Finally the true meaning of Christmas!

Now that my melancholy has passed I can write about our Christmas! Our families actual Christmas took place on Christmas eve this year. Since my divorce the ex Mr. & I have switched off days for the holiday. One year I will get Christmas morning and he will have the whole day and Smirk's birthday (boxing day for some in the world, but our holiday is Smirkday). Each year is different. This year it was my year for Christmas eve and morning. But something has changed, more on that later.

Christmas eve was a wonderful day. Both of my daughters slept in whist I got up and started cooking other wise known as over-cooking according to Smirk. I also was cleaning, or stressing as they put it... What they don't understand is that maybe twice a year when people come to my house, I have to give it a really good clean.. The rest of the time is just surface clean... So it is my time to trick the ladies into really scrubbing!! We were going to have my family over for the evening. That consists of my auntie, my granny, brother, his wife and the two youngest members of the family, Shrieks & Giggles. Shrieks is 8 and just has the loudest laugh I think I have ever heard. She looks like my brother, with light brown hair and his nose. Giggles is 3 1/2, she looks like her mom, dark hair and fair skin and is amazing. They are so much like Grin and Smirk except reversed. Shrieks' personality is more like Grin's and Smirk and Giggles are so much alike it is frightening... They are and were both very independent and had/have no fear. It was a delight to have small one's in the house, but it was very strange. Since they are Jewish, my tree nor decorations had any affect on them. We have had some little ones come over and are just in awe of the tree and the living room ceiling full of lights, but nothing from these two... But they were there...We had a lovely buffet dinner consisting of ham and chicken strips, scalloped potatoes, veggies and dip, hummus, spinach dip and crackers, and desert. For desert I made key lime bars and blackberry apple crumble. YUMMY

I have discovered that my girls now have a new emotion... Compassion... They have always had hints of it hiding below the surface, but this year... New levels... Smirk and Grin wanted to be with me in the morning to open presents and have our normal cup of cheer (coffee to most, hot chocolate for Grin) but they wanted to leave as soon as possible... Why you ask...Had they had enough of me and wanted to get to the good presents??? No, they wanted to leave because they didn't want to make their 9 year old half brother T wait too long to open presents... You see, Christmas morning has usually lasted until 11am and poor T sits longingly looking at his gifts piled under the tree, waiting until his sisters arrive. Poor little thing.... So we opened presents at 6:30am and then dressed and were on the road by 7:30. It made me happy to think that my girls finally realize what it means to care about someones feelings above their own. Isn't that the true meaning of Christmas. Best wishes to all and a happy new year!!!!

Very merry real birthday to her!

Today is Smirk's 18th (Gasp) Birthday... Stand by for a moment while I go breathe into a paper bag.....

are you still there? Almost done...

Ok, better... She is 18... Legal, an adult... (HA) She can vote, drive her friends legally in my car, she can stay out past midnight (not that I will allow it, but she could). She is grown...

I sit here fondly reflecting on the past 18 years and how much she has changed. She was always an independent child, never afraid, didnt show pain and was always smiling.... And now she is still independent, but also has become strong, fearless and cannot wait to enter the real world.

I envy her, she has her whole life ahead of her. Many choices and wonderful things to see and become. She has decided to go to junior college until she decides where to go and what degree to pursue. She wants to join law enforcement but isnt sure where. But even when she becomes the top cop or federal agent, she will always be my baby!

Strange things where I live

There are some really strange things in California... People, Hollywood stars and socialites, did I mention people. But this was the first time I had ever experienced a strange building... I took a friend to the doctor yesterday... She was having some sort of shot into her vertebrae to help alleviate a pinched nerve, and we couldn't find the address...This isn't the strange thing as building numbers in Orange County tend not to make sense, either they don't follow numerical order or they are the same length as the national deficit, but this building didn't seem to exist. We followed the directions provided but did not see what seemed to look like a doctor's office. They only thing we saw was what looked like apartments... It seemed to be on a hill so I drove that way just to see if maybe something wasn't tucked in with these apartments. Imagine our surprise as we drove around to see this surgery center in these apartment buildings. The whole apartment complex had been converted into office suites and most of them medical offices... It looked really really shady, but when my friend went into the back office, she said it looked just like her doctors office.... What is next hospital in a food court??

