Eat Play Love

My original intention when starting this blog, was for it to be positive. That would be the "it makes you smile" part. I feel like it's hard to escape the negativity our society seems to be breeding these days. So if I can feed into the positive, maybe I can spread some cheer. Well, today is a day that happens only once every 4 years, so today might just happen to be a day I need to vent a bit.

Remember a few days ago when I was stressing over my hubby's birthday gift? Well, I did the usually mulling over of gift ideas, then made the trek to the local stores that carry things he would potentially find appealing.

I went to a locally owned sports store that specializes in cycling clothing. J is a fan of Pearl Izumi clothing, so it's a typical I-Can't-Go-Wrong-Gift. If you knew J, you would know cycling & knickers go together like peanut butter and jelly. Well, apparently the perfect Pearl Izumi Cycling Knickers I bought him, weren't so perfect. When he t…

I've hit the Bento Lottery! Before my hubby's trip to Japan, I bombarded him with photos of bentos and the accompanying accessories that he must seek out for me. Well, the hubby did good (in the bento dept). He returned with a bento for everyone in the family. Sj already had a bento from his trip last year, so now she has a second, which is good because i'll be packing her lunch come fall.

With supplies on hand, the pressure is on to pack creative and healthy lunches in these sweet boxes. Yes, I will be sure to photograph my creations, hopefully they'll prove to be blog worthy.

Two of my favorite Bento Blogs- Bento Corner and Lunch in a Box. Both women are bento geniuses, so I guess I am setting the bar high!I am assuming my bentos will be a tad more Americanized. Enjoy!
***********The Cutest Bento Accessories!***************

On a side note, I swear you sense no sadness that I did not receive a Mikimoto Pearl Necklace.

Barack Obama left a comment on my blog... Barack Obama told me to tell you hello....Barack Obama made you a mixed tape.

If you need a little pick me up or need a reason to smile, click here.

Oh the brilliant minds at play, gotta love it.

My attempt at a bicycle cake! Take a Click for a closer peek.

It's the 25th, so around here that's the What Makes Me Different Day, but in honor of my hubby's birthday, it's going to be all about him. I am amazed another year has flown by and I believe this makes the 16th birthday we have celebrated together.

We had "grown up" dinner reservations at The Kitchen in Boulder, where we ate at the Community Table, and shared conversation with some lovely folks. Turns out there were 4 other Feb. 25th birthdays at the table. I would highly recommend it.

So what makes my hubby different..

1. If given the choice, no matter the distance, he would rather ride his bicycle to the final destination.

2. A never ending dedication to our girls.

3. An artistic eye and attention to graphic detailing.

4. The ability to stick through the good, the bad, the happy, and the roller coaster ride we call our lives!

5. How he embraces other cultures with an open mind and zest.

6. A passion and v…

As I predicted, the house is full of cooking, cleaning, and fixing up. Sj has always loved to help out cooking, now her little sister is following very closely in her foot steps. We had all we could do to free the spoon from her little grasp! Here they are helping out making a pot of sauce with nana.
The meatballs followed, but without GL's help. That's officially a job "only for the big girls", so Sj says.

Stir, stir, stir, splash, drip, slop, stain.....

It's crunch time in my gift giving world. My hubby's birthday is just around the corner, Monday to be exact and I have officially missed the deadline to order a gift online. sigh.

I would have ordered something earlier in the week, if that something had appeared to me in a dream, a passing thought, or a wonderful idea. But what exactly I am going to buy has not arrived in my consciousness yet. nothing.

I am sort of stuck with my hubby. He likes to buy clothing for himself, as well as recreational toys, and to top it off he's in his favorite place in the world, so truly he can buy what ever his heart desires. Which leaves me, with more dead ends.

I had one passing thought, a new windshield and tires for his truck. Which basically is the equivalent of him buying me a vacuum cleaner and a mop. Very practical, but not very let's celebrate another year on earth!

So what's the hubby equivalent to a beautiful piece of jewelry or say a handbag monogrammed with L's & V…

This morning while darting back inside after fetching the poor excuse of a newspaper, I glanced over at my flowerbeds. Mind you I have two large flowerbeds that flank my front porch and run the entire length of the front of my home . I can't quite figure these flowerbeds out, they seem to be exact opposites all within about ten feet of each other.

