Cutest Little Dog Ever

(click on picture to see nail polish)

Say hello to the cutest little dog in the world. Actually there are a lot of cute little dogs these days, but how many of them wear blue nail polish? Probably all the ones who have teenage girls, right?

Not only did I love her polish, but this dog has a ton of spunk. And though small, she isn't at all short on self esteem. True one of her person's is a teenage girl, but her escort to the beach on this day was a man. That's right, small dogs aren't just for rich women with durses (dog purses) anymore.

Salt Water In Me Veins

I love pictures of boats they remind me of my salt water heritage. My Mother's Father, whom I never knew, was a fisherman. Everytime I paddle for a surf, I know he's there with me, watching over me. And trust me, in the Ocean, there's no such thing as having too many guardian angels.

Angels Are Real

Life is precious. And it can change on a dime. It's easy to take life, and all the characters in it, for granted.

"When I Look To The Sky," by Train reminds me of all my beloved family and friends who have passed on to another realm. Though they may not be available on an Earthly plain, I know somehow they are around guiding me through my existence on this crazy Planet.

Without angelic guidance, I'd be a lost little space cadet, because Brother I'm from Another Planet. And humans are very strange, compared to where I come from. Everything is so complicated here.

I'm a firm believer in Angels because of my life experiences. I pay attention to my angels, mainly because when I ignore them, life is so much harder for me. So I suppose I listen out of convenience. Listening take trust, because the messages are never logical, and often come before the rest of the story shows up.

Angels are always talking to all of us, not just me. I don't have special little angel ears. However, my main focus everyday is staying in the moment (through breathing), and I have noticed when I'm in the moment those angelic voices are much louder, and their signs are clearer, than when I'm caught up in the past or future.

Anyways, this song is just a reminder to listen to your angels, y'all. And to remember each and every one of is an Angel waiting to take flight.


Train - When I Look To The Sky (Official Music Video) -

Kings of Leon Use Somebody

If all I say today is, "Thank Goddess It's Friday!" that would pretty much sum up a week of too many meetings! So, the fact that I'm posting a song with lyrics, "you know that I could use some body, someone like you," is fitting.

I could use someone, like a house technician or a massage therapist, or a babysitter so we could go on a date instead of talking in our sleep to each other. And that's no good because neither of us remembers what the other person said, only that it must have been good, right?

Yeah, this week was a bit of a doozy, but at least I had Kings of Leon to get me through the madness. I bought their album (new to me but not new), "Only By The Night," on Monday at Best Buy for a bargain, $9.99. I've already gotten more than my money's worth.

True, I did buy the CD solely for the song, "Sex on Fire," which reminds me of hot, hot sex, when I listen to it. But I like other music too, not just songs about sex, though those are my favorite.

The lead singer's voice is full of emotion and other things that I find very attractive. But even more reason to be excited is, this is the first CD I've bought in over a year, that I absolutely adore! Have a great weekend!

Mothra Pooped On My Bathing Suit

I know this moth doesn't look big in the photo, but Internet,
keep in mind I have very large feet.

I walked onto the balcony of our Southern California vacation condo, to grab my bathing suit.

"Hmmmmm," I say to myself. "What's this dust all over my suit?"

No matter how much I brushed off my suit, there seemed to be more strange dust.

Then my hand touched something that wasn't my bathing suit.

I looked down and saw Mothra snuggled in my swim suit.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" I scream, as I throw my suit across the room.

"What's wrong?" asks Bee. "Did you see a mouse?"

I couldn't speak at that point because I was frantically trying to shake the moth dust off my hands. I pointed to where I threw my suit and we walked over to inspect it together.

Don't worry, Mothra, who was about the size of a small bat, was not injured. In fact, I think she liked me, because I took a hundred pictures of her, and she sat very still, the entire time.

After the photo shoot, I asked Bee to take Mothra outside, but she didn't want to have anything to do with Mothra. I've seen my Bee pick up snakes, so I don't know why she couldn't pick up sweet, little ole Mothra? Some friend.

Anyways, Bee had the idea of covering Mothra with a bowl, until Stefan THE MAN came back from the pool, to attend to his husbandly duties: carrying Mothra outside.

Then I put my bathing suit on, because I'm not afraid of a little Mothra poo, and went down to the pool.

"There's a GIANT MOTH in our condo under a bowl, could you please get rid of her, when you're done swimming," I beg Stefan.

Then I reenacted the Mothra experience for him, while waving my hands frantically.

But when Stefan got back up to our villa, he'd forgotten all about Mothra.