High kicks, sparkles and camels...oh my!!!

Last evening Grin and I were treated to a lovely holiday outing by Grin's best friend Princess Smiley Face and her mommy. It was a Mommy / Daughter outing to the Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa to see the Rockettes Christmas Special. Yes, the real Rockettes, straight from Radio City. The young ladies got all dressed up (some less than the others...GRIN... she doesnt like to wear dresses you see). Pictures will be forthcoming as the family camera otherwise known as Grin's christmas gift last year, was on loan to the Ex Mr. Amused but the other Mommy's had cameras with them... Anyway, we got dressed up and made up and went to the show. Everyone looked great and the show was wonderful but then the strangest thing happened... Santa & the Rockettes left the stage to be replaced by a camel, several wisemen, sheep and a donkey. From what I understand the original RadioCity Rockettes show has a live nativity scene at the end of the performance so.. in turn... did we.. But it just seemed out of place and a little anti climatic. Not that it wasnt beautiful, but after an hour and half of sparkly out fits and high kicks and Santa suits, to have Mary & Joseph parading across the stage with the "baby jesus" and his livestock just seemed weird.. I kept waiting for the wisemen and followers to drop the robes and start high kicking and jazz hands around the baby...I wanted the camel to do the splits and sheep to sing.. Is that wrong???

This is what scientists do all day???

I thought the scientists of the world were supposed to be out there curing diseases or finding new forms of fuel to ensure survival of the species.. Are you telling me they sit in a lab and study pregnant women to determine why they don't fall over...


http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071212/full/news.2007.374.html


What a cushy job... I want to sit around and determine the obvious... Are you seriously telling me that it has taken 5000 years of mankind to determine that women carry pregnancy weight by using the flexibility of the spine and vertebrae?? Gee is that why we walk like ducks when pregnant or stand with our hands in the small of our backs due to pain and pressure??? I had not even realized that... Maybe this should the the Duh award for the year? Where are my drugs to eliminate all disease or the magic pill to make me thin and fat free?? Where is the car that will cleanly on a non fossil fuel??

The epitome...

I have seen it all now... Not only are we a materialistic country, but we are also very very lazy.... I saw this on another blog (Thank you to the Food Whore http://www.thefoodwhore.com/) but I just had to check it out for myself... I do love this store... I have never purchased from this store, but it is just a beautiful place... But to pay $99.95 for this...

This machine is an electronic martini shaker... From Sur La Table. Are you kidding me... We have gotten to lazy to shake a martini??? How much time does it actually save??? I think the cocktail shaker is a romanticized notion from the swinging past that should be continued. The cocktail shaker makes one think of a smoky bar, with a piano player pounding out tunes, and a sultry singer on stage crooning a sad ballad from days gone by... A notion of a rat packer shaking out a martini for Deano.... Or the Donna Reedesque housewife in her starched apron shaking out that drink for her hubby who will be walking through the door in 5 minutes... Or of Bond ordering that martini shaken not stirred in his debonair way.

What should I expect from the store that has the most beautiful chefs knife on sale for $299.95....

Snow flurries...

Do you hear it?? .......... Isn't it great... the sound of nothing... After a week of activity, flurrying and hurrying, praying at every possible moment for snow in mammoth.... it is quiet at my house. Grin and Smirk have gone skiing with the Ex Mr Amused. There are not 6 teenage bodies lounging in my living room, sucking down any food that hits the counter in my kitchen. But wow, were they needy... They wanted cookies for the trip, then to borrow my warm clothes, then to wash all the clothes in the house....So finally after baking 4 dozen peanut butter cookies (half of them we dubbed Reece's cookies as I dipped them in chocolate) and doing mass loads of laundry..... The house is silent. Except for the hum of the Christmas lights hung from the ceiling (no tree yet) and the TV babbling softly in the background, there is peace in the house....

The saddest part of this story is me...What do I do when my kids are gone?? Sit on the couch at night like a loser and sing along with Mary Poppins... Do I need a life or what.....

