Thursday 5/24/12
the night before "I have a loose tooth!"
Tuesday 6/5/12
moments after "My tooth fell out!"
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Sunday, June 3, 2012
The Black and White Ball
Thank you KDFC, for the free party passes to the San Francisco Symphony's Black and White Ball! Happy 100 years to them and long live music education in public schools!
What a PARTY it was!
We were starving when we arrived but that was taken care of immediately, as there was copious amounts of food everywhere. There were booths overflowing with prawns, chow mein, veggies, steak, sausages, pork, sushi, taquitos, dim sum dumplings, you name it. There was never a wait for drinks, either.
There was a giant mirror ball spinning and lighting up City Hall, the War Memorial Veterans Building and Davies Symphony Hall.
The fashion was fantastic - people were seriously decked out and almost everyone was in black and white.
My favorites were the fabulous identically dressed drag queens
(terribly dark and blurry photos from my phone camera)
There was a man in full kilt,
there were top hats & gloves, furs & sequins, and an endless parade of impossibly chic cocktail dresses, quirky/fun dressy outfits, and truly remarkable, gorgeous gowns.
I didn't get nearly enough photos, so I'm going to hunt for some online and try to share them.
The staff were all totally friendly, professional and fun. These guys hammed it up (pun intended) for this shot:
This Peachy's Puffs gal (who must have been positively freezing!)
casually began explaining the Tragedy of the Commons to me by way of an apology/explanation for not having any more LED flashing jelly rings left. She said people had begun grabbing fistfuls out of her tray. Boo hoo. Sadie and Lilah would have loved those.
Here was a lady I just had to get a photo of:
Check her out in her sparkly top, flashing jelly ring, perusing her smart phone! Love it.
The mixed demographic of the crowd was one of my favorite aspects of the entire night. Andrew commented later that he had forgotten what a people-watcher I am. I seriously could have just wandered around all night telling people how fabulous they looked. I love doing that.
Maybe I'll do it again someday...
I haven't even mentioned the entertainment. Excellent! We wandered around to try to get a sampling of each but didn't hear it all, I don't think.
Here was the line up:
Janelle Monae & her band were excellent;
she covered Prince's "Take Me With You" and Charlie Chaplin's iconic "Smile" which was really lovely...
We had to leave before the "Midnight Surprise" (fireworks? confetti cannon?) while the one and only Cyndi Lauper was still performing in order to get home to our sweet 17 year old babysitter (on loan on crazy short notice from my friend Melissa) by 12:30 as promised. Her father was picking her up - I was not about to be late!
Here are my parting shots.
*sigh*
What a night.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Moments like these...
I wonder if they'll remember driving with the windows down on a sunny Spring day with Bob Marley on the radio and the wind in their hair.
I will.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
April was a bit insane. Hello, May.
April was an epic month for us - I think it was the busiest/fullest we've ever had.
Here's a run down with mostly pictures, because if I try to write it all out in lovely narrative form, I'd be lucky to get it posted by June!
April 3-10 my second cousin Ana was here from Mexico with her husband and daughter who is exactly Lilah's age. I busted out as much Spanish as I could and we took turns correcting one another. I'm so lucky to have these relatives!
April 4th - my big brother's 40th! We convinced him not to scrap the celebration they had planned at their place and had a nice little party at my folks' house instead. I was proud of myself for finding a nice Zinfandel for him from a winery in Napa whose vineyards were planted the year of his birth - 1972. It supposedly will age beautifully for 10 years and goes well with pizza. Score!
April 9th my baby turned 2! We had a little party at Vasona with a train ride and a spin on the carousel. She had an absolute ball.
April 11th - Andrew's childhood friend Max was on vacation from Switzerland with his family (they did a house swap for a place in Santa Cruz) so we drove over and spent the day with them. I absolutely love seeing my man hanging with an old buddy.
April 15th - Sunday Night Dinner Birthday Edition at my parents' house for Andrew and me. My mom prepared a mini Mexican feast with all sorts of deliciousness.
