Thursday, September 11, 2008
100 Words - Memories of 9/11/01
The phone rang at 6:15 am in Los Angeles; it was my husband from his office. He asked me if I heard the news, "What news? That Michael Jordan is coming out of retirement?" I said glancing at the morning paper. "Turn on the TV" and I did and I saw the Twin Towers fall on the screen and our world change forever for our two sons and all of us. I remember how quiet it was that day with no airplanes flying overhead as if we were observing a sacred silence and sharing our grief from three thousand miles away.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Pictures from Lake Piru, Ventura County, CA
The Golden Eagle is visible on the right side of the photo towards the middle.(Please open in a new window to enlarge if you like, my DH and I call these, "small dot animal pictures".)
This is the first time I have ever seen a Golden Eagle in the wild. They are 3 feet in height, very impressive.
Outside The Sanchez Market, Downtown Piru 
Monday, September 8, 2008
What a Dame!/Perfect Moment Mondays
I hope you enjoy the excerpts below from a recent LA Times interview with Shirley Maclaine; actress, author, and spiritual seeker. This struck a chord with me because I get tired of dealing with other people's BS and my own BS too. Gee, who doesn't?
"... If anything interferes with my inner peace, I will walk away. Arguments with family members. All that stuff. None of it matters. Before, I would try to understand or win the argument.
(Interviewer) Are you getting smarter as you get older?
No. I'm getting tired."
Also, I am going to participate in "Perfect Moment Mondays" whose purpose is to share a moment that brought peace and joy. I am fortunate enough to have two moments to share this Monday. The first was a bad situation turned very sweet. About a week ago, while the boys were getting ready for school, it got very tense with my 13 y/o. He left the house in a huff with the accompanying slamming of doors and pouting face. I hate starting the day (or finishing it that way, or anything in between for that matter) with negativity for both us and was sad that's the way it was. Two minutes later, my son came back to say he was sorry and he wanted a Hug. That was special, especially at this age, where it's All About Them. Really cool.
The next perfect moment happened yesterday when we went boating on Lake Piru in Ventura County with our dear friends and neighbors. (In of itself, multiple perfect moments.) We were cruising around the lake looking for fishing spots when we came upon two Golden Eagles. One was perched on a rise 30 yards from us and the other was riding the thermals along the shoreline. Truly breathtaking. I will post pictures later this week.
Thank you so much for letting me share these things that remind me of how blessed I am and that all is not lost when it comes to parenting a teen and preteen. I noticed that perfect moments seem easier to find once I started looking.
I send my best to you and may your cup runneth over with perfect moments to sustain you.
"... If anything interferes with my inner peace, I will walk away. Arguments with family members. All that stuff. None of it matters. Before, I would try to understand or win the argument.
(Interviewer) Are you getting smarter as you get older?
No. I'm getting tired."
Also, I am going to participate in "Perfect Moment Mondays" whose purpose is to share a moment that brought peace and joy. I am fortunate enough to have two moments to share this Monday. The first was a bad situation turned very sweet. About a week ago, while the boys were getting ready for school, it got very tense with my 13 y/o. He left the house in a huff with the accompanying slamming of doors and pouting face. I hate starting the day (or finishing it that way, or anything in between for that matter) with negativity for both us and was sad that's the way it was. Two minutes later, my son came back to say he was sorry and he wanted a Hug. That was special, especially at this age, where it's All About Them. Really cool.
The next perfect moment happened yesterday when we went boating on Lake Piru in Ventura County with our dear friends and neighbors. (In of itself, multiple perfect moments.) We were cruising around the lake looking for fishing spots when we came upon two Golden Eagles. One was perched on a rise 30 yards from us and the other was riding the thermals along the shoreline. Truly breathtaking. I will post pictures later this week.
Thank you so much for letting me share these things that remind me of how blessed I am and that all is not lost when it comes to parenting a teen and preteen. I noticed that perfect moments seem easier to find once I started looking.
I send my best to you and may your cup runneth over with perfect moments to sustain you.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
WTF Wednesday Winner
Please join me in Congratulating ... Sara of Gas Passer aka UU'er as our First Winner of WTF Wednesdays with her closest correct answer of "Observatory". The picture is of the 35 foot high Swarovski crystal waterfall sculpture "Joie" that greets you on your way to the "Top of the Rock" Observatory on top of Rockefeller Center in NYC. This 3 story tall chandelier has 14,000 Swarovski crystals and fiberoptic lighting. I will be sending out the prize soon to Sara, a True Winner if ever there was one! I am also sending out consolation prizes to the wonderful contestants who guessed chandelier with a sincere thank you! I will provide a hint or two next time. Thank you again and best to all and hope you get to walk under a Waterfall of Crystals soon.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Rare, Albino Dolphins seen off Newport Coast
I apologize that the video upload feature of blogger refuses to cooperate in posting this video of an extremely rare Albino or "Pink" Dolphin seen recently off the Newport Coast in Orange County, California, USA. If you would like to watch this enchanting 4 minute video of this pink calf and its' mom, please cut and paste the link below into a browser window. Thank you and hope you enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qhs_mH9v6pU
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Howdy- Updates
Hi there and hope you had a restful long weekend. We've been busy this weekend tracking Hurrican Gustav, having great political discussions, and celebrating my husband's birthday.