Dirty....

So I am sure you have seen those strange commercials on the telly.. Where it states you should go elfyourself... That just sounds so lascivious!! But anyway... I am a sucker for the strange, so I did it! I elf'd myself.... check it out!!!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9633101440


This is the only and last time you will ever see any of us do this again!!!!

Good God, is he still alive???

When I was a kid my parents used to watch 60 minutes every Sunday evening especially the Andy Rooney segment. I hated this.. He was boring and old and talked funny... Well not much has changed.. I still don't care much for 60 minutes, but I do sometimes find Andy Rooney amusing and a little bit acerbic..But I had no idea he was still alive... I mean he was old when I was a kid and now.. WOW he is really old. But I was turned on to a recent segment by my auntie who had said he talked to people about what they carry with them while walking through New York. And it got me to thinking.. I really don't carry much on my person and I rarely walk anywhere. Not due to laziness but due to the fact that where I live is primarily a car centric community. The public transportation is not great. We do not have a subway and the geography is very spread out. For instance, I work 20 miles from where I live... Cant really walk that, no subways.. There is train but I would have to walk about 5 miles to get to the train and 7 miles from the station to the office.. Not exactly convenient... Healthy I think, but not convenient....


So anyway here is my thought, does a car replace a bag here in California? Several people I know carry so much stuff in their cars that they could qualify as a vacation home. I personally carry at least two books with me at all times... You never know when you might need a little something to read... I also have two water bottles, several pencils (all left behind by Smirk and Grin's holey book bags), two lip glosses, tissues, several pairs of extra shoes in case of a costume malfunction, jackets, a blanket and a packet of instant oatmeal, you never know when you might need oatmeal... This is far more than I carry in my purse... Lip gloss, credit card, spare change, keys....

So which are you? Are you a car or bag type person??? Or is there a third type... The minimalist??? How many types are there?? Maybe Andy needs to do some more research... After all, New York is not the capital of the world... Or is it just he is so old, that he isn't allowed outside of the Big Apple anymore...

Sickness

What a fun Thanksgiving weekend! HA! If your version of fun is not leaving the house and holding someone's hair every two hours, then you would have loved my weekend. Smirk crawled into my bed at 2am on Saturday morning complaining that her stomach hurt. She does not like to be sick at all but is very stoic about the ordeal so when she started throwing up and has tears streaming down her face and her whole body was heaving with her, she was the most pathetic little thing... She did not leave her bed for two days. She finally started to feel better Sunday afternoon and got alot of sleep. I however need more sleep... And less work to do... Re-washing sheets and sanitzing bathrooms was not the way I wanted to spend my 4 day weekend!!!

Thanksgiving!!!

I love Thanksgiving. I love to cook, and eat (obviously shown in the size of my pants), I love to spend time with my family and others while eating and cooking. I love pie and all fall foods... However, I do dislike the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday.. It disturbs me how Christmas decorations go up the day after Halloween and two weeks ago Santa was making the rounds at the local strip mall across the street from my house. ( I did tell Smirk & Grin that we should go over and visit him and throw turkey legs at him until he ran screaming from the mall) And since I work for the sales division of a large wireless telecom retailers (otherwise known as the fat kid in the alltell commercials) I really hate Black Friday. But there are two extreme forces at work on this evil day:


The shoppers - why in god's name would you want to get up and go to a store at 4am just to get that pair of jeans for 40% off or more??? 4am?? Is that reasonable to ask an employee to get up at 3am just be there while the middle class buy bulk underwear and candles??? Or to stand in line later in the day with those same people who have been shopping since 4am... They are not friendly or happy or merry...


The other factions at work are these guys http://adbusters.org/metas/eco/bnd/
While I think their message is good somewhat impractical, I do support the thought behind no shopping on Black Friday.


My boss might not like to hear me spout the anti shopping line, since it is one of our biggest revenue days of the year, but oh well... Company line be damned.... NO SHOPPING FOR ME ON THE 23rd of NOVEMBER!!!

Extreme Sport...

