Dana, Jaime, and John - The Hollywood Adventure

On Sunday, Jaime and I headed to Hollywood for a John Mayer concert at the Bowl. It was a total blast!!

Jaime and I rocked The Cheesecake Factory at The Grove. It was kind of miraculous that we made it there for lunch, as we battled it out for parking and waded through a crowd of spectators watching some freaky-deaky contortionists that I quickly excused as being "cool" once I learned they were Cirque du Soleil performers. Although Jaime and I are smiling in this picture, we are silently willing the waiter to stop yacking about the Springville Apple Festival and his ONE friend, Candace, in Vtown, and bring the Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake!!! Yes, Mom, we did eat more than dessert for lunch. =)

This is our Beverly Hills 90210 drive.  We were on the lookout for Brandon Walsh and Dylan McKay in the Porshe, although Steve Sanders in his Corvette would have been acceptable as well. 

We kept seeing these banners around town.  At one point, Jaime demanded to know who the heck LA Phil was.  Oh my gosh, it was fantastic!!!!!!!!  If you, too, are wondering, it's an add for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. =)

Jaime and I are certain this is a paint-by-numbers mural, each brick with its own number.  Or, we have discovered the 21st century's Michelangelo!  Little do you know that your great grandchildren will be touring Hollywood and paying money to see the wall of an old pilates studio on which is portrayed the famed Female Adonis of Highland Ave.

Our tickets!  So glad that Jaime played "Mom" before we left town or else there would have been a picture of the Hollywood Kinkos were we had to print the tickets.

Our seats in section U1. Technically the nose-bleed section, and yet totally acceptable and lovely. How can you go wrong on a summer evening? We did purchase the cushion rental for $.75. Money well spent.

We are actually in the picture!!  It's not of our children!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A closer look at the Hollywood sign that we could see above The Bowl.  I think I see Brandon and Dylan having a camp-out up there... Too bad we didn't bring our hiking shoes.

Owl City was our opening band.  These guys made me feel old.  I would say that they are in league with Hannah Montana.  Feel free to argue with me, if you're a fan, but we were seriously put off when they had a whole song dedicated to the lead singer's trip to the dentist. For reals.  And there was another one all about riding his bike.  Their lyrics had some real gems like "I've been to the dentist, so I know the drill," and "I rode my bike onto the turnpike and it took its toll."  I gagged so hard on the puns that I didn't need to eat until midnight. 
Jaime and I were floored to learn that they had a legitimate song from the radio called "Fireflies."  Seeing that this band is some kind of bubble gum rock band challenged my assumption that "Fireflies" was all about an acid trip.  I still say these kids (can you see my cane waving in the air as I call them kids?) are a step above the Imagination Movers from the Disney Channel. If they had puppets, they'd have a show for sure.  Opening for the Doodlebops, maybe? ... Too harsh? 

John gets started and rescues our sanity!!!

Lots to say about this picture.  Okay, first, John Mayer opened with four songs played just by him and a friend he brought out from New York to play on the piano.  It was different and wonderful!!  If you go to Jaime's blog, The Baeza Blog, you can hear them play a version of The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony."  A-mazing.

Secondly, Spike Lee, whose spikes are glistening in this photo (and many others, humph), sat in front of us and had this jet black mess going on with one wiry white hair sticking out at the back.  It was the source of a lot of contemplation for Jaime and me as we turned inwardly, retreating to our happy place during Owl City.  In the end, neither of us plucked it; hence, we were not escorted from the concert with him for brawling.

I so completely enjoyed everything about this concert!!  John Mayer was so great to listen to - a true musician!  He sounds the same as his CDs, which is always refreshing when living in this Brittany Spears generation of big boobed non-talent.  Listening to him live was a chance to hear him jam with the other talents in his band in a way that added to the song and didn't distract from the songs that we know and love and want to sing with.  The Hollywood Bowl was a great venue.  I loved being outside (it was especially handy as many of the people around us felt the need to exercise their right to medicinal marijuana - I'm sure there was no illegal activity on the premises) and even though we were far up, the screens and lights were a great addition to the music - the camera work was fabulous!!

A concert t-shirt, of course!!! "It's been a long night in Los Angeles."  So true, John.  And more to come!

What is Hollywood without the Walk of Fame?  Michael Jackson, you'll never be forgotten. 

Just like Monty Woolley and Jay Silverheels.

Then again, Jay and Monty never had such devoted fans, like Debbie.  How sweet of her to transport part of her shrine all the way from Auckland, New Zealand! Check her out at www.myspace.com/debbies4umichaeljackson It is something to behold.

