Hip Girlz

It's been a while

2010-07-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted here. I had high hopes of finishing off my posts regarding my trip to New Zealand and Australia. Alas that was 6 months ago! Time flies. And yet, it doesn't have to if you make each moment count. I'm trying to really appreciate my time more. I've started a new project and a new blog, where I live this year as if it were my last. It's called The Last Year Project. I'd love for you to find me there and follow my daily adventures.

New Zealand Part 3

2010-03-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

From Waitomo, we continued on to Rotorua -- the heart of Maori Culture in New Zealand. We read in a magazine that Kiwis had ranked Rotorua as the #1 most beautiful city in New Zealand five times in a row. As we drove into town past the seemingly endless strip malls I couldn't quite see the allure.

We drove in (actually I drove. P did most of the driving on our trip. The one time I experienced driving on the left side of the road was the trip from Waitomo to Rotorua) and found our motel -- the Malfroy Motor Lodge. I have to take a minute to give two enthusiastic thumbs up to this place. If you're ever in Rotorua, I highly recommend it. It's not the lap of luxury, but the place is really well kept up and the owners are fantastic.

We arrived in Rotorua that evening and decided to have a quiet night. P and I had a 14 mile run scheduled for the next day, so we decided to take it easy. We walked to a nearby market and got some supplies and we ourselves a lovely dinner of grilled chicken and fish. After dinner we went for a soak in the Malfroy's mineral bath and slept like babies with visions of glowworms dancing in our heads.

The next day we planned our run and then when Ali was napping, we left her in the very capable hands of Michelle, and started off. As we ran I began to realize why this was considered such a pretty city. Rotorua is built on and around volcanoes and all this geothermal activity is part of its charms. We ran through parks of bubbling mudpools and amazing geysers, around the edge of Rotorua Lake -- a crater lake, through the quaint village center, past the museum, and then through to the Redwood Forest, and back home. It was definitely one of the most gorgeous runs I've done in my life.

Laughing gas craters beside Rotorua Lake

After a shower and lunch, we headed back out to visit town at a slower pace. We walked around the lake with Ali and almost got attacked by geese (do not feed these birds! They get very aggressive) and then went to an amazing Maori Village -- Ohinemutu Moari Village. It's right beside the Rotorua Lake and is just a lovely little place. We walked through there and had a wonderful time learning a bit about the culture and speaking to the people. We had dinner that night on a cute little pedestrian street called Tutanekai St. We ate a yummy Turkish dinner and capped it off with ice cream Sundae's.

Cute, but aggressive geese

Happy Ali beside Lake Rotorua

Shot from Ohinemutu Maori Village

The next morning, on our way out of town, we stopped to go zorbing. I was the only one to zorb. It was awesome! I highly recommend it, though it is expensive for what it is. What is it? Rolling down a big hill in a big plastic bubble with water inside of it. It's a combination of a hamster wheel and a slip and slide and it's really, really fun. I was hysterically laughing my whole way down. And I was literally reborn when it was done. I was squeezed out of the ball in a splash of water.

The Zorb Concourse

Being photographed before I get out

The Rebirth Part I

Born Again!

2010 LA Marathon

2010-03-22T23:35:00.001-07:00

I really need to finish updating about my New Zealand and Australia travels (before it fades completely from my mind), but I wanted to write today about running the LA Marathon. I ran and finished it yesterday! It was a gorgeous new course -- spanning from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica via Chinatown, Echo Park, Silver Lake, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Century City, and Brentwood. We ran past every major landmark in the city. I had delusions of taking a picture at every mile. I did ok with that at the beginning, but soon I just focused on finishing.

The marathon was fun and beautiful and then challenging. Oh my goodness, it was so challenging! It challenged me mentally and physically. After a bathroom stop around Mile 10 (the lines were soooo long at the bathroom) I lost my training group and my husband P. so I had to run by myself to finish. I had to run through feelings of feeling sorry for myself and then angry (How could P. leave me?!?). I had to run through and past that to appreciating the gift of it all. I don't need anyone to "carry me." I can support myself and have fun doing it.

When I realized that 8 miles later, I found a friend, Esther, to run with. Around mile 19 I started to experience some extreme leg cramps. Esther was also hurting. We ran (and to be honest walked/hobbled quite a bit) through the excruciating leg cramps and letting go of the ego need to have "a perfect time." Esther and I were both physically hurting and mentally defeated but we alternated pushing each other to keep going. Around Mile 24 we found the marathon training pace group that was one behind ours. Finding them was a Godsend. We started running with them for about a mile and it helped us get back into the groove. Around the mile 25 marker we pulled ahead. We rounded the bend onto Ocean Avenue and the 26 mile marker (that looked deceptively like the finish line. Damn those last .2 miles!) called our name. We started running with everything we had left. And in that last mile were my friend Ilyse, my sister, Teo, Ali, and Esther's husband. Seeing those familiar faces cheering us on definitely helped push us to the finish line. As we crossed the finish line we held hands and raised our arms. I have never felt more relief! My time was 5 hours and 28 minutes. Finishing this race required a LOT of perseverance, courage, and sheer determination to finish. It was so much harder than I thought it would be. But I finished and I learned that when the going gets tough, I can keep going.

That being said, I don't think I could have kept going without the support of all the people along the side of the route who came out to cheer us runners on. I cannot tell you what a difference it made to hear people cheering and saying "you can do it!" or "great job!" And I particularly want to thank my sister for being such great support. My sis got up at 5:15 a.m. to drive us to the start (not something she was happy about), spectated, and then drove our weary bodies to eat and home. She also watched the baby all day yesterday during the race and also today so that I could recover. She needs a gold medal for being such a star supporter.

I also couldn't have done it without Peter, Eleonore, Kelli, Janet, Lars who trained with me and inspired me over the past 6 months. And of course, I couldn't have done it without Esther.

Today I'm sore as hell. I'm hobbling around looking and feeling rather pathetic. Yesterday and most of today I couldn't even imagine ever wanting to do this again and felt rather insane for even attempting it. But this evening P. and I watched the marathon on TV (we recorded it yesterday) and as I've gone back over the race and thought about how I could have improved I find myself thinking about the "next time."

P and I at the start of the race

Esther and I at the finish.

New Zealand -- Part 2

2010-02-18T03:02:00.000-08:00

From Raglan we drove to Waitomo -- famous for its glow worm caves. P. was adventurous and decided to go black water rafting (rafting on an inner tube in the pitch darkness of caves). I would have done it too, but one of us had to stay with the baby. I don't know much more about the black water rafting, but Peter was hooked. He is willing to travel to the midwest or something when we get back to the States to try it again.

As for us, Michelle, Ali and I went instead to the standard glow worm tour which was beautiful in its own way. The glow worms are actually a type of maggot (doesn't sound as glamourous as glow worm), that have release a sticky string with a phosphorescent glow. This glow attracts insects and that's how they eat. There are thousands (millions?) of these glowing points of light on the roof of the extensive caves in Waitomo. When you are in the caves and look up, it looks like a night sky filled with stars. It's magnificent.

Waitomo Glowworm Caves

(not my pic, we weren't allowed to photograph in the caves)

After the glow worm cave tour, Michelle and I followed a sign from the car park and started hiking to a Waitomo Lookout. The hike was rather steep and led us through a cow pasture up a hill to a lovely view of the rolling hills of Waitomo.

View from Waitomo Lookout Point

From there we went to the "famous" Curly's Bar for some food and drink. The place could have been called Surly's (the staff wasn't too friendly), but I ordered this amazingly delicious moroccan lamp salad. It was my most surprising meal. I was not expecting much from this divey looking restaurant with rugby blaring from 6 tvs around the place, but this absolutely divine dish came out piled high with the most flavorful and tender lamp I've had in my life. So if you're ever in Waitomo and you're in the mood for lamb, I recommend Curly's - surprisingly delicious.

A Day in Sydney

2010-02-18T02:44:00.000-08:00

I will write more about New Zealand, but first I want to share about my day... I spent most of the morning and early afternoon completely engrossed in the most wonderful book... The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Burrows. I fell completely in love with the characters and it was so delicious to lie on the couch under the window and feel the sun move across the sky as I read. Ahhhh, there are few things more precious in the world than being completely absorbed in a good book and having the luxury to indulge completely in reading it.

In the book there's a 4 year old girl named Kit. A description of her reminded me so much of my precious Aliza ...

She is a spirited little thing, affectionate in a reserved way (which is not as contradictory as it sounds) and quick to smile when she is with one of her ... parents.... She is adorable too, with round cheeks, round curls, and round eyes. The temptation to cuddle her is nearly overwhelming, but it would be a slight upon her dignity, and I am not brave enough to try it. When she sees someone she doesn't like, she has a stare that would shrivel Medea.

Oh my goodness, that's my baby!

After I reluctantly put away my book (sad to say goodbye to that marvelous little world), we went out to Bondi Beach. We picked up P's little cousin Eden and took him for a surf. Well Peter surfed with him, Ali and I stayed in the kiddie pool at the north end of the beach. After a little while E. was hungry so we went to Surfish Cafe for some chips and shakes. P's family is really great. When we got back, Rob & Rochelle made us a lovely snapper dinner.

Things are good here. We're off to Canberra tomorrow to stay with my coaching class friend. Yeah for road trips! :)

New Zealand -- Part 1

2010-02-10T17:40:00.000-08:00

So much has happened ... finished 21 day vegan kickstart and actually kept eating vegan... at least until I arrived in New Zealand and then wanted to eat as much beef and lamp as I could stand. I think there's something about seeing happy cows and sheep roaming free with beautiful views and munching on acres and acres of healthy green grass. They live like they're meant to live, and they taste extraordinarily delicious because of it. So I'm a happy omnivore again.

I promised friends and family that I would update on our New Zealand trip. We left on the 2nd and arrived on the 4th. That's the strange thing about coming to Australasia. You cross the international date line in the air and you just lose an entire day as you fly. We never experienced February 3 and we never will. I had a friend who flew to Sydney on October 14 and landed October 16. October 15 was his 25th birthday - he never experienced it. It's so crazy. It's almost as crazy as the return... you get back before you left.

Anyway, we arrived on February 4 and went and got our rental car. After some debate we decided to hire the GPS. It was one of the best decisions we ever made ... the navigator probably saved us hours from not getting lost or staring at maps. We used our navigator to drive us to a hostel in Mt. Eden, Auckland where we picked up my law school friend Michelle. Michelle and I had travelled through Vietnam and Thailand together 10 years earlier and it was nice to reconnect with her in another part of the world. She'd been travelling by herself around the world for the past year. By this time, she was very "go with the flow" about everything. P. and I kept thinking we had to run around and see everything and Michelle would just hang out quietly with a book while we got our heads on straight. By the end of the week, we adjusted to a more laid-back attitude too.

After we picked up Michelle we grabbed a quick lunch in Mt. Eden -- cute cafe called Circus Circus. It was delicious. We then jumped in the car again (trunk loaded with bags and surfboard on top of the car) and headed for Raglan -- New Zealand's surfing mecca. Raglan is an absolutely charming town. It's very tropical looking ... beautiful huge ferns everywhere and the waves are supposedly gorgeous. I don't know much about surfing, but my hubby (a lifelong surfer) was in heaven. I didn't surf, but enjoyed the dark powdery volcanic sand and the cool, but glorious ocean water.

We stayed at a very charming eco-resort called Solscape. Our rooms were converted train cabooses. The place was very clean and had a laid-back surfer/backpacker vibe to it. We enjoyed a lovely couple of nights in this heavenly little oasis.

When we were in Raglan we drove around and checked out various bays (Manu Bay, Whale Bay), waterfalls (Bridal Veil Falls), and incredible views (Te Mata Gorge). We also saw lots of the aforementioned happy cows and sheep. I can't imagine there are cows and sheep anywhere who enjoy better views than those -- they grazed on grass-covered hills with incredible views of forest, mountains, and ocean. I felt lucky for those brief days to share their views.

Bridal Veil Falls

Te Mata Gorge

Michelle, me, and Ali at Whale Bay

Views for happy cows and sheep

Veganism and Gifts

2010-01-18T09:46:00.000-08:00

I'm on Day 15 of the Vegan Kickstart. I'm feeling pretty good and not missing meat and cheese too much (no recent dreams). I've been having a lot of processed food -- faux meat or processed soy cheese are not the best things for you. When I eat too much processed food I definitely don't feel as good. So, I'm really tuning in with my body. And I think in general, I'm feeling lighter and healthier. This is my last week. I'll reassess how I feel at the end of this process.

So, in addition to my 21 days of veganism, I've embarked on 29 Days of Giving. I've challenged myself to give 29 gifts in 29 days (www.29gifts.org). I'm on Day 9 and it's been a huge shift for me. When you're spending the whole day looking for opportunities to give of yourself, you realize how much you have to give and you are grateful. I highly recommend it to everyone, especially those who feel like they don't have enough (of anything).

Vegan Day 7

2010-01-10T08:52:00.000-08:00

"If we aren't supposed to eat animals, then why are they made of meat?" ~Author Unknown

Vegan Day 7. I feel much better than the last time I wrote, though I had a meat dream last night. In the dream I was at a party. I was talking to my high school friend Connie and eating off of the buffet. When I looked down at my plate I saw that it was loaded with beef skewers and chicken. And I realized that I'd already eaten a whole plate of that stuff. I'd forgotten that I was supposed to be vegan. I put the plate down and then started looking for veggie options. That's when I woke up. Hmmm.

I feel pretty good, but as I'm completing this first week I'm not feeling like I want to be vegan forever. I miss meat and cheese and eggs. I'll see how I feel at the end of the 21 days though. It's still early yet.

In other news, I went to the Getty Villa with my parents on Friday. They're visiting from Spain and wanted to do something touristy. I love going to the Villa. It's so peaceful and is a very beautiful oasis. I think I'll take my folks to the Self Realization Center in the Palisades later today. We could all use another peaceful and beautiful oasis. On that note I'm off to hike in Griffith Park with Melissa, Jojo, our babies and our dogs.

Genki Desu (I am Well)

2010-01-06T11:47:00.000-08:00

"If you have health, you probably will be happy, and if you have health and happiness, you have all the wealth you need, even if it is not all you want." ~Elbert Hubbard

I've decided that 2010 is a year to focus on being genki. Genki is a Japanese term meaning healthy or well. It's more broad than how we normally think of those terms. It's about wellness in mind, body, and spirit. A person who's genki is physically fit, but also cheerful and vibrant. I think I'm generally pretty genki, but my goal is to be even more genki and to fully embody this into 2010.

So in pursuit if this healthier me, I've decided to take a 21-Day Vegan Challenge. I'm eating vegan for 3 weeks. I'm on Day 3 right now. I think that with a lighter, more plant-based diet I will be feeling better and will be healthier. So far, it's been promoting healthier eating, but I'm not feeling so genki in the mind and spirit. In fact for the past couple days I've been pretty pissed off. Partly I can attribute it to my special time of the month. However, I think the real reason I'm feeling negative emotion is because I've been suppressing my negative emotions with food. Those foods laden with fat and calories are numbing and have been my drug. I've felt like this before when I've done the Master Cleanse. In the first few days of fasting, negative emotions come up for me. It's a physical as well as emotion detox. It's not pretty, but it's good stuff. It comes up so it can be released.

So, while I'm not feeling mentally very genki right now, I know that after a few more days of this emotional detox I'll be feeling better than ever. And if not, I've only committed for 18 more days. If I don't feel better at the end of this 3 weeks, I'll happily run to and savor the nearest bacon cheeseburger.

Final Acknowledgments

2010-01-04T15:34:00.001-08:00

I managed to finish 70 of these before the stroke of midnight on December 31. I'm committed to finishing what I start, so here are the remainder of my 2009 Acknowledgments. I acknowledge myself because I...

71. finished 70 acknowledgments before midnight on the 31st. (hey, this isn't cheating, these are tough)

72. committed to a 21-Day Vegan Kickstart Plan. I'm on my first day today.

73. did all the corporate taxes for Halm Solutions.

74. made a diaper cake for Jojo's shower.

75. made a diaper cake for Bonita.

76. made a diaper cake for Katie.

77. hosted Jojo's baby shower.

78. hosted Katie's baby shower.

79. got a new stainless steel dishwasher.

80. got a new stainless steel oven.

81. manifested a Kitchen-Aid Mixer.

82. went to San Diego for a weekend

83. went on a 40 day gratitude/pleasure immersion diet

84. went to belly dancing several times

85. went on many, many hikes

86. made a point of hanging out with friends while doing physical activities (running, hiking, biking, yoga).

87. ate as much organic foods as possible.

88. ate a raw food diet for several weeks to detox.

89. hosted Rosh Hashanah dinner

90. hosted Easter dinner

91. saw Pink Martini in concert at the Hollywood Bowl (for free).

92. went to high tea at the SLS Hotel and was treated by my best friends.

93. discovered and have been attending a really interesting progressive synagogue with P. and the kids.

94. re-started consistently writing morning pages.

95. rented out our Hills house to pop stars

96. watched more tv than I had in past 10 years combines probably, overdosed, and have since gone back to pre-owning a tv levels (virtually none).

97. made a very tough decision that was very authentic for me.

98. spent the whole year living really authentically (and it felt good!)

99. increased my love for and intimacy with my darling hubby.

100. finished this list!

More 2009 Acknowledgments

2009-12-28T23:08:00.000-08:00

Here are 30 more acknowledgments for 2009. Phew, this is a challenge. Here goes. In 2009, I...

41. lost 15 lbs.
43. did a 10-day lemon cleanse.
44. successfully mastered breastfeeding.

45. successfully weaned Aliza (hurray no more breastfeeding!)

46. made it through Aliza's transition from breast milk to solids.

47. made it through Aliza's transition from immobility to crawling.

48. made it through Aliza's transition from crawling to walking.

49. accomplished some child-proofing (have one baby gate and the detergents are now out of reach)

50. committed to going to Agape every Sunday that I was in town for 6 months and I've done it.

51. volunteered in Agape's children's room.

52. re-started the Hip Girlz blog

53. created a daily "Accomplishments" journal

54. joined a second book club

55. bought plane tickets to New Zealand and Australia (traveling in February 2010)

56. read Julie & Julia

57. wrote 10 short stories based on Genesis (the book in the Bible, not the band).

58. painted a portrait of P. and I

59. saw It's Complicated tonight and laughed and laughed.