Ever feel sympathy towards a hamster in a the spinning wheel.. How about the movie "The boy in the plastic bubble"? Want to be like them???

This is the new extreme sport with locations popping up all around the world. They have locations all over the world, but just a few.. Most in New Zealand as this is where this interesting trend came from... But if you are in Tennessee or Europe you can partake... Not only can you roll around in a giant plastic ball, but they will add water, warm water to the inside of the ball so soothe you as you roll! Check out their site!

http://www.zorb.com/main.html

Poor, negelected & underappreciated...

Crosswalks.....So graciously provided by the city to ensure the walking public's safety. Most cities have thoughtfully provided the little green man and hand to tell you when to cross. Some have even made them motion-censored as to not have to reach down and push a button to let the computer know you are ready to cross. They have voices to tell the blind when they cross and what intersection they have reached... This 3 foot wide strip of painted haven ensures that the woman applying her mascara as she drives down the surface streets, does stop when you cross the street at the appropriate time. Is it just laziness that drives people to cross the street 300 yards from the nearest crosswalk or are they just that much better than everyone else, that they deserve to saunter across the avenue where ever they please? Are their feet too good to be placed in the painted area?? Maybe it is their shoes, just too expensive to be forced to walk in the designated area???

I just don't understand. Last evening while driving home in the dusky, last rays of daylight, I slammed on brakes to allow a very arrogant man to hustle across the street just a short distance away from pedestrian safety area. As I glared at him, hostile because not only did I almost hit him, in his dark black, albeit very nice suit, but he had the audacity to yell (curse like a drunken sailor) at me for coming to a screeching halt in the middle of the road while he jaywalked across the lane. As if I interuppted his deep thoughts while he darted into traffic. (By the way, who is Jay and why did he start this insidious practice?)

Since working for the large telecom conglomerate that I do, I have seen my share of stupid, but this group of renegade walkers seem to own a rather large portion of the stupid pie...

More on Cars...

Teens in cars... It is a right of passage. They struggle to get their license and then are off... Spreading their wings and flying (at 90 miles an hour in a 50 zone) while the parents sit at home on pins and needles waiting for them to get home....I was waiting. Waiting for the frantic phone call... "Mom, I am lost" or "Mommy, I broke your car"...But it didnt come! Smirk drove her and Grin to their father's house for the first time....alone... This sounds like a So What moment...But we live in Southern California and her father lives over 30 miles away from our little house.. So that means the child who was afraid to drive over the speed limit on surface streets and does not like to change lanes because she does not like other cars even though they were usually 5 car lengths away...

I sat on my couch waiting... Devising a plan... How would I get to her to rescue her when she called in tears saying that the car speeding down the freeway and tailgating her had scared her too much to drive any further... What could I do, she had my car, I was left with the topless BMW convertible...But being supermom, I resolved that I would put on many layers and soar through the night to rescue my helpless child. Did I need to sit and worry about this... No. She did just fine. She even changed lanes on the 5 freeway. Granted it was now past 8pm on a Friday night so traffic had died down alot so I really didnt need to be quite as nervous as I was, but more to my dismay... Her father was not nervous at all, in fact.... He went to bed. Didnt even wait for them to arrive... Just yawn, think I will get some sleep now... The girls will get here eventually... How could he not be worried... This was precious cargo...Cargo that was driving itself careening down the freeway, not used to the dangers that are out in the world. Thinking she is invincible because in her mind, she is and will never be hurt...And he goes to BED.

Smirk told me I was being silly and she was fine and this was a good thing because I should stop worrying about her and let her take care of herself... My reply... "What!! I was not worried about You, I was concerned about the status of my lovely car & your passenger...Why should I worry about you??" That took the smirk right off her face...

I did tell her with a smile that it was not true and I was worried about her... and her passenger...and of course, my car...

Why do people call cars She??