"I wonder what this bowl is doing upside, down on the ground?" Stefan asks himself.

He picks up the bowl, sees Mothra, and suddenly remembers my story.

He gently (he's not a cave man) placed Mothra on the deck, where she stayed for hours. She was even there when we left for the day.

But sadly when we came back, Mothra was gone. However, before touching my bathing suit for the rest of the trip, I visually inspected it to make sure Mothra hadn't come back , to pay me a visit.

Cleaning Is Hard

Cleaning hazard.

Cleaning is something I have to feel like doing. And that doesn't happen very often, especially since I have all these blogs to write ;-) . Clean or blog? There isn't even a thought process involved in that decision. Blogging is fun, like catching up with old friends.

But seriously, when I feel like cleaning I clean, especially since I don't know how long the urge will last. The other night, at 7 o'clock, during bath time, I was scrubbing toilets and wiping down counters. I had the urge to clean and I went with it.

Plus, bath time is a great opportunity to clean the kids and the bathroom at the same time. I love multitasking, though I hear multitasking is inefficient.

Like there's any other way possible to have kids, and a life, without multitasking? I can't concentrate on one thing, because there's always more than one thing to concentrate on.

Though my inability to concentrate could explain the huge pile of laundry on the couch, how some times it takes forever to write one blog while being constantly interrupted, and why shopping while parenting is nearly impossible..................Maybe I've given multitasking too high of a rating?

Nah.

Cats That Read

Nay Nay the Cat enjoying a book. She's thinking of joining
a book club, though she's too busy napping to make
any real commitments, right now.


One of Nay Nay the Cat's very first nicknames, was the Librarian. Many times after coming home from work or play, we'd find five or six books pulled out of the book case onto the floor. In place of the books would be Nay Nay the Cat.

"You put these books on the wrong shelf, again," lectures Nay Nay the Cat.

Life Amongst Swashbucklers

The Three Musketeers!

"Honey, how many foam swords should I get?" asks Stefan.

"Four, yes, four," I say hesitantly. "I want to sword fight, en garde."

When Stefan came back with the swords, the fighting began. It took me all of one minute to know sword fighting isn't for me.

And I was dueling with Gio, the smallest of the swashbucklers, in our home. He may be small, but he's fierce. Quite, honestly, I didn't stand a chance against him and his propeller like sword.

Foam swords sound like a great idea, right? Wrong. Very, very wrong. But how would I know, I'm a girl, I've never played swords before. Normally, I like playing with boys, but not when it comes to contact sports. No, no, no, no.

I think the whole sword fighting thing is actually symbolic of anatomical equipment I don't have. How could I ever hope to relate? There are some things a girl just can't get from the store. Er, wait. Never mind.

Where Are My Keys?

Yes, those are my keys, don't even think of touching them.

Cell phone ringing, or should I say Sugarland singing.

"Hello," I say, knowing from the ringtone it's my husband.

He sounds serious. Instantly, my mind starts racing through traumatic scenarios. I won't mention them here, I don't want to worry you.

"I have your keys," he says to my relief, at first, anyways.

After a brief conversation, I press the end button on my phone, not upset. I figure I'll use the spare key.

See, Stefan has this habit of taking my keys. He says he mistakes my keys for his, which wouldn't be so bad, if he would, at least, leave me his keys. But he sees keys and he takes them. If he sees more keys, he takes those, too.

I think this goes back to his childhood. His mother was always losing her keys, and now he's paranoid he's going to lose his keys, so he hoards all the keys. Which explains why he's always worried that I'm going to steal his keys.

Whenever I drive anywhere, he always, says, "hand over the keys, little lady," when we arrive at our destination. I used to get upset about him not trusting me with the keys, but now I'm glad to hand over any responsibility I can, to someone else.

Anyways, after searching for the spare key without any success. The same spare I thought I'd hidden from him, I start to lose it. Without a car key, my plan of being childless for, four glorious hours would be foiled.

Cell phone rings, again, and quite frankly, just in time.

"I'm bringing your keys back to you," says Stefan, heroically.

I was a bit irritated at that point, and it was hard to see it from his "I'm the savior," point of view. I mean he had to bring me the keys, because he took the keys.

Still it was an improvement, from when he stole my keys in the past, leaving me stranded at home with a crying kid.

"Daddy took the keys, so you can't go to school today, baby," I say, but it's hard for a 3-year-old to grasp.

"Waaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" screams my son. At least it was my oldest, my youngest would have cried for the duration of school time, plus a few hours more.

