friday doesn't sock!

today is the first day all week that i don't have to leave my house.  i don't have any meetings.  i can sit at my desk, uninterrupted (relatively so), in my comfy clothes (who'm i kidding they're pjs) and do my work.  and in honor of my sister and her silly socks, today i'm wearing my favorite, make me smile socks.  my sister is a pink polka dot kind of girl. . .but i'm more of a lime green zebra kind of girl.

so i took a picture of them for you. . .me standing on my zebra rug with my zebra socks.  but every time i took a photo there was a strange brown blur in the right hand side of the picture.  three pictures later, the blur continued.  was it my thumb?  was the lens dirty?  was it an alien?  what in the world was that?  ohhhhh. . .it's daisy's nose!  so the best i could get was this shot where you can still see her little shadow hovering on the right side, but the nose isn't so prevalent. 

have i mentioned she's "nosey"?  very nosey actually.  her curious little nose must be up front and center in every situation.  and let me remind you that it's a cold, wet little nose that often has dirt on it.  but we love her just the same.

and so now i'll return to my friday where i won't be seeing anyone.  i won't be brushing my hair.  i won't be putting on pants (real pants) and i won't be driving in la traffic for the fifth day this week.  i hope my sister (and all the rest of you) are having an equally stress-free friday and get to stay home in your comfy socks.  tgif!!!

date night

it's friday. . .the weekend. . .wooooo!  now don't get me wrong, i'm not a big weekend partier (anymore).  i enjoy taking it easy on friday nights, lounging at home in the backyard with the hubby.  much different than the old me.  but tonight, we're getting outta the house and going on a date.  a dinner and a movie date!  and we're going all the way into our old stomping grounds in hollywood.  that's motivated! 

the plan is to eat at umami burger followed by the 8:30 showing of "the runaways".  umami burger. . .strange name, right?  but this burger joint is all the rage in la right now among celebrities and common folk alike.  we haven't tried it yet. . .so we shall see!  i'm thinking i'll either have the "manly burger" (beer-cheddar cheese, smoked salt onion strings, and bacon lardoons) or the "truffle burger" (truffle cheese and truffle glaze) and a side of sweet potato fries.

i love trying new eating establishments.  i love eating.  and i really love fancy hamburgers!

i also love movies.  and especially movies that tell a real story.  this movie is a biopic telling the coming-of-age story of joan jett's band the runaways. . .and is set in 1975.   we're seeing it at our favorite theater, the arclight.  now what makes the arclight so spectacular?  assigned seating is the main thing.  no need to arrive early and fight for a seat.  you purchase and print your tickets at home and simply walk to your seat.  no lines, no getting there early and no question of whether you'll get a good seat.  and they even remember our favorite seats each time.  brilliant!

wavin' the wheat

i'm not really a sports girl, but give me a major game (like the superbowl), friends, food and cocktails. . .and i can definitely get into it for the day.  i'm so thankful i married a man who isn't obsessed with sports though!  i would not be able to deal with that.

but once a year, i become the ultimate fan.  as an alum of the university of kansas (1997), come march, it's tough not to get a little school spirit going.  we've notoriously had a great basketball team and it's always fun to watch and support a winning team that you have a connection to!  call me a fair weather fan. . .whatever.  i'm not ashamed to admit.  i like to win!

anyway, it's march again and march madness is in full effect.  i watched the game last night and i'll be watching every other game right up to that championship bout where kansas will pull out the win.  how rad to get another championship just two years after the last!  woo hoo, go hawks! 

i watch most of the games at sports bars with a bevy of other jayhawk supporters since we usually don't get the games on regular tv.  even all the way out here in california, i've found other kansans!  i have a few close friends that i went to college with out here. . .but there's also a very big and active alumni association.  it's not rare to be in a bar in the middle of hollywood where everyone is sporting a jayhawk across their chest and it's a sea of crimson and blue. 

so now you know my secret.  i'm a closet sports fan. . .but only once a year.  so join with me, raise your arms over your head, and wave the wheat.  rock chalk!!

ps - a little known fact.  i taught danny manning's kids how to swim!  for those who don't know, danny manning played for ku in the 80s and was on the team that won the championship in 1988.  he went on to play pro ball for the la clippers and is now an assistant coach for ku.

pps - just watched the documentary "magic & bird" last week and if you haven't seen it, you must check it out.  it's playing on hbo.  it's a great story about the lives of magic johnson and larry bird, the hardships they've faced and how their rivalry turned into  a great friendship over the years.  really poignant and interesting!  maybe i'm more of a sports girl than i thought!