The former Mr. Amused brought Junior, Grin & Smirk's stepbrother, down to our house to go out trick or treating with his sisters for Halloween.. He also brought another treat... Smirk's new vehicle...This vehicle has now taken MY place in the garage because it is a convertible... A BMW convertible...Sounds great right???? Well... This car seems to have been owned by a very sleazy man as it looks as though the top was attacked by werewolves or an extremely angry and vindictive woman in a very bad mood that Ben & Jerry's Phish Food ice cream with whipped cream & sprinkles would not appease! The whole soft top is slashed in about 10 places, the little plastic window, which I am sure you could see out of at one point in 1992 (the car is a 91) has several holes that look like they were punched through in a fit of agony. The car is white and drives well but you just cant put the top up. Or roll the window down on the passenger side.

Because the car had been sitting for so long, it needs to be started everyday to ensure the charge stays in the battery, and it really needed and oil change. So every day I would start it, drive it a short way, down to the school to pick up the girls. They could sit in the car and wave at their acquaintances walking down the street like the Rose Court on New Years Day. Quite fun! We talked about going to the thrift store and getting some really cool vintage scarves to protect our hair as we drove down coast highway. Just until we could afford to get the top fixed... All great plans... Until Sunday...

On Sunday my normally reliable vehicle, Molly, decided it had enough of this interloper in her warm cozy sleeping area... So she decided that she was going to taunt us and blow a circuit in her radio and heater area of the center console. Since we had a lot of area to cover and needed tunes, we decided we would take the new car on our journey down to the Ex Mr. Amused's House and a basketball game and back.. Not a horrendously long trek, but still a few hours in the car. So Smirk and I set out. So off we rolled to Manny, Moe and Jack to get the oil changed. And for some strange reason the lovely mechanics doing the oil change decided that they needed to roll down the passenger side window to perform this changing of fluids... This window does not roll back up... I guess I should have informed them, but I wasn’t aware of the situation either... And did not really think about rolling down the windows in a car to perform an oil change.
So not only do we not have a roof, but we now have an open wind tunnel.. So off we go, in the autumn marine layer, down Pacific Coast highway... The sun was out, wait, it went behind the clouds, wait there it was.. Nope, sun was gone.. It was still a very balmy 70 until we started down the freeway... Ok a bit chilly and kinda loud but we would be fine, the sun was peaking out... We pick up Grin and all of us proceed to wrap our selves in jackets.. Still nice but poor Grin is in the back seat of the car, with no window and no roof and the air blowing directly on her from all angles. But she is a trooper, she ties the hoodie around her face so all you can see is the little tiny nose and a tiny bit of eye showing. She hangs in... We head down towards the shopping mecca to meet up with the Auntie from down south for a shopping trip for Grin's birthday. We get there a bit windblown but good all the same. Smirk & I head for the basketball game..
Did I mention this lovely car is a stick shift.. Oh and the game is at the top of a hill by a local university.. So here Smirk and I go.. Off to the game... On a hill... In a stick shift.. And she asks me to show her how to use the clutch properly on a hill... Of course I can do that! I am a pro!!! Not a problem.. So you let the clutch out and give it a tiny bit of gas ... Stalled... Darn it!!! She laughs, I restart, people are honking, I stall again!! Again with the honking and even one person flipped me off!!! She isn’t laughing anymore but seeing how mean people are.. I tell her we will continue later when I get a better feel for the car.. And I regain my wounded pride... The game goes fine, they lose but she played very well... So we go to meet up with Grin and Auntie... We walk the mall, go get some dinner and then we emerge from the restaurant... It is now dark. Not just dusk, with the sun starting to sink in the west, but darn right Night time... It is only 6pm, but with daylight savings over it is really dark, and cold and even a bit breezy... But are we daunted??? NO!! We head to the Sun Mobile (we have now nicknamed Charly) and bundle up.. Grin resumes her position in the back, little nose peeking out of the firmly secured hoodie, while Smirk and I don our hoodies too.. I unfortunately need to have my whole face exposed as I do need to see while maneuvering down the freeway. We had to have looked very strange... Driving down the freeway in the pitch black cold of night with our hair blowing and a look-a-like bundled child from "A Christmas Story" in the back seat! We finally made it home and proceeded straight into the mass amounts of blankets vowing never to drive the car until warmer weather... Now the poor little car sits in the garage, like a lonely stepchild... Just waiting for the warmer days and someone to fix it’s hat... Poor sad little Charly!