However, for the record about two hours later, as I set off on my hike, I was really grateful, and I sent him a text message thanking him.

Charlie Bit Me, Again

This video is funny and true. Please, notice how the older brother sticks his finger into Charlie's mouth, willingly. Then he gets upset when Charlie bites too hard.

I love watching the older brother's face go from pleasure to pain. And here, folks, is my life story with two children, . It's all good and fun until someone gets hurt, which isn't a matter of if, but when.

Note: No one in the video gets injured.

What Would You Do?

NOTE: Please, please, please fill out the poll in the upper left hand corner. Thanks!!!!!!

The other day I went grocery shopping with Gio. I got out of the store with everything, and only one trip to the potty.

"Mommy, I have to go to the bathroo............wait I just went, never mind," says Gio.

"Phew," I say.

Back to the point of the story. When I got to the car, I realize inside the cab of the fire engine grocery cart, is an item I did not pay for.

I would have rather walked naked through the parking lot with bad underwear on, than go back inside the store.

"I'm not going back to pay for the item, but next time I'm here I'll pay for it," I say to myself. "Yeah right I'll never go back to the store and do that."

Then I notice one of the water bottles leaking.

I immediately had feelings of entitlement.

"Save Mart owes me this box of raisins, as compensation for this leaking water bottle, and all past leaking water bottles," I say to myself. "And for every time they've ever, over charged me, that I didn't know about!"

Then I looked at Gio and thought, "I am a parent now, and I need to be a good role model for him. I don't want spend all of his adult life visiting him in jail, do I? Probably, not."



"Get out of the car, we have to go back to the store," I say to Gio.

"No, I'll wait here, you go," says Gio, who thinks because we do this at home, we can do it everywhere. Wrong.

"We have to go back," I say. "You didn't give the raisins to the check out lady, and now we have to return them, because we didn't pay for them," I explain.

And that was my solution to the problem. Return the item to the store, it's rightful owner. I went to the same person, who checked us out, and explained we wanted to give the item back and why.

She looked sad, I know she wanted to just give us the item, or buy it for Gio herself. She had bonded with him when we were in her line.

I also thought I heard her thinking, "Geez, lady, why didn't you just keep the box of raisins? Poor kid."

Yeah right, more like poor Mom, and in my opinion, it was a great opportunity for him to learn an important lesson: If you steal, you're going to hell, oops, I mean jail.

Anyways, I know what I did, and I know What Jesus Would Do, but Internet what would you do in that situation? Please take a moment out of your precious time to comment or fill out the poll above. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!

Beat the Recession Salad Dressing

Salad dressing is expensive, and I always seem to run out of it. I never thought I could create my own yummy salad dressing, but one day, I was out, and I had to make my own.

After a few tries, my salad dressing tasted way better than store bought. In fact, it's so good I want to share my vague recipe with the world.

Note: The only exact measurement is the ratio of olive oil (cold 1st pressed to Trader Giotto's White Balsamic Vinegar, 1:1, otherwise season to taste.

Equal parts Olive Oil to Trader Giotto's White Balsamic Vinegar

For example, 2 Tbsp Olive Oil 2 Giotto's White Balsamic Vinegar

Drip olive oil and vinegar onto washed and cut/torn lettuce. I love Romaine hearts myself.

Add salt

3 dashes of Trader Joe's 21 spice

Squeeze on some lemon juice

Dash of Garlic Powder

A few dabs of Dijon Mustard

Squeeze on some Honey

Toss salad and let marinate 10 minutes, in the fridge if it's warm) (It tastes a million times better if you let the lettuce absorb the dressing). While you're waiting cut up some tomatoes, shred some carrots and mushrooms, or whatever else you have around.

After 10 minutes re-toss salad.

Add veggies and some sunflower seeds or sliced almonds for texture.

Bon Appetit!

Breathe by Faith Hill with Carlos Santana

Happy Wednesday y'all. Well, the school year is in full swing. The kids are back in school. My husband's back at work. I'm back to my full work schedule, part part time. The blogs still need to be written. Game on, baby!

There's a lot of business to keep track. All the school related events and meetings, not to mention making sure everyone has clean clothes. Then there's the business of making sure there's enough food in the house for dinner and lunches.

Sometimes, I find anxiety creeping up my spine into my mind. When I get that overwhelmed feeling, I breathe.

Breathe in 1, 2, 3, 4...........

Hold 1, 2................

Breathe out 1, 2, 3, 4...................

I repeat for 5 minutes. Breathing gets me in the moment and in my body. Plus, when I'm in the moment, everything and anything I need to know is right there at my fingertips. Calm and presence melt away the worry and stress in my mind.