82 and sunny

summer is officially here.  well, maybe not.  but today it sure feels like it, so i'm pretending.  it's so nice in fact,  i relocated my home office to the backyard and am working poolside.  here's my view:

what you can't see is the smell.  the scent of spring is definitely in the air. . .jasmine and hyacinth me thinks. 

a slight breeze and palm shaded sunshine.  oh what a perfect day!

where no man has gone before

while we were building adam's studio we learned he was getting a new project which involved recording with william shatner (aka captain james t. kirk).  we always used to joke that we were building the studio for ol' bill and hoped it would be ready in time for their session. 

well it was.  he came out to record today.  adam was gracious enough to walk him through the house before escorting him into the studio.  the studio has it's own entrance.  he didn't have to do that.  but he did so so that i could meet him.  what a nice hubby. 

and mind you.  walking through our house is no easy feat with our rambunctious 1.5 year old lab around.  she barks.  she pokes her nose in inappropriate places.  and she jumps up.  she's naughty.  she did all of these things to bill (that's what we call him.  we're on a first name basis around here folks.)  but he didn't mind.  in his authoritative starship enterprise captain's voice he told her to get down.  and she did. . .for the most part.

so after a little detour through the house, they retreated to the studio to "work".  adam said bill's response upon entering the studio was "this is cool."  adam thought, but didn't say: "glad you like it.  we built it for you."  ha!

all went well on the first song and it looks like they'll be recording more with possibilities of guest appearances from brad paisley and sheryl crowe.  cool!  maybe we did build the studio for him after all. . .and maybe this will lead me to an early retirement!

i love a good smoothie

it's sunny and 79 degrees today.  simply gorgeous.  and the weather had me craving fruit.  i couldn't think of a better way to get my fix than a fruit smoothie.  smoothies are a daily occurrence at my house.  adam eats one every day without fail.  but his smoothies entail funny smelling powders and a slimy consistency that doesn't appeal to me.  his smoothies are all about protein, antioxidants and fuel.  i get that. . .but i prefer to wrap my nutrients up in a tastey package.  so mine are more about the fruit and the texture.  my cast of characters includes frozen strawberries and blueberries, a touch of nonfat frozen vanilla yogurt, a splash of OJ, a sprinkle of acai powder and half a banana.

sometimes i use fresh strawberries and blueberries. . .but i had frozen on hand and i really like the consistency they provide.

the acai powder is part of adam's arsenal of products. . .but it passes my smell and taste tests unlike some of the other offensive products he consumes (ie: Amazing Meal).  i call the smoothies he makes "dirt shakes".  they look and taste like dirt.  blah.

but this smoothie was just was perfect. . .delightful. . .just what the doctor ordered. 

and now it is gone :(

quilting bee

i've decided to make a quilt!  my mom is a fantastic quilt maker and taught me many moons ago.  i've never made a quilt without her help, but decided to give it a go.  this meant pulling my old $10 kenmore sewing machine (acquired at a goodwill store in portland almost 10 years ago) out of the garage. 

it doesn't have a cover and has been beaten up pretty good through my moves.  and it was covered in a layer of filth.  but it's one of those big old heavy ones that was built when they made things right.  it doesn't have any plastic parts. . .this sucker is all metal and tough as nails.  so i dusted it off, threaded it up and tried a little practice stitching.  uh oh, no go.  it runs, but it doesn't seem to be working properly so i dropped it off for a little tune up.  hopefully, they can sort it out, but if not, it might be time for a new machine.

anyhow, my quilt is going to a bright and happy sunshiney yellow.  i'm cutting out all of the pattern pieces now.  which by the way is so much faster and easier now than back in the day.  my mom and i used to make a little cardboard template that we'd trace on the fabric and then painstakingly cut each square out with scissors.  i discovered sewing technology has evolved and acquired a rotary cutter and quilting ruler that makes the old way seem archaic.  so much faster now. . .but i already have a couple of nicks from the super sharp rotary cuter.  trying to be more careful.

here's a mock up preview of what the quilt will look like:

productive and destructive

spring has sprung. hooray! it rained on saturday and was forecast to rain on sunday too. but, surprise. it didn't! it was a beautiful sunny spring day.

i decided to take advantage of the vitamin d on tap, put on the bikini and lounge by the pool with a few trashy magazines. but alas, the sun slipped behind the overgrown pine tree in my neighbor's yard and left me in the shade. so i decided to get productive.  i started out with a quick tidy inside the house and began my sunday laundry ritual. i left adam doing a little tree trimming outside and when i came back, i was shocked to see this!