We've been watching Hurricane Gustav closely because we have family in both Florida and New Orleans. (N'awlins). Our niece and her husband live in New Orleans and evacuated last week. They are staying with family and are waiting to go back to the city. They went through Hurricane Katrina 3 years ago and needless to say, this is getting old. Really old and tiresome for them, especially since they bought their first home a couple years ago. Alex, our niece's husband, is an editor and writer for a music magazine based in New Orleans and just returned from Denver, Colorado where he covered the Democratic Convention. He is an incredibly gifted writer and has interviewed some fantastic musicians; B.B.King, Harry Connick Jr, The Neville Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, and on and on. We are also so thankful for Alex, not only does he make our niece happy and is a true friend, he took us to see Terrance Simien and The Lost Bayou Ramblers at the performance of the Grammy nominees for the Cajun Zydeco category last February. It was "off the hook". I am so lucky, I adore my DH's niece and her husband, (and not because of the free concerts and all that). We so wish they didn't have to go through this stress.
The Presidential elections have really caught the interest of our 13 y/o son. He had to watch the speeches at the Democratic convention and write an essay for history class. He is now downright passionate and has said how much he wished he could vote this election. I invited him into the voting booth with me while I vote and told him we could volunteer for his candidate. He seems to have a better grasp on issues than some grown ups, listing the qualifications of both VP candidates very concisely and thoughtfully.
We celebrated my beloved's birthday this weekend with a BBQ at the pool and home made chocolate malt cake. (It's delicious, especially the frosting which is made with whipping cream, chocolate, malt powder, and cream cheese. Only downside, the frosting melts quickly in the 90 degree heat, so you have to eat up quickly.) Sunday, we went to Zuma Beach in Malibu and hung out with another family. My husband took the boys to a Dodgers Baseball game yesterday. All in all, a Great Birthday Weekend! We aim to please, well at least the one day a year. ;oD
Well, it's back to work today, solving problems one patient and family at a time. I wish you a great rest of your day and thanks for checking in.
We've been watching Hurricane Gustav closely because we have family in both Florida and New Orleans. (N'awlins). Our niece and her husband live in New Orleans and evacuated last week. They are staying with family and are waiting to go back to the city. They went through Hurricane Katrina 3 years ago and needless to say, this is getting old. Really old and tiresome for them, especially since they bought their first home a couple years ago. Alex, our niece's husband, is an editor and writer for a music magazine based in New Orleans and just returned from Denver, Colorado where he covered the Democratic Convention. He is an incredibly gifted writer and has interviewed some fantastic musicians; B.B.King, Harry Connick Jr, The Neville Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, and on and on. We are also so thankful for Alex, not only does he make our niece happy and is a true friend, he took us to see Terrance Simien and The Lost Bayou Ramblers at the performance of the Grammy nominees for the Cajun Zydeco category last February. It was "off the hook". I am so lucky, I adore my DH's niece and her husband, (and not because of the free concerts and all that). We so wish they didn't have to go through this stress.
The Presidential elections have really caught the interest of our 13 y/o son. He had to watch the speeches at the Democratic convention and write an essay for history class. He is now downright passionate and has said how much he wished he could vote this election. I invited him into the voting booth with me while I vote and told him we could volunteer for his candidate. He seems to have a better grasp on issues than some grown ups, listing the qualifications of both VP candidates very concisely and thoughtfully.
We celebrated my beloved's birthday this weekend with a BBQ at the pool and home made chocolate malt cake. (It's delicious, especially the frosting which is made with whipping cream, chocolate, malt powder, and cream cheese. Only downside, the frosting melts quickly in the 90 degree heat, so you have to eat up quickly.) Sunday, we went to Zuma Beach in Malibu and hung out with another family. My husband took the boys to a Dodgers Baseball game yesterday. All in all, a Great Birthday Weekend! We aim to please, well at least the one day a year. ;oD
Well, it's back to work today, solving problems one patient and family at a time. I wish you a great rest of your day and thanks for checking in.
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