The nice thing is, I can do this anywhere, and it's free. Plus, it saves me a lot of money on anti-anxiety pills, and visits to the psychotherapist. Though there are times I need to talk. That's when I call my heavy duty lay it on the line, no holds barred therapist friend. She gives me the the hardcore truth, which is scary, but clears the air so much faster. I'm brave like that.

Anyways, this song might be a love song of sorts. But "Breathe," reminds me to, well, breathe. When I hear this song, I imagine the relationship is between me and my higher self, not some other person. Any song can be a spiritual song when interpreted this way.

Plus, Carlos Santana has got serious cool up in him, and Faith Hill is hot. Collaboration is one of my favorite topics, and they do it well. The song takes a minute to start. I've already listened to it 10 times. Breathing.................

A Skater's Fountain of Youth

Santa Cruz Skateboards Keith Meek Pro Model "Slasher"

My very first skateboard!

The other day I was at the beach, debating whether or not to go out because the waves were terrible, when, I saw this skateboard (see above pic) in the back of another surfer's car.

"Oh my gosh! I shriek. "I had that same deck, but in yellow. It was my very first skateboard!"

"Wow, do you think I can check it out?" I ask, trying to hide my drool.

"Sure," he said.

Holding his board made me feel like a grom, young skater, again. I got such a nostalgic charge from holding that skateboard. I took a few pictures, and put the skateboard back in his car, reluctantly.

The guy explained his son had set the skateboard deck up for him, and that it was a reissue. Of course, I knew all about reissues, I have three of them.


The two on left are still in shrink wrap. Anyone
want to trade for an original Slasher deck?


Skateboard companies have been reissuing decks and their original graphics, from the 80s, for old skaters like me. Re-issues are like fountains of youth for us old skaters, making us feel like 20-year-olds. again. And they allow us to forget how hard the ground is, when we fall.

The three re-issues I have don't mean much to me, because I never owned or skated the originals. When I bought them I think I was hoping to stash them, and years later sell them for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Then send my kids to college with the money. Wow, I do have a big yellow aura, don't I? Meaning I'm really a big kid, disguised as a grown up.

I rode my first board, Keith Meek's Pro Model "Slasher," by Santa Cruz Skateboards, into the ground. There were at least 3 inches missing from the nose and tail of the board. But I still had to be convinced by friends to get a new deck. I loved that board.

I got my original Santa Cruz Skateboards Keith Meek "Slasher," deck in 1985 or '86.

My Mom, took me to the Santa Cruz Go Skate shop, that used to be across the street from the Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk, to buy it.

"Pick any skateboard you want," says my Mom.

I couldn't believe it, my body was full of stoke! Any deck, plus trucks and wheels of my choosing! Thanks Mom!!!!!

I didn't take long to pick that board, from the rows of decks, hanging on the skate shop wall. I was probably attracted to its bright yellow color.

Also, that board contained a little bit of my future, part of the graphic is a wave!!!!!!!!!!! I hadn't been on a surfboard up to that point in my life, though I wanted to be. The writing was on the deck wasn't it?! Our Angels speak to us in symbols, we just need to pay close attention, or we'll miss the signs.

Hmmmmmmm................I wonder if I can find one online for sale? Or if anyone wants to make a trade for any of my re-issue decks?

Let's see I have the Natas Kaupas Kitten deck, he was one of my favorite skaters, and I got to skate with him in Venice Beach. Then, there's the Jason Jesse Neptune deck, which I bought because of it's Oceanic affiliation, but I'd rather have his Pray for Me deck, which features the Our Mother Mary.

Lastly, I purchased what I call the Keith Meek Slasher 2 deck, because it was the closest I could get to my first skateboard, at the time. But even back in the 80s, I disliked that board because they left out the wave graphic.

Any traders out there? Shoot me an email. Let's talk!

Sugarland vs Pearl Jam "Better Man"

My favorite song on Sugarland's new CD "Live On The Inside," is the cover, "Better Man." In fact, I like it a lot more than the original by Pearl Jam, sorry PJ fans.

Turns out Sugarland has all kinds of music up in them, they aren't just about Country, y'all.

Anyways, which do you like better? Please take a second to fill out the poll in the upper left side bar column, under the Are You Breathing? title. I promise it's painless and easier than commenting, darn spammers! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nibbles

Gio and I were driving down the road, the other day. As usual he was in the back, reading. This particular day he was reading a Superman Comic. At this point in his life, he prefers books, with lots of pictures. I was the same way, at that age.