Graumann's Chinese Theatre.  Yes, I am that white girl who likes Harry Potter.  No, I did not do a charcoal rubbing for my personal collection of paraphernalia.

Matt Damon and I are holding hands!!!

This is the end of the photos.  But our night continued on with a desperate search for radio stations, some Santa Clarita Taco Bell, a freak out by me believing that we were going to get shot by another driver (who was probably just another unfortunate patient with medicinal marijuana), less than three tolerable minutes of Love Line, a brief history of the town of Earlimart, and then home at 2:30am.  It was a whirlwind made wonderful to share it with Jaime.

A BIG shout-out to the hubs for caring for our kids while I had fun!  He was happy for me to go and never reproachful of my time away.  What a joy to have a husband who enjoys time with his children and is glad for me to get some time without the fam.  Thanks, Sweetheart, for your kindness to me!  I love you!!!

Now, about Coldplay tickets...

Restructuring

I'm failing at this blog. 

Well, I'm kind of choosing to fail.  And I'm choosing to fail because as I surmised in my first post, this really does feel like an exercise in megalomania.  I really don't need another reason or venue to be thinking more about myself - I'm pretty stellar at that while I'm doing everything else.

I don't think I'm going to close the blog down, though, because in it I have rediscovered my love for writing.  It's so hard as a stay at home mom to preserve a sense of self, and I forgot some of my own talents.  But I'm truly not balanced enough to dedicate an hour a day to my own production when there are so many other things to do and people to care for.  Someone is always getting left behind.  That's kinda the whole reason I'm at home anyway;  not to vacation or to use my kids as an excuse for years of "me-time" but to do the job of being a mom of babies and wife to the best of my ability, which currently requires me to be at home (cause I'm the worst multi-tasker in the world!). 

So for now, I'm not sure where this is headed or when/if I can find the time to return to the day-to-day posting.  The desire is there, and will remain, I think.  Farewell Day-to-Day Dane.  Hello reality.

Books, Bubbles, and Bags

The Summer Reading Program begins!!  Each day, we are keeping track of how many books Pinkalicious reads with an adult.  Ultimately we're aiming for five books a week.  If she completes this goal, she earns a prize from the library each week.  I wanted to make her a special library bag for her books, so we went to JoAnn's and she picked out the fabric.  I was SHOCKED that the entire thing was not pink!!!

Today we checked out six picture books - she is so eager to begin!  While we were there, we saw a performance by The Bubble Man.

These are the pictures that make my heart sing...

Pinkalicious' current favorite book (we're on our third check-out)

Podunk Can be Fun!

Yesterday I complained on Facebook that I was feeling podunk as a Vtown resident.  Although being podunk requires me to drive to a "big city" to hit what I feel are basic stores, it also provides special opportunities that I only read about when living in a "big city."

Today we went berry-picking at Rancho Notso Grande (thumbs up on the name!) with lots of friends.  It was loads of fun and truly the fulfillment of a life-long dream since my first reading of Blueberries for Sal by Robert McClosky when I was little.  Pinkalicious and I even read it again last night in preparation for today.  Both my mom and grandma warned me about all the spiders in the bushes, to prepare to be brave for my daughter and pick without regarding them.  I only saw one the entire day, and it was 1/4'' long from leg to leg.  But one rare treat was a face-to-face convo with MFBFFM Christi!!!  I think if our kids weren't there, I could have talked to her all day!  Enjoy the highlights of our berry fun day!

Blueberry Bushes - our first stop!

Pinks, the Baeza girls, and their Grandma Kathy

SO thankful for them, Pinky's second family while I corraled the Monkey.

Pinkberry!!!

The Hubs calls this her Twilight photo

Fuzzy limes? Nope. Walnuts!!

Back to blueberries, the most interesting berries to Pinkalicious.

It helps that they were the only berry without any thorns or pricklies.

The most interesting until she discovered the Backlunds and something shiny!

Check out these monster blackberries! They are the first fruits of this season.

Blackberry blossoms and a honeybee!

Thorns abound in the blackberry bushes! I went in alone!!

The fruit of our labor

All tuckered out!

Turn Around

Pinkalicious came shopping with me today at Target.  It was kind of weird because she used to go everywhere with me, but now that Mr. Monkey is here, it feels like a treat to get away just the two of us.  We were going for supplies for all the cleaning/organizing that I'm doing.  Check out my before and after of one of my "hot spots," my night stand.  Judge away, friends!