Another one of Andrew's childhood friends, Peter Sokolowski was in attendance, as he was out here on his every-other-year trip for a conference in Oakland. He also gave a lecture at Stanford. He's a lexicographer and Editor-at-Large for Merriam-Webster. Smarty pants. ;)
April 16th - Andrew's (actual) birthday.
The early morning performance at SCU for the 5th anniversary of the Virginia Tech Massacre. There is short slide show of photos and a few words about it here: http://chronicle.com/article/Remembering-a-Tragedy/131573/
later that night: Out to dinner with the girls.
April 18th - J9 heads to NYC - Happy Birthday to me trip.
This trip deserves it's own post entirely, but I may never get around to doing that, so I'm squishing it in here. I tucked my babes into bed and got a ride from a friend to the airport for a redeye flight to JFK. I took a cab to my friend's amazing apartment in the East Village (she has a backyard, y'all!) and we cruised around her 'hood for a few hours.
Then we headed to Broadway and I proceeded to have my mind completely blown by the most amazing performance I have ever seen in my life. "Venus in Fur" at the Lyceum Theatre.
Even though all of the articles and reviews I had read had prepared me to be impressed (seriously, the reviewers fall all over themselves to describe Nina Arianda's superb acting) I was still practically dumbfounded by the raw power of her performance from her madcap but endearing entrance to the lighting & thunder blackout. I literally leaped to my feet to join my fellow theatre goers to give her and Hugh Dancy a standing ovation. Here I am geeking out at the stage door after the show:
What a way to spend my first night back in New York after living there for a meager 18 months twelve years ago. The next 2 and a half days flew by. Friday we walked all over, window shopping and eating. We were able to include a delightful stroll along the Highline (so cool) until a goofy six-foot-something French teenager stepped on the back of Holly's sandal and took the sole right off! We (I) had a good laugh about that.
A crazy stroke of fate landed us tickets to the entirely SOLD OUT Book of Mormon's Saturday matinee,
and I had dinner at my friends Xander & Natasha's place on the Upper West Side. My rainy Sunday included a walk to a diner for breakfast (where, I have to add - we saw a most spectacular young woman doing her walk of shame* - I mean, seriously, I have never seen someone rock a red miniskirt/dress & flawless black stilettos like that - but I was like: hey, sister - I think this when you spring for a cab even if you can't afford it and before I knew it, I was on a plane home with a bag of bagels in my carry-on.
*yes, I take issue with this phrase
Andrew let the girls stay up past their bedtime to come get me at the airport and I got a running-leap-into-my-arms hug from Sadie. Lilah had fallen asleep on the way, but we had a nice reunion in the morning. I missed these little buggers.
And last but not least *drum roll, please...*
On, April 28th I packed my two darling girls, a handful of books, plenty of snacks, electronic toys and Music Together CDs in the car and drove over 2 hours (each way) to the Unitewomen.org rally and march in Sacramento.
! ! ! !
Yes, I did.
I'll let the photos speak for themselves:
So, that was our April!
Here's a run down with mostly pictures, because if I try to write it all out in lovely narrative form, I'd be lucky to get it posted by June!
April 3-10 my second cousin Ana was here from Mexico with her husband and daughter who is exactly Lilah's age. I busted out as much Spanish as I could and we took turns correcting one another. I'm so lucky to have these relatives!
April 4th - my big brother's 40th! We convinced him not to scrap the celebration they had planned at their place and had a nice little party at my folks' house instead. I was proud of myself for finding a nice Zinfandel for him from a winery in Napa whose vineyards were planted the year of his birth - 1972. It supposedly will age beautifully for 10 years and goes well with pizza. Score!
April 9th my baby turned 2! We had a little party at Vasona with a train ride and a spin on the carousel. She had an absolute ball.
April 11th - Andrew's childhood friend Max was on vacation from Switzerland with his family (they did a house swap for a place in Santa Cruz) so we drove over and spent the day with them. I absolutely love seeing my man hanging with an old buddy.