"Mommy, this big, blue guy fighting Superman, has nipples!" exclaims Gio.

Um...........nipples?" I ask.

"Yeah, nibbles, isn't that funny?"

And yet I had arrived at another one of those parenting grey areas. Do I let him go on incorrectly switching between nipples and nibbles? Or do I correct him?

"It's N-I-P-P-L-E-S with a Pee," I say.

No grey areola there.

Despite my clarification, he randomly switched back and forth between nipple and nibble, the entire way home.

But I guess when you spend the first six months of your life getting food from a boob, it's easy to call nipples, nibbles.

And somehow he never noticed Superman's nipples. I guess they are smaller than Golem's nibbles. But, please, don't tell Superman I said that.

"

Classic Car Week Monterey Peninsula 2009 Schedule

Vinny's favorite space ship inspired car.

During Classic Car Week on the Monterey Peninsula(schedule link) Ferrari's are a dime a dozen. I prefer the strange and unique, errr, cars, at least I think that's what most of these are.



Car buffs like getting different views, don't they???


Stranger than fiction.


And where, pray tell, is the engine???



Purple is my favorite color, and
look at all the storage space, not
to mention the leather interior.
By golly, every motorcycle should
have arm rests!



Gotta throw in a sexy muscle car,
yes, I'm proud to be an American!
(I get that from my Mom, she has
more U.S. flag accessories
than anyone I know.)

Concours d'Elegance

Note: art by http://dontyouloveitwhen.com/My new web comic. Check it out, but it's gets raunchy, in an ewwww! kind of way at times. Consider yourself warned. Thanks!

I love it when I'm driving and there isn't any traffic. In fact, I prefer to have a 100 foot radius of free space around me when traveling by car. Obviously, with the Concours d'Elegance in town, as well as, all the other car shows and/or auctions, meeting my free space requirement isn't always possible.

As, my friend stated, "it takes an hour to go 10 miles."

Even though no one enjoys the traffic, this influx of visitors is great for the economy. Which is what I keep telling myself every time I get stuck in traffic.

All I can say is when people go on vacation, they leave their driving skills at home, myself included. But my husband usually drives when were on vacation, so it isn't an issue.

And if the traffic isn't bad enough, there are even more people than usual, walking their dog, and/or running, in the middle of the road, along Scenic Road in lovely Carmel. Right next to the beautiful, wide, walking/running path, that goes along the beach.

I can see see the tourists doing this, because they are on vacation from their brain (yes I'm also guilty of this), but the locals who walk and run in the middle of the road all year long, what's their excuse? Oh, right, they're on a permanent vacation.

Guy Catches Laptop With His Butt

I found this video on twitter yesterday morning and by the afternoon it already had 100,000 more hits. I don't know, or care, if those are real lap tops, because this is laugh out loud funny. Butt a bit painful to watch..................

I See Boobs

"Mommy what do these remind you of," says Vinny.

I stopped what I was doing and looked at the book, expecting to see something food related, like angel hair pasta, or salmon, or a nice warm, loaf of French bread.

But that isn't what I saw.



"Um, I don't know, what do you see?" I say lobbing the ball back to him.

"Boobs, they look like boobs," says Vinny.

"Well, that's because they are," I say.

I showed it to Stefan and he shouted, "it's a corset!"

I was going to say something, to my husband, about monitoring Vinny's books more closely, but I could tell he was having a proud Daddy moment. And I didn't want to ruin it for him.

Green Beans

"Who likes green beans in this house besides me?" I ask wondering if I can eat the whole lot.

"Not me," says Stefan.

"Yes you do!" shouts Gio. "You're a grown up!"

Ooops, looks like some of those myths our kids believe about their parents are becoming just that.

It's Official Summer Is Over

Today, after a short summer off, my husband has gone back to work. I'm having severe husband withdrawals. This happens every year when summer ends. Even though I know it's coming, it doesn't make the feelings less intense.

I wake up feeling anxious, like part of me, is missing............

I haven't missed making lunches, laying out clean clothes for the next school day, the driving here, there and everywhere.

Stefan is ready to get back to work, though. Thank goodness. One of us has to have a real job.

Gio starts school on Tuesday. Everyday, he asks, "do I have school today?"

My response is always the same, "no school today," until Tuesday that is. He's ready.

Vinny starts school last, on Wednesday, which means he can stay up late reading, for one more night.

"I'm sad summer is ending, but I'm also happy to see my friends," says Vinny.

I guess Vinny's ready, too.