60. started partaking in Laughter Yoga phone calls (participate at least weekly).

61. hosted Thanksgiving for 35 people.

62. snorkeling around Catalina Island

63. discovering the fun estate auction

64. scoring many "guilt-free" chocolate cookies at Sauce

65. taught myself iweb

66. created new website: www.thereikicoach.com

67. cleared out my bookshelves and donated 10 boxes of books I no longer needed/desired to the local library

68. bought a gorgeous new comforter set for our bedroom

69. learned how to plant a tree and helped plant 3 trees in our yard

70. turned 35 and conjured a really fun M-themed party.

Vegas with Kids & Christmas

2009-12-28T10:13:00.000-08:00

So, I wanted to share a bit about our family trip to Las Vegas. It was strange taking a family trip to Vegas. It was certainly very different from the trips I've taken with adults. Neither P. nor I gambled one single red cent, and we probably had 4 drinks between the two of us all week. And we were there a whole week... as opposed to a weekend. "You took kids to Vegas. What did you do?," everyone wanted to know.

Well, we checked out many of the free sights around town -- circus performances at Circus Circus, gondolas at the Venetian, faux thunderstorms at the Miracle Mile Shops, faux snow at the Town Square, and the art installations & architecture at City Center. We also did some shopping, went to see the Blue Man Group (they're amazing!), and left town and visited the Hoover Dam (also very cool). While we went shopping one day, the kids went to the Adventuredome. And P. and I did our own running tour of Vegas -- we ran 16 miles around the Strip, the airport, and Sunset Park (we're in training for the marathon). Lastly we did a wee bit of relaxing in our hotel. We actually had tons more things we could have done in and around Vegas. We left feeling like we'd barely scratched the surface. I wouldn't say that Vegas is the most kid-friendly (or cheapest) vacation spot, but there definitely were many things to see and do for all of us.

We got back on the 24th and then hosted Christmas Eve dinner at the house. It was the family plus Sean and Mike. My mom made her famous Christmas Eve Soup, Haitian pates, and hot chocolate. We also had some yummy chicken and lasagna. It was really nice and I loved that my nephew, Rowan, was here for his first Christmas (his original due date was January 5). Christmas Day we had another great meal -- turkey with all the fixins -- at Marfua's house. And then we opened the mound of presents under the tree. Perfect holiday.

2009 Acknowledgments

2009-12-26T07:48:00.000-08:00

A few years ago at Agape a guest speaker, Rhonda Britten, gave us two assignments to do as we head into the New Year. The first was to write 100 Acknowledgments -- basically 100 things we can pat ourselves on the back for having done over the past year. The other assignment was to write a list of 100 things we're grateful for. Though, I'm much more comfortable with the gratitude list, I'm going to push myself to write the acknowledgments. I'm sure I'll have to go in bits and pieces. Here's to hoping I get through 40.

I am acknowledging myself for:
1. moving into Lomita house.
2. painting the Barcelona house kitchen cabinets and changing out the handles.
3. painting the Barcelona house living and dining rooms... three times.
4. painting the Barcelona house master bedroom.
5. painting India's room in the Barcelona house.
6. painting Teo's room in the Barcelona house. (Does this sound like cheating? I have to do 100 of these and painting all these rooms by myself was hard work!)
7. staining the concrete around the Barcelona house.
8. starting the Reiki Coach business.
9. starting the Reiki Coach blog.
10. settling my law suit.
11. going to Catalina Island for the first time (and first romantic trip alone with my hubby since the baby was born).
12. scoring free tickets to CNN Heroes and attended this amazingly inspirational event.
13. starting classes at Coach Training Alliance
14. starting to sell furniture
15. working at SSL
16. volunteering at Habitat for Humanity
17. planning NPI fundraiser
18. starting training for LA Marathon
19. running the longest I've yet ever run in my life -- 16 miles
20. going with family to Las Vegas
21. conjured free tickets to Blue Man Group
22. hosted 80+ person first birthday party for Ali
23. hosted baby shower for Katie
25. started posting positive quotes on Facebook & Twitter
26. started using Twitter
27. mediating and settling many cases -- bringing more peace into the world
28. coaching N
28. coaching K
30. coaching L
31. coaching L
32. coaching A
33. coaching D
34. coaching K
35. coaching R
36. coaching P
37. coaching E
38. started mastermind group
39. hosted Christmas Eve party
40. hosted Obama Inauguration party

Hurray, just 60 to go!

CNN Heroes

2009-11-22T20:26:00.000-08:00

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."
~Anne Frank

Last night I went with my sister to the Kodak Theater in Hollywood to attend the CNN Heroes Award Ceremony. My friend Katie couldn't use the tickets so she gave them to us. I feel so blessed and grateful that we were able to go. To say that the evening was inspirational is a HUGE understatement.

In case you've never heard of CNN Heroes -- it's an award ceremony for 10 ordinary people doing extraordinary works of service. This year's recipients included a school bus driver in Queens who, after working 10 hours a day driving his bus, goes home, cooks food, and then distributes it to up 140 homeless people a night; an Iraqi War contractor who started a foundation to bring wheelchairs to Iraqi children; a teenager who lost his legs in a boating accident and started, from his hospital bed, a foundation to give prosthetics to needy children amputees; a dedicated breast cancer survivor who, with her team of fellow volunteers, has knocked on the doors of over 20,000 Floridian women to make sure that they receive screening tests for breast cancer; an Indonesian airline pilot who started an orphanage in his home for 48 children in need, etc.

Each recipient was unbelievably inspiring. I saw this quote online today: "Greatness is a common thing, found in common people from common places, who simply do uncommon things." Basil Ibebunjo (Nigeria). The CNN Heroes personify this type of greatness. And they inspired me to try to be as great as possible in serving others.

A few years ago I started on a journey to renovate the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute -- to transform the space to promote healing. I got sidetracked from my mission and a little overwhelmed by the fundraising challenge I had set for myself. I'm embarrassed to say that I gave up. Saturday's award recipients made me see that I cannot give up -- I must continue this journey. Compared to what each of those people are doing, my goal is very modest. So stay tuned, there is much more in the horizon for me. I have so much more to give and I'm excited to be doing this.

Pyramid Scheme

2009-11-12T08:21:00.000-08:00

"When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability... To be alive is to be vulnerable."
~Madeleine L'Engle

I am feeling very vulnerable and very embarrassed. Yesterday I almost bought into a pyramid scheme. Luckily my husband helped me see reason and identify the scam. I feel so stupid. How could I, licensed attorney/Ivy League graduate/brilliant moi, fall for something like that?!? Since I think I may be smarter than the average bear and I was almost taken in, I might not be the only one. I'll share my story so that maybe I can prevent one of you from falling prey to a similar scam. At the very least you can just shake your head at my folly and enjoy my little tale.

So it all started last week. A friendly acquaintance called me and invited me to get on a call. She said that she'd joined a group a few weeks before. The group is called the Diamond. They support each other "emotionally, spiritually, and financially." She put the emphasis on financially. I asked her to explain a bit more about it. She said that it was an invitation-only group. It's very secretive. There's no website or anything. You join one of their weekly conference calls and see if you are a good fit for the group ... and they see if you are a good fit for them. Each week the group discusses a spiritual topic related to abundance and they support one another. I asked for more details about the financial support part and she just told me to get on the call to find out more. I was intrigued. The call was a half an hour later, so I said that I would get on.

I joined the conference call. There were about 8 or so women on the line. There was a leader on the call. She welcomed me and another woman who was just checking out the group. They said the topic of that call was "how the Diamond has been helpful in everyone's life." So all the members of the group started sharing about how joining had helped them. A couple of people said they'd received money before and how helpful it had been for them, but most people had joined very recently. Nevertheless they shared about how the calls were really inspiring and that now they were seeing so much potential for financial windfalls, etc. No one explained how it worked. I was told that I would find out more when I got on my phone call to see if I was "accepted" into the group.

After hearing about how much everyone has benefited from being in the group, the weekly calls on spirituality and abundance, the wonderful community of support, etc., I was still intrigued. I agreed to go on the call with the leader of the group to discuss my joining them and to finally find out how it works.

Yesterday I got on the call with the group's leader and my friend. The leader started telling me about all the spiritual and emotional support benefits, etc. and then finally got to telling me how it works. There are 4 levels. New people come in with a "gift" to the person at the top level of $3,300. New people also have to bring in two more new people to be able to rise up in the levels. Each new person brings in 2 people. Eventually you move up to the levels, and receive $26,000. There are 15 people in the pyramid. When the person at the top receives the full $26,000 (gotten through 8 new people joining and "gifting" the top of the ladder) then the pyramid splits in 2.

This seemed like a good idea to me. I thought that the idea of a $26,000 return for an investment of $3300 sounded great. And I knew at least 2 people that I would love to share this brilliant financial windfall plan with. "But," I asked "why is it so secretive? Why couldn't you just share this information up front?" The leader explained that in the group, only the person at the top of the ladder (the leader) is the one who can accept the people who join in at the bottom. So, that person is the only one allowed to explain how this works. Others would probably not be able to fully explain it and answer all the questions.

"OK, but I've got to explain this to my husband." I couldn't just take out $3300 from our funds without explaining why. The leader explained that in her case, she decided that she wanted to separate her money from her husband so she took out a credit card cash advance to join. But she understood that I would have to share the information with my husband. She told me to invite him onto a call.

It all sounded good to me. I excitedly shared the news with P. when he came home. He shook his head and told me that this is a classic pyramid scheme. A pyramid scheme often involves the exchange of money primarily for bringing other people into the scheme, often without any underlying investment or product. Some pyramid schemes are disguised as "gifting circles" where money is "donated" and where the scam's marketing materials misstate the purpose and effect of tax laws related to bona fide gifts.

In order for everyone in a pyramid scheme to profit, there would have to be a never ending supply of new participants. Often the new recruits are a participant's friends and family. In reality each new level of participants has less chance of recruiting others and a greater chance of losing money. The pyramid may collapse at any time. This places the participant in the position of victimizing his or her own friends and family. And pyramid schemes are illegal in the United States.

He showed me some internet stories about these types of scams.

Oh...

Well, I felt pretty stupid.

I had been totally ready to sign on and would probably have lost my $3300 and the money of any friends I got to join the group. Sigh. I e-mailed the friend who'd invited me and attached a link to a page about the scam (http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2209055756&topic=7829). I hope she's able to get out and get her money back.

As for me, I'm glad P. wasn't as gullible as I. And I hope that none of you will be either.

Halloween

2009-11-01T11:48:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a very fun celebration yesterday. I always really love Halloween, but when you mix Halloween with babies in costumes, that's just bliss. Our older kids were with their mom (actually, they were each at Halloween parties), so we had a party here for the babies and adults who wanted a mellower Halloween. I figured that since Ali was too young to trick-or-treat, we would hang out here, pass out candy to our many, many trick-or-treaters (that institution is still very much alive and well in this neighborhood), have dinner, and enjoy the spirit of the holiday together. We had about 18 people (including kids) and it was lots of fun. P. and I bought about 6 bags of candy and others brought 4-5 bags too. I was stupidly afraid that we would have too much candy left over, but with the exception of three little pieces everything was handed out!

After a good dinner and some great conversation, we played a rousing game of Cranium. Peter and Henry were a dream team, but it was a tight game. They beat us by only one question. It was a great night.

Coaching

2009-10-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

For my birthday present, I gave myself a life coaching certification course. It's a 6-month course and I'm thrilled to be doing this. I love the idea of helping people come to their own solutions for issues in their lives.

When I was around 18, I remember reading a book about Super Thinking. Most people only use about 10-15% of their brain capacity. This book focused on harnessing more than this 10-15% of your brain to learn more and become a genius. (Supposedly Einstein used 20% of his brain). I don't remember much about the super thinking, but I remember one seemingly unrelated chapter about living a wonderful life. The book's author wrote that approximately 10% of people are what he called insane. They have a chemical imbalance in their brains that prevent them from living a totally fulfilled life as society traditionally thinks of it. He then goes on to say that 10% of people live lives that he considers "sane." According to this author, a sane life is one in which all the parts are working. Sane people have jobs they love, healthy relationships, security, abundance, play a part in their communities, etc. In other words, they are happy with everything in their lives and are truly living the lives they want to live. What about the other 80% of society? They are what he called "unsane." There is no chemical reason why they are not living the lives they way, but for whatever reason they are in unhealthy relationships or jobs that make them miserable, etc. In one way or another they are living lives that are out of alignment. They have the power to change that and become sane, but they don't. When I was 18, I remember reading this and thinking 1) I want to have a truly sane life and 2) I want to help others to do the same. And so I'm becoming a life coach.

Life coaching is a very sane career for me, but it's also the perfect tool to help the "unsane" become sane. Life coaching is a co-creative relationship between the client and the coach where the life coach supports the client to come to their own solutions to create positive change in their lives.

My ideal for my coaching practice is to combine reiki with coaching. I'm a reiki master and have seen reiki's miraculous effects on every area of people's lives. It works for physical healing, but also helps people emotionally and mentally. It aids in bringing spiritual clarity and evolvement. It is also relaxing and stress-relieving. I believe it's a perfect complement to coaching and will help supercharge any coaching efforts.

The perfect thing about all of this is that both the reiki and the coaching can be done remotely. Reiki is traditionally a "hands-on" practice, but works equally well with distance treatments. (At Reiki Level II, practioners can practice this form of treatment).

So anyway, I'm embarking on this new path and I'm really thrilled. I'll let you know what happens next. You can let me know if you're interested in having a life that's more sane.

Birthday Celebration

2009-10-04T16:08:00.000-07:00

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."
~Abraham Lincoln

Last Thursday, I celebrated my 35th birthday. I had a really great birthday. P. and I started off the day (after dropping off the kids at their respective schools) by going to an auction. A few weeks ago we were at the very cool house of some friends for a party. P. complimented our hosts on the great furniture they had. They smiled smugly and said "we get everything at this amazing estate auction. Do you see this couch? We got it for $25. See that table... $15." And on it went. They said that they go every Thursday morning and there are definite deals to be found. I've been eyeing my increasingly shabby living room furniture and dreaming of a room makeover for quite a while now, so the lure of this amazing auction was just too great. I asked Peter if we could go on my birthday. And we went.

It was quite an experience. The auction starts at 9 a.m. with box lots. We arrived about 20 minutes earlier so that we could inspect the items and figure out what we wanted. I immediately saw a gorgeous arm chair that I loved and a really cool side table. We also had our eye on a Louis XVI-style love seat and a kitchen table. We registered with the auction, received a paddle, and then found our friends. The auction started promptly at 9 and the auctioneer flew through the items. If you were distracted in the slightest, you could easily miss an item. At one point I looked down at my phone to respond to an e-mail and I missed three items. Anyway, my favorite chair sold for far more than I was willing to pay ($175), but we got the cool mid-century modern side table for only $10. We stayed until 11:30, but had to leave before they got to our kitchen table and other interesting items. We're DEFINITELY going back though. That was fun!

Later, my buddy Steve took me out for a lovely lunch at Gulf Stream . I had a delicious seared scallop salad and then we shared an ice cream sunday. The server brought it out with a candle on the top. I blew out the candle and wished for more yummy meals like that one. Delish!

That night I had a low-key dinner with the family. I was suffering from a pretty bad cold and decided that I would try to rest up for my fabulous M Party.

I told P. that I wanted a party to celebrate my special birthday. I thought that a Martini party would be fun. I also had seen packs of moustaches at a party store in the "Fiesta" section, and thought it would be really fun to have a Mexican Fiesta party. P. combined the ideas and threw me an M Party- replete with Moustaches, Martinis, Mojitos, Mediterranean food, Mexican Music, M&Ms, Merlot, etc. Anyway, we threw the party and it was a blast. It's rather impossible to not have fun when you're wearing a fake moustache... and when you're drinking a mojito... and when you're eating my husband's amazing Moroccan Tagine. So all in all the party was a rousing success. If these birthday celebrations are any indication of the year to come, there's going to be a lot of "life" in this year. :)

Laughter

2009-09-27T17:36:00.000-07:00

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." ~e.e. cummings

I've been laughing a lot these days. A friend of mine turned me onto Laughter Yoga on the Phone. You call a phone number at certain times of the day for a live 20-minute laughter yoga session. Sometimes the moderators leads you in specific laughter exercises and sometimes they just laugh. They also have prerecorded sessions that you can listen to whenever. I like to call in when I'm driving to work. Traffic is just not a problem when you're in your car cracking up. I told my sister that I was doing laughter yoga a couple weeks ago and she just rolled her eyes.

Yesterday I was driving with my sister to run an errand. When I looked at the time and saw that it was 5 pm and a laughter yoga session was about to begin, I decided to call the number. "Hand me my phone." I told her. She grabbed my cell phone out of my purse and handed it to me. When we were stopped at a red light I dialed the number and entered in the code. She eyed me suspiciously. When the light turned green the laughter started on the car's blue tooth. "Oh you did not just call the laughter yoga people." I just smiled at her and started laughing. She rolled her eyes and started laughing at me. And her laughing made me laugh harder. Then she started listening to the silly exercises and that made her laugh harder. Of course that made me laugh harder. And we started doing the exercises and laughing, tears streaming down our faces. I was laughing so hard it was almost dangerous for me to be driving. But I needed that laugh. It felt so good.

The same friend who introduced me to laughter yoga sent me this little video: Bodhissatva in Metro . It's a great one if you need a laugh.

So in addition to laughing, I've been having fun in other ways. On Friday I had a girl's night with Katie. We went to Urth Cafe in Beverly Hills for a delicious dinner and then headed a couple doors down to Color Me Mine for some painting fun. I did a Dr. Seuss-themed mug and she did a little serving dish with an eye theme. It was a perfect little evening.

On Saturday I did my second Road Runner's long run -- we ended up running about 5 1/2 miles. I went into a faster group this week and I felt good. Today I was supposed to do some cross training, but I caught the cold that had already caught every other member of my family. All I could do was lie in bed. I've decided to take a break from my bed for some blogging and laughter yoga. They do say that laughter is the best medicine.

Discipline

2009-09-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment." Jim Rohn

I've been thinking a lot about discipline lately. First, the marathon training is imposing some much-needed discipline on my life. The fact that I've already signed up and paid for the race definitely helps with the motivation to get up and run. I love how I feel after I've already started running, but I need the external pressure of the race to get me off my couch and finally rid myself of these last few pounds of baby weight.