Spooks, goblins and couch potatoes, oh my!

Halloween, my second favorite holiday of the year. Ok, not so much a holiday any more as much as it is a day for little people to go and beg for sweets but still it is fun to see all those little tiny princesses and aliens and other assorted characters toddle their way up to the door to have their parents prompt them to say thank you... Makes me wish Grin and Smirk were little again. But not this year... We had NO little tykes or even big ghouls visit our house. Which I guess was ok as I didnt buy any candy!

Grin went out with her friends.. She was dressed as Princess Tiger Lily from Peter Pan. Her dad bought her a very plain indian costume which I then proceeded to "Fix" with feathers and beads and bangles! All Praise the Hot Glue Gun! Smirk and her friends also went out to terrorize the neighborhood.. She was a mobster, in a very short skirt... Oh for the days when I could dress them!!! They both looked adorable either way.

I however think I had the best night of all.. I sat on the couch, in my cozy pj's and very warm socks, with a nice glass of merlot and watched Casino Royale (Daniel Craig is beautiful), in silence, with no interruptions, no questions about why does that happen or who is he or what is he doing before he does it; like I have all the answers in the world... It was bliss... And when Princess Tiger Lily returned with a basket full of candy she was happy as she had fun with her friends. And Smirk returned she was happy as she got to visit her friends... So all in all, it was a good halloween! Just treats, no tricks!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRIN!!!!

GRIN is now 15!! UGH!!!! My little tiny blond girl is not so little anymore. She is taller than all of us and smarter... But not so smart that I couldnt surprise her!!! Smirk & I planned a small surprise party for her with her friends and some of our family for a dinner party. We had Smirk's best friend take Grin to the horse stables to keep her out of the house while I cooked and decorated. Because of the fires they couldnt ride the horses, but they got to walk them around a bit and check out all of the other horses...She loved it and thought that was the surprise until she walked in the door and there were her friends and fun!! She was completely surprised and had a great time!!

One slight problem... Due to my OCD cleaning issues, I misplaced the camera while I was organizing... So...no pictures!!! Not even of the food!!!

California...The land of the dramatic

Ah, October.... While other people around the country are remarking about how there is a chill in the air, the leaves are turning beautiful colors and fall is in the air...We in California are usually experiencing the hot, dry and windy days of Santa Ana wind conditions. It happens every year... without fail... Fall is the beginning of fire season in Southern California... This has not changed in years...

So I dont know why it amazes me every year when the first large fires of the season starts and the perfectly coiffed & polished "news"anchors report FIRESTORM (Insert current year here)! They then cut to some poor shnook reporter who is standing in the middle of a windswept burnt area covered in ash and dirt with hair looking like someone who has gone on way too many roller coaster rides at Knotts Berry Farm. This person then has to try to hear the inane questions posed by the anchors over the roar of the fire, to which they are way too close; dodge fire trucks and personnel who are there trying to do their jobs and try not to get themselves, their camera crew and rescue workers injured or worse...


While some years are mild, most of these fires are in the same areas... Malibu burns, the Angeles National Forest burns and most of these are caused by stupid people doing stupid things... This years fire are one of the worst I have seen in my lifetime. And dont get me wrong, these fires are horrible and costly and I truly feel awful for the people who have lost their homes and belongings and in some cases been injured or worse. But the media does nothing to help these situations.


The firefighters in these areas are overstretched and tired and doing a phenomenal job. They are awe-inspiring. But to have the media say to tell people "Should you stay in your home, use your hoses to protect yourselves." There was no "until fire crews can get to you" or "make sure you are safe"... just use a hose against a raging wildfire that has already consumed over 500,000 acres.. It will work!!! RIIIGHT!


Soon the winds will be over and the fires will be out and hopefully the rainy season will start as we need the rain, but that brings on the next media flurry!! THE STORM OF THE CENTURY and the potential mudslides that will ensue.... Oh well I guess in the land of movie stars and swimming pools, we all need a little drama... Once the natural disaster season has moved on and other states get Spring, we here in So Cal can once again settle back in to the live broadcast car chases and celebrity legal snafus!!