Oh well, I'm the only one not ready for summer to end. I'm sure I'll adjust, I always do. I won't miss waking up at 4 am to go surfing, not for a while anyways. Besides, there's always the weekend for that non sense.

Behold the Mono ShoeTM

"I'm so happy now that my parents got me a Mono Shoe^TM!"

The Mono Shoe^TM is hopping to be part of the new Fall fashion trend for young folks.

"Why walk when you can hop?!"

Plus, all the hopping around in the Mono Shoe^TM should exhaust any tireless child. A great selling point for parents.

The good news for parents is there is no need to go shopping for a brand new Mono Shoe^TM. Parents can make one from the comfort of their own home. Even better news for parents, who don't like to make things, any old large, flat bottom, shoe will do.

Instructions for homemade Mono Shoe^TM:

Find large old shoe, one without a heel, clean off any lingering dookie, give shoe to child. Instruct child to fit both feet into shoe.

Once feet are properly inserted into shoe, yell, "what are you waiting for child?! Start hopping!"

Guarantee: hours of fun or your money back, plus there's the added bonus of improving your child's balance skills!

Give your child the competitive edge they require to survive in today's world, give then the Mono Shoe^TM today!!!!!

Sea Lion Attacks Surfer at Manresa State Beach

One of my friends was surfing Manresa State Beach last week (July 31) when she got attacked by a sea lion.

First the sea lion attacked her surfboard.

"I threw my biscuit (surfboard) at it, and it just latched onto it!" texted my friend.

Then it grabbed onto her leg and wouldn't let go.

"I had to grab the thing's neck and drag it to shore to stop it from attacking," texted by friend shortly after the attack.

Good job fighting off the sea lion, M! Fortunately, it didn't tear her skin, probably because she was wearing a wetsuit to protect her. Or maybe the sea lion was just playing around with her, and didn't want to hurt her?

When I told Stefan about the attack he said, "sea lions are the Rottweilers of the sea!"

And they have bad breath, too! I know this from personal experience, and not because I go around making out with sea lions. I mean come on, I'm married, I can't do that.

Here's the full account from my friend:

Well, it was a sea lion attack, not a shark, so I guess you could say your board saved my leg, not my life…but that thing still could have taken a nice chunk out of my leg…I could have bled to death. so yeah…your board saved my life!!!

For starters I’m a huge Merrick fan, and while I was pretty sad to see it get chomped by local sea life, I was glad it was the one thing I could stick between me and its foamy fangs.

I was out surfing a tiny morning (perfect for my 5’8’’biscuit) at Manresa state beach in Santa Cruz on July 31st. After catching an itsy right, and it being low tide, I began to walk my way back to the break when a nice sized sea lion popped its head up about 5 feet in front of me.

Of course, Monterey Bay flourishes with sea life, so I thought nothing of it..that is until I saw this thing open its mouth and lunge at me...I was only in about waist high water and it lunged at me!!

AHAAHAHAHAHA....I screamed...of course, not a girly scream...a simple, being attacked by a sea lion scream...so yeah...I screamed and threw my little board at it and it caught it in its mouth!! It chomped my favorite biscuit and started pulling me offshore...so I grabbed the other side of my board and pulled back…mind you, I love that board, and I was not ready to see it lost at sea.

Besides, I was still attached by a leash. So there I was, my grip clenched to the left side of my board, staring at a not so happy sea lion, chomped down on the right side…weirdest tug a war I’ve ever been in...Got a real nice look at sea lion whiskers…those things are huge!!! Meanwhile, big goofy guys around me are screaming "oh my god!” not very helpful....and why does this crap always happen to the girls in the line up?

Anyway, back to the evil sea lion of death…At some point it decides to let go of my board, but instead of swimming off, it ducks under and grabs my right leg...Okay, I don't know how but it didn't even break the wetsuit skin...gotta love Ripcurl!

While it's down at my leg I reach down a grab its neck, and with a fist clenched with sea lion skin, I tug it up to the surface, and hold it at an arms length away from my body. It began to thrash around a bit, and with my hand still clenched around the back of its neck, it swam around me and my board, and grabbed my leash in it’s mouth.

Again, it proceeds to tug me offshore...It was crazy...All the guys around me were in shock...lifeguards are yelling at people to get out of the water…good times….
My hand was still tightly clenched to the back of this things neck like a puppy, so I did the only rational thing…I dragged it to shore in hopes it would stop it from attacking me.