Ali is also reminding me of discipline. She's trying to stand unsupported. She keeps trying and trying. She'll stand for a second and then fell on her diapered bum. We're delighted by her efforts and so is she. Every time she falls, she cracks up and then gets right back up and tries again. I guess what impresses me so much is not the discipline she's applying, as much as the fun she's having in the process -- even the falling down causes her giggles. I'm trying to take a lesson from my little girl -- not only should I get back up after falling and try again, but I should laugh.

Pink Martini

2009-09-20T15:16:00.001-07:00

Pink Martini was magnifique! I really only knew one song of theirs before going to the concert: Je Ne Veux Pas Travailler. They're such fantastic show men and women though, that it was still super enjoyable. They had a bunch of random guest singers, including Ari Shapiro (news correspondent on NPR), Emilio Delgado (plays Luis on Sesame Street), and some Malaysian super star who's name I've forgotten, and that made it just that much more charming. I think it was one of my favorite concerts that I've ever attended. I've attended many, so that's saying something. So, if you ever have the chance to see Pink Martini you really should! They've got the official Hip Girlz seal of approval. :)

Listening to their sassy, swinging world music also gave me the idea for a party. I do so love parties! I have all these martini glasses (gifts from the wedding, house warmings, etc) and we NEVER use them. I do like martinis (at least the sweet, girly ones like appletinis), but it's not something we drink at home very often... or ever, if I'm being honest. Anyway, I think it would be fun to have a martini party. We could dress very swanky, drink all sorts of yummy martinis, make use of my lovely glasses, and listen to Pink Martini. My birthday is coming up...

Marathons and Martinis

2009-09-19T14:56:00.001-07:00

I've done it! At midnight last night, I signed up for the LA Marathon and for the LA Road Runners training group. My good friends Lars, Janet, and Kelli had already signed up and they talked me into it. I've been wanting to run a marathon forever. It's way up top on my "what to do before I die" list. I'd tried to train a couple years ago, but a little pregnancy got in my way. So this is the time ... March 21, 2010. Los Angeles Marathon, here I come.

This morning I had my first training run. I ran side-by-side with Kelli and we ran a nice and easy 4 miles. After that we dashed off to La Grand Orange for brunch. La Grand Orange is a relatively new brunch place (opened about 4 months ago) on Bicknell and Main Street. It's really cute. It has a fantastic patio and yummy, healthy food. Kelli had a divine looking breakfast burrito. I had oatmeal with raisins and almonds. My oatmeal could have been better, but everything else looked great. Anyway, I'm a little bummed that this place wasn't there when I lived two blocks away, but I'm psyched it's there now. I'm sure it will be a staple of our post-workout brunch circuit.

My sister called and said that her friend Denise has 2 extra tickets for us to see Pink Martini at the Hollywood Bowl tonight. I'm so excited. I love Pink Martini and I love the Hollywood Bowl. I was recently lamenting the fact that I'd gone through an entire summer and hadn't made it to a concert. Yeah for manifesting freebies!

Circle of Life

2009-09-18T15:55:00.000-07:00

I'm having one of these "circle of life" days. This morning I went to my Uncle Raymond's funeral. Well, he's not really my uncle. He's my dad's first cousin. I don't know what kind of cousin that makes him to me, but he and my dad grew up together like brothers. They were raised in the same house. They were cuddled and spanked by the same hands. For all extensive purposes he's my uncle. Anyway, he was such a sweet man -- very gentle, quiet, caring. He actually reminds me a lot of my dad. I'm going to miss him, but I truly believe he's in a better place.

So that was my morning, but this evening I'm celebrating the Jewish New Year. It's a time of new beginnings in more ways than one. Three pregnant women are going to be there tonight. I'm holding my little girl right now and I'm feeling grateful. I'm grateful for my amazing uncles, aunts, parents. And I'm grateful for my amazing children, niece, nephew, and the new ones that are coming.

I missed this

2009-09-17T21:44:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe how long it's been since I've posted. My daughter is going to be 13 months old in just 2 days. I'm working right now. I've moved... back into my old house. My stepdaughter entered high school. Lots has happened over the past 13 months. And yet, by not blogging, by not taking the time to write about the little things, it feels like it's been one big blur.

So between chasing my little one (she gets faster and faster), driving the older kids to school and practices, work, dinner, etc., I'm going to take the time to notice. And I'm going to take the time to write. I'm excited.

Ali at 1 year old

A star is born

2008-09-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

On August 19 at 6:34 p.m. my daughter Aliza Catherine was born. My labor was everything I could have desired. My contractions began around 8 a.m. I was home with Peter and my step-daughter, India. Around 10 a.m. Peter ran to the office and India was my sole support person for a couple hours. I had not expected her to be at my labor, but she was a wonderful addition to the birth team. She was given some instructions by Peter and with much excitement and sense of responsibility, she dutifully recorded the time and duration of every one of my contractions.

When Peter left for work, India and I went hiking with the dog in the hills around the house. She carried a stopwatch and pad of paper (as well as bags and water for us and the dog), and she wrote down every single contraction I had -- the time it began and the duration. When we got home she made sure I took a bath, ate lunch, and drank. Our doula and my parents arrived shortly thereafter. My doula suggested that we go for another walk and again we hiked around my neighborhood -- this time with my doula and my father. When we got back the contractions were much stronger and closer together. My mom and the doula massaged and supported me through these. After a while my father left to go to my sister's house and Peter returned home. My mom, the doula, and Peter massaged, encouraged, and supported me through the contractions. I focused on relaxing through them. It was challenging and painful, but also very beautiful. I was calm and focused. In fact I was so calm and focused throughout that it was not evident when I hit transition. The contractions were long and coming one on top of the other, but I did not exhibit the emotional sign posts of self-doubt, fear, etc.... at least not outwardly. I did have some thoughts and feelings about wanting drugs and feeling overwhelmed by the intensity of the contractions, but I never verbalized them. Whenever a thought came up I used a mantra to counteract them and/or I focused on surrendering to the contractions. I also stayed very calm and rational. During this transition period I started feeling very hot and felt like I needed a shower. I went into the shower and 5 minutes after I got out, I felt an urge to push. At this point, I told everyone that we had to get to the hospital right now. Because I was so calm, Peter and the others did not realize how quickly this child was coming. The one time I found myself getting frustrated and snappy was when, in my opinion, everyone was taking so long to get ready.

Finally we did get everyone and everything into the car and headed to Cedars at 5.45pm. During the ride my contractions were fast, furious, and very painful. I did not feel an urge to push in the car though (I think my body knew to wait until I got to the hospital). When we got to the hospital, the valet parking that we were told to go to during the maternity tour was closed! A nurse told us to go self-park and walk to labor and delivery (she said that if we waited in the emergency room, we would need to wait for at least a half an hour in the waiting room). So we had to find the parking lot, park, and walk to the elevators to get to the 3rd floor labor and delivery! Peter searched, but there were no wheelchairs in sight. So we walked slowly there. My contractions were so strong and close together that I could only take a few steps at a time before a contraction hit. Everyone was afraid I was going to give birth right there in the parking garage!

We finally made it to the third floor and the charge nurse came and led me to the triage room. When I entered the triage room I made a beeline to the bathroom and my water broke. The nurse checked and there was some merconium in my water. She got me on the bed and at this point my urge to push became unbearable. The charge nurse implored me not to push while she did a quick vaginal exam. I was at +2 station. I again said that I had to push. Again she begged me not to push as a doctor and several nurses came rushing into the room. I was hoisted onto a delivery bed and taken across the hall into a L&D room. As they started wheeling me, I started pushing. By the time I was across the hall and the doctors and nurses opened up my legs, the baby was already crowning. One more push and our daughter literally came flying out. It took only 14 minutes from the time we walked into the hospital until the baby was born!

Because of the merconium and that I had tested GBS positive, the umbilical cord was cut right away and the baby was taken to be checked out. In the meantime the doctors pulled out the placenta, stitched me up (I had one small internal tear and needed only one stitch), and got the bleeding under control. The baby was perfect and healthy, and several minutes later they placed her on me for skin to skin contact and nursing. She latched on like a pro and I held her and she suckled for the better part of the next two hours. After that Peter went with her to the nursery and I was moved to my hospital room. Peter and I spent one night in the hospital and the next evening we went home.

The whole labor was a really wonderful experience for me. I spent the vast majority of time at home and was incredibly comfortable, calm and relaxed. The time we spent in the hospital was blessedly short. I learned through this process how wise and amazing my body is. I really listened to my body's desires to move, walk, shower, lie down, drink, pee, and push and everything went smoothly and beautifully. I really did not need drugs, and I never needed anyone telling me what to do (though reminders to relax were very useful).

The whole family came to the hospital after Aliza was born. The room was quite crowded!

Aliza and her big sister India

Aliza on day one

Happy As I Am

2008-04-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

"By concentrating on your present life and perfecting it, you may even find you don't have to make any major adjustments- - you are happy as you are."
~Gary Quinn

I saw this quote today and realized how perfect it is for me. It's now been a week and a half since I've been unemployed (or as I like to think of it -- self employed) and I'm realizing how easy it is to adjust and feel happy. I'm receiving so much joy in the simple pleasures -- staying in my pajamas until noon, taking Marley on long walks, lying still and feeling the baby kicking, sitting at our outdoor table and enjoying the view, browsing through my cookbooks and making elegant meals for my husband, reading novels, etc. It truly is a delight and I'm savoring every second. It will be very nice to bring in some income, but in the meantime I am very much enjoying this unforeseen vacation.

Losing to Know Kindness and other Blessings

2008-04-08T09:54:00.000-07:00

Kindess
by Naomi Shihab Nye

Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
you must travel where the
Indian in a white poncho lies dead
by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night
with plans and the simple breath
that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness
as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow
as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness
that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day
to mail letters and purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
it is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you every where
like a shadow or a friend.

This poem particularly resonated with me today. Last Wednesday, at 5 months pregnant and feeling very hopeful and secure about the future, I was unexpectedly fired. I truly understand the phrase from this poem about how you "feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth." That's how I felt as my six figure job vanished in the few minutes I sat in my ex-boss' office. And as my future dissolved, I despaired in thinking how in the hell am I going to get a new job when I'm pregnant??? How am I going to survive?

But I've realized as I've had these 6 days to come to terms with my new reality and with the true blessing of time to think and be (a luxury I was not afforded with my high-pressure job), that my life is so filled with kindness and support and friendship and love that I am the richest person I know. And this forced break from a job that frankly, I was planning on leaving as soon as I'd popped this baby out anyway, was a blessing. I've been feeling my baby kicking a lot and it's almost like she's dancing. Even in utero she desires and demands my time and my focus. She desires and demands a mother who is rested and relaxed and sane. And so, here I am... typing in my pajamas and sitting in my bed at 11:30 a.m. and filled with gratitude for this silver lining which is so bright I can almost no longer see the cloud.

Championship Month

2008-03-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

"If you don't see yourself as a winner, then you cannot perform as a winner."
-Zig Ziglar

So many things in my life happen and I think about the blog entry in my head... how I'm going to phrase it and what picture I'm going to use to illustrate what's happening. Then, so many things have been happening in my life that the blog entry has stayed in my head and has not been posted.

I'm getting back on the horse for a brief update on March in the Hip Girlz household. It's been a month that has really made us feel like champions. First of all, on March 2, my amazing hubby finished his first marathon -- the LA Marathon. He came across the finish line 5 hours and 13 minutes after starting and he was beaming from ear to ear. He was so psyched that the first thing he did the next day was search online for the next one to run. He's hooked! I'd started out training with him, but 6 weeks into training I found out I was pregnant. Exercise (in moderation) while pregnant is good. Training for a big race while pregnant is not so good. So, I stopped. I was glad to be there as a cheerleader for P. though and I'm looking forward to running one with him post-baby.

I still got to feel like a champion this month though. I was chosen as VIP Parker of the Month in my building at work. This means that I get to park right in the front on level P1, instead of having to drive down into the depths where I usually need to park on P5. For many people, it may not sound like very much to be VIP Parker of the Month, but I can tell you in my building this is a BIG deal! Not only does it save me about a half an hour a day, it gives me a thrill to see my name all over the elevators and the lobby and the words WINNER posted prominently above it in red.

In other news, I had my 20 week ultrasound this morning. We're definitely having a girl and she's very healthy. We had a 3D ultrasound and got to see the contours of her little face. She seems to have my nose and forehead and P's lips. We'll see what she definitely looks like when she's born, but I already think she's the cutest thing in the world.

The Grammys And Other News

2008-02-12T14:39:00.000-08:00

"To achieve the mood of a warrior is not a simple matter. It is a revolution. To regard the lion and the water rats and our fellow men as equals is a magnificent act of a warrior's spirit. It takes power to do that."
~Carlos Castaneda

So, on Sunday P. and I participated in one of Hollywood's most famous and star-studded traditions -- we attended the Grammy Awards. It was fun for us to get dressed up in a ball gown and tuxedo (a rarity in this hyper-casual city) and rub elbows with the Who's Who in the music industry. And it was a great show. It was the 50th Anniversary of the Grammy's and there were all sorts of big stars performing ... Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Beyonce, Alicia Keyes, John Maher, Kanye West, Fiest, Little Richard, John Fogerty, etc. In fact it was much more of a variety show than an awards show. There was a pre-telecast awards ceremony where they awarded close to 400 Grammy Awards (for all things from Best Spoken Word Recording to Best Hawaiian Record to Best Album Packaging). The televised portion was limited to the biggest, most prestigious awards. We only went to the televised portion (though P. did know a couple people who won Grammy's in the earlier ceremony). It was a long enough day with just the televised portion ... and undoubtedly we caught the more entertaining show.

In other news... I'm pregnant. I'm in my second trimester, so I suppose its "safe" to share the news. The baby is due on August 14. I don't know if its a girl or a boy, but evidently it is going to be a Rat. The Chinese New Year is upon us and this is the year of the Rat. For those who have followed my blog over time, you may be familiar with my feelings regarding rats. Generally I'm not the biggest fan. Though, during my last sojourn in NYC and even by going to watch Ratatouille, I have softened my stance on the little rodents. My friend Jojo e-mailed me to tell me that I would be having a rat and she sent me the following blurb from Wikipedia about rats: "Being the first sign of the Chinese zodiac, rats are leaders, pioneers and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking. Rat people are endowed with great leadership skills and are the most highly organized, meticulous, and systematic of the twelve signs." She diplomatically, didn't forward the part about Rats being controlling, manipulative, aggressive, and intolerant.

Anyway, I'm not Chinese and don't believe in the Chinese Zodiac, so I'm not going to give any more thought to my child being born in the "Year of the Rat" and what it means to be a Rat. I think it's an interesting lesson in the Law of Attraction though... "what you resist persists" and "you attract what you think about." Most importantly though I feel this is a lesson for me in learning to accept and love all of the earth's creatures, as I will surely love my child.

I am inspired!

2008-02-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

"In the end, ... that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism, or do we participate in a politics of hope?"
~Barack Obama

It's been a long time since I've been excited about a political election. I don't know the last time I've been inspired by a politician (at least a living one), but I am inspired by Barack Obama. I first got really excited when I heard his speech at the last Democratic National Convention. I remember thinking "this man is going to be the president of the United States someday." I didn't see it happening quite this soon, because he seemed like he might be too green to run in 2008, but I saw it happening. I'm happy that it's happening now.

Yesterday, my beloved hubby and I braved the rains to go hear Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and Caroline Kennedy speak at an Obama rally. We were also blessed to see Stevie Wonder and Maria Shriver, as she delivered her bomb of an announcement of support.

Los Angelenos tend to hate to go out in the rain and it was Super Bowl Sunday, so we did not think there would be too many people there. We expected some crowds (Oprah Winfrey was speaking after all. I know the fact that my hero Oprah was going to be there definitely motivated me to show up), but nothing like what we experienced. The line to get into UCLA's Pauley Pavillion seemed to snake all around campus. We did not see the entirety of the line, and it still took us 5 minutes to walk to the end. We were afraid we might not be able to get in! It was very heartening though to see so many people there and excited about the political process. It was also very heartening to see the diversity of faces, ages, genders, and races. There were many young college students and there were many grey heads. There were black, white, asian, latino, and other faces. There seemed to be as many women as men. It was cool!

With the exception of Stevie Wonder, all the speakers were women. And without exception, all the speakers were great. Michelle Obama was particularly impressive. As we left, P. told me "She was amazing! I would vote for her!" We could tell from that rousing speech that if Obama gets into the White House, the First Lady will be no shrinking violet!

We came home and watched the Yes We Can Barack Obama music video quite a few times last night. We saw it at the rally, but from our position on the floor, we did not have a good vantage point. I also watched a few of Barack Obama's speeches from recent weeks (New Hampshire/reply to the State of the Union/etc.)

I'm fired up and REALLY excited about Super Tuesday tomorrow. I am very much looking forward to voting and I hope that all of you eligible voters make sure to cast your ballot (regardless of which candidate). This is an election that will change history. Be a part of it!

UPDATE

2008-01-20T15:03:00.001-08:00

"Every person is a new door to a different world."
- from movie "Six Degrees of Separation"

It's been a while since I've blogged. A lot has happened. The holidays came and went. During the first week of January, the kids, P. and I went up North to the mountains. We went to June Mountain, about 18 miles from Mammoth. It was really great. We stayed in some lovely cottages and we got stuck in a blizzard. The blizzard was particularly wonderful because we live in LA where snow is so … non-existent. I had not seen any snow since 2001 … the last time I went to the mountains. It was a nice change. June looked like a winter wonderland. We played in the snow – sledding, snow men, snow basketball (we found a hoop and started tossing snow balls into it), snow angels, and other snow games. It was very windy, so I did not stay out too terribly long and enjoyed the warm cabin, hot chocolate, and America's Next Top Model Marathon. Well, I watched the Marathon until the blackout, then I read by candlelight and headlamp. It was great. J

Since then we've been bopping here and there – living the dream. I had two unrelated friends from Mexico City visiting LA yesterday. I had brunch with Katia, the first friend, at the Newsroom Café – delish as always. The other friend, Alexandra, invited me to a dinner party in honor of her father's birthday. P. and I went over there for dinner and just had the lovliest time. I had not seen Alexandra since we were both working in an NGO in Buenos Aires in 2003. We had computers next to one another. She told a really funny story last night that I had not remembered. She said that when she first met me she saw me doing some sort of complex calculation on the computer's calculator. She asked me what I was doing and I said that I was calculating what percentage of Bill Gates' fortune it would take to pay off my law school loans. I don't remember this happening, but it's very likely. When I was in BA, I was an unpaid visiting scholar and volunteer with the NGO. I was always trying to think of creative ways to get some money so I could stay in the country longer. I never did ask Bill for money, I earned money teaching yoga and English. And I left the country when I was supposed to.

