public service announcement

ok people - only 2 weeks til mother's day. start now thinking of nice things to do for your mom! or your wife! or of suggestions you can give to curtis, who will inevitably forget and then i will feel sad and he will feel bad!

jj - angela is pregnant - that totally counts for mother's day!! it doesn't need to be big, she just needs to know that you are all about her being the mother of your child! :)

steve - AJ is coming! sabrina loves presents - you'd better believe this mother's day counts! get going, man! :)

Jordan (if you're out there) - remember the woman who gave birth to you! you have put her through a lot (ha!) so be nice! :) (he he he!)

being a mom is a tough gig.... some of you will recall "field trip mom" and her secret flask. but i am not here to complain. no, not at all. because being a mom is a killer gig, too. my daughters think i am the best mom in the world, because today i put whipped cream on their strawberries. yesterday they thought so because we took a family bikeride. the day before, it was because i let them stay up late - it was a friday. every kid needs a little "whipped cream" in their life - and it's a mom's prividege to be the one holding the can!

so even if it wasn't your mom, start thinking about how you can honor the person who filled your life with whipped cream! :)

a long, long list

phew! we are one week out from our retreat - we've been planning since september! today is one of the best days....shopping day! stuff for the gift bags, food for snacks, tape and tissue and polaroid film... the list goes on and on. but after months of everything just on paper, it's fun to watch it take physical shape! all we need now is for sunshine at the beach next weekend - yes, the beach, don't you wish you were coming! - and we will be set. i have been mightily distracted lately, and haven't given the retreat much thought, but today i am feeling the anticipation! it's going to be so fantastic!

gotta run - happy saturday!

bigger and better...

The only thing better than a box of wine....

is a box of wine! how fun! who knew you could get wine in the mail?

done

phew - i am done! my emotions have been running in fast cycles lately, up and down, and i am in a down now. not "sad" down at all, but like a "whoa, i'm tired" down. i am going to curl up on the couch in my pj's with my sweetie to watch the superman dvd, and raise a glass in honor of mark & tina.

tomorrow is a big day for the people in my world...and you know that i am all about my people. peace to you, people i love.

stolen property

ok, i stole these questions from Casey, who stole them from someone else...so...off we go!

1. Would you rather have the ability to fly, or the ability to be invisible? Definitely fly! Casey points out the practical benefits of money saved on traveling, but i rode my bike down a hill today, and the wind blowing past me was so...liberating. i would choose flying for that feeling alone.

2. What's the best piece of advice you've gotten from your parents (one or both)? i once gave a talk to teenage girls based on all the advice my mom gave me growing up, and how i looking back i had to admit that she was right. but the one thing that sticks out was the first hour i was home alone with my new baby, terrified. i called home, and mom said, "even if you feed her when she's crying about her diaper, and change her when she's crying for food, YOU WON'T KILL HER." it was the most liberating thing to hear. excellent advice.

3. What's your favorite condiment? i am a new convert to guacamole... i was always scared of the color. who wants to eat green mush? well, turns out it's delish!! i like it on wraps, chips, tacos, all manner of things. a close second is corn relish. that stuff is fantastic on a hot dog, burger or bologna sandwich!

4. Do you subscribe to a newspaper? Why or why not? nope. i get enough news online to keep me current, and i have a hard time not succumbing to the darkness in the world, especially when i think that my girls are going to inherit it. headlines are usually enough for me.

5. If you had to listen to one song, playing in your head, on repeat for the rest of your life, what would it be? this is next to impossible -i need music to survive, and i have different music for every mood. there is so much music that moves me. for the sheer pleasure of listening, it would have to be the 'his eye is on the sparrow' duet on the sister act 2 soundtrack. tanya blount and lauryn hill. there are just no words.

top 10?

i just read an online article which rated among the top 10 "fun" jobs, Rodeo Clown. let that sink in. Rodeo Clown. that's the job where, if you see that a 1000lb beast from hell is about to crush the life out of man, you jump in front of him, raise your arms and yell, "over here! look at me! come crush the life out of me instead!" seriously. "fun"? are you high?

wonders of modern science

life just gets better and better, people. is anyone besides me excited about caffeinated soap?! it says it delivers the equivalent of 2 cups of coffee, absorbed through the skin, in 5 minutes! lather me up and call me happy! those of you who know me are well aware of my a.m. deficiency, and my subsequent addiction to coffee. this is a brilliant product! think of the personal hygiene it will inspire! and, if you were traveling and weren't sure if they'd have coffee - (i'm not sure where this could happen...perhaps outer mongolia?) - you could just take your magic soap with you and enjoy a long hot shower!! (although getting a long hot shower in outer mongolia could be as tricky as getting coffee...hmmm) and as a bonus just for you, sabrina, it is infused to smell like peppermint, not coffee!

sleepy heads rejoice!