I figured I’d much rather take my chances facing those teeth onshore, then in the water, and since the lion didn’t appear to be giving up, I dragged the poor animal to shallow waters, it’s mouth still tightly clamped on my leash! When I got to shore the lifeguards held it down while I undid my leash..aaahhahahahahah! What the heck! My board may be trashed but I still have both legs and arms, and a great story to tell!, Well, I contacted the Monterey Bay Research Institute and officially record the event as a seal attack on a human...crazy stuff.


Apparently there’s so little food for sea lions that they are attacking anything and everything..poor little guys..aren't I lucky?

Anyway, all in all I am very thankful that your board was able to hold up as a barrier between me and a very upset sea lion..A split second before I tossed it at a snarling sea animal, I had the gut instinct to throw my “precious board” out of the way of those teeth, just to let you know how much I loved that board!!!

Then I realized a new board/repair would be cheaper then a trip to the hospital…I’m an X-ray tech, so I know just how much a trip to the hospital with half a leg bitten off would cost! Well, I certainly hope you enjoy my story and pictures, and again, I send this letter with both hands and both legs, with great appreciation for you and your company.
Again, thanks so much!!!!

Chef Tell

Looks like we have a future live in chef. Vinny who loves to eat, suddenly loves to cook!

Hooray!!!!!

Now, I know there is a Goddess of Culinary Cuisine.

My husband got the bright idea of registering Chef Tell for a kitchen safety class at our local culinary school, in a few weeks. I love a smart man!

In the class, "He'll learn how to use a stove without getting burned, how to use a knife without cutting himself," says Stefan. "And he'll even get to make a few meals."

"I hope they teach him to clean up his mess," I say.

He takes after me in the kitchen, and I take after my Mom. When we cook, it looks like a bomb has gone off, but the food tastes good.

In our house there's a rule, "if you cook the food you don't have to clean the mess," but it isn't always followed.

Then, again, according to the rule, if Vinny does all the cooking, someone else will have to clean up the mess. Unless he's cooking for himself, then I'm not sure what the rule is...................This could be another one of those parenting grey areas.

So to be safe I will refer Vinny to another rule, "if you made the mess clean it up."

No grey area there.

Kings Of Leon vs Sugarland "Sex On Fire"

I love this song by Kings of Leon, "Sex On Fire." It's one of the songs Sugarland covered on their new album. I have to be honest, I love the Kings of Leon original version best. It's a bit faster than the Sugarland cover, and that appeals to my fine auditory tastes.


Maybe it's just the way the lead singer is kind of on fire. The official video is bit weird in a sexy vampire, sort of way, click here to watch it if you like.

I chose the unofficial video featuring Kings of Leon, because I can embed it on the blog. Yay! Official videos generally, have embedding disabled by the evil record companies, who want to ruin all our free love Internet fun.



Sugarland's version of "Sex On Fire," is good too, but not quite as hot, as the original, in my opinion. When Jennifer Nettles sings it, it sounds like a tragic song. When Caleb Followill lead vocalist for the Kings of Leon, sings "Sex On Fire," it's downright sexy.

Maybe I should listen to the words, it could very well be a tragic song, but when the Kings of Leon, do it, tragedy ain't what I'm visualizing.

American Idol

Last night I was on Twitter, tweeting, and I saw Paula Abdul and American Idol trending.

"What, did American Idol die?" I wonder to myself.

I click on the popular topic, American Idol, and read that Paula Abdul has tweeted she is leaving American Idol.

Around 7ish pm last night @PaulaAbdul tweeted, "With sadness in my heart, I’ve decided not to return to #IDOL. I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all..Cont'd...about 10 hours ago from web

I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent,but most of all being a part of a show that I helped from day1become an international phenomenon.

Of course I had to tweet about that, even though I've only watched two seasons of American Idol.

personally I'm going to miss Paula Abdul's dancing on American Idol. She's got the moves and was always into the music for music's sake
about 8 hours ago from mobile web

glad Paula Abdul tweeted the news of her leaving American Idol. That's how celebrities could all use twitter. It's called being real
about 8 hours ago from mobile web

Straight up, Paula Abdul is my favorite American Idol judge. She always stood up to the archetypal show bully, Simon Cowell, and he seemed to adore her for it.



Paula could frequently be seen dancing, in the background, during contestants' performances.

Her criticism was usually on the mark. When someone didn't perform well she found a nice way to say it. Honesty spoken with love, we all want some of that, when our performance leaves room for improvement.

At times, Abdul seemed a bit flighty, but perhaps, she was only intoxicated by inspiration, as a result of watching Idol contestants perform. She seemed to enjoy her job. And she was herself. And did I mention how much I love her dancing on the show?