 but not to worry. . .little edward scissorhands cleaned it all up and the trees looked much better.

i went around the yard admiring the new growth.  the rain has been very good to us and everything is so very green!   "my" oranges are now sweet, ripe and delicious.  the squirrels think so too and love to leave little half eaten oranges around on the fence tops.

the neighbors across the street gave us a bag filled with oranges, tangerines and lemons from the "grove" in their backyard.  i've been squeezing fresh oj/tangerine juice and it's delicious.

i also "fed" the roses along the side of the garage.  last year was my first experience with roses thanks to the past owners who left us a complete rose garden with roses of every color.  last year they grew as tall as the garage and flowered in various shades of reds, pinks, oranges and yellows for months and months.  they were cut back just a few months ago and this is what they look like now.

but just wait a few months and they'll be big, full and flowering like crazy!  

i also planted a few flowering shrubs last year in the backyard.  they didn't bloom last year, but they've already started this year!  this is my azalea bush just getting started.  i can't wait til it's covered in bright pink flowers.

with a tidy house and the yard work complete, i headed to the grocery store followed by a quick romp in the park with daisy.  in honor of my mom and sister, i made adam baked spaghetti for dinner.  he had my mom's once and has loved it ever since. 

i quickly folded and put away the laundry, made the bed and then i collapsed for a little relaxation and TV before monday morning came.  a perfect sunday.

a prized possession

i was only 6 when my grandmother, my mother's mother, passed away.  it was only 3 years later that we lost my grandfather.  but despite knowing them for only a short time, they both had a huge impact on my life, and i consider them two of the greatest people i have ever met.  of course having them still here would be amazing, but knowing them for the time i did was such a blessing and their memory still helps guide me through life and strive to be the best i can be.

i have such fond memories of staying with them in the summers.  they lived a modest life, but had so much love in their home.  i just remember when i was there, all i felt was joy and happiness and complete comfort.  there weren't really a ton of toys to play with.  but i could sit for hours playing with my grandmas extensive jewelry collection.  extravagant beaded and bejeweled necklaces with matching clip on earrings.  clip on earrings!  a five-year-olds dream!!

and there weren't any other kids in the neighborhood, just the sweet old neighbors across the street with the big fat yellow cat named morris.  kris and i would visit and mrs. kersey would treat us to a piece of fresh baked blueberry pie.  mr. kersey was always in the living room watching sports of some kind.  after our piece of pie, kris would usually go back to grandma and grandpas knowing that she had stayed her welcome.  i on the other hand would usually stay for another piece of pie!

on my 5th birthday, my grandma gave me a bible.  it is my most prized possession and has been with me where ever i go. inside the bible, she wrote a passage that i love: "I know that where I go is God. Since this is so, no place could safer be than where I am."  just holding my bible, reading this passage, seeing my grandma's handwriting brings me comfort.

it's hard to define exactly what made my grandparents so special to me.  i was too young to understand the qualities they had that i could appreciate later in life. . .honesty, integrity, reliability.  but i guess you don't have to be very old to appreciate kindness, patience and love. and so it is when i'm going through difficult times in life, i think about them.  i think about how they made me feel - safe, happy, comforted.  and somehow, i know they are looking down on me and still helping to protect me.  and i feel peace.
i know my sister shares all of these same memories with me and is going through a difficult time.  and so, kris, i encourage you to look to them for comfort.  you did the right thing.  i hope you find peace in your decision.  i love you.

ps - i'm sorry i made you cry again, as i'm sure this did. i cried too. but a good cry can be cleansing.  so we should both be good and cleansed!

awnings and yawnings

the awning to go over adam's studio door arrived last night, so i helped him assemble and attach it this morning.  little thing was quite the pain, but it's up anyway!

 and i'm happy with the outcome.  we wanted a clean, modern aesthetic that didn't stand out too drastically from the house design.

my mom's been asking about the other side of the garage, so here's what it looks like now:

there are still some lingering items of adam's that need to go and then it won't be so cluttered.  but overall everything fits (despite the tiny space) and is fairly well organized.  so, i am happy.

finally, in response to the fact that i should be in nyc this week.  thank GOD i am not.  it's gorgeous, warm and sunny here.  i believe they have snow on the ground there.

oh and a shot of the breezeway between the house and adam's studio.  this is his route to work every morning.  the rush hour traffic across the river stones is a nightmare!  takes him at least 2 seconds from door to door.

and as i was going back inside after taking these shots, i saw this little body peering from behind the frosted glass.  hi daisy!

now i'm off to take a nap.  feeling very sleepy this week!