Before

After

In Target I was purchasing a binder for myself to organize my To-Do lists, weekly menu planning, etc., and as I went to grab a cute one for myself, Pinky spotted a Hello Kitty binder.  "Mama, I need the Hello Kitty binder for me," she exclaimed.  I asked her for what she planned on doing with it, and she began to tell me about how she will make sections for practicing her writing and her drawing and her lists....

As she finished talking I noticed two women come into our aisle, a mom and her college-age daughter.  The daughter began telling her mom about why she liked a particular planner/calendar.  This had both the month and the weekly outlook; it had a pocket for her to keep new contacts' business cards; there was a section for birthdays; it would be perfect for college in the fall, Mom, don't you think?  It was a surreal moment for me. Looking at the two of them, I felt like I was watching Pinkalicious and me in one of those Ghost of Christmas Future experiences.  Today it's a Hello Kitty binder for preschool practice, and very soon it's a planner for college.  We bought the binder.  It was a totally emotional purchase on my part. Now is the time for Hello Kitty binders and Cotton Candy LipSmackers and Princess nighties.

My mom used to sing me a lullaby when we would be up all night with my ear infections.  It just came to me, a song called "Turn Around."  So poignant for today.  Love you Mom!

Turn Around

Where are you going my little one, little one
Where are you going my baby, my own
Turn around and you're two
Turn around and you're four
Turn around and you're a young girl
Going out of the door

Turn around
Turn around
Turn around and you're a young girl
Going out of the door

Where are you going my little one, little one
Little pigtails and petticoats
Where have you gone
Turn around and you're tiny
Turn around and you're grown
Turn around and you're a woman
With babes of your own
Turn around
Turn around
Turn around and you're a woman
With babes of your own

Where are you going my little one, little one
Where are you going my baby, my own

Writing Good

I was reading a friend's business website today and saw a grammar error.  Immediately my inner alarm rang and my mental red pen circled the problem.  Halfway to writing an email to her, I stopped myself, realizing that it might not be received well.  This is growth, friends.

As a child, my mom always corrected my poor grammar in a loving way (just to clarify).  There is no such thing as funner.  Things can't be more better. He and I can go to a game, but they have to throw the ball to him and me.  You are well; you look good. With my affinity for language, I soaked up these corrections and Mom and I together became the Grammar Police correcting all errors on television, magazines, and the like (cue super hero music and capes).  I remember bringing papers home from the teachers at school and my mom correcting their mistakes and sending them back to school with me.  The thought process behind that being that she would be mortified by an error in a letter she sent home to her students' parents (my mom is a teacher), and she wanted to help my teachers so that they wouldn't recycle their letters, and thus, the mistakes, for a new set of parents.  I was raised that correcting the grammar mistakes of someone you know is a way you show that you care about them so that they will speak and write intelligently and not embarrass themselves (as opposed to mocking someone you don't know, like the waitress holding a glass and asking, "Is this any of your guys's drinks?" That's gold, Jerry.  Gold.). 

This history has produced me, the amalgam of word nerdliness and love-your-neighbor-through-grammar-rules religion.  And it is therefore with affection and concern that I want to email my friend about her sentence.  I am hesitant, though, that I will come off as offensive or snobby when all I want to do is to help her be as professional as possible.  So what do you think?  Should I chill out or should I tell her?  What would a normal person's reaction be?

Note: I have given  permission for my mom to email me with mistakes she sees on this blog.  To date, I have made five corrections.  (By the way, Mom, the title was on purpose. Please don't email me.)

Blue is the New Pink and Shoes are the New Bows

With the addition of Mr. Monkey to our family, my thoughts have shifted from pink to blue.  At first, I was bummed about this because I am such a sucker for pink and frills, but my love and appreciation for boys clothes has been helped along significantly by my discovery of Gymboree.  With Gymboree clothes, I can be super matchy-matchy and still retain his masculinity.  Thanks to Trish's Gymbucks and Joy's coupons, I scored an adorable elephant ensemble that is coordinated down to the shoes.  And this brings me to my new love - baby shoes.  I never went for them when Pinkalicious was a baby, but now that I can't decorate Mr. Monkey's head with bows, I have found reprieve in shoes... tiny, adorable, shoes. 

Below are pictures that we took today in honor of Mr. Monkey turning 3 months old!  Time has flown by but not in a sad way, instead in an amazing, wonderful way.  This was the last thing I imagined for myself a year ago.  Resignation lead me to a new set of imaginings.  However, here we four are, and I am soaking up every second! 
Our scanner doesn't work well with photos, so I had to take pictures of pictures.  They are sub par, but I hope you enjoy the sweet faces of my dear children with me.  I am happy to share them with you.