Ale invited us to visit her in Mexico City Easter Week. Since I have two friends in Mexico City and am starting to get itchy feet (I haven't left the country in over 6 months), I think we're going to go. J

P.S. My beloved hubby gave me a new digital camera for Christmas. As soon as I figure out how to upload my pictures, I will post some here.

Family Feud Pictures

2007-12-20T10:29:00.000-08:00

We just received these pictures from one of the producers of Family Feud. Pretty good looking family, eh?

Jill & I

2007-12-19T14:53:00.001-08:00

No, something good bad!, originally uploaded by jilldoughtie.

Here is a picture that we took of ourselves at LACMA on Saturday. :)

Holiday Parties and Other Goings On

2007-12-19T10:29:00.001-08:00

"We all start from the same basis of nakedness and ignorance, and must increase by receiving whatever we have the capacity to receive from the torrential universe. Take what is given, respect it, exult in it, multiply it: that is a law as old as man, for then and only then shall you have anything worth giving back. Study something, learn something, risk more than you think you can, care about something, become something -- if in truth you wish to be loved."
-- Michael Drury from Advice to a Young Wife from an Old Mistress

I'm trying to blog a little more frequently. So many wonderful things have been happening, but they're little and sweet and if I don't write them down right away they have a tendency to fade from my memory. I'll just write about some lovely little things from last weekend.

First, on Friday night P. and I went Christmas party hopping. We attended three fantastic fiestas. The first was for my step-daughter's soccer team. You would think that such a party would not be worth much of a mention, but this one definitely was. The very, very generous parents of one of her teammates threw an affair to remember. There were delicious gourmet sushi, steak, pasta, pizza, and gelatto food stations (not to mention the open bar for the parents). The food was extraordinary, and it was with quite a bit of sadness that I saved my appetite for the following parties. There were extravagent gifts for the girls -- professionally created videos of the soccer season and individually embroidered sweatshirts for each of the girls. It was fancy and very special -- I guess that is one of the benefits of sending your kids to school and activities in Beverly Hills.

Next we went to my office Christmas dinner. This was also a beautiful affair (and the reason why I saved my appetite at the aforementioned party). We ate at aptly named Divino Restaurant in Brentwood. It was divine Italian food, and the conversation was great. We had a lovely three course meal and since I'd eaten some at the first party, P. rolled me out the door at the end of that party and packed me in the car to attend the Rhino Records Holiday party. I did not eat anything at the last party. I couldn't even imagine eating more food, but it looked good. The party was held at the Spanish Kitchen in West Hollywood. The DJ was in the corner spinning good music and it was quite a swinging affair. They even had a fortune teller, though the line for that guy was too long and we decided to forego that part of the entertainment. Unfortunately since we'd been partying since 4 p.m., around 11:00 I started to hit the wall. Luckily the restaurant was close to home and I was happily in bed by 11:30.

On Saturday I went to see the Dali exhibit at LACMA with Jill. The exhibit was very interesting, though I was reminded that I don't really like Dali. He's too dark and disturbing for me. I always value a trip to the museum though and come back filled with new creative ideas.

Later that day P. got the Christmas tree. It's a great tree, but sadly during the move to P's house, my Christmas ornaments seem to have gone missing. Thus, the tree is bereft of the ornaments that I've spent the past 10 years collecting. We bought a few lights and simple ball ornaments though and we're sort of enjoying our subtle minimalist tree. Sometimes it's nice to have a change.

Anyway, that's what's new and wonderful with me. I'll try to write again soon.

Game Show Money and other Cash

2007-12-10T14:42:00.000-08:00

"Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons."
Woody Allen

Money is on my mind right now. Partially because we did not win any money at Family Feud yesterday (we lost our third game) and partially because I was just informed that I received the grant I applied for from Rhino Records for the NPI Remodel Project!

The latter is super exciting, because it's the first substantial amount of cash I've received for this project. (Buy albums from Rhino, y'all! They rock!) We are so on our way with this!!! Hurray! Our design is done. It's eco-friendly. And we should have our first office done in the next 2-3 months. Yeah!!!

The former is not quite as exciting, but the important thing is that we played well (we were dominating the majority of the game) and we had a blast. :) The Executive Producer came up to us afterwards and whispered to us "I loved your family. I wanted you to win." I'm not sure if she says that to all the families, but we told her that we'd be happy to come back for more "Big Money Tournaments" whenever she wanted us. Anyway, the long and short of this saga is that we had a really good time, we had a wonderful sibling bonding experience, and we've got a story that we'll be able to tell our grandchildren (and anyone else who will listen).

Happy Hanukkah!

2007-12-05T15:12:00.000-08:00

"To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle."
~Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

And a bonus quote:

"Most Texans think Hanukkah is some sort of duck call."
~Richard Lewis

Sorry to any Texans out there. I just thought that was funny.

So, today is the second day of Hanukkah. I think. Last night was the first night. Does that make today the first day or the second day? All I know is that tonight is the second night. I feel like I have to get more knowledgeable about Judaism since my beloved hubby is a member of the tribe. He's not very religious and he doesn't really care, but I care. And I LOVE holidays. I'll take any excuse to celebrate.

So the first thing I tried to do was to learn how to spell Hanukkah/Chanukah. Evidently if it begins with an "H" there are two "k's", but if it begins with a "Ch" then there is only one "k." And regardless of the spelling there is only one "n."

The second thing I learned to do was to make potato latkes. We lit the menorah and P. said a prayer. I then got cracking on the latkes, and I have to say they were good! Perfectly crispy golden brown deep friend potato goodness. We had them with applesauce and a delish grilled salmon that P. cooked up.

I'm looking forward to celebrating the rest of the Festival of Lights, but I think for the sake of my waistline, I might take it easy on the potato pancakes.

Feuding Superstars

2007-12-02T21:36:00.000-08:00

"To win you've got to stay in the game."
Claude M. Bristol

There's so much more to my life than Family Feud, but I've been so busy with all that stuff that I have not really had time to write. The Family Feud saga is so unique though, that I want to write it down and share it. It's not every day that your family gets on a game show.

So, to continue the story from the postcard, we were invited to come back to rehearse and possibly tape yesterday, December 2nd. The thing about being a family on Family Feud is they don't tell you until literally minutes before you're set to go out there whether or not you're going to get on the air. We arrived around 9 a.m. yesterday morning. Though we'd made the first cut, they reminded us that we still had to do well during the rehearsal to make it on the show that day. They planned on filming 6 episodes and they had 7 families. One of those episodes was for a special Big Money Tournament with returning teams, so each of the 7 families had the chance to be on one of 5 shows. At least one or two families would not make it on that day (or possibly ever).

They ran down some tips (reminded us to be enthusiastic), ran through the rules of the game and then headed us on down to the studio to rehearse. Again they ran us through the rules of the game and how we had to act (enthusiastically) and then began the rehearsals. We rehearsed with the Petersons, a lovely family that had come all the way from Minnesota to play that day. I thought we rocked the rehearsal (though we lost both of the rounds during rehearsal), but all the families seemed to do a good job. I had a good feeling, but was not positive we would make it on. We finished the rehearsal and then prepared to start filming.

Until a family begins playing a game, they're part of the audience. So, they sat us in the stage left section of the audience, and then began to let the rest of the audience come in. I saw my dear hubby, Jojo, Rick and Jeff come in. They arrived at 11 and were our cheering section. I think if they'd had any idea how long of a day it would be, how uncomfortable the chairs were, and that there would be no food or water for anyone they might have rethought their willingness to attend. Alas, none of us knew about that and they arrived on time to cheer and be audience members for the Feud.

Soon after the audience members were all in their seats, Burton Richardson, the announcer for the show, began doing an audience primer. He taught us when to clap, how to clap (at the level of your nose so that the cameras can see), when to "awwww," when to give an ovation, etc. The producers were rather ruthless about making sure that everyone was with the program too. Burton Richardson would call out people before and during the commercial breaks. "Excuse me sir. Yes, you in the fourth row in the blue and white striped shirt. We noticed you were not clapping during that last question. Please make sure that you do so and keep those hands high." "You, the lady in the red in the second row... Yes you. During that last segment you were talking to the guy seated next to you. Because he was listenting to you, he did not hear the question and neither of you clapped at the appropriate time. Please pay attention and no talking during the show." It was like audience boot camp.

The families had to participate in all of that and we had to be super peppy because the producers were watching us the whole time to see if we would be good on the show. So, we were very, very peppy. In addition to our butts hurting (from the aforementioned uncomfortable seats), our hands hurt from clapping, and our mouths hurt from smiling. It paid off in the end, as I will recount further shortly.

The first game went on -- it was a special tournament game (lovable families that had lost before were brought back to compete for $60,000). The two families were great, but one family was totally dominating. The second family however came back to win in a dramatic upset at the end of the game and won the $60,000. John O'Hurley, the host, was funny but he was suffering from some sort of cold or flu. He went back stage after the first game and the crew began redoing the sets -- changing it from the tournament set to the normal set. That mostly entailed popping the thousands of balloons that they'd set up everywhere.

There was a VERY, VERY long break between the first and the second show. Burton Richardson, in addition to being the audience nazi started crooning songs. "Remember to keep clapping. And now here's my rendition of 'I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas'" It was getting to be close to 2:00, they hadn't fed us anything since around 9 a.m. We were starting to hate Burton Richardson. It was getting dreary. I asked one of the producers when we were getting lunch. She told us after two more games, but they would bring us snacks now. They brought the families chips, granola bars, and glasses of water. The rest of the audience watched us salivating.

Finally, they got the show on the road again (evidently a doctor came to check out the host and gave him a shot in the tush during the intermission). The show went on. The Peterson's (the lovely Minnesota family) were selected to play the returning champions. I told myself that they must have been selected because they were the only non-local family. Also, they were lovely and very personable people. And they were also winners. They beat the returning champs and won $20,000. We were thrilled for them!

By that time, we'd done a lot of hanging out with the other families (in the audience and in the briefing room) and we were buddies with them all. Everyone is super personable (hence why there were there), so it was fun. We were thrilled for the Peterson's, but when they told us that we were the next up, we had no mercy. The Peterson's had won their money and now it was time for them to go home.

We played the game and we won! The Peterson's were very fast (beat us on the buzzer every time), but we played well. We won the first round. They won the second and third rounds. The final round was "Name a reason why someone might come home late from work." We stole that round for the victory with the answer "an affair." We were ecstatic! We got together in a huge huddle/hug jumping up and down! It was awesome!

Cookie and I did the fast money round. She was first and I was the second. After putting the mics on us, they stuck some earphones on me with Counting Crows playing. I couldn't hear the host or my sister, but I heard the board and applause. It sounded pretty good. One of the producers came up behind me, whipped off the headphones and told me to run out there. My sister had 107 points. I had to come up with 93. "I can do that," I thought. I sped through the fast money round and thought my answers were pretty good. They just weren't good enough. We ended up with 178 points. It still felt really good, because we knew we were playing again.

The second game, we won the first, second, and fourth rounds. We won the game and went back for the fast money. Again, Cookie was first and I was second. This time I came out from backstage and she'd only made 60 points. I thought I gave good answers too, but we only had 138 points in the end. Bummer! We are coming back though.

John O'Hurley ended up feeling too sick to continue, so they stopped filming after that second game and they sent everyone home. Good thing, it was already past 5 p.m. at that point (we'd been there over 8 hours). I felt like we'd been in cheerleader camp. My feet hurt from standing on my feet during and between the games (mental note: rethink the 3 inch heels for next time), my mouth and cheeks hurt from smiling, my hands hurt from clapping, my butt hurt from the chairs, my ego hurt a bit from missing the $20,000 two times, but it was worth it. We really were just so happy to be there, to be winners, and to be coming back.

I was exhausted after that intense day. Nevertheless, we came home and my hubby reminded me that we still had to run 7 miles. (We're training for a marathon). I asked him to just let me lie down for a minute please. I laid down for about an hour and then we headed out the door around 7 p.m. for our run. It was dark and the roads and trails around us are uneven. Around mile 5.5, I fell and twisted my ankle. Honestly, I think that was rather a relief. Mentally, I couldn't handle any more intensity for the day and that dark, cold run was doing me in. I walked the half a mile home and called it a night. It had been quite a day!

We got the postcard!

2007-10-16T08:36:00.001-07:00

We've made it onto Family Feud. :)

Family Time

2007-10-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family:
Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."
~Jane Howard

With my hubby out of town, I've been spending lots of quality time with my siblings. On Saturday morning I went hiking with Chris and our dogs in Temescal Canyon. Afterwards we had a nice leisurely breakfast in the Palisades. Later that afternoon, I went and hung out with Cookie. She helped me with my hair and in exchange forced me to watch the new tv show Cane. I have to admit it was a pretty good show. I'm not going to start watching tv because of it though.

On Sunday I went over to Marfua's for a barbecue. The Soulja Boy song came up again and we spent quite a bit of time learning the dance ourselves. Now I can't wait to start dancing with the kids. :)

Tonight I had some more quality time with my family. We were Fueding. Cookie got us an audition for the Family Feud and we all braved the traffic to get there in time (Marfua and I were quite tardy, but we were not too late to audition). When I was imagining the audition I thought we would be the only family, and it would be a sort of screen test to test out our personality and our gaming skills. It turns out that we were one of 16 or so families. First they started off with a primer about how to be VERY ENTHUSIASTIC. Always make a guess and be VERY ENTHUSIASTIC. Huddle at the appropriate time and be VERY ENTHUSIASTIC. Support your family, always say "Good Answer!!" even if it's the worst answer in the entire world, oh and be VERY ENTHUSIASTIC. If anyone knows our family, enthusiasm is not a problem for us. We were feeling very ok.
After they went though the general "BE VERY ENTHUSIASTIC" primer and the rules of the game, they started having the families pair off to play a couple rounds together.

Because of our tardiness we were the last family (I think it's good because we were the freshest on their minds as they were deliberating). We were VERY ENTHUSIASTIC by the time we went up there. We had been practicing our enthusiasm the entire time, so by the time we got up to bat we were very amped up. We were asked to name "a type of food you eat in slices." Cookie won the face-off giving the number one answer of "Pizza." Chris then answered with #5 -- "Pie" and I followed up with #3 -- "Bread." Efua guessed pineapples. It was a good answer but not on the board. Marc guessed apples. Good answer, but also not on the board. Cookie was back up and she sort of went blank. With time running out she guessed "fruit." She couldn't come up with anything more specific. The other family stole it with "cheese." Anyway, even though we lost that round we remained very supportive of one another and the other team and we were VERY ENTHUSIASTIC. The Studio guy who walked us out commented that we did very well with our enthusiasm. :) We were so enthusiastic that it took quite a while to come down from the high of playing.

Anyway, if they like us they'll send us a postcard in the next couple of days. If we haven't heard in 2 weeks, we didn't make the cut. Regardless of what happens, it was a really fun night. My siblings and I really bonded over the experience and if nothing else we were all VERY ENTHUSIASTIC.

Flying Solo

2007-10-05T14:54:00.000-07:00

"No matter how calmly you try to referee, parenting will eventually produce bizarre behavior, and I'm not talking about the kids." ~Bill Cosby, Fatherhood, 1986

My beloved husband has left me for 10 days to visit his parents in Sydney. Since we've been together I've left him a few times to go to France, Spain, New York, New Orleans, and Seattle (the last one being since we got married), but he's never left me before. I have to say, it's much tougher being the one that's left. He just left yesterday and I'm already missing him terribly. I miss him when I'm the one that's gone too, but being away is more distracting. When you're the one that's home, you're constantly reminded that they're not there.

Anyway, last night was my first night as a single parent. I was on solo parenting duty. I was a little terrified that I would fail miserably at the task but everything went swimmingly. I made it home in time to relieve the baby sitter. I made a dinner that both kids enjoyed eating. I made sure the kids were bathed, cleaned up the dinner dishes, and got everyone in bed. That last one was a little challenging because they were both very excited with a new dance they were learning -- soulja boy dance -- and were more interested in dancing and telling the other one how little rhythm they had than they were in going to bed. But they did go to bed, with thoughts of soulja boys dancing in their heads, and woke up generally in a good mood. I got them to eat breakfast (no small feat), walked the dog, and got the kids to school on time. Phew! My only oopsie during the evening was that at one point I used an inappropriate word to refer to a body part -- a word that the 8-year old got quite a kick out of repeating. I eventually got him to stop and to realize that it's not a good word to say. So all's well that ends well.

Birthdays and Other Celebrations

2007-10-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

“Who, being loved, is poor?” - Oscar Wilde

This post is going to be a big brag. I have to brag because these past few days have made me feel so beloved. First of all, five of the most gorgeous, generous, amazing women threw me a party on Saturday. The party was amazing... they really did it to the nines. They rented fancy linens and champagne flutes. They baked amazing deserts from scratch. They got fine champagne and decorated the house with champagne colored balloons. It was awesome. I felt very beloved by these women -- all representing different phases of my life (from college to the present). One of these women, Susan, flew all the way from Alabama just to throw me a party! And then there were the guests -- all sorts of people came to toast to Peter and I in our marriage. Again, I felt so very, very beloved and very honored. It was unbelievable.

Then yesterday was my birthday and the lovefest continued. I received all sorts of cards, phone calls, e-mails, flowers, gifts, etc. from friends and family near and far. But I also received happy birthday messages from all sorts of unexpected people from ex-boyfriends to ex-belly dancing teachers to ex-secretaries. It was incredible!

Then last night my family and my honorary family (my siblings, siblings-in-law, and best law school friends) took me out to dinner at Newsroom. There were 15 of us and our laughter rang out through the whole restaurant. As an aside, I highly recommend this restaurant. The food is very good and there are all sorts of healthy food options -- I was able to eat a raw salad and a vegan dessert. However, the meat eaters were also very happy with everything from New Zealand steak to Dehli prawns. Also, if you go you MUST eat the artichoke appetizer. It is beyond heavenly! Additionally, for those who get a kick out of star sightings, this place is also a very good place to go. I saw at least 2 movie stars there last night.