To the left is the flowerbed, we'll call exhibit A. It is home to a smattering of weathered ugly as hell reddish mulch. Over the years, I've invested in more expensive perennials with the dreams of lush blooms gracing me every summer, only to have maybe one plant of about thirty return. I've taken all the appropriate steps to ensure perennial success including, but not limited to soil enhancers, organic fertilizers, buying native Colorado species, more water, less water, love, attention, and singing. But to no avail, the plants don't come back. I am starting to get agitated just thinking about that damn flowerbed right now…

It should come as no surprise that I laughed out loud when I received this photo in an email forward this week. Oddly enough, I just started noticing these family decals on cars just a few months ago. Now they are everywhere! Where in the world have I been? I don't think I am the family sticker type. Although, I do seem to be more curious as to whom is driving in a car once those stickers catch my attention. I almost want to check and see if the contents of the car match the advertisement on the back window.

Hope you chuckle just a bit!

This was the headline of the Boulder Daily Camera yesterday, much to my dismay: BVSD open enrollment hits high, shuts some kids out!

Wow, what a year to have a child starting school. 3,991 applications were taken for open enrollment this year in Boulder Valley. Now, those numbers are reflective of all open enrollees such as middle school, high school, and elementary level. I wish I had the number for entering kindergarten!

Plus many parents, as the article states, are hopping on the Peak to Peak bandwagon because of their national recognition in 2007. It wasn't one of my choices, wipe my brow, I don't think putting college preparatory and kindergarten in the same educational focused setting is a match for my little miss artsy! Sounds a bit daunting to me, college and being a 5 year old.

As for the relief that article provided, at least we weren't denied. We are still waiting for news from round 2, sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Fingers crossed, Sj will be one of the ver…

As a child I grew up never knowing my grandmothers. They had both passed away before I was born, at what I would consider to be very young ages, too young really. Luckily my parents have passed those ages and are very healthy with some minor come-with-aging setbacks.

My maternal grandfather passed away when I was about 4 years old, so I don't really have very many memories of him. Although I do clearly remember all the family gathering at my house after his funeral. On the other hand my paternal grandfather lived well into his 90's. The sad part of that story was that we didn't see very much of him growing up. I suppose my grandmothers were the glue that held our families together and when they were gone, our family wasn't the same.

I find I am left with many "what if's" about my childhood when I reflect on growing up with out grandparents. Granted my parents provided me with the love that I needed, but I never had a Sunday dinner gathered around my grandmo…

Oh gosh, a huge thanks to Jen, for tagging me today.My mommy life is on overdrive as daddy is off "working" cough-cough in Japan. My hubby LOVES all things Japanese including heavily mercury laden sushi, so spending 9 days there isn't quite what I would consider work. Although the whole time change-jet lag thing will rear it's ugly head when he returns like last year, I do recall.

So, to my friends that have taken on blogging in the past month, I tag Jennie, Melissa, and Kathleen to have a go at this one!

10 Things You'll Never Hear Me Say:

1. Sj, you want Chicken McNuggets or a Cheeseburger with your Happy Meal?

2. Sorry Ben, I'm married. (that's a joke...)

3. Hubbs, let's drive to New York to visit the family this summer.

4. I bought that at Walmart.

5. Did you catch President Bush's inspirational radio address on Saturday?

6. Hey, can you pour the rest of that diet coke in GL's sippy cup?

7. Oh, my hair color, yes it's completely natural!

8. Do y…

Because the world's best musician -- Ben Harper, loves Colorado as well. They will be playing a special show in Vail 0n April 12th. We always get the Ben love in Colorado. I am thrilled.

We are bird watching this weekend and reporting our results here. It doesn't take much to participate, just a willingness to watch and record what you see. It's easy to pick up a regional bird book from the library to help identify species. We love it.

Grandiose gestures that typically define Valentine's Day definitely make an impact, but truly it's the little things through out the day that remind me how wonderful love can be. Sometimes love whispers to me through my daughters in the most pure and beautiful ways.

For at least a month now, my 14 month old has been giving "kisses" by leaning her face in towards mine and making the sound "mmmwwah". No matter how many times she does it in a row, it never ever gets old.

Early in the morning, when I am not quite ready to spring out of bed, Sj joins us for a morning snuggle. She always wakes up bright eyed and cheery. She comes running into our room, pulls back the covers and tells me all about her dreams from the night before. There's really nothing like the passion and happiness that exudes from my 4 year old.