April 15th - Sunday Night Dinner Birthday Edition at my parents' house for Andrew and me. My mom prepared a mini Mexican feast with all sorts of deliciousness.
Another one of Andrew's childhood friends, Peter Sokolowski was in attendance, as he was out here on his every-other-year trip for a conference in Oakland. He also gave a lecture at Stanford. He's a lexicographer and Editor-at-Large for Merriam-Webster. Smarty pants. ;)
April 16th - Andrew's (actual) birthday.
The early morning performance at SCU for the 5th anniversary of the Virginia Tech Massacre. There is short slide show of photos and a few words about it here: http://chronicle.com/article/Remembering-a-Tragedy/131573/
later that night: Out to dinner with the girls.
April 18th - J9 heads to NYC - Happy Birthday to me trip.
This trip deserves it's own post entirely, but I may never get around to doing that, so I'm squishing it in here. I tucked my babes into bed and got a ride from a friend to the airport for a redeye flight to JFK. I took a cab to my friend's amazing apartment in the East Village (she has a backyard, y'all!) and we cruised around her 'hood for a few hours.
Then we headed to Broadway and I proceeded to have my mind completely blown by the most amazing performance I have ever seen in my life. "Venus in Fur" at the Lyceum Theatre.
Even though all of the articles and reviews I had read had prepared me to be impressed (seriously, the reviewers fall all over themselves to describe Nina Arianda's superb acting) I was still practically dumbfounded by the raw power of her performance from her madcap but endearing entrance to the lighting & thunder blackout. I literally leaped to my feet to join my fellow theatre goers to give her and Hugh Dancy a standing ovation. Here I am geeking out at the stage door after the show:
What a way to spend my first night back in New York after living there for a meager 18 months twelve years ago. The next 2 and a half days flew by. Friday we walked all over, window shopping and eating. We were able to include a delightful stroll along the Highline (so cool) until a goofy six-foot-something French teenager stepped on the back of Holly's sandal and took the sole right off! We (I) had a good laugh about that.
A crazy stroke of fate landed us tickets to the entirely SOLD OUT Book of Mormon's Saturday matinee,
and I had dinner at my friends Xander & Natasha's place on the Upper West Side. My rainy Sunday included a walk to a diner for breakfast (where, I have to add - we saw a most spectacular young woman doing her walk of shame* - I mean, seriously, I have never seen someone rock a red miniskirt/dress & flawless black stilettos like that - but I was like: hey, sister - I think this when you spring for a cab even if you can't afford it and before I knew it, I was on a plane home with a bag of bagels in my carry-on.
*yes, I take issue with this phrase
Andrew let the girls stay up past their bedtime to come get me at the airport and I got a running-leap-into-my-arms hug from Sadie. Lilah had fallen asleep on the way, but we had a nice reunion in the morning. I missed these little buggers.
And last but not least *drum roll, please...*
On, April 28th I packed my two darling girls, a handful of books, plenty of snacks, electronic toys and Music Together CDs in the car and drove over 2 hours (each way) to the Unitewomen.org rally and march in Sacramento.
! ! ! !
Yes, I did.
I'll let the photos speak for themselves:
So, that was our April!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Happy Spring! God! NYC! and Women, Unite!
I'm looking to turn over a new leaf, begin a new chapter, embrace my potential.
I'm not exactly sure how that is going to manifest but there has been a stirring inside me that has been building for some time and I feel it's time to release it. Actually, it feels like it's going to happen no matter what. It's not in my hands, so to speak - it feels bigger than I am.
This moment in time absolutely fits what I think I've been feeling. I feel a sense of my physical and metaphysical selves wanting to come into harmony. I am keenly aware of the duality of my humanness and my spirit trying to meet one another and go forward in unison, aiming for balance.
I need to move. I need to open. I need to engage. I feel a call to action. All of these things are being answered by what's going on my life right now, so all I have to do is trust and follow this energy that is guiding me.
I'm involved with and currently rehearsing an intense and profound performance piece to be done at Santa Clara University the morning of April 16th, called What A Stranger May Know.
