• Jared's Holiday Program: this was memorable mostly because Jed was late, and then was made even later when he got pulled over for driving like a lunatic. Lucky for him, the cop was a dad too... he let him go!




• Jared's first ski class. This involved an awful lot of time getting him outfitted into an awful lot of gear for a rather short amount of time out on the bunny slope. But I guess it was the first step right?



• Snowboarding with my brother higher on the mountain than I have ever been. All I can say is adrenaline + fear + snowboarding = FUN!




• Having a white Christmas and getting to make a snowman.




• Most importantly, we had lots of family time to do things like go to the playground or sit around in our PJs!