Traveling the world without a passport

I really want to travel... Need to travel, but alas, my budget and two children requiring food, shelter and guidance will not allow me to ditch the conventional world and grab a backpack and camera and just walk, hitch, boat or take the train throughout the world...But I can live vicariously through the lenses of others... These are some of my favorite websites through which I can see alot.. Unfortunately we havent perfected smellovision so I cant smell and touch all the interesting things seen here, but I can dream!!!

Italy
http://venicedailyphoto.blogspot.com/
http://www.novaradailyphoto.blogspot.com/
http://romedailyphoto.blogspot.com/

France
http://chateau-gontier-daily-photo.blogspot.com/
http://cherbourgdailyphoto.blogspot.com/
http://grenobledailyphoto.blogspot.com/

Australia/New Zealand
http://www.aucklanddailyphoto.com/
http://mostlymelbourne.blogspot.com/
http://sydneynearlydailyphot.blogspot.com/

UK
http://cambridgedailyphoto.blogspot.com/
http://belfastdailyphoto.blogspot.com/
http://londondailyphoto.blogspot.com/
http://www.cheltenhamdailyphoto-lynn.blogspot.com/

Other places that facinate me
http://cairogizadailyphoto.blogspot.com/
http://quitodailyphoto.blogspot.com/
http://istanbulonephotoatatime.blogspot.com/
http://basedinvilligen.blogspot.com/
http://thessalonikidailyphoto.blogspot.com/

Cats???

So, anyone who has met me knows that I dont like cats. Now before you stop reading, I am not a terrible kitten hating person. I think it stems from the fact that when I am around one, my throat starts to swell and I cant breathe or see from the tears streaming out of my eyes. I think some cats are quite adorable. Kittens are just plain cute... And usually like to wander in and out of my legs rubbing their lovely, anaphalactic shock inducing fur against my clothing...But I digress...
The reason for the cat rant is I was just informed by my best friend,Bee, who informed me that on my birthday I will now have one year left as a PUMA.
From what I understand, next year, my age not only will be one of the hardest birthdays for a woman to suffer through but thanks to the media and movies like When Harry Met Sally, now instead of thinking I am still young and fun I will be a freaking COUGAR... This is just wrong. I protest... Why cats?
I dont feel like a cougar, I feel like a Kitten.. I realize the extra 30 pounds that I am carrying around doesnt make me look like a kitten, but a COUGAR... I dont thinks so! So I plan to come up with a new labeling system and put it out into the world. Maybe Birds??? Young girls could be Hawks, then the 30's could become Falcon's then 40 and above could be maybe a peacock??

Thoughts????

Angry Princess...

Grin is very angry with me. One would think I had committed a major infraction. My little tree hugging, animal saving, planet policewoman child is angered because I have not yet put her picture on my blog. I put her sister (when saying that word... sister...You must say it like it has left a very bad, repugnant taste in your mouth) on my blog, I put a cake on... But do I put her...Noooo. So, just to make a certain princess happy and keep life in the Amused residence on an even keel... Without further adieu... World may I introduce you to GRIN....

And Grin and her friends... Sporty & Pony Princess

Favorite Things....

As Smirk, Grin and I sat unapologetically watching (and signing) the Sound of Music, last night, I begin to muse on my favorite things....I dont believe I can fit them into the song...

For instance, on chilly but sunny days, I love to get into my car after it has been sitting in the sun all day and just sit for a minute soaking in the warmth on the leather seats before I start to drive away.

I like to walk into my house and smell onions and tomatoes bubbling away for spaghetti sauce. Or coffee, or bread or anything with cinnamon... I love Thanksgiving...Planning, cooking, baking, eating, relaxing, the whole kit and kaboodle... I love it!

To stand in the back of an auditorium or high school gym and feel the swelling of pride as one of my girls does something great.

I like to take the girls to the upick orchards and picking the end of summer berries or apples (Smirk usually snacks as she picks resulting in stained fingers and seeds between her teeth) and then returning home to make applesauce, pies and fruit snacks.