Typically after dinner Sj turns on the Little Mermaid soundtrack on the living room stereo. She gestures for my hubby to join her. They have a dance r…

We were enjoying dessert number two after dinner tonight and having a lovely conversation. BTW, dessert number one was peanut butter kiss cookies and dessert number two was cheesecake from Whole Paycheck with fresh berries and whipped cream.

I casually asked my hubby what year we met, I was thinking was it '87 or '88? Whatever year it was, I was in tenth grade. I have that type of selective memory, I call it my school year memory, because I can recall most of the important events of my childhood by grade level.

Then, Sj piped in, "I think it was '44!"

Of course we both laughed hysterically.

J quickly followed with, "pretty much".

Sj was curious as to how we met, I gave her the quick version, which transpired into, of course, more laughter. I told her I was at a party and I answered the door and her daddy was the one that was knocking. I introduced myself to him, after catching my breath, and it was all over from that point.

Sj inquired, "You didn't h…

Yes, Radiohead:

Ok, I had to change my initial romantic pick. It definitely goes to Damien Rice, Blower's Daughter:

There really isn't much to say, Ben does it perfectly:

I was inspired by A Mom Two Boys "to answer the questions below using only pictures found online (only the first page of results)". You see, I didn't read that part so well, so my pictures are the cream of the crop, rather than slim pickings..OOPS... Knowing me, I added a couple and deleted a couple as well, but for the most part it's about 95% the same.

I had a fun time with this, I hope you enjoy it!

1. Age I Will Turn On My Next Birthday:


2. A place I would like to visit:


3.My Favorite Place:


4.My Favorite Object:


5.My Favorite Food:


6.My Favorite Animal- I cheated here:


7. My Favorite Color- I couldn't resist this one:


8.City Where I was Born:


9. Town I Currently Live In:


10. Name Of My Pet : (well former pet)


11. The First Name of Your Love- close enough:


12. Your Last Name- Beautiful isn't it?


13. My Dream House:


14. A Bad Habit:


15. My First Job:


16. My Dream Job:


17. My Current Job: Well, with out the scandals!


18. A Picture I Find Hilarious:


19. Something That Inspires …

After a MOMs Club board meeting tonight, a few of us were having a chat. Seems as if the settling in of cold and wintery days combined with husbands coming home after sunset has left us all feeling a bit overworked and underappreciated.I hate to say I felt a sense of relief when I realized I wasn't alone, but rather like a weight being lifted off my shoulders.

If you could have only seen the three of us (& lil' I), all fidgeting in the cold, but not wanting to leave because we needed to hear each other in that moment. I desperately needed to hear that I wasn't stranded on the island of overwhelmed by myself. We probably could have completed each others sentences, our emotions were that similar. So yes, what ever is going on with many of us, is in the air so to speak.

I think if we could fast forward to a warmer spring day, just after a walk or a trip to the park, sun shining, birds chirping, maybe a cup of iced chai in our hands, we would be dealing with our issues in a …

"Be content with what you have, and take joy in the way things are,
when you realize you have all you need, the world belongs to you!"


I've had this quote printed up and framed in my bathroom for a couple of years now. I am not sure where I originally came across it, but when I first read it, it truly hit home for me. I believe it's a version of a quote by Lao Tzu, of course Americanized a bit. Like most of us, I find my mind wandering or directing me to do "things" to fill a void in my life or to make the idle time pass. Sometimes those idle times are spent shopping for unnecessary things or feeling like I need something different to distract me. Maybe I just need to retrain my brain to do "things" like wash the floors, eat a piece of fruit, or do some squats.

Reeling myself in, trying to be present is a challenge. I've been serious about cutting out unconscious spending and doing one heck of a job with it (pat myself on the back). On the days …

Sometimes I think about the nature of women and men and just how down right different we are. A friend passed along this email forward (above photo) with accompanying photos, all "porn for women". They were fit men, taking out the trash, bringing home flowers, putting down the toilet seat with cute captions. When it comes down to it, most women would agree, their men are likely to be happily satisfied the evening they do the dishes. No they don't have to be naked, or wearing some cute tight short shorts, they just have to scrub a few dishes and voile we are theirs.

Which leads me to half the forwards my hubby receives. Recently it was a photo of one of his office mates pretending to take a dump in co-workers office. For some odd reason there were extra toilets around after a remodel and yes, two guys schemed up this prank complete with a fake poop. Oh, and I got the photo of the co-worker pants around his ankles, reading the newspaper, in the middle of an office. It went …

As I was sitting in the Docs office with my 14 month old fevery child, the Dr. examined her. Lungs are clear, ears are perfect, throat wonderful. Temperature elevated.