Hey she isn't perfect, but who is?

Apparently, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, on July 17, 2009 Abdul's manager said the Idol judge was having issues renewing her contract with Idol producers.

Maybe there were a few cold hearted snakes on the production side.

Then just under three weeks later, Abdul tweeted the announcement herself on Twitter, she wouldn't be returning to the show. Now I love Paula even more! Why? She spoke the truth via twitter, herself, directly to her fans.

That's how twitter should be used by celebrities!

Celebrities who have ghost writers tweeting for them, is fine, but oh so boring. "Zzzzzzzzzz."

The dynamic, inspiring, persona of the celebrity is what attracts trillions of followers on twitter. Otherwise, it's just a public relations snooze fest.

In fact, anyone who has hundreds of thousands of followers, has them, because they are being herself. So please, Internet, follow me on Twitter.

Sugarland Live On The Inside On Sale Today

I'm having Sugar withdrawals. Sugarland withdrawals that is. The Sugarland television concert last night only made my cravings worse. I believe that was the marketers' intention.

Fortunately, my withdrawals seem to have arrived just in time for the release of Sugarland's new 2 disc CD/DVD combo set of "Live On The Inside," today!!!!!!

Though I must say showing the concert on TV, followed by an immediate CD/DVD release the next day, makes me want to vomit just a little bit. Marketing can be so nauseating, most of the time.

The live disc set will be sold exclusively at Walmart for $12 bucks. More marketing induced nausea.

Inlcuded on the DVD are 16 live concert performances filmed last fall from their Love On The Inside tour. The DVD consists mainly of Sugarland's mega hits from, "Stay," to "Baby Girl," but there are a few REM covers on the DVD.

Over half the tracks on the 10 track CD, are cover songs of bands Sugarland loves to cover, including Kings of Leon, REM and Beyonce.

Wow, maybe they should've been a cover band. Actually, I love all their cover songs, especially Tom Petty's "American Girl" and Def Leopard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me." Unfortunately, neither of those cover songs made the CD.





I can't help but wonder with this wide range of musical genre cover songs, could Sugarland be breaking out of the contemporary country genre into a more alternative one? I listened to some of the sample tracks on the CD, and I thought I heard less twang in Jennifer Nettles' voice. But maybe it's just my imagination, or wishful thinking on my part, or some combination of both.

I would love to get my hands on the UK version of Love On The Inside, which filtered out Jennifer Nettles twang, to suit the Brits' musical tastes. But I will take Nettles' voice with or without twang.

I'm off to buy the new Sugarland CD/DVD combo. And it has nothing to do with the marketing, I think..........for myself..............I hope.

Sugarland ABC Concert Special

Watching the Sugarland Concert on ABC right. It's not as good as being there live, but it's a close second. Yay! And we're watching it with the boys.

"Mommy you can dress up like Jennifer Nettles and I'll be Kristian," offers Gio.

"Okay," I say.

Piggyback Ride

I guess Gio has upgraded his sand dune flight ticket from business to first class.

"Hey, this is fun!" shouts Gio.

"Yeah, for you!" retorts Belinda.

All I can say is thank goodness I have a friend to do this when my husband isn't around. No way would I carry my son up this ginormous sand dune, on my back. And believe me, he knows it.

"Only Daddy and Belinda give piggyback rides, Mommy doesn't," says Gio.

And that's why "it takes a village to raise a child." Because Mommy doesn't give piggyback rides.

It may also be the reason Belinda is more fit, than I. After all, she is always the one pulling the bike trailer, dragging the kid up the sand dune, and in this case, giving the kid a piggyback ride. Yes, getting in shape, is just one, of the many benefits of being my friend.

Tomorrow's blog: The 1000s of Benefits of Being My Friend..............

Jill and Kevin Wedding Entrance Dance

If I were to get a do over on our wedding, I would do it like Jill and Kevin. Instead of walking down the aisle, they danced down the aisle on their way to love.

This video has over 14 million hits and their using its popularity to increase awareness and funding of domestic violence prevention.

Very cool!!!!!

Cool Shades

"Hey, don't these shades look great?" asks 75-year-old Stefan.

"Um, yeah those are hot, honey," says 75-year-old me. I saw a real pair of those at Longs Drugs when I was picking up your Viagra prescription the other day. They fit right over your glasses, just like the kind at the eye doctors."

"Great, when these shades the eye doctor gave me wear out, I'll pick up a pair at Longs!" exclaims 75-year-old Stefan. "Better yet, I'll pick up 5 pairs!"