Anyway, I really resonate with the above Oscar Wilde quote. With all the love I've been shown in the past few days, I have to say I feel awfully rich.

Raw Food & Another Wedding Party

2007-09-26T16:43:00.000-07:00

"Vegetables are the food of the earth; fruit seems more the food of the heavens."
~Sepal Felicivant

It's funny how when you limit the food you eat, food becomes a much bigger thing in your life. Well, if I'm to be honest, food has always been a big thing in my life. Now, I seem to be spending even more time thinking about it though. Oh well.

I'm loving the raw food diet so much, that I've just decided to stick with it at least for another week or two. I feel absolutely wonderful, have lost about 15 lbs. (so I'm looking better), and am super energetic. It's also been much easier than I thought to do this. I haven't missed cooked food, meat, caffeine, alchohol, eggs or diary. In fact, I'm in no hurry to go back. Also, it's been easy to find raw food restaurants and of course organic, locally grown fruits and veggies abound. Luckily being in LA, people don't think you've landed from Mars for doing this and the resources are readily available.

Anyway, I'll keep it up until I don't feel like it anymore. In the meantime, bring on the salads and fruit and nuts.

In other news, my most wonderful fabulous friends -- Katie, Jill, Susan, Ariane, & Eleonore -- are throwing Peter and I an LA champagne and dessert wedding party this weekend. It's for those who couldn't make it to Spain and for those who made it to Spain and just want to attend a great party. Yeah! I have the best friends. :) Susan is even flying all the way from Birmingham, Alabama to be there. Life is sweet. Now I just have to decide if for this one occasion, I feel like some alcohol and refined sugar. ;)

It's almost my birthday!

2007-09-19T18:01:00.001-07:00

So for the past couple of years I've been making a birthday list. This is really working for me, so I am doing that again. So (drum roll please) here is the 2007 list of what I desire for my birthday (October 1):

- art lessons (acrylic painting or drawing)
- pair(s) of and/or gift certificate(s) for Manolo Blahniks or Jimmy Choos
- comfy yet stylish pajamas
- new digital camera
- gift certificate(s) to Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com
- gift certificate(s) for spa services ( Burke Williams is always a good choice)
- flowers
- a new Palm Phone, Treo, or iphone
- plane tickets/all expense paid trips to fabulously fun places
- fun party with my family and friends
- a night out on the town in a limo
- a makeover &/or shopping spree
- a Tiffany's gift certificate or anything from Tiffany's.
- a GPS for my car
- tickets to see the Color Purple, La Boheme, or Chorus Line
- contributions for the NPI project (a tax deductible gift)
If you opt for this last one, you can send your tax deductible donations to:
NPI Renovation/Healing Project
PO Box 691941
Los Angeles, CA 90069
Checks should to made payable to: UC Regents
On the memo line please reference: NPI Renovation/Healing project

That's all I can think of for now. I realize that some of these things are big ticket items, but if you don't ask...

Talk Like A Pirate Day

2007-09-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

Ahoy mateys. Do you landlubbers know what today is? It's September 19th and it's Talk Like a Pirate Day. Arrgh, shiver me timbers. I sure do feel silly talking (um... writing) like a pirate, but it's a national holiday and I'm a patriot. If you want a laugh, read Dave Barry's take on this. And as Dave Barry says:
"Join us on Sept. 19. You HAVE the buckles, darn it: Don't be afraid to swash them! Let's make this into a grass-roots movement that sweeps the nation, like campaign-finance reform, or Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I truly think this idea could bring us, as a nation, closer together. But not TOO much closer. Some of us will have swords."

In other news, I went with Sean, Melissa, Jason, Cookie, & Peter to see Avenue Q at the Ahmanson last night. It was absolutely hysterical! I'm particularly fond of the Bad Idea Bears -- two very cute and cuddly looking bear puppets that encourage the characters to do all sorts of very unwise things. I highly encourage everyone to check it out.

Lastly today is my first day of eating real food. The Master Cleanse was a rousing success. I feel great, lost 10 lbs., and am so enjoying the taste of the pear, avocado, and mango I ate so far today. :)

Master Cleanse -- Day 9

2007-09-16T11:27:00.000-07:00

We're in Palm Springs... actually we're in Palm Dessert at a Marriott Resort. It's a beautiful 2 bedroom, 2 bath suite that Rob & Bon got through their time share. We've been having a very relaxing time here.

I'm on Day 9 of the Master Cleanse -- I can see the home stretch. I'm actually feeling really great and excited to get onto the raw food for the following 5 days. Rob started his Cleanse today. We were guiding him through it ... it's actually been fun for all of us to be doing it together. Peter has officially gone off the fast. He started eating some fruit yesterday. He wanted the weekend to wean himself off of the Cleanse. I'm going to go through the entire 10 days. I want to get REALLY healthy. We're both excited about eating more organic food and revamping our eating style. I've also decided to eat only locally grown fruits & veggies. I figure, I'll eat better, help my local farmers, and lower my carbon footprint. All good things, eh?

Master Cleanse -- Day 7

2007-09-14T09:35:00.000-07:00

"Whoso will pray, he must fast and be clean, And fat his soul, and make his body lean"
-- Geoffrey Chaucer

I'm on Day 7 of the cleansing fast. I feel very energetic -- actually almost too energetic. I woke up at 3:00 a.m. today (and by 5:00 other mornings). Peter's been having the opposite problem. He is awake until 3 a.m. Anyway, I don't feel like I've got insomnia, I just feel very, very energetic. Maybe it's all the sugars in the maple syrup. Who knows? I've also been woken up by cramping from the laxative tea. That's not fun, but the cramping goes away after a good bowel movement. That was too much information, wasn't it?

I've had to attend a couple dinners over the last two nights. On Wednesday night were Cookie and Bon's birthdays (both our sisters are born on 9/12). We had a joint family dinner. Last night was Rosh Hashana dinner at the kids' mom's house. I don't know how it tasted, but it smelled awfully good. There's another dinner tonight for Bon, but I'm sitting out on this one. Peter is going to attend, but I'm going to stay home with the kids. It's not that I'm hungry, but there are really only so many meals one should have to watch other people eat.

Tomorrow we head out to Palms Springs with Bon & Rob. Rob has decided to join the Master Cleanse club and is starting Day 1 tomorrow. Poor Bon will be the only one eating all weekend. She doesn't feel badly though. She's excited about not having to cook.

Master Cleanse - Day 4

2007-09-11T16:44:00.000-07:00

"I called a detox center - just to see how much it would cost: $13,000 for three weeks! My friends, if you can come up with thirteen grand, you don't have a problem yet" -- Sam Kinison

P. and I have been doing the Master Cleanse -- we're on day 4 of the 10 day cleanse. For 10 days we drink a lemonade made of fresh squeezed lemon juice, organic grade B maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and purified water, salt water, laxitive tea, and water. That's it. No food, no other drinks, no broth, nothing, nada, zip. I was feeling a real need to detoxify and P. decided to join me.

So far, so good. I feel actually quite good. I had enough energy to go to the gym this morning and I've been fine with work. I have been missing food a little bit, but it's mostly just from force of habit. I'm not at all hungry and I'm actually feeling very light and very energetic. Also, I've lost 4 lbs. The downsides? It's actually a very busy, very social week where we have to go to all sorts of dinners (including our sisters' b-days and Rosh Hashanah). It's not that fun to watch people eat when you're on the cleanse. Also, you have to go to the bathroom about 568 times per day. And this may be too much information, but you have to give yourself an extra hour in the morning to let the salt water cleanse and the laxative tea do their thing. You CANNOT be out of the vicinity of a toilet for that entire time.

Anyway, I hope to blog each day about my experiences with the fast. Will try to write again tomorrow.

It's been so long...

2007-09-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature." -- Anne Frank

Having kids and a husband and full time plus job and a busy social schedule, I've found that certain things have fallen by the wayside. One of those things seems to be blogging. I really do enjoy chronicling my adventures big and small, so I'm going to try to keep at it. If it's more occasional than I otherwise might like, so be it. At least I'm showing up.

So all sorts of things have been happening. Last weekend I went to the Seattle area to celebrate Jojo's bachelorette party. It certainly wasn't your typical bachelorette fiesta replete with boas, phallic paraphernalia, scavenger hunts, and lots of booze. It was Jojo style -- a natural affair where 5 women went kayaking and camping in the San Juan island region outside of Seattle. We did have some wine with dinner and our guide Collin was quite cute, but that's about as close as we got to the usual uproar. It was perfect though -- an opportunity to reconnect with friends and with nature. Lovely. I did miss my hubby though -- it was our first time apart since before we got hitched in May.

Interestingly, I've noted that I do not have to travel all the way to Washington State to be close to nature. I've literally have it coming to me in my backyard. This morning I spotted a coyote prowling around. Actually my dog Marley noted the coyote first. She was barking and agitated most of the night. I was too tired to check on it during the night, but when I went to feed her this morning I spotted the tan animal skulking in the back yard. It was definitely more afraid of Marley and I than we were of it. I was very excited to spot our new neighbor though I'm sure some other neighbors may not be as thrilled.

Usually we have more benign natural wildlife come visit. There's a family of deer that likes to come tromping through our yard. The deer are very brave and will saunter through unless we try to get too close.

I love living in a big city but on a dirt road with all sorts of creatures as neighbors.

The Bells & Whistles

2007-07-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

Our civil ceremony was so lovely and special with the darling little commissioner and our immediate families (minus Marc, Efua & Albert) that I felt like I had no need for the "bells and whistles" ceremony. The civil ceremony was so poignant, touching, celebratory and fun, that had we not been so far along in our planning for the other ceremony I might have opted to save some coin and forgo the Spanish wedding. Now, after having experienced Spain and the whole kit and caboodle, I am so happy I didn't.

Upon waking in the beyond gorgeous honeymoon suite at the Roommate Migueletes Hotel in Granada (a hotel I highly recommend by the way), one of my first thoughts was "I want to do that again!!!" It was such a great party!

My dear friend and co-homeowner Sean officiated the ceremony and did an extraordinary job. It was personal and very beautiful -- I cried pretty much from the moment I saw all my beloved guests smiling as I walked in with my dad to the final moment when Peter broke the glass and everyone shouted Mazeltov! The setting was gorgeous -- Albaicin and Alhambra smiling upon us --but the very personal sermon, the unity candle ceremony that included the kids, the Spanish arras ceremony, the breaking of the glass, and of course the final kiss where what really made it special. The reception was equally glorious. The food was divine, the drinks were flowing and the dancing...oh the dancing! We danced all night. The DJ was spectacular and we got to do the hora. Having attended so many Jewish weddings, I was quite jazzed to get up in the chair myself. We also had Haitian music, Spanish music, and everything in between. Peter and I danced the whole night and we weren't alone. At one point my 8-year old stepson came up to me and said his legs really hurt from dancing so much, but he couldn't stop dancing. My thoughts exactly!

When the music finally stopped at 2 a.m. I was sad to see the party ending (although I was happy to be heading on over to the aforementioned honeymoon suite with my new husband). I'm so happy I didn't stop at the civil ceremony and went forward with our decision to party heartily with my dearest family and friends.

Of course, under no circumstances did I ever consider skipping the honeymoon, which turned out to be even better than my already high expectations. I'll write more about that next time.

Honeymoon

2007-07-06T00:19:00.000-07:00

This is me in Fira, Santorini.

Peter and I having dinner at Koukoumavlos -- one of the most delicious restaurants in Santorini.

I started to write this blog when we were honeymooning in Greece. I got otherwise distracted and am posting today. :)

Reuniting with Old Friend

2007-06-05T11:47:00.000-07:00

"Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses."– Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr

My friend H. came to visit LA with her son and husband. We spent the afternoon with them in Santa Monica -- walking down and lunching at the Promenade, and spending time at the beach.

I met H. when we both were studying law in Japan. We both would get lots of attention because we look so decidedly non-Japanese. H. is German but lives in Tennessee now with her family. I hadn't seen her since January 2000 when I went to visit her in Germany, so it was really wonderful to catch up. I brought P, I, and T, so we both appreciated meeting each other's new families. Life has certainly changed for both of us since we met up right after that millenial new year.

Recent Holidays

2007-05-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

"The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example." ~Benjamin Disraeli

So much has been going on, but I haven't had time to post. I'm not going to post about everything, I'll just focus on two most recent holidays and their accompanying celebrations.

First of all was Mother's Day. I celebrated my first Mother's Day as a step mother. My beautiful step-daughter made me the sweetest card [I feel like such a mom because I have this hand-made Mother's Day card proudly displayed in my office] and she bought me this beautiful gift of Mango Pomegranite lotion. At this point, I'd been a step-mother for a little over a week. I didn't expect anything, so I was practically moved to tears for these gestures. Mother's Day was spent picnicing in Silver Lake with P, the kids, their mom, her boyfriend, P's mom, P's sister, and her husband. The whole family was there and it was great. The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, and just knowing that the extended family can get along so well also made me feel quite teary. I'm quite a mush about all of this, but I'm really so grateful for how seemlessly I've been able to blend into the family.

The other thing I want to blog about was the great Memorial Day BBQ we celebrated yesterday. P and I hosted about 24 mates for some chook on the barbie. (That's "chicken on the barbecue" for you non-Aussies). We also had burgers and other tasty things. Again, perfect weather, delicious food, wonderful people and great times. And since I wasn't feeling very well at the end of the night, my delightful and wonderful husband cleaned up everything all by himself. How did I get so lucky?

Porgy & Bess

2007-05-09T16:13:00.000-07:00

"Got to keep agoin' like de flowin' of a song.
Oh, I can't sit down
Guess I'll take my honey an' her sunny smile along.
Today I is gay an' I's free
Jes' abubblin', nothin'troublin' me."
-From "Oh I Can't Sit Down" Porgy & Bess

Last night P., B., R. and I (namely my new husband, sister-in-law and mother-in-law) went to the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion to see Porgy & Bess. The show was wonderful. I'd of course heard many of the songs before, but didn't know the story line or that it was an opera of sorts. I was very impressed by the depths of the portrayals and the singing. Fantastic show, fantastic time. And it's always nice to do the cultural thing in this city. LA is actually rife with it, but you have to work a little hard at getting to it sometimes.

Pictures Are Worth 1000 Words

2007-05-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

"There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage."
Martin Luther

Walking Down the Aisle with Dad (I think it was just about this time when the Commissioner pulled out the boom box)

Just Married!

The Whole Family (Picture Taken by Commissioner)

Toasting at Duke's

I'm married!!!

2007-05-07T13:44:00.000-07:00

"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."
Aristotle

I got hitched on Friday. P and I are having our large bells & whistles ceremony in Spain on June 24, but we needed to get civilly married in the US (too much hassle to do it in Spain). My parents were here from Spain, P's mom was here from Sydney so this was the perfect time.

We scheduled an appointment at 3:00 at LAX Courthouse. I was not expecting much to happen at this airport adjacent locale. I half expected that a brusque and officious bureaucrat would call us up to the counter, check our IDs, ensure that we really did intend to get married, get us and our witness to sign the form and we would be out of there in 5 minutes.

Boy were we pleasantly surprised!!! LAX Courthouse had a chapel. It was very Vegas. You walked in and at the end of a short aisle flanked by 12 chairs in neat rows of two, there was an arch covered in faux flowers. A faux wedding cake was on the artfully decorated table at the entrance. A cute 70-90 year old Commissioner in her black judge's robe greeted us at the door. She was about 4 foot 5, wrinkled as a raisin, and cute as a button. Her large smile lit up her tan face and after she warmly greeted everyone who was at the wedding, she patted her large blonde-white bun and headed to the front. It was utterly delightful.

I grabbed my dad and asked if he wanted to walk me down the aisle. He readily agreed. "Hold on!!" yelled the commissioner. She pulled out a small boom box from behind the podium, pressed Play and the Wedding March started blaring. My dad took my arm in his and walked me down the aisle to my waiting groom. "Who brings this woman to take this man in holy matrimony?" "I do," said my dad and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

The commissioner then invited everyone to stand behind her for better pictures and everyone filed behind her. Only my brother and sister-in-law stayed seated. Everyone else went behind her. They smiled lovingly upon us and took many pictures or videotaped as the commissioner began her lovely sermon about love and commitment and the responsabilities of marriage. We exchanged vows. Then Teo, our ring bearer, delivered a ring. Finally she pronounced us husband and wife and we kissed. It was lovely.

Afterwards we took many pictures. The commissioner even took one for us -- carefully arranging us and making sure everyone appeared in the photo. The 5 minute ceremony I expected was actually a half an hour. It was absolutely lovely and the whole thing was a delight.

Afterwards the whole family went to Duke's in Malibu for some delicious ocean-front dining. I couldn't have planned a more perfect day.

Pictures coming soon.

Updates

2007-04-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

So much has been happening that I haven't had time to blog. Melissa got married the weekend before last. I was a co-maid of honor. The wedding was seamless and went off without a hitch -- perfect weather, wonderful food, incredibly happy bride, and well-received speech. It couldn't have been better.

Last weekend was my bridal shower. It was fun. There was good food, silly games, fun gifts, and great friends, and the theme was Pink Princess so everyone was dressed in pink and I was treated like royalty. My type of party! Hehe. :) Afterwards I went to Sean and Jen's b-day bbq, where there was more good food, great friends (though no silly games or fun gifts (at least not for me). :) I'm getting used to my house not being home anymore, but it still feels a little strange.

Yesterday morning I ran to the gym and then came back in time to make brunch for Pam and Allen, P. and the kids. I made some yummy crepes (if I do say so myself). Then just about as soon as we were done eating, we had to go to my dad's cousin's house for a early dinner. I felt like I spent the whole day eating, but it was good times. Peter and I then came home and started to open wedding gifts that have begun to pour in. Gifts are fun!!! Peter was particularly excited about the new coffee maker (thanks Jason!) and went around the house whooping with joy (and this was even before he drank a cup).