This is where I think, no shit Sherlock.

Then the Dr. throws out there, I think we should do a flu test!

A flu test? GL was throwing up yesterday, her very first bout of a stomach bug. To go with her very first lollipop! Today she was running a temperature, so they wanted to see her.

The Flu B test came back negative.

Geez, nothing like trying to give a totally underslept, barely ate or drank a thing all day, puke stained, about-to-cry mom a darn heart attack.

It was fourteen years ago my hubby and I relocated to Colorado and I still struggle with some of the dialect around here. I can not escape the impact Upstate New York had on my language development. I say this quite proudly as I long to cling onto my Yankee dialect and scoff at some of the most random terms they use around here.

In New York we say soda or the brand name Pepsi/Coke. The Colorado version is pop! Pop?! That's what any good Italian American girl calls her dad, not a beverage in a can.

In New York we ask for a brown bag or paper bag. The Colorado version is sack! Sack?! That's what I hit when I am overly tired, I don't put my groceries in it. "Hit the sack" is a term I heard growing up over a thousand times.

In New York we enjoy lollipops. In Colorado they call them suckers?! Not sure where to go with this one, other than, what the hell? Typically I reserve the term sucker for someone that can be dooped really easy. What a sucker!

Which leads me to the fo…

To my heart pounding and racing surprise, a letter from Boulder Valley School District arrived in my mailbox today. Hmm, that's strange, letters aren't going to be mailed until tomorrow, February 6th. I haven't felt this way since I mail ordered tickets for the Grateful Dead in 1992.

As I opened the envelope in slow motion, unfolded the paper, and scanned the paragraph, my heart raced even faster. Turns out we aren't even a blip on the Open Enrollment radar. We were not selected for any of our school choices this first round. Second round letters are mailed out February 28.

Yes, there are still plenty of chances. Just so happens we weren't selected first. Hopefully all those folks that were granted a space in one of their choices will move back to where they originally came from (california, texas, kansas??). Just teasing.

In the meantime, you can find me sobbing in my dinner plate tonight.

Once again, to be continued...

From a very young age, I learned lessons in laundry duties. Typically for sorting, it was your basic darks, whites, towels, colors, and heck with three older brothers there was even a denim load. I'd help my mother sort through the mounds of laundry that comes with a six person household. I believe my mother would give Martha Stewart a run for her money in the laundry folding department, she is an impeccable folder. Maybe even to a fault, when I watch my hubby fold laundry I can't help but to cringe a bit.

I would never ever complain about the way he folds laundry. Why? Because he is actually doing laundry.

Lately, I must admit, I can barely keep it in check with only four of us and two of those have half size clothing. Sometimes it's never ending, the darn laundry. Hands down the absolute hardest part of doing laundry is the final step, which I refer to my hubby as, "the follow through". You can probably guess what the final step is, yes- putting the beautifully …

Life in Colorado is a wonderful thing. 48 hours just isn't enough sometimes, but we did a darn good job with the time we had. Magic Carpet Time! Copper Mountain, Colorado. Hey, Wait For Me! This is when GL threw herself on the ground pouting because she couldn't go with her big sister!Zooming Down The Hill! My intent was not to cut out J's head, but they were coming straight for me at quite a pace!Let's Do A Figure 8! That was Sj's Mantra the entire time....Pit Stop at Q4U in Frisco, to pick up some local favorite BBQ for the Big Game Today, Go New York!

If you asked any friend of mine to describe me to someone that hadn't met me, more times than not the first thing that would come from their mouth is, TALL. Yes, it's true, all 5 foot 11 inches of me. I believe that very statistic puts me one inch over the official tall women's club minimum height requirement. I am not kidding these organizations do exist, although I guess I would be on the short side of the tall club.

Being above average in height definitely has it's benefits and draw backs. I spent most of my adolescent years towering over any boy I thought was cute, leaving me a bit self conscious about my height. I continually replied "no" to inquiries about my athletic talents, such as, do you play basketball? I was much more receptive to the model comments, as my ego needed a serious stroking. Super models were just coming into their own at the time and looking back on it, that's really a tough group to aspire to.

Now, being much older and wiser I don…

Funny enough, those darn Rocky Mountains are calling my name, again! And we are coming slowly, but surely this time around. I should be posting from the road, a few lazy days ahead.