I love to spend a lazy Sunday in my pajamas reading a good book (or two), while drinking a cuppa and not worrying about the piles of laundry in the garage or the dust bunnies behind the tv.

When I do finally get to that pile of laundry in the garage... Socks straight from the dryer, all warm and toasty, those have got to be a favorite!!

My favorite time waster would have to be when in public sitting and people watching.. I can make up stories about things I see. Smirk and I like to play "guess your life story" while people walk by. Grin doesnt like it as much but will join in when something (one) is very strange....

Being in Orange County, I rarely venture past the Orange Curtain, but if I have to go into LA I love to go to the Farmer's market and play the above mentioned game (always interesting people to watch there) and get a ham & cheese crepe (http://www.frenchcrepe.com/) YUMMY!!

No matter the time of year, I enjoy driving down Pacific Coast Highway early in the morning before the tourists come out of their posh accomodations and see the shop owners sweeping sidewalks and getting the towns ready for the days traffic.

I think one of my absolute favorite things is sharing all of these crazing things with Smirk and Grin and helping them start their list while discovering more for me...

Fun Days...

What a weekend! This weekend has been very fun filled and amusing. Smirk had homecoming this weekend, so Saturday was filled with primping and polishing and spraying and gunking! She and her friends, Princess Tiger Lily & Spumoni had a great time, dancing and looked beautiful! It was a proud moment! They were amazing! It is hard to think that they were once just little girls playing dress up and now are women ready to conquer the world.

They came home this morning, shockingly early after staying up most of the night giggling, to wish me a happy birthday and helped me make waffles for breakfast. We spent most of the day just laying around watching TV and relaxing! What a great way to spend a birthday!!

Today made me reflect on my surroundings... I was born in California and raised here, and yet I find it hard to admit that to people. My family has been in this state for over 100 years and yet whenever I leave this state, people now seem to equate Southern California with a stupid television show that completely misrepresented this area. (Never once have I uttered the words "Welcome to the OC, bitch") Not all from here want to be actors or have fake boobs and or tans...Yes quite a few do, but not everyone...Nor are we all tofu eating freaks who do yoga and wheat grass shots. But there are some strange events that happen here in Southern California... We dont really have seasons like the rest of the country, We have mid winter, which seems to involve a little bit of drizzle while news channels report the Storm of the Century, and fire season, which is most of October... We also have tourist season, mid April thru Labor Day, when the tourists come out to the beaches in their bermuda shorts and black knee socks.. this also brings out the Barbie girls to sit at the beach in their micro bikinis...

Anyway, back to today, we left the house to drive to Disneyland and on our way we saw a group of 10 year old boys riding down the side of the road on unicyles... Odd, looked like a clown training class. We also stopped by a seadside community. We came to a red light, me in my lovely toyota sedan (1995) and a brand new orange Lamborghini. A homeless man cross the street in front us. This man was looking for handouts. He chose to ignore the wealthy old guy in the sports car but came to my window to pester me and my daughters... odd choice when looking for spare change...like I have any.... Oh well!! You just have to smile!

We came home finally with both my kids and several others in tow... I cooked dinner and settled down for the night.. We got to watch movies and relax.. Now that is what I call a birthday!!!

Welcome to the blog world

My first post. How exciting! This is a doubly exciting day for us here in the Amused household. My children Smirk & Grin are amazed that I am writing on the web, and are sure this will embarrass them in some way. Since that is what I live for, I will try my hardest to do so. I have decided that this will be an outlet for all of the strange things roaming around in my brain, and there are alot!

The other exciting event is this is a birthday month for alot of people in this household. Today is Smirk's best friend, princess tiger lily's 17th birthday. We have made fabulous cake for the birthday, our first successful foray into fondant.

We will also have to make cakes for Grin, who will turn 15 on 10/24...I turn 39 on Sunday, but that one does not count!!! No cakes, unless they are filled with mass amounts of alcohol to dull the pain.

This blog will be a ramble of all things that make me laugh or distract me in some way, with some food and books and other things all thrown in... Confused??? Trust me, that is a normal state of being for my house hold!