Anyway, things are great. I have four more days to be officially single. Peter and I are going to city hall on Friday afternoon to do the deed (too complicated to get legally married in Spain). Mom and Dad are here and Peter's mom just arrived this morning. We'll have the immediate family at the ceremony and then are going out for a celebratory dinner. I've been so focused on Spain (and getting married on June 24) that it just hit me that I'm getting hitched on Friday. Holy smoke!!! Yowsa!

I haven't been taking pictures (I need a new digital camera), but other people have. I'll upload them soon.

What's going on

2007-04-10T16:34:00.000-07:00

"Remember to be gentle with yourself and others. We are all children of
chance and none can say why some fields will blossom while others lay
brown beneath the August sun. Care for those around you. Look past your
differences. Their dreams are no less than yours, their choices no more
easily made. And give, give in any way you can, of whatever you posses.
To give is to love. To withhold is to wither. Care less for your harvest
than for how it is shared and your life will have meaning and your heart
will have peace."
Ken Nerburn
American Author, Artist and Theologian

On Saturday I gifted P. (us) with a Couples Massage Workshop 101 for our one year anniversary. It was just the two of us and a massage instructor. For 4 1/2 hours we learned about massage, how to give a relatively professional full-body massage, and each received a full body massage. It was divine and so much fun. And it's been great to trade massages ever since. :)

On Saturday afternoon, P., B., and I went to an art gallery opening in Downtown LA --Modern Myths. The show focused on the works of 13 different artists combining modern icons (Olsen Twins, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Howard Stern, etc.) with mythology (Zeus, minotaur, leprachaun). It's a very cool idea, but I was slightly underwhelmed. It could have been because I was too zoned out from the massage. In any case, it's always nice to do something cultural and artsy in this town.

On Sunday, we royally celebrated Easter. My brother's friend Ray organized his third annual Easter Brunch at Harbor House in Marina del Rey. It's a great venue for this thing -- beautiful restaurant overlooking the harbour and the crowd keeps getting bigger and bigger. This year we had over 40 people (including all my siblings). It was also a surprise 35th birthday party for Kelly. Good times.

After a brief stop at the old house, P. and I went on a fun and challenging ridge hike in Runyan Canyon with Marley. We all love that hike and it's great to go someplace where Marley can run off-leash.

Last night we went over to Corinne and Rob's to hang out with the new baby -- now one week old. He's such a cute baby boy (especially for a newborn, who I'm sorry to say are not generally the cutest things). It was nice to hang with them and to have some cuddle time with the baby. There are few things I love more than a baby's tiny little hands and feet. Too precious! P. made a comment that I was drooling a bit while I was holding the baby. That is not accurate, but it did make me feel the tick tock of my body's clock and the typical maternal tuggings of a woman. Luckily, I get to fulfill my maternal urgings during my quality time with my future step-children.

New Orleans

2007-04-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

I figured out how to upload pictures. Yeah! Here are two of the more sedate pics from the weekend. Hehe. Hey, it was a bachelorette party! It really wasn't too crazy, but we made a pact that what happened in New Orleans stayed in New Orleans. I think I can share the following pictures with the public without breaking any pacts.

This picture is of the group at dinner at Emeril's restaurant, NOLA. To say that the food was incredibly delicious is an understatement. It was truly divine.

This is a picture of the group at the Musical Legends Park. Though Cafe du Monde gets all the hype for having amazing beignets, the Musical Legends Park actually had tastier ones. Cafe du Monde definitely wins for best ambiance however.

anniversary

2007-04-06T08:01:00.000-07:00

"An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow." ~Author Unknown

I uploaded my New Orleans pictures onto P's iPhoto and haven't been able to figure out how to upload them (I'm new to Macs). There are all sorts of fun features -- for example, I managed to instantly create a website with all the New Orleans pictures, but I can't seem to upload a couple onto here. I'll fiddle with it and hopefully put something up soon.

In other news P and I celebrated our one year anniversary on Wednesday, April 4. He sent me a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers (my favorite) and he took me to dinner at Inn of the Seventh Ray, which has to be the most romantic restaurant in all of LA. It was delightful, we talked about the past year and we set goals and intentions for the year ahead. I'm so happy, excited, and grateful for P and our life together. I'm also so happy that as much as I loved him at Day 1 (and I really did love him at first sight), at this point I find myself more in love than ever with my feelings deepening every day.

New Orleans

2007-04-03T14:57:00.002-07:00

"In New Orleans, gluttony is a way of life."
-Mortin J. Horwitz

I just spent the past weekend in New Orleans for Melissa's bachelorette party and I concur wholeheartedly with the above quote. In fact, it seems that most, if not all, of the cardinal sins are a way of life in this city. I say this with the the utmost admiration and appreciation. I truly loved New Orleans with its outstanding food, exuberant party-life, unbelievable friendliness, beauty, sensuality, freedom, voodoo, music (in such diversity and crazy abundance), dance, celebration, coffee, alcohol. Standing in the French Quarter as the spring festival parade rattled by on horseback while costumed citizens threw flowers, beads, and candy to the onlookers, I was blown away by the poetic nature of the culture.

Anyway, I loved the city and had a terrific time with the 7 other phenomenal women at the bachelorette party. The weekend was a perfect mixture of pre-wedding merry-making, oyster po'boys, beignets, and hurricanes, shopping, quality girl-time, and the occasional run. I'll post pictures as soon as I upload them.

Moving Party

2007-03-18T13:22:00.000-07:00

"Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should dance."
Anonymous

Mission accomplished. The move did turn out to be a party -- though one where we worked very hard! In the party invite, I must have forgotten to mention the steep 49 step climb up to P's place (I mean our place). Oh well, my "movers" made the best of it and appreciated the fact that in addition to helping a friend they got a great cardio and weight workout.

In order to make the move more festive, I donned my St. Patrick's green clothes, green beaded necklace, and blonde wig. I was also going to wear a tiara, but I thought that might be going overboard. Hehe. Anyway, I raised quite a few eyebrows at U-Haul with my outfit, but the kids were delighted and my future step-daughter asked to borrow another blonde wig and a green shirt so that we would be matching. Luckily I've got two blonde wigs. :)

In all the festivities, I forgot to photograph the event. I especially wanted to photograph, recognize, and thank my party-goers, Jeff, Rick, and Nick, for being such stellar friends and taking most of their Saturday to move me and my furniture up and down a mountain. Those guys totally rock!!! I also want to thank my new family for working their tails off (especially little T. who insisted on trying to carry boxes nearly double his size! and P. for working magic through sweat and organization). Lastly, I want to thank B, my future sister-in-law, for coming over and making us dinner later that night.

Last day of this part of my life

2007-03-16T21:37:00.000-07:00

"Make voyages! -- Attempt them! -- there's nothing else."
– Tennessee Williams

I am in my bedroom alone right now. It's my last night in my house. Tomorrow I move to P's house. It's a little strange to be here surrounded by boxes and suitcases, and knowing that tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life, and all that. I'm excited, though a part of me is sad to say goodbye to my truly single life. Though I yearned to be in a relationship for so long, there are nice things about being single. Even though it's nicer to be with P. than without him, it was also nice to have my own space to come back to. I had a sanctuary here. I can still create my sanctuary, but in a different space and in a different way. Anyway, this is slightly bittersweet, but mostly sweet. I'm thrilled about this next phase of my life.

In customary fashion, I've made moving into a party. It's going to be a St. Patty's Day, Mexican food and beer moving party. I've invited my nearest and dearest, and some helpful die-hards are coming to help. It should be fun, and the way I think of it -- the first day of the rest of your life should be fun. It has to set the tone for what's to come.

In other news, I've accepted a job. It's a law job?!? I've been working with a small IP litigation boutique as a contract attorney and I've been really enjoying it. Who would have thunk? Anyway, it's much fewer hours than I was working before for slightly more money. Nice trick, eh? Life is good.

Poetry Thursday

2007-03-08T11:36:00.000-08:00

Except from SONG OF THE OPEN ROAD

"Listen! I will be honest with you;
I do not offer the old smooth prizes, but offer rough new prizes;
These are the days that must happen to you:

You shall not heap up what is call’d riches,
You shall scatter with lavish hand all that you earn or achieve,
You but arrive at the city to which you were destin’d—you hardly settle yourself to satisfaction, before you are call’d by an irresistible call to depart,
You shall be treated to the ironical smiles and mockings of those who remain behind you;
What beckonings of love you receive, you shall only answer with passionate kisses of parting,
You shall not allow the hold of those who spread their reach’d hands toward you.

Allons! after the GREAT COMPANIONS! and to belong to them!
They too are on the road! they are the swift and majestic men; they are the greatest women.
Over that which hinder’d them—over that which retarded—passing impediments large or small,
Committers of crimes, committers of many beautiful virtues,
Enjoyers of calms of seas, and storms of seas,
Sailors of many a ship, walkers of many a mile of land,
Habitués of many distant countries, habitués of far-distant dwellings,
Trusters of men and women, observers of cities, solitary toilers,
Pausers and contemplators of tufts, blossoms, shells of the shore,
Dancers at wedding-dances, kissers of brides, tender helpers of children, bearers of children,
Soldiers of revolts, standers by gaping graves, lowerers down of coffins,
Journeyers over consecutive seasons, over the years—the curious years, each emerging from that which preceded it,
Journeyers as with companions, namely, their own diverse phases,
Forth-steppers from the latent unrealized baby-days,
Journeyers gayly with their own youth—Journeyers with their bearded and well-grain’d manhood,
Journeyers with their womanhood, ample, unsurpass’d, content,
Journeyers with their own sublime old age of manhood or womanhood,
Old age, calm, expanded, broad with the haughty breadth of the universe,
Old age, flowing free with the delicious near-by freedom of death.
by Walt Whitman

I just came back from a very productive wedding trip to Spain. My wedding planners gave me a list of wedding readings. Song of the Open Road was one of them, but someone evidently took various stanzas from the poem and put it together. What they created was very beautiful, but when I went to find it online for my Poetry Thursday submission I realized that the new creation was quite different from the original. Above I've put sections 11 & 12 from the original (unedited).

Anyway, aside from distributing misleading poetry, the wedding planners were lovely and I feel like I'm in such great hands. They had my parents and I running around Granada and in 48 hours I managed to visit the wedding site (absolutely gorgeous with dramatic views of the Alhambra), all six hotels we've reserved for our guests, two rehearsal dinner sites, day-after wedding brunch site, the florist, the photographer, the DJ, and the hair and make up person for my trials. We were incredibly productive. And then I went to my parent's town and took care of the wedding shoes, the wedding favors, the garter belt, and the wedding jewelry. Hurray! The wedding feels so done and it's going to be spectacularly gorgeous. I simply can't wait. :)

Quality Time

2007-02-20T20:22:00.000-08:00

"No matter what you do, no matter how stupid, dumb or damaging you judge it to be, there is a lesson to be learned from it. No matter what happens to you, no matter how unfair, inequitable or wrong, there’s something you can take from the situation and use for your advancement."
Peter McWilliams

I've had some quality time with the siblings recently. The Sunday before Valentine's Day P and I invited our siblings + significant others (there were 10 of us total) to a dinner party. This sibling only dinner party was great for reconnecting. We luckily had the chance to do it again soon. The next week my aunt got in touch -- she was visiting from Boston and wanted to see her neices and nephews. I invited my siblings over for another dinner to see my aunt and my dad's cousins. I love my family and am so grateful that we all get along.

In wedding news -- we put the deposit down on our Greek honeymoon today, so that's finally *almost* settled. And in less than one week I'm heading to Spain to take care of many "on the ground" decisions. Yeah!!! I can't wait to go. :) Time is flying by, but everything will settle into place soon enough.

Latest

2007-02-11T15:11:00.000-08:00

"When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced courses of action you should take - choose the bolder."
William Joseph Slim

It's been a while since I posted and lots has been going on. We've been plodding along with the wedding plans -- mostly we've been focusing on the honeymoon plans lately. We're honeymooning on the Greek isles and we've been comparing islands, hotels, and vacation packages for the past few weeks. P is funny and is much more discriminating than I am. I am happy to look at the pictures, say "sounds nice," and move onto the next things. P, on the other hand, likes to go online and really research all of our various options. He's pretty much addicted to trip advisor, and spends hours making sure we've got the *perfect* place. I appreciate his efforts and our honeymoon is shaping up very nicely.

In other news, the half-ironman is off. Two of the three of us who were going to be doing this race started to really feel the pressure. I have been focusing on my wedding planning and on my career changes, and couldn't really find the energy to adequately train. The bride-to-be can do a half-ironman in her sleep, but my co-maid of honor was also feeling the strain of training. She's also planning her own wedding and leaving her job. So, we decided that it was too stressful and not so fun. So, instead we're going to New Orleans. I've never been to New Orleans, so I'm very excited. And since this bachelorette party is much more typical -- the number of women who've decided to come has jumped up considerably. Now we've got a real party, and the half-ironman will have to wait for a later date.

Other news -- the reiki class was really great. It felt so wonderful to teach it and I'm very excited that P is now a certified reiki practitioner. It's nice to be able to share it with one another.

Lastly, I've gotten a new contract for legal work. I'm working for a small firm on the westside doing patent litigation. It's actually been fun learning this new kind of law. I've been quite busy though and am struggling a little to find time to market my mediation practice. It's going to come together. It's nice to be working though. I spent pretty much all of January without an income.

Progress

2007-01-22T09:57:00.000-08:00

"Progress is what happens when impossibility yields to necessity."
-Arnold J Glasow

There are exciting things happening with the NPI project. The designer I was using before didn't work out for a variety of reasons. That was sad, but I was put in touch with this AMAZING new designer -- Karen Soto-White. She's done design for Cedars-Sinai among lots of other big commercial projects. This project is right up her alley and she's so on the ball. We went to visit the space again on Thursday. She was fired up, I was fired up, Katie Rogers, our feng shui specialist, was fired up. I feel like it's done. YEAH! We could still very much use donations, but I feel like in Karen and Katie's capable hands, the design work is done.

I'm progressing with the reiki as well. I'm teaching my first Reiki I class on February 3 with the aforementioned Katie Rogers. That's also very exciting.

Lastly, the wedding plans are progressing. I booked my flight to Spain for the end of February to check out the space, food, flowers, etc. That will be a fun little trip. The wedding planners are ready to take me around. Yeah! That will be fun. Since my last e-mail we also found the bridesmaids dresses, decided on a photographer, decided on the groom and groomsmen's suits, started planning the rehearsal dinner and the day-after brunch... we're getting there and I'm thrilled. :)

the latest

2007-01-08T23:30:00.000-08:00

"Always, always, always, always, always do what you are afraid to do."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

My future mother-in-law checks my blog to see how I'm progressing with the wedding. In the interests of not disappointing her, here's the latest.

I found the dress. Last Thursday night I grabbed my sister and took her to a bridal shop in Torrance. I had been there before and had put 4 dresses "on hold." These were the dresses that I had really liked the first time I went to the shop with my mom. I got there and our helpful bridal consultant, Melissa, got my dresses for me to re-try. Two were definite no-no's. We were debating between the other two (I still wasn't quite sure), when Melissa brought me another dress to try on. My sister had picked up that dress before as a joke. Melissa brought it to me and I said "oh no! That's not me." "Just try it on," she implored. "OK" I had nothing to lose. Well, I put it on and ... hold the phone... I kinda liked this dress. I really kinda liked this dress. My sister starts having a caniption in the corner. Everyone is gasping. That's the dress!!! Well, what do you know? So it was done.

In other news, we put the deposit down for the wedding planner and the venue. We have a date (June 24, 2007) and we have a place (Granada, Spain). It's happening. YES!!!!!!!!!

In other news, I've formed a mastermind group. I formed it with 7 other phenomenal and inspiring women. We had our first meeting yesterday and from that I've already become inspired to move forward in my various goals. Katie and I set a date for our first Reiki I class -- February 3. I've also committed to taking some steps for my mediation career and for the NPI project. I love where I'm moving. Yeah! :)

Poetry Thursday

2006-12-28T17:01:00.000-08:00

i go to this window

just as day dissolves
when it is twilight(and
looking up in fear

i see the new moon
thinner than a hair)

making me feel
how myself has been coarse and dull
compared with you, silently who are
and cling
to my mind always

But now she sharpens and becomes crisper
until i smile with knowing
--and all about
herself
the sprouting largest final air

plunges
inward with hurled
downward thousands of enormous dreams

-- ee cummings

This is this week's Poetry Thursday submission. I've been savoring it and trying to feel it's meaning. I was going to put on another ee cummings poem, but that one was very racy. And I'm always discovering that new people are reading this blog -- P's mom, P's ex, my mom, my exes, co-workers, etc. I guess some discretion is necessary at times.

This holiday week has been rather focused on weddings. We wrote out a guest list on Tuesday. Yesterday I went to look for dresses ... again. At first all the dresses I tried on seemed beautiful and perfect and my problem was that I couldn't decide which to pick. Now all the dresses seem wrong and I can't find anything that's quite right. I'm waiting for the magic moment when I put on the dress and the tears form in my eyes because I KNOW this is THE perfect dress. Soon. I think I'm just about over dress shopping.

Felices Fiestas!

2006-12-26T08:51:00.000-08:00

"Heap on the wood! - the wind is chill; But let it whistle as it will, We'll keep our Christmas merry still."
- Sir Walter Scott

Season's Greetings to all!

I had a wonderful Christmas/Hannukah filled to the brim with parties. On Friday night I had two parties. There was a dinner party at my house for the family. My sister-in-law Lisa's grandparents were in town, so we had a dinner party in their honor. All my siblings, P, his kids, and my parents were there. My mother's orthopedist was also there with his wife. I'm not quite sure why he was there, but he's a very nice guy and it was nice to have him. After the dinner P and I went to his sister, B's, house party in Los Feliz. That was a fun little party too, but by midnight I started to turn into a pumpkin.

On Saturday night I went to a Hannukah party. Hannukah was technically over, but it was still great. We had latkes, kugel, and vegetarian chili. I don't think the veggie chili is a traditional Hannukah dish, but our hostess is a vegetarian. We rounded out the night with a fiesty game of dreidel. Though I once made a dreidel out of clay (really!), this was my first time playing. Fun times. We also had a really great conversation about politics and the war. Two of the guests were former military -- army and air force. It was very interesting to talk about these issues while hearing their perspectives. It was also nice to have this type of conversation in Los Angeles. I love it here, but you're much much more likely to talk about television or movies here than politics or world affairs. Oh well. At least the weather is beautiful here.