It is to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the massacre at Virginia Tech. It is almost impossible to describe, but each of the victims will be represented in poetic, liturgical texts that serve to honor their lives lost. It is presented on the University's website like this:
A play commemorating the lives of the thirty-two victims of Virginia Tech.
By Erik Ehn
April 16, 2012 7:30 am
St. Ignatius LawnSanta Clara University is one of 24 universities presenting Erik Ehn’s
ambitious “What a Stranger May Know” on that day. Erik Ehn, Director of
Playwriting at Brown University and internationally recognized
artist-activist, has written 32 plays, one for each of the victims of
the shootings at Virginia Tech and these will be performed as readings
on the five-year anniversary of that day, April 16, 2012 across the
United States.Ehn is endeavouring to "write the unspeakable" and to make reflective, not informational works in which no one is impersonated. He describes the simultaneous readings of these 32 scripts as "people thinking in time...a memorial action." The goal being "to provide a community with imaginative access to mourning." Since the shootings took place in a hall where French, German and Hydrology were taught, there are many references to these three subjects in the monologues about both students and professors who lost their lives that day.
It's a hugely collaborative process and I'm so fortunate to be connected to this group of people. The rehearsal has been inspiring yet arduous. The words are dense and meaningful, the emotion is high. I am moved to tears almost every time I enter the script.
An excerpt from the most recent email from my friend and director, playwright Eric Loo:
"this project is not just about what we experience or learn by doing this project. It's about our spiritual carbon footprint that we're leaving, not only on the St. Ignatius lawn, but at the University and in the Universe."
Amen.
This weekend I'm planning to attend my first service at a place of worship in a very long time. I used to go to midnight mass when I was at SCU but to say that I've become a lay Catholic is an understatement. I recently decided that I wanted to find a way to tap into my spirituality and the very next day my online email group of Holistic Moms had a thread about finding a place of worship. The request was worded basically exactly how I would have asked:
"Hi Moms, I was wondering if any of you attend a church/spiritual group/meditation group that you really like and recommend? I'm open to attending most any church/religion -- because I've found that the people are what really make the difference."
The responses and recommendations were great, and I've picked one to try out. Looking forward to it.
I've got a birthday-present-to-myself trip planned for the middle of April; I'm off to New York City for the first time since I lived there in 1999 and 2000. Solo. Should be a wonderful, whirlwind 3 days and 3 nights. Staying with Holly and seeing Dan Korb and visiting with Xander & his crew. (that will only mean something to you if you know me and/or them)
I'm *so* excited to hang in that magnificent city and I'm trying to get a loose outline of my itinerary sketched out because I know it will be such a short trip that I don't want to try to do too much. I also don't want to be kicking myself on the flight home for not doing/going/seeing something or somewhere. (Suggestions welcome!) I'm sure it's going to be bittersweet leaving Andrew & the girls, but mama needs a break!
Finally, I have a new experience looming on my horizon. The weekend after I get back from NYC, I'm doing my first ever organized political march. My days of being "anti-political anything" are over. I'm finally motivated enough by the utter nonsense going on with regard to women's health, contraception, and other women's issues, that I've decided to go to Sacramento to participate in the We Are Women march on April 28th.
There's quite a bit of back-story that led me to this decision, but let's just say it's been building. I have some kick-ass feminist friends who have illuminated this topic for me recently, so I've been doing lots of late night reading online about it. If you're interested, there are some great articles that I can point to. Some of the bills that are passing or barely being voted down are absolutely mind boggling. Forced trans-vaginal ultrasounds?! Are. You. Kidding. Me?!
I do realize that the reason for the recent resurgence of rhetoric surrounding all of this might be the simple fact that it's an election year, but it doesn't matter. These "issues" were handled half a century ago. We will not be dragged back in time when it comes to equality and dignity. We will not have our reproductive rights even questioned, let alone revoked. More on this later.
This post has gotten way longer than I intended. Are you really still here?
Peace.
J9
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