Sunday night we had our Christmas Eve extravaganza. The party traditionally starts after midnight mass. This year it went a little earlier and most guests had arrived by 11:00 p.m. We had mom's traditional soup, hot chocolate, and Haitian pates and then played a rousing game of Secret Santa. I ended up with some onion relish. :(

Christmas Day we went to my brother Marc's house. We had another rousing game of Secret Santa (this one was better because we had a $25 gift price tag) and then opened all our other presents. After that we feasted and feasted and feasted some more. Several people napped after the enormous meal. I just stayed up, half-comatose, and chatted with P's sister and other guests.

Following the Christmas Day feast at Marc's we went to another party at C&J's. This was quite a shindig! Catered, valet parking, magician, singers, and Santa Clause. If I hadn't been utterly exhausted from the rest of my parties I would have really had fun. It was a merry Christmas for all, but for me I was all about a good night... good night's sleep.

Poetry Thursday and a word on old friends

2006-12-13T11:08:00.000-08:00

Here is my Poetry Thursday submission. I'm not quite sure what it is about these 13th Century Persian mystical poets, but their poems just grab my heart.

If God Invited You To A Party
by Hafiz

If God
Invited you to a party
And said,

'Everyone
In the ballroom tonight
Will be my special
Guest...'

How would you then treat them
When you
Arrived?

Indeed, indeed!

And I know
There is no one in this world

Who
Is not upon
His Jeweled Dance
Floor

In other news, I've been spending lots of time catching up with old friends who I hadn't seen in quite a while. On Sunday night I had dinner with Cornelia, Monday I had lunch with Mary. Tuesday night P and I hosted Rob and Corinne for dinner. Last night I had my book club meeting (we hadn't met in quite a few months). It always feels so good to re-establish ties with good friends. Seeing how effortless it is to reconnect always reminds me of why we're friends in the first place.

Friends

2006-12-11T11:27:00.000-08:00

"Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends
Yes I get by with a little help from my friends"
-John Lennon/Paul McCartney from "With a Little Help From My Friends

I want y'all to check out my friend Jeff's great new website ecouragement.com. It's a very positive new website and has all sorts of great information on ways to improve your life ... from your health, to work, to family, to charity (he has an article on the NPI Project you should check out). Also, if you'd like to be charitable this holiday season, please consider donating to the NPI Project. Any amount is appreciated.

Send your tax deductible donations to:
NPI Renovation/Healing Project
PO Box 691941
Los Angeles, CA 90069
Checks should to made payable to: UC Regents
On the memo line please reference: NPI Renovation/Healing project

In other news, my friends came to help me out on Friday night. We had a little tree trimming party. The tree looks beautiful and it was great to catch up with folks over some egg nog and holiday treats. I'll try to post some pics from the party later.

Poetry Thursday

2006-12-07T11:14:00.000-08:00

I decided to share another Poetry Thursday poem from my favorite poet. This one is especially poignant since I'm not drinking wine at the moment. Sigh.

Ode To Wine -- Pablo Neruda

Day-colored wine,
night-colored wine,
wine with purple feet
or wine with topaz blood,
wine,
starry child
of earth,
wine, smooth
as a golden sword,
soft
as lascivious velvet,
wine, spiral-seashelled
and full of wonder,
amorous,
marine;
never has one goblet contained you,
one song, one man,
you are choral, gregarious,
at the least, you must be shared.
At times
you feed on mortal
memories;
your wave carries us
from tomb to tomb,
stonecutter of icy sepulchers,
and we weep
transitory tears;
your
glorious
spring dress
is different,
blood rises through the shoots,
wind incites the day,
nothing is left
of your immutable soul.
Wine
stirs the spring, happiness
bursts through the earth like a plant,
walls crumble,
and rocky cliffs,
chasms close,
as song is born.
A jug of wine, and thou beside me
in the wilderness,
sang the ancient poet.
Let the wine pitcher
add to the kiss of love its own.
My darling, suddenly
the line of your hip
becomes the brimming curve
of the wine goblet,
your breast is the grape cluster,
your nipples are the grapes,
the gleam of spirits lights your hair,
and your navel is a chaste seal
stamped on the vessel of your belly,
your love an inexhaustible
cascade of wine,
light that illuminates my senses,
the earthly splendor of life.
But you are more than love,
the fiery kiss,
the heat of fire,
more than the wine of life;
you are
the community of man,
translucency,
chorus of discipline,
abundance of flowers.
I like on the table,
when we're speaking,
the light of a bottle
of intelligent wine.
Drink it,
and remember in every
drop of gold,
in every topaz glass,
in every purple ladle,
that autumn labored
to fill the vessel with wine;
and in the ritual of his office,
let the simple man remember
to think of the soil and of his duty,
to propagate the canticle of the wine.

Update

2006-12-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

"We are all of us from birth to death guests at a table which we did not spread. The sun, the earth, love, friends, our very breath are parts of this banquet..."
Rebecca Harding Davis, 1831-1910
American Author and Journalist

I decided to share some updates about my life with you guys.

Work: I've officially started my own mediation practice. You can check out my mediation website. I LOVE the practice so much. It feels very good to be making money doing something you love so much you'd do it for free. Oh yeah!

And for my other business -- if you'd like some beautiful Hip Girlz pieces to give as Christmas gifts, check them out at my jewelry website. You can also go to a lovely little boutique called Pinky Rose , on Pico (just east of Fairfax). They're stocking some of my goods and they also have beautiful (and affordable!) pieces. The customer service is also divine.

Lastly (gosh I wear many hats!) I've recently become a reiki master. Friends, please contact me if you're interested in some reiki or in being able to do reiki yourself. Phew! That's enough for my plugs. In other news...

Wedding: It's happening. We've picked our officiant, we've picked our country, and we've picked our attendants. Our major goal right now is to book the venue. More to come. I'll just say that it's definitely shaping up to be my dream ... and it looks like I'm going to be getting married in a palace!

Triathlon: I'm back on the path of the Half-Ironman goal. This time my sights are set on the Lone Star Half on April 1. Why this particular one? One of my best friends set this as her bachelorette party. Now talk about hard core!

Life is good, but life is busy. I'm just trying to feast on this banquet of life and am enjoying every moment. Happy Holidays!

2006-12-04T16:21:00.000-08:00

"Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: 'I'm with you kid. Let's go.'"
– Maya Angelou

Things have been very good. That last hockey game was outstanding ... we won in the final shootout. It was an action-packed game all the way and our seats were unbelievable.

On Saturday night we took advantage of some other free tickets and went to see the Nutcracker at the Shrine Auditorium. It was staged by the Universal Ballet which is based in Seoul, Korea. It was SOOO good! Clara was unbelievably outstanding and the sets were like nothing I've ever seen. I had a blast. Who invited us? P's ex-wife. She invited me, my mom, P, and the kids. Talk about a functioning extended family! I think it's great that we can all be friends.

This week is busy with seeing friends. I have three "it's been so long since we've seen one another, let's go out" dinners and a small tree trimming party on Friday. It's all lots of fun, but I wouldn't mind some total downtime.

Thanksgiving

2006-11-27T17:44:00.001-08:00

"We are all of us from birth to death
guests at a table which we did not spread.
The sun, the earth, love, friends,
our very breath are parts of this banquet..."
Rebecca Harding Davis

Thanksgiving was truly a banquet! We had 40 guests and 3 large tables full with food, family, and friends. It was divine. Everyone feasted and then everyone got up to say what they were grateful for from the past year. I could have gone on for hours and hours, but I limited myself to a few key points -- my fiance, my step-children-to-be, my siblings and parents, my expanding family, my friends, my new business... The long and short of it is that 2006 has been a phenomenal year.

I'm off to see the Kings tonight. Since I left the law firm I hadn't had any boondoggle sporting tickets -- lo and behold my darling P also has access to his own corporate tix. We're taking his employer's tickets and making a night of it at the Staples Center. I can't wait. :)

Keeping Level-Headed

2006-11-21T10:49:00.000-08:00

"We think, sometimes, there's not a dragon left. Not one brave knight, not a single princess gliding through secret forests... What a pleasure to be wrong. Princesses, knights, enchantments and dragons, mystery and adventure... not only are they here-and-now, they're all that ever lived on earth!"

Richard Bach, American Author
From 'A Bridge Across Forever'

Last night, my mom threw a little family engagement dinner for me and P. All my siblings were there and P's sister. It was fun, but... I saw it. I saw the pre-wedding stress. At times I was on edge, my mom was on edge, P was on edge and it related to the wedding. Yikes! This is supposed to be fun, right? My brother Marc let out evil little giggles throughout the night and kept saying "now it's your turn." No, I don't like that. There has to be a different way. I'm setting an intention for this process -- I want the whole engagement to be fun and chill and harmonious for all. If or when it stops being fun and chill and harmonious, I'm going to grab P and take the next flight to Vegas. Anyway, I've always wanted to be married by an Elvis priest.

Big news!!!

2006-11-20T13:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the darling P asked my parents for permission to marry me (which they happily granted). Earlier he'd asked his children (they also happily agreed). They not only agreed, they were a big part of the proposal. His kids came up with the plan to ask me over for a candle light dinner. They helped him prepare dinner, lit candles all over the place, coached him on how to ask, got dressed up, and filmed and photographed as he got down on one knee, took my hand in his, and asked me to be his wife. I of course said YES!!!

I'm Baaaack!

2006-11-18T18:29:00.000-08:00

I got back from Jamaica late Thursday night. The week just rocked my world. Negril was beyond beautiful. The Rockhouse, where we stayed, was gorgeous and divine. The wedding was perfect. My parent's recommitment ceremony was perfect. Everyone got along. Life is good.

Marc and Efua -- the beautiful couple after their wedding

Mom, Dad, and I -- after the recomitment ceremony I presided over to commemorate their 40 year wedding anniversary

Peter and I enjoying the sunset

Peter appreciating the sunset

The Rockhouse pool overlooking the ocean

Poem from P and Other News

2006-11-07T10:43:00.000-08:00

The World’s Most Beautiful

I’d give anything to see the sun set on the horizon,
I’d do anything to gaze at a full moon in the night sky;
Even a rainbow would make me smile,
And I’d love to swim in crystal clear waters
Of an untouched sea;
Sometimes I’ll see a shooting star,
And try to gaze from afar,
All the diamonds in the night sky;
The mist on the mountains is breathtaking,
As is walking in rainforest;
To see cascading waterfalls I’d do anything for,
As to stand on the highest peak in the world,
And look at the sights below;
I’d love to soar on wings above the clouds,
Across the bluest skies;
I’d do anything to see
All the beautiful things in the world,
Like a red rose blooming in the Sahara,
Like a river twisting through a dusty land,
All the beautiful things in the world;

But I also know I am looking at
The world’s most beautiful creation,
Every time you smile,
And every time I look into your eyes.

- Muhammad Edwan Shaharir -

P sent me this beautiful poem this morning. I decided to share it. It's not Poetry Thursday, but I won't be around on Thursday, so I'm posting this today.

So why won't I be around on Thursday? I'm going to Jamaica for my brother's wedding. Hurray!!! I leave Wednesday evening and will be there through the 16th. I'm not sure if I'll be able to post, but if I can I'll put up some pics and let you know all about beautiful Negril. Ahhhh.

Mom and Dad arrived from Spain last night (in time for the wedding). I threw a little birthday party for my father (his b-day was on November 2). The kids (biological and otherwise) and significant others were there, and we celebrated with cake and champagne. As per usual when my family gets together, the house was filled with lots of laughter. The night started out a bit tense for me -- the folks got to meet P for the first time. This Meet the Fockers moment went extremely well though and everyone got along like gangbusters. Yeah!

In other news, I voted this morning. I have to admit that I didn't vote in the last election. I was ashamed, but I felt renewed as I did my civic duty this morning. I'm proudly sporting my "I Voted" sticker now. :)

All Hallow's Eve

2006-11-04T07:23:00.000-08:00

“If we are not happy and joyous at this season,
for what other season shall we wait and
for what other time shall we look?”
Abdul-Baha

Halloween was a good night. Sean decided to have a little Halloween handing-out candy-drinking-wine-and-eating-tamales party. Melissa, Jason, and Cerissa came over. After the major festivities Peter also came over. I couldn't partake in the tamales and wine (I was on my cleansing juice fast again), but I enjoyed the company. Also, it was fun to hand out candy to our neighborhood kids. We had a very steady stream all night -- we went through 12 bags of candy!!! It's nice to see that kids still trick-or-treat. I thought that had gone out the window with fears of razor blades and poisoned snicker bars. For several years when I lived in Santa Monica, I never had one trick-or-treater. In my hood I see that the institution is still alive and thriving.

Today is Friday and I find myself with a free day all to my glorious self. I thought I had a mediation conference today so I told my job (I'm doing some contract attorney work), that I would be gone today. Turns out that the conference starts this evening and the crux happens tomorrow. Today turned out to be a gift. Yeah!!! I'm going to go and enjoy it now.

Marley and Peter, the 70's swinging dude

Marley, the angel, on Halloween.

Last Weekend in NYC

2006-11-02T13:04:00.000-08:00

"Don't expect to find life worth living; make it that way."
Author Unknown

Last weekend I went to my friend Jen's wedding. She married the adorable Neil at the Newark Club in Newark, NJ. I flew into JFK on Friday afternoon and had a long and very expensive cab ride through rush hour traffic to make it just in the nick of time. 2 hours 45 minutes and $120 later, I arrived at the hotel with ten minutes to change and make it to the wedding. Luckily the wedding was across the street.

They had a beautiful interfaith service with a rabbi and Neil's sister as the minister. Afterwards we proceeded to eat inordinate amounts of food punctuated by occasional dancing. After eating and drinking way to much, I stumbled back to my hotel room and promptly fell fast asleep until the next morning when I awoke and ate more at the wedding brunch. Good times. I loved seeing Jen so happy and it was great to catch up with my college friend George and his adorable boyfriend.

After brunch I packed up and took the train into the city to meet up with Kelli and Greg. As I left the hotel, the sun started to peek out from behind the clouds. I thought "this is going to be a beautiful day." Alas, as I stepped out from the subway, the skies opened up and a torrential downpour started. I grabbed my little umbrella (the wind laughed at me as it flipped it upside down from time to time) and walked briskly through the typhoon for 6 blocks. By the time I arrived at Kelli & Greg's I looked like a drowned rat. As I arrived the rain subsided. By the time we left the house an hour later, the sun was out and the day was beautiful again. Oh well. Once I stopped fighting the rain, I actually enjoyed getting absolutely soaked through. It was not too cold and the novelty of it all after living in LA was refreshing.

Kelli, Greg, and their friend Jen decided that what they wanted to do for the day was to start drinking at 3:00 p.m. and end sometime at 3:00 a.m. We didn't quite do that. We stopped drinking at 2:30 a.m. We also took a nap between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Crazy times, but we did make it to my favorite bar -- Rudy's. I LOVE that place. I can't quite put my finger on what makes it so wonderful, but it's always a good time.

To my NYC friends who are reading this, I'm sorry I didn't get in touch when I was in the city. My trip was incredibly short and I just needed to make sure that the union I helped create was motoring on as beautifully as before. :)

The happy bride and groom.

Kelli and I at the first of our drinking establishments.

Quote of the Day

2006-10-24T17:53:00.000-07:00

"Was my life absurd? Absolutely.. ...Reader, I was up to my hips in absurdity. But I had learned now not to care about that sort of thing. The forces of chaos, I had learned, were only enemy forces if you attempted to resist them. The moment you accepted the idea that your life could, and probably would, veer off in an implausible new direction at any given moment, those forces started working for you. Because if anything was possible...well, then anything was possible."

From "My Little Blue Dress" by Bruno Maddox,

This is the motto I'm trying to live by: "If anything is possible, ...well, then anything is possible." Alleluiah!

Soccer Mom Saturday and other Events

2006-10-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

"I get up. I walk. I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing."
–Rabbi Hillel

Saturday I had a fun day with P and the kids. First we went to cheer Teo on at his 7-year old soccer league game. He was a bundle of energy and was always running to the ball and hustling to get his wee bum up and down the field. India and I brought pom poms and cheered for the Mustangs, Teo's team. Marley was the unofficial mascot. Unfortunately the hard-working Mustangs lost the game, but the kids were all smiles at the end. It was Daniel's (one of Mustangs) birthday and his mom brought donuts for the team. The loss was quickly forgotten as the boys dove into the box of Crispy Cremes.

After the game we went for lunch at Eat A Pita on Fairfax. We enjoyed some open air souvlaki and then headed to the market to buy pumpkins. From there we went to my place for an afternoon of pumpkin carving.

From there back to Peter's for a bbq. We ate outside to the light of the jack-o-lanterns. Fun was had by all.

On Sunday I went to Agape and then had a relaxed brunch with friends, a mani/pedi with Cookie, and finally over to Eleonore and Nico's for a wine and empanada party. Being at their place, surrounded by Argentines and full with Malbec and empanadas, reminded me of Buenos Aires. I was aglow with warm memories of my time in South America.

Now it's back to the law firm.

Marley Update

2006-10-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

Somehow Marley tore the ACL in her knee. She's limping and could be limping for the rest of her life. Or not. A surgery could help her stop limping. Or it could not help at all. Or it could make her worse. Her other knee could also go bad. Or not... This is the information I received from her vet. It did nothing to alleviate my concerns and it didn't give me clear guidance about what to do. I've decided that I'm going to try to let mother nature heal my dog for the next month or so (vet thought this could help) and then reassess. In the meantime, my darling dog is taking anti-arthritis medicine which will hopefully help her to walk and feel better. Please send prayers her way.

Poem and Marley

2006-10-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

i found god in myself
& i loved her
i loved her fiercely.
- Ntozake Slange

It's not Thursday and I don't have much to write about, but I wanted to share this beautiful poem.

Oh, I wanted to write about my beautiful Marley. This Sunday is the one day anniversary of her adoption day. I was thinking of having an Adoption Day Party for her. I could invite Peanut, the next door neighbors' dog; Melissa and Jason's two puppies, Kingsley & Janey; Chris and Lisa's dog, Leila; and Cornelia's dog, Zane. I thought about it and then thought about how Marley is very shy and would probably hide under a bed if all these dogs came over. So, I changed my mind. I think I'll just give her a new dog toy and maybe a piece of steak. Also, Marley has just started to limp. I'm not sure what's wrong with her but I'm taking her to the vet. Spontaneous limping is so worrisome.

last weekend

2006-10-16T22:45:00.000-07:00

"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart."
Confucius

Last Saturday, after a 7 hour mediation class, I donned an angel outfit and headed to the outskirts of downtown LA for a Burning Man Decompression Party. There were crazy costumes, amazing art work, music, fun people... It was good times and made me want to go to Burning Man 2007. I feel like it will really alter me (in a good way).

After the LA Decom, P and I went to have dinner at our friends' Pam and Allen. I was still in my angel outfit when I arrived. (I don't know about the others, but it made me laugh to show up at the dinner party wearing wings, a halo, white sequined top, and a gigantic white tutu.) Allen and Pam made a delicious dinner of shabu shabu. Mmmm. It was great to catch up with them and to see their beautiful new house.

Sunday, Sean, P and I went to Agape. Afterwards, I had a chill afternoon at home with P. It was so extraordinarily relaxing for me. I was ALMOST ready to face my busy week...

Poetry Thursday

2006-10-12T14:18:00.000-07:00

The Night Cometh
by Annie Louisa Walker

Work! for the night is coming;
Work! through the morning hours;
Work! while the dew is sparkling;
Work! 'mid the springing flowers;
Work! while the day grows brighter,
Under the glowing sun;
Work! for the night is coming,--
Night, when man's work is done.

Work! for the night is coming;
Work! through the sunny noon;
Fill the bright hours with labour,
Rest cometh sure and soon.
Give to each flying minute
Something to keep in store;
Work! for the night is coming,--
Night, when man works no more.

Work! for the night is coming;
Under the sunset skies,
While their bright tints are glowing,
Work! for the daylight flies;
Work! till the last beam fadeth,
Fadeth to shine no more;
Work! while the night is darkening,--
Night, when man's work is o'er.

I can't believe it's Thursday already. Time flies when you're working. Yup, after a week and a half of unemployment I started working again. In addition to taking my mediation classes and starting my mediation practice, I am working as a contract attorney, 30 hours per week in a small law firm. It's rather nice working (a) only 30 hours (not billing) and (b) in a small friendly firm. I feel like this is an opportunity to renew my relationship with the law. Maybe I don't have an aversion to the law. Maybe I was just not meant for big firm practice. I've only been here a week, but it's much better. And I'm SOOOO excited about mediation. Can't wait to finish my course and get mediating.

Anyway, being busy from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. working or in class has made me feel like quite the busy little bee. Hence, the above Poetry Thursday poem. Enjoy.

celebrating and more

2006-10-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

"'How does one become a butterfly?' she asked pensively. 'You must want
to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.'"
- Trina Paulus

My birthday celebrations keep going on and on. That's the way, un huh, un huh, I like it! Yesterday, Ariane took me to lunch at Lulu's Cafe. It was a beautiful day and it was nice to sit outside and chat. Afterwards she brought her Burning Man stuff to my house so that she could rinse off all the dust. I had to leave in the middle of the rinsing and run off to a job interview. Sean came home last night and asked "why is there a tent in our backyard?" I suppose that is a curious sight to come home to.

Then last night I was treated by Melissa to see Paul Simon at the Greek! The concert was so phenomenal. I know why Paul Simon retains his popularity year after year. The man is an amazing entertainer. He played all my favorite songs and we were treated to three encores. Yippee! I was on a high. :)

In other news, yesterday was P and my 6 month anniversary. Time flies when you're having fun (6 months already!!) and yet it seems like we've known one another for eons. Both ways of thinking about it him/us make me happy. Here's to 6x66 more (and beyond).

Poetry Thursday

2006-10-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

Here are my Poetry Thursday submissions. Today's Poetry Thursday prompt was to write about body part(s). I decided to publish a couple odes I'd written myself. Enjoy:

ode to my calves

how can you not love
the strong curves of my lovely calves
the product of miles of running and cycling and yoga and life
shapely and hard
changing shape with each movement of the foot
enticing, alluring, and unforgettable

ode to my knees

we've gone on so many journies together
at times you scream in protest
and i give you love
heat, ice, massages, strength training, physical therapy
and you silence
and quietly support me up, down, and
all around the world

Birthday and other news

2006-10-03T16:23:00.000-07:00

"The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning."
-Ivy Baker

My birthday party was so fabulous. I'm so grateful to P for throwing one for me. There were lots of people and it was a really nice crowd -- everyone kept saying how nice my friends are. Some of the usual suspects were missing, but there were some new faces and I'm just filled with warm fuzzies thinking about it. Also, the birthday present desire list really worked out for me. Isn't it funny ... if you ask for what you want, you're more likely to get it.

My actual birthday was unusual -- church, party clean up, multi-level marketing meeting (don't ask how I got roped into that one), sushi dinner, and then a 2:30-4:30 a.m. meditation for peace (again, don't ask). Monday I fasted with P for Yom Kippur (since I dragged him to a middle of the night meditation, I figured I could deal with a few hours without food). Even though we were fasting, we had a good time. The weather was beautiful and we went surfing (he's teaching me!). Later he went to get his kids and bring them to the house. They helped me wash Marley. Afterwards the four of us went for a walk in the neighborhood. I feel so lucky that the kids love my dog. I had to mediate who could hold the hose to rinse her off, who could brush her, who could hold the leash, and even who could pick up the poop! You know you've got it good when kids are fighting over who can pick up the dog poop. I hope that lasts, but I'm not holding my breath.

Anyway, speaking of mediation... I had my first mediation training today. It was SOOOO fun. I'm really excited to be getting into this arena. Yeah! It's nice to like what you're doing. :)

Poetry Thursday

2006-09-29T07:46:00.000-07:00

Come, come, whoever you are.
Wonderer, worshipper, lover of leaving.
It doesn't matter.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vow
a thousand times
Come, yet again, come, come
-Rumi

This is my Poetry Thursday submission. [It's technically Friday now, but I started writing this last night and forgot to hit send.] I really resonate with this poem. I am a "lover of leaving" or a "veteran of new beginnings" as my aunt called me. I hear this poem calling me to lead a better life. I love Rumi and am always surprised that a 13th Century Persian poet can speak to me so profoundly.

Ask and it is given...

2006-09-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

Last year I decided to write down everything I wanted for my birthday. It was quite successful, so I am doing that again. So (drum roll please) is the list of what I desire for my birthday (October 1):

-a slow cooker
-One pair of New Balance 992, size 7B
-Ipod Nano (or Ipod Video)
-art lessons (acrylic painting or drawing)
-guitar
-guitar lessons
-pair(s) of and/or gift certificate(s) for Manolo Blahniks or Jimmy Choos
-comfy yet stylish pajamas
-gift certificate(s) to Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com
-karaoke cds
-microphone for my karaoke machine
-gift certificate(s) to Agent Provocateur
-a red Chinese lacquer cabinet to hold my TV
-gift certificate(s) for spa services ( Burke Williams is always a good choice)
- flowers
-a new Palm Phone or a Treo
-plane tickets to fabulously fun places
-all-expenses paid birthday trip to South America, Hawaii, Caribbean, Europe, Napa Valley, New Zealand, or Mexico.
-fun party with my family and friends
-a night out on the town in a limo
-a makeover &/or shopping spree
-a Tiffany's gift certificate or anything from Tiffany's.
-a GPS for my car

That's all I can think of for now. I realize that some of these things are big ticket items, but if you don't ask...

Happy New Year

2006-09-25T10:15:00.000-07:00

"Just don't give up on trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong."
– Ella Fitzgerald

There is so much in the universe that seems to be applauding my change of direction -- right now we're experiencing a new moon, a new season, and a Jewish new year. I'm taking this as a universal high five to my decision to change direction.

So, I'm following Ms. Ella's suggestion above. While wracking my brain to figure out what to do next the inspiration hit to try mediation. I remembered that this fantastic form of alternative dispute resolution was one of the things that first captured my attention and inspired me in law school. I went off course for a few years there, but now I'm back to that original inspiration. I'm exploring how this win-win model of resolving disputes can take the disputants and me personally higher. So we'll see what happens.

In other news, I co-hosted a really fun Rosh Hashanah party with P. His place was packed with family and friends. I worried a bit about my food coming out ok, but my matzoh ball soup and brisket were a hit. All the food at the party was really great, the drinks were flowing, and the United Nations-ish crowd (my family, P's family, and non-blood relatives from all over were in attendance) was very into it. I had a blast. I can't wait until the next party... my b-day party happening this Saturday. :)

Weekend

2006-09-18T17:07:00.000-07:00

"Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself." - Og Mandino

Weekend wrap-up: Friday night... my friend Veronica got married to Dan at the most beautiful hotel I've ever seen -- the Mission Inn in Riverside. P had actually just been talking about taking me there when not one day later we get an e-mail from Veronica inviting us to the wedding. So we drove down Friday afternoon and arrived at the lovely Inn around 5:00. We were in our finest... P was in his coat and tails and I was in my new wedding uniform -- the black sequined Betsy Johnson dress that has become my new wedding staple (third wedding and counting). The wedding was beautiful and we enjoyed hearing the best wedding band I've ever heard in my life -- this 11 member band could do latin music, contemporary and old school favorites, and even the have nagilah like pros. At one point the horns came out on the dance floor and were wailing. It was quite impressive. These guys were great, but so were the mariachi band that greeted us on the way out of the chapel and all the other lovely touches. It was quite a party. Word to the wise though... champagne and margaritas are not a great mix.

Saturday was pretty chill. We recovered from the night before and then headed to P's sister's place for her b-day party. She had a great bbq. The food was wonderful and there was a really nice vibe. It also had the very interestingly LA vibe of being full of interracial couples -- of the 5 couples in attendance, all of them were mixed. I felt like I was in the middle of a Benetton ad. Very amusing.

Afterwards, P and I went to check out a record release party that his work was throwing. The record release party was held at a very unique bar called Bar Sinister. The record was a goth compilation, so the party was appropriately held at this goth/fetish club. When we walked in, a man covered in head to toe latex (think Gimp in Pulp Fiction) entered right behind us. Behind him were two guys dressed up circa 1763. As we waited a man with horns and a tail came out to talk to the woman at the front and upstairs a woman in a crazy nurse's uniform was "flogging" a highly tattooed young woman who'd been chained up. I was definitely not in Kansas anymore. It was quite an experience. P and I walked around taking in the costumes and watching some of the craziness. We danced for about an hour downstairs and then went home. Quite an experience in alternative lifestyles.

Sunday was a mellow day -- church, brunch, and football. Good wholesome American fun to contrast the night before.

Poetry Thursday

2006-09-14T12:04:00.001-07:00

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
by Portia Nelson

I.
I walk down the street.
There's a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost.....I am helpless;
it isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

II.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place;
but it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

III.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in....it's a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

IV.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

V.
I walk down a different street.

This Poetry Thursday poem really resonated with me. I feel like right now I'm living somewhere between stanzas IV and V. I'm not totally walking down a different street, but I feel like I'm standing in an intersection and contemplating. Do I walk down the legal street and just avoid the deep hole of a law firm or do I walk down a completely different street? I'm not exactly sure at this point, but I'm just happy to be out of my metaphysical hole.

Leaping

2006-09-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

"I say follow your bliss and don't be afraid and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be."
- Joseph Campbell

So I took the aforementioned leap. I gave notice at work today. I'm resigning from my job at the law firm. I don't have an alternative plan yet. I don't have a new job. I just have a knowingness after these past two months of introspection that I'm ready for a new journey. My body knew long before my mind that the time had come. Stress induced illnesses sent me to the emergency room and running to doctors' offices. It's only when I went on medical leave and took my doctor's and my own internal guidance system's advice to get out of town and travel that I was able to regain clarity. And so here I am leaping through the air and waiting for the safety net or the wings to sprout. Wheeeee!

Poem and Teaser

2006-09-09T11:46:00.000-07:00

God Says Yes to Me (by Kaylin Haught)

I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic
and she said yes
I asked her if it was okay to be short
and she said it sure is
I asked her if I could wear nail polish
or not wear nail polish
and she said honey
she calls me that sometimes
she said you can do just exactly
what you want to
Thanks God I said
And is it even okay if I don't paragraph
my letters
Sweetcakes God said
who knows where she picked that up
what I'm telling you is
Yes Yes Yes

I'm about to embark on a major life change. I don't want to write about it until it's official, but it's MAJOR and it's SCARY. I'm taking a huge freakin' leap without a safety net (a visible safety net), but I have faith that something soft will catch me or better yet wings will sprout and I'll begin to soar. I'm definitely relating to the Anais Nin quote that says "There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." I've always related to the quote but now I feel the pain of remaining tight. I can't "play it safe" anymore. "Playing it safe" feels reckless. It feels dangerous. It feels life threating. And so I'm leaping. I'm taking the dive on Monday. Stay tuned.

Napa Valley

2006-09-06T13:36:00.000-07:00

I was a little weary of traveling when I went off to Napa Valley for a wedding last weekend. I'm so glad that I dragged my little bum on this trip though. It turned out to be such a blast. P and I drove up in little Charlie very early on Saturday morning (when we got on the road it was about 4:45 a.m.). We drove up, stopping occasionally, and made it to our hotel by 1:00. Our hotel was not very fancy, but it was clean, had a pool, and Elvis had once stayed there. I was happy. We briefly unpacked and then hopped in the pool for some swimming and water aerobics. We ended up jogging in the pool and racing. We had lots of fun laughing and splashing around.

Afterwards we got dressed and walked into Downtown Napa for a late lunch. Evidently during weekend days downtown Napa is a ghost town. We had a lovely lunch at Ristorante Allegria and then walked around the empty streets. We stumbled into the Bounty Hunter, a great wine bar, after a little while and decided to do a tasting. P. tried a white wine flight of wines and I went with champagne (life is always better with champagne). By the time we were done with the tasting (3 each), I was quite toasted. Did I mention we also had wine with lunch? We stumbled to Cole's Chop House for a delicious dinner. I had the most amazing Beef Wellington and stupidly ordered a glass of cab to go with dinner. By the time we'd finished dinner (though I'd only gotten through half of the cab), I was falling asleep. We managed to get a taxi and I promptly passed out.

On Sunday we decided to do a tour of the valley and check out some vineyards. Before we went drinking we went to brunch at an adorable cafe called Piatti. We had some delicious veggie omelets and then planned our strategy. Knowing that we are both lightweights we figured we'd be very judicious about the wineyards we went to. We ended up going to Saint Supery, Mondavi, Turnbull, and Luna. We both got a little tipsy (though we didn't taste at each vineyard and we always shared a flight), but we had a blast driving through the beautiful countryside and discovering new wines. I even joined the wine club at Luna!

We made it home and then got dressed for the wedding. The wedding was at Copia and was absolutely beautiful. The setting was beautiful, the ceremony was beautiful, the food was gorgeous, and so were the couple. We had a blast. Monday morning we attended the post-wedding brunch and then headed home.

The drive home was fantastic. We took the scenic route and went to Muir Woods, Carmel, Big Sur, and generally just relished in the beauty that is the California Coast. P and I had a blast and I just felt so privileged to live here and to be able to do this. It was a great weekend. Life is good!

Me and the groom at the wedding.

P. and I at the wedding.

P on the PCH (somewhere between Carmel and Big Sur)

Perseverance

2006-09-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

"To begin a journey one must have courage; to finish a journey one must have perseverance." Alex Sung

I feel like I've needed some perseverance for my travels. I'm heading on another trip -- Napa Valley for another wedding. I leave tonight and return Monday. I suppose I am not generating much sympathy when I say I'm a little weary of traveling. I can hardly complain about Australia, France, and Napa Valley. OK, I won't complain. I'm pretty lucky to have all these adventures and beautiful experiences. And, as I'm fond of saying, I can rest when I die.

Viva la France.

2006-09-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

I just got back from France. My body clock is trying to readjust. I'm a little brain dead from all the traveling. I had a great time in France -- we visited quaint Norman villages, drank lots of wine, ate amazing food, and chatted and laughed until the wee hours. And of course, we had a wonderful time at the wedding that brought us all there. Good times were had by all.

They say a picture speaks 1000 words, so I'll just post some pics and have you imagine the rest.

The happy bride and groom.

Me, mom, dad, and Julie (grandchild of a family friend). I had the good fortune of seeing my parents for two nights during my trip, as they were also visiting France.

The beautiful manor we called home from Sunday until Thursday.

Me in Lisieux; in front of the basillica of my patron saint- Saint Theresa.

Picture of beautiful Honfleur, my favorite village in Normandy.

Hip Girlz

It's been a while

New Zealand Part 3

2010 LA Marathon

New Zealand -- Part 2

A Day in Sydney

New Zealand -- Part 1

Veganism and Gifts

Vegan Day 7

Genki Desu (I am Well)

Final Acknowledgments

More 2009 Acknowledgments

Vegas with Kids & Christmas

2009 Acknowledgments

CNN Heroes

Pyramid Scheme

Halloween

Coaching

Birthday Celebration

Laughter

Discipline

Pink Martini

Marathons and Martinis

Circle of Life

I missed this

A star is born

Happy As I Am

Losing to Know Kindness and other Blessings

Championship Month

The Grammys And Other News

I am inspired!

UPDATE

Family Feud Pictures

Jill & I

Holiday Parties and Other Goings On

Game Show Money and other Cash

Happy Hanukkah!

Feuding Superstars

We got the postcard!

Family Time

Flying Solo

Birthdays and Other Celebrations

Raw Food & *Another* Wedding Party

It's almost my birthday!

Talk Like A Pirate Day

Master Cleanse -- Day 9

Master Cleanse -- Day 7

Master Cleanse - Day 4

It's been so long...

The Bells & Whistles

Honeymoon

Reuniting with Old Friend

Recent Holidays

Porgy & Bess

Pictures Are Worth 1000 Words

I'm married!!!

Updates

What's going on

New Orleans

anniversary

New Orleans

Moving Party

Last day of this part of my life

Poetry Thursday

Quality Time

Latest

Progress

the latest

Poetry Thursday

Felices Fiestas!

Poetry Thursday and a word on old friends

Friends

Poetry Thursday

Update

Thanksgiving

Keeping Level-Headed

Big news!!!

I'm Baaaack!

Poem from P and Other News

All Hallow's Eve

Raw Food & Another Wedding Party